The British Foreign Policy Group and Westminster Foundation for Democracy were delighted to host a lively panel discussion on how the Global Britain project can best merge the promotion of democratic values with our geo-strategic interests.

On the eve of the publication of the Integrated Review of the UK’s Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, this event explored how Britain should seek to achieve its stated ambition to advance democracy worldwide. In particular, how to approach the task of building meaningful cooperation amongst allies old and new, to counter the rise of authoritarian states and their diplomatic power.

Panellists discussed how best to strike the right balance, when the UK’s economic, security, diplomatic and development objectives may come into competition in a changing world – and whether initiatives such as the D10 could help to add muscle to the voice of liberalism, providing a meaningful new avenue for the UK’s global leadership.

Most scholarship and policy work on understanding parliaments focuses either on parliaments as systems or on the MPs within them as individuals. Anthropological analysis provides insight into the missing links – relationships and processes of interaction – thereby helping to explain what goes on between MPs (and others) in their everyday political work.

In this session, Emma Crewe provided a theory of MPs’ work that aimed to throw light on political relationships. MPs’ work entails endlessly shapeshifting, adjusting to different audiences and pressures, so they have to rely on shared processes (riffs, rhythms and rituals) to create a sense of continuity and stability. To understand MPs’ work, and to assist them in strengthening their capacity to deepen democracy, she argued we should give attention to these riffs, rhythms and rituals and how they impact on relationships within our political worlds.

Key questions of exploration:

• How can we deal with MPs’ diversity of needs, pressures and challenges?
• How much do cultural and political differences in each place create different kinds of relationships between MPs and others?
• How can relationships between MPs, but also with the media, civil society, constituents and others, contribute to a deeper democracy in specific places?

Emma Crewe is a Research Professor at SOAS and a Research Supervisor at the University of Hertfordshire. She has worked in international development since the 1980s as a social scientist, policy adviser, manager and trustee/chair in international NGOs. Her ethnographic research into organisations focuses on parliaments in the UK, Eastern Africa and South Asia and she has advised the UK Parliament on research, management and evaluation, working with and advising the House of Commons on key issues and reports. Her forthcoming book (“An Anthropology of Parliaments”, Routledge) offers a review of what anthropologists have written so far about these institutions since the 1980s and examines how MPs behave in parliament.

Gender-sensitive post-legislative scrutiny adds a gender perspective to inquiries into whether legislation has produced (positive or negative, unintended or unexpected) impacts on gender results and outcomes. This approach to scrutiny is essential to ensuring that legislation at the very least does not harm and, at its very best, delivers better lifetime opportunities for those facing structural disadvantage.

However, gender-sensitive post-legislative scrutiny is not yet frequently practiced by parliaments. As the second webinar in WFD’s two-part series on the topic, the session will examine two papers developed by Dr Maria Mousmouti of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, looking at post-legislative scrutiny of gender-specific legislation and the use of data in gender-sensitive post-legislative scrutiny.

This discussion is part of a broader project to work with practitioners to bring in practices that can better understand the impact of legislation from a gender perspective.

Speakers

• Dr Maria Mousmouti
• Dr Lata Narayanaswamy (University of Leeds)
• Janet Veitch (Women’s Budget Group)

This digital conference on the nature of emergency legislation adopted in various countries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was based on the presentation of new research findings. 

On 30 July, Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) will host an online interview featuring questions from the public with Alex Thier, former director of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Obama administration international aid advisor, to celebrate the launch of his new paper, A Force for Good in the World: Placing Democratic Values at the Centre of the UK’s International Strategy.

In an interview with former BBC Head of Political Programmes, Sue Inglish, Alex Thier will discuss his recommendations for the creation of a new Department for Democratic Governance to support democracies around the world and confront authoritarianism. Alex argues it is time to put democratic governance at the centre of Britain’s approach to foreign policy, development, and national security. In other words, it’s time to do development democratically.

WFD has prepared an extensive policy brief on the multifaceted role of parliament in the oversight of public debt and debt management: “Weathering the COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond: The Role of Parliament in Public Debt Management”. Drafting of this brief started prior to the COVID-19 outbreak when concerns had already been raised about rising public debt levels in developing countries. The policy brief has been updated as the pandemic unfolded, and more countries ended up in debt distress. The policy brief is aimed at helping parliamentarians and other policy makers gain a better understanding of the substance, relevance and applicability of parliaments’ role in public debt management.

This webinar will discuss the current public debt crisis and the role of parliaments, with the participation of leading experts on the topic, and the author of the new WFD policy brief.