Queen’s Policy Engagement is the ‘front door’ for public policy engagement at Queen’s University Belfast
Supporting academics and policymakers in sharing evidence-based research and ideas on the major social, cultural and economic challenges facing society regionally, nationally and beyond. Our over-arching vision is to share the University’s independent expertise with policymakers so they can make informed decisions about the most effective and sustainable ways to tackle these challenges, now and in the future.
Latest news and views…
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Finding a way back to the EU
The Good Friday Agreement contains a mechanism that would allow Northern Ireland to return to the European Union. The EU has confirmed that this will be automatic. Yet this remains a neglected aspect of current constitutional conversations. It is likely that the appetite for this discussion will intensify in the years ahead, linked to Brexit…
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How Taiwan became a global powerhouse in whisky production
Taiwan is making its mark on the whisky industry. Dr Martin Quinn explores the factors behind the rapid success of Taiwanese whiskies.
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The Good Friday Agreement, Human Rights and Constitutional Change
This article, which originally appeared on the Eamonn Mallie website, is based on a speech delivered at: A Renaissance of the Peace Process? What kind of society do we need? Conference held at Queen’s University Belfast, 27 September 2019.
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The biggest obstacle to a workable backstop alternative lies not in the EU, but the UK
With the pressure on the Prime Minister to propose a viable alternative to the backstop, Dr Katy Hayward summarises the options and challenges of alternative arrangements.
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An increasing number of countries are banning e-cigarettes – here’s why
To date, over 20 countries have banned the sale of e-cigarette products. Professor Lorraine Martin and Dr James Reihill explore the potential harm of e-cigarettes and argue that vaping is not a safe alternative to smoking tobacco.
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Rise and fall in the Third Reich: Nazi party members and social advancement
Understanding how the Nazi party emerged and came to power can give an insight into how extremist organisations form. Dr Alan de Bromhead argues that we need to think beyond pure ideology when it comes to motivations for joining extremist groups and look at economic and social factors too.
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The backstop: shifting goalposts, shifting red lines
Having physical infrastructure and additional checks and controls away from the border does not avoid a hard border; it simply places the hardened post-Brexit border elsewhere says Lisa Whitten and David Phinnemore.
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Policy, vision and good government: the case for a Northern Ireland think tank
Next week, a new think tank will launch in Northern Ireland, focused on economic, social and good government issues. Called Pivotal, it is independent, but supported by a broad coalition of interests, and an academic partnership with both Queen’s University and Ulster University. Here guest contributor Alan Whysall, who has been working on the idea…
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Extending voting rights to Northern Ireland in Irish Presidential elections
In light of the recent publication of legislation in Ireland to enable a referendum on extending voting rights in Irish presidential elections to Irish citizens residing outside the state, Professors Colin Harvey and John Garry look back at their input into the 2013 Constitutional Convention that made the recommendation for this right to be extended.
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New blood screening may detect ovarian cancer two years before other methods
Ovarian cancers are often not caught early enough. Researchers from Queen’s are part of an international team that has developed a screening method with the potential to diagnose ovarian cancer one to two years earlier than current diagnosis.