Julia Buxton Opines on Venezuela, Immigration, the G7, the Women’s World Cup, and More

In a wide-ranging discussion on BBC World Service’s Weekend show on June 7, SPP Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Programs and Professor of Comparative Politics Julia Buxton and Director of Chatham House Robin Niblett shared their perspectives on a diverse range of topics. It was Buxton’s second appearance on this popular BBC radio program.

One of the topics that program host Paul Henley asked Buxton about was Venezuela, a country that she has been studying since the late 1990s, and that she continues to follow closely. “It’s a country that changes every day,” she said. Buxton commented also on the situation in the Ukraine, and on the immigration debate in Australia, which is commanding a good deal of attention in the country. Buxton cautioned that it was important to differentiate between migration and asylum issues.

Henley also asked Buxton about drug policy reform. Buxton recently directed a three-day course at SPP’s Global Policy Academy to prepare for the “very important” UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in April 2016. Buxton commented that “although current drug policies do more harm than good, there are risks that come with policy change.”

Another topic on the agenda was the G7 summit that is currently taking place at Schloss Elmau, an exclusive spa resort in Germany.  Buxton was skeptical that much would be accomplished during the summit. “What is the use of these meetings in this contemporary period?” she asked, noting that the isolated physical location spoke volumes of the “global democratic deficit.” Niblett, on the other hand, thought that the G7 meeting, although it was “old and western,” represented an important point of view.  He said that the meeting provided a valuable opportunity for Americans and Europeans to exchange ideas about issues on which they don’t currently agree, such as the situation in Greece and climate change.

Commenting on the Turkish parliamentary elections, Buxton said that she had a “passionate interest” in the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), and was particularly interested in how it was transforming the political debate in Turkey. She noted also that there were “remarkable parallels” between how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez mobilized previously marginalized populations in their countries.

Buxton and Niblett also commented on the recent referendum in Ireland, the Women’s World Cup that got under way this weekend, and Wednesday Martin’s recent book, Primates of Park Avenue.  You can listen to the full program here.