European University Institute

And before coming to the University of Alberta in 2008, she was a lecturer at the University of Nottingham in the UK.

and a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence.

More recently, during her time at the U of A, she's held a Jean Monnet Chair and was the founding director of the European Union Center for Excellence from 2013 to 2016.

And Laurie, I think that already gives people a hint about what you might be speaking about today.

Then a young lawyer, she's now one of the world's leading human rights academics.

She served in the Biden administration as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, and she's now a senior visiting fellow at the European University Institute.

She's also, I'm proud to say, a Reckoning Project advisory board member and a friend.

Well, I was in law school in the mid-'90s, and one of the prosecutors from the joint prosecutorial office between the Yugoslavia and Rwanda tribunal came and gave a talk, and I was mesmerized by everything he was describing.

Okay.

Our panel this morning, Bridget Laffin is Emeritus Professor at the European University Institute.

Ellen Coyne is Political Correspondent at the Irish Times.

Finian McGrath is a former Independent TD and a former Minister for State for Disability Issues.

She first proposed that idea more than 20 years ago.

Ms. Nicolaides is the chair in global affairs at the European University Institute.

We reached her in Florence, Italy.

Professor, would you settle for what the prime minister is saying, a, quote, unique alliance?

Thank you for this.

My pleasure.

Calypso Nicolaitis is the Chair in Global Affairs at the European University Institute.

We reached her in Florence,

Her research focuses on direct democracy, participatory institutions, recall referendums, digital politics, and populism.

Melissa Ross is an incoming Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute and currently co-lead of the Global Citizens Assembly Network and co-chair of the ECPR's Sending Group on Democratic Innovations.

Before we begin our conversation, I would like to remind our audience that this episode aims to discuss and unpack our understanding of democratic innovations in Latin America as a global laboratory.

We will examine what differences innovations bring to the global fore and dissect whether and how political elites behave in particular ways.

The Europeans were extraordinarily happy with what they had and were very resistant to people criticizing their system, and the EU put, tends to put money into people who talk the talk about how good things are.

You know, if you hang out with the EUI people or the commission people, everything's going fabulously well.

People who are critical get sort of pushed a- pushed aside.

They don't like to hear this.