Meet the Managing Editors
Jemima Baar, Comparative Politics
What was your motivation behind joining CJPA?
I’ve been involved in student initiatives for politics, international affairs, and public policy throughout my time at Cambridge. I noticed a while ago that there was a gap in undergraduate student societies for a platform that facilitated long-form analytical research on politics and current affairs, so was very excited when I heard about CJPA because I think it fills that niche perfectly, and immediately wanted to get involved.
Is there anything in particular you look forward to reading/learning about?
An area of particular interest to me is Chinese Grand Strategy, and particularly, its interactions with the U.S. and its involvement in the Middle East. However, I’m interested in most aspects of comparative politics and international affairs, and so will be excited to read all the submissions to the Comparative Politics section and through that, hopefully discover new areas of interest!
Top 3 politics books/podcasts?
Podcasts: The Daily, Caliphate and Talking Politics; Books: The Retreat of Western Liberalism (Edward Luce), Nothing is True and Everything is Possible (Peter Pomerantsev) and 1984 (George Orwell)
What are you looking for in the journal submissions?
I’m looking for thoughtful, original pieces that are well-researched and carefully analysed. Comparative Politics is such a broad discipline, and I hope that it provides a means for prospective writers to delve into topics of interest that they would not be able to explore in as much detail through their degrees.
Varvara Vassileva, International Relations
What are you passionate about?
Human rights! I was fortunate enough to spend my last summer conducting research for Amnesty International. The experience was truly eye-opening - it made me acutely aware of how immensely privileged I am to have never been subject to human rights abuses, it opened my eyes to the breadth and potency of the human rights movement, and it led me to cultivate a keen interest in human rights from the perspective of IR scholarship.
Is there anything in particular you look forward to reading/learning about?
I have recently become fascinated by the constructivist school of thought in IR, particularly because it really encourages you to think deeply and critically about some of the most fundamental aspects of IR, such as state behaviour and international cooperation. I have developed a particular interest in the relationship between constructivism, human rights, and international law and I am really keen to explore these topics in greater detail over the summer!
Top 3 politics books/podcasts?
Kofi Anan, Interventions: A Life in War and Peace
Noam Chomsky, How the World Works
Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything
What are you looking for in the journal submissions?
One of my favourite aspects of IR as a discipline is that it naturally calls for critical, innovative and thoroughly-researched work that is supported by ample evidence. I am particularly excited to read submissions that move beyond the conventional wisdom of IR, question some of its most foundational assumptions, and bring us to a novel understanding of the topic at hand.
Marie Langrishe, Political Philosophy
Something you’ve learnt that you would want to share with others?
That learning is hard! This sounds like a very facile thing to say, but it’s something I learned when I trained at conservatoire to be a violinist (I’ve had a pretty big career change!) - really reflecting critically and consciously on what I needed to do to get something better, and working out how to do that, was a skill I had to develop. A friend recently told me a proverb which was along the lines of: “Learning is like sailing on the ocean: if you’re not rowing against the current, you’re going backwards.” I’ve probably messed it up, but you get the gist!
What are you passionate about?
Trying to understand how things fit together – or don’t.
Is there anything in particular you look forward to reading/learning about?
As an HSPS student, I’m interested to see the different perspectives that philosophers bring to political themes – I think we’re likely to have slightly different analytical lenses, but I’m excited about what that throws up. Of course, I’m looking forward to hearing from political and social theorists too! In terms of my own personal focus, at the moment I’m interested in the links between democracy, trust and rationality – and effects of technology on all three.
What are you looking for in the journal submissions?
Thoughtful arguments. Beyond that, I’m completely open minded!
Alice Edmonston, Political History
What was your motivation behind joining CJPA?
When I heard about CJPA, I thought that it offered a really exciting opportunity for undergraduates interested in politics to see their work published in an academic journal, and one that wasn’t currently available to Cambridge students. I am excited to see this journal come into being and wanted to get involved for this first issue.
Top 3 politics podcasts?
Slow Burn, FiveThirtyEight Politics, and Political Thinking with Nick Robinson
What are you looking for in the journal submissions?
Political history is a vast area of study, and can become even broader depending on how exactly you choose to define what is the ‘political’ in history, so I am looking for submissions that take the opportunity provided by this extensive subject area to be creative and to be guided by their particular interests, however niche they may be. Articles should be widely read, well-written, engage closely with the historical evidence, and, most importantly, offer an interesting argument. I am looking forward to reading what our writers come up with, and how they choose to interpret this aspect of the ‘political’.
Jess Ma and Kai Xing Yap, Political Anthropology
What are you passionate about?
J: I’m passionate about representation, especially in academic discourse. To truly understand the world, knowledge has to take into account the diversity of human experiences and perspectives globally, and be mindful of present power structures that habitually excludes minority voices. Anthropology is a complex answer to this, with its ingrained reflexivity and simultaneous fight against its colonial legacy; Politics offers much analysis on power, but misses out on less macro elements. I hope that by removing disciplinary boundaries, we are combining the strengths of different disciplines, and dismantling exclusive power structures to let more voices be heard and taken seriously.
KX: I’m passionate about good writing that’s truthful, heartfelt and compelling. That’s why I really love anthropology and how it sheds light on issues in ways that aren’t merely macro but also attentive to the realities of people’s everyday lives. Conversely, I’m also fascinated by how the quotidian, mundane, and individual can collectively become something larger than life and impact macro political processes. Political anthropology is a field that’s especially positioned to examine how this all plays out - and I believe good writing in this discipline has the potential to make a real difference.
If you can have dinner with any academic in history, dead or alive, who would it be?
J: Arendt! I absolutely love her incisive analysis on the nature of power and evil as well as her characterisation of political life. Her ideas offer a fundamentally different view on what politics should look like, and I wonder what she would say about exercising speech and judgement in today’s world, and what a (re)construction of the political world would look like.
KX: This is hard, but I’d have to say Marx. I’m curious to know what he would think about the intellectual and political movements that built on his work and the ways that his concepts and explanatory frameworks have been molded for use in a contemporary world he probably could not have foreseen at the time of his writing. I wonder what he would say about the communist movements of the 20th century, and also if he had any inkling that his work would resonate so far down the corridors of history.
What are you looking for in the journal submissions?
We are looking for writing that’s well-researched, creative and incisive. Political anthropology is a rich ground for interdisciplinary dialogue between both fields so we’re excited to see things that engage the strengths of both. We also encourage work that presents diverse perspectives on a range of issues - and we’re not afraid to read things that may be unorthodox! At the heart of it all we want to give a platform for authentic undergraduate voices to be heard, so we’d encourage people not to be daunted by the process and give it a go.