Dear Members and Friends of CANI,
We are delighted to host a talk by Dr Claire Wright (UU) on
WEDNESDAY 4th March 2026, at
6:45 pm in
27 University Square, QUB, room 01/003. Join us for a fascinating talk by Dr Claire Wright titled:
“Unearthing the Roman Roots of Contemporary Emergency Powers in Latin America”
Abstract: Present-day Latin American political regimes are largely democratic, but many live in the shadow of military regimes and influences, past and present. Emergency powers have received relatively little consideration in scholarly and policy circles, but continue to be employed by Presidents in the region to deal with a vast array of political “crises”. Existing approaches to constitutional regimes of exception portray them primarily as a legacy of the Roman dictatorship. While acknowledging the importance of this model to our understanding of emergency politics in Latin America, we shall also dig deeper into the roots of emergency powers, past and present, identifying the relevance of two other Roman institutions, i.e.
senatus consultum ultimum and
iustitium. It will be argued that these Roman institutions continue to underpin contemporary politics in Latin America and can offer considerable insight into how emergency powers work in practice.
Dr Claire Wright is a Lecturer in Politics and International Studies at Ulster University. Her research focuses on politics in Latin America, particularly the role of emergency institutions and ethnic differences. She is a member of the QUB Human Rights Centre and the UKRI GCRF Gender, Justice, and Security Hub.
We hope you can join us.
Please check our social media for any updates. If are not a member yet, or if your subscription has expired, please follow the link
https://classicalassociationni.wordpress.com/category/membership-and-contact/. Your support of our association is deeply appreciated and enables us to continue organising these wonderful events.
With very best wishes,
Katerina Kolotourou
CANI Convenor
