50th Anniversary film

A special film, marking the 50th anniversary of the organisation will be shown at the Virtual General Conference and will then available here to view. As part of this project we have interviewed the two surviving founders of the ECPR, Jean Blondel and Richard Rose, to gather their memories of founding the organisation and reflections of how it has grown and changed throughout its life so far. 

Jean Blondel Birthday Symposium

Jean’s interview was conducted at ECPR headquarters, Harbour House, in October 2019 after a special symposium celebrating his 90th birthday and stellar career. Organised by Ferdinand Müller-Rommel, the symposium explored Jean’s contribution to the establishment of the University of Essex and the ECPR, his work at the EUI and his role in the development of comparative politics. David Sanders, Ian Budge, Andreas Frijdal, Maurizio Cotta and Ferdinand himself shared their own personal memories of working with Jean and summarised the pivotal role he has played in the above areas. Emil Kirchner, Sabine Busse, Jean Louis Thiebault, Martin Bull, Judy Budge and Tess and Dominique Blondel also joined the symposium and the lunch after, which of course included a special 90th birthday cake for Jean. You can see a short video of the day here; the interview with Jean will be available to watch in full later in the year. 

At his symposium, Kris Deschouwer presented Jean with a commemorative frame which will be hung in Harbour House, along with one each for the other founders, as a further part of the 50th celebrations. Richard Rose then received his, when he visited Harbour House for his interview in January.