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21. The Inaugural Hennessy Lecture: Sir Simon Schama

Author:
Simon Schama and Emma Griffin
Publication Date:
03-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
Sir Simon Schama is one of the most distinguished historians of our time. As a writer, broadcaster, columnist and art-critic, his books and documentaries have covered an extraordinary range of subjects, stretching from the histories of art, slavery and public health to Romanticism, baseball and the American future. His award-winning books include Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (1989), Landscape and Memory (1995), Rough Crossings (2005) and Foreign Bodies: Pandemics, Vaccines and the Health of Nations (2023). He has written three volumes on the History of Britain and two volumes on The Story of the Jews, both of which have been made into BBC TV series. He is currently Professor of Art History and History at the University of Columbia, and was knighted in 2018 for ‘services to history’. On Friday 8 March 2024, Sir Simon drew on his long expertise in British and Jewish history to deliver the first in a new series of distinguished 'Hennessy Lectures', celebrating the life of the historian and cross-bench peer Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield. In this inaugural lecture at ‪@QMUL‬, hosted by Professor Emma Griffin (Head of ‪@qmulschoolofhistory4447‬ and President of the Royal Historical Society), Sir Simon explored ‘Bad Chaps, Jews and the Failure of British Decency: Antisemitism in Historical Perspective’.
Topic:
History, Jews, and Peter Hennessy
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

22. Reforming the Centre of Government

Author:
Caroline Slocock and Ray Shostak
Publication Date:
03-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
Ahead of a potential change of government in the United Kingdom during this year, this webinar examines the reform of the centre of government across the world. Chaired by Professor Patrick Diamond, this webinar saw Professor Ray Shostak, Martin Alessandro, and Caroline Slocock explore the lessons that could be learned by British policy practitioners. In every government, the centre of government performs a set of crucial functions: the institutions and units working at the centre provide managerial direction and coherence to the complex governing machinery, not least in accelerating the delivery of priority objectives. In the UK, the operation in Number 10 Downing Street has become the focus of much attention in recent years with its leadership and oversight role increasingly questioned. Over the last decade, crises, and shocks - including global pandemics, climate hazards, economic crises, technological developments, and global conflicts - have enhanced the value of anticipatory governance and foresight, cross-ministerial planning and policy design, alongside real-time performance monitoring and intervention all provided through the centre of government.
Topic:
Government, Reform, Crisis Management, and Institutions
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

23. 'An Insane Miracle': 100 years of since the first Labour government

Author:
Carolyn Quinn, Jon Cruddas, David Torrance, Jane Ridley, and Richard Johnson
Publication Date:
02-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
On 22 January 1924, the United Kingdom experienced what The Annual Register described as ‘a revolution as profound as that associated with the Reform Act of 1832’ – the formation of the first Labour government. After an inconclusive general election in December 1923, the King invited Ramsay MacDonald to become Prime Minister. For the leader of the so-called ‘Wild Men’ – who had helped to found the Labour Representation Committee in 1900 and been the fledgling party’s leader for a little over a year – the formation of his minority administration was ‘an insane miracle’. While the government was defeated just over nine months later, at a general election in October 1924, it proved to the country and the wider movement that the Labour Party was willing and able to govern. To mark the centenary of MacDonald’s appointment, the Mile End Institute assembled a stellar panel of experts on Labour politics, the constitution, and interwar Britain. In addition to Jon Cruddas MP and Dr David Torrance - whose new books A Century of Labour and The Wild Men had just been published - we were joined by Professor Jane Ridley (the author of George V: Never a Dull Moment) and Dr Richard Johnson. In this fascinating discussion chaired by the journalist and former host of Radio 4’s Westminster Hour, Carolyn Quinn, the panel reflected on King George V's decision to call for MacDonald rather than the governing Conservative or Liberal parties, the changing makeup of the Labour Party and its relationship with the Crown, and the MacDonald administration's political and legislative achievements. With a general election approaching, the panel also considered what lessons, if any, MacDonald’s minority administration offers to future Labour governments.
Topic:
Reform, Elections, Domestic Politics, and Labour Party
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

24. The Case for the Centre Right: In Conversation with David Gauke

Author:
David Gauke
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In recent years, as the authors of this major important collection of essays argue, the landscape of British politics has fundamentally changed. The Conservative Party in particular has undergone a profound transformation. Centre-right values that steered British politics for decades - internationalism, respect for the rule of law, fiscal responsibility, belief in our institutions - were cast aside in the wake of the Brexit referendum to the detriment of the UK's prosperity, electoral trust, and the long-term fortunes of the Conservative Party. In this event, the ‪@mileendinstitute4300‬ welcomed the former Conservative MP and Lord Chancellor, David Gauke, to ‪@QMUL‬ to talk about his new book, The Case for the Centre Right. Published in September 2023, this collection of essays features contributions from Michael Heseltine, Rory Stewart, and Amber Rudd, and has been described as a 'classic indictment of the deceptions of populism' by the former Prime Minister, Sir John Major. Hosted by Professor Tim Bale, this event also featured Andrew, Lord Cooper of Windrush, who contributed a chapter on the realignment of British politics since 2016.
Topic:
Domestic Politics, Political Parties, Conservative Party, and Center Right
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

25. The Downing Street Declaration: Thirty Years On

Author:
Martyn Frampton and Eleanor Williams
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
On 15 December 1993, the governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland signed the Downing Street Declaration: a "charter for peace and reconciliation" that sought "to remove the causes of conflict, to overcome the legacy of history and to heal the divisions" in Northern Ireland. Signed by John Major and Albert Reynolds, the Downing Street Declaration asserted the principle of self-determination for the North of Ireland. The UK government disclaimed any "selfish strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland" and promised to facilitate a united Ireland if that was the wish of the majority. The Irish government recognised that "it would be wrong to attempt to impose a united Ireland, in the absence of the freely given consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland", and that any settlement must "respect the democratic dignity and the civil rights and religious liberties of both communities" . The result was a landmark moment in the peace process, with consequences that continue to this day. This webinar, held in December 2023, looks back at the making of the Downing Street Declaration and assesses its legacy for the peace process. It brings together two specialists in Irish history, Professor Martyn Frampton (QMUL) and Dr Eleanor Williams (Oxford), in conversation with Dr Robert Saunders, to explore a landmark moment in British and Irish history, and to reflect on the lessons thirty years after it was agreed.
Topic:
Domestic Politics, Peace, Reconciliation, Peace Process, and Downing Street Declaration
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, Ireland, and Northern Ireland

26. Japan’s Strategic Cooperation with NATO: Connectivity between Ukraine and Taiwan Crises

Author:
Tomonori Yoshizaki and Ayumi Teraoka
Publication Date:
03-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
China’s global outreach and the War in Ukraine have pushed U.S. allies in Asia and Europe closer in recent years. Professor Tomonori Yoshizaki of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), former Vice President of the National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS) of the Japanese Ministry of Defense, will help us understand the motivations behind the developing ties between Japan and NATO. He will explore the prospects of their cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and beyond and conclude by offering implications for the U.S.-Japan alliance.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, NATO, International Cooperation, Alliance, Crisis Management, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Japan, Europe, Taiwan, Asia, and United States of America

27. "Inventing Eastern Europe" Thirty Years Later: A Conversation with Larry Wolff and Guests

Author:
Malgorzata Mazurek, Larry Wolff, Suzanne Marchand, Emile Greble, and Jan Kubik
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
The Harriman Institute
Abstract:
When Larry Wolff’s book Inventing Eastern Europe was published in 1994, it gave the world a new set of tools for understanding the half of Europe that had recently emerged from behind the Iron Curtain. Most notably, Wolff’s book showed how the conceptual division of the European continent into two distinct civilizations, East and West, although reinforced by the Realpolitik of the Cold War, actually originated in the discourse of philosophes and travelers in the 18th century. Inventing Eastern Europe was revelatory in the mid-1990s, and it has been required reading for serious students of Eastern European history and culture ever since. Please join the East Central European Center and the Harriman Institute for a conversation with Larry Wolff, Suzanne Marchand, Emily Greble and Jan Kubik, moderated by Malgorzata Mazurek, about the genesis, initial impact and continued relevance of this seminal work on the thirtieth anniversary of its publication.
Topic:
Cold War, History, and Philosophy
Political Geography:
Europe and Eastern Europe

28. A Global History of Hungary: Concept, Implementation, Reflection

Author:
Ferenc Laczó
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
The Harriman Institute
Abstract:
The recently released volumes of Magyarország globális története (A Global History of Hungary) are the joint product of 159 scholars from a host of disciplines. Together, they explore the history of an East Central European country in a truly global perspective for the first time. The two volumes cover developments from the formation of the Pannonian Plain and the early spread of human settlement and agriculture, through the emergence of world religions and the era of European colonialism and imperialism, all the way to key issues in the multipolar and contested globalization of our days. This narrative arc already suggests why such a global history of Hungary may be urgently needed today: to reinterpret in a substantial and nuanced manner, for our age of manifold interconnections, the place and various roles of Hungary and Hungarians in the history of the world. More specifically, the 203 chapters included in A Global History of Hungary capitalize on four key insights. First, East Central Europe has tended to be a semi-peripheral area in the global scheme of things, and it has thus been much closer to the global average than some of the parts of the world on which much of recent global historiography has focused. East Central European countries have also developed numerous and still underexplored intercontinental connections outside the Western core that should be of special interest in our age of global multipolarity. At the same time, it can be assumed that this diverse area, as a rather peripheral part of Europe in a formerly largely Eurocentric world, has played the role of a “secondary colonialist” for significant parts of modern history – a topic that needs to be researched in detail and critically scrutinized. Moreover, the predominant transnational orientation of this suburb of Europe has shifted repeatedly and sometimes dramatically, creating a complex pattern of legacies – or “continuities in discontinuity” – that can only be properly analysed through a transnational history on the longue durée. In this presentation, co-editor Ferenc Laczó will reflect on the agenda to embed Hungarian history comprehensively in global frameworks. He will discuss the specific ways in which this agenda has been implemented, not least to explain how the contributing authors have taken up and adapted a recent Western European approach to historiography, what challenges this has entailed, and what opportunities such a process of adaptation to East Central Europe offers.
Topic:
History and Historiography
Political Geography:
Europe and Hungary

29. 1,000 days of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine

Author:
Philip Breedlove, Iulia-sabina Joja, and Matthew Czekaj
Publication Date:
11-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Abstract:
Wednesday, November 20, marks a somber anniversary for Ukraine: 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country. Though the Ukrainians continue to hold out with Western assistance against Russian attacks, the past two-and-a-half years have been devastating for the country and its people. Ukraine now faces another winter at war as momentum appears to be shifting in Russia’s favor. What can the US and its allies do to ensure hostilities end as favorably as possible to Ukraine and in line with American strategic national interests? MEI scholars General Philip M. Breedlove and Dr. Iulia-Sabina Joja join host Matthew Czekaj to discuss the state of the conflict and what’s at stake for the region and the global community.
Topic:
Armed Conflict, Strategic Interests, Russia-Ukraine War, and Invasion
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

30. Global Islamophobia and the Rise of Populism with Ivan Kalmar & Audrey Truschke

Author:
Ivan Kalmar and Audrey Truschke
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
Islamophobia has seen a disturbing rise across Asia and Europe. Professors Audrey Truschke and Ivan Kalmar focus on India and Eastern Europe, respectively, in examining the global trend of blaming Muslim minorities for economic, political, and social problems, which in turn causes anti-Muslim violence.
Topic:
Minorities, Discrimination, Islamophobia, and Violence
Political Geography:
Europe, India, Eastern Europe, and Asia

31. Islam in Liberalism with Joseph Massad (Episode 10)

Author:
Joseph Massad and Sahar Aziz
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
American anxieties about intolerance, misogyny, and tyranny are projected onto Islam as part of the broader European use of Islam as a foil in Western liberalism. A recent book contextualizes this trend within recent efforts by the western world to proselytize liberalism as the only valid and sane worldview to Muslim-majority nations and references a rich historical record of Christian and liberal discourses revealing such attempts to cure Muslims of their supposed illiberal ways. Host Sahar Aziz (https://saharazizlaw.com/) addresses these issues with “Islam in Liberalism (https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/...) ” author and Columbia University Professor Joseph Massad (https://mesaas.columbia.edu/faculty-d...) .
Topic:
Islam, Islamophobia, Liberalism, and Intolerance
Political Geography:
Europe and United States of America

32. Toward A Comparative History of Sexual Violence and War - A Book Talk with Feminist Chizuko Ueno

Author:
Chizuko Ueno and Carol Gluck
Publication Date:
05-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
Speaker: Chizuko Ueno, Professor Emerita University of Tokyo, Chief Director of the Non Profit Organization, Women’s Action Network Moderator: Carol Gluck, George Sansom Professor Emerita of History, Columbia University Sexual violence in war is a perennial and a global phenomenon. The “comfort women” system of sexual slavery in Asia and sexual assaults by Allied soldiers in Europe during World War II, the rape camps in Bosnia in the 1990s war in the former Yugoslavia -- the list is long and continues to this day. Based on her book, A Comparative History of War and Sexual Violence, Ueno explores a range of issues, including the discourse of victimhood and the question of agency, rape as a weapon of war, and also love and “horizontal collaboration” between enemies. A provocative argument from Japan’s leading feminist and influential social activist. Speaker Bio: Chizuko Ueno is an emeritas professor at the University of Tokyo. Chief Director of the Non Profit Organization, Women’s Action Network ( http://wan.or.jp/) . A leading feminist theorist and an influential social critic, a prolific author of books and articles and a high-profile intellectual in Japan. In 1994, one of her many acclaimed books, Kindai Kazoku no Seiritsu to Shuen (The Rise and Fall of the Modern Family), won the coveted Suntory Academic Award. English publications are available as follows; The Modern Family in Japan: Its Rise and Fall (2009), Nationalism and Gender (2004). Asahi Shinbun Award winner in 2012 for her contribution to feminism and women’s studies, in addition to studies of care. Received Hän Honor from the Finnish government in 2019 for the contribution to promote gender equality. Selected as a member of American Academy of Art and Sciences in 2020. Event sponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and co-sponsored by the Japan Research Program.
Topic:
War, History, Sexual Violence, Comfort Women, and Book Talk
Political Geography:
Japan, Europe, Asia, and Balkans

33. Disinformation and Smearing in British Politics

Author:
Robert Saunders, Gill Bennett, Ciaran Martin, and Jean Seaton
Publication Date:
11-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
One hundred years ago this month, as voters prepared to go to the polls for the third time in two years, British politics was rocked by what would become the most famous ‘dirty trick’ in its long history: the ‘Zinoviev Letter’. The Letter, encouraging the British proletariat to revolutionary fervour, was apparently sent by Grigori Zinoviev, head of the Bolshevik propaganda organization, to the British Communist Party in September 1924. Its publication by the Daily Mail just before the General Election humiliated the first ever Labour government, headed by Ramsay MacDonald, when its political opponents used it to create a 'Red Scare' in the media. With growing concerns about the impact of AI-driven disinformation on elections around the world, the ‪@mileendinstitute4300‬ and the Centre for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies marked the Letter's centenary by exploring how disinformation, ‘Fake News’ and smearing have affected, and continue to shape, British politics today. Dr‪. Robert Saunders was joined by Dr Gill Bennett (Chief Historian of the UK Foreign Office‬, 1995-2005), Professor Ciaran Martin (CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre, 2016-2020) and Professor Jean Seaton (Official Historian of the BBC).
Topic:
Politics, History, Elections, and Disinformation
Political Geography:
Britain and Europe

34. Sathnam Sanghera: How British Imperialism Has Shaped the Globe

Author:
Sathnam Sanghera
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
Sathnam Sanghera is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, novelist and Times columnist, who published a bestselling memoir in 2008 called The Boy with the Topknot. More recently, he has published two best-selling volumes on the legacies of the British Empire - Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain, and Empireworld: How British Imperialism Has Shaped the Globe. On Wednesday 9 October, the Mile End Institute welcomed Sathnam to ‪Queen Mary University of London‬ for the second in our series of distinguished lectures in honour of our patron, the historian and crossbench peer, Peter Hennessy. Sathnam was in conversation with Professor Jerry Brotton from the School of the Arts Queen Mary University of London about his latest book, Empireworld, the legacies of the British Empire, the teaching of imperial history, the role of pride and shame in our thinking about the past, and the role of empire in contemporary culture.
Topic:
Imperialism, History, and British Empire
Political Geography:
Britain and Europe

35. How the Cold War Solved the Problem of Soviet Displaced Persons After World War II (10/24/24)

Author:
Sheila Fitzpatrick and Elise Giuliano
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
The Harriman Institute
Abstract:
This talk will draw on the analysis of postwar great power politics and diplomacy with regard to “displaced persons” from the Soviet Union offered in her new book, Lost Souls: Soviet Displaced Persons and the Birth of the Cold War, to be published by Princeton University Press in November.
Topic:
Cold War, Diplomacy, Power Politics, Displacement, World War II, and Soviet Union
Political Geography:
Europe and Soviet Union

36. Starr Forum: Rebuilding Ukraine While Under Fire

Author:
Oleg Ustenko and Simon Johnson
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
A discussion with experts--including Oleg Ustenko, the economic advisor to President Zelensky--on rebuilding Ukraine in the midst of the ongoing war. Joining Ustenko is Simon Johnson, professor at MIT Sloan and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund.
Topic:
Economics, Reconstruction, Armed Conflict, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

37. Marcia Williams: The Life and Times of Baroness Falkender

Author:
Linda McDougall
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
Over a decade before Margaret Thatcher swept to power in May 1979, another woman was running Britain from 10 Downing Street: Marcia Williams, private and political secretary to Harold Wilson. Having worked for Wilson since 1956, Williams became the Prime Minister’s trusted adviser and confidante forming, as the historian Ben Pimlott once described it, ‘the most famous and mysterious partnership in modern political history’. To mark the publication of Marcia Williams: The Life and Times of Baroness Falkender by ‪@BitebackPublishing‬, the ‪@mileendinstitute4300‬ and Tides of History welcomed her biographer, Linda McDougall, to ‪@QMUL‬‪@QMUL‬, where Marcia Field (as she then was) studied History from 1951 to 1954 and was Secretary of the Labour Society. Linda McDougall is a leading journalist, television producer and author of several books on women in politics. In addition to charting Williams’ rise through the Labour Party, Linda examined the assumptions and accusations that were a constant accompaniment to her political career and charted her influence on British politics and policy.
Topic:
Politics, Women, Domestic Politics, Labour Party, and Marcia Williams
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

38. Governing in Hard Times Conference: Final Reflections

Author:
Javier Sajuria, Eunice Goes, Ben Jackson, Karl Pike, and Carys Roberts
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In this concluding session, a panel of academics and policymakers reflected on the day's proceedings. They tried to draw together the most urgent questions facing the centre-left and Keir Starmer's Labour Party as well as the historical parallels for a party seeking to return to government after such a lengthy spell in opposition. Chair: Dr Javier Sajuria (Reader in Comparative Politics at Queen Mary, University of London) Panel: Professor Eunice Goes (Professor of Politics at Richmond University) Professor Ben Jackson (Professor of Modern History at University College Oxford and Co-Editor of Political Quarterly) Dr Karl Pike (Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute) Carys Roberts (Executive Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research)
Topic:
Governance, Domestic Politics, Labour Party, and Center Left
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

39. Governing in Hard Times Conference: Public Services

Author:
Elizabeth Simon, Jonathan Slater, Clare McNeil, Andrew Harrop, and Adam O'Brien
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
With increasing dysfunction in public services and education across England (and the United Kingdom as a whole), this panel considered how a new government might solve the staffing and employment crisis in schools, nurseries, hospitals, and care homes. The panel considered the future of Higher Education, the merits and demerits of greater decentralisation across England, as well as how a National Care Service could be established. Chair: Dr Elizabeth Simon (Postdoctoral Researcher in British Politics at the Mile End Institute) Panel: Jonathan Slater (Visiting Professor at the Mile End Institute and Former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education) Clare McNeil (Associate Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Researcher) Andrew Harrop (General Secretary of the Fabian Society) Andrew O'Brien (Director of Policy and Impact at Demos)
Topic:
Education, Governance, Employment, and Public Service
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, and England

40. Governing in Hard Times Conference: The Climate Emergency and the Green Transition

Author:
Karl Pike, James Meadway, Holly Rowden, and Ryan Jude
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
In light of the IPCC's recent warning that the 1.5 degree target for global warming will be breached by 2028, this panel explored how a centre-left government would tackle the ongoing Climate Emergency. The panellists considered how it might minimise the political and economic blowback to the disruptions of the Green Transition, recent changes to the Labour Party's Green Prosperity Pledge to spend £28bn a year on the transition, and the role that the private sector should - or be encouraged - to play. Chair: Dr Karl Pike (Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute) Panel: Dr James Meadway (Former Director of the Progressive Economy Forum) Holly Rowden (Policy Advisor at Green Alliance UK) Councillor Ryan Jude (Programme Director for the Green Finance Institute and Cabinet Member for Climate Action and Biodiversity at the City of Westminster Council)
Topic:
Climate Change, Government, Domestic Politics, and Green Transition
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe