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1. 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

2. Dying Abroad: The Political Afterlives of Migration in Europe

Author:
Osman Balkan
Publication Date:
02-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
On any given day, the remains of countless deceased migrants are shipped around the world to be buried in ancestral soils. Others are laid to rest in countries of settlement, sometimes in cemeteries established for religious and ethnic minorities, where available. For immigrants and their descendants, perennial questions about the meaning of home and homeland take on a particular gravitas in death. When the boundaries of a nation and its members are contested, burial decisions are political acts. Building on multi-sited fieldwork in Berlin and Istanbul – where the author worked as an undertaker – Dying Abroad offers a moving and powerful account of migrants' end-of-life dilemmas, vividly illustrating how they are connected to ongoing political struggles over the stakes of citizenship, belonging, and collective identity in contemporary Europe.
Topic:
Migration, Refugees, Identity, and Death
Political Geography:
Europe

3. Conservatism and the Climate Crisis

Author:
Sam Hall, Pilita Clark, Rachel Coxcoon, and Robert Saunders
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
he climate crisis poses new challenges to all parties and traditions, and will require the intellectual resources of both right and left to meet it effectively. In this event in May 2024, the Mile End Institute brought together Sam Hall (Director of the Conservative Environment Network), Pilita Clark (leading environmental journalist), Rachel Coxcoon (Director of ClimateGuide) and Dr Robert Saunders to explore what Conservatism can contribute to the climate debate. They explored the Conservative Party's record in government, the place of the environment in the Conservative tradition, and the challenges facing Conservative environmentalists at a time of growing political polarisation.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Politics, Conservatism, Crisis Management, and Polarization
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

4. Remembering John Smith: His Legacy and Lessons

Author:
Robert Saunders, David Ward, Richard Johnson, and Dame Pauline Green
Publication Date:
05-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
The night before John Smith QC died in May 1994, he spoke at the Park Lane Hotel to raise money for the Labour Party's campaign for the next general election. To the 500 people in attendance, Smith remarked that 'the opportunity to serve our country—that is all we ask'. 30 years on from his death, Smith is often recalled as one of the 'best Prime Ministers we never had' and is still viewed with affection by many people regardless of their political views. However, in his own party, John Smith's legacy has often been more contentious. For supporters of the 'New Labour' project pursued by his successor, John Smith - as David Miliband told the Mile End Institute in May 2022 - failed to 'understand that in 1992 the electorate told us, in no uncertain terms, that they wanted a different offer from Labour'. On Thursday 9 May 2024, the Mile End Institute marked the 30th anniversary of John Smith's death by inviting a distinguished panel of historians and eyewitnesses to consider John Smith's legacy and lessons for the Labour Party today. Chaired by Dr Robert Saunders, it featured David Ward (John Smith's Head of Policy and Adviser from 1988 to 1994), Dr Richard Johnson (Senior Lecturer at QMUL), and Dame Pauline Green (former Chair of the Party of European Socialists).
Topic:
Politics, History, Labour Party, and John Smith
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

5. Bad Chaps, Jews and the Failure of British Decency: Antisemitism in Historical Perspective

Author:
Simon Schama
Publication Date:
05-2024
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 ‪@QMUL‬Sir Simon explored ‘Bad Chaps, Jews and the Failure of British Decency: Antisemitism in Historical Perspective’.
Topic:
History, Jews, and Antisemitism
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

6. Yvette Cooper MP: Remembering John Smith

Author:
Yvette Cooper
Publication Date:
05-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
On Thursday 9 May 2024, the Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper MP came to ‪@QMUL‬to give a keynote lecture in memory of the late ‪@labourparty‬, John Smith. 30 years on from Smith's untimely death, Cooper reflected on working for him before the 1992 election and his legacy on devolution to Scotland and Wales, the creation of the Minimum Wage, Freedom of Information, and the lessons of his leadership for the Labour Party today.
Topic:
History, Domestic Politics, Political Parties, and Labour Party
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

7. A History of British Elections with Iain Dale

Author:
Robert Saunders, Iain Dale, Philip Cowley, and Jennifer Davey
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
On Wednesday 10 April 2024, the Mile End Institute celebrated the launch of Iain Dale's new book, British General Election Campaigns, 1830-2019. Featuring an essay on every general election since 1830, the book ranges across every aspect of electoral history: from landslides and hung parliaments to corruption, electoral violence and the birth of the modern campaign. With a cast ranging from William Gladstone and Sir Robert Peel to Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson, it explores how elections are won and lost, how they have changed over time, and what lessons can be drawn for the present.
Topic:
History, Elections, and Domestic Politics
Political Geography:
Britain, United Kingdom, and Europe

8. In Conversation with Sir David Lidington

Author:
David Lidington
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
On Tuesday 26 March, the Mile End Institute welcomed the former Conservative MP and Cabinet minister, Sir David Lidington, to @QMUL. Sir David was elected as the Conservative MP for Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire from 1992 and retired from the House of Commons at the 2019 general election. In addition to being the longest-serving Minister for Europe, occupying the post throughout David Cameron's premiership, Sir David served as the Leader of the House of Commons, Secretary of State for Justice, and Minister for the Cabinet Office in Theresa May's administration. As Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between January 2018 and July 2019, Sir David was widely recognised to be Theresa May's de facto Deputy Prime Minister. In a wide-ranging conversation with Dr Robert Saunders five years on from the collapse of Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement, Sir David reflected on his early life in London, working as Douglas Hurd's special adviser at the Home Office and the Foreign Office during Margaret Thatcher and John Major's governments, and the start of his own parliamentary career after 1992. They also explored his work in government after 2010, the Brexit debate which dominated his last three years in Parliament, and the state of the Conservative Party today.
Topic:
Elections, Domestic Politics, and Conservative Party
Political Geography:
Britain, United Kingdom, and Europe

9. 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

10. 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

11. '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

12. 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

13. 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

14. EU Energy Security & the Maghreb

Author:
Intissar Fakir and Alberto Rizzi
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Abstract:
North Africa and the Sahel Program Director Intissar Fakir speaks to Alberto Rizzi - pan-European fellow at the Rome Office of the European Council on Foreign Relations - about existing and future energy partnerships between the European Union and the Maghreb. In the wake of energy market disruption caused by the conflict in Ukraine, what alternative fuel sources are the EU looking towards - and how does this align with current production capacities in Maghreb countries?
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, European Union, Energy, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Europe, North Africa, and Morocco

15. Refugees Revitalizing Emptied Spain

Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
Susan Akram is a Clinical Professor at the Boston University School of Law and the Director of the International Human Rights Clinic. Her research and publications focus on immigration, asylum, refugee, forced migration, and human and civil rights issues, with an interest in the Middle East, the Arab, and Muslim world. She is currently leading the "Refugees Revitalizing Emptied Spain" project, which would place refugees and asylum seekers in municipalities that are struggling to survive in the face of massive population loss, as young people move to larger cities in search of economic opportunities.
Topic:
Immigration, Refugees, Asylum, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe and Spain

16. Starr Forum: Ukraine and Russia One Year On: The Domestic Impact of the War

Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:
Ukraine and Russia One Year On: The Domestic Impact of the War
Topic:
Defense Policy, Military Strategy, Governance, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

17. France’s Foreign Policy towards Lebanon and its Discontents

Author:
Fadi Nicholas Nassar
Publication Date:
07-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Abstract:
The pair focus on the current state of affairs in Lebanon, historical trends in French policy towards the country and the region, and more in the latest episode of Middle East Focus.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Domestic Politics, History, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, France, and Lebanon

18. The New Crusades: Islamophobia and the Global War on Muslims — by Khaled A. Beydoun

Author:
Khaled A. Beydoun
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
Discover a groundbreaking exploration of Islamophobia on a global scale in 'The New Crusades' by Khaled A. Beydoun. This seminal book offers an unprecedented deep dive into how both democratic and authoritarian regimes worldwide are exploiting Islamophobia to target Muslim populations. Beydoun meticulously analyzes the impact of the American War on Terror, revealing its pivotal role in amplifying and interconnecting anti-Muslim campaigns across continents. From Europe to Asia, the Middle East, and beyond, 'The New Crusades' provides a critical and intimate examination of Islamophobia's diverse manifestations. This is the first book to offer such a comprehensive analysis, making it a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of global Islamophobia and its far-reaching consequences.
Topic:
Authoritarianism, Democracy, Islamophobia, Muslims, and Book Talk
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Global Focus

19. Public Interest and State Legitimation: Early Modern England, Japan, and China–Book Talk, Wenkai He

Author:
Wenkai He and Junyan Jiang
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
Wenkai He is an associate professor of Social Science in the Division of Social Science at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He conducts deep and contextualized historical analysis of state formation in England, Japan, and China from the 16th to 19th century. He will give a talk on his second book, Public Interest and State Legitimation: Early Modern England, Japan, and China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023), which investigates the connections between state capacity, state legitimation and the expansion of political participation. He demonstrates how in each case a public interest-based discourse of state legitimation provided a common platform upon which state and society collaborated to provide public goods such as famine relief and large-scale infrastructural facilities. Each discourse of state legitimation entailed ‘passive rights’ that allowed subordinates to justify their demands on the state to redress welfare grievances. Conflicts between domestic welfare and other dimensions of public interest, however, could instigate cross-regional and cross-sectoral mass petitions for fundamental political reforms that were likewise justified by the state’s proclaimed duty to safeguard the public interest; these mass petitions might ultimately transform the state. Such a political ‘great divergence’ occurred in England (1760s-1780s) and Japan (1870s-1880s), but not in China.
Topic:
History, State Formation, Book Talk, and Public Interest
Political Geography:
Japan, China, Europe, Asia, and England

20. 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