Summer 2013 | Public lectures and events | Video: Recent Episodes
London School of Economics and Political Science
Video files from LSE's summer 2013 programme of public lectures and events, for more recordings and pdf documents see the corresponding audio collection.
Contributor(s): Professor Robert Cooper | Robert Cooper joined the Foreign Office in 1970. He served in several posts including Japan and Germany. In 1989 he was appointed Head of the Policy Planning Staff at the Foreign Office. He was later made the UK's Special Representative in Afghanistan, before taking up a post in the European Union in 2002. Here he was responsible to Javier Solana and assisted with the implementation of European strategic, security and defence policy. A well-known public intellectual, he is the author of two influential studies on the modern world: The Post-Modern State and the World Order (2000) and The Breaking of Nations: Order and Chaos in the Twenty-First Century (Atlantic Press, 2003). From September 2012 he has been a Visiting Professor in IDEAS at LSE.
Contributor(s): Lord Meghnad Desai | Lord Desai is an Indian-born British economist and Labour politician. He unsuccessfully stood for the Speaker in the British House of Lords in 2011, the first ever non-UK born candidate to do so. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, in 2008. Starting as an economics lecturer at LSE, in 2003 he retired as Director of the Centre for the Study of Global Governance, which he had founded in 1992, and remains Professor Emeritus at LSE. Desai has written extensively, publishing over 200 articles in academic journals, writing a number of books, and he still writes regularly for two leading Indian newspapers. He published a biography of Indian film star Dilip Kumar entitled Nehru’s Hero: Dilip Kumar in the life of India in 2004, which he has described as his “greatest achievement”.
Contributor(s): Professor Craig Calhoun | Professor Calhoun is a world-renowned social scientist whose work connects sociology to culture, communication, politics, philosophy and economics. He took up his post as LSE Director on 1 September 2012, having left the United States where he was University Professor at New York University and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge and President of the Social Science Research Council. Professor Calhoun took a D Phil in History and Sociology at Oxford University and a Master's in Social Anthropology at Manchester. He co-founded, with Richard Sennett, Professor of Sociology at LSE, the NYLON programme which brings together graduate students from New York and London for co-operative research programmes. He is the author of several books including Nations Matter, Critical Social Theory, Neither Gods Nor Emperors and most recently The Roots of Radicalism (University of Chicago Press, 2012).
Contributor(s): Professor David Webb, Dr Sushil Wadhwani | Professor David Webb is Head of the Department of Finance at LSE. Specialising in financial economics and monetary theory, specifically the analysis of bankruptcy and financial contracts, David has made notable contributions to the field over the past 25 years, publishing in a range of Economic journals. He has held an editorship of Economica since 1988 and Associate Editorship of the Journal of Banking and Finance since 1995. Having obtained a BA and MA in Economics from the University of Manchester, David completed a PhD in Economics at LSE in 1979. Following lectureships at City and Bristol University, he returned to LSE in 1984 as a lecturer in the Department of Economics. In 1991 David became the LSE’s first ever Professor of Finance and has since been key to the growth of the Finance Faculty at LSE, to where in 2007 the Department of Finance became a stand alone department within the School, with David taking over as its Head in January 2009. Dr Sushil Wadhwani is currently CEO of Wadhwani Asset Management LLP, a London-based fund management company and a partner of Caxton Associates. Sushil was a full-time external member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England between June 1999 and May 2002. From 1995-1999 Dr Wadhwani was Head of the Quantitative Systems Group, a member of the Management Committee and Partner at Tudor Proprietary Trading LLC, a fund management company. He was previously Director of Equity Strategy at Goldman Sachs International (1991-95) and before that Reader/Lecturer in Economics at LSE (1984-91). Dr Wadhwani was educated at LSE, where he obtained a BSc (Econ), MSc (Econ) and PhD (Econ). He has published a number of articles in academic journals. His past research includes work on financial markets, and the determinants of unemployment and inflation.He was designated a Commander of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2002.
Contributor(s): Thomas Hale, Professor David Held, Kevin Young | This event grapples with the causes and consequences of the failure of leadership and negotiations across leading sectors of international concern: security, the economy and environment. It examines worrying scenarios of continuing gridlock and pathways that might lead beyond it. Thomas Hale is a postdoctoral research fellow, Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University. Professor David Held is master of the University College, Durham and Professor of Politics and International Relations at Durham University. Kevin Young is an Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst. This events marks the publication of Gridlock: Why Global Cooperation is Failing When it's Most Needed.
Contributor(s): Professor Mick Cox, Professor Danny Quah | Professor Danny Quah (LSE) and Professor Mick Cox (LSE) will debate this question in a public lecture hosted by LSE Summer School. Danny Quah is Professor of Economics and International Development, and Kuwait Professor at LSE. Professor Mick Cox is one of Europe’s leading commentators on the United States. He holds a Chair in International Relations and is also Co-Director of IDEAS, a Centre for the Study of Diplomacy and Strategy at LSE.
Contributor(s): Khalid Malik | The LSE Global South Unit is delighted to host Khalid Malik. As the lead author of the 2013 UNDP Human Development Report, Mr Malik will share the important findings of the report and highlight the unprecedented speed and scale of the rise of the Global South. Khalid Malik is the director of the Human Development Report Office, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Mr Malik is a development economist with extensive leadership, research and advocacy experience. He was appointed director of the UNDP Human Development Report in June 2011. Born in Pakistan, he studied economics at the universities of Punjab, Cambridge, Essex, and Oxford. Mr Malik has had a long, distinguished career with the UN. Prior to joining the Human Development Report Office served as a special advisor on New Development Partnerships (2010-2011); UN Resident Coordinator in China (2003-2010); Director, Evaluation Office (1997-2003); and UN Representative in Uzbekistan (1993-1997). Earlier he worked as a senior economist and programme manager in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and on science and technology matters. Before joining the UN, Mr Malik taught and conducted research at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (1975) and at Pembroke College, Oxford (1974-75). He has been an invited speaker at the Club of Rome, the Boao Forum (Asia's Davos), and many other leading international forums on a range of topics, including China's growth, climate change and the environment, and global security. He co-hosted the annual International Finance Forum with one of China's leaders, Cheng Siwei, Vice Chairman of the 10th People's Congress. Mr Malik has written widely on development issues. He co-edited a review of the Lessons Learned in Crisis and Post-Conflict Situations (2002) and Capacity for Development: New Solutions to Old Problems (2002), and was the lead author of the 2004 UNDP Development Effectiveness Report. His latest book - Why China Has Grown So Fast for So Long - is to be published shortly. Mr Malik is on the Advisory Board of the Oxford Centre of China Studies and received an honorary doctorate from Nanchang University. In 2009, Mr Malik was selected by the government of China as one of ten "champions" - and the only foreigner - to be honoured for their contributions to the protection of the environment in China.
Contributor(s): Professor Rana Mitter | The story of China’s war with Japan is crucial to understanding the rise of modern China – both its relentless drive for self-sufficiency and its bitter relationship with Japan. Rana Mitter is professor of the history and politics of China at the University of Oxford and author of China’s War With Japan, 1937-1945.
Contributor(s): John Denham MP, Ruth Dudley Edwards, Sunder Katwala | Britain as "One Nation" is an idea that originated with the Conservative Party, in particular its Victorian leader Benjamin Disraeli who saw Britain divided into two nations, the rich and the poor. Disraeli defined "One Nation" politics as the practices necessary to, "maintain the institutions of the realm and elevate the condition of the people". In his 2012 conference speech the Labour leader Ed Miliband defined his party as "One Nation" Labour, and in so doing directly and consciously challenged the Tory ownership of this important political ideal. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats have always seen themselves as a faction-free party – neither capital nor labour – and in this sense inherently "One Nation". In a period of economic crisis and with the loss of public trust in the ability of politicians to renew our institutions and elevate the condition of the people, who now speaks for "One Nation"? John Denham is the Labour MP for Southampton, Itchen. John was first elected as member of Parliament in 1992. John served as a government minister in various departments, resigning in 2003 from his post in at the Home Office in protest at the Iraq war. In June 2000 he was appointed by the Queen as a Privy Councillor and during a period on the backbenches he chaired the powerful Home Affairs Select Committee. John returned to government in Gordon Brown’s first cabinet as secretary of state for Innovation, Universities and Skills and subsequently became secretary of state for Communities and Local Government until May 2010. In Opposition, John remains a key figure in Labour’s campaign against the Government’s cuts. John became shadow secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in 2010. He later went on to become PPS to Ed Miliband, before standing down from frontline politics to spend more time in his constituency. John has decided to stand down at the next General Election, which is expected to take place in 2015. Dublin-born Ruth Dudley Edwards, who describes herself as ‘a religion-friendly atheist’, was a teacher, marketing executive and civil servant before becoming a freelance writer. She is a journalist, broadcaster and prize-winning historian, whose non-fiction includes biographies of Irish revolutionaries, the left-wing publisher and controversialist Victor Gollancz and two titans of Fleet Street, Hugh Cudlipp and Cecil King, as well as the history of The Economist, a book about the Orangemen of Ulster and, most recently, Aftermath: the Omagh bombing and the families’ pursuit of justice. Her twelve crime novels satirise fashionable academic values and - above all - political correctness. The latest, award-winning Killing the Emperors, trashes the world of conceptual art. Sunder Katwala is the director of British Future. He has previously worked as a journalist. He was general secretary of the Fabian Society thinktank from 2003 to 2011, and was previously a leading writer and internet editor at the Observer, a research director of the Foreign Policy Centre and commissioning editor for politics and economics at the publisher Macmillan.
Contributor(s): Deborah Perry Piscione | Entrepreneur Deborah Perry Piscione offers an inside look at Silicon Valley's unique innovation culture and demonstrates how this remarkable success can – and should – be replicated around the world, in conversation with LSE governor Mustafa Khanbhai. Deborah Perry Piscione is a seasoned Silicon Valley entrepreneur and the bestselling author of The Secrets of Silicon Valley. Mustafa Khanbhai is founder and CEO of Seamlessly. He has a background in business start-up, corporate development and mergers & acquisitions. Mustafa co-founded Virgin Digital Help, a new start-up for Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group.
Contributor(s): Professor Fiona Devine, Dr Sam Friedman, Professor Tim Newburn | We are delighted to confirm that the Impact of Social Sciences blog will continue to receive financial support from both HEFCE and the LSE for another year. To celebrate, we are hosting an event that will look at the opportunities and challenges of undertaking large-scale public social science projects. The session will look at the ways in ways in which academics are seeking to make their research and disciplines more public, and for their research to be part of public debate on key societal issues. We will also look at how these projects fit within the impact agenda and their challenges to traditional academic dissemination. Professor Tim Newburn will discuss the Reading the Riots project. This project was run jointly with the Guardian and its aim was to produce evidence-based social research that would help explain why the rioting spread across England in the summer of 2011. Professor Fiona Devine and Dr Sam Friedman will discuss the Great British Class Survey. Run jointly with BBC Labs, this project sought to understand whether class was still relevant today and, if so, what Britain's class system really looks like. Fiona Devine is professor of Sociology and Head of the School of Social Sciences (2009-12). Sam Friedman is lecturer in Sociology at City University. Tim Newburn is professor of Criminology and Social Policy and Head of the Social Policy Department, London School of Economics.
Contributor(s): Professor Ray Monk, Professor Stephen Mulhall | Is the biography of a philosopher relevant to an understanding of his philosophy? And is philosophy itself always somewhat autobiographical? Ray Monk is professor of philosophy at the University of Southampton. Stephen Mulhall is professor and fellow in philosophy at New College, University of Oxford.
Contributor(s): Massood Ahmed | Moderate growth is anticipated in the Middle East and North Africa region for this year, with oil exporters’ healthy growth rates moderating and mild recovery in the oil importers. However, complex political and social conditions, a challenging external environment, and low policy buffers burden the region’s oil importers. Difficult and unpopular policy choices coupled with a bold structural reform agenda will be necessary to maintain macroeconomic stability, create jobs, and promote inclusive growth. Masood Ahmed has been Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since November 2008. Between 2003 and 2006 he served as Director General for Policy and International Development at the U.K. government’s Department for International Development. He previously held positions in the IMF and the World Bank, working on areas that included international economic policy relating to debt, aid effectiveness, trade, and global economic prospects. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics.
Contributor(s): Professor Amartya Sen | When India became independent in 1947 after two centuries of colonial subjugation, it immediately adopted a firmly democratic political system, with multiple parties, freedom of speech and extensive political rights. The famines that had been so common in the colonial era disappeared, and steady economic growth replaced the almost complete stagnation characteristic of the long rule of the Raj. The growth of the Indian economy, which has quickened over the last three decades, became the second fastest in the world. Despite a recent dip, it is still one of the highest among nations. Maintaining rapid as well as environmentally sustainable growth remains an important and achievable goal for India. In this lecture, based on his new book written with Professor Jean Drèze, An Uncertain Glory, Sen will argue that the country's main problems lie elsewhere, particularly in the lack of attention that is paid to the essential needs of the people, especially the poor. One of the biggest failures has been the very inadequate use of the public resources generated by economic growth to expand India's lagging physical and social infrastructure (in sharp contrast, for example, to what China has done): there is a continued inadequacy both of social services such as schooling, medical care and immunization, and of physical services such as the provision of safe water, electricity, drainage and sanitation. Even as India has overtaken other countries in its rate of growth, because of these inadequacies it has, the book shows, fallen behind many of the same countries - often very poor ones - in quality of life. Because of the importance of democracy in India, addressing these failures will require not only significant policy rethinking by the government, but also a better public understanding of the abysmal extent of social and economic deprivations. The deep inequalities in Indian society tend to constrict public discussion in India's vibrant media to the lives and concerns of the relatively affluent. Dreze and Sen argue that if there is to be more effective democratic practice, there has to be a clearer understanding of the severity of human deprivations in India. Amartya Sen is Lamont University Professor, professor of Philosophy and professor of Economics, at Harvard University. He is an honorary fellow of LSE. Amartya won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998 and was master of Trinity College, Cambridge, 1998-2004. His many books include Development as Freedom, Rationality and Freedom, The Argumentative Indian, Identity and Violence and The Idea of Justice.
Contributor(s): Dr Derya Bayir, Dr Ayça Çubukçu, Dr Zeynep Gambetti, Dr Özlem Köksal | How should we understand what is happening in Turkey? Is this as an anti-capitalist or anti-authoritarian rebellion, a struggle to redefine politics and to practice direct democracy? Why should we expect it to inspire people into action beyond Turkey? Should the popular insurgency in Turkey be understood as part of a global uprising that spans the Middle East and Africa, Europe and Latin America? More specifically, what are some of the strategies that the uprising citizens of Turkey have employed to negotiate their differences and to construct their common ground? How do they self-mobilize, arrive at decisions, and represent themselves through art, music and other media? How are political minorities shaping the extraordinary developments in Turkey with their presence or absence in the uprising? With this open forum we aim to address these questions, as we entertain the possibility that the uprising in Turkey may constitute something new that requires us to rethink our understandings of democracy, politics and law. Dr Derya Bayir is author of the forthcoming book Minorities and Nationalism in Turkish Law. Her interests include international human rights and minority rights, law and religion, the Turkish legal system, and Ottoman pluralism. She obtained her doctorate from the Law Department at Queen Mary, and her thesis was recently awarded a prize by the Contemporary Turkish Studies Chair at LSE. Derya has litigated many cases before the European Court of Human Rights, including the prominent case of Güveç v. Turkey. Dr Ayça Çubukçu is lecturer in human rights in the Centre for the Study of Human Rights and Department of Sociology at LSE. She writes on humanitarianism, liberalism and violence, transnational politics of solidarity, international law and colonialism, human rights and radical theory. Dr Zeynep Gambetti is associate professor of political theory at Bogazici University, Istanbul. She is particularly interested in theories of the public sphere, critical theory, ideology and discourse theories and in questions such as collective agency and ethics in the era of neoliberal globalization. She is currently exploring a theoretical framework through which to reflect upon recent radical movements, especially those that can create alternative spaces of existence. Dr Özlem Köksal is a Lecturer in the Film and Televison Department in Bilgi University in Istanbul. She received her doctorate from University of London, Birkbeck College with a dissertation examining the relation between collective memory, history, and cinema in Turkey. She is the editor of World Film Locations: Istanbul (Intellect 2012).
Contributor(s): Ambassador Akbar Ahmed | The United States declared war on terrorism in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. More than ten years later, the results are decidedly mixed. In The Thistle and the Drone, world-renowned author, diplomat, and scholar Akbar Ahmed, reveals a tremendously important yet largely unrecognized adverse effect of these campaigns: they actually have exacerbated the already-broken relationship between central governments and the tribal societies on their periphery. In the third volume of his trilogy that includes Journey into Islam (2007) and Journey into America (2010), Ambassador Ahmed draws on forty case studies of tribal societies across the Muslim world to analyze how the war on terror is being fuelled by the conflict between central governments and tribal peripheries. Beginning with Waziristan in Pakistan and expanding to similar tribal societies in Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and elsewhere, this groundbreaking study offers an alternative and unprecedented paradigm for winning the war on terror. Ambassador Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington, D.C. and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He is a Visiting Professor and was First Distinguished Chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He has taught at Princeton, Harvard, and Cambridge Universities and has been called “the world’s leading authority on contemporary Islam” by the BBC.
Contributor(s): Dr Gordon Finlayson, Dr Simon Glendinning, Professor Laurence Goldstein, Professor MM McCabe, Dr Kristina Musholt, Dr Lea Ypi | Six philosophers have ten minutes each to pitch their arguments to a live audience. No deviation, hesitation or repetition! Gordon Finlayson is senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Sussex. Simon Glendinning is reader in European philosophy at the European Institute, LSE, and director of the Forum for European Philosophy. Laurence Goldstein is professor of philosophy at the University of Kent. MM McCabe is professor of ancient philosophy at King’s College London. Kristina Musholt is LSE fellow in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method and deputy director of the Forum for European Philosophy. Lea Ypi is lecturer in political theory in the Government Department, LSE.
Contributor(s): Professor Justin Lin | This event marks the publication of Professor Lin's new book Against the Consensus: Reflections on the Great Recession. In June 2008, Justin Lin was appointed chief economist of the World Bank, right before the eruption of the worst global financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression. Drawing on experience from his privileged position, Lin offers unique reflections on the cause of the crisis, why it was so serious and widespread, and its likely evolution. Arguing that conventional theories provide inadequate solutions, he proposes new initiatives for achieving global stability and avoiding the recurrence of similar crises in the future. He suggests that the crisis and the global imbalances both originated with the excess liquidity created by US financial deregulation and loose monetary policy, and recommends the creation of a global Marshall Plan and a new supranational global reserve currency. Justin Lin is professor and honorary dean at the National School of Development at Peking University. He was the senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank from 2008-2012. Prior to joining the Bank, Professor Lin served for 15 years as founding director and professor of the China Centre for Economic Research (CCER) at Peking University and is the author of 24 books including The Quest for Prosperity: How Developing Economies Can Take Off, New Structural Economics: A Framework for Rethinking Development and Policy, Demystifying the Chinese Economy, Benti and Changwu: Dialogues on Methodology in Economics, and Economic Development and Transition: Thought, Strategy, and Viability. He is a member of the Standing Committee and vice chairman of the Economic Council, Chinese People’s Political Consultation Conference. He was vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. He served on several national and international committees, leading groups, and councils on development policy, technology, and environment including: Eminent Persons Council of the World Bank, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Steering Committee, the UN Millennium Task Force on Hunger; the Eminent Persons Group of the Asian Development Bank; the National Committee on United States-China Relations; the Global Agenda Council on the International Monetary System; Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee; and the Hong Kong-U.S. Business Council. He received honorary doctoral degrees from Universite D’Auvergne, Fordham University, Nottingham University, City University of Hong Kong, London School of Economics, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and is a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences for Developing World.
Contributor(s): Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Asanga Welikala, Uvindu Kurukulasuriya | Sri Lanka's civil war, which spanned more than a quarter of a century, ended in 2009. With more than 100,000 war casualties and one million refugees, it represented one of Asia's most violent, destructive and intractable conflicts. Four years since active military hostilities ended, there has been no progress towards constitutional and political reforms addressing the problems of pluralism and democracy that lay at the heart of the conflict, nor a legitimate process of truth and accountability for war-time abuses. Instead, Sri Lanka is steadily moving in the direction of becoming an authoritarian state, with the rule of law and governance under attack, the ascendance of majoritarian ethno-religious intolerance, and an overall decline in democratic and human rights standards. This event will explore the pervasive culture of impunity in Sri Lanka, both with regard to past abuses as well as post-war governance. The broader challenge of transition from a post-war to a post-conflict situation will be discussed in relation to ongoing efforts regarding peace and good governance. Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu has been the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) since its exception in 1996. He is a Convenor of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) and is a founder Board member of the Sri Lanka Chapter of Transparency International. Currently he is on the Board of the Berghof Foundation for Peace Support and a Member of the Transparency Advisory Group on The Right to Information in South Asia. In June 2003 he made the Civil Society Presentation at the Tokyo Donor Conference on Sri Lanka at the invitation of the Government of Japan and in March 2009, he served as a Member of the External Review Panel of the World Bank’s Post-Conflict Performance Indicators. In 2010, he was awarded the inaugural Citizens Peace Award by the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka. He has been quoted widely in the international and local print and electronic media and presented papers at a number of international conferences on the situation in Sri Lanka, on governance and security issues. Asanga Welikala is a doctoral candidate and ESRC Teaching Fellow in Public Law in the School of Law, University of Edinburgh. He is also a Senior Researcher in the Legal & Constitutional Unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), Sri Lanka. His most recent publication is the edited collection, A. Welikala (Ed.) (2012) The Sri Lankan Republic at 40: Reflections on Constitutional History, Theory and Practice (Colombo: CPA). Uvindu Kurukulasuriya is a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE. He has been a journalist for more than two decades and also the co-editor of Media Monitor. He is a freedom of expression activist, researcher and artist. At the time he was forced to leave the country he was the Convenor of the Free Media Movement and a Director of the Sri Lanka Press Institute and Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka. He was a Council member and executive committee member of International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) and Co-Convener of the Centre for Monitoring Elections Violence. He is co-author of Reporting on Human Rights in Sri Lanka: A Handbook for Media Professionals (Colombo: Centre for Policy Alternatives and International Federation of Journalists, 2008).
Contributor(s): Stephen King | The Western world has experienced extraordinary economic progress throughout the last six decades, a prosperous period so extended that continuous economic growth has come to seem normal. But such an era of continuously rising living standards is an historical anomaly, economist Stephen D. King warns, and the current stagnation of Western economies threatens to reach crisis proportions in the not-so-distant future. Praised for the 'dose of realism' he provided in his book Losing Control, King follows up in this volume with a plain-spoken assessment of where the West stands today. It's not just the end of an age of affluence, he shows. We have made promises to ourselves that are only achievable through ongoing economic expansion. The future benefits we expect - pensions, healthcare, and social security, for example - may be larger than tomorrow's resources. And if we reach that point, which promises will be broken and who will lose out? The lessons of history offer compelling evidence that political and social upheaval are often born of economic stagnation. King addresses these lessons with a multifaceted plan that involves painful - but necessary - steps toward a stable and just economic future. Stephen King is HSBC’s Group Chief Economist and the Bank’s Global Head of Economics and Asset Allocation research. He is directly responsible for HSBC’s global economic coverage and co-ordinates the research of HSBC economists all over the world. He is currently the top-rated global economist in the annual Extel survey. His new book is When the Money Runs Out: The End of Western Affluence.
Contributor(s): Professor Sarah Broadie, Dr Alex Voorhoeve | Why be moral? May we kill one to save others? Is morality objective? This dialogue engages with renowned philosopher Philippa Foot’s answers to these questions. Sarah Broadie is professor of moral philosophy and Wardlaw Professor at the University of St Andrews. Alex Voorhoeve is reader in philosophy in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE.
Contributor(s): Zhu Min, Professor Lord Stern | Mr Zhu will review broad global trends and argue that globally we may be witnessing a fundamental shift in the direction of change. This shift will be analysed using several perspectives, including clusters and spillovers. Implications on global gravity, deleveraging, and growth will be discussed. Mr Zhu will also focus on the financial sector in Asia. After reviewing the current structure of the financial sector, he will discuss key challenges the sector is facing in Asia, including what the needs of the region are and how the financial sector can meet them, regulatory and supervisory challenges, regional integration, and participation on the global markets. Mr Zhu will conclude with the role of the Fund in helping Asia shape the future of its financial markets. Zhu Min is deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund. He was deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China from 2009 to 2010. He has published extensively on a wide range of macroeconomic management, financial regulation and supervision, and financial market issues. Nicholas Stern is IG Patel Chair of Economics and Government, director of the India Observatory and chairman of the Asia Research Centre at LSE.
Contributor(s): Jon Cruddas MP, David Davis MP, Professor Francesca Klug, Professor Alan Sked | Britain as "One Nation" is an idea that originated with the Conservative Party, in particular its Victorian leader Benjamin Disraeli who saw Britain divided into two nations, the rich and the poor. Disraeli defined One Nation politics as the practices necessary to, 'maintain the institutions of the realm and elevate the condition of the people'. In his 2012 conference speech the Labour leader Ed Miliband defined his party as "One Nation" Labour, and in so doing directly and consciously challenged the Tory ownership of this important political ideal. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats have always seen themselves as a faction-free party – neither capital nor labour – and in this sense inherently 'One Nation'. In a period of economic crisis and with the loss of public trust in the ability of politicians to renew our institutions and elevate the condition of the people, who now speaks for One Nation? Jonathan Cruddas is the Labour Party MP for Dagenham and Rainham. David Davis has been the Conservative Party MP for Haltemprice and Howden since 1997, and was previously the MP for the Boothferry constituency between 1987-1997. Francesca Klug is a professorial research fellow at the LSE and director of the Human Rights Futures Project at the Centre for the Study of Human Rights. Alan Sked is professor of international history at the London School of Economics.
Contributor(s): Fatih Birol, Gregory Barker | The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science hosts an invitation-only event to accompany the launch of a new report, Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map: World Energy Outlook Special Report, by the International Energy Agency. Lord Stern of Brentford, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute, will introduce the seminar by Fatih Birol, Chief Economist at the International Energy Agency, who will present a summary of the report’s key findings and discuss their implications. The Rt. Hon. Gregory Barker MP, Minister of State for Climate Change at the Department of Energy and Climate Change will also be speaking. The World Energy Outlook has published detailed analysis of the energy contribution to climate change for many years. But, amid major international economic preoccupations, there are worrying signs that this issue has slipped down the policy agenda. This special report seeks to bring it right back on top by showing that the dilemma can be tackled at no net economic cost.
Contributor(s): Dr Jaimini Bhagwati, Professor Mary Kaldor, Mark Leonard | Since the last European Security Strategy when Western hegemony seemed unassailable, Europe has lost both hard and soft power because of the euro crisis. Should Europe simply retire from global governance? Or are there assets on which it can draw in order to play an influential role as a new world order emerges?’ Dr Jaimini Bhagwati, is the high commissioner of India to the United Kingdom. Mary Kaldor is professor of global governance and director of the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit, LSE. Mark Leonard is co-founder and director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
Contributor(s): Mathieu Cantegreil, Dweep Chanana, S. Gopalakrishnan, Farhad Forbes, Alok Kirloskar, R Mukundan and Shankar Vanavarayar | In India, business has never been just about wealth creation. Besides being engines of growth, corporations and their founders have long played a role in addressing pertinent social issues of their time. India is set to become one of the world’s leading producers of wealth, and with this has come renewed scrutiny of the role of businesses and their promoters. The adoption of legislation making CSR spending mandatory has also provided both new impetus and new challenges. This roundtable brings together business leaders, practitioners and academics to discuss the business of philanthropy. This discussion marks the launch of Revealing Indian Philanthropy, a new book co-edited by UBS and the India Observatory at the London School of Economics with contributions from leading Indian philanthropists. Mr Mathieu Cantegreil is Knowledge Manager in the Philanthropy and Value-based Investing team at UBS, AG. Mr Dweep Chanana is Director in the Philanthropy and Value-based Investing team at UBS, AG. Mr S. Gopalakrishnan is President of Confederation of Indian Industry. Mr Farhad Forbes is Director of Forbes Marshall Private Limited. Dr Ruth Kattumuri is Co-Director of LSE India Observatory. Mr Alok Kirloskar is Managing Director of SPP Pumps Limited. Mr R Mukundan is Managing Director of Tata Chemicals Limited. Mr Shankar Vanavarayar is President of Kamaraguru College of Technology.
Contributor(s): Mrs Rajashree Birla, Mr Dweep Chanana, Dr Ruth Kattumuri, Mr Gautam Kumar | From supporting the establishment of modern India to the innovative work of recent years, philanthropy has played, and continues to play, a critical role in the development of India. As the country is set to become one of the world’s leading producers of wealth it should therefore come as no surprise if it also takes the lead in philanthropy. However, philanthropy in the country remains largely unknown compared to other leading philanthropic nations. To mark the launch of the new book Revealing Indian Philanthropy which is available for download, this event will discuss the imaginative culture of giving in India and explore the influences shaping its future. Mrs Rajashree Birla is Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development and wife of late Aditya Vikram Birla. The Aditya Birla Group is one of India’s largest conglomerates; it traces its origins to GD Birla, a contemporary and supported of Mahatma Gandhi and one of India’s earliest industrialists and philanthropists. Mr Dweep Chanana is Director in the Philanthropy and Value-based Investing team at UBS, AG. Dr Ruth Kattumuri is Co-Director of the LSE India Observatory. Mr Gautam Kumar is Head, Global South Asia, UBS Wealth Management. Professor Lord Nicholas Stern is the IG Patel Chair of Economics and Government and Director of the LSE India Observatory.
Contributor(s): Professor Richard Rose | Less than a year away from the 2014 European Parliament elections, Professor Richard Rose talks about his new book on democracy in Europe, Representing Europeans: A Pragmatic Approach (OUP). With the European Union now impacting more and more on people's lives, he analyses how democratic the EU institutions are, how far they respond to voters' concerns, how voters see European elections and referenda, and how the EU institutions might yet be reformed. Richard Rose is one of the world's leading political scientists. He founded the Centre for the Study of Public Policy at University of Strathcyde in 1976, and is Visiting Professor at the European University Institute, Florence. He has published more than 40 books and lectured in 45 countries, with writings translated into 17 languages. He received the Sir Isaiah Berlin Lifetime Achievement Prize of the UK Political Studies Association in 2009.
Contributor(s): Jean-François Copé | Leading figure of the centre-right opposition, Jean-François Copé assesses François Hollande’s Presidency and sets out an agenda for domestic reform and France’s European policy. Jean-François Copé is founder of think tank Generation France and leader of the French opposition. He is the mayor of Meaux, deputy for the 6th constituency of Seine-et-Marne, and acts as president of the Union for a Popular Movement Group in the French National Assembly. Jean-Luc Allavena is partner at Apollo Management.
Contributor(s): Dr Rupert Read, Professor Roger Scruton | On the basis of a shared interest in planetary survival, can we forge an alliance across the left/right rift in our culture? Rupert Read is chair of the Green House thinktank, East of England Green Party co-ordinator and a reader in Philosophy at UEA. Roger Scruton is a philosopher, writer and consultant who holds visiting positions at St Andrews University and the University of Oxford.
Contributor(s): Jo da Silva | Jo da Silva explores how engineers and built environment professionals need to shift from responding to natural disasters to building everyday resilience within homes, communities and cities. Jo da Silva is the founding director of Arup International Development.
Contributor(s): Professor John Kay, Professor Mariana Mazzucato | John Kay chaired the Review of UK Equity Markets and Long-Term Decision-Making which reported to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in July 2012. He is a visiting Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Fellow of St John’s College, Oxford. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He is a director of several public companies and contributes a weekly column to the Financial Times. He is the author of many books, including The Truth about Markets (2003) and The Long and the Short of It: finance and investment for normally intelligent people who are not in the industry (2009) and his latest book, Obliquity was published by Profile Books in March 2010. Mariana Mazzucato, an economist, holds the RM Phillips Chair in Science and Technology Policy at the University of Sussex (SPRU). Her work focuses on the relationship between financial markets, innovation, and economic growth, and is currently funded by the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), the Ford Foundation and the European Commission. She advises the EC on innovation led growth through two expert groups, and is a member of related task forces in the UK, such as the UCL Green Economy Policy Commission. Her work on The Entrepreneurial State (DEMOS, 2011) has had significant policy impact across Europe, and her forthcoming book (Anthem, 2013) with the same title, develops this work further, focusing on the need to develop new frameworks to understand the role of the state in economic growth—and how to enable rewards from innovation to be just as ‘social’ as the risks taken. This lecture is Political Quarterly's Annual Lecture.
Contributor(s): Professor Roberto Franzosi | This talk will illustrate the power of Quantitative Narrative Analysis, a quantitative social science approach to texts developed by the speaker using data collected from newspapers on the rise of Italian fascism and lynchings in the American 'Deep South'. It will show how narrative data lend themselves to cutting-edge tools of data visualization and analysis as dynamic network graphs and maps in Google Earth and other GIS software, and how QNA data provide the basis for fascinating digital humanities projects. Roberto Franzosi is professor of sociology and linguistics at Emory University.
Contributor(s): Professor Michael Pollan | The food writer and journalist discusses what is at stake when we let corporations do the cooking, and why we need to take back control of our diets for the sake of our health, our environment and our family and social lives. Michael Pollan is professor of journalism at Berkeley and one of Time Magazine’s one hundred most influential people in the world. His new book is Cooked: a natural history of transformation.
Contributor(s): Sir James Wolfensohn, Professor Amartya Sen | James Wolfensohn was the ninth president of the World Bank. Amartya Sen is professor of economics at Harvard University and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics. He is an honorary fellow of LSE.
Contributor(s): Dr Joel Smith | This lecture will discuss some of the central ideas contained within Sartre’s The Transcendence of the Ego and consider their continued relevance for contemporary accounts of conscious experience. Joel Smith is lecturer in philosophy at the University of Manchester.
Contributor(s): Professor Daniel Dennett | In this lecture, one of the world's most original thinkers will show how he designs, uses, and dismantles the thinking tools that have illuminated his theories of meaning, mind, and evolution. The big difference between human minds and the minds of other animals is our equipping ourselves with literally hundreds of thinking tools-cultural software that we install in our brains much the way we download Java applets to our laptops and smart phones. Some of these tools are as simple as labels or metaphors, and others are sophisticated intuition pumps-persuasion-machines that can delude us if we're not careful. Daniel Dennett is University Professor and Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, and co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. Christian List is professor of political science and philosophy at LSE.
Contributor(s): Professor Ephraim Kleiman | Professor Kleiman will discuss the repeated calls in the Palestinian Territories for the abrogation of the Paris Protocol, regulating their economic relations with Israel, which have risen against the background of a stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace process, the desire for political change and social justice that underlay the Arab Spring. Ephraim Kleiman is Don Patinkin Emeritus Professor of Economics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research interests over the years included international trade, public finance, and history of economic thought, as well as the role of wage and financial indexation under inflation.
Contributor(s): Jared Cohen, Eric Schmidt | Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen are two of the leading thinkers of our time. The New Digital Age is a unique and unparalleled collaboration between these two great minds and will offer us their view on the future of the world where everyone is connected: a world full of challenges and benefits which are ours to meet and harness. Jared Cohen is Director of Google Ideas and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he served as a member of the U.S. State Department's Policy Planning Staff and a close advisor to both Secretaries of States Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton. Eric Schmidt is the Executive Chairman of Google, where he served as CEO from 2001-2011. He is a member of President Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and is member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Contributor(s): Professor Mark Blyth | Governments have advanced a policy of draconian budget cuts - austerity - to solve the financial crisis. Austerity however is a dangerous idea that has time and again led to low growth and income inequality. "Austerity" marshals an army of facts to demand that we recognize austerity for what it is, and what it costs us. Mark Blyth is professor of International Political Economy at Brown University. Jonathan Hopkin is reader in Comparative Politics at the Department of Government, LSE.
Contributor(s): Professor Muhammad Yunus | Muhammad Yunus was born on 28 June 1940 in the village of Bathua, Chittagong, a seaport in Bangladesh. The third of fourteen children, he was educated at Dhaka University and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study economics at Vanderbilt University. He then served as chairman of the economics department at Chittagong University before devoting his life to providing financial and social services to the poorest of the poor. He is the founder of Grameen Bank, serving as managing director until May 2011. Yunus is the author of the bestselling Banker to the Poor. In October 2006, Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Grameen Bank, for their efforts to create economic and social development. Muhammad Yunus was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science (Economics) by LSE in November 2011. In April 2013 he received the US Congressional Gold Medal.
Contributor(s): Lord Sainsbury | The neoliberalism that has dominated economic thinking since Mrs Thatcher and Ronald Reagan first came to power is now seen to have serious flaws, and Progressive Capitalism seeks to replace it with a new progressive political economy. This is based on an analysis of why the growth rates of countries differ, and what firms have to do to achieve competitive advantage in today’s global economy. The cornerstone of the political economy of Progressive Capitalism is a belief in capitalism. But it also incorporates the three defining beliefs of progressive thinking. These are: the crucial role of institutions, the need for the state to be involved in their design to resolve conflicting interests, and the use of social justice as an important measure of a country’s economic performance. Social justice, defined as fairness, is used as a measure of performance in addition to the rate of economic growth and liberty. Progressive Capitalism shows how this new progressive political economy can be used by politicians and policy-makers to produce a programme of economic reform for a country. It does this by analysing and proposing reforms for the UK’s equity markets, its system of corporate governance, its national system of innovation, and its education and training system. Finally, Progressive Capitalism describes the role the state should play in the economy, which it sees as an enabling one rather than the command-and-control role of traditional socialism or the minimalist role of neoliberalism. David Sainsbury was Finance Director of J. Sainsbury plc from 1973–1990, Deputy Chairman from 1988–1992, and Chairman from 1992–1998. He became Lord Sainsbury of Turville in October 1997 and served as Minister of Science and Innovation from July 1998 until November 2006. He is the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. His new book is Progressive Capitalism: How To Achieve Economic Growth, Liberty and Social Justice.
Contributor(s): Dr Andrew Khoury | This lecture distinguishes between different types of moral responsibility and discusses the implications for our notions of apology, forgiveness, and punishment. Andrew Khoury is a fellow in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE.
Contributor(s): Dr Andrew Beatty | The centrality of emotion in thought and action is increasingly recognised in the human sciences, though basic questions of definition and scope remain unresolved. Where do emotions begin and end? How should we identify and analyse them? How write about them? Ethnographic fieldwork, as pioneered by Malinowski, offers powerful insights into the place of emotion in social life; but emotions are peculiarly difficult to capture in the generalizing format of case study and ethnographic summary. Andrew Beatty argues that semantic, structural, and discourse-based approaches tend to miss what is most important - what counts for the persons concerned and therefore what makes the emotion. Beatty reviews the conceptual and methodological issues and concludes that only a narrative approach can capture both the particularity and the temporal dimension of emotion, restoring verisimilitude and fidelity to experience. Andrew Beatty is author of A Shadow Falls: in the heart of Java and a forthcoming ethnographic narrative After the Ancestors.
Contributor(s): Lord Glasman, Michael Gove | Britain as "One Nation" is an idea of government that belonged to the Conservative Party, originating with Benjamin Disraeli who saw Britain divided into two nations, the rich and the poor. Disraeli defined One Nation politics as the practices necessary to, ‘maintain the institutions of the realm and elevate the condition of the people’. In his 2012 conference speech Ed Miliband defined his party as "One Nation" Labour. In a period of economic crisis and with the loss of public trust in the ability of politicians to renew our institutions and elevate the condition of the people, who now speaks for One Nation? The LSE Institute of Public Affairs is organising a series of events to bring together leading politicians of the Government and Opposition, together with academics and commentators, to discuss the meaning of "One Nation" and the future of the country. The series launches with this debate on the "One Nation" tradition, what it means and how it relates to the issues facing the country today. Michael Gove has been MP for Surrey Heath since 2005 and secretary of state for Education since 2010. Michael was first elected as member of parliament for Surrey Heath in May 2005. He served as shadow minister for Housing & Planning and shadow secretary of State for Children, Schools & Families. He is a former chairman of Policy Exchange, a centre-right think-tank and was previously worked for the Times and the BBC. Maurice Glasman became a Labour Peer in 2011 and is senior lecturer in Political Theory at London Metropolitan University where he is also director of its Faith and Citizenship Programme. Glasman is the originator of the term "Blue Labour", which advocates that the Labour Party should reclaim its more conservative roots from before 1945.
Contributor(s): Dr Ha-Joon Chang, Professor Danny Quah | The Department of International Development’s third annual Development Debate will consider the topic “Does market-led development have a future?”. The debate is organized by the Development Management Programme, and features two world authorities on economic growth and development, Professor Danny Quah of the LSE, and Dr Ha-Joon Chang of Cambridge. Ha-Joon Chang is one of the leading heterodox economists and institutional economists specialising in development economics. Currently Reader in the Political Economy of Development at the University of Cambridge, Chang is the author of several best-selling books, most notably Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective (2002) and 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism (2010). He has served as a consultant to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the European Investment Bank as well as to Oxfam and various United Nations agencies. He is also a fellow at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C.
Contributor(s): Professor John Hyman, Dr Elisabeth Schellekens | What, if anything, do different manifestations of beauty have in common? Does it make sense to apply the concept of beauty to them all, and if so, are there actually different kinds of beauty? John Hyman is professor of aesthetics and fellow of Queen’s College, University of Oxford and editor of the British Journal of Aesthetics. Elisabeth Schellekens is senior lecturer in philosophy at Durham University and co-editor of the British Journal of Aesthetics.
Contributor(s): Sundaresh Menon, Professor Jan Paulsson | A debate on the roles and responsibilities of arbitral institutions, arbitrators and counsel for ensuring that international arbitration remains in tune with new challenges. Sundaresh Menon is the chief justice of Singapore and former attorneygeneral. Jan Paulsson is LSE visiting professor and president of ICCA.
Contributor(s): Amelia Andersdotter MEP, Robert Ashcroft, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, Dr Luke McDonagh, Eg White | As the nature of music consumption reaches a critical point, a panel of experts on both sides of the debate discuss the industry’s future. Amelia Andersdotter is a member of the Pirate Party in the European Parliament. Robert Ashcroft is chief executive of PRS for Music. Ludovic Hunter-Tilney is the pop critic for the Financial Times. Luke McDonagh is a fellow in the Department of Law at LSE. Eg White is an Ivor Novello award-winning musician, songwriter and producer.
Contributor(s): Professor Wolfgang Spohn | Drawing on his Lakatos Award winning book The Laws of Belief, Wolfgang Spohn asks how is truth best characterised? And what are the relationships between truth and what it is rational to believe? Wolfgang Spohn is chair in philosophy and philosophy of science at the University of Konstanz.
Contributor(s): Gavin Hewitt | Gavin Hewitt will discuss the story of a flawed dream, a noble vision that turned dangerous and which has led Europe into its gravest crisis for which it was totally unprepared. Gavin Hewitt has been the BBC’s Europe editor since 2009. He is an award-winning journalist and has covered stories all over the world. His new book is The Lost Continent: The BBC's Europe Editor on Europe's Darkest Hour Since World War Two.
Contributor(s): Dr Kwesi Aning | An examination of the changing strategic security environment in West Africa and the effectiveness of the response initiated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with the support of the international community. Kwesi Aning is the head of academic affairs at the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Centre in Accra.
Contributor(s): Professor Joseph Nye | Wealth and power are shifting from the West to the rising economies of the East. But in a world of complex interdependence, who wields power, to what end, and with what consequences is far from clear. Joseph Nye is distinguished service professor and former dean of the Harvard Kennedy School.
Contributor(s): Laila El-Haddad, Maggie Schmitt | In the summer of 2010, writer Laila El-Haddad and food documentarian Maggie Schmitt were able to fulfil a long-held plan to travel the length of the Gaza Strip, documenting all aspects of the Gaza District's notably distinctive cuisine, the lives of many experienced Gaza cooks, and the challenges facing the Strip's food system today. The result is The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey, a richly illustrated volume whose 130 fully kitchen-tested recipes represent the first-ever codification of Gaza's rich culinary heritage. The book's numerous sidebars also take the reader into the kitchens, garden-plots, and farms of Gazan families, showing how the resilience and resourcefulness of the Strip's residents-- including the 80% of them who are refugees from parts of the Gaza District that were captured by Israel in 1948-- have helped to keep Gaza's food heritage alive today. The Gaza Kitchen has a Foreword by former New York Times senior food writer Nancy Harmon Jenkins and has received plaudits from many experienced food writers, including Claudia Roden, Anthony Bourdain, and Yotam Ottolenghi. It was named the "Best Arab Cuisine book of 2012" by Gourmand International, and has been widely reviewed in media outlets worldwide. Laila El-Haddad, is a talented blogger, political analyst, social activist, and parent-of-three from Gaza City. Her 2010 book Gaza Mom: Palestine, Politics, Parenting, and Everything in Between won praise from Hanan Ashrawi, Ali Abunimah, and others. Laila was born in Kuwait and raised primarily in Saudi Arabia, while summering in Gaza. She received her BA from Duke University and her MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Maggie Schmitt, is a writer, researcher, translator, educator, and social activist. She holds a B.A. from Harvard in Literature and has conducted advanced graduate studies in Social Anthropology and Mediterranean Studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. She works in various media—writing, production, photography, video—exploring and recording the daily practices of ordinary people as a way of understanding political and social realities in various parts of the Mediterranean region.
Contributor(s): Professor Anat Admati | The past few years have shown that risks in banking can impose significant costs on the economy. Many claim, however, that a safer banking system would require sacrificing lending and economic growth. Anat Admati examines this claim and the narratives used by bankers, politicians, and regulators to rationalize the lack of reform, exposing them as invalid. Admati calls for ambitious reform and outlines specific and highly beneficial steps that can be taken immediately. Anat Admati is the George G. C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. She serves on the FDIC Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee and has contributed to the Financial Times, Bloomberg News, and the New York Times. This event marks the publication of her new book The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong with Banking and What to Do about It.
Contributor(s): Professor Matthew Broome, Dr Bonnie Evans, Professor Tim Thornton | How should we think of mental disorders? Can psychiatry be reduced to neuroscience, or is there something irreducibly mental in mental illness? Matthew Broome is associate clinical professor of psychiatry and consultant psychiatrist in early intervention in the Division of Mental Health and Wellbeing at the University of Warwick Medical School. Bonnie Evans is a researcher in the Centre for the Humanities and Health at King’s College London. Tim Thornton is professor of philosophy and mental health at the University of Central Lancashire.
Contributor(s): Saleh Muslim Mohamed | It is nine months since Kurds took control of towns in northern Syria, having established an unprecedented coalition of Kurdish parties. Saleh Muslim Mohamed, the co-President of the most prominent Syrian Kurdish party, will assess the progress of Kurdish politics and local government and the wider Syrian and regional context. Saleh Muslim Mohamed is the Co-President of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Deputy General Coordinator of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria (NCB) and a member of the Supreme Kurdish Council in Syria.
Contributor(s): Dr Bassem Awadallah, Dr Adeel Malik | The speakers will argue that the struggle for a new Middle East will be won or lost in the private sector, and that dismantling regional barriers to trade constitute the most important collective action problem that the Middle East has faced since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Bassem Awadallah is the former Jordanian minister of finance. Adeel Malik is Islamic Centre lecturer in Development Economics and Globe Fellow in the Economies of Muslim Societies at Oxford University.
Contributor(s): Professor Theda Skocpol | What happened to Obama's "new New Deal"? Why did his achievements enrage opponents more than they satisfied supporters? How has the Tea Party's ascendance reshaped American politics? Theda Skocpol is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University.
Contributor(s): Sir Malcolm Rifkind | The acute economic crisis of the euro, coupled with the chronic political crisis of Europe’s democratic deficit, have created a situation in which Britain’s membership of the European Union can no longer be taken for granted. Former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind outlines a ‘moderate eurosceptic’ approach to the issue, which he believes would produce a mutually beneficial solution acceptable to the United Kingdom and her European partners alike. Sir Malcolm Rifkind is Conservative Member of Parliament for Kensington. He first entered Parliament in 1974 as Member for Edinburgh Pentlands, serving as Defence Secretary between 1992 and 1995, and as Foreign Secretary between 1995 and 1997. He is currently serving as Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, which oversees the UK’s intelligence agencies.
Contributor(s): João Carlos Ferraz | An overarching sense of uncertainty prevails in the second decade of the 21st century, as dramatic changes sweep most aspects of life in every corner of the planet. This lecture will attempt to discuss the constitutive elements of the uncertainties we live with and their associated challenges. These should compose the boundaries of the debate about what development is, or should be, in the 21st century. The recent economic, social and political evolution of Brazil will serve as a point of reference. Uncertainty must be addressed through the pursuit of knowledge, as effective policies – whether public or private -- require sound analytical pillars. This is where Albert Hirschman and Oscar Niemeyer and their life achievements come in. They were men of their time, men of the future. They designed ideas and monuments; they were politically engaged and engage others to think about and act upon development processes. But they never abandoned the firm belief that development is time- and place-specific, a lesson which applies to Brazil and is more broadly applicable and important to recall today. João Carlos Ferraz is vice president of the Brazilian Development Bank, BDNES.
Contributor(s): Hilary Lawson, Professor Steven Rose, Professor Barry Smith | Since Plato the greatest intellectual adventure is often thought to be the pursuit of truth. Might there be alternative intellectual adventures? And if so, of what would they consist? Hilary Lawson is director of the Institute of Art and Ideas, a non-realist philosopher and the author of Closure. Steven Rose is professor of biology and director of the Brain and Behaviour Research Group at the Open University. Barry Smith is director of the Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London.
Contributor(s): Vladislav Surkov | The challenge of diversifying Russia’s economic structure and reducing its reliance on natural resource sectors has been the policy agenda for many years. Russia aims to transition into a self-sustaining, innovation-led economic growth model. The government has focused increasingly on modernisation and, in particular, on innovation, as the key to Russia’s successful development over the longer term. As a result of this, innovation - boosting government initiatives have been created, such as the highly ambitious Skolkovo Technopark and Skolkovo Institute for Science and Technology, that aspire to make Russia a global innovation powerhouse. Vladislav Surkov is the deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation and chief of staff of the Russian Government. He oversees a large array of government initiatives, including in area of innovation, education and culture. He is a trustee of the Skolkovo Fund and chairman of the Board of trustees at SkolkovoTech, and is actively involved with the government initiative to create a technology innovation park and ecosystem in Russia. Prior to his appointment at the Russian Government, Mr Surkov was the deputy chief of staff of the Russian President. He is widely attributed to the creation of the "Sovereign Democracy" concept in the last decade.
Contributor(s): Dr David Graeber, Professor Craig Calhoun | From the earliest meetings for Occupy Wall Street, David Graeber felt that something was different from previous demonstrations. What was it about this particular movement that worked this time? And what can we now do to make our world more democratic again? Graeber presents a vital new exploration of anti-capitalist dissent, looking at the actions of the 99% and revealing the alternative political and economic possibilities of our future. David Graeber is an anthropologist at Goldsmiths, University of London, who has been involved with the Occupy movement most actively at Wall Street. He is widely credited with coining the phrase "We are the 99%" and is the author of the widely praised Debt: The First 5000 Years. His new book The Democracy Project is published by Allen Lane. Craig Calhoun is a world-renowned social scientist whose work connects sociology to culture, communication, politics, philosophy and economics. He took up his post as LSE Director on 1 September 2012, having left the United States where he was University Professor at New York University and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge and President of the Social Science Research Council. He is the author of several books including Nations Matter, Critical Social Theory, Neither Gods Nor Emperors and most recently The Roots of Radicalism (University of Chicago Press, 2012).
Contributor(s): Arif Naqvi | The theme of the event is private equity’s role in the transformation of the world economy. As Western economies battle to restructure their economies and re-launch growth, South-South investment flows have been steadily growing over the last decade. Vast and exciting investment opportunities are opening up in these global growth markets, but is it really true that best in class returns and socially transformational investments can go hand in hand? Arif Naqvi will give a keynote speech entitled 'Global Growth Markets: Transforming our world, our businesses, our communities'. The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion entitled ‘Doing well by doing good? Private Equity Investing in Emerging Markets’ led by Felda Hardymon with Tsega Gebreyses, Arif Naqvi and Diana Noble. Arif Naqvi is the founder and group chief executive of The Abraaj Group, a private equity investor. Naqvi founded the Group in 2002 in Dubai. It started with $60 million in assets under management and today manages $7.5 billion.
Contributor(s): Nate Silver | In this age of information-overload, Silver argues it is more difficult than ever to distinguish a true "signal" from the noisy universe of data. Silver shows that by embracing uncertainty, and being alert to the role that motivations and biases can play in warping predictions, we will be less likely to repeat the mistakes of the past. Nate Silver is a statistician and political forecaster at The New York Times. In 2012, he correctly predicted the outcome of 50 out of 50 states during the US presidential election, trumping the professional pollsters and pundits. He was named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in the world, and one of Rolling Stones' top Agents of Change. Silver graduated with Honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Chicago. He spent his third year at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His new book is The Signal and the Noise: the art and science of prediction. The LSE Media Group is a special interest group set up for and run by LSE alumni who work or have an interest in the media industry. It is active in the UK and in the US. The Group is unusual in its embracing definition of the media to include advertising, journalism, public relations, new media, entertainment, publishing, marketing and other creative interests. If you are an interested in learning more about the LSE Media Group please email alumni@lse.ac.uk.
Contributor(s): Miriam de Búrca, Ruth Goddard, Adela Jušic, Jonathan Watkins, Dr Gwendolyn Sasse | Artists from Northern Ireland, South Africa and Bosnia will reflect upon the impact of violent conflict on their work. The event includes screenings of Dogs have no religion by Miriam de Búrca, and The Sniper by Adela Jušic, as well as images from Ruth Goddard’s work The/My persistent past/history. Miriam de Búrca is a visual artist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ruth Goddard is a London-based artist from South Africa. Adela Jušic is an artist from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dr Gwendolyn Sasse is a professorial fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford and co-curator of the exhibition. Jonathan Watkins is director of Ikon Gallery, Birmingham and curator of the 2013 Iraq Pavilion for the Venice Biennale. This event is in association with the Alan Cristea Gallery. Miriam de Búrca, Ruth Goddard and Adela Jušic are three of the artists included in the exhibition Conflicted Memory being held at the Alan Cristea Gallery, 29 April – 1 June 2013, 31 Cork Street, London.
Contributor(s): Dr Karma Nabulsi, Professor Ilan Pappe, Professor Rosemary Hollis, Peter Kosminsky | On this panel discussion, chaired by Jon Snow of Channel 4 News, the speakers will discuss aspects of the current situation in Palestine, including: Palestinian domestic politics, Israel’s position, the international dimension of the impasse and the insights into the conflict provided by film-making. Karma Nabulsi is Lecturer in International Relations at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford and Fellow in Politics at St Edmund Hall. Rosemary Hollis is Professor of Middle East Policy Studies and Director of the Olive Tree Scholarship Programme at City University London. Her research focuses on international political and security issues in the Middle East, particularly European, EU, UK and US relations with the region. Ilan Pappe is Professor of History, Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies and Co-Director for the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies at the University of Exeter. Peter Kosminsky is a British writer, director and producer. He is the director of The Promise, a four episodes television series telling the story of a young woman who goes to Israel and Palestine determined to find out about her soldier grandfather's involvement in the final years of Palestine under the British mandate. Jon Snow is a British journalist and presenter. He has been the face of Channel 4 News since 1989.
Contributor(s): Charles Moore | Not For Turning is the first volume of Charles Moore's authorized biography of Margaret Thatcher, the longest serving Prime Minister of the twentieth century and one of the most influential political figures of the postwar era. Charles Moore's biography of Margaret Thatcher, published after her death on 8 April 2013, immediately supersedes all earlier books written about her. At the moment when she becomes a historical figure, this book also makes her into a three dimensional one for the first time. It gives unparalleled insight into her early life and formation, especially through her extensive correspondence with her sister, which Moore is the first author to draw on. It recreates the atmosphere of British politics as she was making her way, and takes her up to what was arguably the zenith of her power, victory in the Falklands. Charles Moore joined the staff of the Daily Telegraph in 1979, the year Margaret Thatcher came to power, and as a political columnist in the 1980s, he covered several years of Mrs Thatcher's first and second governments. From 1984-90 he was editor of the Spectator; from 1992-95 editor of the Sunday Telegraph; and from 1995 to 2003 editor of the Daily Telegraph, for which he is still a regular columnist.
Contributor(s): Nancy Pelosi | Nancy Pelosi is the Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives. From 2007 to 2011, she served as the first woman Speaker of the House and is also the first woman in American history to lead a major political party in Congress. Leader Pelosi has led House Democrats for a decade and has represented San Francisco in Congress for 25 years. Pelosi led the Congress in passing historic health insurance reform, key investments in college aid, clean energy and innovation, and initiatives to help small businesses and veterans. She has been a powerful voice for civil rights and human rights around the world for decades. Professor Michael Cox is founding co-director of LSE IDEAS and professor of international relations at LSE.
Contributor(s): Various - see description | 10.30-10.45 Welcome from Michael Bromwich and Al Bhimani. 10.45-11.45 Laura Spira (Oxford Brookes University) - Corporate Governance and Management - a Blurred Boundary? 11.45-12.45 Michael Power (London School of Economics and Political Science) - Searching for Risk Culture. Afternoon Session Hong Kong Theatre, CLM.G.02, ground floor, Clement House, Aldwych. 14.00-14.30 Martin Thomas (Call4Change) - Measuring Thriving Organisational Performance in Turbulent Times. 14.30-15.30 Alfred Wagenhofer (University of Graz, Austria) - Characteristics of Accounting Information that Serves the Board of Directors. 15.30-16.45 Panel Discussion - Management Accounting and Corporate Governance - Gillian Lees, Michael Power, Martin Thomas, Alfred Wagenhofer - Chairman: Michael Bromwich. 17.15-18.00 ICAEW Distinguished Practitioner Lecture - Philip Gregory, Senior independent non-executive Director, Hansard Global plc. - The Effect of Changing Governance on the Finance Function; Some Personal Observations and Experiences
Contributor(s): Colin Pyle, Ryan Pyle | When Canadian brothers Colin Pyle and Ryan Pyle set out from Shanghai on a motorcycle journey that had never previously been attempted, they thought they had some idea of what lay ahead of them. It was a misconception that had become evident by the end of Day 1. But, despite the many challenges they faced, 65 days and 18,000km later they’d succeeded in circumnavigating China. In an expedition of extremes, Colin and Ryan visited the third lowest point on Earth and slept at Everest Base Camp beside its highest mountain. They travelled off-road through deep desert sands in suffocating heat, traversed mountain passes in freezing temperatures that turned the moisture in their clothes to ice, and rode in torrential rain through mudslides beside rapidly rising flood waters. At the end of their remarkable journey, the brothers had strengthened the bond between them, gained a Guinness World Record, tested their endurance to its limits, and shared an adventure that most of us will only ever dream of having. In their book The Middle Kingdom Ride, Colin and Ryan take us with them as they travel through the diverse and extraordinary landscapes of China, from its border with North Korea, to the ancient Muslim city of Kashgar, across the vast empty spaces of the Mongolian grasslands, over the mountains and into the monasteries of Tibet. Ryan Pyle graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Political Science and made his home in Shanghai, China, where he still lives today. Over the last 10 years, he has gained an international reputation as an award-winning documentary photographer and now author and television presenter. He is regularly invited to give talks about his work and about China at universities and institutes around the world. Colin Pyle graduated from Ryerson University in Toronto with a degree in Finance. Colin was part of a very successful currency brokerage start up in Toronto that was sold in July 2008. After managing the successful integration of his old company Colin stepped down as President of Equity Foreign Exchange Services to hit the road and live life. In October 2010, Colin completed the Guinness World Record setting Middle Kingdom Ride with his brother Ryan. The two of them followed up with a 2012 India Ride; an amazing 54 day circumnavigation of India. Colin is involved in lecture engagements and future television productions. Colin completed an MBA from Hult International Business School, is an active entrepreneur in London, England where his main focus is growing Mandarin House to be the first global Mandarin language and cultural school. Nick Byrne is director of the LSE Language Centre.
Contributor(s): Rolf Dobelli | Rolf Dobelli argues that we are swayed by cognitive biases when making decisions. By knowing what they are and how to spot them, we can avoid them and make better choices. In this lecture, Rolf will guide us through the most common errors of judgement and how to avoid them. It will transform your decision making – at work, at home, every day. Rolf Dobelli is a Swiss writer and entrepreneur. He has an MBA and a PhD in economic philosophy from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and is a co-founder of getAbstract, the world's leading provider of book summaries. Dobelli is also founder and curator of Zurich.Minds, an invitation-only community of the most distinguished thinkers, scientists and artists. His book, The Art of Thinking Clearly has sold in over 17 languages and has been a massive bestseller in Europe.
Contributor(s): Salman Khan, Professor Martin Bean | Join Salman Khan as he tells the inspiring story of how the Khan Academy came to be and shares his thoughts on what education could be like in the future. The lecture will be chaired by Rohan Silva, Senior Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister. Professor Martin Bean, Vice-Chancellor of the Open University, will respond to Khan's lecture. Salman Khan is the founder and executive director of the Khan Academy, a nonprofit organization on a mission to provide "a free world-class education for anyone anywhere." Khan was listed in Fortune's annual "40 under 40," which recognizes business's hottest rising stars, as well as Fast Company's list of the "100 Most Creative People in Business." Khan was also recently profiled in "60 Minutes," featured on the cover of Forbes, and recognized by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Contributor(s): Various - see description | 1000 - How to build trust in your journalism? Speakers: Ruurd Bierman, Cilla Benkö, Trushar Barot. What can news media organisations do in the digital age to build the confidence and engagement of their audiences? 1230-1300 - How to use social media for journalism. Speakers: Yasmine El Rafie, Nadja Hahn. What can journalists do with social media to improve their journalism? 1400-1500 - Trust In Europe. Speakers: Nik Gowing, Asun Gomez, Kelly Evans, Jonty Bloom. As the European economic crisis continues, what can journalists do when the public lose trust in their leaders?
Contributor(s): Various - see description | 1000 - How to build trust in your journalism? Speakers: Ruurd Bierman, Cilla Benkö, Trushar Barot. What can news media organisations do in the digital age to build the confidence and engagement of their audiences? 1230-1300 - How to use social media for journalism. Speakers: Yasmine El Rafie, Nadja Hahn. What can journalists do with social media to improve their journalism? 1400-1500 - Trust In Europe. Speakers: Nik Gowing, Asun Gomez, Kelly Evans, Jonty Bloom. As the European economic crisis continues, what can journalists do when the public lose trust in their leaders?
Contributor(s): Various - see description | 1000 - How to build trust in your journalism? Speakers: Ruurd Bierman, Cilla Benkö, Trushar Barot. What can news media organisations do in the digital age to build the confidence and engagement of their audiences? 1230-1300 - How to use social media for journalism. Speakers: Yasmine El Rafie, Nadja Hahn. What can journalists do with social media to improve their journalism? 1400-1500 - Trust In Europe. Speakers: Nik Gowing, Asun Gomez, Kelly Evans, Jonty Bloom. As the European economic crisis continues, what can journalists do when the public lose trust in their leaders?