Garibaldi: the patriot as global hero [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Lucy Riall, Professor John Breuilly | The Italian revolutionary leader Giuseppe Garibaldi was not only worshipped as national hero in his country but he was also a hugely popular global figure in his lifetime - an estimated 500,000 people turned out to greet him on his arrival in London in 1864. The lecture, which marks the bicentenary of Garibaldi's birth, examines the charismatic leader's emergence as global symbol in the context of nineteenth-century globalization proces
Beyond the Genome: the challenge of synthetic biology [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Sarah Franklin, Professor Peter Lipton; Professor Chris Mason; Dr J Craig Venter | The 1970s introduced genetic modification, the 1990s cloning and GM food, and the human genome was sequenced in 2000. Synthetic biology is heralded as the next frontier. But what is synthetic biology and how do we imagine its future directions? What are the implications of this new field for scientists, lawyers, regulators and ethicists? What social and political challenges does it pose and w
The Role of Inter-governmental, State and Non-governmental Players in Conflict Resolution [Audio]
Speaker(s): Martti Ahtisaari | Martti Ahtisaari will draw attention to both challenges and opportunities of multi-stakeholder co-operation in conflict resolution. Mr. Ahtisaari's lecture is based on his extensive experience as a peace mediator, civil servant and board member of a number of non-governmental organisations.
Judging the Booker Prize: what concerns novelists in English today (and what does not) [Audio]
Speaker(s): Howard Davies | Howard Davies is chair of the judges for the 2007 Man Booker prize. Following the award of the prize on 16 October he reflects on the judging process and what it reveals about the state of the English novel.
Hungary in the 21st Century [Audio]
Speaker(s): Ferenc Gyurcsány | The lecture will focus on Hungary's economic development, reform process and energy security. The Prime Minister will also touch on Hungary's unique opportunity to be a leader in the knowledge base economy.
Past, Present and Future of Oil [Audio]
Speaker(s): Lord Browne | Based on his experience as former chief executive of BP, Lord Browne will share his thoughts about the future of oil, as it relates to its past and its present. Lord Browne is a crossbench member of the House of Lords.
Escaping the Prisoners' Dilemma [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Nicola Lacey | Only by understanding the institutional preconditions for a tolerant criminal justice system can we think clearly about the possible options for reform within the British system.
Why is it Always 'Us' and 'Them': on the natural history of thinking through groups [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Lawrence Hirschfeld | This event presents recent findings about representations of social categories that have potential relevance for anthropology, psychology and evolutionary biology.Lawrence Hirschfeld is professor of psychology and anthropology at the New School for Social Research, New York.
Human Rights in the 21st century: problems and prospects [Audio]
Speaker(s): Kenneth Roth | In the past decade, Human Rights Watch has emerged as one of the leading human rights organisations in the world, its reports increasingly acclaimed for their accuracy and for the depth of their human rights advocacy. Executive Director Kenneth Roth discusses the human rights landscape in the Centre's annual Human Rights Day lecture: What have been the main challenges that Human Rights Watch has faced as it has worked to achieve this position? How has the organisation
Russia's Policy Towards Europe: aggressive retrenchment? [Audio]
Speaker(s): Marie Mendras | Russia has recovered its self-confidence under Vladimir Putin. But instead of becoming more comfortable with Europe, Russia is tensing up and choosing an aggressive stand-off. Why?
The Global State of Influenza Pandemic Preparedness [Audio]
Speaker(s): Dr David Nabarro | Dr Nabarro will review the impact of past epidemics on humanity and society and will explore current efforts to respond to and prepare for a new pandemic influenza outbreak.
Six World Conflicts In Search Of Solutions [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Johan Galtung | Johan Galtung, widely regarded as the father of peace and conflict studies, is a prominent and successful conflict mediator and academic. He is the founder and Director of TRANSCEND - A Peace and Development Network for Conflict Transformation by Peaceful Means, with more than 300 members from over 80 countries around the world and Rector of TRANSCEND Peace University (TPU).
Children's Media: More Harm than Good? [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Sonia Livingstone | Public policy is scrutinising potential media harms, given rapid expansion of the internet, fears over 'toxic' childhood, and pressing dilemmas for media regulation. But is the media the problem or the solution?
International Relations in a Post-Hegemonic Age [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Fred Halliday | The academic study of International Relations has, since since its emergence after World War I, sought to combine the development of theoretical frameworks with an engagement, of greater or lesser immediacy, with the changing course of international events. Empire, World War, Cold War and post-1991 US hegemony have all been objects of its concern. Today, oscillating at times uneasily between the enticements of abstraction, and the rush of actuality, the disc
Iraq: The Way Out [Audio]
Speaker(s): Jonathan Steele | Jonathan Steele will argue that the occupation has failed, not because of a lack of pre-war planning, but because of a lack of informed political analysis by US decision-makers and the British Foreign Office. They failed to see that Islamists, Sunni and Shia, would fill the post-Saddam vacuum and that most Iraqis would quickly come to resent yet another Western intervention in the Middle East.
The Politics of Aids Exceptionalism [Audio]
Speaker(s): Alex de Waal | This lecture asks if the global AIDS response has been good for human rights but bad for disease control? Alex de Waal is programme director at the Social Science Research Council and author of AIDS and Power: why there is no political crisis yet.
The Shrivelling of European Citizenship [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Damian Chalmers | The institution of EU citizenship is increasingly challenged yet the heterogeneity and intensity of membership rights enjoyed by non-nationals has increased. Would more differentiated forms of membership be more attractive and better capture the sense of place many non-nationals wish to create for themselves in their host societies? Damian Chalmers is professor in European Union law at the European Institute and Law Department, LSE.
The Ideas that are Changing Politics [Audio]
Speaker(s): David Willetts MP, David Cameron MP | There has been an extraordinary surge in the study of behaviour from evolutionary biologists, neurologists and game theorists, but this has been largely divorced from the political debate. David Willetts will draw on the latest research from these disciplines to explain what Government can and cannot do to influence our behaviour. David Willetts is shadow secretary of state for innovation, universities and skills and has been the MP for Havant si
The New Swedish Model: A Reform Agenda for Growth and the Environment [Audio]
Speaker(s): Fredrik Reinfeldt | Fredrik Reinfeldt is Prime Minister of Sweden, a position he has held since being elected in 2006. He has been leader of the Moderate Party since 2003. In the Swedish Parliament he served on the Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs. Prime Minister Reinfeldt studied at Stockholm University where he graduated with a BSc in Business Administration and Economics. In December 2005 David Cameron MP was elected leader of the Conservative Party. Prior to this he held the p
Climate Change, Energy and the Way Ahead [Audio]
Speaker(s): Professor Lord Nicholas Stern | The world must reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2050 with rich country cuts of at least 80 per cent. Power and transport must be essentially de-carbonised. How can the world rise to these challenges? Nicholas Stern is IG Patel Chair in Government and Economics at LSE and director of the Asia Research Centre at LSE.
