Lse: Public Lectures And Events

Contributor(s): Dr Joseph Spooner, Sara Williams | Borrowing is a fundamental part of our world, but with millions considered over-indebted before the pandemic and a deepening cost of living crisis fueled by stagnating wages and high inflation, for many the burden of debt looks only set to increase. This month, LSE iQ asks “Do we always need to pay our debts?”, exploring the reasons people might find themselves with problematic levels of debt, the options open to those in financial trouble and how bankruptcy laws could be used more impactfully to the benefit of both individuals and society. Jess Winterstein talks to: Dr Joseph Spooner, Associate Professor in the LSE Law School and author of Bankruptcy: the case for relief in an economy of debt, and Sara Williams, founder of debt advisory website Debt Camel. https://debtcamel.co.uk/

Contributor(s): Professor Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Alberto Parmigiani, Dr Kate Alexander Shaw | Questions over the motivation and effect of financial contributions to political parties and candidates have been a constant source of contention in the politics of democratic countries. However, difficulties accessing reliable data have often constrained research about political finance. In the UK the Electoral Commission has been recording all political donations since its foundation, with detailed information on the date, amount and type of contribution, and names of donors. This panel will discuss preliminary findings of a British Academy/Leverhulme funded study of these donations, and seek to draw broad conclusions about how British politics is funded and what we still need to know.

Contributor(s): Dr Erica Thompson, Dr Stephanie Hare, Professor Diane Coyle | This discussion lifts the lid on science for decision support, so that we can be savvier with how we use science, rather than following it blindly.

Contributor(s): Dr Alessio Terzi, Dr Anna Valero | Historically, industrialisation, capitalism, and affluence have contributed to the emissions that are warming the planet’s atmosphere. As humanity starts to grapple with the Herculean challenge of climate change, should economic growth be abandoned to stand a chance of success? Would this lead to a better society, especially in already rich nations, freeing them from pointless consumerism? In Growth for Good, Alessio Terzi takes these legitimate concerns as a starting point to draw the reader on a journey into the socioeconomic, evolutionary, historical and cultural origins of the growth imperative. Rather than simply stating impossibilities, the book draws a credible agenda to enrol capitalism in the fight to stave off climate catastrophe. Shelving command-and-control solutions, or the complete reliance on, the market, Terzi details a plan involving an activist government, proactive business, and engaged citizens.

Contributor(s): Dr Peter Wilson, Professor Stephanie J. Rickard, Professor John Bew, Sir Paul Tucker | As outlined in his new book, democracies are facing a drawn-out contest with authoritarian states entangling much of public policy with global security issues. He lays out some principles for a sustainable system of international cooperation, showing how democracies can deal with China and other illiberal states without sacrificing their deepest political values. Examples are drawn from the international monetary order, including the role of the US dollar, trade and investment regimes, and the financial system. The approach takes its inspiration from David Hume rather than the standard International Relations menu of Hobbes, Kant, or Grotius, so that each of power, norms and material interests matter. After his opening remarks, our panel engages in a discussion with Paul and each other, and questions from the audience.

Contributor(s): Dr Anne Giersch, Claire North, Dr Bryan W Roberts, Dr Karim PY Thébault | The asymmetry between the past and the future is called the Arrow of Time. For example, the events of the past year have shaped all of us, but the future years are ours to shape. We all perceive the Arrow: we remember the start of the pandemic, but we don't "remember" or even know when it will end in the future. We have hopes about the future, but must simply accept and learn from what has happened in the past. Where do these differences come from? How do they arise in human psychology? Do they have an origin in the physical nature of space and time? What can reflecting on the difference between the past and the future tell us about our place in the post-pandemic world?

Contributor(s): Olena Zelenska | The event, organised in coordination with the LSE SU Ukrainian student society, was chaired by LSE Director Minouche Shafik. (For the most part, this event is delivered in Ukrainian.)

Contributor(s): Professor Jonathan Hopkin, James Murray, Dr Andy Summers, Dr Kate Summers | The panel will reflect on what shapes public demand for tax justice, its relation to tackling inequality and the challenges posed by taxing the super-rich.

Contributor(s): Professor Baroness Wolf | Governments around the world are increasingly preoccupied with the financial 'returns' to education; and yet are overseeing the destruction of long-established and once-effective vocational education systems. Why is this? And is it inevitable?

Contributor(s): Professor Shiera Malik, Professor Siba N'Zatioula Grovogui | In these times of multiple crises - of war, ecological catastrophe and resurgent decolonial contestations of the existing order - it often feels like the traditional tools of global governance have lost their relevance and power.  Rather than merely a Western, liberal text, he offers the UDHR as a document with a plurality of authors and sensibilities; a re-reading that could help us (re-)imagine much needed alternatives to the current global order and its various crises.

Contributor(s): Professor Marc Raboy, Dr Alison Norah Gillwald, Dr Gillian Marcelle, Dr Linje Manyozo, Professor Sharon Strover, Professor Hopeton Dunn | Speakers address the legacy of LSE’s Robin Mansell, a leading figure in the field of information and communication technologies (ICTs) theory and practice

Contributor(s): Professor Thierry Balzacq | Diplomatic apologies, joint military exercises, gift giving, and global summits, are assumed to be some of the most iconic rituals of world politics. However, many actions that are achieved by means of rituals can be enacted otherwise. What criteria, then, do scholars employ to say that an action or an event is a ritual, and what difference (if any) does it make to its character as well as to its efficacy? To answer this question, Thierry Balzacq develops a grammar of ritual and contrasts it to alternative theories of action in world politics. Ritual is not a residual category of a phenomenon or an event, but is a qualitatively transformed way of going about acting, which, less frequently noticed, entails moral commitments. In this respect, it is posited that ritual enacts a social order as much as it enhances the salience of the action it involves. He will show how, and examine the theoretical implications of a ritual analysis by revisiting four dominant approaches

Contributor(s): Dr Luiz Awazu Pereira da Silva, Dr Deniz Igan, Dr Benoit Mojon | The debate is intensified by deep recessions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and resurgent food and energy inflation increasing cost of living in 2022, which unequally impact different groups within society. This event marks the launch of the book Inequality Hysteresis, which highlights a new facet of inequality: its persistence or ‘hysteresis’ after recessions.

Contributor(s): Dr Aaron Cheng, Michael Steranka, Joanna Ferreria | Gaming has become a normal part of many people's everyday lives, from mobile to console games it is easier than ever to be a gamer. But how do online games affect us?  This month, LSE iQ asks: Can gaming make us happier? We talk about online abuse in gaming and the toxic nature of some gamers and how a location-based game like Pokémon Go gently nudges players to go outside to play and interact with others.  Mike Wilkerson talks to: Dr Aaron Cheng, Assistant Professor in LSE’s Department of Management; Michael Steranka, Product Director at the creators of the game Pokémon Go Niantic; and Joanna Ferreria an online blogger and avid gamer.  Research blog: https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2022/d-Apr-22/Location-based-mobile-games-like-Pok%C3%A9mon-Go-may-help-alleviate-depression

Contributor(s): Kyriakos Mitsotakis | Is Greece on the path to a sustained economic recovery? How substantive have the reforms been? With elections due next year, and with recent controversies, political stability seems at a premium. What vision does the PM have for Greece? And, how are the geopolitics of the region changing? Where does Greece stand on the new issues facing a changing Europe?

Contributor(s): Lord Sumption, Professor Martin Loughlin, Dr Munira Mirza | It will examine the desire among some members of the public to have a democracy without parties or professional politicians, an idea which has its roots in the ancient world. Jonathan Sumption will first discuss such arguments after which there will be a panel discussion. 

Contributor(s): Claire Harding, Dave Hill, Manny Hothi, Stewart Lansley, Professor Baroness Lister | Join us for this important discussion as our panel each presents their thoughts. Our audience are invited to contribute to the discussion as we unpick this difficult question. This event is inspired by the life, work and legacy of George Lansbury (1859–1940). A pioneering campaigner for peace, women’s rights, local democracy and improvements in labour conditions, Lansbury was an adopted East Ender who made a great contribution to local as well as national life.

Contributor(s): Dr Paris Chronakis, Professor Meena Dhanda, Professor James Mark | At issue is the cultural politics of European politics, and we will be discussing how and what kind of European histories get remembered or memorialised, what and who gets included (whose statues are erected and whose toppled), and whose story is left out.

Contributor(s): Professor Manisha Pathak-Shelat, Marium Saeed, Professor Sonia Livingstone, Dr Daniel Kardefelt-Winther, Patrick Burton, Dr Alexandre Barbosa | Our panel explores implementing child rights online. 

Contributor(s): Professor Leigh Gardner | Leigh Gardner discusses her new book, Sovereignty without Power: Liberia in the Age of Empires, 1822-1980.