1969 was a climactic year for global anti-imperialist uprisings, with one of the few successful mobilisations occurring in Pakistan. A crucial figure in these uprisings was Maulana Bhashani (1880-1990), popularly known during this period as the ‘Mao-Lana’. This paper examines Bhashani’s articulation of Islamic Socialism in the 1960s - the springboard for the militant and disruptive mobilisations in 1969 and thereafter.

After the Cold War, America's leaders hoped China could be integrated into the rules-based international order and might even become more like the West. By the late 2010s, their optimism was dead. In The End of Engagement, David M. McCourt traces the intense personal, professional and policy struggles over China in US foreign policy since 1989. Drawing on 120 original interviews with America's China experts – from former policymakers and diplomats to prominent think tankers and academics – McCourt chronicles the rise and recent fall of 'engagement' with Beijing.

In merely two decades, China transformed from a digital newcomer to the world's largest e-commerce market, with 800 million users and nearly 50% of global retail sales. In From Click to Boom, Lizhi Liu unveils the surprising forces behind this extraordinary growth, addressing a key question in political economy: How can states build essential market institutions when formal institutions are weak or lacking?

This talk examines how the humanitarian debate in Oxford during the Spanish Civil War reflected broader tensions between political ideologies and moral responsibility. It explores how civil society groups, academics, and local advocates engaged with questions of food aid and relief, navigating propaganda and competing narratives to shape public discourse and action. By focusing on Oxford’s unique role in these debates, the talk sheds light on the interplay between local activism and global humanitarian concerns.

The South China Sea is considered one of the world’s major flashpoints. How and why might war break out? In this presentation Professor Welch examines various possible pathways to conflict, arguing that a delicate but stable modus vivendi is possible in theory, but only if key actors appreciate each other’s beliefs, wants, needs, and fears. Put another way: the best way of avoiding war is to cultivate empathy. Failure to do so increases the danger that key players will provoke precisely what they seek to prevent. Unfortunately, however, empathy is in dangerously short supply.

The 2024 European elections have reshaped the political landscape of the European Union, setting the stage for a new European Parliament and European Commission. This talk delves into the outcomes of the political power-play in Brussels, examining which parties and coalitions emerged victorious, the dynamics of their influence, and the implications for EU policy-making.

Book talk: The Art of State Persuasion: China's Strategic Use of Media in Interstate Disputes, by Frances Yaping Wang (Oxford University Press, 2024).