Navigating world orders over five millennia: does the past offer clues to the future?

Building world order is not the monopoly of any civilisation, region or nation.

Some of the foundational principles and institutions of world order that we have today were developed – both independently and through mutual contact – by multiple societies, in similar if not same forms at different stages of history. These include anarchic and hierarchic inter-state systems, republicanism, freedom of seas, open trade, human rights, nationalism, humanitarian law, Great Power cooperation, and realpolitik and moral statecraft.

Where next for the Anglo-American 'Special Relationship'?

Since 1942, the UK-US relationship has been founded on intelligence-sharing, a military alliance, shared values, and the United States’ commitment to maintain European security. As the postwar order comes under increasing strain, we welcome to the RAI the US Embassy London’s Deputy Chief of Mission Matthew Palmer, a career member of the US Senior Foreign Service. He will offer his reflections about the current state of the Special Relationship between the US and UK, foreign policy challenges, and opportunities that lie ahead, followed by a question-and-answer session.

Decentering Gangs: Comparative Ethnographic Insights from Nicaragua and South Africa

The political ethnography reading and seminar group welcomes Dennis Rodgers, Research Professor at the Graduate Institute of Geneva, for a presentation of the first results of the ERC GANGS project on "Gangs, Gangsters and Ganglands". The presentation will focus on longitudinal and comparative ethnographies of gangs in Cape Town and Managua with Steffen Bo Jensen (Aalborg university).

"Decentering Gangs: Comparative Ethnographic Insights from Nicaragua and South Africa"

Sebastián Raphael Priego

I am a DPhil student in Politics at Oxford's Department of Politics and International Relations, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and CONAHCYT. My research focuses on modern civil-military relations, examining the relationship between new militarism and presidentialism in Latin America. In exploring these questions, I also look at the policy implications of new militarism and seek to recast the civil-military problematique in third wave democracies.

Daniel White

I am a DPhil student in Political Theory at Balliol College, University of Oxford. Prior to undertaking my DPhil, I completed an MA in Political and Legal Theory, and a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Law at the University of Warwick.

My doctoral thesis – generously funded by the DPIR – explores the ethical dimensions of the animal rights movement, with a particular focus on how individuals ought to meet their moral and political obligations towards animals under present, non-ideal conditions.

‘The world found nothing sacred in the abstract nakedness of being human.’ On (not) seeing others as human.

From Hannah Arendt’s bitter assessment of the impotence of human rights to today’s despair at the intensity of group- based hatreds, it is hard to feel much confidence in the notion of a common humanity. That lack of confidence is reinforced by centuries in which people proclaimed that all men are born equal but found this compatible, not only with the subordination of women, but with the enslavement and colonisation of millions of both women and men. In this lecture, Anne Phillips explores what we can nonetheless retrieve from the notion that all of us are human.

Costa Rica's Trail: Policy lessons in trade, Environmental Stewardship, and Science Diplomacy

This panel event brings together leading experts and policymakers to explore how Costa Rica, a global leader in environmental protection and social progress, has successfully balanced economic growth with sustainability and peace, and the challenges that remain. We'll delve into Costa Rica's innovative approaches to trade, conservation, and diplomacy, and discuss the valuable insights for other nations striving for sustainable futures.

Blavatnik Election Briefing: Pakistan Votes - Exploring the key issues that will determine Pakistan’s future

Millions of voters go to the polls in Pakistan on 8 February at the end of an election campaign that has seen a former prime minister jailed, another return from exile to seek power, a crackdown against opposition parties, accusations of election influence by the military, all while the country has faced economic crises and a deteriorating security situation.

As for the election itself, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan is blunt: "At this point, there is little evidence to show that the upcoming elections will be free, fair, or credible."
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