Over the last decade, election campaigns in India have undergone a dramatic shift. Political parties increasingly rely on political consulting firms, social media volunteers, pollsters, data-driven insights and hashtag wars to mobilise voters. What is driving these changes in the landscape of electioneering? The Backstage of Democracy takes readers to the hidden arena of strategising and deliberations that take place between politicians and a new cabal of political professionals as they organise election campaigns in India.

Following the rise of social networks and the spread of dis-information and misinformation on social media, political scientists, social psychologists, and media scholars have proposed and studied several instruments to slow down propagation of false news.

We are very excited to be hosting Admiral Stuart Munsch on Current Conflicts' Effects on Future Warfare. The talk will take place on Tuesday, November 26th in the Old Library at All Souls College at 8:30pm. As always, there will be a drinks reception prior to the event, starting at 8pm.

Leadership matters. The quality of leadership will determine the quality of our development outcomes. Focusing on leadership (for development) is a key objective of the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, which is also tasked with upholding the leadership legacy of Nelson Mandela.

The Art and Peace Seminar Series returns to discuss the role of photography in war and peace. In the first hour, Carlos Saavedra, a Colombian documentary photographer, will exhibit his work on the Colombian Civil War and discuss how art challenges dominant narratives in conflict settings. In the second hour, Dr. Samuel Ritholtz (Oxford) and Dr. Milli Lake (London School of Economics) will join the conversation, sharing their experiences with art and peace in Colombia and Sub-Saharan Africa, respectively.

Join the Emerging Threats Group’s Isabel Schulze Froning, BwConsulting’s Dr. Sebastian Seidel, Taskeen Ali of HM Revenue & Customs, and the OECD’s Joshua Polchar to explore soft power at the mid-point of the 2020s, in a special hybrid in-person & online session moderated by Dr. Matt Finch, Associate Fellow of the Saïd Business School and principal at mechanicaldolphin.com.

Ranging across sectors, the session will explore questions such as:

- How is the nature of soft power changing?