
112 episodes

Oxford Martin School: Public Lectures and Seminars Oxford University
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- Education
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4.8 • 6 Ratings
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Public Lectures and Seminars from the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford. The Oxford Martin School brings together the best minds from different fields to tackle the most pressing issues of the 21st century.
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Time To Look Up – in conversation with Rt Hon Sir Alok Sharma about the climate crisis
After a summer of extreme heatwaves, devastating wildfires and deadly flooding across the world, all made worse by climate change, the Rt Hon Sir Alok Sharma, President of COP26 in Glasgow 2021, will discuss the ongoing climate crisis. In the run up to COP28, Sir Alok will describe his hopes for the summit and his views on the future of the COP process, as well as the role of the UK in international climate policy. He will explore the importance of business in tackling climate change, and the challenges of financing the scale of climate action required. And climate action requires a facilitating political environment: how strong is the climate agenda and how much support does it have amongst citizens and in the private sector.
Speaker: Rt Hon Sir Alok Sharma, President of COP26 in Glasgow 2021
In conversation with: Professor Sir Charles Godfray, Director of the Oxford Martin School, -
Can international humanitarian organisations adapt to face the challenges of this century?
Yves Daccord, former CEO of the International Committee of the Red Cross, joins us at the Oxford Martin School. The history of humanitarianism is one of vulnerabilities, power, mobilisation and adaptation.
This has been true since humanitarian aid became an industry in its own right and continues to be so today.
The reaffirmed sovereignty of states, the zero risk practices of the major donors, and the rapidly changing needs and expectations of people and communities affected by wars and disasters are all challenges to the relevance of international humanitarian action. From Kiev to Damascus, from Bamako to New York, the adaptation of the humanitarian organisations will have to be radical. Join Yves Daccord, Executive Chairman of the Edgelands Institute & Former CEO of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as he asks 'is that still possible?'. -
Panel Discussion 'The age of the strongman: populism and authoritarianism in global politics'
A discussion on leaders and populism with Lord Patten, Gideon Rachman, Margaret MacMillan and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira Since the beginning of the millennium, when Vladimir Putin took power in Russia, authoritarian leaders have come to dominate global politics.
Self-styled strongmen have risen to power in Moscow, Beijing, Delhi, Brasilia, Budapest, Ankara, Riyadh and Washington. These leaders are nationalists and social conservatives, with little tolerance for minorities, dissent or the interests of foreigners. At home, they encourage a cult of personality and claim to stand up for ordinary people against globalist elites; abroad, they posture as the embodiments of their nations. And they are not just operating in authoritarian political systems but have begun to emerge in the heartlands of liberal democracy.
This panel’s distinguished speakers will address the following questions: How and why did this new style of strongman leadership arrive? How likely is it to lead to global war or economic collapse? Most pressingly, we will be asking: are liberal societies, beset by internal turmoil and their own strongman dynamics, capable of checking and reversing this trend?
This was a joint event with the Oxford Martin Programme on African Governance. -
The state of the African state: Where has it come from and where is it going
Nick Westcott, Director of the Royal African Society, discusses the African State. African states have been in flux since long before colonial powers carved up the continent into bite-sized chunks at the end of the 19th century.
In the 60 years since most became independent, new trends have emerged. Some have reflected history, both colonial and pre-colonial, from ethnic rivalries and migrating populations to authoritarian structures, extractive institutions and irrational borders.
Others reflect new dynamics both local and global - economic imbalances, demographic dynamism, changing climate and a changing balance of global power. But in particular there is a shift in the ideological basis of the state: how do people view it, what do they expect and what do governments think they should do?
This is a joint event with the Oxford Martin Programme on African Governance -
Book talk: 'Butler to the world: how Britain became the servant of tycoons, tax dodgers, kleptocrats and criminals'
In this event chaired by Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Oliver Bullough discusses his best selling and critically acclaimed book, 'Butler to the World: How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats and Criminals'. In Butler to the World, Bullough reveals how the UK has become a hospitable location for oligarchs and kleptocrats from all over the world - a place where they can hide their monies, build respectable reputations on the back of philanthropy and party donations, and influence those in power. From professional facilitators to politicians, Bullough’s book asks searing questions about today's political and economic life in the United Kingdom.
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Illicit finance and the role of professional enablers in the United Kingdom: are things finally changing?
MPs Andrew Mitchell and Margaret Hodge discuss illicit finance and their work on improving regulations. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and resulting sanctions regime has shed light on the United Kingdom’s harbouring of illicit wealth from around the world.
It has also revealed the centrality of enablers in the legal and financial sectors in laundering oligarchs’ monies and reputations. As co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Responsible Tax, Andrew Mitchell and Margaret Hodge have been at the forefront of the UK’s fight against dirty money, illicit finance and money laundering.
In this event, Andrew Mitchell and Margaret Hodge will discuss with Ricardo Soares de Oliveira and John Heathershaw past attempts at curbing professional facilitators, the inadequacy of present regulations and the prospect of improvement through the upcoming Economic Crime Bill, among other ongoing efforts. Most pressingly, they will be asking: after a decade of signalling reform intent, is change really about to happen?