New Ideas for a World in Change
We are delighted to announce that the Megaron Plus and the London School of Economics and Political Science in collaboration with the Hellenic Alumni Association of the London School of Economics and the Hellenic Observatory present for the third year running a series of public lectures at the Megaron in Athens.
Entry is free and Open to All; Tickets will be available from 17.30 on the day of the lecture from the Megaron Mousikis Ticket Desk.
Venue: Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall (Αίθουσα Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος), Megaron, Athens, Greece.
The lectures will be in English with simultaneous translation.
A welcome speech will be delivered before each of the lectures by Nikos C. Sofianos, President of the Hellenic Alumni Association, LSE (HAALSE).
Lecture 1: Hubris: Why Economists Failed to Predict the Crisis and how to Avoid the Next One?
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Speaker:
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Lord Meghnad Desai, Emeritus Professor of Economics, LSE; Member of the House of Commons Select Committee
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Chair:
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Spyros Economides, Director of the Hellenic Observatory; Associate Professor in European Politics and International Relations, LSE
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Discussant:
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Eleni-Louri Dendrinou, Professor of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business
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Date:
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Thursday 8 December 2016
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Time:
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19:00
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This lecture will provide a frank assessment of economists' blindness before the financial crash in 2007-2008 and what must be done to avert a sequel. Through it, the speaker will underscore the contribution of hubris to economists' calamitous lack of foresight, and make a persuasive case for the profession to re-engage with the history of economic thought.
Lecture 2: Brexit and EU Foreign Policy: Beginning of the end or a new beginning?
Lecture 2
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Speaker:
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Karen Smith, Professor of International Relations, LSE
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Chair:
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Kevin Featherstone, Eleftherios Venizelos Professor of Contemporary Greek Studies; Head of the European Institute, LSE
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Discussant:
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TBC
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Date:
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Wednesday 15 February 2017
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Time:
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19:00
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This lecture considers the impact that Brexit will have on the EU as an international actor and on its foreign policy. Without UK resources, the EU could be weaker, but it also might be more unified. Could Brexit lead to a more coherent EU foreign policy?
Lecture 3: The Origins of ISIS in Iraq
Lecture 4
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Speaker:
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Toby Dodge, Professor of International Relations; Director of Middle East Centre, LSE
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Chair:
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Spyros Economides, Associate Professor in European Politics and International Relations; Director of the Hellenic Observatory, LSE
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Discussant:
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Thanos Dokos, Director General of Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
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Date:
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Thursday 16 March 2017
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Time:
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19:00
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This lecture will examine the birth and reasons for the growth of the Islamic State or in Arabic ad-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fīl-ʻIraq wa ash-Shām, or Daʿesh. The organisation was formed in Iraq in 2006 at the height of the civil war that engulfed the country after the US-led invasion and regime change of 2003. The organisation reached the peak of its power after the US withdrew from Iraq, seizing the country’s second largest city, Mosul, in June 2014. The military campaign against the Islamic State has succeeded in dramatically reducing the territory it holds in both Iraq and Syria. However, the Islamic State is best understood as a violent symptom of a set of much deeper, primarily political problems that have plagued Iraq since 2003. If these problems are not sorted out then a new equally radical and violent organisation may well take the Islamic State’s place.