Fluke: Chance, chaos and why everything we do matters

Monday 29 January

Speaker: Brian Klaas, Associate Professor of Global Politics at University College London
Chair: Leigh Jenco, Professor of Political Theory, Department of Government, LSE

Making good law in a time of polycrisis

Monday 20 November

Speaker: Lord McFall, Lord Speaker of the House of Lords
Chair: Tony Travers, Professor in Practice, Department of Government, LSE

Three Ties that Bind? The relationship between the UK, US and France in a complex world

Thursday 5 October

Speaker: Gérard Errera, Chairman of Blackstone France, and previous Secretary General of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and French Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Moderator: Márcia Balisciano, Founding Director of Benjamin Franklin House
Chair: Michael Cox, Professor of International Relations, LSE

Anne Phillips: an appreciation

Thursday 4 May to Friday 5 May

Speakers: Melissa Williams, University of Toronto, Martin O’Neill University of York, David Owen, University of Southampton, Sumi Madhok, LSE, Tariq Modood, University of Bristol, Jo Wolff, University of Oxford, Clare Chambers, Univeristy of Cambridge, Cecile Laborde, University of Oxford, Teresa Bejan, University of Oxford, Carolyn Pedwell, University of Kent, Moira Dustin, University of Sussex

Nationalism and the Return of Geopolitics

Tuesday 21 March

Speakers: Lars-Erik Cederman, Professor of International Conflict Research at ETH Zurich, Anna Getmansky, Associate Professor of International Relations, LSE
Chair: Denisa Kostovicova, Associate Professor of Global Politics, LSE

Follow the Money: how much does Britain cost?

Tuesday 7 March

Speaker: Paul Johnson, Director of the IFS and visiting professor in the Department of Economics at University College London
Chair: Andrés Velasco, Dean of the School of Public Policy, LSE

Money and Politics: analysing donations to UK political parties, 2000-2021

Wednesday 25 January

Speakers: Kate Alexander Shaw, Research Officer in the European Institute, LSE, Alberto Parmigiani, PhD candidate in the Department of Government, LSE, Stuart Wilks-Heef, Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool
Chair: Jonathan Hopkin, Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Government, LSE

'Positive' Corporate Climate Lobbying

Monday 31 October

Speakers: Ed Collins, Director of InfluenceMap, Fergus Green, Lecturer in Political Theory and Public Policy at UCL, Clare Richards, Senior Engagement Manager at Church of England Pensions Board and Head of Engagement Initiatives at the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change

Chair: Francisco Garcia-Gibson, Research Fellow in the Department of Government at LSE

In the land of never-ending elections will the 2022 mid-terms make any difference?

Wednesday 12 October

Speaker: Philip Davies, Chair of the American Politics Group of the Political Studies Association
Moderator: Márcia Balisciano, Founding Director of Benjamin Franklin House
Chair: Pavithra Suryanarayan, Assistant Professor in the Government Department, LSE

The Future of Democracy

Tuesday 14 June

Speakers: Mukulika Banerjee, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, LSE, Yascha Mounk, writer, academic, and public speaker, Lea Ypi, Professor in Political Theory, Department of Government, LSE
Chair: Baroness Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science

The UK During the 70 Year Reign of Elizabeth II

Monday 30 May

Speakers: Tim Besley, Professor of Economics and Political Science and W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics, LSE, Michael Cox, Emeritus Professor of International Relations, LSE. Tania Burchardt, Associate Director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE), Sir Anthony Seldon, British educator and contemporary historian
Chair: Baroness Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science

Held in contempt: What's wrong with the House of Commons

Tuesday 17 May

Speakers: Hannah White OBE, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government
Chair: Tony Travers, Professor in Practice, Department of Government, LSE

Climate Change and Rights Enforcement 

Friday 25 March

Speakers: Susanne Burri, Konstanz University, Francisco Garcia-Gibson, LSE, Siba Harb, Kings College London, Lisa Hecht, LSE and Stockholm University, Ivo Wallimann-Helmer, University of Fribourg

Deliberative Accountability in Parliamentary Committees

Wednesday 9 March

Speakers: Cheryl Schonhardt Bailey, Head of the Department of Government, LSE
Discussants: Stephen Holden Bates, Senior Lecturer in Political Science, University of Birmingham, Lord Andrew Tyrie, former Chair of the Competition and Markets Authority, and former MP
Chair: Daniel Berliner, Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, LSE

Climate Agents of Change

Friday 25 February

Speakers: Simon Caney, University of Warwick, Megan Blomfield, University of Sheffield, Fergus Green, University College London, Kian Mintz-Woo, University College Cork, Elizabeth Cripps, University of Edinburgh
Chair: Francisco Garcia-Gibson, LSE

Conflict, War & Revolution: the importance of violence in international politics

Wednesday 9 February

Speakers: Elizabeth Frazer, Official Fellow and Tutor in Politics, New College, Oxford, Kimberly Hutchings, Professor of Politics and International Relations, QMUL, Paul Kelly, Professor of Political Theory, LSE
Chair: Patrick Dunleavy, Editor in Chief of LSE Press, and Emeritus Professor of Political Sciences, LSE

The Transformation of British Welfare Policy: politics, discourse and public opinion

Tuesday 16 November

Speakers: Tom O'Grady, Associate Professor of Political Science, Kitty Stewart, Associate Professor of Social Policy
Chair: Jonathan Hopkin, Professor of Comparative Politics

Is American democracy under threat?

Monday 8 November

Speakers: Justin Webb, Journalist and Broadcaster, Márcia Balisciano, Founding Director of Benjamin Franklin House

Chair: Chris Anderson, Professor in European Politics and Policy

Free: coming of age at the end of history 

Monday 1 November

Speaker: Lea Ypi, Professor in Political Theory 

Chair: Mary Kaldor, Professor of Global Governance

Unconditional Equals

Wednesday 20 October

Speakers: Anne Phillips, Professor in Political Theory
Sumi Madhok, Professor of Political Theory and Gender Studies
Teresa Bejan, Associate Professor of Political Theory

Chair: Nicola Lacey, Professor of Law, Gender and Social Policy 

The Aristocracy of Talent: how meritocracy made the modern world

Thursday 14 October

Speaker: Adrian Woolridge, Political Editor at the Economist 

Chair: Andrés Velasco, Professor of Public Policy and Dean of the School of Public Policy

Political Science at the LSE: a history of the Department of Government, from the Webbs to COVID

Thursday 7 October

Speakers: Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey, Professor and Head of the Department of Government at LSE
Gordon Bannerman, Historian and Professor at the University of Guelph-Humber, Ontario
Daniel Skeffington, MSc Political Theory, LSE
Ebla Bohmer, BSc Politics and International Relations, LSE
Sara Luxmore, BSc Politics and Philosophy, LSE
Hilke Gudel, PhD candidate, LSE Government 

Chair: Paul Kelly, Professor of Political Theory 

Unconditional Equals

Monday 24 May

Speaker: Anne Phillips, Graham Wallas Professor of Political Science

Chair: Robin Archer, Director of the Ralph Miliband Programme, LSE

Responsible Persons: thinking about resentment, trust and hope in everyday life 

Thursday 13 May

Speaker: Cheshire Calhoun, Professor of Philosophy

Chair: Kai Spiekermann, Professor of Political Philosophy

The Impossible Office? 300 years of the British Prime Minister

Thursday 29 April

Speaker: Sir Anthony Seldon, historian and author 

Chair: Tony Travers, Professor, LSE Department of Government

Regimes of Inequality: the political economy of health and wealth

Tuesday 23 March

Speaker: Julia Lynch, Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania

Chair: Jonathan Hopkin, Professor of Comparative Politics, Department of Government and European Institute, LSE 

Celebrating Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1933-2020

Thursday 18 March

Speakers: Kelsi Corkran, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy & Protection, Anne Phillips, Graham Walls Professor of Political Science, Department of Government, Mona Pinchis-Paulsen, Assistant Professor in International Economic Law, Department of Law

Chair: Nicola Lacey, Professor of Law, Department of Law

How the Pandemic Polarised Us

Tuesday 2 March

Speakers: Florian Foos, Assistant Professor in Political Behaviour, LSE Department of Government, Sara Hobolt, Sutherland Chair in European Institutions, LSE Department of Government, Peter Trubowitz, Professor of International Relations and Director of LSE US Centre

Chair: Chris Anderson, Professor in European Politics and Policy, LSE European Institute

Electoral Hostility: is the sanctity of elections under threat? 

Thursday 4 February

Speakers: Sarah Harrison, Deputy Director of the Electoral Psychology Observatory, Michael Bruter, Director of the Electoral Psychology Observatory, Jon Davies, CEO of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Adam Drummond, Associate Director at Opinium Research, Thomas Hicks, Commissioner for US Federal Electoral Assistance Commission, Sandra Obradovic, Associate Researcher at the Electoral Psychology Observatory

Chair: Florian Foos, Assistant Professor in Political Behaviour, LSE Department of Government

Rebuilding the UK Economy for a More Secure Future

Thursday 21 January

Speaker: Anneliese Dodds, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and MP for Oxford East
Chair: Martin Lodge, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy

How To Be a Liberal

Wednesday 25 November 2020

Speaker: Ian Dunt, political commentator and author
Chair: Simon Hix, Harold Laski Professor of Political Science 

Europe's (Euro) Crisis of Legitimacy

Wednesday 18 November 2020

Speaker: Vivien Schmidt, Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Boston University 
Chair: Jonathan Hopkin, Professor of Comparative Politics, LSE

COVID-19: The Changing Relationship between People and their Governments

Thursday 12 November 2020

Speakers: Sara Hobolt, Sutherland Chair in European Institutions, Dominik Hangartner, Associate Professor in Political Science, Martin Lodge, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, John Sidel, Sir Patrick Gillam Chair in International and Comparative Politics, Florian Foos, Assistant Professor in Political Behaviour 
Chair: Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey, Head of Department, Department of Government

Anti-System Politics: The crisis of market liberalism in rich democracies 

Tuesday 27 October 2020

Speaker: Jonathan Hopkin, Professor of Comparative Politics 
Chair: Waltraud Schelkle, Professor of Political Economy

Democracy and the Supreme Court: judges and the politicians

Tuesday 13 October 2020

Speaker: Lord Falconer, barrister and former Secretary of State for Justice 
Chair: Paul Apostolidis, Associate Professorial Lecturer, LSE

Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

Wednesday 23 September 2020

Speaker: Iain Dale, broadcaster and political commentator
Chair: Tony Travers, Professor, LSE Department of Government

Against the System: anger, belonging and the crisis of liberalism

Tuesday 14 July 2020

Speakers: Eric Lonergan, economist and author, Lea Ypi, Professor in Political Theory, Martin Sandbu, journalist and author
Chair: Jonathan Hopkin, Professor of Comparative Politics, LSE

Transboundary Crisis Management in Europe in the Wake of COVID-19

Wednesday 13 May 2020

Speakers: Lydie Cabane, Assistant Professor in Governance of Crises, Arjen Boin, Professor of Public Institutions and Governance, Martin Lodge, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Nick Sitter, Professor of Public Policy
Chair: Andrea Mennicken, Associate Professor of Accounting 

LSE Political Theory Graduate Conference

Thursday 12 - Friday 13 March 2020

Speakers: Professor Clare Chambers (Cambridge), Professor Philippe van Parjis (Louvain)

The Death of Stalin 

Tuesday 11 February 2020

Speaker: Armando Iannucci, writer, director and producer 
Chair: Jonathan Hopkin, Associate Professor of Comparative Politics, LSE

Unions and Their Break-ups: the UK's attempted secession from the EU, and its possible outcomes 

Monday 3 February 2020

Speaker: Brendan O'Leary, Lauder Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania 
Chair: Bill Kissane, Associate Professor (Reader) in Politics, LSE 

The Far Right Today

Tuesday 3 December 2019

Speaker: Cas Mudde, Professor of International Affairs at the University of Georgia 
Chair: Sara Hobolt, Sutherland Chair in European Institutions in the LSE Department of Government

The New Politics of the People 

Thursday 14 November 2019

Speaker: Jack Shenker, journalist and author of Now We Have Your Attention
Chair: Florian Foos, Assistant Professor in Political Behaviour

Reading and Writing the Chinese Dream

Monday 21 October 2019

Speakers: Timothy Cheek, University of British Columbia
David Ownby, University of Montreal 
Joshua A. Fogel, University of York 
Chair: Leigh Jenco, Professor of Political Theory in the LSE Department of Government 

Margaret Thatcher - Herself Alone

Monday 14 October 2019

Speaker: Charles Moore, journalist and former editor of the Daily Telegraph 
Chair: Tony Travers, Professor in the LSE Department of Government 

Prison Abolition? Incarceration and the Limits of Functional Critique 

Tuesday 14 May 2019

Speaker: Tommie Shelby, Professor of African and African American Studies and Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University
Chair: Lea Ypi, Professor of Political Theory in the LSE Department of Government

Iran's Role in the Middle East 

Thursday 23 May 2019

Speakers: Jack Straw, former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
Mariam Memarsadeghi, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Tavaana and Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland
Kasra Aarabi, Iran Analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change 

Chair: Katerina Dalacoura, Associate Professor of International Relations in the LSE Department of International Relations

American Diplomacy in a Disordered World 

Thursday 4 April 2019

Speaker: William J Burns, retired diplomat and author of 'The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for its Renewal' 

Chair: Christopher Coker, Professor of International Relations and Director of LSE IDEAS

Sacred Mandates: Asian International Relations Since Chinggis Khan

Tuesday 2 April 2019 

Speaker: Timothy Brook, A historian of China whose work has focused on the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) 
Chair: Leigh Jenco, Professor in Political Theory, LSE Department of Government 

Mutiny on the Patty Snow: Contradictions of East India Company Expansion in the Late Eighteenth Century 

Tuesday 2 April

Speaker: Megan Thomas, Associate Professor, UC Santa Cruz

History from Between: Global Circulations of the Past in East Asia and Europe

Monday 1 April 2019

The East Asian Uses of the European Past project, funded by the Humanities in the European Research Area, hosted a one-day conference on 1 April 2019 to discuss the creation of historical knowledge between East Asia and Europe from 1600-1950. 

The Architectonic of Reason

Friday 29 March 2019

A manuscript workshop on Lea Ypi’s forthcoming book: The Architectonic of Reason: Teleology and Systematic Unity in Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason.

What have we learnt from the financial crisis

Monday 18 March 2019 

Speaker: Rt Hon Vince Cable, MP for Twickenham since 2017 and Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Chair: Jonathan Hopkin, Associate Professor of Comparative Politics, LSE Department of Government 

Democratising the Knowledge Economy: A Workshop with Roberto Mangabeira Unger
Monday 18 March 2019 

Speakers: Roberto Unger, Harvard Law School 
Lea Ypi, LSE
Martin O'Neill, University of York
Isaac Stanley, Nesta 

LSE Film Event: 'Peterloo' and Q&As with director, Mike Leigh

Thursday 7 March 2019

Speakers:
Mike Leigh OBE FRSL is an English writer and director of film and theatre.
Dr Jacqueline Riding is an art historian, historian, adviser and author.
Chair: Jonathan Hopkin, Associate Professor of Comparative Politics, LSE Department of Government 

Saving Democracy from Politicians. Do We Need Professional Representatives?
6 December 2018

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the professionalisation of politics? In this inaugural lecture Valentino Larcinese discussed evidence from the Five Star Movement in the Italian parliament.

What is Ahead for Mexico? The 2018 Electoral Process and the Country Outlook

Tuesday 30 October - Thursday 1 November 2018 | London School of Economics and Political Science

Full programme of events

Politics as Performance: Will the American Fascination with 'Trump Style' Survive the 2018 Midterms?

31 October 2018

Erik Bucy reviewed focus group, survey, and Twitter data to assess the resonance of Trump’s communication style with voters and to gain insights into how his mélange of nonverbal theatrics and verbal directness bonds supporters while at the same time alienating critics.

Modi's India, Erdogan's Turkey, and the Crisis of the Secular State in the Non-Western World

23 October 2018

This lecture marks the publication of Sumantra Bose's new book, Secular States, Religious Politics: India, Turkey, and the Future of Secularism.

 National Populism: the revolt against liberal democracy

22 October 2018

Matthew Goodwin presented his new guide to one of the most urgent political phenomena of our time: the rise of national populism.

 The Political Economy of Italy's Decline

11 October 2018

This event marked the launch of a book on Italy’s present decline, which uses institutional analysis to retrace in the country’s recent history the roots of its politico-economic equilibrium.

Restating Orientalism: A Critique of Modern Knowledge

4 October 2018

Wael B. Hallaq reevaluates and deepens the critique of Orientalism in order to deploy it for rethinking the foundations of the modern project.

Spending to Win - How governments use subsidies to win votes and support businesses

30 May 2018

A discussion of how and why governments support businesses using subsidies and tax breaks in an increasingly integrated global economy.

The Great Reversal: How Neoliberalism turned the Economic Aspirations of Liberalism Upside Down
14 May 2018

Liberal economic ideals, once advanced to favour workers, now favour capital owners. Elizabeth Anderson explains why, and ties this reversal to contemporary populist political crises.

The other neoliberalism: German ordoliberalism after the Euro crisis
10 May 2018

As contributors to the recent edited volume on Ordoliberalism, Law and the Rule of Economics (eds. Hien and Joerges; Hart Publishing), the speakers on this panel will explore Ordoliberalism from variety of disciplinary perspectives, charting both its theoretical iterations and its contemporary political significance.

After the Hague Tribunal
3 May 2018

The panel discussed the implications for accountability for war crimes in the Balkans following the closure of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

How to Rig an Election
1 May 2018

In this talk, Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas showed how to rig an election - with the hopes that the lesson will help save democracy.

Rethinking Transitional Justice and Reconciliation 
26 April 2018

The panel discussion launched a special issue of the journal Ethnic and Racial Studies coedited by James Hughes and Denisa Kostovicova of LSE’s Department of Government. 

The Enemy Within: A Tale of Muslim Britain
8 March 2018

This event explored Baroness Sayeeda Warsi's new book titled 'The Enemy Within: A Tale of Muslim Britain' and questions of cultural difference, terrorism, surveillance, social justice and the meaning of 'British values'.

Why we don't trust the news, and what to do about it
8 February 2018

This lecture delved into the shifting expectations of media, including what makes information trustworthy and what steps can be taken to earn back trust.

Bullshit and Post-truth Politics
30 January 2018

This event with Matthew D'Ancona, Tanya Filer, Andre Spicer and Juliane Reinecke discussed how bullshit has taken over the worlds of business and increasingly the political arena. Jonathan Hopkin chaired the discussion.

The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's attack on democracy
24 January 2018

Brian Klaas argued forcefully that with every autocratic tactic or tweet, Trump further erodes democratic norms in the world’s most powerful democracy. Jonathan Hopkin chaired the discussion.

Listen to the podcas

Cultural backlash: The Rise of Populist Authoritarianism
6 December 2017

Pippa Norris explains rising voting support for populist parties in Europe as part of a cultural backlash. Bill Kissane chaired the discussion.

Implementing Peace in Colombia: A Conversation with Mariana Escobar
29 November 2017

Mariana Escobar explored the challenges and prospects of sustainable peace-building on the ground in Colombia.  Francisco Panizza chaired the discussion.

Alice in Westminster: The Political Life of Alice Bacon
9 November 2017

Rachel Reeves MP discussed the political life and legacy of Alice Bacon – the first woman MP for Leeds and Yorkshire. David Soskice chaired the discussion.

Listen to the podcast

Post-truth politics: Being a savvy news consumer
8 November 2017

This event included speakers Ali Cirone, Ben Lyons and Jason Reifler who all provided tips and tricks on how to successfully evaluate political information found on social media or political campaigns. Thomas Leeper chaired the discussion.
Listen to the podcast

Palestinian Rights, the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Movement, and Transnational Solidarity
7 November 2017

This panel brought together leading Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) protagonists, rights-activists and academics to discuss the movement and its prospects. Panellists included Omar Barghouti, Samia Al-Botmeh, John Chalcraft, Nicola Pratt and Rafeef Ziadah.
Listen to the podcast

 Syria – The Impossible Revolution: Launch of Documentary Feature Film

18 October 2017

Syria - The Impossible Revolution' is a feature length documentary film that explores the roots of the peaceful uprising in Syria in 2011, and how it turned into a revolution that has been so brutally crushed. Brian Klaas hosts a Q&A with Paul Conroy, Peter Tatchell, Ronan Tynan and Sawsan Abou Zainedin following the screening.

Why International State-Building Fails: a New Interpretation
11 October 2017

A panel including Susan Woodward, Christine Cheng and Denisa Kostovicova discusses Woodward’s book, The Ideology of Failed States (CUP 2017), an analysis of the significant but counterproductive role played by the concept of failed states in shaping international order and intervention since the early 1990s.

Democracy and Its Crisis
5 October 2017

Winston Churchill described democracy as 'the least bad of all systems.' So it is, when it works. But it has been made to fail - notice those words: 'made to fail' - in at least two of its leading examples in today’s world, the US and the UK. A. C. Grayling examines how democracy has been made to fail and how to put it right.

If Only They Didn't Speak English: notes from Trump's America
7 September 2017

Jon Sopel, BBC North America Editor, talks about his new book 'If Only They Didn’t Speak English – Notes from Trump’s America' in which he sets out to analyse how a country that he says once stood for the grandest of aspirations is now mired in a storm of political extremism, racial division, and increasingly perverse beliefs.

Post Truth: The New War on Truth and How To Fight Back
27 June 2017

One of the UK’s most respected commentators, Matthew d’Ancona, launches a powerful and deeply personal campaign in this urgent fightback manifesto. A precious value is being eroded – Truth. It’s time to leap to its protection.