The Democratic Republic of Congo and Syria are two of the worst conflicts currently in the world. Join leading intellectuals from the DRC and Syria as they discuss their perspectives on conflict, with commentary and contribution from Javier Solana.

Why do contemporary conflicts last so long? And what role can independent voices play in telling the story of the conflict and proposing alternatives? At this event, two critical intellectuals from the Democratic Republic of Congo and from Syria will present their analyses and prognoses of the violence in their countries, with commentary from researchers in LSE’s Conflict Research Programme and from Dr Javier Solana, the former High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union and Professor of Practice at LSE.

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja is author of the book The Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People's History and Professor of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.

Javier Solana (@javiersolana) is the former High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union and Professor of Practice at LSE.

Omar Abdulaziz-Hallaj is a consultant on urban planning, development and local governance. He is co-coordinator of the Syria Project at the Common Space Initiative in Beirut, where he is engaged in facilitating various dialogue and research projects for peace building and recovery planning in Syria. Formerly, he was the CEO of the Syria Trust for Development. 

Mary Kaldor (@LSE_CCS) is the Director of The Conflict and Civil Society Research Unit at LSE and Professor of Global Governance. Professor Kaldor pioneered the concept of new wars and global civil society and her work on the practical implementation of human security has directly influenced European and national politics.