Martin Wight memorial lecture series
A biennial lecture series which celebrates the life and achievements of Professor Martin Wight and reflects the breadth of his interest in history and international relations.
Martin Wight was a seminal figure in the development of international relations theory in Britain and an influential historian of the political civilisation of Europe. He was Reader in International Relations at LSE 1949-62, and Professor of History at the University of Sussex 1962-72.
- Read a biographical overview of Martin Wight's life and work and a detailed bibliography [PDF]
- Read a bibliography of writings on Martin Wight and reviews of his books [PDF]
2024/25 Martin Wight Memorial Lecture
Economic nationalism and global (dis)order
Monday 9 June 2025 90 minutes
Join us for this year's Martin Wight Memorial Lecture which was delivered by Robert Falkner who explores the rise of economic nationalism amidst growing geopolitical rivalry.
The lecture is based on his new co-authored book, The Market in Global International Society: An English School Perspective on International Political Economy.
Meet our speaker and chair
Robert Falkner is Professor of International Relations at LSE and the Academic Dean of the TRIUM Global Executive MBA. He held academic positions at the universities of Oxford, Kent and Essex before joining LSE.
Katerina Dalacoura is Associate Professor in International Relations at LSE. She was awarded a three-year Major Research Fellowship by the Leverhulme Trust for her project, entitled The International Thought of Turkish Islamists: History, Civilisation and Nation.
Find out more about the speaker and this event
Read the student blogger report
2022/23 Martin Wight memorial lecture
The Russia-Ukraine War: A Challenge to International Order?
Thursday 16 February 2023 90 minutes
Speaker:
Professor Roy Allison, Professor of Russian and Eurasian International Relations, and Director of the Russian and Eurasian Studies Centre at Oxford University
Previous lectures were organised by the Martin Wight Memorial Trust which was dissolved in January 2022.
2020
Professor Gurminder Bhambra, Professor of Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies in the School of Global Studies, University of Sussex
The Decolonial Project of Europe: From Colonial Histories to Postcolonial Reparations
11 November 2020, University of Sussex via Zoom (no recording available)
2019
Professor Jennifer Welsh, Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security, McGill University
Sovereignty as responsibility
11 November 2019, LSE
2018
Dr Robin Niblett CMG, Director, Chatham House
The future of think tanks in the 21st century
21 November 2018, Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs
Read the text of this lecture, published as a transcript in the journal International Affairs.
2017
Professor Geoffrey Hosking, Emeritus Professor of Russian History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College, London or SSEES (UCL)
Trust and distrust in Russia: the heritage of the October Revolution re-examined
23 November 2017, University of Sussex
Read the text of this lecture, published as a transcript in the journal International Affairs.
2016
Professor Nicola Phillips, Professor of Political Economy, University of Sheffield
Power and inequality in the global political economy
9 November 2016, LSE
Read the text of this lecture, published as an article in the journal International Affairs.
2015
Professor Christopher Hill, Sir Patrick Sheehy Professor of International Relations, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge
Powers of a kind? The anomalous positions of Britain and France in world politics
3 November 2015, Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs
Read the text of this lecture, published as an article in the journal International Affairs.
2014
Emeritus Professor John Röhl, School of History, Art History and Philosophy, University of Sussex
Goodbye to all that (again)? The Fischer thesis, the New Revisionism and the meaning of the First World War
6 November 2014, University of Sussex
Read the text of this lecture, published as an article in the journal International Affairs.
2013
Professor Yongjin Zhang, School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies, University of Bristol
The idea of order in Ancient Chinese political thought: a Wightian exploration
20 November 2013, LSE
Listen or download audio podcast
2012
Professor Nicholas J. Wheeler, Department of International Politics, University of Aberyswyth
Diplomatic transformations in international anarchy
8 November 2012, Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs (no recording or transcript available)
2011
Professor Linda Colley, Department of History, Princeton University
Britain, written constitution and world history, 1780-2000
2 November 2011, University of Sussex (no recording or transcript available)
2010
Professor Ian Clark, Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University
Hegemony and international society
10 November 2010, LSE
Listen or download audio podcast
2009
Professor Barry Buzan, Department of International Relations, LSE
Culture and International Society
18 November 2009, Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs (no recording or transcript available)
2008
Professor David Reynolds, Department of History, Christ's College, University of Cambridge
Summitry as intercultural communication
20 November 2008, University of Sussex (no recording or transcript available)
2007
Professor Robert Jackson, Department of International Relations and Political Science, Boston University
Martin Wight's intellectual world
12 December 2007, LSE (no recording or transcript available)
2006
Dr Andrew Hurrell, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford
One world? Many worlds? The place of regions in the study of international society
23 November 2006, Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs (no recording or transcript available)
2005
Professor Mark Mazower, Department of History, Columbia University
An international civilization? Empire, internationalism and the crisis of the mid-twentieth century
24 November 2005, University of Sussex (no recording or transcript available)
2004
Baroness Professor Onora O'Neill, Newnham College, Cambridge
The dark side of human rights
14 October 2004, LSE (no recording or transcript available)
2003
Neal Ascherson, Journalist and writer, formerly foreign correspondent of The Observer
"Better off without them"? Politics and ethnicity in the twenty-first century
13 November 2003, Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs (no recording or transcript available)
2002
Professor Mary Kaldor, Centre for the Study of Global Governance, London School of Economics and Political Science
The idea of global civil society
31 October 2002, University of Sussex (no recording or transcript available)
2001
Professor Andrew Linklater, Department of International Politics, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
The problem of harm in world politics: implications for the sociology of states-systems
1 November 2001, LSE (no recording or transcript available)
2000
Professor Timothy Garton Ash, European Studies Centre at St Antony's College, University of Oxford
Is Britain European?
2 November 2000, Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs (no recording or transcript available)
Sir Herbert Butterfield gave the first lecture at Sussex University on 23 April 1975.
Martin Wight Prize for best MSc International Relations (Research) Dissertation
This annual prize has been awarded since 2012 for the best marked dissertation on the MSc International Relations (Research) programme.
Read about the prizewinners and their dissertations on our blog
The biennial Martin Wight memorial lecture and the annual Martin Wight Prize for best MSc International Relations (Research) Dissertation are supported by the generous gift of the Martin Wight Memorial Trust.