With companies, like SpaceX or Blue Origin, getting into space exploration and the cost of launching rockets dropping, could we see a lot more people heading into space in the future? What kind of possibilities does this new space age bring—and what dangers should we be worried about? Can any nation seize possession of the moon? Could it be mined? …

In this talk, Dr Olivia Mason traced the history of Jordan's nature reserves in the British archives, exploring how nature reserves bring global and situated resource narratives into conversation, how they continue imperial spatial imaginations after periods of administrative colonialism, and the connections between conservation agendas and imperia…

In October 2024 the LSE Phelan US Centre spoke to Yeling Tan, Professor of Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. They spoke about how China understands economic security and its evolving economic strategy, and how public attitudes in China towards international trade influence the country’s trade policy.Th…

In October 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to spoke to Lawrence Lessig, the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School. Cited by The New Yorker as “the most important thinker on intellectual property in the internet era”, Professor Lessig now focuses on “institutional corruption”, especially as that affects democracy. He is…

With Israel’s assault on Lebanon increasing and its war on Gaza continuing without a diplomatic resolution in sight, the Israeli government is involved in a multi-front conflict across the Middle East. This panel discussion brought together academics and political analysts to discuss the growing regional ramifications of the conflict. How have regi…

In October 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations in the Department of International Relations at LSE, and holder of the Emirates Professorship in Contemporary Middle East Studies.They spoke about his new book, “What Really Went Wrong: The West and the failure of democracy in the Middle East”. We also …

This event was a student careers panel, providing an opportunity to hear insights from panellists covering diverse fields of academia and research, journalism and consultancy in/around the Middle East.Meet the speakersRichard Barltrop is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre. Since 2001 he has worked for the UN Development Programm…

In September 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Nick Lewis, a PhD student in LSE’s Department of Government and a recipient of a Phelan US Centre PhD Summer Research Grant in 2022. Nick’s research looks at how social media creates bias in democratic deliberation.They spoke about how Facebook discourages people from taking part in discussions via wh…

While there are always rumours about who might win a Nobel Prize every year, there is no short list for the globally revered academic awards. This means that winning one always comes as a complete surprise. In this episode of LSE iQ, we explore what it’s like to win the prestigious prize and how it changes your life.The Nobel Prizes were establishe…

In September 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Peter Harris, Associate Professor of Political Science at Colorado State University about his new book, Why America Can’t Retrench (And How It Might) which looks at the US’ dominant role in the world, how it got there and the factors preventing global restraint. They discuss the idea of America’s ‘pri…

In August 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Evelyne Ong, an undergraduate research assistant with the Phelan US Centre for the 2023-24 academic year. They discuss her work with Visiting Professor Jeffrey Legro, on the project, ‘The Nuclear Revolution and Great Power Competition’. They also talked about her experience taking part in the Phelan US C…

In 2024, the Phelan US Centre ran an essay competition for master’s students with the prompt, ““How should the United States work to shape the future of capitalism in this age of insecurity?”. We speak to the author of the winning essay, David Millman, and the runners-up, Yazmin Baptiste and Manickam Valliappan. We discuss their essays, the competi…

This episode of LSE iQ explores whether gender pay gap reporting, pay transparency and tackling gender norms can reduce the gender pay gap. On average across the globe, for every pound earned by a man, a woman earns around 80 pence, according to a 2023 report from the United Nations. But despite huge advances in access to education, the labour mark…

In 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Patriann Smith, professor in the College of Education at the University of South Florida. Dr. Smith's transdisciplinary research examines how differences in languages, Englishes, and English language ideologies affect Black Caribbean students’ immigrant literacy practices as they cross cultures and languages be…

In June 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Adia Harvey Wingfield, the Mary Tileston Hemenway Professor of Arts & Sciences and Vice Dean for Faculty Development and Diversity at Washington University in St. Louis. They spoke about Professor Wingfield’s new book, Gray Areas: How the Way We Work Perpetuates Racism and What We Can Do to Fix It. The dis…

In May 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Maxwell Stearns, the Venable, Baetjer & Howard Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law about his new book, Parliamentary America: The Least Radical Means of Radically Repairing Our Broken Democracy. The book argues that the solution to many of America’s democratic cha…

13a SEEN: making women’s labour visible, Roos Saalbrink, Juno Algaravia, Clariss Rufaro Masiya by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

12 Who has the power to address the child penalty globally? Gabriel Leite Mariante by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

11 Who is leading Europe’s cities? Catarina Heeckt by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

10 Who rules Britain? Professor Sam Friedman, Professor Aaron Reeves by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

09 What goes into the making of a sentence in ChatGPT? Dr Nils Peters by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

08 Who has power over our visions of the future? Asher Kessler by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

07 Why do elections matter? Professor Michael Bruter, Dr Sarah Harrison by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

06 The politics of conversation, Professor Elizabeth Stokoe by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

05 The tabloid effect, Dr Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

04 Making research less... WEIRD? Dr Deema Awad by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

03 Contested flows - uncertainty and scarcity of water in Jordan, Dr Frederick Wojnarowski by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

02 In search of spider consciousness, Daria Zakharova by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

01 Introduction by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

In this lecture, Professor Amnon Aran will explore the interplay between domestic politics and strategy in Israeli foreign policy, from the end of the Cold War to the 2023-24 Israel-Hamas war. Reflecting upon this tumultuous period in Israel’s history, he shall examine key events and foreign policies shaping this era. Meet the speakerAmnon Aran is …

In June 2024, the LSE Phelan US Centre held the conference, US Nuclear Strategy in a Changing Indo-Pacific. The conference brought together scholars and analysts with a strong record of policy-relevant research on nuclear strategy and expertise in the security dynamics of the Indo-Pacific.The conference was convened by Phelan US Centre Affiliates, …

This event, as part of the LSE Middle East Centre's Kurdish Studies Series, was the launch of Mustafa Kemal Topal's latest book 'Women Fighters in the Kurdish National Movement: Transforming Gender Politics and the PKK' published by I.B. Tauris.This book examines how the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has become a platform for shifts in gender poli…

In May 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Jeff Legro, University Professor at the University of Richmond, and Visiting Professor at the Phelan US Centre for 2023-24. They spoke about the US’ role as a “unipolar” country in the world, conceptions of sovereignty, both in the US and abroad, the potential future of US foreign policy, and the relationsh…

This event was a launch of Professor Christopher Phillips' latest book 'Battleground: 10 Conflicts that Explain the New Middle East' published by Yale University Press.The Middle East is in crisis. The shocking events of the war in Gaza have rocked the entire region. More than a decade ago, the Arab Spring had raised hopes of a new beginning but in…

In 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Brooke Gladstone, host and Managing Editor of WNYC’s On the Media about the US’ changing media landscape, the meaning of truth and facts in the age of Donald Trump, and how we can teach the next generation to be better media consumers.This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.…

How did the radio, a major technological development in the history of sound and music, change the social, cultural and political landscape of the region? In this last episode of the season, we speak to audio curator Hazem Jamjoum, and Elias Anastas and Saeed Abu Jaber, two of the co-founders of the Palestinian radio station Radio Al Hara. We find …

13b I have a maid, Clariss Rufaro Masiya by LSE PodcastsKirjoittanut LSE Podcasts

As of April 2024, according to UN experts, over 80% of schools have been damaged or destroyed by the Israeli assault on Gaza, with 5479 students, 261 teachers and 95 university professors killed and many thousands injured. Every university in Gaza is partially or wholly destroyed, whether by bombing or demolition. Amidst the systematic destruction …

This webinar was a launch of 'Industrial Policy in Turkey: Rise, Retreat and Return' by William Hale, Mustafa Kutlay and Mina Toksoz published by Edinburgh University Press.At a time when many advanced and emerging economies are adopting more active industrial policies, this book provides an in-depth historical–empirical account of industrial polic…

In May 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to author and journalist for Slate magazine and Phelan US Centre Visiting Senior Fellow, Fred Kaplan about his 2020 book, The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War and the changing attitudes of US politicians and policymakers to nuclear weapons and nuclear war.This Extra Inning was …

A shining city on a hill. America the beautiful. The United States has long been mythologised as the land of dreams and opportunity. And since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s it has been undisputedly the most powerful nation on earth. But is it a fading force? The idea of an America in decline has gained traction in recent years and…

How did China—the world’s largest communist nation—converge with global capitalism? And when did this occur? In this event, held on 7 May 2024, Dr Elizabeth Ingleson of the LSE Department of International History and Phelan US Centre Affiliate argued that this convergence began in the early 1970s, when the United States and China re-opened trade an…

A shining city on a hill. America the beautiful. The United States has long been mythologised as the land of dreams and opportunity. And since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s it has been undisputedly the most powerful nation on earth. But is it a fading force? The idea of an America in decline has gained traction in recent years and…

This episode explores the link between technology, warfare and nationalism. Turkey and Israel are two countries in the region who have developed their technological capabilities for both domestic and international conflict. We speak to two researchers who have been tracing the use of military technologies and the effect they have had on a sense of …

In 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor John Owen, Ambassador Henry J. and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor Professor of Politics, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture and the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, and an Academic Visitor at Nuffield College, University of Oxford from January to June …

What does the era of ‘big data’ mean for development technologies in MENA? How can data be used for good, to ensure projects working with vulnerable communities such as informal workers and women are seen and supported? What kind of repercussions does poor data collection have on emerging technologies? How can data-driven research and technology im…

In April 2024 the Phelan US Centre spoke to Dr Elizabeth Ingleson, Assistant Professor in the Department of International History at LSE and Centre Affiliate of the Phelan US Centre. They spoke about Dr Ingleson’s new book, Made in China: When US-China Interests Converged to Transform Global Trade. They also discussed the evolution of the US-China …

In March 2024, the Phelan US Centre spoke to Professor Elizabeth Saunders, Professor of Political Science at Columbia University about her new book, ‘The Insiders’ Game: How Elites Make War and Peace’ and the role of ‘elites’ in US foreign policymaking.This Extra Inning was produced by Chris Gilson and Anderson Tan.…

Writer and art critic, Rahel Aima, who grew up and currently lives in Dubai, talks to us about living in the Gulf, a region rapidly developing itself as the place to be for smart cities and high-tech living. Rahel explores a concept she has been thinking about for some time, the Khaleeji Ideology, which meets at the intersection of technology, econ…

This event, co-organised with LSE IDEAS, was the launch of the special issue ‘Arab Constitutional Responses to the Revolutions and Transformations in the Region’ published in the Journal of Constitutional Law in the Middle East and North Africa. The special issue is the result of a two year collaboration between the Carnegie Corporation, the Arab A…