Power to the people
27 January 2025 - 1 hour 26 minsContributor(s): Dr Danny Sriskandarajah, Lysa John, Jo Swinson | In 2024, two billion people headed to the polls in some 50 countries around the world. But the drama of these elections risks obscuring just how fragile the foundations of democracy have become. A political system that is geared towards short-term wins, run by politicians that few of us trust, is failing to address complex global problems. Many of us feel disempowered, disillusioned and distrustful.
Hear Danny Sriskandarajah discuss his new book Power to the People. Drawing on his extensive experience in leading civil society organisations around the globe, he sets out his radical blueprint for change. From giving democracy a...
Series Episodes
Development finance after Trump
The Trump Administration has closed the world’s largest bilateral aid programme, USAID and poured scorn on its past effectiveness. Other donors are also cutting their aid programmes at the same time as there is a growing chorus of concern around aid effectiveness. It has created ‘’ a perfect storm” in the world of development finance. Can there be a happy ending or is development another casualty of Trump’s new global disorder?
1 hour 32 mins
11 May Finished
The foreign policy of Donald Trump in historical perspective
Commentators around the world draw some startling analogies when they seek to assess President Donald Trump, some even likening him to a Roman emperor or an inter-war dictator. In this lecture, Niall Ferguson puts Trump's foreign policy in an Anglo-American historical perspective.
1 hour 27 mins
7 May Finished
Who is Britain really saving in the fight against modern slavery?
As Black Lives Matter has exposed the legacies of transatlantic slavery and empire, Britain has launched a new moral crusade at home: the fight against “modern slavery.” This panel discussion marks the launch of Drugs, Race and the Politics of Modern Slavery Law by Insa Lee Koch and asks what this crusade is really doing.
1 hour 28 mins
6 May Finished
The ethics of foreign intervention: philosophical perspectives on Venezuela and Iran
The US capture of President Nicolás Maduro in January 2026 and the US–Israeli military campaign against Iran have thrust foreign intervention back to the centre of global debate.
1 hour 24 mins
5 May Finished
Greek Prime Ministers in the eye of the storm
This public lecture is for the book launch of Greek Prime Ministers in the Eye of the Storm: Crisis Management and Institutional Change, featuring authors Kevin Featherstone and Dimitris Papadimitriou.
1 hour 31 mins
29 April Finished
Global ideas for global challenges: a panel in honour of Nick Stern
Leaders of the world’s premier economic institutions and a Nobel Prize winning economist discuss how ideas have evolved to shape our world and what is needed for the future.
1 hour 41 mins
22 April Finished
