LSE IDEAS e-newsletter 1 October 2008

MICHAELMAS TERM LECTURES AND SEMINARS

· IDEAS hosted a highly successful conference with The Institute of the Americas of the University of London. Over 100 people attended the keynote lecture on "American Excpetionalism" given by Professor Dan Deudney of John Hopkins University. Professor Cox of IDEAS also participated in a roundtable looking at the Impact of US foreign policy on the forthcoming presidential elections.

· ‘Churchill's view of Russia - Six Phases,’ a seminar with Professor John Lukacs, will take place on the 7 October at 5:30 pm in the IDEAS Conference Room B212 (Columbia House).

· Professor Chen Jian will present his inaugural lecture as Philippe Roman Professor of History and International Affairs on ‘The China Challenge as Myth and Reality’ on the 8 October at 6.30 pm in the Old Theatre.

· ‘South Africa and Zimbabwe,’ a seminar with Professor Jack Spence, will take place on the 22 October 2008 at 6:30 pm in the IDEAS Conference Room B212 (Columbia House).

· There will be a roundtable discussion, ‘From War to Peace: Northern Ireland and its Lessons for the 21st Century’ on the 4th November at 6:30 pm in the Old Theatre.

· ‘Where Now For the United States After the Election?’, a roundtable discussion, will be held on the 7th November at 6:30 pm in the Old Theatre. This event is part of a new LSE IDEAS Transatlantic Project.

· Lord Chris Patten will give a lecture entitled ‘What Next? Surviving the Twenty-first Century’ on the 19th November at 6:30 pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building.

· Professor Allen Guelzo will speak on ‘Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: Law and Liberty in the Time of War’ on the 19th November at 6:30 pm in the Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building. This public lecture is part of the IDEAS-Gilder Lehrman Lecture Series in American History.

· Antonio Maria Costa will give a lecture entitled ‘Are We Winning the War on Drugs?’ on the 27th November at 5 pm in the Old Theatre.



BOOK LAUNCHES AND PUBLICATION NEWS



· Dr. Nigel Ashton, senior lecturer in International History and a member of LSE IDEAS's management committee, will speak at the launch of his ground-breaking new book, ‘King Hussein of Jordan: A Political Life’ on the 28 October at 6:30 pm in Room B212 (Columbia House). This book has been researched through access to the late King's personal archives, and includes astonishing revelations about Middle Eastern politics during the past fifty years.

· Professor Michael Cox, IDEAS Co-Director, has published a new study on America’s foreign policy, ‘US Foreign Policy.’

· The centre is launching a new initiative, IDEAS on International Affairs, which will provide briefs and summations on important contemporary issues by prominent experts at IDEAS, the LSE, and outside organisations. More details on this exciting service for corporate and public audiences will be available soon.

· New editions of the LSE IDEAS journals Cold War History and International Politics have been recently released.



PROGRAMME ACTIVITIES



· Dr Tanya Harmer, programme coordinator for IDEAS Latin America Initiative, was awarded the LSE's 'Abbey/Grupo Santander Travel Research Grant' to establish a Cold War International History Project between IDEAS and the Institute of History at Chile's Pontificia Universidad Católica. In April 2009, Tanya and the Project's Chilean co-ordinators, Alfredo Riquelme and Joaquin Fermandois, will be hosting a conference on Chile and the Cold War in Santiago. The following month IDEAS will be welcoming a visiting Chilean scholar to London to present a paper at our seminar series. For more information, please contact t.harmer@lse.ac.uk.

· The LSE IDEAS Transatlantic Project will be officially launched during the Lent Term, 2009. It serves as a forum for practitioners, academics, and policy analysts to discuss the defining elements of transatlantic relations, share information, and address overarching questions such as the implications of US power, the future of Europe, and the ability of the US and the EU to tackle global challenges as allies.

· LSE IDEAS is initiating its new training programme for senior diplomats from the People's Republic of China, supported by the Chevening Programme, the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Embassy of the UK in Beijing, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China. Mr. Xu Jian and Mr. Ouyang Zhibing will each spend 6 months as LSE IDEAS in 2008/09 as part of the training programme.

· The LSE – Columbia University Double Degree in International and World History, run in association with IDEAS, has begun its first semester in New York.

· Dr. Munir Majid has been named a LSE IDEAS senior visiting fellow. Dr. Majid (LSE PhD, IR, '78) will participate in the setting up of a new programme in Southeast Asian International Affairs. Among many other prominent positions, Dr. Majid has recently served as a Chairman of Malaysia Airlines.


TEACHING AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES


· The 5th LSE- PKU summer school programme was held in Beijing in July of this year. LSE Directors Professors Arne Westad and Michael Cox taught a course entitled 'The New World Order: America, Asia, Europe.'

· The LSE IDEAS, together with the International Relations and International History departments, was pleased to announce two new Stonex PhD Scholarships this year.

· Professor Westad is initiating a new research seminar on the International History of the Cold War. The seminar, which is primarily for LSE PhD students, is open to all staff and students interested in the topic. For further information, please contact Mrs. Tiha Franulovic at t.franulovic@lse.ac.uk.


PHILIPPE ROMAN CHAIR


· Professor Chen Jian will join IDEAS as the Philippe Roman Chair for 2008-09. Professor Chen is a prominent expert on US-China relations who teaches at Cornell University.

· Professor Niall Ferguson of Harvard University has been confirmed as Philippe Roman Chair for the calendar year 2010. Professor Ferguson is a world-renowned historian of international affairs, who currently is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University.

· Professor Gilles Kepel of Sciences Po, Paris, has been confirmed as Philippe Roman Chair for the Michaelmas term 2009. Professor Kepel is best known for his books on the Middle East and North Africa, and for his work on Islamism, including Islamism in Europe.



VISITING FELLOWS



· IDEAS welcomes a number of new Visiting Fellows this year. Among them is Professor Chris Saunders, who teaches African history at the University of Cape Town. Professor V. Spike Peterson will be visiting from the University of Arizona. Mr. Xu Jian and Mr. Ouyang Zhibing will be visiting through the Chevening Programme.



OTHER NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS



· Professor Michael Cox, IDEAS Co-Director, gave the T S Elliot Lecture at Washington University in St. Louis. His lecture was entitled 'Anglo-America: Past, Present and Future.'

· Professor Arne Westad, Ideas Co-Director, will participate in a seminar at Harvard University and lecture at the University of California, Berkeley, in October.



IDEAS MEDIA BRIEFINGS



· IDEAS will be having a Media Briefing entitled 'McCain or Obama - Who's Best For Europe?' on the 9th of October.

· The first IDEAS Media Briefing, entitled 'A New Cold War' was held on the 25th September.


· Arion Deol and Marcel Thomson from Academic Support Team 1 for his expert help and flexibility during this very busy period.



LSE IDEAS is at Columbia House, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom. For more information, please visit our website and visit our blog. To be added to our mailing list, visit http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/IDEAS/mailingListForm.htm.