Westminster (PIR) Conversations

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Leading academics in Politics and International Relations discuss key findings on a range of topics.

Fyvie Hall, Regent Street, London, UK

About this seriesPIR Conversations is a new initiative. The programme of regular events is open to all, from new students to members of staff and external attendees. The format is relaxed and moves away from the formal lecture presentation. Leading academic experts explain in an accessible way the background and context to their argument or analysis as well as presenting their key findings. For example, they might discuss with the audience how they came to the research area, the major ideas and thinkers they work with and the issues at stake in their research. The talk and discussion will be followed by a reception to which everyone is invited. Wednesday 2nd October 2024Olivia Umurerwa Rutazibwa (Assistant Professor in Human Rights and Politics, London School of Economics), 'Notes on Decolonisation and Abolition for IR research'.Dr Olivia Umurerwa Rutazibwa is Assistant Professor in Human Rights and Politics at the London School of Economics. She has published in various (academic) journals (Foreign Policy, Millennium Journal of International Studies, Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, Postcolonial Studies, Ethical Perspectives, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, and Journal of Contemporary European Studies), is the co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Postcolonial Politics (with Robbie Shilliam, 2018) and Decolonization and Feminisms in Global Teaching and Learning (with Sara de Jong and Rosalba Icaza, Routledge, 2018). Wednesday 6th November 2024Paul Rekret (Lecturer in Media Industries, University of Westminster), 'World Music/ World Politics: Methodological Questions for International Relations'.Paul Rekret is a Lecturer in Media Industries at the School of Media and Communication, University of Westminster. His research embraces a breadth of disciplines, from sound and cultural studies to political economy to understand contemporary popular cultures, media, and creative industries. His authored books include Take This Hammer: Work, Song, Crisis (Goldsmiths/MIT Press, 2024), Down With Childhood: Pop Music and the Crisis of Innocence (Repeater 2017) and Derrida and Foucault: Philosophy, Politics, Polemics (Rowman &amp; LIttlefield 2018). His work has appeared in journals such as Theory, Culture &amp; Society, South Atlantic Quarterly, and Critical Inquiry as well as publications such as Frieze, The Wire, and Art Monthly. Wednesday 4 December 2024Elisa Randazzo (Associate Professor in Politics, Social Change and Innovation, University College London), ‘The Politics of the Anthropocene: Climate Change and Human Agency’.Elisa Randazzo is Associate Professor in Politics, Social Change, and Innovation in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy at UCL. Her work has been published in several academic journals (Political Geography, International Political Sociology, Security Dialogue, Third World Quarterly, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding). She currently works at the intersection of peace studies, I.R., and Anthropocene theory, and is author of two books, Challenging Anthropocene Ontology (with Hannah Richter, 2024), and Beyond Liberal Peacebuilding (2017). Wednesday 29 January 2025Kiran Phull (Lecturer in International Relations, King’s College London), 'Data Visualisation as a Critical Approach to Politics/ International Relations'Kiran Phull is a Lecturer in International Relations based in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. She researches the politics of global knowledge production, exploring how epistemic technologies (like statistics, surveys, and data) create and sustain the conditions for governing social and political life, in often violent ways. Her more recent critically- and historically-informed project considers how crafting data can be a radical act of resistance and political reimagination. Wednesday 5 March 2025Elke Schwarz (Professor in Political Theory, Queen Mary University London), ‘Researching Ethics and Technologies of Violence in International Relations’.Elke Schwarz is Professor in Political Theory at Queen Mary University London, author of Death Machines: The Ethics of Violent Technologies(Manchester University Press, 2018), an RSA Fellow, a member of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control (ICRAC) and 2022/23 CAPAS Fellow at the University of Heidelberg. Her work has been published in a range of philosophical and security focused journals, including Philosophy Today, Security Dialogue, Critical Studies on Terrorism and the Journal of International Political Theory among others. Wednesday 2 April 2025Lee Jones (Professor of Political Economy and International Relations, Queen Mary University London): ‘The New Cold War? The West and China/Russia’Lee Jones is Professor of Political Economy and International Relations at Queen Mary University London. Working in a Gramscian tradition, his research focuses on political economy and the transformation of states. He has published on a wide range of issues including regional security, international economic sanctions, the rise of China, and Brexit. Lee was seconded to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office from 2022-24. His most recent books are Fractured China: How State Transformation is Shaping China’s Rise (2021) and Taking Control: Sovereignty and Democracy after Brexit (2023). This talk will focus on Lee’s new research topic: the emerging Cold War between the West and China/ Russia.

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Westminster (PIR) Conversations

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