How might the lessons of history inform our choices in the present? Does a rules-based world order risk concealing informed discussions, potentially blurring the line between assumptions and reality? 
 
In a world shadowed by its history, Professor Gilbert Achcar from SOAS Development Studies urges us to transcend the rhetoric and slogans of blame when examining contemporary issues - from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine to the tense Taiwan standoff with China, and the evolving power dynamics between the US, Russia and China in between. Instead Achcar’s analysis of the present political tensions challenged us to transcend the ‘black and white debate’, and unravel the nuances of policy decisions taken at critical junctions, dynamics present in the global structure, and the psychological dimensions shaping this social fabric. By offering us a manual crafted by past lessons, Achcar’s “New Cold War” is a call to take inspiration from how existing institutions like the UN were forged and wield this knowledge to navigate the complex political landscape for a more sustainable path. Achcar’s hopefulness resonates throughout, taking a firm belief that another world was and still is possible.

#5. The New Cold War: The United States, Russia and China, from Kosovo to Ukraine

Our first podcast features a discussion on blended online learning chaired by Head of the School of Arts, Professor Shane McCausland, in conversation with Professor Lucy Durán (Music), Dr Estrella Sendra Fernandez (Film and Screen Studies) and Dr Caspar Melville (Centre for Creative Industries, Media and Screen Studies).

Music credits:

Opening theme - Bamanaya (trad). performed on Bobo balafon by Wali Coulibaly (age 6) and Daniel Dembele (age 10). Recorded in Bamako in 2015 by Lucy Durán .
Excerpt from Sattelites, original composition by Garth Knox (2016 Inner Sunset Publishing)
Closing theme - excerpt from Sunjata's Time, original composition by Fodé Lassana Diabaté (2016 Inner Sunset Publishing)

Produced by Lucy Durán and Morgan Davies

The Digital Turn: Blended and Online Learning in the Arts at SOAS

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#5. The New Cold War: The United States, Russia and China, from Kosovo to Ukraine

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