Debates 2

Immigration debate at Festival of Ideas 2013

A Dividing Issue - The Immigration Debate

Do we really need more biographies of Hitler, or are historians currently adding to the wealth of existing literature simply cashing in on continuing public interest in Hitler and World War II? In this seminar on Modern European History, three scholars currently working on studies of the Nazi dictator offer their thoughts, and discuss some of their latest research. With Prof Wolfram Pyta (Stutgart), Prof Brendan Simms (Peterhouse, Cambridge) and Dr Thomas Weber (Aberdeen). Presented by Dr Bernhard Fulda (Sidney Sussex, Cambridge) and recorded at Sidney Sussex College on November 19, 2013.

Why Hitler Needs Revisiting

Panelists Lucia Allais, Frieda L. Miller Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Assistant Professor at Princeton University, Robert M. Edsel, Author of The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, and moderator Diane McWhorter, Spring 2014 A.M. Rosenthal Writer-in-Residence at The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy were joined by actor Matt Damon via Skype. Panelists addressed the real-life task force of museum directors, curators, and art historians, referred to as the Monuments Men, who entered Germany in the last stages of World War II to recover art pieces stolen by the Nazis. Questions from the audience related to modern day efforts to preserve cultural institutions, especially with regard to pillaging in Baghdad during the Iraq War, as well as the setting and filming of Sony’s Monuments Men.

The Monuments Men: Rescuing Art from the Nazis | Institute of Politics

How do conspiracies happen, how can historians use them to understand more about the past, and where do they begin and cease to be relevant to the study of history? Such questions were the starting point for this panel debate, in which Professor Christopher Andrew and Dr Stephen Dorril examine cases from Stalinist Russia, Harold Wilson’s government in the 1960s, and Northern Ireland in the 1970s, to name but a few. - See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/history-and-conspiracy#sthash.UnAMoebB.dpuf

History and conspiracy

Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn joined The New York Times National Security Correspondent David Sanger  for a discussion on “Accelerating Change: The Way Ahead for Defense Intelligence.” Lieutenant General Flynn discussed the conflict in Syria, including the potential for fundamental regional changes if the Syrian Civil War continues. He also addressed the NSA’s recent scandals and how the strongest effects of the Snowden revelations will be seen in the military. 

Accelerating Change: The Way Ahead for Defense Intelligence | Institute of Politics

Harvard University Professor of Ukrainian History, Serhii Plokhii, joined Belfer Center Director of Defense & Intelligence Projects BG Kevin Ryan (US Army retired), and Stanton Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow Eugene B. Kogan in a conversation about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, moderated by R. Nicholas Burns, The Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations. The panelists considered the current standoff from the perspectives of Russia, the United States, and the international community and made predictions about future developments.

Crisis in Ukraine: How Should U.S. and Europe Respond? | Institute of Politics

Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns moderated a John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on the ongoing crisis in Syria with Former Deputy National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, Elliot Abrams, former Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith, and former Knesset member and co-founder of Israel’s “Peace Now” movement Avshalom Vilan. Panelists discussed the possibility of a U.S. intervention, either financially or militarily, along with regional instability and future geopolitical implications.

The Syrian Crisis: Its Impact on the U.S., the Middle East and the Next Generation

Former Director of the Mossad, Meir Dagan, Former Director of the CIA David Petraeus, and current Belfer Center Director Graham Allison discussed the possibility of peace in the Middle East with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran’s nuclear program, and the changing nature of national security organizations.

Israel, Iran and the Arab Revolution | Institute of Politics

Waterloo is a battle to be ‘celebrated’, as least from the British perspective. Yet even in the Britain of 1815, there were those who bemoaned Napoleon’s defeat as a setback for progress. In this public event Professor Alan Forrest (York) and Dr Michael Rowe (King’s College London / Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War) debate the pros and cons of Napoleonic rule, and consider whether Europe might not have been better off if Napoleon rather than Wellington had triumphed on the field of Waterloo. 

The event took place at the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo Festival 'The Legacy of War' in St John's Church, Waterloo on 16 February 2015.

DISCLAIMER: Any information, statements or opinions contained in this recording are those of the individual speakers. They do not represent the opinions of the Department of War Studies or King's College London.

Festival debate: Waterloo – A Victory Worth Celebrating?

A Conversation with
Thomas Joscelyn
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Alberto Mora
Senior Fellow, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
Barbara Starr (Moderator)
Pentagon Correspondent, CNN

Closing Guantanamo: For and Against | Institute of Politics

Speaker: Benjamin Weinthal

Affiliation: Jerusalem Post Correspondent for European affairs; Berlin-based Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Title: “How Bad is Modern European Antisemitism? Making Sense of Contemporary European Antisemitism in post-Holocaust Europe”

Convener: Dr. Charles Asher Small, Founder and Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP)

Location: ISGAP Center, New York

Date: March 26, 2014

How Bad is Modern European Antisemitism?

Speaker(s): Professor Alan Sked | This talk will include an analysis of the failings of the EU and the advantages of Brexit. Alan Sked is Emeritus Professor of International History at LSE. He is an expert on European and British history and his books have been translated into several European languages as well as Chinese and Japanese. His whole academic career was spent in the International History Department although between 1981 and 1991 he was Convenor of LSE's postgraduate European Studies Programme, which converted him to Euroscepticism. He has also had a political career, co-founding the Bruges Group and founding and leading the Anti-Federalist League which became the UK Independence Party. He no longer supports the party but does support the cause of Britain quitting the EU. Janet Hartley is Professor of International History and Head of the Department of International History at LSE. The Department of International History (@lsehistory) is one of the top five university history departments in the UK.

The Case for Brexit: why Britain should quit the EU [Audio]

Dr. Amanda Sloat, former US State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southern Europe and Eastern Mediterranean Affairs, explains the situation in Turkey, just a few months removed from a military coup attempt, as it grapples with stark internal political divisions, violent conflicts in neighboring Syria and Iraq, an influx of millions of refugees and increasingly tense alliances with the United States and European Union.

Let's Talk Turkey | PolicyCast

When Donald Trump was elected to become the 45th president of the United States in November, it sent shockwaves across the world, particularly in Asia. Throughout his campaign, he made pledges that, if acted upon, could fundamentally alter the U.S. position in the region... and even the broader international order. In this episode, we look at the geopolitical hotspots in Asia including China, North Korea, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, India, and the Philippines, and how President Trump might address them.

Donald Trump and Asia

As Donald Trump prepares to take office, three HKS faculty members discuss the challenges he’ll face in pursuing his unique brand of politics on the world stage. Featuring former US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, former Department of Homeland Security Official Juliette Kayyem and Foreign Policy Columnist Stephen Walt.

HKS PolicyCast

Roundtable: Trump's Foreign Policy

How Foreign Influence and Uncertain U.S. Policy Shape the Region’s Core Conflict

Perennial volatility between India and Pakistan has escalated further recently along their 2,064-mile border. While the historic antagonism between the two nuclear-armed powers remains the central risk, it is playing out today amid gains by radical insurgents in Afghanistan, probing by Russia and Iran, uncertainty over U.S. policy, and rapidly evolving economic ties between Pakistan and China. Join the U.S. Institute of Peace on May 15 for a discussion of the region’s shifting geopolitics and ways current trends might line up with U.S. interests.

Learn more or register to attend: https://www.usip.org/events/india-pakistan-and-south-asias-new-geopolitics

India, Pakistan and South Asia’s New Geopolitics

The United States is facing ever-evolving threats across Europe, the Middle East and South Asia. Join the U.S. Institute of Peace for a conversation with Douglas Lute — former Ambassador to NATO, retired Army lieutenant general, and National Security Council official in both the Bush and Obama administrations — to explore the changing security landscape in the 21st century. He has been deeply involved in developing U.S. policy and military strategy for decades. So what are looming conflicts ahead? How are the United States and the world’s largest military alliance adapting to deal with them? Is the U.S. role in NATO changing?

Ambassador Lute retired last month after more than three years as U.S. Ambassador to NATO. He had helped develop policy on Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan from 2007 until 2013. Prior to the White House, Lute served as the Director of Operations on the Joint Staff, overseeing U.S. military operations worldwide, and as Director of Operations at U.S. Central Command. Lute retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant general in 2010 after 35 years on active duty. He holds degrees from the United States Military Academy at West Point and Harvard University. Join the conversation on Twitter with #LuteUSIP.

For more information about this event, visit: http://www.usip.org/events/the-wars-of-today-and-tomorrow

The Wars of Today and Tomorrow

President Trump’s August 21 announcement of a new strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia has unsettled U.S.-Pakistan relations, with serious implications for U.S. interests in Afghanistan, nuclear non-proliferation, and stability in the region. Join USIP on October 5 for a discussion with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif—Pakistan’s first public, high-level engagement with the U.S. policy community in Washington on the new strategy.

for more information about this event, visit: https://www.usip.org/events/pakistans-foreign-minister-relations-us

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister on Relations with the U.S.

Recording of the debate at the Battle of Ideas 2017 in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering. See full details here: https://www.battleofideas.org.uk/session/from-ai-to-big-data-can-technology-save-the-nhs/

At a time of ever-increasing healthcare costs, waiting times and ever-increasing strains on GPs and A&E departments, there is increased urgency in trying to find new approaches to treatment. Against this backdrop of cost-driven strains in patient care, can engineering innovations save the day, perhaps giving patients more independence to accurately self-diagnose and more broadly revolutionise healthcare in the coming decades?

SPEAKERS

Terry Barnes
principal, Cormorant Policy Advice; fellow, Institute of Economic Affairs; former special adviser to two Australian health ministers

Trisha Greenhalgh
professor of primary care health sciences and fellow, Green Templeton College, University of Oxford

Timandra Harkness
journalist, writer & broadcaster; presenter, FutureProofing; author, Big Data: does size matter?

Professor Mark Tooley
medical technology consultant; president, Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine

Dr ir Isabel Van De Keere
CEO & founder, Immersive Rehab

Battle of Ideas 2017

From AI to Big Data: can technology save the NHS?

Ambassador Kurt Volker, the Trump administration’s special envoy charged with ending the war in Ukraine, joins The Global Politico this week. Volker talks at length about just how troubled relations are with Russia these days despite Trump’s hoped-for reconciliation, how the several rounds of talks he’s held with a top Putin adviser have not yet made any progress, what it’s like to be a special envoy for a Secretary of State who’s vowed to get rid of them, and why he supports sending weapons to Ukraine.

Debates 2

Vincent Moissac-Vignoux