The Oxford Conservative Thought (OCT) Reading Group is a non-partisan group devoted to academic exploration of small-c conservative political thought. We welcome, and actively encourage, viewpoint diversity and constructive engagement across ideological divides (all good-willed participants are welcome!)

Each week we read one assigned text, and we recommend more for anyone who is very keen!

Week 3 focuses on conservative views of nationalism, with a reading from Yoram Hazony.

Find our reading list here:

—> bit.ly/OCTMT25

The Oxford University Sudanese Society is proud to host Dr Harry Cross, author of Undoing a Revolution: Sudan and the Politics of Debt, for a critical discussion on how international finance has shaped and constrained Sudan's path since independence.

Dr. Cross, a specialist in Sudan's economic and financial systems, reveals how Western creditors have leveraged unpayable debts to extract policy concessions, devastate the economy, and erode Sudanese sovereignty.

On most measures income inequality in the UK has barely changed in 35 years. Indeed, it has fallen since the financial crisis. Yet public concern about inequality is higher than ever.

In this talk Paul Johnson will draw on the IFS Deaton review of inequalities to help understand this conundrum, and will also look at the sorts of areas - beyond tax and welfare - that policymakers ought to be exploring.

Environmental and societal challenges are complex, interconnected, and ever-evolving, requiring more than isolated or siloed interventions to be addressed effectively. This talk introduces systems thinking as a framework for understanding the feedback loops, delays, and non-linearities that characterize these challenges.