Join Saïd Business School for the annual Rewley Lecture with guest speakers Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, and Evan Sharp, co-founder of Pinterest.

Do local political institutions influence the balance of power in national politics? If so, how? Drawing on insights from the literatures on multi-level politics, party organization and strategy, and the effects of institutions, I argue that certain local political institutions strengthen party branches. This, in turn, leads to better performance in national elections, particularly for parties that rely on grassroots mobilization. To test the argument, I take advantage of a quasi-experimental local governance setup in early-20th-century Sweden.

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!

You can view our reading list here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-FnMPnWCQm3urAvD38jjRQkTEGA2EuSSjZjWm41Eszw/edit?usp=sharing

When Japan’s late Prime Minister Abe Shinzō introduced the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) concept in 2016, few would have imagined the effect it will have on global geopolitics. While initially highlighting the confluence between the Pacific and the Indian Oceans, the FOIP has been instrumental for the formulation of other major powers’ strategic outlooks in Europe, Asia, and across the Atlantic, providing a new overarching conceptual framework that continues to define Indo-Pacific security dynamics today.

The last few decades have seen governments in East Asia provide increasing support for startups—new, high-growth, technologically oriented firms. Initiatives like the J-Startup programme strive to create cohorts of unicorns whilst also reinforcing Japan’s comparative advantages, with industrial leaders serving as coaches and judges for the programme. As such, these initiatives do not necessarily benefit the growth of startups as challengers to large, established firms.

This two-day Workshop in conjunction with the Department of Primary Care aims to bring together leading healthcare experts (academics, practitioners, policymakers) from Japan and the UK to interrogate existing assumptions behind the delivery of healthcare. This event will be held in the Nissan Institute Lecture Theatre.

In 1824 a young newlywed samurai woman of Kōchi castle town in southwestern Japan named Mori Nao wanted to divorce her samurai husband because she did not like him. Nao's husband adamantly refused to give her a divorce and the legal system said that only a man had the right and privilege to do so. After overcoming some resistance from her own family, she was able to get them on her side, and then her husband's family on her side and finally even the government of her domain allied with her and pressured him to divorce her.

Marking the 25th anniversary of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda in 2025, this lecture examines the integration of feminist perspectives into international security. It explores feminist critiques of traditional security paradigms and analyzes discursive strategies in United Nations debates, highlighting the dominance of instrumentalist arguments and their limitations.