The naga is a deified serpent that is a major part of the belief system of many South and Southeast Asian cultures. It is a chthonic creature, and is very strongly associated with rain and water. In Southeast Asia it plays an important role in divinatory practices for activities such as house-building, travelling and marriage. This seminar will explore the variety of texts and images relating to the naga as found in Malay divination manuscripts from the late 18th - early 20th century.

Reuters Institute seminars “The business and practice of journalism”
The following seminars will be given at 2pm on Wednesdays, normally in the E.P. Abraham Lecture Theatre, Green Templeton College.
Convenor: Meera Selva

his lecture introduces the importance of political office in the grammar of Greek constitutional thought, by exploring historical moments suggesting that the Athenians at least had an implicitly normative conception of political office. The most important of these episodes is in the aftermath of the rule of the Thirty in 404/03, when some texts record the archon under the Thirty whose name would normally be used to date the festival year as Pythodorus, but others record this as a year of anarchia, in which no (valid) archon had served.

*Lecture One: Office and Anarchy*

This lecture introduces the importance of political office in the grammar of Greek constitutional thought, by exploring historical moments suggesting that the Athenians at least had an implicitly normative conception of political office. The most important of these episodes is in the aftermath of the rule of the Thirty in 404/03, when some texts record the archon under the Thirty whose name would normally be used to date the festival year as Pythodorus, but others record this as a year of anarchia, in which no (valid) archon had served.

Can we manage the globalized world we have created? Every day seems to bring new evidence to the contrary. From the wars in the Middle East, to nuclear tensions in East Asia, to an ongoing migration crisis, to the looming threats of pandemics and financial shocks, to the growing danger of climate change, our ability to meet global challenges is falling short. At the same time, an anti-global backlash in many countries around the world speaks to the dangers of unmanaged globalization even as it raises further questions about the ability of countries to devise effective solutions.

Revolutions are relatively rare moments of direct mass intervention in politics. But as a new cross-national data set of revolutionary episodes from 1900 to 2014 shows, these unusual moments have been growing both more frequent and more “successful” (in the sense of more likely to displace incumbent regimes) over time, though less consequential in their lasting impact.

Are legislators responsive to the issue priorities of their constituents? E-petition systems have been adopted in many countries in recent years, commonly with the goal of strengthening the bond between representatives and their constituents. Despite this, we know little about the effects of such petitions on legislative behaviour. In the UK, signatures to government e-petitions provide MPs with information regarding the salience of different issues amongst their constituents.