This presentation delves into the shifting geopolitics of Britain’s Overseas Territories, spotlighting Gibraltar and the Chagos Islands. Recent negotiations with Spain and Mauritius signal a new phase in long-standing sovereignty disputes, raising questions about identity, autonomy, and international law. Beyond diplomacy, the territories play a role in the UK’s global strategy—economically, militarily, and politically. Yet tensions persist: constitutional strains and calls for greater self-determination challenge the status quo.

Across the United Kingdom and around the world, people experience violence in cities not only through acts of physical harm but also through entrenched structural and social inequalities. Identity-Based Mass Violence in Urban Contexts: Uncovered, a new, innovative edited volume, offers fresh insights from global examples on how chronic and acute mass violence are related to one another, the drivers of various forms of violence, and the proactive steps leaders can take to address exclusions and harms experienced by communities.

Any large organization, whether a global conglomerate, a government or a political party, must grapple with two perennial challenges when its top leadership gathers: people and money. China’s ruling Communist Party is no exception. The four-day, closed-door Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee – known as the Fourth Plenum – offered a rare glimpse into how Beijing manages both. In this talk, Dr Yu Jie will outline and analyse what we should know about the outcome of ‘The Fourth Plenum’ and what key priorities are for China’s upcoming 15th Five Year Plan.

The ‘Lobito Corridor’ is a daring plan to put Africa at the heart of the global economy and tilt the global geopolitical equilibrium. By investing billions in Africa’s roads and railways, the United States hopes to challenge China’s dominance on the continent, secure the resources needed for a high-tech future and unlock potentially trillions of dollars of fresh GDP.

But is it too late? Has the West been left behind in Africa? And what do local people feel about the economic battle intensifying around them?