Join us for a panel discussion exploring the revolution in artificial intelligence and autonomous weapons systems in national security. Panelists will explore how frontier and other advanced AI models are reshaping autonomous targeting while examining their technical, strategic, and legal-ethical dynamics. Panelists will discuss the advantages and risks of AI-driven speed and deception, the challenges of maintaining accountability and control, and the evolving frameworks of proportionality, distinction, and human oversight that will define the future conduct and governance of conflict.

Step into the future battlefield in this immersive wargame exploring the strategic, ethical, and operational challenges posed by emerging and disruptive technologies. Participants will assume the roles of state and non-state actors navigating a rapidly shifting technological landscape shaped by artificial intelligence, quantum computing, autonomous systems, and biotechnology. Through scenario-based play, teams will confront dilemmas around escalation, alliance management, and innovation under uncertainty—testing how tomorrow’s technologies could transform today’s doctrines.

Interested in the British Political Landscape? Join John Bowers KC and Sir Vernon Bogdanor as they discuss ‘Making the Weather’, Sir Vernon's latest book. Sir Vernon is a former professor of Politics and Government and an Emeritus Fellow of Brasenose College. ‘Making the Weather’ is a fascinating profile of six politicians who changed the political landscape of Britain. It will be a lively and informative evening. The event will be followed by a drinks reception.

The 2025 Black History Month Lecture will be delivered by award-winning historian Professor Hakim Adi. The event is organised by the University of Oxford BME Staff Network and the Equality and Diversity Unit who are honoured to welcome Hakim as this year's speaker.

The lecture will explore themes of power and pride in the rich histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain, encompassing approximately 10,000 years of Britain's history.

In recent years, inequalities in residential environments have received much attention as an explanation for the appeal of anti-immigration parties across advanced democracies. This paper explores the long-term association between neighbourhood context in adolescence and attitudes towards immigration later in life, drawing on a UK-based cohort study matched with fine-grained census data on neighbourhood composition.

Large-scale disruptions to everyday infrastructure are becoming more frequent due to climate change, population growth, and increased user demand. While the political consequences of gradual changes in public service quality are relatively well understood, we know less about the electoral consequences of public service breakdowns where these services were once reliable and readily accessible. To address this critical question, I use the quasi-random allocation of electric outages in South Africa to examine how the breakdown of public services influences voting behavior.

This talk examines how illicit flows that cross borderlands shape security from the local to the global level. It introduces the concept of Global Illicit Supply Chain Networks to explain how trafficking hubs—places where several illicit flows intersect, often near borders—connect regions of conflict and instability with wider global systems. These hubs are not peripheral; they are crucial nodes where local arrangements, often between state and non-state actors, sustain both order and disorder.

Does public sector employment make graduates less likely to join anti-regime protests? Recent scholarship argues yes, with implications for bottom-up democratization in late-developing economies with expansive public and higher education sectors. This paper examines how that thesis travels to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), a region marked by segmented labor markets, developed tertiary education, and persistent authoritarianism.