Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, much attention within political and military circles has been devoted to examining the origins of the seemingly unexpected war. However, these analyses have primarily explored the foreign policy objectives of Russia and the motivations of its president. This talk will instead consider the cartographical causes and consequences of the conflict.

Reflexive control theory is a theory of influence that was developed in the 1960s, in Soviet Russia. During this lecture Maria will talk about the cybernetic origins of the theory, what we know about reflexive control, and what we do not know about it. She’ll then talk about why this under-researched theory from Soviet times is important to take into account in the todays world and how it can help us think about strategic decision making in hybrid warfare.

Will a rising India seek to uphold the existing conventions and standards that regulate the international system or is it likely to challenge an international order which is seen to have been constructed by the West in general and the United States in particular? This question has recently taken on increased salience in light of the Indian government’s multiple abstentions on UN votes censuring Russia over its invasion of the Ukraine.

The presented paper adopts a fresh approach on unilateral humanitarian intervention, and purports to demonstrate that, in certain cases, not only is permissible, but also legally and morally imperative.

This year's virtual Oxford Spring School in Advanced Research Methods offers graduate students and researchers from universities across the UK and abroad a unique opportunity to learn cutting-edge methods in Social Science.

The week-long Spring School programme is organised by the Department of Politics and International Relations and consists of five advanced courses in quantitative and qualitative methods. These five courses will run concurrently from 2pm-5pm, Monday 18 to Friday 22 April 2022.

Do we need to rethink the way we do democracy? In her recent book, 'Open Democracy', Hélène Landemore (Yale University) argues that there are deep problems with the standard model of representative democracy. Landemore argues for an alternative model of ‘Open Democracy’ which gives less of a role to elected politicians and a much greater role to the general public through institutions such as Citizens’ Assemblies.

The shocking scenes in Ukraine have alarmed the West, compelling unprecedented responses to Russia’s invasion and the humanitarian crisis it has inspired. Russia’s war in Ukraine has also shone a light on the evolving relationship between President Putin and China’s President Xi, after a new international cooperation pact was agreed in Beijing in the weeks immediately preceding the invasion.