Oxford Minds Lecture - Belonging: What the social sciences can learn from the humanities

The series

This term’s series explores social science’s big concepts. It examines the contested meaning and diverse application of some of the theoretical ideas that unify and challenge social scientists. It brings together the bright minds of Oxford, and high profile external speakers, to consider the range of ways in which we can think about ‘power’, ‘space’, ‘identity’, and ‘belonging’.

'Are we building back better?' An online UN-Oxford panel discussion with leaders from key countries and international institutions.

“Are we building back better?” is a key moment, bringing together global leaders and international institutions, to debate progress, explore openings, and attempt to answer some of the major questions following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Book launch: Coevolutionary Pragmatism: Approaches and Impacts of China-Africa Economic Cooperation

China-Africa economic tie has experienced lasting rapid growth since the 2000s, attracting lots of discussion on its nature and effects. A key question is whether Chinese engagements provide an alternative paradigm to existing mainstream models, like Washington Consensus, for developing countries. However, theories on state-market dichotomy can hardly explain the strong momentum of bilateral cooperation.

From Compliance Partners to Gatekeepers? The Role of Domestic Courts in Interpreting and Enforcing IHRL

“The future of international law is domestic” – domestic courts are considered to play a crucial role in international law. In a legal system lacking centralized law-making and enforcing mechanisms, great hope is being placed on these actors in applying and enforcing the law. Even though international human rights law, with well-established institutions such as the European and the Inter-American human rights courts, is institutionalized to a greater extent than other international legal areas, domestic courts also play a major role here.

The Frontier of Democracy: Audrey Tang on Taiwan’s digital democracy, collaborative civic technologies, and beneficial information flows

Following the 2014 Sunflower Movement protests, Audrey Tang—a prominent member of the civic social movement g0v—was headhunted by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration to become the country’s first Digital Minister. In this webinar, Audrey will discuss collaborative civic technologies in Taiwan, their potential to improve governance and beneficial information flows, with Hélène Landemore (Yale) as a discussant.

Australian War Crimes in Afghanistan: National Mechanisms, Positive Complementarity and Command Responsibility

Following persistent rumours of criminal misconduct by some Australian Special Forces personnel in Afghanistan, an administrative inquiry was launched in 2016 by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force. That inquiry's report revealed shocking evidence of 23 incidents involving 25 Australian personnel and resulting in 39 killings of persons hors de combat or under Australian control, as well as other misconduct.

Counter-Revolutions Vs. Counter-Marginalization Movements: (Re)Visiting the Online Tug-of-War a Decade After the Arab Spring

Ten years after the eruption of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, which had a wide range of eclectic outcomes, it became obvious that the transitions to democratization have been derailed in the so-called post-Arab Spring countries, with the exception of Tunisia. This presentation unpacks the complexity of the parallel surge in anti-authoritarianism resistance movements, on one hand, and repressive counter-revolutionary movements, on the other hand, in this post-Arab Spring mediated political and media environment.
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