In the fall of 2016, Wallonia’s Minister-President Paul Magnette, of Belgium’s Francophone Socialist party, stepped into global spotlight as “the man who made Canada weep”, “the icon of democracy” or a “trade populist,” as he led an underdog campaign to reform the EU-Canada trade agreement under the threat of Wallonia’s veto.  The saga concluded with an agreement in December 2016, but the controversy is still raging, especially in light of the Donald Trump presidency.  What should be the shape of trade agreements in the XXIst century?

Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor or War Studies at King's College London, and Visiting Professor at Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government delivered the 2017 Cyril Foster Lecture to a large audience at the Examination Schools, on the subject of 'Fear and Loathing in International Relations'.

Sir Lawrence was introduced by Professor Louise Richardson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Professor Louise Fawcett, Head of Department at the Department of Politics and International Relations.

Over the course of Hilary Term (January to March) and Trinity Term 2017 (April to June), the Department of Politics and International Relations is convening a new seminar series on Ideas and Political Violence.

This series has been recorded and is now available in its entirety, along with an introduction from convenors Elizabeth Frazer and Jonathan Leader Maynard, explaining why they chose this topic, which parts of the series they found particularly interesting, and where they hope it will go in future.

At the fourth annual Leszek Kolakowski Lecture, Wolfgang Merkel of WZB Berlin Social Science Centre discusses the concept of defective democracies, with a focus on the case of Poland in European comparison. 

Over the course of Hilary Term (January to March) and Trinity Term 2017 (April to June), the Department of Politics and International Relations is convening a new seminar series on Ideas and Political Violence.

This series has been recorded and is now available in its entirety, along with an introduction from convenors Elizabeth Frazer and Jonathan Leader Maynard, explaining why they chose this topic, which parts of the series they found particularly interesting, and where they hope it will go in future.

Over the course of Hilary Term (January to March) and Trinity Term 2017 (April to June), the Department of Politics and International Relations is convening a new seminar series on Ideas and Political Violence.

This series has been recorded and is now available in its entirety, along with an introduction from convenors Elizabeth Frazer and Jonathan Leader Maynard, explaining why they chose this topic, which parts of the series they found particularly interesting, and where they hope it will go in future.