糖心TV

After the deadly attacks in Paris, Beirut and Tunisia and the bombing of a Russian plane over Egypt, experts in international security and Middle East affairs will discuss the factors shaping the emergence of ‘Islamic State’ and how the group can be combated. What are the origins and aims of the group? Why has it spread so quickly? What is its relationship to al-Qaeda? Is Western military action the solution?

Speakers:

• , Professor of International Security, Department of Politics & International Studies
• , Reader of the International Politics of the Middle East, Department of Politics & International Studies
• Dina Rezk, Lecturer in Middle Eastern History, University of Reading
• , PhD student in conflict and security, Department of Politics & International Studies

6pm - 7:30pm, Thu, 26 Nov '15

Location: MS.05, Zeeman Building

ALL WELCOME, ENTRANCE FREE.

Public Event: Refugees And Diasporas In Conflict And Post-Conflict Reconstruction

Thursday November 26, 6-8pm, S0.19, Social Sciences

There will be refreshments available between 6.00pm and 6.20pm.

The current refugee crisis in the Mediterranean has been of unprecedented proportions since the Second World War. It brings to the fore the difficult faith experienced by many refugees and conflict-generated diasporas at different times and in different places. This roundtable seeks to shed light on diaspora activism related to the conflicts of Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq, Lebanon, Nagorno-Karabakh, Palestine, Sri Lanka, and Rwanda, among others, and to draw parallels with the current refugee crisis. It also aims to discuss how diasporas support their home countries during post-conflict reconstruction. Please join us for lively presentations from the panelists and a discussion to follow.

More information about this public event is available at the ERC Project "Diasporas and Contested Sovereignty" website at:

PAIS, class of 2015, alum Michael Yip's final year research on China and Japan has recently been accepted at the . He is due to give an oral presentation in March 2016.

Michael's research uses history and international political economy to compare China's and Japan's past and present ability to lead East Asia. At its core, his research uses a hybrid approach of giving equal weight to both actors and issues in his analysis - in order to give a much more well-rounded conclusion. It therefore tries to move away from pre-existing commentary that has tended to focus only on one or the other.

As part of this research project, Michael has already presented at the International Conference of Undergraduate Research and intends on submitting his work to journals.

As leaders from across Europe and Africa meet to discuss how to respond to the current 'migration crisis', Dr draws attention to the limits of the EU's commitment to "shared responsibility" in its global approach to migration for .

European and African leaders are in the Maltese capital to discuss how they can better cooperate on migration.

Attendees will discuss ideas about how to deal with the devastating consequences of people trying to enter Europe by unauthorised channels. European leaders have agreed to provide African partners with resources to manage migration. But this, like so many other measures to be discussed at this summit, seems a lot like one side trying to persuade another to take a problem away.

Cooperation on this issue is by no means new, but the events unfolding on European shores over the past year show just how the results of this co-operation have been.

As more and more people from places such as Libya and Turkey to Italy or Greece, pressure has grown to come up with a that gets to the roots of the current situation.

At this summit, European leaders are seeking to emphasise the importance of in managing and preventing migration. The EU’s “” to migration is under the spotlight.

Dr Squire's article can be read in full .

The EU Commission has announced its decision to fund a new project, entitled 'European Leadership in Cultural, Science, and Innovation Diplomacy' (EL-CSID), as part of the Research and Innovation Framework Programme.

Led by Professor Luk van Langenhove at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), EL-CSID is a programme of research worth a total of €2.3M of which €300,000 has been awarded to PAIS.

Professor will be coordinating Work Package 3 'Cultural and Science Diplomacy: The Transnational and Collaborative Dynamic' and she will be joined by Dr and Dr who are named researchers on the project.

PAIS is delighted with the outcome. Professor , Director of Research, says: "Congratulations go to all those involved in preparing the bid. Securing funding for H20/20 consortia and work packages is extremely competitive, and this really is a wonderful achievement. We look forward to assisting Diane in co-ordinating the 糖心TV-based work package, and helping Andre and Chris carry out their research on the project"

The over-arching objectives of EL-CSID are threefold:

• To detail and analyse the manner in which the European Union (EU) operates in the domains of culture and science diplomacy in the current era; comparing its bilateral and multilateral cultural and science ties between states, regions, and public and private international organisations.
• To examine the degree to which cultural and science diplomacy can enhance the interests of the EU in the contemporary world order and to identify:

How cultural and science diplomacy, and innovations in them, can contribute to Europe’s standing as an international actor in a manner comparable to that of the other major contemporary actors, particularly the USA and China.

Opportunities offered by enhanced coordination and collaboration amongst the EU, its members and their extra-European partners.

Constraints posed by economic and socio-political factors affecting the evolving operating environments of both science and cultural diplomacy.

• To identify a series of mechanisms/platforms and tools to raise awareness among relevant stakeholders of the importance of science and culture as vehicles for enhancing the EU’s external relations.