The Crisis in Syria

A recording of the recent roundtable on the crisis in Syria is available to view here.

All the best,

Aidan

The Crisis in Syria

On Wednesday 29^th February the Department of Politics and International Relations will host a seminar jointly organised by the Democracy and Islam Programme and the Security and International Relations Programme on the current crisis in Syria and its implications for international relations.

Speakers

Professor Roland Dannreuther, Head of the Department of Politics and International Relations

Dr AbdelwahabEl-Effendi, Reader in Politics and co-ordinator of the Democracy and Islam Programme

Dr Aidan Hehir, Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Director of the Security and International Relations Programme.

The seminar will take place @ 18:00 in the Westminster Forum, Fifth Floor, 32-38 Wells Street. All are welcome to attend.

Security and International Relations Seminar: “The Whore of the Ages: 100 years of not learning from Balkan interventions”

The next Security and International Relations Seminar takes place his Thursday, 23^rd February, 18:00 in the Westminster Forum (5^th Floor 32-38 Wells St)

Title: “The whore of the ages: 100 years of not learning from Balkan interventions”

Speaker: Robert Wilton, Head of Political Affairs at International Civilian Office, Kosovo.

Mr Wilton previously served as Advisor to the Prime Minister of Kosovo and as a Professor of History at the American University in Kosovo. The International Civilian Office plays a central role in the Kosovo political system and is mandated to "provide international support for a European future for Kosovo".

All are very welcome to attend.

Security and International Relations Seminar: 'A Moral Responsibility in a Morally Bankrupt World: A Critical Re-Assessment of the Responsibility to Protect'

The Next Security and International Relations Seminar will take place on Thursday 26th January @ 18:00 in the Westminster Forum (Fifth Floor, 32-38 Wells Street). Details below...

'A Moral Responsibility in a Morally Bankrupt World: A Critical Re-Assessment of the Responsibility to Protect'.

Dr. Adrian M. Gallagher,

Abstract

In a world full of competing legal, moral, and political claims the international consensus that underpinned the endorsement of the Responsibility to Protect in 2005 may be seen as a remarkable feat. For advocates, it represents a significant civilizing step in the history of international society. A moral milestone, if you will, to be placed alongside the greatest international normative developments of the 20^th century. However, in a radical departure from this perspective, the paper asks us to consider what sort of world do we live in when we need the R2P in the first place? Prior to advocating or criticising the terms of the R2P, let us pause to consider the fact that we, as human beings, needed state elites to agree that they have a responsibility not to commit genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. What sort of world do we live in when we need an international deliberation on this issue in the first place? In short, does the international consensus forged represent moral progress or moral bankruptcy? This paper sets out to raise these questions and analyse them through an English School engagement with the work of critical theorists.

Brief bio: Dr Gallagher completed an ESRC funded Ph.D, 'Genocide and Its Threat to International Society' at the University of Sheffield in December 2010. Broadly speaking, his research interests lie in IR theory (especially the English School), Genocide and Mass Violence, Humanitarian Intervention and the Responsibility to Protect, and Human Rights. He is currently working as a Teaching Fellow at the University of Leicester where he oversees an MA on 'The Politics of Human Rights'. This preliminary paper stems from post-doctoral research started in mid-2011 which acts as part of a five year research plan on 'Genocide and the [Never-Ending] Search for the Moral Foundations of International Society'. This forms the basis of a British Academy Post-Doctoral Proposal which is currently under-review.

Assessing “The Responsibility to Protect” Ten Years On

The Security and International Relations Programme at the University of Westminster is hosting a roundtable on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) to mark the ten-year anniversary of the publication of the seminal report by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS). The ICISS report has become a key document on humanitarian intervention and the international protection of human rights, and R2P has since achieved a remarkable ubiquity in international political discourse. NATO’s intervention in Libya in March 2011 – widely heralded as “R2P in practice” and the dawn of a new era” – reinvigorated this debate, while ongoing events in the Middle East and Africa have ensured the currency of the topic. This roundtable brings together prominent academic specialists in this field to assess the evolution of R2P and its likely future efficacy.

Participants:

·         Professor Meryvn Frost, Kings College London

·         Professor Jennifer Welsh, Somerville College, University of Oxford

·         Dr James Pattison, University of Manchester

·         Dr Aidan Hehir, University of Westminster 

This roundtable will be held on the 8^th December 2011, at 18:00 in the Boardroom, 309 Regent Street, University of Westminster, W1B2UW. Places are limited; those not affiliated with the University of Westminster should contact Aidan Hehir (a.hehir@wmin.ac.uk) to reserve a seat.

FORTHCOMING PREMIERE OF “3 KOSOVOS: IMAGINING THE FUTURE OF KOSOVO”

The Security and International Relations Programme at the University of Westminster is delighted to announce the forthcoming premiere of a new documentary “3 Kosovos: Imagining the Future of Kosovo” on the 17^th November 2011. The event will be introduced by Dr Aidan Hehir and a question and answer session with the director will follow the screening.

24 Hours for Darfur: “Darfurian Voices”.

Below is information about the NGO “24 Hours for Darfur” and its recent publication, “Darfurian Voices”. One of DPIR’s student’s - Abdelrahim Kadok – was involved in writing this fascinating report.

24 Hours for Darfur is a non-profit organization dedicated to research and advocacy about the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. In 2010, 24 Hours for Darfur released “Darfurian Voices,” a report detailing the results of the first ever representative survey of Darfurian refugees’ opinions on peace, justice, and reconciliation. The organization spent four months in the 12 Darfurian refugee camps in eastern Chad, interviewing 1872 randomly-sampled civilians and 280 civil society and rebel leaders. The data gathered from the civilian sample is representative of the adult refugee population in Chad, and sheds light on important questions about participants’ specific beliefs about the root causes of the conflict, past peace negotiations and agreements for Darfur and southern Sudan, the nature and importance of justice in bringing about a sustainable peace, the possibility of reconciliation, land-related issues, democracy, power-sharing, and the national elections, and which actors, if any, best represent their views. The project is structured to serve as a mechanism through which these views can be accurately transmitted to policymakers, mediators, negotiating parties, and other key stakeholders. The report can be found here:

24 Hours for Darfur also produced a documentary film about refugee views on the conflict in Darfur and the prospects for peace. The film can be found here:

Our Team consist of 34 students and researchers from universities of USA-Canada-France-Denmark and Sudanese Student and activist at the diasporas