2013-2014 Lecture Series

Social Democracy and the Nation after the Crash

Why has the global financial crisis not revived the left?

Andrew Gamble argues that the policies of the 1980s and 1990s have left social democracy disadvantaged in a period of austerity. To prosper, it must rethink the political economy of capitalism and the nation. Andrew Gamble is head of the Department for Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. 

• Speaker: Professor Andrew Gamble
• Chair: Professor Anne Phillips
• Date: 17th October 2013
• Co-hosted with Policy Network
• Podcast available here.

Is There A Progressive Case For National Identity?

Can national identity be a positive force?

In this lecture, Sunder Katwala examines attitudes towards immigration, integration and opportunity in Britain today. Sunder Katwala is Director of the identity and integration think-tank British Future, and former general secretary of the Fabian Society.

• Speaker: Sunder Katwala
• Chair: Professor Anne Phillips
• Date: 3rd December 2013
• Podcast available here.

From Empire to Republic: China's struggle with modernity?

What does it mean to be Chinese today?

The 1912 collapse of the Qing Empire sparked over a century of political conflict as China struggled to form a modern nation-state and define its identity. Over 100 years later, China still faces key questions: Who belongs, and what unites one-fifth of humanity? Isabel Hilton, journalist and founder of China Dialogue, explores these issues.

• Speaker: Isabel Hilton
• Chair: Professor William A Callahan
• Date: 21st January 2014
• Podcast available here.

Nationalism, Internationalism and Global Sport

Why do sports rivalries like Real Madrid vs. Barcelona and India-Pakistan cricket shape identities globally?

Mike Marqusee explores the origins of ‘globalised’ spectator sport, tracing its roots to 18th-century England. He examines how market-driven sports impact national identities, loyalties, and the rise of American exceptionalism in sports. Marqusee asks us to consider whether a sporting internationalism can challenge the corporate globalisation of sport. A journalist and activist, Marqusee has written extensively on sport and politics, with notable works like War Minus the Shooting (1996) and Redemption Song (1999).

• Speaker: Mike Marqusee
• Chair: Professor George Lawson
• Date: 5th February 2014
• Podcast available here.

Rethinking Secularism: Respect, Domination and the State

Should secularism be reimagined to address religious diversity and domination?

Political secularism is in crisis globally and needs reimagining. Rajeev Bhargava, Director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi, argues for moving beyond traditional church-state models to address religious diversity and institutionalised religious domination. He advocates for a secular state that shows respect for all worldviews through a policy of Principled Distance. Prof Bhargava, a former professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, has authored works such as Individualism in Social Science (1992) and The Promise of India’s Secular Democracy (2010).

• Speaker: Professor Rajeev Bhargava
• Chair: Dr Robin Archer
• Date: 10th March 2014
• Podcast available here.

Word Power: Written Constitutions and the Definition of British Borders Since 1787

Professor Linda Colley

13th March 2014

The onset and proliferation of new written constitutions after 1787 presented successive governments in the UK with both opportunities and challenges. Through its empire and international heft, the UK came to draft and influence more constitutions in more parts of the world in the 19th and 20th centuries than any other power. But governments have always resisted the introduction of a written constitution in the UK itself. Other states need their political systems, identity and liberties confirmed in writing, it has often been argued. But the British do not: and their historic uncodified constitution is thus itself a demonstration and proof of their distinct identity.

In this lecture, Linda Colley examines these trends and tensions over time, and discusses how far writing a constitution might work to reinforce rights in these islands and reconfigure connections.

Linda Colley is the Shelby M.C Davies 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University, and an expert on Britain since 1700. She was the first female fellow of Christ College, Cambridge, was a Professor of History at Yale and was awarded a Senior Leverhulme Research Professorship in History at the London School of Economics. Her book, ‘Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837’ (1992) won the Wolfson Prize for History, and considered the extent to which a British identity was forged in the 18th and early 19th centuries. She is a Fellow of the British Academy and in 2009 was awarded a C.B.E.

A podcast of the event is available here.

Borders and Interests: Should the Workers of the World Unite?

Professor Yuli Tamir

8th May 2014

Under the present economic circumstances the demand to set borders, to favour one's own, is not necessarily driven by irrational forces; rather, it is often a rational demand driven by self-interest, by a desire to protect oneself (and one's children) from the bleak consequences of a global dream one cannot share.

Given the threats embedded in globalism on the one hand, and the growing social and economic gaps within many states on the other, those who belong to the 99% have a lot to worry about. The competition they face is endless and those who exploit them often play the interests of one group of workers against its "class-mates" from across the globe. 

The workers of the world thus have no interest to unite.  It is the upper classes who wish to abolish borders in order to be able to enjoy the best of all possible worlds. The moral question is whether they ought to be permitted to do so. A world without borders may then be the immoral option, a cheap way out for those who do not want to share their wealth with others. Erecting borders excludes non-members but forces all classes to share a risk-pool, distributing benefits and responsibilities. In our non-ideal world that may be the most we can achieve.

Professor Yuli Tamir is an academic, former Israeli politician and author of 'Liberal Nationalism'

A podcast of this event is available here.

England: a Nation Defined by Dissent

Billy Bragg

29th May 2014

Is it possible to be both progressive and patriotic? We on the left are constantly reminded that there are many types of socialism - often competing with one another. Is the same true of patriotism? We’re quick to dismiss such impulses as little more than xenophobia wrapped in pageantry, but could a love of one’s country be a progressive force in society?

Billy Bragg is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. He has been involved in many campaigns on issues such as anti-racism, prison-reform and electoral-reform. His book, ‘The Progressive Patriot' (2006), addresses the tension between progressive politics and national identity.

A podcast of this event is available here.

What Future for Pan-Arabism? The Case of Egypt

Dr Reem Abou-El-Fadl

3rd June 2014

Is there a future for pan-Arabism? It had its heyday in the era of decolonisation, nationalisations, and Third World solidarity. Many have argued that it was defeated with the Arab armies in 1967, or that it died finally in 1970, with its champion, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Yet the wave of Arab uprisings that began in December 2010, the manifestations of solidarity, and resonance of concerns and demands between different Arab protesters, seem to fly in the face of such assumptions. This lecture tries to understand why, and to make sense of these signs of a new pan-Arabism in the twenty-first century. It considers the enduring salience of the quest for sovereignty and independence in informing popular commitments to pan-Arabism, focusing on the case of Egypt.

Reem Abou-El-Fadl is Lecturer in Politics and International Relations of the Middle East at Durham University, and co-editor of the Egypt page at jadaliyya.