Other News

Tobias Pforr, Teaching Fellow in International Political Economy, attended the 'Human After All' conference held earlier this year by the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) in Toronto, Canada. He was sponsored by Financial Times's Young Scholars Initiative along with six other students from around the world to attend the conference out of a pool of over 600 initial applicants and was interviewed during a roundtable about his research and experience at the conference.

Read more about the event
Watch the interview with Tobias

Current PAIS undergraduate student Alexander Paul gave a speech at the Conservative Party Conference on 30 September on the controversial policing policy of 'stop and search' recently enacted in England and Wales ahead of Theresa May, Home Secretary. Alexander's speech was covered by major news outlets at the time including The London Evening Standard, The Telegraph (you can watch him speak from about 11:25 in the video), and The Guardian.

Alexander gave us an account of his experience at the Conference:

I am Alexander Paul; I am currently studying Politics with International Studies and Quantitative Methods. On Tuesday 30th September I gave a speech about the issue of the disproportionate amount of stop and search routines carried against Black and Asian males at the Conservative Party Conference.

I have been corresponding with Theresa May and her team for the past few months. I first met her at the Home Office with college peers as we were invited to voice our opinions on the contentious issue of the misuse of police powers, especially stop and search. She was astounded by the amount of times I had been searched inappropriately and immediately wanted to bring about a change that would stop this injustice. Ever since then I have had the privilege to maintain a working relationship with her and her team, but also gained great experience that will prepare me for a possible career in politics.

In early September the Home Secretary invited me to give a speech about the issue at the conference, which was held at Birmingham. On the actual day, I was very nervous. The importance of the matter had finally dawned on me. I wanted to evoke a message that would change the perception of many in the audience and wider society as it was very personal to me. However, once I got into my stride, I was confident and fortunately my performances of spoken word had helped me with the problem of speaking in front of large audiences.

I am very proud and honoured to of contributed to pushing the issue of the misuse of stop and search and I am humbled by the amazing response I have received since giving the speech. I hope that this will be a platform for me to become a successful human rights lawyer and voice the opinions of the unspoken.

Dr Charlotte Heath-Kelly has recently been cited in an article in The Guardian. The article, titled "Take it from an airport security agent: it's OK to laugh at toothpaste terror threats," can be viewed here: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/28/airport-security-agent-toothpaste-terror-threats

Dr Heath-Kelly's citation can also be read below:

In 2012, the international relations scholar Charlotte Heath-Kelly argued in a paper in the European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research that the War on Terror can be viewed as the lovechild of Franz Kafka and Monty Python as much as that of any vice president and foreign minister.

“The War on Terror undermines itself by narrating a liminal space where its claims of security appear ridiculous,” Heath-Kelly writes. “A failure to laugh consolidates the War on Terror discourse and the joke it is playing on us by taking it seriously.”

Dr Trevor McCrisken, Associate Professor, in US Politics and International Studies, has recently made an appearance on the Centre for International Governance Innovation's (CIGI) podcast, Inside the Issues.

CIGI is a think tank associated with the Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo with whom we are finalising a Double Masters in Global Governance agreement.

Are drones a humanitarian form of warfare? Host Andrew Thompson welcomes Dr. Trevor McCrisken, Associate Professor, U.S. Politics and International Studies, Warwick University, for a discussion on warfare in the 21st century. The conversation considers the use of drones by the Obama Administration, the impacts of militarized drones on national security, and the international criminal justice implications of drone use. What will the future of warfare look like? Tune in for the full discussion to learn more.

China Plate Theatre, Caroline Horton & Co and The Bush Theatre. are developing a brand new piece of theatre (commissioned by Warwick Arts Centre and Harlow Playhouse) about tax havens, offshore finance and tax justice. Islands will confront (one of the first pieces of theatre to do so) this terrifying and little understood world with a show that will entertain and educate the general public on a national scale.

The production will be developed across the autumn, including a preview tour to South Street Reading, Warwick Arts Centre, Cambridge Junction and Live Theatre, before it opens for a 5- week run at the Bush Theatre in London.

Islands has been developed in consultation with specialist economic advisers including John Christensen of The Tax Justice Network. Alongside the performances at The Bush, there will be an interactive foyer installation made in collaboration with The Tax Justice Network. The installation will inhabit the theatre foyer, providing a place for audiences to engage and learn about tax havens and international finance and encourage them in contemplating change.

China Plate and Caroline Horton and Co. are currently welcoming applications from PAIS students to play a key role (alongside the Tax Justice Network and creative team) in the development and implementation of the interactive tax justice foyer installation.

Islands is an illuminating, absurd and powerful new show about tax havens, little empires, enormous greed and the few who have it all. Hilarious and unnerving, this ink black comedy with music will plunge audiences into a monstrous, secretive world where it really seems that no-one has to pay.... for anything.

It has been suggested that tax avoidance (after climate change) is the most destabilizing phenomenon to affect the modern world. Oxfam estimate that there is $18.5 trillion siphoned out of the world economy into tax havens by wealthy individuals alone. Christian Aid has calculated that 1,000 children die every day as a result of tax evasion. This is not just a political or social challenge; this is a matter of human rights.

Islands sees multi award-winning and Olivier nominated Caroline Horton (Mess, You’re Not Like The Other Girls Chrissy) re-united with Bush Theatre Associate Director, Omar Elerian (The Mill – City of Dreams, Bradford, Yorkshire; You're Not Like The Other Girls Chrissy).

Please see this PDF for more information.