LSE IDEAS (The London School of Economics’ foreign policy think tank) is launching a webinar series to discuss the subjects of racism and international politics.
Alongside COVID-19, the killing of George Floyd, and subsequent demonstrations in response to it, have exposed the longstanding racism and racial inequality that persists in today’s society. In response to calls for change, LSE IDEAS is launching a series to investigate the impact of racism in politics and international relations.
The series, which will consist of six webinars, will feature academics, practitioners and experts from across the globe to discuss different examples of racism in within society, and efforts to combat it.
Alongside this, LSE IDEAS will also commission a series of reports on this issue throughout the academic year.
Professor Christopher Coker, Director at LSE IDEAS, says:
“The BLM movement has energised us to think about the importance of race and international relations. When I began my academic career, it was the Cinderella subject – today when we look back at the international situation we are amazed to see that it was there all the time. But contrary to populist opinion racism is not unique to the West. It is found on every continent and in every society whether it is Chinese discrimination against Uighurs or South African discrimination against Zimbabwean migrant workers. We hope that the new series will help IDEAS make its own contribution to an urgent and ongoing conversation.”
Sarah Coolican, Project and Research Associate at LSE IDEAS, and Racism & International Politics Programme coordinator, says:
“This series is not just a reactionary gesture in light of recent events, but is seeking to make genuine change and sustain the conversation around systemic inequality.”
LSE IDEAS will be launching the series on Thursday 5th November. The inaugural event, which will focus on The EU and The Roma, will take place from 5.30-7.00pm, and will feature expert speakers Jennifer Jackson-Preece, Associate Professor of Nationalism, within both the European Institute and the Department of International Relations at The London School of Economics, Romeo Franz MEP, and Angela Kocze, affiliated research fellow at the Center for Policy Studies of Central European University, Budapest.
The event will explore the EU’s strengths and weaknesses in devising, implementing and policing rights frameworks for the Roma peoples across its member states.
You can register for this event here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/ideas/events/eu-roma.
