Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR)

The study of Politics and International Relations at Oxford has a long and distinguished history and the Department has become one of the largest in the field in the UK with 100 teaching and research staff. We are proud to be considered as an internationally excellent centre for teaching and research achieving consistently high rankings in league tables for teaching and research.

Series in this collection

All episodes

Title	Description	People	Date
Telling Stories about Politics; The concept of political narrative and the case of 'Left versus Right'	Part of the Politics in Strange Places conference held in Oxford in September 2010.	George Hoare	30 March, 2011
Nietzsche, Plato, Dance, Politics: Two interpretations of the relationship between politics and dance	Part of the Politics in Strange Places conference held in Oxford in September 2010.	Dana Mills	30 March, 2011
Politics around the wine table: The political nature of a symposium in Plato's laws	Part of the Politics in Strange Places conference held n Oxford University, September 2010.	Eno Trimcev	30 March, 2011
Aiding the Peace in Southern Sudan: A Multi-donor Evaluation of Support to Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Activities in Southern Sudan 2005-2010	Jon Bennet, Director of Oxford Development Consultants, gives a talk for the Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict Seminar series on 7th March 2011. An Oxford Humanitarian Group Event. Introduced by Urvashi Aneja.	Jon Bennet	14 March, 2011
Military Ethics as Professional Ethics: The Limits of the Philosophical Approach	Professor Martin Cook gives a talk for the ELAC seminar series.	Martin Cook	8 March, 2011
The Untold War	Nancy Sherman, University of Glasgow, gives a talk for the Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict Seminar Series, in this, she talks about the philosophical concept of guilt in war. Introduced by Hew Strachan.	Nancy Sherman	8 March, 2011
Provisional Rights and Past Injustice	Professor Anna Stilz (Princeton University) gives a paper for the Kant and Colonialism conference held at Nuffield College, Oxford. Introduced by Dr Reidar Maliks.	Anna Stilz	4 March, 2011
World trade as the guarantee for perpetual peace?	On the value and consistency of Kant's theory of 'fair trade'. Liesbet Vanhaute (University of Antwerp) gives a talk for the Kant ad Colonialism Conferece held at Nuffield college, Oxford. Introduced by Dr. Isaac Nakhimovsky.	Liesbet Vanhaute	4 March, 2011
Kant on race and economic globalization: On just trade and free trade	Dr Pauline Kleingeld (University of Leiden) gives a paper for the 2010 Kant and Colonialism Conference held at Nuffield College, Oxford. Introduced by Dr Tomothy Walingore.	Pauline Kleingeld	4 March, 2011
Provisional acquisition as 'true acquisition', Kant's argument against colonialism	Fourth presentation from the Kant and Colonialism conference held in University of Oxford in October 2010.	Alice Walla	22 February, 2011
Colonialism in Kant's Political Philosophy	Third presentation from the Kant and Colonialism conference held in University of Oxford in October 2010.	Howard Williams	22 February, 2011
Kant's Conceptions of Colonialism, Free Trade, and Cosmopolitical Providence	Kant's Conceptions of Colonialism, Free Trade, and Cosmopolitical Providence from a Point of View of a History of Ideas: their Origins in Libanius, Francisco de Vitoria and Hugo Grotius: Part of the Kant and Colonialism Conference held in October 2010.	Johannes Thumfart	22 February, 2011
World citizenship and global connections in Enlightenment political thought	First presentation from the Kant and Colonialism conference held in University of Oxford in October 2010.	Sankar Muthu	22 February, 2011
The Battlefield from Afar: Independently Operating Systems and their Compatibility with the laws of Armed Conflict	Markus Wagner, Associate Professor of Law, University of Miami Law School, gives a talk for the 2011 Hilary term ELAC/CCW seminar series.	Markus Wagner	21 February, 2011
Being Humanitarian: Personal Morality and Political Project in Today's Wars	Dr Hugo Slim, Visiting Fellow in the department of politics and international relations, gives a talk for the 2011 Hilary term ELAC/CCW seminar series on armed conflict.	Hugo Slim	21 February, 2011
Contemporary Security Challenges (partial)	Dr Paul Cornish (Chatham House) gives a talk for the Hiliary Term 2011 ELAC/CCW seminar series. Please note: this is only a partial recording. we apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.	Paul Cornish	21 February, 2011
Special Responsibilities in World Politics	Professor Ian Clark and Professor Christian Reus-Smit give a talk for the Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict 2011 Hilary Term seminar series.	Ian Clark, Christian Reus-Smit	11 February, 2011
A Fighting Chance or Fighting Dirty? Michael Gross meets the Spartans	Part of the Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict/Changing Character of War program seminar series looking into the Ethics of war and violence.	Cian O'Driscoll, David Rodin	24 January, 2011
Invisible War: The United States and The Iraq Sanctions	Special seminar from the Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (ELAC) given by Professor Jay Gordan (Fairfield University with Professor David Miller (Oxford).	Jay Gordan, David Miller	5 January, 2011
An Extraordinary Humanitarian Intervention - Why We Fight Conference lecture 2	Part of the Why we Fight Conference held in Nuffield College October 2010. Dr. Gerhard Overland (Oslo/ Melbourne), gives his paper followed by a discussion.	Gerhard Øverland	5 January, 2011
Just Cause For War: A Contractarian Analysis - Why We Fight Conference lecture 3	Part of the Why we Fight Conference held in Nuffield College October 2010. Professor Yitzhak Benbaji, Bar-Ilan University, Israel, gives his paper followed by a discussion.	Yitzhak Benbaji	5 January, 2011
Global Injustice and Redistributive Wars - Why We Fight Conference lecture 4	Part of the Why we Fight Conference held in Nuffield College October 2010.Professor of Political Science, Aarhus University, Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen, gives his paper followed by a discussion.	Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen	5 January, 2011
Cosmopolitanism, Self-Determination and National Self-Defence - Why We Fight Conference Lecture 5	Part of the Why we Fight Conference held in Nuffield College October 2010. Lecturer in Law, Monash University, Patrick Emerton gives his paper followed by a discussion.	Patrick Emerton	5 January, 2011
Violence as Victory - Why we Fight Conference Lecture 7	Part of the Why we Fight Conference held in Nuffield College October 2010. Professor of Law and Jurisprudence at UC Berkeley gives his paper followed by a discussion.	Christopher Kutz	5 January, 2011
Is War Evil? - Why We fight Conference Lecture 8	Part of the Why we Fight Conference held in Nuffield College October 2010. Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University Jeff McMahan gives his paper followed by a discussion.	Jeff McMahan	5 January, 2011
Access to a Court and the Security Council: Implications for Normative Hierarchy	Dr Antonios Tzanakopoulos (University of Glasgow) gives a talk for the Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict seminar series. Delivered on the 9th November 2010.	Antonios Tzanakopoulos	15 November, 2010
Power and Norms: What can the Nobel Peace Prize Accomplish? The Inside Story	Professor Geir Lundestad gives a talk for the ELAC/CCW seminar series on war and armed conflict.	Geir Lundestad	9 November, 2010
A Strategic Analysis of the First Anglo-Afghan War 1839-42: Lessons for Today	Colonel Adam Finlay, CCW Visiting Fellow, delivers an ELAC/CCW Seminar on the first Anglo-Afghan War of 1839 to 1842. Part of the ELAC/CCW seminar series.	Adam Finlay	9 November, 2010
The Wager Lost By Winning: on the 'Triumph' of the Just War Tradition	Lecture delivered on the 19th of October 2010, part of the ELAC/CCW Seminar Series on War and Armed Conflict. Delivered by Professor Nicholas Rengger (St Andrews). Introduced by Jennifer Welsh.	Nicholas Rengger	9 November, 2010
53 Years of Media and Politics	Dr. David Butler brings his legendary Friday evening Media and Politics seminar to a final conclusion by answering questions instead of asking them.	David Butler, John Lloyd, Margaret Jay	4 November, 2010
Ethics Under Fire	Dr David Rodin (ELAC), Wg Cdr Ash Mitchell (Defence Academy of the UK), Dapo Akande (ELAC and Law, Oxford) and Prof Henry Shue (Philosophy, Oxford) give a talk for the Centre for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict seminar series.	David Rodin, Ash Mitchell, Dapo Akande, Henry Shue	14 June, 2010
Do International Criminal Courts Strengthen Justice on the Ground in Post-Conflict Societies?	Prof Jane Stromseth (Georgetown University) gives a talk for the Centre for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict seminar series. With Dapo Akande (ELAC).	Jane Stromseth, Dapo Akande	14 June, 2010
Intelligence and the Dhofar Insurgency: New Perspectives	Prof Clive Jones (Leeds University) gives a talk for the Centre for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict seminar series.	Clive Jones	14 June, 2010
Kicking Bodies and Damning Souls: The Danger of Harming "Innocent" Individuals While Punishing"Delinquent" States	Prof Toni Erskine (Aberystwyth University) gives a talk for the Centre for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict seminar series. With Jennifer Welsh (ELAC).	Toni Erskine, Jennifer Welsh	14 June, 2010
Strategic Shortfall: The Somalia Syndrome and the March to 9/11	Prof Robert Patman (Otago, New Zealand) gives a talk for the Centre for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict seminar series.	Robert Patman	14 June, 2010
Why it doesn't matter whether we're at war with al-Qaeda	Anthony Dworkin (European Council on Foreign Relations) gives a talk for the Centre for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict seminar series.	Anthony Dworkin	14 June, 2010
The Mafia and the Mullah: Counternarcotics, Counterinsurgency and Realpolitik in Afghanistan	Captain William Park (U.S. Navy Hudson Fellow, CCW Visiting Fellow and ELAC Research Associate) gives a talk for the Centre for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict seminar series.	William Park	14 June, 2010
Empires of Mud: Afghanistan 2001-2010	Dr Antonio Giustozzi (LSE) gives a talk for the Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict seminar series.	Antonio Giustozzi	14 June, 2010
Understanding the Mind in Peace Negotiations	Jeremy Lack (Lawyer and Mediator, Etude Altenburger Switzerland) / Professor Baroness Susan Greenfield (Institute for the Future of the Mind, Oxford) give a seminar for the Centre for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict with David Rodin.	Jeremy Lack, Susan Greenfield, David Rodin	14 June, 2010
War Crimes Trials, Solemnity and the Problem of Evil	Prof Gerry Simpson (LSE / University of Melbourne) gives a talk for the Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict Seminar Series on the 2nd of March 2010 with Dapo Akande.	Gerry Simpson, Dapo Akande	14 June, 2010
Department of Politics and International Relations: Artist in Residence 2009-10	Lecture: Artist as Politician.	Maxim Kantor	21 May, 2010
The Idea of the State: a Genealogy	Quentin Skinner gives a genealogy of the modern state, arguing that we should not understand the state simply as the government, but rather as a fictional person, enabling us to explain such things as shared responsibility for debt over generations.	Quentin Skinner	11 May, 2010
The Reconstruction of American Journalism	A lecture delivered by Michael Schudson, author of the 2009 report of the same title, on the state of American journalism, The report proposes new steps to support quality public affairs reporting.	Michael Schudson, Nicholas Lemann, David Levy, Paul Starr, John Lloyd	2 March, 2010
Punitive War	Professor of Law at Warwick University Victor Tadros gives a talk for the ELAC Hilary Term 2010 seminar series. This series is co-hosted by the ELAC and the University of Oxford Programme on the Changing Character of War (CCW).	Victor Tadros	18 February, 2010
Strategic thinking for an Age of Austerity	David Blagden, DPhil candidate in International Relations in Oxford, gives a talk for the ELAC Hilary Term 2010 seminar series. This series is co-hosted by the ELAC and the University of Oxford Programme on the Changing Character of War (CCW).	David Blagden	18 February, 2010
War and Love: The Role of Special Relationships in the Ethics of War	Dr Seth Lazar gives a talk for the ELAC Hilary Term 2010 seminar series. This series is co-hosted by the ELAC and the University of Oxford Programme on the Changing Character of War (CCW). Dapo Akande is the discussant.	Seth Lazar, Dapo Akande	18 February, 2010
Human Rights, Sovereignty and Military Intervention: A Dialogue with JS Mill	Professor Michael Doyle gives a talk for the ELAC Hilary Term 2010 seminar series. This series is co-hosted by the ELAC and the University of Oxford Programme on the Changing Character of War (CCW).	Michael Doyle	18 February, 2010
Institute of Fiscal Studies - Current Issues in the Taxation of Land and Income: Part Two	Paul Johnson from the Institute of Fiscal Studies talks about current issues within land tax as part of the 1909 People's Budget Symposium.	Paul Johnson	12 January, 2010
Institute of Fiscal Studies - Current Issues in the Taxation of Land and Income: Part One	Stuart Adam from the Institute of Fiscal Studies gives a talk for the 1909 People's Budget Symposium in which he talks about the current conflicts in land and income tax.	Stuart Adam	12 January, 2010
Lloyd George and his Special Advisers and the Unionist Reaction to the Budget	Iain McLean gives a talk in which he talks about Lloyd George's strategy to get the People's Budget through Parliament and past his main adversaries; his advisers and his parliamentary colleagues.	Iain McLean	12 January, 2010
The Irish Dimension of the 1909 Budget	Alvin Jackson talks about the relationship between Ireland and Britain at the time of the 1909 budget. Looking at the home rule question and other potential reforms.	Alvin Jackson	12 January, 2010
The Free Trade Versus Protectionism Debate	Frank Trentmann talks about the relationship between free trade and the budget and how the conflict between the ideas of free trade and protectionism shaped the 1909 budget.	Frank Trentmann	12 January, 2010
Paying for Social Protection	Jose Harris gives a talk on social protection, that is, social welfare and as Lloyd George saw it, the creation of development policies which would increase employment and give wider social protection to people.	Jose Harris	12 January, 2010
The Public Finances of 1909 and the Key Proposals of the 1909 Budget	Ian Packer gives a presentation on the state of public finances in Britain in 1909 and what the key proposals of the 1909 budget were.	Ian Packer	12 January, 2010
Introduction to the 1909 People's Budget	Lord Morgan of Aberdyfi introduces the symposium on Lloyd George's People's Budget, a series of lectures looking at the historic People's Budget of 1909.	Kenneth O. Morgan	12 January, 2010
Private Diplomacy, Public Peace: Practical Challenges in Contemporary Peace Negotiations	Seminar given by the Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Martin Griffiths on the role played by private mediators in securing peace between warring factions and states in areas such as Africa and the Middle East.	Martin Griffiths, Hugo Slim	11 January, 2010
American-Sino Relations: Cooperation	First part of the three part series on US - China relations, Rosemary Foot talks about the need for cooperation, especially within the current financial recession, global warming and nuclear non-proliferation.	Rosemary Foot	7 January, 2010
American-Sino Relations: Competition	Second part of the three part series. This episode looks at four areas where the two most powerful nations can be in competition or in conflict; exceptionalism, contrasting political systems,power perceptions and shifts in the power relationships.	Rosemary Foot	7 January, 2010
American-Sino Relations: Review	In the third and final part of this series, Rosemary Foot reviews and critiques the four factors outlined in the previous episode which could hinder good relations between the two nations.	Rosemary Foot	7 January, 2010
Proportionality and Noncombatant Immunity	In this informal roundtable discussion McMahan presents his recent work on proportionality and noncombatant immunity, with responses by philosophers from both sides of the current debate.	Jeff McMahan, Helen Frowe, Seth Lazar	28 October, 2009
The "Cultural Heritage of All Mankind": Metaphysics, Ethics, and the Positive Laws of War	The "Cultural Heritage of All Mankind": Metaphysics, Ethics, and the Positive Laws of War.	Roger O'Keefe	1 June, 2009
The Enigma of Article 2(4): Interests and Norms in IR Theory	Over 60 years ago the USA agreed to give up its autonomy over the use of force by signing the UN Charter. Prof. Hurd uses this case study to better understand how states use international rules and how that use remakes both the rules and the states.	Ian Hurd, Alexander Betts	1 June, 2009
Uncertainty, Lags and Nonlinearity: Challenges to Governance in a Turbulent World	Prof. Homer-Dixon looks at systems displaying high levels of uncertainty. Using the example of climate change, he asks whether standard "management" approaches used by policymakers are enough or if we must find new approaches in times of uncertainty.	Thomas Homer-Dixon, Nick Bostrom	1 June, 2009
The Social Ethics of Believing: Why Practical Ethics Needs Social Moral Epistemology	Prof. Allen Buchanan looks at the role of belief in ethics and pays particular attention to its role in armed conflict.	Allen Buchanan	8 May, 2009
Proportionality and the Laws of War: Conflicting Interpretations	Prof. Thomas Hurka, Prof. Henry Shue, and Dr. David Rodin debate conflicting interpretations of proportionality and their relation to the laws of war.	Thomas Hurka, Henry Shue, David Rodin	8 May, 2009
CSSJ: Cohen Conference: Closing Comments	Rescuing Justice and Equality: Celebrating the Career of G.A. Cohen - Conference at the Centre for the Study of Social Justice (CSSJ), Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford. Friday 23 and Saturday 24 January 2009.	G.A. Cohen	23 April, 2009
CSSJ: Cohen Conference: Constructivism and Publicity	Rescuing Justice and Equality: Celebrating the Career of G.A. Cohen - Conference at the Centre for the Study of Social Justice (CSSJ), Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford. Friday 23 and Saturday 24 January 2009.	Andrew Williams, Wayne Sumner	23 April, 2009
CSSJ: Cohen Conference: Justice, Equality and Incentives	Rescuing Justice and Equality: Celebrating the Career of G.A. Cohen - Conference at the Centre for the Study of Social Justice (CSSJ), Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford. Friday 23 and Saturday 24 January 2009.	Seana Shiffrin, Richard Arneson	23 April, 2009
CSSJ: Cohen Conference: The Ethics of Distribution in a Warming Planet	Rescuing Justice and Equality: Celebrating the Career of G.A. Cohen - Conference at the Centre for the Study of Social Justice (CSSJ), Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford. Friday 23 and Saturday 24 January 2009.	John Roemer, Joshua Cohen, Stuart White	23 April, 2009
CSSJ: Cohen Conference: Justice as Fairness: Luck Egalitarian, not Rawlsian	Rescuing Justice and Equality: Celebrating the Career of G.A. Cohen - Conference at the Centre for the Study of Social Justice (CSSJ), Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford. Friday 23 and Saturday 24 January 2009.	Michael Otsuka, Jonathan Wolff	23 April, 2009
CSSJ: Cohen Conference: Money, Work and Body Parts: Cohen on Coercion	Rescuing Justice and Equality: Celebrating the Career of G.A. Cohen - Conference at the Centre for the Study of Social Justice (CSSJ), Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford. Friday 23 and Saturday 24 January 2009.	Cecile Fabre, Hillel Steiner	23 April, 2009
CSSJ: Cohen Conference: Utopophobia	Rescuing Justice and Equality: Celebrating the Career of G.A. Cohen - Conference at the Centre for the Study of Social Justice (CSSJ), Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford. Friday 23 and Saturday 24 January 2009.	David Estlund, David Miller	23 April, 2009
CSSJ: Cohen Conference: Introduction	Rescuing Justice and Equality: Celebrating the Career of G.A. Cohen - Conference at the Centre for the Study of Social Justice (CSSJ), Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford. Friday 23 and Saturday 24 January 2009.	David Miller, Stuart White	23 April, 2009
CSSJ: Cohen Conference: Rawls, Cohen, Mill and the Egalitarian Trilemma	Rescuing Justice and Equality: Celebrating the Career of G.A. Cohen Conference at the Centre for the Study of Social Justice (CSSJ), Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, Friday 23 and Saturday 24 January 2009.	Paula Casal, Philippe Van Parijs	23 April, 2009
Iran-US Nuclear Relations: Overcoming Distrust	Prof. Nicholas Wheeler looks at issues of trust in nuclear relations, asking what obstacles still lie in the path of US-Iranian nuclear relations.	Nicholas Wheeler	6 March, 2009
How Individual Rights Transformed World Politics	Have individual rights transformed world politics? Prof. Reus-Smit challenges the circumscribed nature of this debate, arguing the relationship between individual rights and world politics has a longer history and is more fundamental than it suggests.	Christian Reus-Smit	27 February, 2009
Institutional Responsibility for Private Military Contractors	Prof. Nigel White gives a fascinating seminar looking at the issues surrounding institutional responsibility for private military contractors. Antonios Tzanakopoulos is the discussant.	Nigel White, Antonios Tzanakopoulos	27 February, 2009
Ethical Competence and Understanding War in International Relations	Prof. Mervyn Frost (King's College, London) presents a seminar in which he explores the relationship between ethics and international relations within the context of armed conflict. The discussant is Dr. Christopher Bickerton (Oxford).	Mervyn Frost, Christopher Bickerton	17 February, 2009
Indiscriminate Disproportionality: Another Attempt at Rules with Teeth	Prof. Henry Shue (Oxford) provides a moral reflection on international law by looking at the concept of proportional conduct in armed conflict. The discussant is Janina Dill (Oxford).	Henry Shue	17 February, 2009
Rebuilding War-Torn States: The Challenge of Post-Conflict Economic Reconstruction	Prof. Graciana del Castillo discusses aspects of her book 'Rebuilding War-Torn States' (OUP 2008). The discussant is Dr. Dominik Zaum (University of Reading).	Graciana del Castillo	17 February, 2009
Who Should Intervene? The Agents of Humanitarian Intervention and the Responsibility to Protect	Dr. James Pattison (University of the West of England) presents a seminar on humanitarian intervention and the 'responsibility to protect'. The discussant is Seth Lazar (Oxford).	James Pattison, Seth Lazar	17 February, 2009
Process and Effects of Unification	The history of the Wall — Developments up to 1989 — The international handling of German unification — The domestic politics of unification — Enduring divisions in Germany — Conclusion.	Andreas Busch	7 March, 2007
The Social Market Economy	Changing assessments over time — Characteristics in brief — Historical experiences — The concept — The institutions — Economic performance.	Andreas Busch	28 February, 2007
Elections, Parties, and the Party System	Parties after 1945: continuities and change — Parties and the German State — The main parties: SPD — CDU — FDP — Greens — Party system and cleavage change — The 2005 Bundestag election.	Andreas Busch	21 February, 2007
Federalism and Policy-Making	Federalism as a concept — Roots of German federalism — The Länder and their constitutional responsibilities — Developments of German federalism — The influence of European integration — The Bundesrat and policy-making.	Andreas Busch	14 February, 2007
Executive-Legislative Relations	"Chancellor Democracy" — The Powers and Constraints on a Chancellor — The Rise of the Bundestag — The Bundesrat and Regional Administration — The Federal Constitutional Court — Parapublic Institutions.	Andreas Busch	7 February, 2007
The Constitutional Founding of the Federal Republic (1945-1949)	Germany after 1945 - Domestic and international situation - Towards the founding of the Federal Republic - The Parliamentary Council - The "Basic Law" and its main institutions.	Andreas Busch	31 January, 2007

Related