We are pleased to announce a series of exciting events this Semester at the ‘State, Power, and Globalisation’ (SPG) Research Centre. All are in person and will take place at Richmond, American University London’s Chiswick Park Campus.
Email PurnelK@Richmond.ac.uk to register.
EVENT 1) Professor Jessica Auchter, University Laval
Topic: Global Corpse Politics
Thursday 14th September 2023
1700-1830
Room F01/F02
Event synopsis: Professor Jessica Auchter’s talk will discuss her recent book, Global Corpse Politics: The Obscenity Taboo (Cambridge University Press, 2021). The talk will focus on the functioning of the obscenity taboo in global politics related to images of dead bodies. Why are some images of the dead widely circulated and others considered too obscene to be viewed? What is the role of regulatory mechanisms such as trigger warnings in framing certain images as obscene? Obscenity matters precisely because it is applied inconsistently, so decisions with regards to dead body images are always choices that tell us something about political identity, political communities, and security. The talk will discuss examples ranging from images in humanitarianism to ISIS beheadings and the deaths of Qaddafi and bin Laden.
EVENT 2) Dr Thomas Gregory, University of Auckland
Topic: Weaponizing Civilian Protection: Collateral Damage and Counterinsurgency
Thursday 26th October 2023
1800-1930
Room F01/F02
Event synopsis: Dr Thomas Gregory will visit Richmond, American University London to discuss his forthcoming book ‘Weaponizing Civilian Protection: Collateral Damage and Counterinsurgency.’ This book investigates the politics at play when civilian casualties are framed as a strategic problem rather than a moral or legal one. It examines the kind of policies that become possible when civilian casualties are moved from the humanitarian realm and placed within a strategic one, as well as the rationale that underpinned and enabled this shift. It considers how the civilian population was rendered killable or not killable in certain circumstances as coalition forces sought to achieve their objectives through a combination of lethal and nonlethal operations, and it examines how commanders sought to balance the risks to soldiers against the risk to civilians even if it meant exposing troops to possible harm. Furthermore, the book investigates how coalition forces sought to ‘mitigate’ or ‘manage’ the strategic costs of civilian harm by apologising when mistakes were made and offering condolence payments when civilians were harmed, together with the effectiveness of these programs and the rationale that underpinned them. While these measures might appear to make war more humane for the civilian population, the book argues that treating civilian casualties as a strategic problem continues to objectify and devalue the civilian population by treating them as a means to an end rather than an end in themselves.
EVENT 3) Dr Koen Slootmaeckers, City, University of London
Topic: ‘Coming in Sexual politics and EU accession in Serbia’
Thursday 23rd November 2023
1730-1900
Room F01/F02
Event synopsis: LGBT rights have become increasingly salient within the EU enlargement process as a litmus test for Europeanness. But the promotion of these norms has provided a basis for political contestation. This talk will interrogate the normative dimensions of the EU enlargement process, with special reference to LGBT politics. Reconceptualising Europeanisation, Dr Slootmaeckers argues that EU enlargement is a process of negotiated transformation in which EU policies and norms are (re)defined, translated and transformed. Empirically, Dr Slootmaeckers analyses the promotion of and resistance to LGBT equality norms in Serbia’s EU integration process, but looks beyond policies to the impact of the negotiated transitions on lived experiences. Overall, this talk will raise important questions about the political and social consequences of Europeanisation. At its heart is one crucial question: what do we consider progress? This talk is rooted in findings from Dr Slootmaeckers latest book ‘Coming in Sexual politics and EU accession in Serbia’ (2023, Manchester University Press).
EVENT 4) ‘Terror, the Occult, and the Rise of the Far Right in the UK’
December 7th 2023
Time 1700-1830
Room F01-02
Event synopsis: This roundtable event draws on Richmond’s expertise in the area of terrorism, the Occult, and the rise of the far right in the UK and invites academic and practitioners to discuss the current nature of threats as well as to consider policy responses going forwards. Participants will include:
- Professor Dom Alessio, Richmond, American University London
- Dr Will Alchorn, Richmond, American University London
- Robert Wallis, The Open University
- Andrew Pardy, Met Police
Dr Kandida Purnell 