Politics & International Relations NEWSLETTER December 2018

Festival of Politics & International Relations 2018 The Festival, organised by Dr Paul Wetherly each November, is a series of events outside the normal curricu- lum where students engage with a range of speakers. This year, sessions were led by local MPs, filmmakers and NGO workers, and external academics as well as by our own staff and alumni.

Former PhD student Dr Ayeray Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Medina-Bustos spoke about her Honorary Doctorate of research in Argentina and how Beckett University Rae Mac- public trials might contribute to Grath spoke about his experi- truth, justice, memory and also to ences in some of the harshest reconciliation at national and per- violent conflict areas, in sonal levels. ‘Negotiating Battlefields’. Fol- lowing the talk was a panel chaired by Dr Rachel Julian on the contribution of Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping to civil- ian protection. Fabian Hamilton MP (Labour, Leeds North East, and Shadow Minister for Peace and Dis- armament) presented the new Labour Party Peace Doctrine, which included a need for more Peacebuilding, and an Masooma Ranalvi from the NGO emphasis on upholding Trea- Speak Out talked about tackling ties. Female Genital Mutilation, and Dr MP (Labour, Leeds Joe Mulhall from Hope not Hate Central, and Chair of the House spoke about understanding and of Commons Brexit Select Com- overcoming the politics of hate. mittee) discussed the Brexit process, whether the current plans can form the basis for an agreement with the EU and win support in Parliament, and what it will mean for the UK. Museum visit Staff took a coach of students to the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, where there were moving exhibitions commemorating the centenary of WW1 Armistice Day. In a related talk, Dr Aggie Hirst (Kings College, ) spoke about her research on the Politics of Play, which explores how the US military use insight from immersive behaviour during war-games and simulations for teaching and training purposes and to cultivate mental and physical muscle memory in service members. Using films to enhance learning PIR hosted a screening of ‘About a War’, followed by a discussion with filmmakers Daniele Rugo and Abi Weaver about their documen- tary which builds a picture of motivations, trauma and regret follow- ing the Lebanese Civil War. Personal accounts of ex-fighters are used to explore the tensions between individual choice and sectarian vio- lence in the Middle East.

There was also a preview of the documentary film ‘Around the wall: Bend it Like Beth- lehem’, partly organised by student Tania Aghanian, which explores key cultural issues surrounding women’s participation in sport, against the backdrop of the Israel/ Palestine conflict and the struggle of people to remain in their homelands.

Alumni news Lewis Williams (BA Politics 2015) is now a Finance and Business Manager at the UK Government Depart- ment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Lisa de Bruyne (MA Peace & Development 2018) is an intern at the Belgian embassy in Norway. Angélique Karekezi (BA International Relations 2012) is a Services Development Specialist at the Rwanda Development Board, Geneva, Switzerland. Esme Liegis-Canns (BA Politics 2015; MA International Political Economy 2016) is Social Media Manager at Fru Hagen Oslo, Norway. Shameena Villars (BA Global Development & Peace Studies 2014) is the Community Engagement Officer at Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. Jamal Malik (BA International Relations & Global Development 2016) has started a PhD on counter- terrorism at the University of Bradford.

Staff research Dr John Willott, working with former student Federica Soricetti (MA Inter- national Political Economy 2017) has secured seedcorn funding from the British Association of International & Comparative Education (BAICE) fora project looking to develop materials to teach indigenous language and cul- ture in Colombian primary schools. The project is focused on the Muisca community which is based near Bogota. The project is set against a back- drop of community violence and exclusion in Colombia, and decades of con- flict, and hopes to develop greater intercultural understanding and trans- formative peace education. Dr Rachel Julian has been awarded $88,000 from the United States Insti- tute for Peace for a 2-year international research project on the role of civil- ians in monitoring and verifying ceasefires. It is under the Promoting Peace Processes programme and involves data collection in Philippines, and dis- semination across three continents. Recent staff publications Loftus A, March H & Purcell TF (2018) The political economy of water infrastructure: An introduction to financialization. WIREs Water. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1326 Julian R & Gasser R (2018) Soldiers, Civilians and Peacekeeping – Evidence and False Assumptions. International Peacekeeping. DOI:10.1080/13533312.2018.1503933 Byrne C (2018) Neoliberalisms in British Politics. Routledge