What Are Prisons For?

Contributor(s): Pierre Vimont | The Ukraine crisis marked the return of geopolitics in Europe. Can the EU, which has been originally designed to prevent geopolitics inside its borders, act as decisive foreign policy actor outside of them? How to cope in particular with the severe and manifold crisis in its neighbourhoods? Pierre Vimont is Senior Associate at Carnegie Europe. Robert Falkner (@robert_falkner) is Associate Professor in International Relations at LSE. LSE IDEAS (@LSEIDEAS) is a foreign policy think-tank within LSE's Institute for Global Affairs.

Contributor(s): Dr Helen Pearson | On 5th March 1946 a survey began that is, today, the longest-running study of human development in the world, and has grown to encompass six generations of children and over 70,000 people. They have become some of the best-studied people on the planet. The simple act of observing human life has changed the way we are born, schooled, parent and die, and irrevocably altered our understanding of inequality and health. In this lecture Helen Pearson will talk about her new book, The Life Project: The Extraordinary Story of 70,000 Ordinary Lives, which is the tale of these studies, the scientists who created and sustain them, the discoveries that have come from them. The envy of scientists around the world, they are one of Britain's best-kept secrets. Helen Pearson (@hcpearson) is a science journalist and editor for the international science journal Nature. She has been writing for Nature since 2001 and her stories have won accolades including the 2010 Wistar Institute Science Journalism Award and two Best Feature awards from the Association of British Science Writers. Mike Savage (@MikeSav47032563) is Martin White Professor of Sociology, head of the department of Sociology and Co-Director of the LSE International Inequalities Institute. The Department of Sociology at LSE (@LSEsociology) was established in 1904 and remains committed to top quality teaching and leading research and scholarship today.

Contributor(s): Hilary Benn | Hilary Benn (@hilarybennmp) is the Labour Member of Parliament for Leeds Central and the Shadow Foreign Secretary. Previously, he served as International Development Secretary, as a Minister in the Home Office, as Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and the Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Tony Travers is Director of LSE London, a research centre at the London School of Economics. British Government @ LSE (@lsegovernment) is an initiative currently based in the Government Department to promote and develop research on British Government being conducted at the LSE. So far world class speakers have attended our events, talking on a range of topics.

Contributor(s): Johan Ahlback, Dr Joseph Hanlon, Dr Jouni Kuha | In every Mozambican election, the ruling party (Frelimo) won, and the opposition cried fraud. Can we tell who really won? Teams of up to 150 journalists, organized by Joe Hanlon, covered the elections across the country and reported that fraud and misconduct did occur. But did it change the outcome? Mozambique reports results from each polling station (each with fewer than 1000 voters) which allows statistical analysis for ballot box stuffing, invalidating opposition votes, and other misconduct. This is a first report on a unique project to put the journalists and statisticians together - and test the official outcome of five presidential elections. Johan Ahlback is a PhD student in the Department of Government at LSE. Joseph Hanlon is a Visiting Fellow in International Development at LSE. Jouni Kuha is an Associate Professor of Statistics and Research Methodology in the Department of Statistics at LSE. Wendy Willems is an Associate Professor in the Media & Communications Department at LSE. A blog post entitled Mozambique returns to war, as opposition claims electoral ‘fraud’ by Johan Ahlback and Dr Joseph Hanlon is available to read at the LSE Department of International Development Blog. The Department of International Development (@LSE_ID) promotes interdisciplinary post-graduate teaching and research on processes of social, political and economic development and change. The Department of Statistics (@StatsDeptLSE) enjoys a vibrant research environment and offers a comprehensive programme of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Statistics.

Contributor(s): Professor Ian Morris | Changes in how we capture energy from the environment have determined the degree of inequality in society – but what does this mean for the future? Ian Morris is Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at LSE IDEAS for 2015-16. LSE IDEAS (@LSEIDEAS) is a foreign policy think-tank within LSE's Institute for Global Affairs.

Contributor(s): Professor Stuart Green | The work discussed in this lecture is part of a much larger, book-length project titled Criminalizing Sex: A Unified Theory. Although the incidence of voyeurism and indecent exposure is relatively low compared to other sexual offences, both crimes raise important questions about the proper scope of the criminal law in a liberal society, the resolution of competing rights to sexual autonomy, and the nature of privacy rights in our digital age. This lecture will consider four basic points: First, the wrongs entailed by voyeurism and indecent exposure are in some sense reciprocal. The former involves a violation of the victim’s right to exclude others from her private sexual domain; the latter involves a violation of the victim’s right not to be included in the private sexual domain of others. Second, the harms entailed by both voyeurism and indecent exposure are often elusive. While the exhibitionist typically intends to cause shock or dismay in his victim through his exposure, the voyeur normally intends that his victim will be unaware of his act. Any harm that results from either offence is at most psychological and, in the case of voyeurism, often lacking entirely. Third, while the “offence” caused by voyeurism is relatively straightforward, the offense caused by indecent exposure is more contested, more sensitive to cultural variation and individual tolerances, and more likely to vary depending on the specific purposes for which such conduct is performed. Finally, the means by which a potential victim of voyeurism or indecent exposure loses her right not to be exposed to such conduct are quite different from the means by which a potential victim loses her right not to be raped or sexually assaulted. There is no requirement that the potential victim must give her voluntary consent; it is normally sufficient that she assume the risk of exposure. Stuart Green is Distinguished Professor of Law at Rutgers University and Visiting Leverhulme Professor at LSE Law for 2016-17. Jeremy Horder is Professor of Criminal Law and Head of LSE Law. LSE Law (@lselaw) is an integral part of the School's mission, plays a major role in policy debates & in the education of lawyers and law teachers from around the world.

Contributor(s): Dr Christopher Bennett, Professor Kimberley Brownlee, Andrew Neilson | In this time of austerity, many of those who want a small state are also committed to a highly expensive criminal justice apparatus that has little demonstrable deterrent effect. But are there other, more direct arguments against the use of imprisonment as a dominant form of punishment? If so, what are they? Why do they so often fall on deaf ears? And does the current economic climate make it more likely that those in power will listen? Christopher Bennett is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Sheffield. Kimberley Brownlee is Associate Professor in Legal and Moral Philosophy at the University of Warwick. Andrew Neilson is from theHoward League for Penal Reform. Peter Dennis is a Fellow in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and a Forum for European Philosophy Fellow. The Forum for European Philosophy (@ForumPhilosophy) is an educational charity that organises a full and varied programme of philosophy and interdisciplinary events in the UK.

Contributor(s): Siv Jensen | The low oil price is testing the Norwegian economy’s flexibility and ability to re-adjust. Economic policy should facilitate restructuring and stimulate productivity growth. Open and well-functioning markets – both domestically and internationally – are important to succeed. Siv Jensen (@Siv_Jensen_FrP) is Norwegian Minister of Finance, a position she has held since October 2013. She is a long serving member of the Norwegian Parliament and leader of the Progress Party. In Parliament, Ms Jensen has served as member of the Committee of Foreign Affairs and Defence and Chair of the Financial Committee. She started her political career as member of Oslo City Council. Iain Begg is Professorial Research Fellow at the European Institute, LSE. The LSE European Institute (@LSEEI) was established in 1991 as a dedicated centre for the interdisciplinary study of processes of integration and fragmentation within Europe. In the most recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) the Institute was ranked first for research in its sector.

Contributor(s): Professor Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni | The university in South Africa became a key site of struggle in 2015. Faculty and university leadership were taken by surprise as students demanded a change in the curriculum and increased access to affordable education. The protests were spearheaded by students part of the Rhodes Must Fall Movement (RMF) at the University of Cape Town but were later taken forward by a range of movements at other universities, including the University of Oxford. The student struggles expanded into broader demands for decolonisation, transformation and Africanisation. This public lecture examines why the university in South Africa has become a site of struggle and aims to make sense of the recent rise of student movements. Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni is Director of Scholarship in the Change Management Unit in the Vice-Chancellor’s Office at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in Pretoria, and the founder and coordinator of the Africa Decolonial Research Network (ADERN). He is a historian and decolonial theorist who has published extensively in African history, politics, and development. His most recent books include Mugabeism? History, Politics and Power in Zimbabwe (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015); The Decolonial Mandela: Peace, Justice and the Politics of Life (Berghahn Books, 2016); and Empire, Global Coloniality and African Subjectivity (Berghahn Books, 2013). He is currently working on a co-edited book provisionally entitled Epistemic Break in Humanities and Social Sciences: Towards Decolonization of the African University. Wendy Willems is Assistant Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Africa Talks is a programme of high-profile events that creates a platform for African voices to inform and transform the global debate.

Contributor(s): Dr Keyu Jin | Dr Keyu Jin will discuss the impact of China’s financial reforms. Keyu Jin (@KeyuJin) is a Lecturer in the Department of Economics and a member of the Centre for Macroeconomics and Centre for Economic Performance. The Department of Economics at LSE (@LSEEcon) is one of the largest economics departments in the world. Its size ensures that all areas of economics are strongly represented in both research and teaching. The Centre For Macroeconomics (@CFMUK) brings together world-class experts to carry out pioneering research on the global economic crisis and to help design policies that alleviate it.