CCS Events
Welcome to the CCS events page. The Centre offer a range of seminars and public lectures, conferences and symposia, some of which are open to the public as well as to LSE students and staff. Other events involving Centre staff but not organised by CCS are set out on the News page.
Ongoing seminars
The CCS lunchtime seminar schedule will resume again in the 2008 Michaelmas term. Details will be posted nearer the time.
Beyond NGOs: Civil and Uncivil Society in the 21st Century
Provisional date 26/27 February or 5/6 March 2009
(to be confirmed in early September 2008)
London
Call for papers (Word)
This international conference will be a joint cooperation between the LSE Centre for Civil Society and the CINEFOGO Network of Excellence under the 6th EU Framework Programme.
Taking as its point of departure recent debates on “uncivil” society, political society or the dark side of associational life, the conference will invite research abstracts which address themes that go beyond the equation: civil society = NGOs. The aim of the conference is to investigate the role of organisations and movements that fall outside conventional civil society analysis and to develop new perspectives on issues of transnationality, migration and citizenship in and beyond Europe.
The official call and further information will be circulated in September 2008.
Citizen Participation and Democratic Engagement: Learning between North and South
An international colloquium: 27-28 October 2008, The Create Centre, Bristol, UK
Authors are encouraged to link their discussion of citizen participation and democratic engagement to our broader themes:
- Methodological challenges: how can we learn from comparing experiences between North and South (or East and West)?
- How do different state actors understand or promote conceptions of participation?
- What are the challenges for citizens engaging in new governance spaces, and how do these challenges vary between countries?
- How do citizens’ strategies for participation and democratic engagement vary?
- What are the ‘dividends’ or outcomes of citizen engagement and participation for deepening democracy and achieving developmental results?
Please send a short abstract (no more than one side of A4) to Joanna.howard@uwe.ac.uk by 31 July 2008.
Full invitation (Word)
Previous events
June 2008
Book Launch
Descent into Chaos:
The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia
by Ahmed Rashid
June 30th, 2008, 6.30pm
Edmond J. Safra Lecture Theatre, King's College London, Strand Campus, WC2R 2LS
This book launch is co-hosted by the LSE Crisis States Research Centre, the LSE Centre of Civil Society, the British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group, the Afghanistan Study Group, and Penguin Books Ltd.
About the Author:
Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist, based in Lahore, who writes for The Daily Telegraph, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, The New York Review of Books, BBC Online and The Nation. His previous books include Jihad, Taliban and The Resurgence of Central Asia. He appears regularly on NPR, CNN, PBS and the BBC World Service. With Descent Into Chaos Rashid returns to the region and to the corridors of power in Washington and Europe and shows us why it is so vital that we refocus our attentions on Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.
CCS Seminar
NGOs, boundary politics and (il)liberal peace building in Sri Lanka
Thursday 5 June: Room H103
Speakers: Jonathan Goodhand and Oliver Walton
Chair: David Lewis
Jonathan Goodhand is a Senior Lecturer in the Development Studies Department of SOAS and Oliver Walton is a PhD candidate in the Development Studies Department of SOAS. Jonathan and Oliver have both worked in, and conducted research on Sri Lanka over several years.
May 2008
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Foreign Aid, Civil Society and Human Welfare in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan
16:00-18:00, Thursday, 22 May 2008
Graham Wallace Room, Fifth Floor, Old Building
London School of Economics and Political Science
Speakers include:
Charles Buxton, INTRAC Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Trends in NGO-Donor Relations in Kyrgyzstan
Babken Babajanian, LSE Department of Social Policy and Centre for Civil Society
Foreign Aid and Local Development in Rural Kyrgyzstan
Medet Tiulegenov, Open Society Institute, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Social Service NGOs and the Government of Kyrgyzstan – An Attempt to Forge Partnership through Social Contracting
Mathijs Pelkmans, LSE Department of Anthropology
The Spirit of Aid and the Politics of Faith: Secular and Christian Missions to Muslim Kyrgyzstan
Chaired by Armine Ishkanian, LSE Centre for Civil Society
For more information about the event, please contact Babken Babajanian at B.V.Babajanian@lse.ac.uk
- Centre for Civil Society (Department of Social Policy) and DESTIN Public Lecture Summer 2008
Why Civilizations Can’t Climb Hills: A Political History of Statelessness in Southeast Asia
Thursday, 22 May, New Theatre, East Building, LSE at 6.30 pm
Speaker: Professor James Scott
Chair: Professor Jude Howell
Professor Scott argues that the hill peoples of mainland Southeast Asia are fugitive, runaway populations, practising ‘escape agriculture’, ‘escape social structure’ and ‘escape culture’.
The hill peoples (sometimes erroneously called hill tribes) of the massif of mainland Southeast Asia are often understood by state-makers and populations in the valleys to be "our living ancestors", "what we were like before we discovered irrigated rice, Buddhism, and civilization." It is his contention, on the contrary, that we best understand such hill populations throughout the entire massif from Central Vietnam all the way to Northeast India as a fugitive, runaway population. Providing we take a long view (e.g. 2,000 years) these populations have been moving uphill and away from state-making projects in the valleys. There in the hills they have deliberately practiced forms of "escape agriculture", "escape social structure," and "escape culture" designed to avoid being made into state subjects while, at the same time, enjoying the advantages of trade with the valleys.
James Scott is a Sterling Professor of Political Science and Anthropology at Yale University
A reception will take place afterwards in The Atrium of the LSE Main Building.
If you would like to attend the reception which will take place from about 8pm after the lecture please RSVP to ccs@lse.ac.uk or telephone us on 0207 955 7205.
Available as: mp3 (19 mb; approx 81 minutes)
- These events are free and open to all, with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis.
Should you have any queries regarding the event please view www.lse.ac.uk/events or email ccs@lse.ac.uk
Researching Non Governmental Public Action: Methodologies And Principles
- Pre-meeting: 14 May for dinner, for those interested in contributing to the ESRC panel and book.
Seminar: 15 May 2008, 9.30-5.30
Venue: International Centre for Participation Studies (ICPS) Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford
Participants: Members of the ESRC NPGA programme and selected invitations to researchers in the Department of Peace Studies, Bradford Centre for International Development, Department of Humanities and Social Studies and Department of Politics University of Leeds.
- For more information, contact Prof. Jenny Pearce at j.v.pearce@bradford.ac.uk
- Aims:
- To share methodologies for researching with non governmental actors.
- To reflect critically on these and further elaborate principles and ethics.
- To prepare an NPGA panel for the ESRC methods festival in July.
- To assess feasibility of a publication on our methodologies.
New Latin American Development Strategies in a Changing International Economic and Political Context
20-21 May, 2008, Aalborg, Denmark
Website for further details.
March, 2008
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European Development Aid and NGOs: Changing Notions of Civil Society in "North" and "South"
March 13th-14th 2008
at Goodenough College, London WC1
This international conference investigates the changing approaches of European development aid towards European and Southern NGOs and the effects of these on the participation and well-being of poor and marginalised groups in developing countries.
Abstracts of papers
Conference papers and programme (password-protected)
December, 2007
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December 2007
The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years
 'The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years' - A Photographic Portrayal of People’s Lives in Kyrgyzstan by Babken V Babajanian are on display at LSE from 3 December 2007 to 11 January 2008. The set of compelling photographs gives insight into the lives of ordinary men, women and children living in rural Kyrgyzstan today. The images of people are accompanied with captions that provide information on various aspects of social and economic life in rural communities. The photographs are a product of the research that Dr Babajanian conducted in Kyrgyzstan in 2007. The research examines patterns of local governance and welfare provision in rural communities in Kyrgyzstan. Both the research and the exhibition are funded by the Economic and Social Research Council under the ESRC Non-Governmental Public Action Programme (NGPA). The official launch of the exhibition was held on 12 December 2007, and it was attended by academics, students, development practitioners as well as by the Kyrgyz Ambassador to the UK. Melody Mohebi, a PhD student at the LSE Centre for Civil Society, who attended the exhibition, said, ‘Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! The thirteen pictures and the captions told the story of the country better than any article or book! I feel like I gained so much. Loved how some were natural shots where a moment was captured (i.e. Three Generations) and the more posed photographs (i.e. No Time to Rest - magnificent colours and so much expression)’. The exhibition has provoked strong interest not only among the public in the UK, but also internationally. The Radio Free Europe's Kyrgyz Service is currently preparing a radio programme about it, which will be broadcast to the public in Kyrgyzstan in December 2007.
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Workshop On Civil Society, Security And Development Aid In Eastern Africa Since 2001
December 4th, 2007; Nairobi, venue TBA
Call For Papers (Word) Now closed.
For more information, please contact Dr Jeremey Lind at J.Lind@lse.ac.uk
November, 2007
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VSSN Day Conference
28 November 2007, at University of Birmingham
The programme (together with abstracts) and booking details for the VSSN Day Conference at the University of Birmingham on the 28th November 2007 have now been placed on the VSSN website. For information and to register for the day go to:
http://www.vssn.org.uk/events/event281107.htm
Or you can book by emailing direct to - bookings@vssn.org.uk
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Centre for the Study of Global Governance Public Panel Discussion
6.30-8pm, 22 November 2007, Hong Kong Theatre, LSE
Can Democracy be bought? Democracy Promotion after 1989
Democracy promotion became a key foreign policy issue pursued by Western governments after 1989. To what extent are external democracy promotion efforts effective? Panellists will explore the success of such activities and their impact and implications for local processes of democratisation and indigenous civil society.
Speakers:
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Dr Armine Ishkanian, Lecturer in Social Policy, Centre for Civil Society, Department of Social Policy, LSE
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Iain King worked for the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, 2000-2003 and is co-author of Peace at Any Price: How the World Failed Kosovo.
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Professor Daniele Archibugi, Director of the Italian National Research Council in Rome, and Professor of Innovation, Governance and Public Policy at the Department of Management at Birkbeck College.
- Chair: Professor Mary Kaldor, Co-director of CSGG, LSE.
This event is linked to Global Civil Society 2007/8, which is themed on communicative power and democracy. An associated exhibition, ‘Voices of Global Civil Society’ is on view until 29 November 2007 in the Atrium, Old Building, Houghton Street, LSE. Opening hours are Mon-Fri 10-6pm, Saturday 10-5pm. Entry is free. Please note, if you would like to view the exhibition, it would be best to arrive before the panel discussion when the Atrium is open to the public.
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Humanitarian Aid and Independence: do no harm?
Date: Thursday 15 November 2007
Time: 6.30-8pm
Venue: New Theatre, East Building
Speakers: Geoffrey Dennis, James Kliffen, Bernard Pécoul, Dr Edward Simpson
Chair: Professor Jude Howell
Further information
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Humanitarian Aid and Independence: do no harm? Roundtable
Friday, 16 November, 2007
9am - 1pm
Vera Anstey Room, LSE
The purpose of the roundtable is to discuss the question of independence in light of today's realities. The essence of the debate is to consider whether independence is still possible today and whether it is still a relevant and valid humanitarian principle. Moreover, does it really matter to beneficiaries?
June, 2007
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Aid, Security and Civil Society in the Post-911 Context Workshop
The Centre for Civil Society will be organizing an international workshop on ‘Aid, security and civil society in the post-911 context’, to be held from June 28-29th, 2007 at Goodenough College, Mecklenburgh Square in central London. More details (Word)
October 2006
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NGOs: a disaster for disasters?
6:30pm, Thursday 5th October, 2006 in the Hong Kong Theatre, ground floor, Clement House
the Centre for Civil Society (Department of Social Policy) presents a public lecture and discussion by Gorik Ooms, general director of Médecins Sans Frontières Belgium, Dr Mark Pelling, reader in human geography at King’s College London, and Sir Nicholas Young, chief executive of the British Red Cross chaired by Professor Jude Howell, LSE.
This lecture explored the role of NGOs in humanitarian disasters. While recent evaluations of relief efforts have praised some of the interventions and the good intentions of aid agencies, they have also drawn attention to the negative effects of competing NGO initiatives, inappropriate aid, and the lack of coordination amongst NGOs. Are NGOs actually a disaster for humanitarian disasters? What are the alternatives? And what lessons can be learnt from past experience? A podcast of this lecture will be available shortly.
May 2006
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Seminar on Shifting Politics in China: Associations and the Strange Marriage Between the State and Private Business in Beijing
Tuesday 23 May 2006 12.30pm - 2.00pm in room H201
The LSE Asia Research Centre and LSE Centre for Civil Society presents a seminar by Prof. Jonathan Unger, Australian National University, on 'Shifting Politics in China: Associations and the Strange Marriage Between the State and Private Business in Beijing'.
March 2006
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Conference on Gender, Citizenship and Participation
Thursday/Friday 23/24 March 2006
This meeting was funded by the European Commission as part of the Civil Society and New Forms of Governance in Europe (CINEFOGO) FP6 Network coordinated by Professor Thomas Boje (Roskilde University, Denmark). More details are given at Gender, Citizenship and Participation (PDF)
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CCS Roundtable Discussion on The Backlash Against Civil Society in the Wake of the Global War on Terror
Thursday 9 March 2006
The aim of the roundtable was to initiate discussion and debate regarding the growing backlash against civil society in different parts of the globe in the context of the ‘Global War on Terror’. Presentations were made by Marlies Glasius, Jude Howell, Armine Ishkanian, Ebenezer Obadare, and Hakan Seckinelgin followed by a discussion with attendees who were from academia, think tanks, and NGOs. A related publication is being prepared and more details will be announced.
- CCS (Department of Social Policy) Roundtable:
Organising Within and Around Muslim Communities in the UK: challenges and opportunities
Thursday 2 March 2006 6.30pm
Speakers: Fadi Itani, Khalida Khan, Sir Iqbal Sacranie and Sarah Sheriff; Chair: Professor Jude Howell
February 2006
Events Archive
Last updated: 2 July 2008 ^
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