Changes in the Media and their Impact on Politics

This week The Beacon explores transformations in the media environment in the past decade and their impact on the political cycle. To learn more about this issue, Rose Vennin spoke to Doctor Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, Director of Research at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Colin Byrne, CEO UK&EMEA for Weber Shandwick, a leading global public relations firm, and previously Head of Press for the Labour Party, and Helen Lewis, deputy editor of the New Statesman.

Doctor Nielsen’s full interview is available here, Mr. Byrne full interview is available here, and Mrs. Lewis’ full interview is available here. Our intro and outro music is provided by podcastthemes.com.

Corruption in South Africa

This week The Beacon is looking at the subject of Corruption in South Africa. To learn more about this Daniel Thomson spoke to Andrew Faull, a senior researcher at the Centre of Criminology in the University of Capetown, Gareth Newham, Head of the Governance, Crime and Justice division at the Institute for Security Studies, and David Lewis, a former chairperson of the South African Competition Tribunal, and the Executive Director of Corruption Watch, a platform for reporting and raising awareness of corruption, based in South Africa.

Andrew Faull's full interview is available here, Gareth Newham's full interview is available here, and David Lewis's full interview is available here. Our intro and outro music is provided by podcastthemes.com

Understanding Pakistan

This week The Beacon is looking at the subject of Pakistan, in particular at the country's recent history in relation to the themes of justice, corruption and Islamic extremism. To learn more about this Daniel Thomson spoke to Omar Waraich, an independent journalist and member of Chatham House and the Royal Institute for International Affairs, Owen Bennet-Jones, and independent journalist and author, and presenter of Newshour, and Kamal Alam, a research analyst at RUSI. 

Omar Waraich's full interview is available here, Owen Bennet-Jones' full interview is available here, and Kamal Alam's full interview is available here. Our intro and outro music is provided by podcastthemes.com.

A Profile of China's Foreign Policy

This week The Beacon explores what drives China’s foreign policy actions. To learn more about China’s foreign policy goals Haley Lemieux spoke to Dr. Rogier Creemers, a professor at the Oxford China Centre, Mathieu Duchatel, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, Mortiz Rudolf, a researcher for the Mercator institute for China Studies, and Angela Stanzel, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Professor Creemer’s full interview is available here, Mr. Duchatel’s full interview is available here, Mr. Rudolf’s full interview is available here, and Ms. Stanzel’s full interview is available here. Our intro and outro music is provided by podcastthemes.com. 

How does oil affect world politics?

This week The Beacon addresses how oil affects world politics through contributing to authoritarianism and armed conflict. To learn more about the ‘oil curse’ and its implications for international relations Haley Lemieux spoke to Dr. Leif Wenar, author of the new book Blood Oil and professor at Kings College London, Dr. Jeff Colgan, author of the book Petro-aggression: When Oil Causes War and professor at Brown University, and Dr. Michael Ross, author of the book The Oil Curse and professor at UCLA.

Professor Wenar’s full interview is available here, Professor Colgan’s full interview is available here, and Professor Ross’ full interview is available here. Our intro and outro music is provided by podcastthemes.com. The interlude music is Gymnopédie no. 1, available here. 

Has Latin America Shifted Away from the Left?

This week The Beacon addresses the recent shift in Latin American politics away from the left. To understand recent events in the region, to what extent politics really are shifting away from the left and what possible consequences these changes could have, we weighed in with Andrea Noel, Dr. David Doyle and Robie Mitchell. Andrea is a freelance journalist based in Mexico City and former Latin America editorial coordinator for Vice News, David is a professor of comparative government at the University of Oxford and fellow at the Latin America Centre, and Robie is a former research associate at the Council of Hemispheric Affairs.

To read more about this topic you can check out Andrea’s article for Vice News here and Robie’s article for COHA here. Our intro and outro music is provided by podcastthemes.com. The interlude music is Gymnopédie no. 1, available here. 

US Presidential Primary

This week The Beacon addresses the presidential primary elections in the United States. Although voting doesn’t start until February 1st, we weighed in with Professor Desmond King, and gained student perspectives from Bobby Puckett, Sam Sussman, Brian McGrail, and Varun Menon. Professor Desmond King addresses what distinguishes the U.S. elections from similar elections in the world. Brian, Bobby and Sam shared their thoughts on the democratic nominees, the future of the Democratic Party and the historical context of this election. Finally, Varun gives us an insight into the key issues shaping the campaign. 

Professor King’s full interview is available here, Varun Menon’s full interview is available here. Our intro and outro music is provided by podcastthemes.com. The interlude music is Gymnopédie no. 1, available here. 

Yiftah Curiel on Israel-Palestine Violence

The Beacon is the brand new podcast from Oxford IRSoc. Each week we will be focusing on a pressing topic in the news and interviewing a variety of academics, politicians and journalists to get a range of perspectives. Our focus this week is the recent violence in Israel and the West Bank. On the 24th December Isreali authorities declared three Palestinian assailants were killed as they carried out or tried to carry out stabbing or car-ramming attacks against Israeli security personnel, and a fourth Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli troops. Two Israeli security guards and a soldier were wounded. These recent attacks are a perpetuation of a violent trend since mid-September which shows no signs of abating. Since September Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings and shootings, have killed 20 Israelis, while Israeli fire has killed 124 Palestinians, among them 85 said by Israel to be attackers. The rest were killed in clashes with Israeli forces. Israel accuses The Palestinian Authority of inciting the violence. In response the PA has commented that it is the simply result of nearly 50 years of military occupation. The violence has been triggered in part by recent visits by Jewish groups to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, coupled with restrictions on Palestinian access to the mosque. Frustration is also mounting as Israel continues to build Jewish-only settlements throughout the West Bank. However, these events also poses a threat to the leadership of the Palestinian authority which now appear trapped in a catch-22 situation over the continuing violence, which they neither lead nor feel able to fully condone or disavow. What are the origins of this spate of attacks? Are the current punitive tactics employed by Israeli security forces the best way of combating them? and what implications do recent events have upon the current viability of the two state solution? To examine these questions in more detail Will Yeldham spoke to Yiftah Curiel Head Spokesperson at the Israeli Embassy. What are your thoughts? Get involved by visiting our website, Facebook page and Twitter feeds and comment to keep the debate going. We will post details of the speakers ahead of the recording and you have any questions you'd like us address please send them in to sir-editor@irsoc.com.

Still Fit For Purpose? The UN at 70

The Beacon is the brand new podcast from Oxford IRSoc. Each week we will be focusing on a pressing topic in the news and interviewing a variety of academics, politicians and journalists to get a range of perspectives.

Geopolitical alliances, the changing nature of conflict and the concept of humanitarian intervention have all thrown up new issues for the Security Council. Its efficacy has been questioned, particularly in light of their failure to intervene during the Rwandan Genocide and the current Syrian conflict. So, can the Security Council – and the broader UN – remain fit for purpose in light of this rapidly changing world? In this week's podcast Amelia Cooper spoke to Lydia Swart, Consultant at the Centre for UN Reform Education. She has been following the question of UN Security Reform since 2006, before which she worked in various non-profits and UN related organizations. Following that, she spoke to UN Expert Sam Daws, who has worked for or with the UN for over 25 years. He served for three years as First Officer to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and then spent six years as the Executive Director of the UN Association of the UK. He has since worked for the British Government in UN-related roles, and has written profusely about the UN. What are your thoughts? Get involved by visiting our website, Facebook page and Twitter feeds and comment to keep the debate going. We will post details of the speakers ahead of the recording and you have any questions you'd like us address please send them in to sir-editor@irsoc.com.

The Question that Won't Go Away: Britain's Exit from the EU and what it could mean

The Beacon is the brand new podcast from Oxford IRSoc. Each week we will be focusing on a pressing topic in the news and interviewing a variety of academics, politicians and journalists to get a range of perspectives.

In this week's podcast Will Yeldham speaks to Dr Tim Oliver, Dahrendorf Fellow on Europe-North America Relations at the London School of Economics, also a non-resident fellow at the centre for transatlantic relations John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies DC. They discuss the regions of support for Britain's renegotiation within the EU and whether a Brexit could prompt a wider disintegration. Next Will spoke to Professor Erik Jones Director of European and Eurasian Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University. He is also Senior Research Fellow at Nuffield College in Oxford, United Kingdom. They focused upon the effect of a Brexit upon calls for a new referendum on Scottish independence and the wider impact upon Britain's relation with the US and China What are your thoughts? Get involved by visiting our website, Facebook page and Twitter feeds and comment to keep the debate going. We will post details of the speakers ahead of the recording and you have any questions you'd like us address please send them in to sir-editor@irsoc.com.