IIEA Talks

Sudan is in the grip of escalating armed conflict and on teetering on the edge of civil war. Two rival armed forces, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are fighting in the capital, Khartoum and in regional cities and towns across the country. Both are heavily armed and have regional backers. The crisis has its origins in Sudan’s failed internationally-backed political transition since the revolutionary events that led to the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir in 2019. In his remarks, Professor Srinivasan discusses how did the RSF, and its entrepreneurial leader Mohamed "Hemedti" Hamdan Dagalo, come to play a central role in Sudanese politics? How does this conflict play out regionally with Egypt, Libya, Chad, Ethiopia, and Gulf countries having clear interest and what role did western and international peacemaking play in precipitating Sudan’s violent unravelling? About the Speaker: Sharath Srinivasan is David and Elaine Potter Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Politics and International Studies, a Fellow of King’s College Cambridge, and Co-Director of the University’s Centre of Governance & Human Rights (CGHR). He lived and worked in Sudan in the early 2000s and has been researching on the region since then. His book, When Peace Kills Politics: International Intervention and Unending Wars in the Sudans, was published in 2021 (Hurst/OUP). He also co-edited Making and Breaking Peace in Sudan and South Sudan: The Comprehensive Peace Agreement and Beyond (British Academy/OUP, 2020). Sharath is a Fellow of the Rift Valley Institute and a Trustee of the British Institute in Eastern Africa. Alongside longstanding work on Sudan, his current research focuses on communication technology and politics and peaceful assembly. He co-edited Publics in Africa in a Digital Age (Routledge, 2021) and is co-founder of non-profit digital social research spinout, Africa’s Voices (www.africasvoices.org).

In his address to the IIEA, Amandeep Singh Gill, the United Nations (UN) Envoy on Technology, discusses the UN’s work in relation to the digital transformation and how digital technologies can affect peace and security, human rights and sustainable development. Mr Gill also discusses plans to create a Global Digital Compact at the UN Summit of the Future that is scheduled to take place in September 2024, which would outline shared principles for an open, free, and secure digital future for all. About the Speaker: Mr. Amandeep Singh Gill was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General as his Envoy on Technology in June 2022, and he joined the Secretary-General’s senior leadership team as Under-Secretary General in mid-July 2022. Before this, Mr. Gill was the Chief Executive Officer of the International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative (I-DAIR) project, based at the Graduate Institute, Geneva. In 2018-2019, Mr. Gill was Executive Director and co-lead of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation. Between 2016 and 2018, he was India’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

In this second event in a series of webinars co-organised by the IIEA and the European Parliament Liaison Office (EPLO) in Ireland, an expert panel of speakers discusses how the EU can help to deliver a sustainable and just energy transition for the Union and its Member States and citizens. The panel also discusses the crucial role that the European Parliament is playing in this transition. Speakers at this event will include: Ciarán Cuffe MEP, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA Group, Ireland Claudia Gamon MEP, Member of the European Parliament, Renew Europe, Austria Professor Lisa Ryan, Professor in Energy Economics, University College Dublin

Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine has drastically changed the European security equation, prompting many European countries to re-prioritise security and defence policy. Poland has been among the EU's largest contributors of support to Ukraine in its defence against Russia's unprovoked war of aggression. Furthermore, as one of Europe's top military spenders in terms of its GDP, Poland is playing a growing role in European security dynamics at both EU and NATO level. In his address to the IIEA, Adam Bugajski discusses the impact of Russia’s war on European security from the perspective of Poland. About the Speaker: Adam Bugajski was appointed the Security Policy Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland in November 2019. In this position he deals with Polish security policy with regard to NATO, the EU, the OSCE and other international organisations as well as bilateral cooperation in security and defence. Prior to his current assignment, Adam Bugajski was Permanent Representative of Poland to the UN Office and the International Organisations in Vienna. His previous roles include Security Policy Director at the MFA (2011-2015), Deputy Director of the Department of Strategy and Foreign Policy Planning (2010-2011), and Deputy Permanent Representative of Poland to NATO (2008-2010).

In his address to the IIEA, Jón Danielsson discusses the ideas contained within his new book, The Illusion of Control: Why Financial Crises Happen, and What We Can (and Can’t) Do About It. Prof. Danielsson challenges the conventional wisdom surrounding financial risk, and share his belief that easy solutions to control the financial system are doomed to fail. Instead of the buffers against shocks, it would be better, in his view, to increase shock absorption by diversifying the types of financial institutions we have, a policy that could result in more economic growth and a more stable financial system. He will apply his ideas to the lessons learned from the failure of the Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. About the Speaker: Jón Danielsson is one of the two Directors of the Systemic Risk Centre and Reader in Finance at the LSE. Since receiving his PhD in the economics of financial markets from Duke University in 1991, his work has focused on how economic policy can lead to prosperity or disaster. He is an authority on both the technical aspects of risk forecasting and the optimal policies that governments and regulators should pursue in this area. He has written three highly regarded books: The Illusion of Control (Yale University Press, 2022), which was included on the Financial Times “Best books of 2022” list; Financial Risk Forecasting (Wiley, 2011); and Global Financial Systems: Stability and Risk (Pearson, 2013). He has also contributed numerous academic papers on systemic risk, artificial intelligence, financial risk forecasting, financial regulation and related topics to leading academic journals, including Review of Financial Studies and the Journal of Econometrics. At the LSE, he teaches courses in technical risk forecasting and on how the global financial system operates. He has also worked for the Bank of Japan and the International Monetary Fund.

Russia and Ukraine have followed very different approaches to command during the course of their war. Drawing on his new book, Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine, Lawrence Freedman compares these approaches, looking at the respective role of Presidents Putin and Zelensky, along with the development and implementation of their military strategies. About the Speaker: Sir Lawrence Freedman is Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King’s College London. He was Professor of War Studies at King's College London from 1982 to 2014, and was Vice-Principal from 2003 to 2013. Before joining King's he held research appointments at Nuffield College Oxford, IISS and the Royal Institute of International Affairs. Elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1995, he was appointed Official Historian of the Falklands Campaign in 1997. In June 2009 he was appointed to serve as a member of the official inquiry into Britain and the 2003 Iraq War. Professor Freedman has written extensively on nuclear strategy and the Cold War, as well as commentating regularly on contemporary security issues. His new book is Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine.

Eoin Drea,Senior Researcher in the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, Hélène Conway-Mouret, member of the French Senate and Laurence Norman, reporter at The Wall Street Journal, in conversation with Dan O’Brien, IIEA Chief Economist.

In her address to the IIEA, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Leader of the Belarusian Democratic Movement, discusses the current threats to the future of Belarus and Europe, including human rights violations, the impact of economic sanctions against Belarus, and Lukashenka's acceptance of a plan to place Russian nuclear arms in Belarus. In March of 2023, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights published a report on the Situation of human rights in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and in its aftermath. The report details systematic and widespread human rights violations as a direct result of the policies employed by the current Government of Belarus. This event is part of the IIEA’s Global Europe Project, which is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs. About the Speaker Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is the Leader of the Belarusian Democratic Movement, who contested the 2020 Belarusian presidential election as the main opposition candidate, following the detention of her husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski. Following the disputed result of the Presidential Election, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya has been based in Lithuania as the official representative of the Belarusian democratic opposition in exile where she heads the Coordination Council to facilitate the peaceful democratic transfer of power in Belarus. In March 2023, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya was convicted in absentia by a court in Minsk and found guilty of high treason, inciting social hatred, attempts to seize power, forming an “extremist” group and harming national security. Before running for President, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya was an English teacher and interpreter, and has since been awarded the Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament.

The second instalment of the IIEA’s Ireland and the European Health Union discussion series, supported by Janssen Sciences Ireland, features contributions by expert speakers who will discuss the role that the EU can play in improving care for patients with rare diseases in Ireland and across the EU. Many of the 6,000 to 8,000 different rare diseases are life threatening and are often lacking in accurate diagnosis and, oftentimes, only limited treatment options exist. Meanwhile, major inequalities in standards of care and outcomes for people with rare diseases prevail across Europe. As part of its new Health Union, the EU has identified rare diseases as a health priority and is pursuing a number of initiatives that are designed to improve care and access to medicines across the EU, and regarding drug and treatment development, genetic testing and diagnosis, data sharing, and research activities. At this event, speakers discuss what these developments could mean for national healthcare in Ireland and across the EU and consider how Ireland compares to European peers in the care of rare diseases. Speakers also reflect on what the future may hold for rare diseases, including the potential impact of the upcoming EU package of pharma legislation as well as other expected policy developments. Our guest speakers include:   Billy Kelleher, MEP Vicky McGrath, CEO at Rare Diseases Ireland Prof. Sean Gaine, Consultant Respiratory Physician at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital Jennifer Lee, Therapy Area Market Access Leader at Janssen

Medical facilities have been increasingly targeted in conflict settings to inflict terror on civilian populations as well as maximise disruption to critical lifesaving services. Though protected under international law, medical facilities around the world in places such as Syria and Ukraine continue to be attacked. In their remarks, Waad Al-Kateab and Dr Hamza al-Kateab discuss how their Stop Bombing Hospitals campaign is working to build a movement to protect healthcare in conflict and seek accountability. About the Speakers: Waad Al-Kateab is the director of For Sama (2019), winner of a BAFTA and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, in which she introduced global audiences to the unimaginable lived realities of civilians and medical personnel under attack in Syria. Dr. Hamza al-Kateab was the director of the last remaining hospital in East Aleppo, Al-Quds, during continued attacks by the Syrian and Russian regimes. He was responsible for the healthcare of the entire population in the area during the besiegement of the city and for the medical evacuation during the forced displacement in 2016. Together, Hamza and Waad Al-Kateab founded Action for Sama and have since led the Stop Bombing Hospitals campaign, with the aim to shed light on the attacks perpetrated against healthcare facilities, seeking accountability for such crimes and amplifying the voices of healthcare professionals on the ground.