In association with the Institute of Ideas (IoI), SAID is convening the Battle for International Relations, part of the weekend festival the Battle of Ideas, which will include public panel debates on the future of the European Union (EU), nation building and the implications for the world of the rise of China. These discussions will include a wide range of academics, policy makers and media commentators. Confirmed speakers include Robert Cooper, Director General for External and Politico-Military Affairs, General Secretariat of the Council of the EU; Dr Denis McShane, Rt Hon Labour MP for Rotherham and Foreign Office minister 2001-2005, Isabel Hilton, writer, broadcaster and editor of openDemocracy.net, and David Chandler (University of Westminster), author of Bosnia: Faking Democracy After Dayton(2000), Johann Hari, columnist for The Independent.

As the title Battle of Ideas deliberately suggests, this weekend of discussions will avoid being anodyne in the name of consensus, reflecting instead the IoI’s commitment to open and robust debate. Taking ideas seriously means they must be interrogated, argued for and fought over. The weekend will make virtues of free-thinking and lively exchanges of views. The Battle of Ideas will be an interdisciplinary event, with themed panels running alongside a number of salons, ‘in conversations…’, films and provocation lectures and keynote debates.