The Cyril Foster Lecture is the University’s principal annual guest lecture in the field of International Relations. It has attracted a most distinguished group of lecturers.

Professor Barbara F. Walter (UC San Diego) will deliver the 2018 Cyril Foster Lecture: The New New Civil Wars.

There’s a new trend in civil wars. After declining in the 1990s, the number of active civil wars has almost tripled since 2003. This increase is likely partly the result of the new and evolving information and communication (ICT) environment. We now live in a world of social networking and cloud computing where anyone with a smartphone can easily produce and disseminate material from almost anywhere on the globe. This lecture will outline the five big ways the internet is likely to change political protest and violence around the world and what countries like the UK can do about it.

The lecture is open to all and is free to attend. A drinks reception will follow.