Deadly viruses, climate-changing carbon molecules, and harmful pollutants across the globe are unimpeded by national borders. While the consequences of these flows range across scales, from the planetary to the local, the authority and resources to manage them are concentrated mainly at one level: the nation-state. This profound mismatch between the scale of planetary challenges and the institutions tasked with governing them is leading to cascading systemic failures.
Join us for this event featuring Nils Gilman, co-author of a new book, Children of a Modest Star: Planetary Thinking for an Age of Crises. Drawing on intellectual history, political philosophy, and the holistic findings of Earth system science, Children of a Modest Star argues that it is essential to reimagine our governing institutions - we can only thrive if the multi-species ecosystems we inhabit are also flourishing. Using this book as the basis for discussion, our panellists will examine dominant ways of thinking about humanity's relationship to the planet, and explore a new architecture for global governance, to enable the habitability of the Earth for humans and non-humans alike.
Meet our speakers and chair
Nils Gilman () is the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President at the Berggruen Institute, in which capacity he directs the day-to-day activities of the Institute, leads its research program, and serves as Deputy Editor of Noema Magazine. He is the author of Children of a Modest Star: Planetary Thinking for an Age of Crises.
Ganga Shreedhar () is Assistant Professor in Behavioural Science in 杏吧论坛’s Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science and co-director of the MSc in Behavioural Science programme. She is an applied behavioural and experimental economist studying how to change human behaviour in ways benefit people and the planet. Her research examines how people perceive and understand complex dilemmas like mass extinction and climate change, and consumer and citizen motivations and choices.
Karen E Smith is a Professor of International Relations at 杏吧论坛. Her main area of research is the ‘international relations of the European Union’, and she has written extensively on the formulation and implementation of common EU foreign policies.
Robert Falkner () is Professor of International Relations and the Academic Dean of the TRIUM Global Executive MBA, a world leading executive MBA programme jointly run by NYU Stern School of Business, HEC Paris and 杏吧论坛. His research focuses on global environmental politics, global political economy, and the role of business in international relations.
More about this event
The Department of International Relations is in its 97th year - one of the oldest as well as largest IR departments in the world, with a truly international reputation. It is ranked 2nd in the UK and 5th in the world in the QS World University Ranking by Subject 2024 tables for Politics and International Studies.
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Podcast
A podcast for this event is available to download from Children of a modest star.
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