LSE International Relations

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Today, we're introducing some of the unofficial members of our IR team: the cats who supervise virtual meetings, inspect keyboards, help us plan events, and ensure a healthy work-life balance.

Meet some of the cats of our IR colleagues, each with their own personality, favourite pastime, and a remarkable talent for appearing on camera at exactly the wrong moment.

🔹 Photo 1: Freya (Romy Mokogwu, Department Affairs Co-ordinator)
🔹 Photo 2: Nina, and Photo 3: Archie (Sarah Hélias, PhD and Research Manager)
🔹 Photo 4: Moose (Rosie Springett, Programmes Co-ordinatorr)
🔹 Photo 5: Soc (Amanda Schultz, Student Experience Manager)
🔹 Photo 6: Belgazou (Mark Bryceland, IR Programmes Manager)

Cheers to the IR Department Class of 2026! 🎉

Graduation marks both an ending and an exciting new beginning. Thank you for joining us at the reception and sharing this special occasion with your loved ones. We are proud of everything you have achieved and excited to see what comes next. Wherever your ambitions take you, know that you will always have a home in the alumni community 🌏

Classof2026

🎓 Congratulations to the Graduating Class of 2026

As you prepare to cross the stage tomorrow, we celebrate the years of dedication, perseverance, and achievement that have brought you to this moment.

We are proud to share this important milestone with you and your families at the IR Department reception and wish you every success as you pursue your ambitions and make a positive impact on the world.

Here's to your future accomplishments and the opportunities that await. 🌍✨

This June, our PhD candidates Yuan Chi, Peter Leddy, and Terrence Mullan took part in the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research (IQMR) at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School. The programme provided intensive training in qualitative research design and methodological best practices, helping them build valuable skills for the next stage of their research journeys.

Congratulations to our Visiting Fellow and PhD alumna Dr Irene Morlino on the release of her book, Humanitarian Aid and the European Union: An Analysis of its Effectiveness in the Field.

Drawing on case studies from Myanmar, Lebanon, Mozambique, and Mali, the book explores what drives the effectiveness of EU humanitarian aid, highlighting the crucial role of political, institutional, and relational factors.

🔗 Find out more and order the book: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003666486/humanitarian-aid-european-union-irene-morlino

We’re delighted to share that the Department of International Relations has been awarded the LSESU Award for Departmental Excellence! 🎉

🏅 A huge congratulations to our outstanding Class Teacher Award winners:
Ida Birkvad, Charlie Carter, Harry Halem, Sophie Kaldor, Katherine Pye, and Mariah Thornton

🌟And to our Highly Commended colleagues:
Katharina Klaube, Kazimier Lim, and Partha Moman

We’re incredibly proud of the dedication and excellence of our teaching community 👏

📣 Join us at the LSE Festival for “Saving the world one family at a time: screening and discussion of Gone South Village.”

With growing tensions between and the United States, new "third spaces" are emerging beyond great-power competition. Gone South Village is a short documentary film that explores how overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia create social and global orders that are neither wholly Chinese nor Thai.

📅 Wednesday 17 June 2026
⏰ 6.00–7.30pm
📍 LSE campus

🔗 Find out more and register: https://www.lse.ac.uk/events/lse-festival/2026/saving-the-world-one-family

Congratulations to our BSc International Relations student, Will Weston, on receiving the Longstanding Commitment to Volunteering Award and being highly commended in the Outstanding Contribution to the LSE Community category 🎉

Over the past two years, he has contributed as a Student Volunteering Ambassador. He also serves as Head of Volunteering at LSE’s Raising and Giving (RAG) Society, alongside his role as an elected student member of the Board of Trustees. During his time at LSE, he has shown outstanding commitment to volunteering, spearheading initiatives including food bank programmes and the global Giving Tuesday campaign.
 
“Volunteering has been a great way to put the skills and knowledge I have learnt whilst studying IR into practice. It has also allowed me to connect with communities across London and find a network of people that have supported me throughout my studies. For those reasons, winning this award is incredibly special to me and I couldn’t think of a better way to round off my time at LSE,” Will shared.
 
🔗 You can read more about the LSE Volunteer Awards via the link in our bio.

This lecture by Marwa Daoudy, held in honour of the renowned scholar Fred Halliday, will explore the entanglement of , , and environmental exploitation that has shaped the modern global order in ways that continue to structure global inequality.

Drawing on Fred Halliday’s critique of narratives that portray the Arab world as inherently locked in conflict, economic failure, or cultural clashes, this lecture situates climate and human vulnerabilities within the region’s (settler-) colonial, extractivist or war-torn past and present in contexts such , and .

Following the lecture, we will host a reception in celebration of what would have been Fred Halliday’s 80th birthday, recognising his enduring contribution to the Department and the field of International Relations.

🗓️ Thursday 11 June 2026
⏰ 6.30pm - 8.00pm
📍Sheikh Zayed Theatre, Cheng Kin Ku Building

🔗 Register here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/events/plp-11-june

Congratulations to our Emeritus Professor Michael Cox and Former Montague Burton Professor at The London School of Economics and Political Science - LSE, Christopher Hill, who have edited the newly released book, Chatham House: The First Hundred Years 👏

The book features contributions including “Chatham House during the Second World War” by Dr Peter Wilson and “Chatham House and the Global Climate Crisis” by Professor Robert Falkner.

This is the first comprehensive treatment of the history and impact of Chatham House, formally known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs. Founded in 1920 and based in St James’s Square since 1923, Chatham House has long been recognised as one of the world’s leading think tanks on international affairs.

🔗 Find out more and order the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/chatham-house-9780198984962?q=Chatham%20House&lang=en&cc=gb #