Contributor(s): Various | First Annual CAF-LSE Conference. The Rise of the Global South: Towards an Agenda for a New Century Perhaps the most important development of the contemporary century is the emergence of the global South onto the stage of world politics. The first annual CAF-LSE conference will be held on Friday 17th January 2014 at the London School of Economics. This conference will contribute to understanding the rise of the global South by focusing on key international actors from the regions, their perspective on global issues, the role of South-South cooperation as a development paradigm, and their current impact on a changing global environment.

Contributor(s): Joshua Rozenberg | In this exclusive event, Joshua Rozenberg will answer your questions – tweet them to @LSELaw using #LSERozenberg. Joshua Rozenberg is Britain's best-known commentator on the law. In 2012 he was included by The Times in its independently-judged list of the UK's 100 most influential lawyers, the only journalist to feature in the Times Law 100. A decade after he left the BBC, Joshua returned in 2010 to present the popular Radio 4 series Law in Action, a programme he had launched in 1984. Also in 2010, he also accepted an invitation to chair Halsbury's Law Exchange, an independent and politically neutral think-tank. Joshua was the BBC's legal correspondent for 15 years before moving in 2000 to The Daily Telegraph, where he edited the paper's legal coverage until the end of 2008. In May 2010, he started writing a weekly commentary for the Guardian's online law page. He also writes a column twice a month for the Law Society Gazette.

Contributor(s): Dr Omar Nashabe | Created by the UN Security Council to try the assassins of former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri on February 14th 2005, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is scheduled to start its hearings on January 13th 2014. The STL prosecutor has indicted five members of Hezbollah, who have not been arrested and will be tried in absentia. After a short presentation of the background and creation of the STL, the speaker will present an overview of the indictment and the prosecution’s pre-trial brief. On what basis were the five persons indicted? This will be followed by a review of the appointment of defence counsels and their teams and their subsequent submissions to the pre-trial judge and to the appeals chamber. How will the persons indicted have the right to defence in a trial in absentia? The third part of the lecture will discuss the main challenges facing the defence counsels. Is there parity of resources between the defence and the prosecution? The speaker has been closely monitoring the tribunal since it was launched in 2009. As a consultant for the defence counsels, he is bound by confidentiality and will refer only to declassified and public documents, subject to redaction where required. Dr Omar Nashabe is a criminal justice specialist, a founding member of Al-Akhbar newspaper and a lecturer at the Lebanese American University. He served as advisor to the Lebanese minister of interior for human rights and prisons. He also worked as a consultant for several local and international organizations including UNODC and has published on Lebanese prisons, prison reform and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He is an elected member of the UNESCO Lebanese National Committee’s executive council.

Contributor(s): Nicos Anastasiades | The identity of Cyprus is defined by constants such as its geographical location in the Eastern Mediterranean, its history, the identity of its people, its membership in the European Union. The Eastern Mediterranean is prone to instability mainly due to the recurrence of conflicts, possession of advanced weapons in unreliable hands, terrorism, and the conflicting interests of countries of the region and third countries. In addition, the natural gas finds offshore Cyprus and in the seas of our neighbours, contribute to geopolitical transitions, serve as the vehicle for change but can also heighten our security concerns. The roles that the respective countries, regional and international organisations play in the Eastern Mediterranean are different and complementary; as such they can enrich and strengthen present and potential bilateral and regional cooperation. To that effect, bilateral and regional interaction is of vital importance. The geopolitical role of Cyprus is a dynamic and ever-changing process, the evolution of which depends on the identity of Cyprus and the environment in which Cyprus operates. Cyprus’ primary aim is to ensure peace, stability and prosperity of its people and to contribute to the peace, stability and prosperity of the peoples in the Eastern Mediterranean as a whole. However, this is not an easy aim to meet in view of the complex challenges Cyprus is called upon to face. In this battle for peace, stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean, what is Cyprus: David or Goliath? Nicos Anastasiades is a Cypriot politician who has been president of the Republic of Cyprus since 24 February 2013 by winning the run-off presidential election with a majority of 57.4%. Previously, he was leader of the centre-right political party Democratic Rally (DISY).

Contributor(s): Professor Charles Heckscher | Solidarity has not died, despite laments about the loss of community and the wide decline of mass actions; it can be mobilised in new ways through developing networks of plural transient relations. Charles Heckscher is the director of the Center for Workplace Transformation at Rutgers University.

Contributor(s): Professor Charles Heckscher | Solidarity has not died, despite laments about the loss of community and the wide decline of mass actions; it can be mobilised in new ways through developing networks of plural transient relations. Charles Heckscher is the director of the Center for Workplace Transformation at Rutgers University.

Contributor(s): Professor Charles Heckscher | Solidarity has not died, despite laments about the loss of community and the wide decline of mass actions; it can be mobilised in new ways through developing networks of plural transient relations. Charles Heckscher is the director of the Center for Workplace Transformation at Rutgers University.

Contributor(s): David Pilling | In the 1980s, Japan was supposedly about to take over the world. Since the burst of the bubble in 1990, it has all but slipped from the radar as attention has switched to China. However, its problems, though real, are exaggerated and misunderstood, and Japan remains a key player in global economy and in global geopolitics. David Pilling is the Asia editor of the Financial Times. From 2002-2008, he was the FT's Tokyo bureau chief. His book, Bending Adversity, Japan and the Art of Survival is published by Penguin in January 2014.

Contributor(s): Professor Paul Dolan, Professor Elaine Fox, Professor Andrew Oswald, Ben Page | What does it mean to measure happiness? Can it really be measured? If so, how? Is this a more meaningful indicator of the state of the nation than GDP? Paul Dolan is professor of behavioural science at LSE. Elaine Fox is director of The Oxford Centre for Emotions and Affective Neuroscience, University of Oxford. Andrew Oswald is professor of economics at Warwick University. Ben Page is chief executive of Ipsos MORI.

Contributor(s): Professor Nancy Folbre | Current understandings and analyses of the economy represent a partial picture. To provide a comprehensive understanding of the economy it is crucial to recognize that, firstly, the measurement of living standards should be expanded to include consideration of both the costs and benefits of unpaid work and intra-family transfers. Secondly, macroeconomic theory should acknowledge and measure the value of unpaid work as a dimension of output and expand its definitions of investment and consumption. Thirdly, public finance should focus more explicitly on both private and public intergenerational transfers. This lecture applies a feminist perspective on the definition of output, income, and living standards to an alternative framework for national income accounting and budget analysis. This framework disaggregates flows of money and time devoted to the care of children, other dependents, the maintenance of adult capabilities, the development of adult capabilities, and luxury consumption over the lifecycle. By so doing it is possible to recognize the significance of all the work, both paid and unpaid, that contributes to national income. Nancy Folbre is emeritus professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research explores the interface between political economy and feminist theory, with a particular emphasis on the value of unpaid care work.