Since the late 1980s developing countries have come under considerable pressure to revise their intellectual property policies and practices. One area where pressures have been exceptionally controversial is in pharmaceuticals: historically, fearing the costs of providing private property rights over knowledge in this area, developing countries did not grant patents to drugs. Now they must do so.

In the contemporary neoliberal context, where the princess bride is a privileged consumer citizen, the destination white wedding is a niche product for the tourist industry, and the Caribbean is a particularly popular destination, fulfilling 'Western ideas of [paradise and] a romantic other' (C. M. Hall and Tucker 2004: 10). Operating in the global market place, companies such as Sandals actively sell the Caribbean as a paradise destination and attainable luxury, through interactive web sites and high-quality glossy brochures.

The Brazilian state in the 21st century is at the same time a coercive state, employing a large degree of lethal violence against its own citizens; a national developmental state, coordinating the commanding heights of the economy in the service of domestic industry and export promotion; a constitutional state, with a formal commitment to equality of citizenship and the rule of law; and a social democratic state that guarantees a minimum income to the most disadvantaged in society.

On December 13, UCL Americas students and distinguished guests had the opportunity to listen to and discuss with two leading experts on Cuba, Professors Hal Klepak (UCL Americas Visiting Fellow), and Jean Stubbs (UCL Americas Associate Fellow) talking about their reflections and assessment on Cuba after the death of its former leader Fidel Castro (November 25, 2016). This event was convened by Dr Kate Quinn, Lecturer in Caribbean History at UCL Americas.

'Implementation Deficit' has been framed as the principal threat to the sustainability of the Caribbean Community. Consequently, limited attention has been paid to analysing the correlated 'participation deficit' and the extent of 'citizen' inclusion/exclusion within the regional framework of governance.

Iwan Morgan, Ronald Reagan’s first British biographer, discusses Reagan’s life from small-town Illinois boyhood, through his Hollywood years, to his political career – first as California governor, then as national conservative spokesman, and finally as US president – in his newly published book.

When a lone-actor terrorist, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, attacked Parliament Hill in Ottawa in October 2014, there was little recognition that his was not the first such attack at the heart of Canadian democracy. In May 1966, Paul Joseph Chartier took a homemade bomb into the public gallery of the House of Commons intending to use it to kill Members of Parliament. Instead, he blew himself up in a washroom outside the public gallery.

The 2016 US presidential election process promises to be controversial and high octane right up until election day on 7 November. Just over a week after the election has taken place, Clodagh Harrington (De Montfort), Tom Packer (Oxford) and Timothy Stanley (The Telegraph) join Professor Iwan Morgan to discuss the results and their likely impact on the American political system.

Coined in the United Kingdom in the early nineties, the creative economy refers to the services and products protected by intellectual property rights, in which the “creative content” plays an essential role. Sectors such as the visual and performing arts, the film industry, publishing, videogames, music or in some cases gastronomy and architecture; are included.

With its billion-dollar annual revenue stream, its international touring shows and its striking cultural presence in such destination-cities as Las Vegas, Cirque du Soleil has greatly contributed to the image of Québec as a world-renowned capital of the circus arts. Tonight’s talk offers an exploration of this brightly shining figure by anchoring it in historical and cultural specificities that helped shape the development of Québec’s highly influential cirque nouveau.