Dr. Sean McFate will lead a lecture detailing the growth of PMSCs in recent decades and what their prominence could mean for the future.

Private Military & Security Companies (PMSCs) occupy a number of diverse roles within the security sector, with their services being contracted by both private and public entities for the purposes of intelligence, security, and analysis. With the growing presence of PMSCs in conflict/post-conflict zones around the world, there is a need to critically assess the role that these private entities play in global governance and the potential benefits and harms they may offer.

This lecture will be based around this topic with the goal of educating attendees on the basics of private military & security companies and the role they play within the current international system.

Dr. Sean McFate is a foreign policy expert, author and novelist. He is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington DC think tank, and a professor of strategy at the National Defense University and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Additionally, he serves as an Advisor to Oxford University’s Centre for Technology and Global Affairs.

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The Zoom link for the event will be sent out to all attendees on the day of the event via email.

The impacts of the COVID-19 upon the refugee and migrant crisis will be discussed by a panel of four experts in the field.

As the border lockdowns brought on by the spread of COVID-19 have begun to ease, the persisting refugee and migrant crisis that began prior to the pandemic is expected to complicate the delicate balance countries have found in combating the spread of the virus. As such this may cause increased tensions surrounding already stigmatized migrant and refugee camps, potentially causing one crisis to deepen the other. This panel looks to provide a platform for the intricacies of this dilemma to be discussed.

Panelists

Myra Dahgaypaw has worked as a human rights advocate at the United Nations with the Burma Fund United Nations Office. Prior to taking on the managing director position, she fulfilled the roles of campaign coordinator and policy advisor at the U.S Campaign for Burma.

Dan Sullivan is the senior advocate for human rights at Refugees International. Dan focuses on Myanmar, Sudan, South Sudan, and other areas affected by mass displacement.

Niemat Ahmadi is a native of North Darfur, and serves as Founder and President of Darfur Women Action Group. She previously worked as the Director of Global Partnerships for United to End Genocide.

Yasmine Taeb serves as Senior Policy Counsel for Demand Progress. She's an experienced human rights lobbyist and previously served as Senior Policy Counsel at the Center for Victims of Torture directing the organization's advocacy on refugees and asylum seekers.

Moderator

Mac Hamilton is a second year international masters student in security, intelligence (IMSISS), and strategic studies focusing on peace and security in Africa and the Middle East. Prior to joining IMSISS, Mac was the Youth Coordinator for the Aegis Trust, where she managed STAND: The Student-Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities.

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The passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865 brought slavery to an end in the United States of America. Yet, inequality laid the groundwork for the development of a vicious prison industrial complex backed by legislation. As the gulf widens between communities, many face a future threatened by the same entities of law and order expected to protect them. Join the Security Distillery's virtual discussion with Dr. James Kilgore on injustice, inequality and incarceration during the global pandemic while exploring avenues for future prison reform.

Dr. James Kilgore is a writer, an educator, and a social justice activist who teaches and works at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He spent six years in prison, during which time he drafted his three published novels. He is the author of Understanding Mass Incarceration: A People’s Guide to the Key Civil Rights Struggle of Our Time (2015) and appeared as a commentator in Ava DuVernay's critically-acclaimed documentary 13th (2016).

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In this first entry in the Security Distillery's workshop series we will be focusing on programme development in humanitarian response. Dr Caitriona Dowd will be leading the workshop which will introduce participants to the process of developing project proposals, seeking funding, and incorporate key aspects of design such as contextual analysis, needs assessments, and partnerships.

Caitriona Dowd is Assistant Professor in Security Studies at DCU's School of Law and Government. Caitriona has led graduate-level teaching on the governance of violent conflict, international security in global politics, the political economy of violent conflict and research methods. In her previous role as a peace and conflict specialist in the humanitarian sector, Caitriona worked in Somalia, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Mali, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan.

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Since the passage of discriminatory acts relating to citizenship in December, India has been in a state of political unrest. The laws infringe on the secular nature of the Indian constitution and threaten the lives of millions including individuals in the North-Eastern states, Dalits, Muslims and trans* people. Peaceful protests have been violently repressed by police while Hindu nationalist violence against Muslims and other minorities has led to a rising death toll across the country. The abolishment of Kashmir's special status and over 205 days of communication blockade has further endangered the lives of millions in India's northernmost state.

Speakers

* Dr. Arpita Chakraborty, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Ireland India Institute

* Harikrishnan Sasikumar, PhD researcher, DCU

* Mohd Tahir Gabie, Kashmiri journalist and PhD student, DCU

* and featuring the voices of lawyers, students, and activists on-the-ground in India

Join us to learn about the escalating situation and how the EU and Republic of Ireland can help end the violence in the world's largest democracy.

LOCATION

Henry Grattan Building, Room 114

Student Presentations : Right-Wing Extremism: EU, UK and US

Expert Panel Discussion : Countering Violent Extremism

Event Highlights

The lecture will address the following:

 The impact of disinformation on OSINT and social media intelligence
 NGOs and intelligence gathering in humanitarian conflicts
 CEE intelligence agencies’ response to disinformation campaigns