This is the 6th of six lectures in a cooperative education project between the Denmark-based Necessary Teacher Training College, DNS, and TFF - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research in Lund, Sweden. Follow the project and register for this and coming seminars here: dns-tvind.dk/online-courses/ Like the other seminars, this starts with a lecture by Jan Oberg and then comes a global Zoom-inar with discussions of the content. Oberg's lecture has four parts: 1. Some facts about these weapons. 2. Existential perspectives and why they are much more than mere physical objects. And why we cannot live in denial about them. 3. Nuclear deterrence theory and democracy, nuclear accidents, terrorism and ethics. 4. What to do and no longer to do to get rid of these weapons. Oberg speaks about "nuclearism" to describe the psycho-political, even cultural and philosophical, dimensions of these very special weapons. Paradoxically, he maintains that - perhaps - these weapons satisfy some deep needs people have when thinking about their individual death and that that becomes a bit easier when "we'll all go together when we go" - as Tom Lehrer sang about 60 years ago. The Treaty On the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has been a huge step forwards, but we must also re-think everything else called defence, security and peace to achieve nuclear abolition. We must think differently: Like with slavery, absolute monarchy, cannibalism etc. nuclear weapons must be abolished in the name of civilisation.
This is the fourth of six lectures in a cooperative education project between the Denmark-based Necessary Teacher Training College, DNS, and TFF - Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research in Lund, Sweden.
Follow the project in the future, see and register for this and coming seminars here: dns-tvind.dk/online-courses/
Like the other seminars, this starts with a lecture by Jan Oberg and then comes a global Zoom-inar with discussions of the content.
This lecture has three parts - Ways of approaching China - The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the negative response to both from the US and other West and its media and politicians.
Jan Oberg argues that it is unfair to only have negative reporting from and about China, that - no matter what you think about China - you should learn about it before you judge and be aware that it will be hugely influential in the global society but in completely different and more benign ways than the US/NATo West has been.
Finally he argues why the world must not waste a single day on COld or Warm Wars if we shall be able to save the planet. We MUST work together and do so now. BRI is one of many options - although the largest ever in human history involving 140 countries.