Seminar: The politics of famine and its consequences (København)

The world almost conquered famine. Until the 1980s, this scourge killed ten million people every decade, but by the early 2000s, mass starvation had all but disappeared. Today, however, famines are resurgent.

For instance, Yemen, South Sudan and parts of northeast Nigeria faced famine during 2017. Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia could fall into famine in 2018, due to another year of below-average rainfall. Yet, while drought is a significant factor in the emergence of famine, conflict is the leading cause, with more than half of the 815 million starving people in the world living in countries affected by war.

This seminar launches the world-renowned expert on humanitarian crisis and response Alex de Waal’s new book: Mass Starvation. It provides an authoritative history of modern famines, their causes, dimensions and why they ended. Alex de Waal analyses starvation as a crime, and breaks new ground in examining forced starvation as an instrument of genocide and war. Refuting the enduring but erroneous view that attributes famine to overpopulation and natural disaster, he shows how political decisions or political failing is an essential element in every famine, while the spread of democracy and human rights, and the ending of wars were major factors in the near-ending of this devastating phenomenon.

Alex de Waal’s talk will be followed by a discussion of what is required to eradicate famine, with interventions from a representative from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Peter Albrecht, Senior Researcher at DIIS.

Speakers

Alex de Waal, Executive Director, the World Peace Foundation, and Research Professor, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

Andreas Hansen, External Partnerships Officer, UN World Food Programme

Peter Albrecht, Senior Researcher, DIIS

Programme

15.00-15.05: Introduction
v/ Peter Albrecht

15.05-15.50: Mass starvation: the history and future of famine
v/ Alex de Waal

15.50-16.10: Coffee break

16.10-16.30: Discussion and perspectives
v/ Andreas Hansen and Peter Albrecht

16.30-17.00: Q&A with the audience

Practical information

The seminar will be in English and livestreamed on diis.dk.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please use our online registration form no later than Wednesday 17 January 2018 at 12.00 noon. Livestream does not require registration.

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