A webinar is coming your way that will tackle head-on some of the troubling questions raised by the virtual impotence of the UN in the face of terrible wars, senseless, bloodshed and war crimes. Similarly, with the almost complete disregard of international law by governments right across the spectrum. What we're focussing on is: where to from here? What might be promising new approaches, new ideas, new initiatives - ways of reforming the UN system.

The webinar brings together a diverse and uniquely equipped group of intellectuals and practitioners for a lively, thought-provoking, even provocative conversation.

^{LA 6.00 am ─ NY 9.00 am ─ London 2.00 pm ─ Berlin/Johannesburg 3.00 pm}

^{Turkey/Moscow/Cairo 4.00 pm ─ New Delhi 6.30 pm – Beijing/KL/Perth 9.00 pm ─ Melbourne 11.00 pm}

Set against the backdrop of the killing fields of the Ukraine war, and the world's dismal failure to act on climate change, rising tensions in US-China relations, we pose the question:

Are we in the midst of a rapidly deepening geopolitical and geoeconomic crisis?

If so, what are the underlying currents, and what are the implications for global governance? What do we make of the current impotence of the United Nations? Are there creative ways of responding to this crisis? Who has agency in framing and advancing such responses?

As part of SHAPE's mission to expose the perils of confrontation in the nuclear age and explore pathways to a safer, just and sustainable future, this webinar will explore the rising militarism in the Asia Pacific region, and the threat it poses to regional and global security. Importantly the webinar will go beyond analysis. It will offer creative ideas on what can be done to avert a major disaster and move the Asia-Pacific region from confrontation to cooperative coexistence.

While the Biden administration tends to perceive the world as being divided between two great power blocs, with the U.S. and its allies on one side and a nefarious alliance of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea on the other, most of the world sees a more complex picture, with multiple centres of power and complex, fluid arrangements among the major players. This is evident in the world's response to the war in Ukraine.

The warnings issued by UN Secretary-General António Guterres have been consistent and direct. Humanity, he tells us is "just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation". The third SHAPE webinar featured Professor Richard A. Falk and Dr Zia Mian, discussing the nuclear threat and the career of Daniel Ellsberg.

SHAPE’s second webinar draws lessons from the Ukraine war and sets new pathways to global security. Featuring speakers Professor Richard Falk, Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Dr Kate Hudson, Wei Yu, Dr Chandra Muzaffar and Paulina Chan. Moderated by Professor Joseph Camillieri.