William Reno is professor of political science and director of the Program of African Studies at Northwestern University. He is the author of Corruption and State Politics in Sierra Leone (Cambridge, 1995), Warlord Politics and African States (Lynne Rienner, 1999), Warfare in Independent Africa (Cambridge, 2011), and other works on the politics of conflict and the organization of armed groups in failed states. More information about his research is at http://www.willreno.org. Reno will discuss how research explains variations in the ways armed groups organize their relations with surrounding communities in the context of conflict in collapsed states. Read more and register at go.osu.edu/renow

Sara Mitchell is professor of political science at University of Iowa, where she co-directs the Issue Correlates of War Project and is associate editor of Foreign Policy Analysis and Research and Politics. She is co-author of Domestic Law Goes Global: Legal Traditions and International Courts (Cambridge, 2011), Guide to the Scientific Study of International Processes (Wiley-Blackwell 2012), The Triumph of Democracy and the Eclipse of the West (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), and C onflict, War, and Peace: An Introduction to Scientific Research (CQ Press/Sage 2013). In this talk, Mitchell will describe the issue approach to world politics, how it differs from other major theories of interstate conflict, and present new data from the Issue Correlates of War Project. Read more and register at go.osu.edu/saramitchell

Michael Campana is professor of hydrogeology and water resources management at Oregon State University and technical director of the American Water Resources Association. His expertise and interests include hydrogeology; hydrophilanthropy; integrated water resources management); water, sanitation, and hygiene in developing regions; water policy; and education. He founded and runs his own hydrophilanthropic foundation, the Ann Campana Judge Foundation. As WaterWired he blogs and tweets on water and related issues. Campana will recount his experience as project director for the South Caucasus River Monitoring Project, a model of collaboration and cooperation in a region where such traits have at times been in short supply. Read more and register at go.osu.edu/campanam

Cristina Bicchieri is the S.J.P. Harvie Chair of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics, and professor of philosophy and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the director of the Behavioral Ethics Lab and the Penn Social Norms Consulting Group. Bicchieri works on social norms, their measurement and behavioral/field experiments on norm change, cooperation and fairness on social networks. Her most recent work looks at the role of trendsetters in social change, and how network structures facilitate or impair behavioral changes. Among her books are The Grammar of Society: the Nature and Dynamics of Social Norms (Cambridge, 2006) and Norms in the Wild: How to Diagnose, Measure and Change Social Norms (Oxford, 2016). Read more and register at go.osu.edu/bicchieric

The Alexander Hamilton Society is pleased to announce its inaugural event, for the spring semester, "Playing with Fire: The Perils and Pluses of Engaging with Rogue Regimes," at 6 p.m. on the evening of February 2 in the Moritz College of Law (Drinko Hall), room 348. We will be hosting author and American Enterprise Institute scholar Michael Rubin (left) and Ohio State's own, political science professor, Alexander Thompson for a debate over the role of negotiation with rogue regimes like North Korea, Iran, and Syria. Randall Schweller, also, from the political science department, will serve as our moderator for the evening. As usual, we will be serving free wings and Coke products. We look forward to seeing you! Read more and register

The TPP trade deal, which covers a region that boasts nearly 40 percent of the global economy, aims to reduce trade barriers and to establish new environmental, intellectual property and labor standards. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made TPP a cornerstone of his economic policy -- commonly referred to as "Abenomics" -- in an effort to spur economic growth. Fukunari Kimura of Keio University (Tokyo) will discuss the TPP deal and its impact on the East Asian economy as well as criticisms it has received. This event is  part of a lecture tour to U.S. colleges and universities sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan.    Read more

Robert Daly was named as the second director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Woodrow Wilson Center in August 2013. He came to the Wilson Center from the Maryland China Initiative at the University of Maryland. Prior to that, he was American director of the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies in Nanjing. Daly began work in U.S.-China relations as a diplomat, serving as Cultural Exchanges Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing in the late 80s and early 90s. Daly will discuss economy, security and prospects for the future in U.S.-China relations.   Read more and register

Dagomar Degroot is an environmental historian who bridges disciplines to investigate how people confront changes in the natural world. He has written a book, currently in peer review, that furnishes the first detailed analysis of relationships between climate change and the "Golden Age" of the Dutch Republic. His ongoing projects trace the human consequences of 17th century Arctic cooling; investigate connections between climate change and early modern conflict; and identify how people have responded to environmental changes in space. Degroot is the founder of HistoricalClimatology.com, a website that attracts more than 100,000 viewers annually, and the co-founder of Climate History Network, an organization with more than 150 multidisciplinary members. In this lecture, Degroot examines whether climatic changes during the "Little Ice Age" from 1450 to 1850 led to more societal conflict. Read more and register at go.osu.edu/degrootd

M. Sanjayan is a leading global conservation scientist, writer and an Emmy-nominated news contributor focused on the role of conservation in improving human well-being, wildlife and the environment. He serves on Conservation International's senior leadership team as executive vice president and senior scientist. Previously he was the senior scientist for The Nature Conservancy. His scientific work has been published in journals including Science, Nature, and Conservation Biology. He is a Catto Fellow at the Aspen Institute. With remarks on " Central Ohio's Contributions to Protecting Earth's Environments and Peoples" by Tom Stalf, CEO of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. The event is free but registration is required.

Noon, 120 Mershon Center, 1501 Neil Ave.

Sponsored by Korean Studies Institute

3:30 p.m., 1080 Derby Hall, 154 N. Oval Mall

Sponsored by Department of Geography

Elizabeth Gardiner (second from right), doctoral student in anthropology, interviews rural citizens about land privatization in Burkina Faso.