PRIO's Peace in a Pod

On 28 February, the IPCC, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
launched the second part of its Sixth Assessment Report. This part assesses the impacts of
climate change, looking at ecosystems, biodiversity, and human communities at global and
regional levels. It also reviews vulnerabilities and the capacities and limits of the natural
world and human societies to adapt to climate change.

One of the main conclusions of the report is that climate adaptation is proceeding too slowly
and that measures are being implemented on too small a scale to address the major climate
challenges we face.

In this episode, we discuss the findings of the report, and the work behind it, with PRIO
Research Professor Halvard Buhaug, who is a lead author in the Sixth Assessment Report.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The last few months in Bosnia have been marked by moves towards secession and a flare-up of
ethnic tensions emanating from Republika Srpska, the Serb-majority entity of Bosnia and
Herzegovina established by the Dayton Peace Agreement which put an end to the 3 ½-year-long
Bosnian War. Commentators are describing the last few months as the worst political and security
crisis since the war ended in 1995.

In this episode, we discuss the current crisis and ask if what we are seeing in Bosnia is new to the
country or part of a longer trend. We also discuss what these past few months tell us about the
successes and shortcomings of formal peace agreements.

Political scientist and migration scholar Aida Ibričević and psychologist and peace scholar Inger
Skjelsbæk join Teuta Kukleci, Communicator at PRIO, for a conversation on the topic.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every year, PRIO holds its Annual Peace Address, inviting distinguished guests to reflect on how to contribute to the creation of a world in which violence is the exception and peace is the norm. In 2021 the peace address was given by Jeffrey D. Sachs with the title “Why we must avoid a new cold war and how to do it”.

Sachs is a world-leading expert in economics and sustainable development, University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University.

Watch the video of the full address and discussion here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is the transformative potential of visual storytelling in conflict research?

In the project Societal Transformation in Conflict Contexts or (TRANSFORM), animations and comics were created in collaboration between researchers, activists, artists, writers, and many others. These pieces of art not only serve to inspire possible change, but also to illustrate and highlight stories of societal transformation around the world. That work was done in collaboration with PositiveNegatives.

Today Ben Dix, PositiveNegatives Founder, and Cindy Horst, Research Professor at PRIO, talk about their work together.

• The TRANSFORM project webpage on prio.org 
• The TRANSFORM virtual exhibition
• PositiveNegatives website 
• The podcast episode with Kue Cool and Marte Nilsen
• Co-Creating Knowledge: Creative collaborations between researchers, artists, policymakers and practitioners (PRIO Policy Brief)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, many academics found themselves in a desperate scramble. For female academics in particular, the threat of retaliation and loss of freedoms was ominous. Meanwhile, their colleagues and counterparts in other countries struggled to help them. Professor Jacqui True at Monash University managed to successfully help bring several female academics from Afghanistan to Australia.

Today Jacqui and Afghan scholar Parisa talk about developments in Afghanistan and the journey to Monash University.

• Listen to the ABC broadcast here  
• Read about the 16 Days of Activism here 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the 1980s, in what was then Northern Somalia, doctors, teachers, and other professionals lived out their ethics and ideals by restoring a hospital and responding to the needs of people in their community. Their actions were rewarded with arrests and imprisonment. This is the story of the Uffo group.

In today’s podcast Mohamed Aden Hassan and Ebba Tellander discuss Uffo and how this story can inspire people around the world - especially perhaps the Somali Diaspora.

Ebba also wishes to acknowledge research assistance by Nasra Dahir Moahed and Shukri Ali (whose voice we hear in this episode as well).

• Read the comics in English or Somali on positivenegatives.org
• Watch the animated versions on youtube 
• Read Ebba's PRIO Blog post Using a Comic to Tell the True Story of the Uffo Struggle for Justice in Somaliland about her research and the comic process
• Listen to Peace in a Pod episode #60 on visual storytelling with Cindy Horst and Ben Dix
• Visit the TRANSFORM project webpage to read about more projects like this one

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2020, 1.6 billion children were living in a conflict-ridden country. Approximately 452 million children – more than one in six – were living less than 50 km from where the actual fighting took place.

For the last few years PRIO and Save the Children have collaborated on the Children in Conflict project which illuminates the number of children affected by violent conflict around the world. Updates have expanded to include children living in conflict zones where they are at risk for sexual violence.

In this episode Gudrun Østby, Ragnhild Nordås, and Roos van der Haer talk about this research collaboration.

• Stop the War on Children: A crisis of recruitment (Save the Children report)
• Children at Risk of Being Recruited for Armed Conflict, 1990–2020 (PRIO Policy Brief)
• 1 in 8 children are at risk of being recruited by armed actors (PRIO Blog post)
• Children Affected by Armed Conflict, 1990–2020 (PRIO Policy Brief)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hyper-masculine leaders have grabbed headlines in the last few years: Putin, Trump, Bolsonaro, Erdogan. All of them employ the rhetoric of masculinity in public discourse and ultimately, often, policy. It’s worth asking: is this a new trend, and what does it mean for the ones living in these countries, especially women and LGBTQ individuals?

Johanne Rokke Elvebakken, Gender, Peace and Security Centre Coordinator at PRIO, and Kelly Fisher, Research Assistant, have both written on this topic and share their thoughts in conversation today.

• Kelly's PRIO Blog post, "The Differing Masculinities of Trump and Biden" (PRIO Blogs)
• Johanne's Centre for Gender Research piece on "Women and LGBT+ Persons in International Peace and Security Policy"

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before the Taliban regained control of the country this year, before they were the target and adversary of US military force, the Taliban were the governing force in Afghanistan. And before that, they were a transnational group of religious students.

To give context to modern-day Afghanistan and the political developments there, PRIO researcher Kristian Berg Harpviken provides a brief history of the Taliban on today’s episode.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.