War Studies

This episode brings into conversation Professor Cynthia Enloe, eminent feminist scholar and scholar on militarisation and global politics with Dr Amanda Chisholm, Senior Lecturer on Gender and Security at King's College London (KCL) and Dr Marsha Henry, Assistant Professor in the Gender Department at the London School of Economics (LSE).

For decades women have been involved in terrorism, whether carrying out attacks or supporting organisations. They have been victims of terrorist acts, and many have also been involved in diverse aspects of security, including on the front lines with forces trying to reduce the threat from terrorism.

The events of 9/11 triggered years of counter terrorist efforts by the USA and its global partners. However, Dr Joana Cook, Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, says women were not adequately considered in the counter terrorist strategies developed since the events of 9/11, and this has created a major gap in how we understand and respond to terrorism today.

Dennis Rodgers is an ethnographer who joined a Nicaraguan gang in the 1990s as part of his PhD research. Now based at the Geneva Graduate Institute, he spoke to War Studies Podcast about his experiences, from being initiated into a gang to seeing how drug distribution proved a good training for a just-in-time warm tortilla service. The podcast also features a discussion with Kieran Mitton of King's College London about his own work on gangs, including the challenges of achieving meaningful policy change.

Religion is an important factor to consider when examining many conflicts around the world, but what about nonreligion? Dr. Stacey Gutkowski, senior lecturer in the DWS and Co-Director of Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network (NSRN) argues that in order to understand conflict, one needs to not only look at individual experiences but also at what religious and nonreligious resources individuals draw on to help inform their ethical understandings and perceptions of the world.

Listen to the 2018 NSRN Annual Lecture, 'Secular Powers and Heretic Undercurrents', by Samuli Schielke which originally accompanied this interview here: https://soundcloud.com/warstudies/nonreligion-and-war-studies

Dr Stacey Gutkowski is a Senior Lecturer in Conflict Studies and Deputy Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Divided Societies at King’s College London. Prior to joining King’s she was an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of International Relations, University of Sussex; a Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, Arizona State University; and a Research Associate with the Religion and Ethics in the Making of War and Peace Programme, University of Edinburgh.

In his first speech as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson once again invited comparisons with his political hero Winston Churchill, suggested that British 'pluck and nerve' were needed to deliver Brexit and mobilised Britain's ports, banks, factories and more on a quasi-war footing.

In light of this, here is an interview recorded for the D-Day commemorations which provides a more rounded perspective of British history through a key episode of the Second World War. Dr Jonathan Fennell discusses the frailty and trauma of the British war experience, Churchill’s objections to the Normandy landings, and the importance not just of the great individuals, but of collective effort of millions of ordinary people in winning the war.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York City’s gay district, Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969. This event was monumental in the progression of queer rights being a part of human rights. 50 years on, progress has been made with same sex acts becoming legal and being accepted within most parts of society. However, when it comes to safety and security, very little research and data is in place to accurately represent and more importantly protect the queer community.

Dr Jamie J. Hagen, Visiting Fellow of Centre for Women, Peace and Security at the London School of Economics and Politics joined King’s College London’s Senior Lecturer in Security Studies Dr Amanda Chisholm to discuss transgender rights and why we need to queer security studies.

Date of Publication: 28/06/2019

Description:

Today, the state of human rights in China appears to be at its worse since the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. According to Human Rights Watch, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to increase its hold over government bureaucracy and has subsumed state bodies in charge of religious, ethnic, and overseas Chinese affairs. Chinese authorities have also significantly increased repression and systematic abuse against religious groups, especially the Turkic Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region, and have continued the arbitrary detention, torture, and enforced disappearance of dissenters and human rights defenders.

Human rights abuses on China’s mainland are very concerning, especially when considering this state’s place in global politics and economic relations. China’s growing power in the international system makes it an exporter of human rights abuse and has allowed China to extend its reach to silence many of its critics across the globe. However, dissenters and human rights defenders in China’s free, autonomous territories such as Hong Kong are obviously the communities that are most at risk of falling victim to human rights abuse by mainland China.

Earlier this month, we saw mass protests take place in Hong Kong in opposition to a now-suspended bill that would have allowed mainland China to extradite individuals from Hong Kong to stand trial. This bill would have removed any protection that the people of Hong Kong had from mainland China’s arbitrary and inhumane criminal justice system. On 16 June, nearly 2 million protesters took to the streets in Hong Kong to express their concerns and resistance to being subject to mainland China’s criminal justice system and successfully pressured leadership to suspend the bill.

In this edition of the War Studies Podcast, we asked Benedict Rogers, founder and chair of the human rights organization Hong Kong Watch, to tell us about the state of human rights in China and the recent protests in Hong Kong around the now suspended extradition bill.

Interviewee bio:

Benedict Rogers specialises in human rights in Asia. He is also co-founder and Chair of Hong Kong Watch. He is the author of six books, and a regular contributor to international media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Guardian, the Diplomat, The Catholic Herald, and The Huffington Post. and has appeared regularly on the BBC, CNN, Sky News and Al-Jazeera. He is the author of The Darkest Moment: The Crackdown on Human Rights in China 2013-2016. Benedict is a frequent speaker in universities, schools and conferences around the world. He has testified at hearings in the British Parliament, the US Congress, the European Parliament and the Japanese Parliament. He has a BA in History and Politics from Royal Holloway, University of London, and an MA in China Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Hong Kong Watch website: https://www.hongkongwatch.org/

War Studies Live Stream - China 30 Years After the Tiananmen Massacre (Ben Rogers): https://www.facebook.com/WarStudies/videos/783991868662508/

The TV series Chernobyl has brought nuclear power back to the public's attention, at precisely the same time as concern about climate change is at record levels. Many see nuclear power as key to curbing carbon emissions and preventing climate change. but do we really have to accept its risks in order to get to a carbon free future? And do the nuclear capacity figures stack up?

This week King’s College London brought academics and industry figures to discuss nuclear energy and climate security. On the podcast hear Dr Simon Chin-Yee, a researcher at King's, discuss his work on the global impacts of climate change and the choices we must make to mitigate further human costs. After that, Philippe Costs, Senior Advisor at the World Nuclear Association, makes the case for nuclear energy in a speech recorded on 13 June at King's College London.

Date of Publication: 01/06/2019

Description:

In this week’s podcast, we are going to learn about a fascinating new book on Military Virtues and how military ethics training can improve decision making in the field. Then, we will change tracks to the domain of art and conflict to explore how art can add to analytical research methodologies used in international relations (IR) with the members of the Truth Tellers Pilot study, which seeks to examine the unspeakable aspects of the response to the 2017 Manchester Arena Attack through newly develop art-IR methodologies.

Interviewees:

Military Virtues

https://www.howgatepublishing.com/product-page/militaryvirtues

Professor David Whetham, Professor of Ethics and the Military Profession at the Defence Studies Department and Co-editor of Military Virtues. Learn more about Prof Whetham's work here: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/whetham-dr-david

Truth Tellers Project

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/warstudies/research/groups/arts/truthtellers/index

Tom de Freston, artist and writer based in Oxford and member of the Truth Tellers Project.

Mariah Whelan is a poet and academic based in The Centre for New Writing at The University of Manchester.

Dr Pablo de Orellana, Lecturer in International Relations at the Department of War Studies.

Dr Christiana Spens, Lecturer and Writer in the School of International Relations at the University of St. Andrews.

In 2017 Qatar was subjected to a blockade by its neighbours, led by Saudi Arabia, which severely restricted its trading and transport links. Two years on the diplomatic crisis has not been resolved.

In this podcast, Dr Andreas Krieg of the Defence Studies Department at King's College London discusses the blockade, in particular the ways that narratives were weaponised by Qatar's rivals to justify and build support for their actions both domestically and overseas. Qatar's reaction to this crisis is also discussed.