All episodes

What does a just energy transition look like, and how do politics and power shape the global transition to low-carbon energy? In this episode, we speak with Peter Newell (University of Sussex), a leading expert on the political economy of environment and development, whose career spans more than three decades of research at different universities, including the Universities of Sussex, Oxford, Warwick and East Anglia, and FLACSO Argentina, policy advising, and activism. From climate change governance to corporate accountability and trade policy, he has worked across multiple continents, including Argentina, China, India, and South Africa, to analyse how political and...

In this episode, we are joined by Iosif Kovras, winner of the 2024 EISA Best Article in the European Journal of International Relations (EJIR) Award, who explores the transformative role of forensic technologies in reshaping how societies confront their violent pasts. Iosif Kovras, an Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cyprus, and a leading voice in the fields of comparative transitional justice and human rights, focuses on questions of accountability, transitional justice, and the pursuit of truth in post-conflict settings. His current research explores the logic of the crime of disappearances in...

What does it mean to take love and care seriously in the "deathworlds" of International Relations? How can these concepts reshape how we understand and navigate worlds marked by loss and violence? This episode shifts the focus of International Relations’ traditional preoccupation with war, violence, and insecurity to the themes of love and care. Host Polly Pallister-Wilkins is joined by Roxani Krystalli (University of St Andrews) and Philipp Schulz (University of Bremen), who explore the roles of love and care in reshaping worlds after loss, including ecological and interpersonal grief, as part of a collaborative project funded by the UK...

What are the politics of human mobility through the lenses of visibility and invisibility? What does it mean for movement to be seen - or unseen - and who controls that? Joining us in this episode is Anna Finiguerra (King’s College London), whose Phd thesis “Ecologies of Visibility: Assembling the Politics of Mobility through Multiple Practices of Knowledge Production” won this year’s EISA best dissertation award. Anna Finiguerra’s research rethinks traditional frameworks of (in)visibility in studies on migration by examining events like the construction of the Gateway to Europe and migrant self-narration at the same site. Her work challenges traditional...

Why do women still die when they don’t have to? Despite global advancements and available resources, preventable deaths among women persist. Women continue to shoulder the weight of healthcare work and the socio-economic impact of health crises. Sophie Harman, prize-winning Professor of International Politics at Queen Mary London, is – as her new book flags – sick of it. In conversation with host Polly Pallister-Wilkins they discuss Sick of It: The Global Fight for Women’s Health which maps out how women’s health is manipulated for political gain, from health-washing to attacks on maternity hospitals and the exploitation of health workers....

Dependency Theory provides a crucial framework for understanding the persistent inequalities shaping our global society which extend beyond borders, influence global conflicts, financial systems, and work at the intersections of gendered and racialised oppression. In this episode, Dr Felipe Antunes de Oliveira (Queen Mary University of London) is in conversation with host Judith Koch (University of Sussex) to discuss Dependency Theory which is rooted in Latin American thought. Felipe's unique dual perspective as a scholar of Latin American Political Economy and International Relations Theory on the one hand, and as a career diplomat on the other hand deeply informs his...

This episode explores the experiences of migrant academics. We are joined by Olga Burlyuk (University of Amsterdam) and Ladan Rahbari (University of Amsterdam), editors of "Migrant Academics’ Narratives of Precarity and Resilience in Europe" (2023, Open Book Publishers) who have curated this essential collection of narratives by migrant academics. In conversation with host Polly Pallister-Wilkins, they tease out the multifaceted experiences of migrant academics, shedding light on various forms of precarity. From challenging hiring practices and systemic sexism and racism to economic disadvantages and the often 'culturally accepted' yet problematic divisions of labour within academic spaces, these narratives are both...

Since South Africa brought the case of applying the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 29 December 2023, the topic of genocide has re-entered both popular and scholarly debates.

How is genocide comprehended - or rather, misunderstood - within International Relations, and as a legal concept? In this episode Jo Bluen, educator, writer, and PhD researcher (University of Cape town & London School of Economics) is in conversation with Polly Pallister-Wilkins (University of Amsterdam). Jo Bluen explores the multifaceted interpretations and political ramifications...

In times marked by escalating challenges to academic freedom, this episode unravels the essence of academic freedom, its significance, and the pressing need to safeguard it. From institutional repression and public curtailment to professional reprisals faced by academic staff due to their research findings and public advocacy, this episode explores one of the timeliest issues of our era. In conversation with Prof Toni Haastrup (University of Manchester), Dr Lewis Turner (Newcastle University), and Prof Joel Quirk (University of the Witwatersrand), host Polly Pallister-Wilkins (University of Amsterdam) tackles pivotal questions: What does academic freedom entail? And, more importantly, how can the...

This episode delves into the dynamics of institutional power and explores the implications when power in transnational orders, such as the EU, undergoes de-institutionalisation. Professor Jonathan White´s (LSE) article “The De-institutionalisation of Power beyond the State” which has been awarded the EISA`s Best Article in EJIR 2023, introduces a groundbreaking perspective on the normative consequences of informality in global politics. In conversation with Host Polly Pallister-Wilkins, Prof. Jonathan White explains how recent crisis politics has shifted the balance, with individuals and their networks reshaping institutions. He argues that informal diplomacy, such as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen´s “WhatsApp diplomacy”...