Voices: The EISA Podcast

As artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly moves onto the battlefield, the nature of war itself is being transformed. How are automated systems reshaping the conduct of war, and what happens when decision-making is partially or fully delegated to machines? To explore the role of automation in contemporary warfare and the ethical questions raised by the increasing use of AI in military contexts, we are joined by Elke Schwarz, Professor of Political Theory at Queen Mary University of London. Her work sits at the intersection of ethics, technology, politics, and warfare, with a particular focus on emerging military technologies such as AI, autonomous weapon systems, drones, and robotics. She is the author of Death Machines: The Ethics of Violent Technologies (Manchester University Press), and her research on military AI and autonomous systems has been widely published in leading international journals and outlets. She also serves as Vice-Chair of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control, is an Associate of the Imperial War Museum, and a Royal Society of Arts Fellow.

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 economic forces influence environmental decision-making. With extensive experience advising governments (UK, India, Ireland, Sweden, Finland), international organisations (UNDP, GEF, UNCTAD, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank), and NGOs (Friends of the Earth, Climate Network Europe), he explores the challenges and opportunities of a just transition to low-carbon energy with host Polly Pallister-Wilkins. A former Greenpeace UK board member and advisor to the Greenhouse think-tank, he has also edited the European Journal of International Relations and serves on the boards of Global Environmental Politics, Journal of Peasant Studies, Journal of Environment and Development, and Earth Systems Governance Journal. How do global power structures shape climate policy? What role do non-state actors play in driving or obstructing change? And how can governance be reimagined for more effective climate solutions? Tune in to learn why we must understand the energy transition through the lens of capitalism, ecology, and power.

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 Arts and Humanities Research Council and the German Research Foundation. Roxani’s work bridges feminist peace and conflict studies with the politics of nature and place. Drawing on her experience as both a researcher and a humanitarian practitioner, she focuses on gendered harms, justice, and peacebuilding – themes her recently published book “Good Victims: The Political as a Feminist Question” (2024, Oxford University Press) explores. Philipp investigates the gendered dynamics of armed conflict and violence, with a particular focus on masculinities and queer experiences in conflict settings. His work also examines sexual violence against men and issues surrounding forced migration.Tune in for a groundbreaking perspective that challenges conventional approaches to International Relations, bringing attention to themes often dismissed as “lovey-dovey” yet essential for understanding and remaking worlds in the wake of loss and violence.

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. As we navigate a year of crucial elections, this book offers a candid reflection on the state of women’s health in global politics and a vision for reclaiming equality in health. Sophie Harman brings her extensive expertise to the discussion. With seven academic books and numerous articles on global health politics, she has been a voice in major media outlets and a consultant for the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). She has also co-written and produced the feature film Pili (2027), highlighting the real-life struggles of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania. Tune in for a groundbreaking contribution that reveals the causes for why politics is still jeopardising women’s health around the world.

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 eye-opening and crucial for the academic community. In their own words, Olga Burlyuk and Ladan Rahbari emphasize the importance of recognizing that academia, despite its status and prestige, is not immune to precarity. They remind us of the systemic power imbalances that permeate all social strata, including the academic environment. Don't miss this wake-up call for academia to strive for a more just and inclusive space.

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 scholarly community rally together to defend this fundamental principle?

Almost every major political event over the past decade has been "memed". This episode delves into the dynamic world of internet memes and their significance for the study of International Relations. In his paper "Cucktales: Race, Sex, and Enjoyment in The Reactionary Memescape", that has been awarded the EISA´s Best Graduate Paper 2023, Uygar Başpehlivan, PhD candidate at the University of Bristol, takes us on a journey into the world of internet memes. In conversation with host Polly Pallister-Wilkins (University of Amsterdam), he explains the ways in which memes are integral to the political space by being simultaneously used by political subjects and being themselves political. Introducing his concept of the memescape, Uygar Başpehlivan contends that the creation and consumption of memes shapes political relations, including resistance, reaction, capture, and excess. Envisioning memes as architects of a spatial realm, the memescape thus captures the agency of political subjects, as well as aesthetic objects, discourses, affects, and technological infrastructures that converge, interact, and transform across time and space. Inspired by Deleuze and Guattari´s concepts, Uygar Başpehlivan talks us through his notion of memes as "smooth spaces" that challenge the traditional "striated space" of the international, thereby offering unique political possibilities. In his paper, Uygar Başpehlivan further dissects how the reactionary memescape gives rise to racist and misogynistic politics through the infamous meme, "the cuck". Tune in to learn about meme´s role in knowledge production, and their specific relevance for the study of International Relations.

Why should IR scholars pay attention to new technologies, big data, and algorithms? In this episode, we are joined by Claudia Aradau, Professor of International Politics at King's College London, who unpacks the significance of digital technologies for practices of governance. In conversation with Felix Berenskötter (SOAS University of London), Professor Aradau shares her research into the datafication of border security, the operation of algorithms in producing identities and controversies around them. They discuss the importance of a critical and interdisciplinary approach that captures what these new technologies do, who uses them and to what effect. Tune in to this episode exploring the transformative potential and the complexities of technological innovation for the study of IR, shedding light on the impact of algorithmic assemblages on contemporary global politics.