Category: Podcasts

PSR Interviews #8 (audio): Realism, Utopianism and Human Rights – Paul Raekstad

“We should, however, be wary of the moralist mistake of largely ignoring concrete questions of power and political agency when reflecting on political values and vision. It’s no accident that so much of the most historically influential political theory, from the work of Adam Smith to anarchism, a great deal of feminism and Marxism, has been realist.” – says Dr Paul Raekstad. How can the realist utopian political theory that can reform capitalist society?

Listen to a short interview, based on a PSR article: Realism, Utopianism and Human Rights by Dr Paul Raekstad.

Paul Raekstad has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge, is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Amsterdam, and will shortly be taking up a lectureship at the University of Edinburgh. His work focuses on envisioning and achieving free, democratic, and ecologically sustainable economic institutions.

production

Dr Eliza Kania, Brunel University London

Podcast #14: Taking Modernity to Extremes: On the Roots of Anti-Politics -Matteo Truffelli, Lorenzo Zambernardi

Anti-politics (and its intellectual roots) and populism as “an absolute delegitimation of politics and existing political authority.” Matteo Truffelli and Lorenzo Zambernardi (using the voice of Micòl Beseghi) claim that “the ambiguity of anti-politics comes from its being a kind of shadow of modern politics: it emerges with and from modernity, mirroring its many forms. And this is what explains the many identities anti-politics has assumed throughout modern history.”

Listen to a podcast, based on a PSR article: Taking Modernity to Extremes: On the Roots of Anti-Politics by Matteo Truffelli and Lorenzo Zambernardi.

Matteo Truffelli is Associate Professor of History of Political Thought at the University of Parma. He is the author of La “questione partito” dal fascismo alla Repubblica. Culture politiche nella transizione (2003) and L’ombra della politica. Saggio sulla storia del pensiero antipolitico (2008). He also introduced and edited the Italian translation of Bolingbroke’s Dissertation Upon Parties (2013).

Lorenzo Zambernardi is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Bologna. He is the author of the monograph I limiti della potenza. Etica e politica nella teoria internazionale di Hans J. Morgenthau (2010). His work has been published in the European Journal of International Relations, History of European Ideas, International Political Sociology, Review of International Studies, and the Washington Quarterly.

production

Dr Eliza Kania, Brunel University London

Podcast #13: Women in the Profession: An Update on the Gendered Composition of the Discipline and Political Science Departments in the UK – Zoe Pflaeger Young

Has Political Science as a discipline, as well as Political Science departments in the UK made significant progress in terms of gender equality? “Given the higher profile of gender issues and the increase in measures and initiatives aimed at addressing gender inequalities, we might expect to see considerable progress in the presence and status of women, especially among those universities that have put active policies in place” – says Dr Zoe Pflaeger Young. “However, our survey conducted in 2018 shows that there has only been incremental rather than transformative change” – she adds.

Listen to a podcast, based on a PSR article: Women in the Profession: An Update on the Gendered Composition of the Discipline and Political Science Departments in the UK by Zoe Pflaeger Young, Fran Amery, Stephen Holden Bates, Stephen McKay, Cherry Miller, Taylor Billings, Rebecca Hayton, Marianne Holt, Jasmine Khatri, Molly Marvin, Lola Ogunsanya, Alice Ramdehal and Rosie Sullivan.

The article is a part of a special issue: Gender in the Profession-wide analysis of #gendered composition of the Political Science departments in the UK.

Zoe Pflaeger Young is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations at De Montfort University. Her current research concentrates on the crisis of social reproduction and family policy in the context of austerity, with a particular interest in shared parental leave and childcare. 

Twitter Political Studies Review @PolStudiesRev

production

Dr Eliza Kania, Brunel University London

Podcast #12: Realism, Utopianism and Human Rights – Paul Raekstad

How can the realist utopian political theory that can reform capitalist society? “My article shows that realists don’t oppose utopianism in general, discusses the value of realist utopianism and considers why many political theorists misunderstand what realism demands” – says Dr Paul Raekstad.

Listen to a podcast, based on a PSR article: Realism, Utopianism and Human Rights by Dr Paul Raekstad.

Paul Raekstad has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge, is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Amsterdam, and will shortly be taking up a lectureship at the University of Edinburgh. His work focuses on envisioning and achieving free, democratic, and ecologically sustainable economic institutions.

production

Dr Eliza Kania, Brunel University London

Podcast #11: Can You Engage in Political Activity Without Internet Access? The Social Effects of Internet Deprivation – Ryan Shandler

To what extent can you engage in political activity in the modern age without Internet access? Has Internet access become so important to daily functioning, that people are incapable of exercising basic civil rights when access goes down? The growing dependence on Internet access to fulfil basic civil functions is threatened by increasing personal and societal cyber vulnerability.

In their research authors explore the extent to which citizens are able, or unable, to engage in specific political activities in the absence of Internet connectivity – listen to a podcast by Ryan Shandler, based on a PSR article: Can You Engage in Political Activity Without Internet Access? The Social Effects of Internet Deprivation by Ryan Shandler, Michael L Gross and Daphna Canetti.

Ryan Shandler is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Haifa School of Political Sciences under the supervision of Professors Michael Gross and Daphna Canetti.

Ryan’s research focuses on Internet age theories of political participation and the socio-political effects of cyber-terrorism. 

production

Dr Eliza Kania, Brunel University London

Podcast #10: Politics and Science as a Vocation: Can Academics Save us from Post-Truth Politics? – John Boswell, Jack Corbett, Jonathan Havercroft

“In an apparently post-truth era, the social science scholar, by disposition and training committed to rational argumentation and the pursuit of truth, appeals as the ideal bulwark against excessive politicization of facts and expertise. In this article, we look to the experience of four prominent social scientists who have recently left the academy to enter politics with the aim of using their academic expertise to reshape policy. We use these cases to explore fundamental dilemmas derived from a close reading of Max Weber’s seminal vocation essays of a century ago. “- listen to a podcast by Dr John Boswell, Prof. Jack Corbett and Dr Jonathan Havercroft, based on a PSR article: Politics and Science as a Vocation: Can Academics Save us from Post-Truth Politics?

John Boswell is Associate Professor in Politics at the University of Southampton. His research and teaching interests centres around contemporary issues and themes in democratic governance and public policy. My research is generally qualitative and interpretive in nature, and I also have an interest in writing and teaching on methodological matters in this tradition.

Jack Corbett is Professor of Politics, Departmental Research Director at The University of Southampton. His research focuses on how actors manage the dilemmas of democratic governance.

Jonathan Havercroft is Associate Professor in International Political Theory within Politics & International Relations at the University of Southampton. His current research projects include work on the ethical dimensions of international norms, theories of political affect, and the role of agreement in democratic theory and practice. 

production

Dr Eliza Kania, Brunel University London

Podcast #9: The European Union as a Masculine Military Power: European Union Security and Defence Policy in ‘Times of Crisis’ – Marijn Hoijtink

“Against the background of a sense of crisis in the European Union and in international politics, European Union Member States have since 2016 increased their cooperation within the Common Security and Defence Policy, for example, establishing the European Defence Fund. Scholars have long pointed out that the European Union lacks the necessary ‘hard’ military power to influence international politics, subscribing to and constituting an image of the European Union as not masculine enough. We are critical of these accounts and develop a different argument” – says Dr Marijn Hoijtink. This podcast episode is based on a PSR article he co-authored with Dr Hanna L. Muehlenhoff: “The European Union as a Masculine Military Power: European Union Security and Defence Policy in ‘Times of Crisis’“

Dr Marijn Hoijtink is Assistant Professor in International Relations and International Security. Her research covers International Relations, critical security studies, and Science and Technology Studies, and focuses on the design, development, and global circulation of (new) security technologies and weapons.

Dr Hanna L. Muehlenhoff is Assistant Professor of European Studies with a focus on ‘Europe in the World’ at the Department of European Studies at the University of Amsterdam. Her research studies the European Union’s external relations from a feminist perspective, focusing on the EU’s women’s and LGBTQ rights promotion in Turkey and the EU’s security and defence policy.

production

Dr Eliza Kania, Brunel University London

Podcast #8: Imagining the European Union: Gender and Digital Diplomacy in European External Relations – Katharine A. M. Wright

“The EU’s normative credentials were significantly shaken as a result of the 2007 financial crisis, this impact of which has been wide-reaching, cutting across the full spectrum of EU policy action and competence. As a result, the EU and its member states have been struggling to move from a reactive to a strategic mode of policy-making, turning what started as a financial crisis into a deep existential crisis about the very identity of the organisation. ” – listen to a podcast by Dr Katharine Wright based on a PSR article he co-authored with Prof. Roberta Guerrina: Imagining the European Union: Gender and Digital Diplomacy in European External Relations.

Dr Katharine A. M. Wright is Senior Lecturer in International Politics at Newcastle University. Her research and teaching focus on gender and security, including at NATO and in EU foreign and security policy.

Prof. Roberta Guerrina (Univeristy of Bristol) is an expert in EU gender politics and policies. She is interested in understanding the impact of gender (hierarchies) on key policy areas traditionally seen as gender neutral, such as Brexit, Security and Defence. 

production

Dr Eliza Kania, Brunel University London

Podcast #6: Decolonising the Curriculum – Rima Saini and Neema Begum

“White, middle-class forms of knowledge are disproportionately valued over others. Working-class, female and academics of colour often find themselves struggling to ‘fit into’ the predominantly White, middle-class, heteronormative academic environment.” – Dr Neema Begum (University of Manchester) and Dr Rima Saini (Middlesex University London) speak about the need for the decolonisation of academia and political science, described in their article: Decolonising the Curriculum.

You can also read the PSA’s response by PSA former Chair, Prof. Angelia Wilson. Moreover, PSA Chair Prof. Roger Awan-Scully and Vice-Chair Prof. Claire Dunlop have recently published their statement on #BLM events in the US.

Dr Rima Saini is a Lecturer in Sociology ar Middlesex University London. She completed an MSc in Research Methods at City, the University of London in 2014 following a BA in Politics (SOAS), and an MA in Legal and Political Theory (UCL School of Public Policy). She completed a 3-year post as a City University of London Q-Step Ph.D. Teaching Fellow in the Department of Sociology in September 2017.

Dr Neema Begum is a political scientist researching ethnic minority voting, political participation and representation. Neema is a Research Associate at the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) working on Politics, Representation and Ethnic Minorities. 

production

Dr Eliza Kania, Brunel University London