Security in Context

Margaret Cerullo is a professor of Sociology and Feminist Studies at Hampshire College and a member of the Lightning Collective, which put together the book “Zapatista Stories for Dreaming An-Other World by Subcomandante Marcos.” In this gorgeous collection of allegorical stories, Subcomandante Marcos, idiosyncratic spokesperson of the Zapatistas, has provided “an accidental archive” of a revolutionary group’s struggle against neoliberalism. For thirty years, the Zapatistas have influenced and inspired movements worldwide, showing that another world is possible. They have infused left politics with a distinct imaginary—and an imaginative, literary, or poetic dimension—organizing horizontally, outside and against the state, and with a profound respect for difference as a source of political insight, not division. With commentaries that illuminate their historical, political, and literary contexts and an introduction by the translators, this timeless, elegiac volume is perfect for lovers of literature and lovers of revolution.

What has Security in Context achieved in the past two years? And what does the future hold for the project?  In this episode, we hear from some of the key people leading Security in Context’s research network, including: Omar Dahi, Project Director of Security in Context and Economics Professor at Hampshire College; Shana Marshall, Associate Director of the Institute for Middle East Studies and Assistant Research Faculty member at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs; Pete Moore, Associate Professor of Politics at Case Western Reserve University; Lisa Hajjar, Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Firat Demir, Professor of Economics at the University of Oklahoma and co-director of University of Oklahoma's Center for Peace and Development; Rabie Nasser, economist, researcher and co-founder of the Syrian Center for Policy Research; and Fernando Brancoli, Assistant Professor of International Security and Geopolitics at the Institute of International Relations and Defense at the University of Rio de Janeiro.

In this episode we investigate the Russian war in Ukraine from a global South perspective by analyzing the effects of the crisis on the different countries and regions of the global South, and highlighting the issues that are currently missing from the mainstream discussion. Our guests include: Eric Draitser, independent political analyst and host of CounterPunch Radio; Samar Al-Bulushi, assistant professor of anthropology at University of California, Irvine; Noha Aboueldahab, assistant professor of international law and transitional justice at Georgetown University in Qatar; and Arlene Tickner, professor of international relations at the School of International, Political and Urban Studies, at the Universidad del Rosario Bogotá. At the end of the episode, Security in Context co-founders Omar Dahi and Firat Demir discuss the main highlights of the interviews and share their own takes.

Khaled Barakat is a Palestinian-Canadian activist and writer, currently based in Vancouver, who was recently subjected to a media and political campaign aimed at silencing him and those fighting for Palestinian rights in Canada. Attempts to criminalize Barakat originated in an article published in the right-wing newspaper The National Post, and quickly became subject of debate in the Canadian Senate, with a conservative senator going so far as to asking the government to expel Barakat, a Canadian citizen, from the country. The campaign against Khaled Barakat is one of many smear campaigns being launched against pro-Palestinian voices, a phenomenon that seems to be increasing nowadays.

According to the late Pakistani writer and revolutionary activist Eqbal Ahmad, the Palestinian struggle for self-determination stirs the emotions of the entire world, particularly the nations and societies of the formerly colonized world. In this episode we explore the Palestinian struggle for liberation from the perspective of solidarity movements. Our guests include: Mouin Rabbani, an independent analyst specialized in Palestinian affairs and the Arab-Israeli conflict; Noura Erakat, a human rights attorney and associate professor at Rutgers University; Lina Meruane, an author and professor at the Madrid branch of the New York University; and Yara Hawari, an academic, writer, and senior policy analyst at Al-Shabaka.

In this episode we explore two issues that are frequently ignored in discussions about the climate crisis: first, how the impacts of climate change will be unequally felt around the world, and second, the negative side of the politics of the climate movement in the global North. Our guests include: Betsy Hartmann, author of “The America Syndrome: Apocalypse, War, and Our Call to Greatness” (2017, Seven Stories Press), Anne Hendrixson, senior policy analyst at Challenging Population Control; Max Ajl, author of “A People’s Green New Deal” (2021, Pluto Press); Fikret Adaman, professor of economics at Boğaziçi University; and Kasia Paprocki, author of “Threatening Dystopias: The Global Politics of Climate Change Adaptation in Bangladesh” (2021, Cornell Press). In addition to these interviews, the episode includes some excerpts from Jame K. Boyce’s lecture titled “Climate Change in an Unequal World,” available on Security in Context’s YouTube channel. James K. Boyce is the author of books, such as “The Case for Carbon Dividends” (2019, Polity Press) and “Economics for People and the Planet: Inequality in the Era of Climate Change” (2019, Anthem Press).

In this episode we explore the socioeconomic impact of Covid-19, paying special attention to its implications for gender and North-South inequalities. Our guests include Mark Weisbrot, Co-director of the Center for Economic & Policy Research; Mehrinaz El Awady, Leader of the Gender Justice, Population and Inclusive Development Cluster at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia; and Julio Gambina, Professor of Political Economics at the National University of Rosario and member of partner research network CLACSO. As a bonus, this episode includes excerpts from interviews with leaders of partner grassroots women’s organizations in Gulu, Uganda, conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Oklahoma and West Virginia University. At the end of the episode, Security in Context's Omar Dahi and Firat Demir discuss the main highlights of the interviews and share their own takes on the content.

In this episode, we investigate the implications of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan from different angles with the help of our guests. Rafia Zakaria tells us about her new book, Against White Feminism, and how it ties into Western media coverage of Afghan women. We also speak to Professor Michael Klare, defense correspondent at The Nation magazine, about his take on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan; a very different one to those being portrayed in mainstream media. The episode ends with our September media roundup, a brief section in which we discuss news articles, reports, and other materials focusing on (in)security issues.