Tag Archives: War and Warfare

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-Turkey-assaults-Kurds-/-UN-Human-Rights-Council-September 6th, 2015

First, is Turkey using ISIS as a cover for a war against its Turkish population? It has recently launched some 300 airstrikes against the Kurdish PKK and rounded up more than a 1,000 members from another pro-Kurdish group, the Kurdish People’s Democratic Party, according to The Independent. It has also arrested and detained local journalists. [ dur: 18 mins. ]

Then, what is the United Nations’ Human Rights Council? Is it dominated by human rights violators? Hillel Neuer is Executive Director of UN Watch. [ dur: 40 mins. ]

Find book/publication authored by our guest scholars Book Shelf .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-Dictator-and-CEO-/- War-and-Law-August 16th, 2015

First, what do dictators, CEOs, and political leaders have in common? We’ll explore some of their strategies for getting and keeping power with Alastair Smith, coauthor of, “The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics.” [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Alastair Smith, Professor of Politics, NYU. He has also co-authored “The Logic of Political Survival“.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, the effect of war on laws, society, governance, and democracy itself. How are these affected as the lines of war-time are increasingly blurred.[ dur: 27 mins. ]

  • Mary Dudziak is Professor of Law, History, and Political Science at the University of Southern California. She is the author of, “War Time: An Idea, Its History, Its Consequences“.
  • Patrick James is Professor of International Relations and Director of the Center for International Studies at the University of Southern California. He is the author of numerous publications ( found here ) including, “Constitutional Politics in Canada After the Charter: Liberalism, Communitarianism, and Systemism“, “A New Quest for International Peace: Civil-Military Dynamics, Political Communications and Democracy“, and “Religion, Identity and Global Governance: Theory, Evidence and Practice.“
  • Christopher McKnight Nichols is Professor of History at Oregon State University. Previously he was the Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in U.S. History at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of, “Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age“.

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Middle East Politics-July 12th, 2015

We spend the hour trying to untangle the politics of the Middle East. What does the rise of extreme violence with shifting and sometimes conflicting loyalties mean to the region and the world? What has happened to all the gains through democratization and human rights?

  • Fred H. Lawson is a Professor and Department Head of Government at Mills College; Author of Global Security Watch – Syria, Demystifying Syria, Why Syria Goes to War: Thirty Years of Confrontation and Constructing International Relations in the Arab World
  • Laurie A. Brand, Professor of International Relations and Director of Middle East Studies, USC; Author of Official Stories: Politics and National Narratives in Egypt and Algeria and Palestinians in the Arab World: Institution Building and the Search for State
  • Hamoud Salhi, Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean, CSU Dominguez Hills. Host of SWANA Region Radio on KPFK – Los Angeles.

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-Effects-of-Human-Rights-Law-/-Mysteries-of-the-Mind-May 3rd, 2015

First, how is international law changing human rights and for war? Our guest Ruti G. Teitel, a professor of comparative law, says we are moving from protecting state security to increasingly protecting individual security. These shifts are influenced by the human rights frame and reshaping the scope of what she calls humanities law. [ dur: 15 mins. ]

  • Ruti Teitel is a Professor of Comparative Law, Chair: Global Law and Justice Colloquium and Founding Co-Director of the Institute for Global Law, Justice and Policy at New York Law School and Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics. She is the author of Humanity’s Law and Transitional Justice.

​Next, science is now taking us inside the mysteries of the mind. Can the brain now interface with computers to move matter? Will scientists be able to download our memories and then reload them? [ dur: 41 mins. ]

  • Dr. Michio Kaku is​ ​a Professor of Physics at​ ​City College of New York (CUNY)​ ​and​ ​the co-creator of string field theory, a branch of string theory.​ ​He is the author o​f ​Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100​,​ Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Explorations into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation and Time Travel​ ​and The Future of the Mind:​ ​The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind​.​

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-Rwanda-Genocide-Anniversary-/-How-to-Stop-Cruelty-of-Armed-Conflict-April 19th, 2015

First, in remembrance of the 21st Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, we revisit the tragedy with retired Lieutenant-General and Senator​ ​Roméo Dallaire who witnessed the atrocities first-hand.

  • Roméo Dallaire is a retired lieutenant-general and senator. In 1993, LGen Dallaire was appointed Force Commander for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), where he witnessed the country descend into chaos and genocide, leading to the deaths of more than 800,000 Rwandans.

Since his retirement, he has become an outspoken advocate for human rights, genocide prevention, mental health and war-affected children. He founded The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative, an organization committed to ending the use of child soldiers worldwide. He is the author of Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda and They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children: The Global Quest to Eradicate the Use of Child Soldiers.

Next, war and armed conflict are declining on the global level, however atrocities, cruelty and lethal violence continue in many parts of the world. What justifies human cruelty? What is driving people to commit lethal violence and what can bystanders and others do to prevent their continuation?

  • Ervin Staub is a Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Founding Director of its ​Ph.D. concentration in the Psychology of Peace and Violence. He i​​s the author of The ​R​oots of ​E​vil: The ​O​rigins of ​G​enocide and ​O​ther ​G​roup ​Violence, The ​Psychology of ​G​ood and ​E​vil: Why ​Children, ​Adu​​lts and ​G​r​​oups ​H​el​p​ and ​H​arm ​O​ther​s and his recently published book The ​R​oots of ​G​ood​nes​s​ and ​R​e​s​ist​ance to ​Evil: Inclusive ​C​aring, ​M​oral ​C​ou​r​age, ​Altruism ​B​o​r​n of ​S​uffering, ​A​c​t​ive ​B​ystandership and ​H​e​r​oism.
  • David Livingstone Smith is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England. He is the author of Less Than Human: Why we Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Others.
  • John Kaag is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. He is the author of Neoconservative Images of the United Nations: American Domestic Politics and International Cooperation.

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-1914-Christmas-Truce-/-Redefine-Democracy-/-Design-of-Cities-Dec. 28th, 2014

This week on the Scholars’ Circle:

First, why did soldiers on the front line of one of the deadliest wars lay down their arms and play soccer with the very men they were supposed to shoot? We’ll revisit the Christmas truce of 1914, this December marks the 100th anniversary. [ dur: 24 mins. ]

  • Stanley Weintraub is Professor Emeritus of Arts and Humanities at Penn State University. His books include 11 Days in December: Christmas at the Bulge, 1944, Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce, Long Day’s Journey into War: December 7, 1941 and A Stillness Heard Round the World: The End of the Great War, November 1918

Next, author Raj Patel discusses his book, The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market, Society and Redefine Democracy. [ dur: 15 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Rajeev Patel is a Research Professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System and The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy

Finally, how does the design of a city and its architecture affect democracy, community, our psychology and public health? [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Jan Gehl is an Architect and is former Professor and Researcher at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture. His books include Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space, Cities for People and How to Study Public Life.

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-New-Deal-History-/-War-In-Our-Times-Dec. 21st, 2014

First, Michael Hiltzik author of, The New Deal: A Modern History, discusses the politics of the new deal, and what can we learn from the program that reshaped the country. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

  • Michael Hiltzik is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author who has covered business, technology, and public policy for the Los Angeles Times for three decades. He currently serves as the Times’s business columnist and hosts its business blog, The Economy Hub. His books include The New Deal: A Modern History, Colossus: The Turbulent, Thrilling Saga of the Building of Hoover Dam, Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age and The Plot Against Social Security: How the Bush Plan Is Endangering Our Financial Future.

Then, scholars note that the world is waging fewer wars, but that the wars that are waged are more brutal and intractable. How far have we come in the science of making peace? [ dur: 31 mins. ]

  • George Lopez  Vice President and Director of international conflict management  at US Institute of Peace and co-author of Sanctions and the Search for Security: Challenges to UN Action
  • Ervin Staub, Prof. of Psychology University of Massettuces Amherst.  Author of The Psychology of Good and Evil: Why Children, Adults, and Groups Help and Harm Others
  • Norrin Ripsman, Professor of  Political Science at Concordia University. Co-author of Globalization and the National Security State

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-Islamic-State-Iraq-Syria-Nov. 23rd, 2014

We spend the hour analyzing the emergence of the Islamic State also known as ISIS or ISIL. [ dur: 58 mins. ]

  • Fred H. Lawson is a Professor and Department Head of Government at Mills College. He is the author of Global Security Watch – Syria, Demystifying Syria, Why Syria Goes to War: Thirty Years of Confrontation and Constructing International Relations in the Arab World.
  • Salman Sayyid is Professor of Social Theory & Decolonial Thought at the University of Leeds, UK. He is the author of Recalling the Caliphate: Decolonisation and World Order, A Fundamental Fear: Eurocentrism and the Emergence of Islamism and co-editor of A Postcolonial People: South Asians in Britain.

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Chile’s-toppled-democracy-in-1973-/-Just War-Theory- Sept. 14th, 2014

First, this week marks the anniversary of the September 11th, 1973 coup in Chile that toppled democratically elected Salvador Alende and installed the dictator Augustin Pinoche. We’ll revisit what happened, explore that latest revelations and how Chileans are dealing with their past now. [ dur: 23 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • John Dingus is Professor of Journalism at Columbia University. He is the author of The Condor Years: How Pinochet And His Allies Brought Terrorism To Three Continents and Our Man in Panama: How General Noriega Used the United States- And Made Millions in Drugs and Arms
  • Peter Kornbluh directs the Cuba Documentation Project and the Chile Documentation Project at the National Security Archives. He is the author of The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability, Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana, and co-author of The Iran-Contra Scandal: The Declassified History.

Earlier in the week the Obama administration vowed to destroy ISIS invoking the long held philosophy called the just war theory. What exactly is just war theory? And can it be applied to modern warfare? [ dur: 35 mins. ]

  • Jeff McMahan is a Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University. He is the author of Killing in War, The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life and editor of Ethics and Humanity: Themes from the Philosophy of Jonathan Glover
  • Heather Roff  is a Professor of International Studies at the University of Denver. She is the author of Global Justice, Kant and the Responsibility to Protect: A Provisional Duty (Global Politics and the Responsibility to Protect) .
  • Thomas Gregory is a lecturer of Political Studies at the University of Auckland. He is the author of  “Drones – mapping the legal debate”.

Visit our Store [ Amazon Book Store with links to books authored by our guests on Scholars’ Circle. ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Human and Animal Health / Human Rights Intervention? – Aug. 17th, 2014

First, do animals get depression, eating disorders, alcoholism, or diabetes? What can we learn from animals about healing? We explore the surprising common grounds between animals and us with the authors of ZOOBIQUITY: The Astonishing Connection Between Human and Animal Health. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Dr. Barbara Netttern-Herowitz, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA;
  • Kathryn Bowers, journalist. 

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel,as violent conflict and human rights abuses continue throughout so many parts of the world, we’ll look at the politics and ethics of humanitarian intervention. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Frank Chalk, Professor of History and Director of Montreal Institute for Genocide  and human rights Studies (Will to intervene project website) at Concordia University. Author of The History and Sociology of Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies. Co-author of  Mobilizing the will to intervene. Associate editor of 3 volume encyclopedia of  Genocide and crimes against humanity.
  • Jeff Holzgrefe, adjunct Professor  of Law at Emory University School of Law; Co-editor of Humanitarian intervention, legal, ethical and political dilemmas.
  • Fernando Teson, Tobias Simon Eminent Scholar, Florida State University; College of Law.  Author of Humanitarian intervention and inquiry into law and morality and philosophy of international law.

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS