Tag Archives: War / Weapons

Scholars’ Circle – Civil War and Humanitarian crisis in Cameroon – June 20, 2021

Cameroon is a West African nation that is embroiled in a civil war between its Anglophone and Francophone populations. What led to this civil war? and how can it be resolved? We explore the causes of the war and the prospects for resolution. [ dur: 36mins. ]

  • Patircia Asongwe is Visiting Lecturer at the National School of Administration and Magistracy in Cameroon. She is also Head of Litigation Unit in the Division of Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Higher Education.
  • Lauura Anyola Tufon is Consultant Expert to Conflict Sensitivity for Catholic Relief Services, Caritas, Archdiocese of Bamenda. She is founding member of the Network of Civil Peace Service in Cameroon.

Protests against violations of federalism agreements were met with state led violence in Cameroon. What were the impacts? We’ll hear from one of the organizers.[ dur: 22mins. ]

  • Fontem A Neba was Secretary General of Teacher’s Trade Union of the University of Buea before his arrest on the 17th of January, 2017. He was Secretary General of the now banned Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. Mr. Neba was Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Buea. Now he is in exile and serves as the Secretary General of the Southern Cameroon’s Alliance.

Produced by the Scholars’ Circle team: Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Rethinking American Grand Strategy – June 6, 2021

Grand Strategy defines the broad goals of nations or even groups. American Grand Strategy is best understood historically, as an amalgam of influences and interests. Is American grand strategy a reaction to events and domestic interests, or is it derived more strategically based on the American place in the world? And what does the history of American grand strategy tell us about its current goals? We speak with three of the authors of Rethinking American Grand Strategy. Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 58 mins. ]

All of our guests are contributors to the book we are discussing today Rethinking American Grand Strategy. Christopher McKnight Nichols is also co-editor of the book together with Elizabeth Borgwardt and Andrew Preston.

Produced by the Scholars’ Circle team: Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Survey of historical and current Practices to Redress Crimes Against Humanity – April 18, 2021

After mass atrocities and crimes against humanity, how can societies reconcile? How is justice performed and how should we recognize these crimes? And what of the clash between international interests and local needs when dealing with the punishment and acknowledgment of atrocities? Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 58mins. ]

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Yemini War and humanitarian crisis; Secret Heroes Who Shaped the World – March 28, 2021

The Yemeni War has created the world’s largest humanitarian disaster. Over 80% of the population is at risk, with particular vulnerabilities to children. And the Covid pandemic has worsened conditions. What are the causes of the war? Why is it not ending? And how can it be resolved? Hosted by Doug Becker.  [ dur: 43mins. ]

Then, secret heroes. We know the role of presidents and other leaders in shaping history, however we hear little about the unsung heroes; many who have risked their lives to liberate and rescue others. Who might some of those secret heroes be?  Hosted by Maria Armoudian.[ dur: 14mins. ]

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Causes and potential resolutions of the Ngorno-Karabakh conflict – October 18, 2020

map of Nagorno-Karabakh ( Republic of ArtSakh ) history - Southfront.org
The Armenians living in their indigenous lands in a region known as Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, have long experienced existential insecurity. The fighting today between Azerbaijan, which is backed by Turkey, against Armenia over who belongs in those lands is threatening to escalate into a much bigger regional war and another round of ethnic cleansing.

We spend the hour exploring the causes of this conflict, the human rights implications of the aggression, whether the international legal principles apply, the importance of advancing democracy in the region, and potential resolutions to the war. Hosted by Doug Becker.[ dur: 58mins. ]

Nagorno-Karabakh regions map

This program is produced by the following team members: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Eastern Mediterranean Conflict where complicated diplomatic intervention is required – Sept 13, 2020

The Eastern Mediterranean has long been a powder keg for potential conflict, particularly between Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus. A more aggressive Turkish push in the region to drill for oil and natural gas has raised the stakes. On today’s show we explore the potential for conflict and the impact of this drilling has on climate change initiatives in Europe. [ dur: 58mins. ]

This program is produced by the following team members: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Root causes of political and economic crisis in Lebanon – Aug 9, 2020

The devastating explosion in Lebanon last week is just one of many crisis causing profound suffering for the people there. The economic and political crises have been exacerbated by the Covid 19 pandemic bringing the country to the brink of collapse. What is behind these crises? What can be done? Doug Becker explores. [ dur: 58 mins. ]

This program is produced by the following team members: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – India-China border conflicts examined -/- Issues with privatization of governmental services – June 21, 2020

Tensions along the India/China border have left soldiers killed, emotions high, and the risk of war increasing. We examine the cause of these tensions and the importance of de-escalation on today’s show. Doug Becker hosts. [ dur: 34mins. ]

Then, how does privatization amount to what our guest calls a Constitutional Coup. [ dur: 24mins. ]

This program is produced with contributions from the following team members: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Measuring Environmental impact of the US Military – April 5, 2020

We spend the hour looking at the environmental impact of the US military. How much does the US military pollute the environment? What is their role in climate change causing green house emissions? The military has taken some measures to reduce its impact on the environment and green gas emissions, but our guests say these measures do little to assuage the military’s bigger effects on climate change. What are these effects and what can be done about them?[ dur: 58mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Produced by the Scholars’ Circle team: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Human rights and war shaping international law -/- An Urgent effort to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons – March 15, 2020

First, how is international law changing for human rights and for war? Our guest says we are moving from protecting state security to increasingly protecting individual security. The shifts are influenced by the human rights frame and are reshaping what she calls “humanity’s law.” [dur: 15mins. ]

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

Then, the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the most broad sweeping attempt to ban nuclear weapons. Guest host Doug Becker looks at the motivations behind the treaty, its relative importance on nuclear states decisions, and its prospect for eventual adoption.[ dur: 42mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Ira Helfand, MD is co-chair of the Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR)’s Nuclear Abolition Committee. He is also a member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)’s International Steering Committee. He has co-authored PSR’s “Nuclear Famine: 2 billion at Risk?
  • Wayne Glass is Professor Emeritus in the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the former Senior Defense Policy Advisor to Senator Jeff Bingaman on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Produced by the Scholars’ Circle team: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.