Root of Conflict UC3P

How do stories give new perspectives to conflict and peace? In this episode, we speak with Juanita Vélez, a journalist and political scientist. She was the editor of La Silla Sur, a regional subsidiary of Colombian news website La Silla Vacía, focused on covering the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement in southern Colombia. She researches and writes journalistic stories on illegal armed groups, deforestation, and organized crime. She is also the author of A War Later, (Spanish: Una Guerra Después) a journalistic book that tells the stories of five Colombians impacted by the Peace Agreement made between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (the FARC). The book focuses not just on the former FARC combatants but also tells the stories of victims, military personnel, and government officials that weren’t covered in the broader news at the time. We discuss the framework of the peace agreement, the impacts of implementation, and the how Vélez built trust within communities to facilitate her journalism.

Watch the Pearson Institute's talk featuring Juanita Vélez on YouTube here.

You can find more information on A War Later here.

This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org

Access the transcript here.

Podcast Production Credits:

Interviewing: Paula Cadena Moreno and Hannah Balikci
Editing: Nishita Karun
Production: Hannah Balikci

What is the role of narratives within the political economy of development? In this episode, we speak with Professor Raul Sanchez de la Sierra, an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and Faculty Affiliate of the Pearson Institute. His research tackles problems in the economics of development, political economy, and conflict. He conducts most of his research in areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); where he looks at the organization of society, the economics and psychology of armed groups, the emergence of state functions, and the economics of organized corruption, working closely with these actors, while also gathering detailed data for statistical analysis. We discuss Professor Sanchez de la Sierra’s path to working in the DRC and later involvement in Congo Calling, a documentary film that follows him and two other Europeans who work in various roles within the international development aid sector in the DRC. Later, we discuss his goals and objectives for his class Power and “Development,” which he teaches at Harris. Finally, we explore Professor Sanchez de la Sierra’s perspectives on the state of the world at-large, including his insights into the #FreeCongo movement.

This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org

Access the transcript here.

Podcast Production Credits:

Interviewing: Raphael Rony Anthony, Manda Bwerevu, and Hannah Balikci
Editing: Nishita Karun
Production: Hannah Balikci

What factors hindered Tunisia's democratic transition after the Arab Spring? In this episode, we speak with Professor Daniel Brumberg, a Professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University and co-founder of its Democracy and Governance Master’s program. We discuss Tunisia’s political landscape and how polarization impacted its own democratic journey. We also discuss different theories of political transition, Middle Eastern development politics, and Dr. Brumberg’s perspectives on Iran.

This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org

Access the transcript here.

Podcast Production Credits:

Interviewing: Joshilyn Binkley and Hannah Balikci
Editing: Nishita Karun
Production: Hannah Balikci

What is the history of Kashmir’s path to self-determination? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Hafsa Kanjwal, an assistant professor of South Asian History at Lafayette College. We talk about Dr. Kanjwal’s new book Colonizing Kashmir: State-building Under Indian Occupation. The book interrogates how Kashmir was made "integral" to India through a study of the decade long rule of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the second Prime Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. We discuss the historical context of the conflict in Kashmir through the book’s chapters.

This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org

Access the transcript here.

Podcast Production Credits:

Interviewing: Nishita Karun and Julia Higgins
Editing: Nishita Karun
Production: Hannah Balikci

What kind of ethical concerns should researchers think about when deciding to take on a project? In this episode, we speak with Professor Austin Wright, an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at The University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and a faculty affiliate of the Pearson Institute and Empirical Studies of Conflict Project. We speak about his past and current research projects in Afghanistan, dual-use infrastructure, and broad U.S. policy interventions. We also talk about his work teaching as a professor, his advice for students, and how his life journey has influenced his understanding of conflict and ripple effects.

This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org

Access the transcript here.

Podcast Production Credits:

Interviewing: Jose Macias and Hannah Balikci
Editing: Nishita Karun
Production: Hannah Balikci

How do war and conflict give rise to gender-based violence? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Maliha Chishti, an assistant instructional professor at the Divinity School and an associate of The Pearson Institute. Her core research interests are international peacebuilding, security, and development, as well as gender and human rights in post-conflict contexts. We talk about gender-based violence in the context of war, Dr. Chishti’s work in passing Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, and the complexities of humanitarian aid implementation today.

This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org

Access the transcript here.

Podcast Production Credits:

Interviewing: Julia Higgins, Rabail Sofi, and Hannah Balikci
Editing: Nishita Karun
Production: Hannah Balikci