Richardson Institute Richardson Institute

On this episode of SEPADPod Simon speaks with Louise Kettle, Assistant Professor in Politics and International Relations in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Nottingham. Louise is the author of Learning from the History of British Interventions in the Middle East (Edinburgh University Press, 2018) amongst other things. On this episode Simon and Louise talk about history, 9/11, marketing, Soho, learning processes, the Chilcot inquiry, studying with Aziz Alghashian, and much more!

On this episode of SEPADPod Simon speaks with Dr Inna Rudolph, a Research Fellow on the Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme at King's College London. Inna is a world leading expert on the hashd al shabi in Iraq and has done fascinating work on the topic. On this episode Simon and Inna talk about living in Yemen, meeting Ali Abdallah Saleh, working in Palestine, the hashd, tishreen and more. This is not to be missed!

On this episode of SEPADPod Simon speaks with Erwin van Veen, senior research fellow at Clingendael’s Conflict Research Unit (CRU). He is an experienced professional who delivers high quality and insightful strategic advice that helps mitigate violent conflict. His direct area of expertise are the relationships between political order, protest and violence in countries like Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Syria and Turkey. On this episode, Simon and Erwin talk about travelling in the region, balancing policy and academic interests, the interplay of ideational and material factors, violence, Erwin's new book and much more.

On this episode of SEPADPod Simon speaks with Professor Christopher Phillips of Queen Mary University about his fantastic new book Battleground: Ten Conflicts that Explain the New Middle East. The book, out on 27th February 2024 with Yale University Press, builds on Chris' earlier work and applies it to 10 'battlegrounds' across the Middle East and its neighbours in a provocative and timely analysis of conflict in the region. On this episode Simon and Chris speak about the book, its themes, the changing nature of the region and much more.

On this episode of SEPADPod Simon speaks with Shabnam Holliday, Associate Lecturer at the University of Plymouth. Shabnam is the author of a number of books and articles on Iran, global IR and the wider Middle East. On this episode Simon and Shabnam talk about living across the region, working in Gaza, the Islamic Republic, the current situation and much, much more.

On this episode of SEPADPod Simon speaks with Satgin Hamrah, PhD Candidate in History at Tufts University and editor of Contextualizing Sectarianism in the Middle East and South Asia: Identity, Competition and Conflict. On this episode, Simon and Satgin talk about rejecting the lived experiences of the 'ancient hatreds' narrative and the lessons taken from non-MENA cases