Things That Go Boom PRX

As civilian casualties mount in Gaza and many more conflicts around the world kill and displace vulnerable people, we ask, "What can feminist foreign policy do about war crimes?"The international community doesn’t have a great track record of timely intervention to stop atrocities. But one-sided military intervention can also be a recipe for disaster. In this episode, we hear from activists in Rwanda and Afghanistan about how their work protects the vulnerable and what they wish international feminists would do differently. And we hear from an expert on international hierarchies about how feminist foreign policy fits into the long history of attempts to end genocide — and who intervention has historically served.GUESTS: Mary Balikungeri, Director and Founder of Rwanda Women’s Network; Dr. Toni Haastrup, Chair in Global Politics at the University of Manchester; Salma, activist with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of AfghanistanADDITIONAL RESOURCES:The Rwanda Women’s NetworkThe Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)Statement of Intent on Feminist Informed Policies Abroad and at Home, The African Feminist Collective on Feminist Informed PoliciesThe Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, UNBackground on the Responsibility to Protect, UNWomen Peace and Security Agenda (UN Resolution 1325), UNOn May 19, 2024 there was an attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the government there alleges that American citizens were involved in the plot. (DRC army says it stopped attempted coup involving US citizens, Reuters) The incident appears to be largely separate from the conflict on DRC’s eastern border that we discuss in this episode and the US has denied any involvement in the attempted coup. 

When news of a new disaster seems to roll in every day… it can feel like there’s little hope.

But what if we had… another option? Not just to reverse course on climate change, but to set the course for a better future.

Carol Cohn and Claire Duncanson think we do.

GUESTS: Carol Cohn, University of Massachusetts, Boston; Claire Duncanson, University of Edinburgh

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Sex and Death in the Rational World of Defense Intellectuals, Carol Cohn

Feminist Roadmap for Sustainable Peace and Planet

The Past, Present, and Future(s) of Feminist Foreign Policy, Columba Achilleos-Sarll, Jennifer Thomson, Toni Haastrup, Karoline Färber, Carol Cohn, Paul Kirby

When does something as deeply personal as abortion become a matter of foreign policy?

Maybe when it becomes a stand-in for national values and belief systems. Or maybe when it becomes a clever wedge to divide societies.

Today, Polish abortion activists are on the cusp of a huge change. After 30 years of some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, it looks like some liberalization could be on the way.

But it wasn’t easy to get here. And a new trove of documents suggests that Kremlin meddling may have been part of the reason why.

GUESTS: Rebecca Gomperts, abortion activist/medical doctor; Hanna Muehlenhoff, University of Amsterdam; Wiktoria Szymczak, abortion doula; Klementyna Suchanow, organizer, Polish Women’s Strike; Anna Gielewska, Editor in Chief of V Square

BACKGROUND: Lucy Hall, University of Amsterdam; Tom Meinderts, University of Amsterdam; Bethany Van Kampen Saravia, Ipas Partners for Reproductive Justice

A spokesperson for Poland’s Law and Justice party, which formerly led the country’s government, replied to our questions with a statement excerpted below:

“The Constitution of Poland defends the right to life and Poland's position concerning abortion is based on the Polish Constitution which was adopted in 1997. Polish law allows for abortion in cases where the pregnancy is a result of a criminal act or when the woman's life or health is in danger.

The Law and Justice government followed established procedures when employing staff and will not comment on individual appointments.”

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Anti-Abortion International Under the Tutelage of the Kremlin: We Are Disclosing the Emails of the Group in Which Ordo Iuris Operates, Klementyna Suchanow for Onet (Machine translation from Polish by Google at the link; we are not responsible for errors)

A Dying Baby, a Trump Tweet: Inside Network Setting Global Right-Wing Agenda, Sian Norris for Open Democracy

Conservatives AKA Russia: How a Polish Left Wing Activist Spins Conspiracy Theories, Zuzanna Dąbrowska for Do Rzeczy (republished by Ordo Iuris)

Tip of the Iceberg: Religious Extremist Funders against Human Rights for Sexuality & Reproductive Health in Europe, European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights

Mexico's gotten a lot of praise for its feminist foreign policy — despite ongoing femicide in the country. But Mexican women are doing more than just pointing out the hypocrisy. They're using these new foreign policy tools to fight back at home in the war against their own bodies.

On this episode, we travel to Mexico to talk with, and march alongside, some of the women fighting for change.

GUESTS: Daniela Garcia Philipson, Ph.D. Candidate, Monash University; Martha Delgado Peralta, Former Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Andrea Samaniego Sánchez, UNAM; Marcela, Activist; Lidia Florencio, Activist

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Internacional Feminista

Mexico’s Feminist Foreign Policy, Martha Delgado

Feminist Foreign Policy Index: A Qualitative Evaluation of Feminist Commitments, International Center for Research on Women

It took two years, after holdups from Turkey and Hungary, but Sweden has officially joined NATO. A move not everyone in Sweden is super psyched about.

But this country’s history isn’t quite so peaceful as it might seem.

So, can a peace-loving nation with a war-loving legacy keep the peace… when someone starts a war in its backyard?

And how does feminist foreign policy really play out when defense is center stage?

GUESTS:

Dr. Patrik Höglund, historian and maritime archaeologist; Dr. Brian Palmer, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor, Uppsala University; Dr. Annick Wibben, Professor of Gender, Peace & Security at the Swedish Defence University; Margot Wallström, former Foreign Minister of Sweden

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, New World Encyclopedia

The Vasa Museum

Vrak - Museum of Wrecks

Speech by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the Conference on Shaping Feminist Foreign Policy, Federal Foreign Office of Germany

Handbook on Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy, Government of Sweden

Sweden ends weapons deal with Saudi Arabia, Associated Press

This season on Things That Go Boom, we’re on a mission to figure out this new thing spreading like wildfire across the world: feminist foreign policy.

But to even begin to understand what it is and where it’s going, we had to start in the place where it failed.

We’re calling this season, “The F Word.” And on this episode and the next, we take a deep look at the chasm that caused Sweden’s feminist foreign policy to break in two.

And we ask: If this thing can’t succeed in Sweden, can it succeed at all?

GUESTS:

Dr. Brian Palmer, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor, Uppsala University; Dr. Elin Bjarnegård, Professor, Uppsala University; Margot Wallström, former Foreign Minister of Sweden

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Antigone's Diary becomes a mural when youth in the suburb of Husby tell about their lives, Stockholm University

Handbook on Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy, Government of Sweden

Sweden’s New Government Abandons Feminist Foreign Policy, Human Rights Watch

Jantelagen: Why Swedes won’t talk about wealth, BBC

Special thanks to all of our guests, including our anonymous panel participants and Dr. Brian Palmer who went above and beyond to help our team understand and connect with folks in and around Stockholm.