82 episodes

Every month, Charlie Linney and Lewis Brooks speak to a diverse group of practitioners, experts, and commentators from around the world to discuss the impacts of security policy on contemporary conflict.

Join us to talk about the long-term implications of securitised interventions and policies, both for democratic controls over the use of force in Europe, the US and elsewhere and for the communities most impacted in places like the Middle East, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, South America and South-East Asia.

Warpod Saferworld

    • News

Every month, Charlie Linney and Lewis Brooks speak to a diverse group of practitioners, experts, and commentators from around the world to discuss the impacts of security policy on contemporary conflict.

Join us to talk about the long-term implications of securitised interventions and policies, both for democratic controls over the use of force in Europe, the US and elsewhere and for the communities most impacted in places like the Middle East, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, South America and South-East Asia.

    Ep#6 Somalia’s security sector after the African Union withdrawal

    Ep#6 Somalia’s security sector after the African Union withdrawal

    With the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) set to withdraw and the al-Shabaab insurgency still posing a very real threat, how can the Somali security sector address some of the challenges facing the region? 

    In this episode of Warpod, we speak with regional security analyst and Somalia security expert Samira Gaid alongside Saferworld’s Country Director for Somalia Ali Hersi. We discuss the security challenges that Somali citizens and civil society organisations face, we look at some of problems with the coordination between international actors that have been undermining peacebuilding efforts, and at the importance of investing in community reconciliation and dialogue to address security challenges in the long term. 

    • 35 min
    Ep#5 BONUS The impact of US and European elections on UK security policy

    Ep#5 BONUS The impact of US and European elections on UK security policy

    Our conversation with Olivia O’Sullivan and Christine Cheng was so interesting that it ended up being too long to fit into one episode. This shorter bonus episode focuses on how the next UK government might approach US and EU relationships. 



    If you haven’t listened to the full episode, you can do by clicking here or searching for Ep#5 How are UK political parties thinking about security policy? 



    Olivia O'Sullivan is the Director of the UK in the World Programme at Chatham House and contributor to their podcast, Independent Thinking. Christine Cheng is a senior lecturer in War Studies at King's College London. 



    Saferworld, as a registered charity, is not politically affiliated in any way and is both politically neutral and impartial. 



    Please note – the views, perspectives and opinions expressed in this podcast episode are those of the guests and do not necessarily represent the views of Saferworld as an organisation. 

    • 14 min
    Ep#5 How are UK political parties thinking about security policy?

    Ep#5 How are UK political parties thinking about security policy?

    The UK’s place in the world is changing, and so is the nature of the conflict around the world. With new risks and developing dynamics pulling policymakers and politicians in different directions, we spoke to great guests.  


    Olivia O'Sullivan is the Director of the UK in the World Programme at Chatham House and contributor to their podcast Independent Thinking.  


    Christine Cheng is senior lecturer in War Studies at King's College London. 



    Our discussion gives insight into how UK political parties approach security policy making and the various challenges they face. We cover the ways in which the UK’s major parties would respond to current conflicts and crises, the areas of consensus between their approaches, the difficulties in communicating foreign policy and security challenges to domestic populations, and the potential reorientation of the UK’s foreign policy under a prospective Labour government. We also spoke about the role of foreign policy and commentary on it in the upcoming UK election more broadly, and the need for inclusive and constructive debates on security challenges. 

    Saferworld, as a registered charity, is not politically affiliated in any way and is both politically neutral and impartial. 

    Please note – the views, perspectives and opinions expressed in this podcast episode are those of the guests and do not necessarily represent the views of Saferworld as an organisation. 

    • 41 min
    Ep#4 The future of peacekeeping

    Ep#4 The future of peacekeeping

    In this episode, we explore the future of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping and the role of the African Union (AU) in peace operations with three guests: 


    Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, the representative for California’s 51st District and a member of the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee, where she serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Africa;  


    David Haeri from the UN Department of Peace Operations, where he leads a division responsible for policy evaluation and training issues;  


    Dr Linda Darkwa, Senior Research Fellow at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy at the University of Ghana and the coordinator for the Training for Peace Programme, where she works with the AU Commission. 



    Our guests talk about the challenges involved in the protection of civilians, the importance of due diligence in safeguarding human rights, the threats posed by unconstitutional changes of government and geopolitical security, and the need for flexible ways of addressing emerging challenges. We also speak about the concept of peace enforcement, which the UN Secretary General formally introduced in the New Agenda for Peace, and which differs from traditional peacekeeping in that it involves the use of force against combatants to establish peace. Running throughout all these discussions is a recognition that trust, political consensus and effective coordination between the UN and the AU are central to ensuring the success of peace operations. 

    Please note – the views, perspectives and opinions expressed in this podcast episode are those of the guests and do not necessarily represent the views of Saferworld as an organisation.   

    • 42 min
    Ep#3 European arms production: the EU’s struggle to find a role

    Ep#3 European arms production: the EU’s struggle to find a role

    In this episode, we explore the role of the European Union in the research, development and joint production of arms and military equipment.  

     

    Unlike other industrial policy areas such as commercial trade, decisions around arms production and export have traditionally been held solely by individual EU member states – linked closely to their sovereignty and national defence ambitions. However, in recent years and especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, we have started to see this dynamic shift, with the ramping up of joint research and development projects and collective efforts to provide military equipment to Ukraine. With this shift accelerating, can the EU’s oversight and accountability mechanisms keep up?  

     

    To unpack this question, we speak to Hannah Neumann, a Member of the European Parliament who sits on the Security and Defence Committee and chairs the delegation for relations with the Arabian Peninsula, where the issue of arms exports is often debated.  

    • 38 min
    Ep#2 The shifting security alliances of Europe and Central Asia

    Ep#2 The shifting security alliances of Europe and Central Asia

    In this second part of our discussion with Lord Peter Ricketts and Nargis Kassenova, we take a deeper look at some of the security policy change we’ve seen in recent years, and at wider patterns of geopolitical competition and alliances. We also discuss how interventions by some major players in the region have created unreliable and inconsistent security partnerships, which in some cases has eroded trust and undermined their broader strategic aims. 

    Lord Peter Ricketts is a former British diplomat of 40 years who was the UK’s first National Security Adviser and who now chairs the European Affairs Committee in the House of Lords. Nargis Kassenova is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Programme on Central Asia at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. 

    If you’ve not listened to part one of this discussion, you can find it here.

    • 39 min

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