Things That Go Boom

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.

With more than 50 elections set to take place around the world, 2024 will be a battle for democracy. It will also be a battle for peace. Because after doing things the same way for, pretty much ever, countries in Europe and Latin America have been experimenting with something called “feminist foreign policy,” and feeling the backlash. After all, there’s a lot in a word. But that word is really just the best way folks have come up with to describe this thing that some people think could begin to break up the boys club that dictates how we wage war, and peace. So, can it survive? That’s what we set out to find out on this season of Things That Go Boom.

Click Here is a podcast, hosted by Dina Temple-Raston, that tells true stories about the people making and breaking our digital world. Earlier this year, the FBI added Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev to their Most Wanted hacker list for his alleged role in a number of ransomware attacks against U.S. targets. In a rare interview shortly after the FBI announcement, he talked about being added to the list and what he plans to do as an encore.

What do swarms of autonomous drones, facial recognition, and nuclear test site monitoring have in common? They are all things we were still curious about as we wrapped up this internet and security season of Things That Go Boom. In this mailbag episode, experts weigh in to help answer some tough questions from you, our audience! GUESTS: Lauren Kahn, Senior Research Analyst at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology; Dr. Eleni Manis, Research Director at the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project; Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, Director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Hicks Discusses Replicator Initiative, US Department of Defense Ground Rules for the Age of AI Warfare, Foreign Affairs Madison Square Garden Uses Facial Recognition to Ban Its Owner’s Enemies, The New York Times Nuclear Test Sites Are Too Damn Busy, Arms Control Wonk The Reason We’re All Still Here, Dr. Jeffrey Lewis

On Sunday, the people of Poland cast their votes in an election that some have called a battle for the country’s soul. When we released this episode, we were still watching for the various parties to confirm the parliamentary coalitions that would lead to the final result. But experts tell us no matter who wins, one thing is likely to stay the same: Poland's hardline approach to refugees from its eastern border with Belarus. So today, we head to that border, where scientists are studying the impact of rising militarization and anti-refugee activity on the region. It's not always easy — because the Polish border guard isn't always keen to hand out the answers these scientists would love to add to their analysis. But Eliot Higgins, the founder of investigative website Bellingcat, says civilians have an edge these days when states won’t answer our questions. We have an unprecedented amount of information at our fingertips — and we're using it to challenge our governments around the world in all kinds of ways. A NOTE: We’re heartbroken by the sudden Hamas attack on Israelis and by the Israeli airstrikes and devastation in Gaza. Donate to Doctors Without Borders as it continues to offer impartial medical care to those most impacted by war. GUESTS: Katarzyna Nowak, University of Warsaw; Michał Żmihorski, Mammal Research Institute; Maciej Kisilowski, Central European University; Eliot Higgins, Bellingcat ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Threats to Conservation From National Security Interests, Katarzyna Nowak, Dinah Bear, Anwesha Dutta, Myles Traphagen, Michał Żmihorski, and Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Conservation Biology Recognizing Opposition Movements is Riskier Than It Seems, John Reid Wilcox, Inkstick Media Monitoring the Environmental Consequences of the War in Ukraine, Jon Letman, Inkstick Media Can National Reconciliation Defeat Populism? Maciej Kisilowski, Anna Wojciuk. Project Syndicate. Thanks to Sławomir Makaruk for additional field production.