Episodes
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Welcome to Season Five of Warrior Nation! This time we're talking to anti-militarist activists from around the world to learn their motivations, strategies and tactics. The last few years have shown us nothing if not that militarism is on the rise globally, making it more important than ever that voices critical of war and the military have a platform.
We speak to British-Palestinian poet and scientist Mohammed Ghalayini. Mohammed spent the first two months of Israel's assault on Gaza inside the besieged enclave. He told us about art and life in the diaspora, growing up in exile and his time spent in Palestine. We also discussed the threat of autonomous weapons, UK and US support for Israel, the deadly effects of war and militarism on the environment and why it's a mistake to think the Israeli occupation doesn't concern you.
More on Mohammed's story here.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
And follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
Sign-up to our newsletter for monthly updates and analysis.
Music by Esion Noise.Support the Show.
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Welcome to Season Five of Warrior Nation! This time we're talking to anti-militarist activists from around the world to learn their motivations, strategies and tactics. The last few years have shown us nothing if not that militarism is on the rise globally, making it more important than ever that voices critical of war and the military have a platform.
We spoke to Jungmin Choi from the South Korea-based anti-militarist campaign group World Without War about her work. Our conversation touched on gender, US military bases, how the stand-off with North Korea is used to support militarist arguments and the military industry, how to sustain yourself during difficult campaigns and the implications of neocolonialism.
You can read more about Jungmin's anti-militarist activism here.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
And follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
Sign-up to our newsletter for monthly updates and analysis.
Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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Episodes manquant?
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Welcome to Season Five of Warrior Nation! This time we're talking to anti-militarist activists from around the world to learn their motivations, strategies and tactics. The last few years have shown us nothing if not that militarism is on the rise globally, making it more important than ever that voices critical of war and the military have a platform.
Kathy Kelly is a renowned American peace activist, a founding members of Voices in the Wilderness, and, until the campaign closed in 2020, a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. As part of peace team work in several countries, she has traveled to Iraq twenty-six times, notably remaining in combat zones during the early days of both US–Iraq wars.
Her recent activism has focused on Afghanistan, Yemen, Gaza and US drone policy. She has been arrested more than sixty times, and written of her experiences among targets of US military bombardment and inmates of US prisons. She joined us in mid-March, ahead of the UN ceasefire vote.
You can read about her current anti-arms trade campaign Merchants of Death here and find out about supporting the Afghan Peace Volunteers here.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
And follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
Sign-up to our newsletter for monthly updates and analysis.
Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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Welcome to Season Five of Warrior Nation! This time we're talking to anti-militarist activists from around the world to learn their motivations, strategies and tactics. The last few years have shown us nothing if not that militarism is on the rise globally, making it more important than ever that voices critical of war and the military have a platform.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had multiple global impacts. From the rise in global food and oil prices to the increased threat of nuclear war, it's hard to find hope. But many thousands of Ukrainians, Russians and Belorussians have refused to engage in the fighting, fleeing to Europe to avoid the draft.
Marah Frech is a board member of Connection, a German anti-militarist group which supports deserters and resisters. We explore this new front of struggle which exists at the intersection of war, migration and asylum.
You can read about Connection here.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
And follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
Sign-up to our newsletter for monthly updates and analysis.
Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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Welcome to Season Five of Warrior Nation! This time we're talking to anti-militarist activists from around the world to learn their motivations, strategies and tactics. The last few years have shown us nothing if not that militarism is on the rise globally, making it more important than ever that voices critical of war and the military have a platform.
Israel is one of the profoundly militarised countries in the world, with terrifying impacts for occupied Palestinians, as well as Israelis. But how do you support war resisters in a nation which considers itself permanently at war? We spoke to Or, an activist and therapist who works with feminist, anti-militarist organisation New Profile. Topics include helping objectors, government repression and the cultural and therapeutic implications of war.
You can read about New Profile here.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
And follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
Sign-up to our newsletter for monthly updates and analysis.
Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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Welcome to Season Five of Warrior Nation! This time we're talking to anti-militarist activists from around the world to learn their motivations, strategies and tactics. The last few years have shown us nothing if not that militarism is on the rise globally, making it more important than ever that voices critical of war and the military have a platform.
First up, Demilitarise Education's co-founder Jinsella Kennaway. This dynamic group opposes the arms trade on university campuses and is one of the most exciting organisations to emerge in recent years.
You can read more about Demilitarise Education's work here and follow them on Twitter and Instagram.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
And follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
Sign-up to our newsletter for monthly updates and analysis.
Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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Warrior Nation returns with a series exploring the work of leading anti-militarist organisations from around the world. With wars raging in Gaza, Ukraine and beyond, platforming critical voices has never been more important. So we've sought out people and organisations who resist every day to ask them how they develop the strategies and tactics to challenge the powerful forces which drive militarism.
Follow ForcesWatch on Instagram (@forceswatch).Support the show
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Whether it is Brexit or historical allegations, the colonial legacy of Northern Ireland haunts British politics. With a controversial bill on the war having just been approved in Parliament, Forces Watch found three unique voices whose lives and work have been profoundly shaped by the so-called Troubles.
What does the war in Ireland share with the so-called War on Terror? Award-winning national security journalist Ian Cobain's extensive work on British post-9/11 human rights abuses led him to look more deeply at the war in Ireland. His most recent book, 'Anatomy of a Killing', seeks to understand the war in the North through the prism of a single deadly attack.
Ian joined us to discuss his journalism, the relationship between the two conflicts and the prospects for accountability and peace in Ireland.
You can follow Ian on Twitter here.
You can order Anatomy of a Killing, and Ian's other books, here.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
Or follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
Sign-up to our newsletter.
Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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Whether it is Brexit or historical allegations, the colonial legacy of Northern Ireland haunts British politics. With a controversial bill on the war having just been approved in Parliament, Forces Watch found three unique voices whose lives and work have been profoundly shaped by the so-called Troubles.
What is it like to be occupied by the British military? In episode two of our special mini-series on Britain's war in Ireland, we speak to Fiona Gallagher. A proud Derry woman, Fiona grew up in a Catholic family during the worst years of the so-called Troubles.
She told us about the growing up amid riots, house raids and checkpoints in an aggressively securitized city, the killing of her brother by a British soldier and her hopes for the future of her country.
You can hear more about Fiona in the BBC's Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
Or follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
Sign-up to our newsletter.
Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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Whether it is Brexit or historical allegations, the colonial legacy of Northern Ireland haunts British politics. With a controversial bill on the war having just been approved in Parliament, ForcesWatch found three unique voices whose lives and work have been profoundly shaped by the so-called Troubles.
In the first episode of this three part special series, we speak to former British soldier Lee Lavis. Lee served in Ireland as an infantryman and settled there after leaving the military. We discuss the prospects for peace and reunification, the class dynamics which sectarianism obscures, Lee’s work with former paramilitary prisoners and the dangers and inequities of the new Northern Ireland legacy bill.
You can read more about Lee's story and reconciliation work here.Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
Or follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
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Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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In our final episode of Series 4, we speak with Paul Rogers on the parallels and differences between the invasions of Iraq and Ukraine, and reflect on some of the key themes that have emerged across the past five months. Paul is Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies in the Department of Peace Studies and International Relations at Bradford University, and an Honorary Fellow at the Joint Service Command and Staff College.
You can read his rich body of work as openDemocracy’s international security correspondent by following this link. He is on Twitter via @ProfPRogers.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
Or follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
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You can discover Housmans Bookshop's amazing selection here: https://housmans.com/
Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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It cannot be denied that the police are becoming more militarised - not just in the United States but here in Britain. Yet this focus on hardware presents the cops and the military as separate entities. In reality, they are built from the same foundations.
In this episode we speak with academic and activist Chris Rossdale about the colonial history of the police, how the military is overwhelmingly used in policing roles and why we should see the two institutions as part of the same apparatus of oppression.
Part of the discussion centres around the chapter Chris wrote for the book Abolishing the Police. To get a copy, head over to the Dog Section press website now!
You can also read Chris' article on the Black Panther Party approach to militarism, co-authored with Nivi Manchanda, in the journal Security Dialogue.
And to learn more about Adam Elliot-Cooper's book Black Resistance to British Policing, check out this excellent review on Abolitionist Futures.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
Or follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
You can discover Housmans Bookshop's amazing selection here: https://housmans.com/
Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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Think-tanks are a key part of the political process in the UK - indeed globally - but do they actually promote democracy? Which ones have influence, how are they funded, and what role does legacy media have in amplifying their ideas.
In this episode we speak with Rethinking Security coordinator Richard Reeve and academic Kjølv Egeland, experts in the multifaceted world of defence and security think-tanks. They discuss how funding plays a key role in think-tank output, constraining critique and ensuring the most dominant ideas remain within the boundaries of the status quo.
You can read Kjølv's latest research into think-tanks here or catch up with Richard's work over at the Rethinking Security website.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
Or follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
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You can discover Housmans Bookshop's amazing selection here: https://housmans.com/
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As the impacts of the climate crisis escalate, there is a growing trend for securitised responses that foreground the role of militaries in tackling the fallout. But whose interests do these militaries serve and what role have they played in bringing about environmental catastrophe.
In this episode we speak with Nick Buxton, a communications specialist with 20 years experience in climate sustainability and international development, to pick his brain on the intersection between climate change, the military and security. Nick has produced an incredible body of work for the Amsterdam-based Transnational Institute, covering climate change, border securitisation, Big Tech and much more.
Follow this link to read Nick's Primer on Climate Security | Transnational Institute (tni.org). You can also follow him on Twitter via @nickbuxton.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
Or follow us on Instagram (@forceswatch) and Twitter (@ForcesWatch).
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You can discover Housmans Bookshop's amazing selection here: https://housmans.com/
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As the sentiment goes, there always seems to be money for warfare but never quite enough for welfare. So what's the picture in the UK - that tiny collection of islands with its towering defence expenditure. In this episode, we're joined by Matt Fawcett from the Global Campaign on Military Spending UK to discuss the dark economics of Britain's war machine.
Matt talks about the troubling gaps between what Britain spends on its military and what it spends on climate mitigation or carbon reduction targets. Not to mention international aid budgets. He also adds the GCOMS take on NATO spending commitments and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, arguing against the dominant Atlanticist notion that Putin's aggression is due to NATO underspending.
You can access all of GCOMS resources via their website.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
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You can discover Housmans Bookshop's amazing selection here: https://housmans.com/
Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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Foreign and military policy doesn’t cut through to voters, or so it is said. What matters to the public is bread and butter economic policy or GP surgery hours. Yet, is it really the case that people simply don’t care about, for example, Yemen? And if not, why not?
Is it the case that the main parties are so alike on these matters that there appears to be no space for debate? Much was made of Qatar's human rights record during the men's World Cup, but where was any critique of the RAF's role in training Qatari pilots? And what would it take to put the military industrial complex front and centre, where it arguably should be?
In this episode we speak with journalist Mark Curtis, founder and editor of Declassified UK, on the issue of reporting critically about British foreign policy and why think-tanks and the mainstream press help perpetuate a myth of Britain's role in the world.
To learn more about Mark's work head over to the Declassified website.
Support the show via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
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You can discover Housmans Bookshop's amazing selection here: https://housmans.com/
Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) is the preeminent anti-arms trade organisation in the UK. Their advocacy for a safer and fairer world extends into many realms, including Parliament – where defence firms wield unchecked influence over elected politicians.
In this episode we speak with Katie Fallon, CAAT’s Parliamentary Coordinator, to discuss the difficulties of working in spaces where militarism and war are seen as inevitabilities. Our discussion is wide-ranging: from the revolving door to the multi-faceted opportunities for lobbying in a broke political system.
You can keep up to date with CAAT's incredible work here.
Support us via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
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You can discover Housmans Bookshop's amazing selection here: https://housmans.com/
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When it comes to critiquing and analysing how Government works to support the military, the focus is always on politicians and the lobbying work that seeks to influence them. But what about the people in Whitehall who oil the political machine? Civil servants out-live the ministers, cabinets and governments they work for, and have more influence than we fully understand. If the overall culture within the civil service is pro-military, then it stands to reason that the mechanics of government will naturally support the armed forces.
In this episode we speak with Hannah Wright, a scholar who has looked in great detail at how militarism and militarist assumptions infuse and shape security and foreign policy. Hannah is an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London but also worked as an advisor for Saferworld, PAX and other peace-focused NGOs. Her PHD examined the civil service through the lenses of coloniality and feminism.
You can discover Hannah's work on the Queen Mary website.
Support us via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
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You can discover Housmans Bookshop's amazing selection here: https://housmans.com/
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From Deepcut to sexual abuse cases and war crimes, the UK military and MOD are no stranger to legal controversy. And when you read back through the reportage around this lamentable list one name recurs again and again, acting in opposition to power and in favour of fairness and human rights.
Emma Norton is Director and co-founder of the Centre for Military Justice, whose work we at Forces Watch greatly admire. She is also former head of the legal team at human rights organisation Liberty and lectures twice a year at the Defence Academy on human rights and the armed forces. Emma joins us to explain the glacial pace of service justice reform and what it’s like to challenge the power of the British military.
Trigger Warning: this episode includes discussion of sexual violence.
You can read more about the work of the Centre for Military Justice on their website and Twitter (@cmjhq).
Support us via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
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You can discover Housmans Bookshop's amazing selection here: https://housmans.com/
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Back in 2003, every national British newspaper bar the Guardian supported the invasion of Iraq - including The Guardian's sister paper, The Observer. Unfortunately, this was not an anomaly (dodgy dossiers or not). The sad truth is that it is very hard to find critical pieces on the UK's armed forces. And since the Edward Snowden leaks, Britain's intelligence establishment has worked assiduously to ensure that even The Guardian begins to tow the line.
You really can’t talk about British defence and security journalism without mentioning today’s guest. Richard Norton-Taylor covered defence and security for The Guardian newspaper for over 40 years, reporting on everything from the Cold War to the 'War on Terror'. Winner of a number of awards he was once described by a GCHQ officials as a thorn in the side of the intelligence establishment.
Support us via the Warrior Nation Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WarriorNation
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You can discover Housmans Bookshop's amazing selection here: https://housmans.com/
Music by Esion Noise.Support the show
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