Womanhood & International Relations

Why are hope, kindness, and freedom essential to safeguarding humanity’s future? And how can arts and storytelling serve as powerful tools for social justice and interfaith understanding? In this conversation with journalist, activist and bestselling author Ruchira Gupta , we explore the transformative power of storytelling to bridge divides surrounding interfaith relationships, migration, and sys...

Are citizens evolving into fans or merely behaving like it?  Does the worship of political figures, celebrities, pop culture or sports idols reflecting a deeper cultural shift in how people engage with democracy and its values? How does the creation and following of idols, and the emotional investment they evoke, affecting the mental health of individuals and collectives? Is the fixation on seemin...

Are feminist foreign policy models from the Global South being constrained by unequal power dynamics? To what extent must they conform their design and implementation to norms or expectations set by Global North states in order to be recognized as legitimate? Why some ffps in Latin America are falling for the allure of the “branding” because of a secure hegemonic bet that discourages deep and mean...

What challenges and opportunities does AI presents for States and Peoples? How can the data from our online and offline lives be coded and used to support or threaten our livelihoods? What are feminist perspectives to the responsible uses of AI? What social phenomenons caused the heavy reliance on AI and what can we expect or prepare for in the future? A new interview conducted in the Spanish lang...

How the significant loss of caregivers, education and financial opportunities alongside the trauma related to  war, displacement and pre-existing health conditions has affected many young Sudanese women? In this interview with Wala Mohammed, co-director of Hopes & Actions Foundation and Sadia Kidwai, Advocacy Officer at ⁠Women’s Refugee Commission⁠ , we examined both the shared and distinct ex...

How Are Media, AI and Technologies Altering Human Relations and World Affairs Today? How has our increasing exposure, consumption and engagement with international news throughout the decades changed our perception of ourselves, our relations with others and the current and future state of the world?  Is the hyper-mediatization of Politics and International Relations, in this new era of global dig...

How do masculine understandings of power shape the public personas of male leaders? How do they cultivate masculine energy traits, repressing feminine energy expressions internally but seeking them externally in the forms of bodies, territories, nations or States?  How nuanced are the concepts of “strength” and “weakness” in human relations, particularly in leadership and decision-making within do...

Is nuclear deterrence an outdated policy? And if so, what’s holding us back from transitioning to a nuclear ban once and for all? What are the racial and gendered dimensions of nuclear weapons production and nuclear waste storage? How do these policies impact marginalized communities, both domestically and abroad? What role can youth action play in shifting nuclear politics and advocating for last...

How are modern cities creating hostile and exclusionary urban spaces? Who has the right to access and fully participate in cities? In this interview with Dr. Nourhan Bassam , feminist urbanist, architect, author and founder of The Gendered City , we explored how urban spaces reflect societal and gender norms, often reinforcing power imbalances and marginalizing individuals from diverse gender, rac...

How outdated are U.S. immigration laws? What are the long-term, intended and unintended consequences of Trump Administration new executive orders such as the repeal of the Ending Sensitive Zones Policy, the suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, the USAID Funding Freeze, and the reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule? Are anti-immigration discourses genuinely focused on 'protecting&#...

What are the long-term, intended and unintended consequences of the USAID funding freeze? How the suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, the reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule, and other executive orders from the new Trump Administration related to the US-Mexico border and the End of the Sensitive Zones Policy will impact the rights, safety, and lives of refugee women and girls in th...

What is the health impact of the work we do in International Relations and Humanitarian Settings? In this interview with Nicole Steward, MSW and author of the new book Radical Self-Care , we delved into how shock doctrines, global conflicts, media narratives, and disaster relief efforts impact not only everyday people but also those on the frontlines—doctors, crisis responders, soldiers, diplomats...

How do colonial, state, gender-based, and spiritual forms of violence impact the rights of Wayuu women in La Guajira? How do the governments of Venezuela and Colombia differ or align in their recognition and protection of the Wayuu indigenous population's rights and cosmovisions? An interview with Dayanna Palmar Uriana, Wayuu woman, lawyer, journalist and Non-Residential Fellow of the Violence...

How global capitalism intersects with inter-state relations? How are forces of private equity and transnational capital shaping the domestic and foreign policies that governments design to fulfill capital accumulation and geopolitical interests - often at the expense of human and environmental rights and dignity? An interview with Dr. William T. Armaline, Professor of Sociology and Human Rights at...

Are Feminist Foreign Policy models building a Global Project? Is it based on a universal “feminist idealism” or a “Western” view of “modernization” to end systemic unequal power and oppressions?  How is Mexico's FFP playing a part on this Global Hegemonic Project? What racial, care and (de)colonial power dynamics are influencing FFP’s models creation and implementation in the Latin America reg...

Will the world be less equal in 2030 than in 2015? How are international financial flows, government debt burdens, austerity measures and colonial legacies affecting the achievement or backsliding of Gender Equality laws, policies, social and cultural norms?   Is money the big "silent" player in the advancement of SDG5? If so, why? Is Gender Equality a goal that can *only* make sense through econo...

How are the wounded masculine and feminine shaping Domestic and Foreign Affairs? Listen to related episodes: 46. Hannah Ruth Dyson on The Deep Feminine 102. The Matrix Trilogy - What Can We Learn from It? 103. Patriarchy & The Triad of Men’s Violence 150. Healing our Inner/Outer Masculine and Feminine Imbalances 160. Jeff Hardy on The Care for Peace and the Second Human Evolution 165. Rachel W...

How do we measure an Individual, State or System has “too much” power? How are Individuals and Structures of Governance envisioning the acquisition, distribution and removal of Power(s)? If power exists in relation, are humans framing abundance of power through self and collective defeating or thriving modes?  Why is an abundance of violence in Politics and IR normalized while an abundance of nonv...

Do we relate to power from a perspective that “Others” have it? Do we look at power as something that is scarce? When do people stop believing, feeling or acting like they have any power? When do Individuals, States or Systems accept they are…power-less?  Are we scared of discovering or growing our own power for fear of being held accountable for it? Listen to related episodes: 166. Hypermasculini...

How the white female gaze gives meaning to relations and systems of power? Why was the Barbie movie so triggering to watch for many audiences worldwide? How it portrayed United States' white feminism advocacy issues, fears, struggles and the quest for liberation from perceived chains of oppression? What can we learn from the creation and destruction of gynocentric systems of meaning, including...

After producing +180 episodes and interviews for the podcast- on a wide range of topics from Feminist Theory in IR, FFPs, Conflict, Peace, Race, Gender, Climate Change and more-, for our 5th anniversary we launched a podcast data report on the trends and insights we have covered in the 3 levels of IR analysis.  From the Absence of Women to the Missing Men: Whose identities, norms and concepts are...

The Maya Train project began construction in 2020 in Mexico amidst several controversies over its social, gender and environmental impacts and the lack of information. How has the construction affected the biodiversity of the region and the lives of local and indigenous populations in the Yucatán Peninsula?  An interview with Marielle Camara, Mexican internationalist and public policy analyst from...

Are political campaigns becoming a "good business" to enter to? Or... stay in? A review and political commentary of the film Our Brand is Crisis (2015). Join us in this new exploration and register for the upcoming free podcast report launch on July 23rd. Free rsvp in English or Spanish languages: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeh8oJVizgS4QaXSVBQRyrK4iHSXtSkOwnt_g4kkyAJnb-A3Q/...

*In English and Spanish languages To mark the 5th year anniversary of our podcast, we want to invite our community of listeners to the launch of a new free report where we will connect the dots on the 180 exploratory and explanatory episodes and interviews we have recorded so far regarding gender perspectives, activism and feminist and constructivist theories applied to International Relations.  W...

Is it possible that world leaders today may be exhibiting, numbing or inflicting individual and/or collective pain in domestic or foreign policies? What is the connection between pain, power and transnational feminism? What causes the disconnection of seeing pain only as a personal experience instead of it being, also, a collective one? Have Individuals or States engaged in life-draining instead o...