Podcast - Researching Peace
What is peace research? How can the study of armed conflicts help us to understand how and why conflicts occur, escalate and end? The Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University has been working on building the foundations for understanding these critical questions since 1971.
The first twelve episodes are produced in English, while the newer episodes are produced in Swedish.
This podcast is produced in collaboration between the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament and the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University.
#23 From submarines to statistics
This episode of the podcast is produced in Swedish.
It's time to end this season of Researching Peace and we do it together with Associate Professor Magnus Öberg.
In this episode we talk about why it's so important to have statistics on conflicts and how it's practically done, collecting facts about all the world's ongoing conflicts. We will also talk about how statistics can affect the work on disarmament of nuclear weapons at the Alva Myrdal Centre. In addition, we will find out why Magnus Öberg's colleagues think we should ask him about the submarines.
Researching Peace is a podcast from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament at Uppsala University.
#22 From nuclear weapons development to disarmament
In this episode of Researching Peace, we welcome Robert Kelley, a veteran nuclear engineer at the US Department of Energy's nuclear weapons complex at Los Alamos.
Kelley was involved in research and engineering operations before shifting to information analysis and disarmament in the 1980s. He worked for the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) where he led the nuclear inspections in Iraq in 1992 and again in 2001. Over the course of his career, he has traveled to more than 20 countries, including South Africa and Libya to inspect nuclear weapons programmes.
We are pleased to present this episode of Researching Peace in English.
Researching Peace is a podcast from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament at Uppsala University.
#21 From peace activist to Professor
This episode of the podcast is produced in Swedish.
Can research contribute to a more peaceful world? Today's guest - Professor Isak Svensson, who was already a peace activist as a teenager - thinks so. In this episode, he will teach us more about how negotiation research can change the world. We will also talk about how devastating the war in Ukraine is for future negotiations with countries that have nuclear weapons.
Researching Peace - a podcast from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament at Uppsala University.
#20 An eye on the world
This episode of the podcast is produced in Swedish.
Cecilia Wikström is not only one of Sweden's most senior EU parliamentarians - she is also chairman of the Alva Myrdal Centre's board. In this section, we look ahead and ask ourselves what the centre can actually achieve in the long term. And why was it Cecilia Wikström who was asked to lead the work? Also, how did she get hold of a lamp that Indira Gandhi gave as a gift to Alva Myrdal?
That and much more in our first episode of the season.
Researching Peace - a podcast from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament at Uppsala University.
#19 A nuclear detective
This episode of the podcast is produced in Swedish.
Who controls whether a country has nuclear weapons or not? Are there tools to find out the truth? It's time to sharpen your genius in Researching Peace.
In this section, we meet Sophie Grape, Associate Professor of Applied Nuclear Physics. She describes her job as a detective job.
Researching Peace - a podcast from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament at Uppsala University.
#18 The global struggle
This episode of the podcast is produced in Swedish.
In this episode, we meet Swedish Beatrice Fihn who leads the anti-nuclear movement ICAN, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize 2017. But what is it like to lead the global fight against nuclear weapons in the midst of a burning war, when the world suddenly faces a real nuclear threat? Is she herself worried about the future? And why is she so disappointed in the Swedish government?
Researching Peace - a podcast from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament at Uppsala University.
#17 A roadmap for the future
This episode of the podcast is produced in Swedish.
What will Sweden's relationship with Russia look like in the future? What needs to happen after the war to move forward? And what role can the Alva Myrdal Centre play?
In this episode of Researching Peace we meet Joakim Vaverka, a top diplomat with extensive experience from, among others, the UN Security Council. In addition, Joakim Vaverka sits on the board of the Alva Myrdal Centre.
Researching Peace - a podcast from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament at Uppsala University.
#16 In the eye of the storm
This episode of the podcast is produced in Swedish.
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the nuclear threat has escalated. Observers believe that the risk of nuclear weapons being used has increased. In this episode, we meet Swedish Radio's correspondent Lubna El-Shanti, who was born in Ukraine and who was there when the war broke out.
She is also one of the journalists who with her own eyes saw the horrors in Butja where civilians lay murdered on the streets. In this episode, we talk about what it is like to cover a war where the threat of nuclear weapons is present and what the people of Ukraine themselves think about the nuclear threat.
We will also find out the background to why Pink Floyd sings a Ukrainian folk song.
Researching Peace - a podcast from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament at Uppsala University.
#15 In case the worst should happen
This episode of the podcast is produced in Swedish.
Can Sweden build a preparedness for a nuclear attack? Or is the only way forward to work for disarmament? In this episode, you meet Vendela Englund Burnett, chair of the Swedish Physicians against Nuclear Weapons, who believes that Swedish healthcare would be powerless in the event of a nuclear attack. Vendela Englund Burnett is also one of the few people who visited the secret areas in Siberia where nuclear weapons are produced.
Researching Peace - a podcast from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament at Uppsala University.
#14 The year the world should remember
This episode of the podcast is produced in Swedish.
In 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The attacks devastated the cities and killed over 200,000 people. The war in Ukraine has once again focused on the nuclear issue.
But what has the world learnt from history? How close was it to nuclear weapons being fired off during the Cuba crisis? And what does sanctions really matter? In this section you will meet Peter Wallensteen, professor and pioneer in peace research. In addition, you will hear what it was like when Peter as a young student was invited to the same party as Alva Myrdal.
Researching Peace - a podcast from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament at Uppsala University.
#13 The most powerful weapon
This episode of the podcast is produced in Swedish.
For the first time since the cold war, the world is facing a real nuclear threat. How did we end up here and what role can the Alva Myrdal Centre play in disarmament? In the first episode of our second season, you will meet Erik Melander, professor and director of the newly started Alva Myrdal Centre.
Researching Peace - a podcast from the Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament at Uppsala University.
The first season of Researching Peace
The first season of Researching Peace was produced in English. You can find all the episodes here:
#12 Peace Research in the Global South
#10 Predicting Armed Conflicts
#12 Peace Research in the Global South
#10 Predicting Armed Conflicts