I have embarked upon a podcasting journey in order to generate some discussion on topics popular on this site and on twitter.
Hand of the future is a tongue and cheek reference to the recent comment by Boris Johnson in the great hall of Stormont. His entire speech seemed unprepared, uninformed and representative of a distant Westminster bubble.
Yet I thought it nicely summed up what I want this podcast to be about, achieving a future not blighted by a conflicted past and using Stormont as a vehicle for progress.
In episode one, I spoke to Seán Brennan. He is an academic who recently wrote a piece for Slugger entitled “citizen can.” He has practised and studied peacebuilding both within the academy and on the ground in north Belfast communities. He points to the “disconnect” between the theory and the practice of peacebuilding and post-conflict studies.
Sean uses a “post structural” methodology which he explains in the podcast. His work on north Belfast loyalist communities challenged the narrative of the troubles and he points to the early political agitations within the loyalist community (Irish suffragettes and trade unionism having their roots within Northern unionism).
We also discuss the effect of post-imperialism on western thought, the new-Marxist thinking and rejection of soviet communism by Foucault in 1960s and the climate emergency. To understand how all these come together under the thesis of “bio political peace building” please have a listen to episode one and let me know in comments or on twitter what you think!
Photo by StockSnap is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
Jay is a Derry native now living in south Antrim and working in Belfast. His writing spans Law, Economics and International relations.
*He writes in a strictly personal capacity*
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