Unsettling Extremism is a podcast by He Whenua Taurikura, Aotearoa's Independent Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism. In this podcast we will be having critical conversations with experts who look at extremism, hate, mis and disinformation, conspiracy theories as well as our social connectedness all through a uniquely Aotearoa lens. Each episode I'll interview a different expert who will discuss their research contextualise the present moment explain the impact of extremism and disinformation, and let us know what we all can do about it.
Unsettling Extremism is a podcast by He Whenua Taurikura, Aotearoa's Independent Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism. In this podcast we will be having critical conversations with experts who look at extremism, hate, mis and disinformation, conspiracy theories as well as our social connectedness all through a uniquely Aotearoa lens. Each episode I'll interview a different expert who will discuss their research contextualise the present moment explain the impact of extremism and disinformation, and let us know what we all can do about it.
In this episode of Unsettling Extremism I spoke with Dr. Mahdis Azarmandi, Senior Lecturer the School of Educational studies and Leadership at the University of Canterbury. Beyond her work in education, she also has expertise in Political science and Peace and Conflict Studies. We talked about the construction of the concept of peace, different forms of violence, and how terms like terrorism and extremism can be problematic.
If you would like to read some of Mahdis's work, some selected works are below:
Azarmandi, M. (2018). The racial silence within peace studies. Peace Review, 30(1), 69-77.
Azarmandi, M. (2021). Freedom from discrimination: on the coloniality of positive peace. In The Palgrave handbook of positive peace (pp. 611-621). Singapore: Springer Singapore.
Azarmandi, M. (2023). Disturbing a Discipline: Towards Pluriversal Peace and Conflict Studies. Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 1-15.
Aikman, P. J., & Azarmandi, M. (2023). Koro and the Statue: Disrupting Colonial Amnesia and White Settler Sovereignty in Aotearoa New Zealand. In The Palgrave Handbook on Rethinking Colonial Commemorations (pp. 33-51). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Here is a list of of some of the scholars/works Mahdis discussed in this episode:
Debbie Bargallie https://experts.griffith.edu.au/19242-debbie-bargallie/publications
Martin Luther King Jr. https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
Alana Lentin https://www.alanalentin.net/books/racism-book/
Nelson Maldonado -Torres https://caribbeanstudiesassociation.org/docs/Maldonado-Torres_Outline_Ten_Theses-10.23.16.pdf
Charles Mills https://books.google.co.nz/books/about/The_Racial_Contract.html?id=LPbBdyxGNhQC&redir_esc=y