Negotiating Ideas Podcast
Hello and welcome to Negotiating Ideas a Podcast about political thought on democracy, pluralism, state and peace in Afghanistan. I am your host, Omar Sadr.
I am a scholar in exile, forced to flee my homeland overnight due to the Taliban’s brutality. In this podcast, as in my research, I explore how totalitarianism threatens democracies and the ways in which societies reinstitute freedom, democracy, and pluralism.
Unlike the rise of illiberal authoritarian regimes in the West that have drawn considerable attention, the Taliban’s triumph in Afghanistan passed with deadly silence of the liberal public intellectuals both in the West and the rest. Little effort has been made to unpack the totalitarian nature of the Taliban. Instead, an overwhelming level of policy efforts has been devoted to the consolidation of the Taliban regime, despite their violent fundamentalism, horrific levels of human rights violations, and war crimes. Atrocities committed by the Taliban are also being continuously downplayed by systematic disinformation. The Taliban regime has found its allies not just among the ultra-right Islamist groups but also in governments that have supported and endorsed numerous Islamist groups in the Middle East and beyond.
At the times when democracy and liberalism are under persistent threat—not only from authoritarian states but also from disinformation, radical groups, militants, terrorists, and populism—it is important to create alternative spaces to better understand forms of authoritarianism and ways to defend free societies. Some may call these times an ‘age of anger, others may call it ‘being enveloped in kind of pessimism’. These terms are provocative but do nonetheless reflect a melancholic understanding of the current world. The pessimism is also because of the inability of the liberal to actively formulate and defend the values of a free society. Like some other places in the world, the liberal of the past 20 years in Afghanistan could not organize themselves in an efficient way and did not find a political home. There could be multiple reasons for this. Of them could be a lack of discussion and debate among the liberal themselves.
My goal in starting the Negotiating Ideas Podcast is to create a space for those who value pluralism, democracy, and liberty to find each other to develop solidarity and clarity. The podcast will invite academics, public intellectuals, and other thought leaders to discuss their ideas in the realm of political reform, constitutionalism, secularism, democracy, social movement, rights, and pluralism. Hosted every two weeks by me, Omar Sadr, the podcast will take the form of semi-structured, free-flowing conversations, which will create opportunities to dive deeper into the realm of ideas.
Join me in conversations with academics, public intellectuals, and a range of thought leaders, young and old, as we unpack these phenomena every two weeks. I also welcome ideas for potential topics and speakers and invite you to share your suggestions with me at negotiatingidea@gmail.com. I am very thankful to all for tuning in and look forward to our conversations.
At the end, I would like to thank Center for Governance and Markets (CGM) and Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Pittsburgh for their help in setting up this podcast.