The WarPod

In this episode of the WarPod, journalist Arthur Holland Michel discusses his new essay, "Autonomous Refusal in Lethal Weapons", with Oscar Noach. Arthur's essay explores the capacity of computational systems to decline commands - "refusal" - within the context of autonomous weapons and other artificial intelligence (AI)- enabled military systems. Read the essay here: https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/forskningsenheder/samf/cws/cws-activities/2026/autonomous-refusal-in-lethal-weapns The essay is published in collaboration with the European Research Council (ERC)-funded and CWS-hosted project “Weaponised Artificial Intelligence, Norms and Order”(AutoNorms). Cover photo by SrA Matt Porter, identified by DVIDS. The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay

In this episode, Oscar Noach sits down with Dr. Danita Burke, senior fellow at the CWS, to explore her research project entitled "Seals, Stigma, and Survival", funded by the Nordic Arctic Programme. Danita takes us deep into the complex history of anti-sealing activism, its cultural and economic impacts on Arctic and sub-Arctic communities, and the enduring legacies of environmental and animal rights movements. We discuss how organisations like Greenpeace, IFAW, and Sea Shepherd shaped public perceptions of seal hunting, the tensions between activism and indigenous rights, and why the EU’s current seal product regulations remain controversial. Danita also shares fascinating case studies, including Greenpeace’s apology to Inuit communities and its evolving role in the circumpolar North. Danita's book "Greenpeace in the Circumpolar North: Lessons Learned from the Anti-Sealing Era" was published by Routledge in 2025. Correction note for 37:19 - the EU public consultation on its sealing regulations occured in 2024, not 2014. Illustration: Galyna Andrushko via Colourbox.com. Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay.

In this episode of the WarPod, Anne Ingemann Johansen, assistant professor at the University of Southern Denmark and fellow at the Center for War Studies, discusses with host Oscar Noach how NATO and the EU are grappling with the growing threat of militarized drones and the complexities of grey zone warfare. From the promise of a European “drone shield” to the political, technological, and strategic hurdles ahead, we unpack why Europe is still playing catch-up. Illustration: Juan Pablo Gonzalez Muñoz on Colourbox.com Music: Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay

In this episode of the WarPod, Professor of International Politics and CWS Director Ingvild Bode expands on what we know about the drones spotted over Danish military installations, recent trends in drone technology, the integration of AI, and the continuing issue of governance gaps in these areas. Picture: Elise Racine / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay

In this episode of the WarPod, André Ken Jakobsson discusses recent events in Denmark and other European states that have been seen as part of an escalation of hybrid threats against Europe. The discussion centers around drone incursions over major Danish airports and military installations, the concept and tactics of hybrid warfare, and how to respond to those. André Ken Jakobsson is Associate Professor at the University of Southern Denmark and Fellow at the Center for War Studies. He is also the head of the professional Master in Intelligence and Cyber Security at the University of Southern Denmark and the Danish Defence Academy. Oscar Noach is a PhD Candidate at the University of Southern Denmark and a Fellow at the Center for War Studies. Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay Photo Credit: #294349, ColourBox.com

In this episode, Anna Vlasiuk Nibe, Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science and Fellow at the Center for War Studies, unpacks the EU’s evolving role as a geoeconomic actor. Anna shares insights from her research on how the EU is reshaping its investment policy regime in response to global power shifts and rising security concerns. Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay Photo credit: Roman Malanchuk, Colourbox.com

Can thinking about Ukraine as an attempted buffer state since the Cold War nuance how we understand the domestic roots of Russia’s war? In this episode, our colleague at the Center for War Studies Anne Ingemann Johansen: • Shares new research on Ukraine’s post-independence history, based in part on newly uncovered material • Explains how difficult internal Ukrainian politics and institutional weakness transformed a difficult balancing act as a buffer State into an explosive geopolitical arrangement. • Argues that buffer states aren’t just passive zones — they actively shape great power competition This episode draws on Anne’s work in the DFF-funded project Mind the Gap: Security Scholarship between Academia and Policy, 1978–2024. Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay Photo: Colourbox

The WarPod speaks with Anna Nadibaidze (Postdoc at the Center for War Studies) about Responsible AI in the military domain. Anna explains the concept of Responsible AI, highlights critiques, and looks to the future of AI regulation in the military domain as well as her own research. This episode is based on ongoing postdoctoral work that Anna is undertaking as part of HuMach, a project which investigates the distributed agency of human and machines in military applications of AI. The project is funded by The Independent Research Fund Denmark and hosted by the University of Southern Denmark and CWS. Photo credit: Hanna Barakat & Archival Images of AI + AIxDESIGN / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay

The WarPod speaks to Chiara De Franco (Associate Professor at the CWS and Principal Investigator of the PROTEX project), Qiaochu Zhang (Postdoctoral Researcher at the CWS), and Oscar Noach (PhD Fellow at the CWS) about the future of human protection in international relations. This episode is based on discussions held at the conference "The Future of Human Protection" held in Copenhagen in January 2025. The episode also features recorded remarks by three of the conference speakers: Carina Lamont (Swedish Defence University), Rikke Ishøy (Danish Red Cross) and Alexander Borum (EUISS). Photo credit: Getty Images Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay

The Center for War Studies (CWS)' experts Niels Bjerre-Poulsen, Qiaochu Zhang, Frederik Harhoff, André Ken Jakobsson and Anne Ingemann Johansen discuss the implications of Donald Trump's second presidency for US foreign and security policy. This WarPod episode was recorded during the CWS post-US election roundtable held on 18 November 2024. Photo by Chris Hardy on Unsplash Music by Dvir Silver from Pixabay

Dr. Ingvild Bode, Associate Professor at the Center for War Studies and Principal Investigator of the AutoNorms project, speaks to Denise Garcia, Professor at Northeastern University in Boston. Prof. Garcia delivered the 2022 CWS Annual Lecture, where she presented her forthcoming book "Common Good Governance in the Age of Military Artificial Intelligence"(Oxford University Press). The book examines the complexities entailed in establishing a global framework to govern the military use of AI by proposing inclusive and humane ways to forge cooperation. In this WarPod Prof. Garcia discusses what inspired her to write this book as well as why she chose this particular approach towards the study of patterns and trends in the militarization of AI.

The Center for War Studies’ Ingvild Bode speaks to Dr. Katherine Chandler, Assistant Professor of Culture and Politics at Georgetown University, about her report “Does Military AI Have Gender?” published by UNIDIR. Dr. Chandler’s research examines the intersection between technology, media and socio-politics. In this WarPod she talks about the gender dimension of studying military applications of artificial intelligence and the representations of technologies in popular culture. Picture: Alina Constantin / Better Images of AI / Handmade A.I / CC-BY 4.0

The WarPod talks to Anna Nadibaidze, Vincent Keating, Pål Røren and Guyangyu Qiao-Franco to shed a light on the various consequences that the Russian invasion has had for Russia. Both internally and what consequences it has had for the Russian people, but also how the invasion has affected Russia’s international relations, including Russia’s relationship with China.

The WarPod talks to Christoph O. Meyer, Chiara De Franco, and Florian Otto about their book "Warning about War: Conflict, Persuasion and Foreign Policy" published with Cambridge University press. The book won this year's best book award from the International Studies Association, and has now been released as paperback. What does it take for warnings about violent conflict and war to be listened to, believed and acted upon? Why are warnings from some sources noticed and largely accepted, while others are ignored or disbelieved? Listen in to get an insight into how the book addresses these questions and to hear more about its three authors. Once it is in stock, our listeners will be able to purchase the book at a discount at www.cambridge.org/9781108713931 - enter code POL3021 at the checkout for a 20 percent discount (valid until July 2022).

The WarPod talks to Jeppe Teglskov Jacobsen about the puzzling public use of cyber weapons against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The effectiveness of cyber weapons depends on enemies being unaware of them. Why then, did the US military make their attacks available to the public?

The WarPod talks to Danita Catherine Burke about perceptions of sovereignty in the disputed Arctic region. Though no one officially owns the arctic (and its waterways), Danita discusses how Canadians have developed a strong narrative of ownership of the Arctic validated by folk lore and the drawing of territorial lines on maps. The importance of such narratives is likely to increase as climate change alters the geography of the region.

The WarPod talks to Vincent Keating about the fact that Russia, not only has a lotof guns, tanks, and nuclear bombs, it also generates a lot of admiration around the world; it has soft power. In contrast to the common held belief, Vincent suggests that the soft power of Russia is awesome and has actually aided Russia in achieving its foreign policy goals in the last couple of decades.