Intergalactic Relations cover art

Intergalactic Relations

Intergalactic Relations

By: Dr. Faiz Sheikh
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About this listen

Based on research seminars at the University of Sussex Department of International Relations, the Intergalactic Relations podcast analyses Star Trek: The Next Generation, applying insights from staff and students. The podcast is for Star Trek and International Relations novices alike, a relaxed and entertaining way to learn about world politics.

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The Department of International Relations is based in the School of Global Studies, a global hub at the heart of the University of Sussex. Our engaged research and critical pedagogy addresses the most pressing global issues of our times – global inequalities and global justice, climate and environmental change, war and peace, global health and finance crises, intolerance and discrimination. Our mission is to generate knowledge and understanding that can make a difference, for a fairer, safer, more sustainable and more inclusive world.

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Why Star Trek The Next Generation? This show is episodic in format so we can watch any episode, in any order, and it should make sense to everyone. It began to air in 1987 and wrapped up in 1994. It is utopian in its depiction of a post-scarcity, post-racial society, who now explore the stars. Humanity is living the liberal dream, it would seem. But then the wars in former Yugoslavia happen, the US botch a military intervention in Somalia, and in general the rosy picture of the end of the Cold War begins to be tarnished. This real-world funk seeps into the show by the latter seasons. In this podcast series we will note how the utopianism and optimism of earlier seasons give way to cynicism and tacit acknowledgement of the darker side of this TV liberalism.

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Episodes
  • S1 Episode 8: Terrorist cosplay - on self-determination and pre-emptive defence

    S1 Episode 8: Terrorist cosplay - on self-determination and pre-emptive defence
    Jul 8 2025

    In this episode firecracker Ensign Ro goes undercover to dismantle a terrorist cell, the Maquis. She comes to see the Maquis cause as just, and the rules and legality of the Federation as oppressive. The Maquis engage in 'pre-emptive defence', and lives are on the line.

    Join us for yet another prescient episode, discussing the ways in which liberalism justifies violence, and why people under its rule may abandon it. Many of the IR themes of this episode call back to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

    Hosts:

    Dr. Faiz Sheikh

    Dr. Sarah Bulmer

    Dr. Dan Watson

    Star Trek episode list for watching along:

    Podcast episode 1: The Measure of a Man, S2EP9

    Podcast episode 2: Q Who, S2EP16

    Podcast episode 3: The Drumhead, S4EP21

    Podcast episode 4: The Outcast, S5EP7

    Podcast episode 5: I, Borg, S5EP23

    Podcast episode 6: Force of Nature, S7EP9

    Podcast episode 7: Homeward, S7EP13

    Podcast episode 8: Preemptive Strike, S7EP24

    Podcast episode 9: Journey's End, S7EP20

    Music and effects:

    Space Fanfare - Cinematic Orchestral Music (Star Trek Inspired) by humanoide9000 -- https://freesound.org/s/744049/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

    RedAlert_Klaxon_STTOS_recreated.wav by zimbot -- https://freesound.org/s/178032/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

    Teleport Sound by Breviceps -- https://freesound.org/s/453390/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 4 mins
  • S1 Episode 7: Helping distant aliens - on humanitarian intervention

    S1 Episode 7: Helping distant aliens - on humanitarian intervention
    Feb 7 2025

    In this episode we meet Worf's cheeky foster brother as he compels our protagonists to help a population that they would otherwise leave to harm under a principle of non-interference. What obligation does an advanced, space faring people have towards those they encounter?

    Join us for a discussion of an eerily prescient episode, asking moral questions in 1994 that would soon be grappled with as the US and its allies intervened in Somalia, Kosovo, Iraq, and elsewhere.

    Hosts:

    Dr. Faiz Sheikh

    Dr. Sarah Bulmer

    Dr. Dan Watson

    Star Trek episode list for watching along:

    Podcast episode 1: The Measure of a Man, S2EP9

    Podcast episode 2: Q Who, S2EP16

    Podcast episode 3: The Drumhead, S4EP21

    Podcast episode 4: The Outcast, S5EP7

    Podcast episode 5: I, Borg, S5EP23

    Podcast episode 6: Force of Nature, S7EP9

    Podcast episode 7: Homeward, S7EP13

    Podcast episode 8: Preemptive Strike, S7EP24

    Podcast episode 9: Journey's End, S7EP20

    Music and effects:

    Space Fanfare - Cinematic Orchestral Music (Star Trek Inspired) by humanoide9000 -- https://freesound.org/s/744049/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

    RedAlert_Klaxon_STTOS_recreated.wav by zimbot -- https://freesound.org/s/178032/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

    Teleport Sound by Breviceps -- https://freesound.org/s/453390/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
  • S1 Episode 6: Just Stop Warp Travel - on environmental politics

    S1 Episode 6: Just Stop Warp Travel - on environmental politics
    Dec 13 2024

    Episode notes

    In this episode we explore a region of the galaxy where the fabric of space is being damaged by the very method of space travel used by The Enterprise. The scientists who have made this startling discovery have to resort to direct action to force a response from otherwise sluggish political actors. A climate change episode? You bet! Still relevant 34 years after it first aired? Depressingly, probably also yes.

    Join us for a discussion of International Relations, Star Trek, climate change and fossil fuels.

    Hosts:

    Dr. Faiz Sheikh

    Dr. Sarah Bulmer

    Dr. Dan Watson

    Star Trek episode list for watching along:

    Podcast episode 1: The Measure of a Man, S2EP9

    Podcast episode 2: Q Who, S2EP16

    Podcast episode 3: The Drumhead, S4EP21

    Podcast episode 4: The Outcast, S5EP7

    Podcast episode 5: I, Borg, S5EP23

    Podcast episode 6: Force of Nature, S7EP9

    Podcast episode 7: Homeward, S7EP13

    Podcast episode 8: Preemptive Strike, S7EP24

    Podcast episode 9: Journey's End, S7EP20

    Music and effects:

    Space Fanfare - Cinematic Orchestral Music (Star Trek Inspired) by humanoide9000 -- https://freesound.org/s/744049/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

    RedAlert_Klaxon_STTOS_recreated.wav by zimbot -- https://freesound.org/s/178032/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

    Teleport Sound by Breviceps -- https://freesound.org/s/453390/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
    Show More Show Less
    54 mins

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