Edge Dweller Café Podcast: First Nations diplomacies and relational IR with James Blackwell
Channel: Edge Dwellers Café with Ben Habib
Date: 2022-03-10

Source: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-3wdv7-11c022f 

In this episode, Ben Habib is joined by James Blackwell, Research Fellow in Indigenous Diplomacy in the College of Asia and the Pacific at Australian National University in Canberra. A proud Wiradjuri man, James is one of Australia’s only practicing Aboriginal international relations academics, writing and speaking about global Indigenous movements, US electoral politics, and defence policy. Outside of international relations James is an Indigenous public policy researcher, specialising in Australian First Nations constitutional reform, higher education policy, and racial cultural competency in practice. He’s also a member of the Uluru Dialogue out at the University of New South Wales, supporting implementation of the Uluru Statement and a Voice to Parliament.



00:00:00  Introduction.
00:04:42  James' career path into International Relations.
00:08:59  Incorporating Indigenous scholarship into political science-public policy-international relations curricula.
00:13:03  First Nations perspectives are integral to teaching an International Relations curriculum.
00:17:04  The modern states system exported globally from Europe through colonialism.
00:20:05  First Nations diplomacies vs First Nations foreign policy.
00:23:24  DFAT Indigenous Diplomacy Agenda.
00:31:25  Dominant governance models and institutions misunderstand relationality of First Nations diplomacies.
00:34:21  Individual responsibility within the collective, as part of a web of relationship.
00:39:04  Being 'of' Country, not 'from' Country.
00:42:12  Uluru Statement from the Heart, the Uluru Dialogue, and constitutional enshrinement of a Voice to parliament.
00:45:10  Logic of the Voice-Treaty-Truth sequencing of the Uluru process.
00:52:25  The Voice as a sovereign representative body for First Nations under joint sovereignty with the Crown.
00:54:23  Uluru process of Voice-Treaty-Truth is developing a new, uniquely Australian governance model.
00:57:33  Where to find out more about the Uluru Dialogue.
00:58:46  Decolonising the university: Encouraging and discouraging signs.
01:04:12  Who is decolonisation of the university for?
01:08:13  Reflections on allyship.
01:13:06  How James prepares for TV and radio appearances.
01:18:05  Social media and #BlackfullaTwitter.
01:23:27  Indigenous language reclaimation and the Wiradjuri language course at Charles Sturt University.
01:30:18  James and Ben flesh out a 'zero fucks' analysis of AUKUS.
01:34:00  Disconnect between the Australian foreign policy and defence establishment and the public.
01:38:13  Democratic back-sliding of the United States.
01:42:19  Outtro.