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Enemy Encounters

RTG Ambivalent Enmity

Know your enemy, love your enemy – enmity as the most extreme form of antagonism is often full of ambivalences. Entangling hatred and fear with respect and even admiration, the construction of the enemy is seldom as clear-cut as it seems. In this podcast, members of the research and training group “Ambivalent Enmity” at Heidelberg University and the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies will talk to selected guests to explore the ambivalences of enmity over time and space. Brace yourself for Enemy Encounters!

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12 episodes
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#12
November 2 · 45 min
Antigypsyism in Yugoslavia 1918-1945
To kick off the semester, we are joined by Paula Simon, a PhD candidate at the RTG 'Ambivalent Enmity', who presents some key insights from her project on anti-Roma racism in Yugoslavia from the interwar era to the Nazi occupation. During her discussion with Dr Fabian Baumann, Simon outlines the challenges of recovering Roma voices from the archives, while also tracing some of the ambivalences within racist discourse surrounding 'gypsies'. Why did Gypsylorists and gendarmes portray Roma as both 'primitive' and a well-organised threat? How did race and class feature in the negative stereotyping of Roma? How did their fate differ in wartime Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia? Tune in to find out.
#11
May 18 · 37 min
Turkish Islamists and “the West”
In this episode Dr. Uri Rosenberg grants us a sneak peek into his forthcoming book "If you can’t beat them, join them': Millî Görüş’s view of 'the West' from entering Turkish politics until reaching power." In his conversation with Dr. Fabian Baumann, Rosenberg traces the shifting attitudes of the Turkish nationalist and Islamist movement Millî Görüş vis-à-vis "the West." From castigating the West's supposed cultural degeneracy to admiring its industrial prowess and welcoming its protection under NATO, Millî Görüş's relation towards its professed enemy is full of ambivalences. How did Millî Görüş establish itself in the Turkish political scene? To what extent did it influence Erdoğan's AKP party? Did its ongoing entanglement with western political culture foster a gradual integration or a deepened animosity? Listen in!
#10
March 9 · 51 min
US Intervention in Venezuela
In our tenth episode, Professor Sebastian Harnisch, Principal Investigator at the RTG 'Ambivalent Enmities' and Professor of International Relations and Foreign Policy at the University of Heidelberg, discusses the exfiltration of Nicolás Maduro by US armed forces. During his conversation with Dr Barend Noordam, Prof Harnisch contextualises the US intervention in Venezuela within the broader scope of US foreign policy under Trump, analysing its significance in the context of geopolitical power struggles and competing national interests. How does Trumpian transactionalism shape US power projection? Does the intervention imply tacit acceptance of a division of the world into spheres of influence? What kind of political arrangement might emerge in Venezuela following Maduro's removal? Tune in to find out!
#9
January 22 · 38 min
Women in the Partition of India
In the first episode of 2026, we welcome Urvashi Butalia, a feminist writer, historian, and Mercator Fellow at the RTG 'Ambivalent Enmity' to discuss the oral history of the Partition of India in 1947 and its violent impact on women's lives. During her conversation with Dr Fabian Baumann, she delves into the genesis and key findings of her seminal work, The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India (1998). Starting from her own family history, Butalia uncovered memories of sexual violence, abduction, and expulsion that had been suppressed by societal stigma and nationalist narratives in both India and Pakistan. How did violence erupt between Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus in Punjab? And why did women come to symbolise national purity, making them targets of sexual violence at the hands of male nationalists? Did familial ties survive the separation of states? Listen in!
#8
Nov 18, 2025 · 32 min
The Judeo-Bolshevik Myth
In this episode, Professor Paul Hanebrink of Rutgers University unpacks the history of the Judeo-Bolshevik myth and its echoes in today's political discourse. In conversation with our very own Dr Fabian Baumann, he traces the myth's "fungal" proliferation across interwar Europe, sheds light on its evolving uses and invocations, and examines its Cold War legacy. What constitutes this 'racial theory of communism'? And why did the myth of Judeo-Bolshevism stimulate the imaginations of Central and Western Europeans so powerfully? Do we still see traces of it in contemporary politics? Tune in to find out!
#7
Oct 23, 2025 · 52 min
US Military Intelligence on China
In our latest episode, Dr. Sara Castro, instructor at the US National Space Security Institute, discloses the inner workings of US military intelligence. In her wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Barend Noordam, she discusses its emergence as a distinct field, her own career path from academia to intelligence and back, as well as her recent book "Mission to Mao: US Intelligence and the Chinese Communists in World War II" (Georgetown University Press, 2024). What are points of tension between the state and intelligence agencies? Did prolonged contact with Chinese communists test the loyalty of US intelligence officers? And how can historical knowledge be useful for spies in space? Listen in!
#6
Jul 7, 2025 · 19 min
Militarization of the Asia Pacific & Arctic
In our latest episode, Sou-Jie van Brunnersum, journalist and Mercator Fellow at the RTG 'Ambivalent Enmity', reports on her fieldwork and research in indigenous communities in Okinawa and Greenland. Though geographically far apart, both islands find themselves in zones of geopolitical friction. In her conversation with Dr Barend Noordam, Sou-Jie van Brunnersum discusses the militarisation of the Asia-Pacific region and the Arctic, and sheds light on the perspectives of local communities regarding the presence of the US military. What concerns do indigenous communities voice amid the intensified militarisation of their home regions? Do Greenlanders and Okinawans feel more or less safe in the presence of US soldiers? What ambivalences arise in daily interactions between locals and foreign troops? Tune in for answers!
#5
May 28, 2025 · 32 min
Russian-Ukrainian Relations
In our fifth episode Dr. Fabian Baumann, postdoctoral research associate at the RTG Ambivalent Enmity, shares insights from his book “Dynasty Divided: A Family History of Russian and Ukrainian Nationalism” (Cornell, 2023), in which he analyses the motives behind national identity formation within a family that included both Ukrainian and Russian nationalists. In his conversation with Prof. Tanja Penter, he traces the ambivalences and paradoxa of Russian-Ukrainian relations from the Tsarist Empire to the present day. What role does language play in the formation of a national consciousness? How did Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine affect notions of national belonging? How can the Russian state simultaneously deny the existence of a distinct Ukrainian nation and ferociously fight it? Listen in for more!
#4
Mar 26, 2025 · 31 min
Extremist Narratives
In this episode, Dr. Ana Yara Postigo Fuentes offers an insight into the EU-funded research project ARENAS (Analysis of and Responses to Extremist Narratives), which brings together scholars from various disciplines and civil society institutions. The project involves a cooperative examination of the ideological core, modes of dissemination and the impact on public discourse of extremist narratives. Answering the questions of Ambivalent Enmities doctoral candidate Laura Gärtner, Dr. Postigo Fuentes gives insight into the challenges and benefits of large interdisciplinary research projects. How can you reach an agreement on definitions? What are characteristics of extremist narratives? And how can we measure their impact? Listen in for more!
#3
Jan 29, 2025 · 46 min
Arab Perspectives on Israel
While enmity in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is all too familiar, attitudes towards Israel in the Arab world are more ambivalent than daily media coverage would suggest. In this episode, Prof. Johannes Becke interviews Tom Würdemann and Hussein Aboubakr Mansour about their work on Arab thought and politics. What perspectives on Jews and Zionism have Arab intellectuals developed over time? Is Arab anti-Judaism rooted in Islam? Can there be hope for a solution to the conflict? Listen in!
#2
Dec 4, 2024 · 37 min
Tamil Nationalism
In this episode, Dr. Lola Guyot shares her research findings on the Sri Lankan civil war and the particularities of enemisation in a diasporic context. What sparked the conflict between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government? How did the Tamil diaspora engage in the conflict? How can scholars undertake critical research in an antagonistic context? Tune in for answers.
#1
Nov 21, 2024 · 30 min
Ambivalent Enmity
In the first episode of Enemy Encounters, the speakers of “Ambivalent Enmity” give insight into the theories, methodologies and lived experiences that undergird the interdisciplinary research and training group. Why should we explore ambivalences of enmity? How have present wars shaped research? Which disciplinary perspectives best inform our understanding of enmity? Listen in for more.

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