The Un-Diplomatic Podcast

Carla Freeman, China watcher from US Institute of Peace, discusses China's relational thinking about world politics and its impact on the global South. They explore China's Global Security Initiative and its role in exporting policing functions and surveillance systems. The podcast covers topics such as the treatment of Uyghurs, the appeal of China's framework to post-colonial states, and the collaboration between the developing world and great powers on issues like climate policy and debt restructuring.

Opposition parties carried the day in Thailand's recent multiparty elections on May 14. The Move Forward Party, led by Pita Limjaroenrat, and Phue Thai party of Thaksin Shinawatra's family, won a sizeable majority, with the military's coalition parties losing resoundly. What does the recent election mean for the country's path forward? Will the military's election commission let the opposition form a government, or will it stage another coup like in 2014? Has Thai society finally moved on from the Yellow Shirt-Red Shirt divide that paralyzed the country's politics for the past two decades? Hunter Marston sits down with ANU professor Greg Raymond and University of Sydney professor Aim Sinpeng to discuss Thailand's democratic crossroads.Support the pod by subscribing to our newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com

Van speaks with Gaiutra Bahadur about growing up around anti-Indian racism in New Jersey, the problems with the 'model minority' myth, the rise of dark populism, the impact of divide and rule tactics in decolonization, and the connection between reading, empathy, and resistance to tyranny.

The award-winning, New York Times best-selling author, Nick Turse, has done some deep investigations at the intersection of Southeast Asia; the intellectual bankruptcy of US geopoliticking; and Henry Kissinger’s direct role in the slaughter of 150,000 civilians in Cambodia.  A wild story and some great journalism. Van Jackson sat down with Nick to talk about it all. They also swap anecdotes about their personal run-ins with Kissinger. A must-listen.Nick’s story in The Intercept: https://theintercept.com/2023/05/23/kissinger-phone-call-transcripts/Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com

In this episode, Daniel Bessner explores Francis Fukuyama's 'The End of History and the Last Man', discussing neo-conservatism, liberalism, and the shift from Cold War liberalism to national security liberalism. They also delve into Fukuyama's relationship with the Rand Corporation, limited opportunities in foreign policy, and the problematic side of progressivism. The potential of socialism as the end of history is also examined.

How does the narrative of a Blue Pacific complicate strategic narratives about the "Indo-Pacific?" How do the nations of the Pacific Islands region think about security? What role does the Pacific Islands Forum play in regional security? Why do most Pacific states try so hard to avoid "choosing" between the United States and China? And what would Pacific governments do if Guam determined it wanted to be its own independent nation? Van Jackson sits down with Sandra Tarte (University of the South Pacific) to discuss all that and more."Bringing the Blue Pacific and Indo-Pacific Narratives Together: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/bringing-blue-pacific-indo-pacific-narratives-togetherSubscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com

From a freelance journalist in Southeast Asia to becoming a “foreign policy person,” and how to publish your first book. Can authoritarian countries practice meritocracy? How can we make sense of good governance and public trust in authoritarian governments like Vietnam when support for western democracies seems to be at an all-time low? How China’s rise has challenged democracy’s global appeal, and what does it mean if the United States reverts to MAGA autocracy? Hunter Marston speaks to Charles Dunst about his new book, Defeating the Dictators: How Democracy Can Prevail in the Age of the Strongman.Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.comDefeating the Dictators: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/charles-dunst/defeating-the-dictators/9781399704434/Honorable mention to Ali Wyne's book: https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Great-Power-Opportunity-Revitalizing-Competition/dp/1509545549

Why is it that we're spending more money and resources than ever on this thing we call “national security,” and yet not only does the world feel perpetually insecure; it feels like insecurity is getting worse for most of us? That's what the new organization Security in Context sets out to address. Van Jackson is part of bridging the gap between policy and critical scholars, and will be co-directing Security in Context's project on Multipolarity, Great-Power Competition, and the Global South. This is his short interview with their podcast host, Anita Fuentes, talking about his background, how his view of security evolved, and why he's part of Security in Context.Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.comSecurity in Context site: https://www.securityincontext.comSecurity in Context video interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNpHI4kD_qM

What is multipolarity?  Is the unipolar moment totally over? What is a great power?How do nukes fit into these questions? And how do the left, the right, and the restrainers metabolise these questions? Dr. Benjamin Zala and Dr. Van Jackson talk about all this and more in Part II of their conversation.Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.comThird Nuclear Age article by Andrew Futter and Ben Zala: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-journal-of-international-security/article/strategic-nonnuclear-weapons-and-the-onset-of-a-third-nuclear-age/91EEB3B77D348252815F9F7B59DB8A32Thinking clearly about China's nuclear expansion: https://www.duckofminerva.com/2021/11/whos-afraid-of-chinas-nukes.htmlThe limits of strategy under multipolarity: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/p/what-happens-when-you-do-primacyThird Nuclear Age project site: https://thethirdnuclearage.comBen Zala's book, National Perspectives on a Multipolar Order: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526159373/

What is the nuclear revolution and why can't we agree on it? What is the Third Nuclear Age, why is it problematic as a concept, and what special dangers or opportunities might it hold? How important is multipolarity, and what counts as a pole? What counts as "emerging technologies" and how do they affect the risks of nuclear war? Is arms control possible in advanced conventional (non-nuclear) weaponry? And why is China expanding its nuclear arsenal? Dr. Benjamin Zala and Dr. Van Jackson talk about all this and more in the first of two episodes on the topic.Third Nuclear Age article by Andrew Futter and Ben Zala: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-journal-of-international-security/article/strategic-nonnuclear-weapons-and-the-onset-of-a-third-nuclear-age/91EEB3B77D348252815F9F7B59DB8A32Thinking clearly about China's nuclear expansion: https://www.duckofminerva.com/2021/11/whos-afraid-of-chinas-nukes.htmlThe limits of strategy under multipolarity: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/p/what-happens-when-you-do-primacyThird Nuclear Age project site: https://thethirdnuclearage.comBen Zala's book, National Perspectives on a Multipolar Order: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526159373/Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com