Foreign Exchanges: the Podcast

We're marking the end of America's longest war with what may be the longest episode of this podcast to date, featuring not one but two interviews. I'm first joined by Mena Ayazi of Search for Common Ground and Kate Kizer of Win Without War (and Foreign Exchanges) to talk about Joe Biden's planned withdrawal from Afghanistan and how the United States could provide actual assistance to the Afghan people in lieu of endless war. Then I'm joined by Fatemeh Aman of the Middle East Institute to talk about the effect the withdrawal is likely to have in Afghanistan and throughout its geopolitical neighborhood. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

Today we’re very lucky to be joined by Annelle Sheline, Research Fellow for the Middle East at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and a non-resident fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Annelle’s research focuses on religious authority in the Middle East, particularly the intersection of religious and national identities in the Arab monarchies, and she’s done fieldwork in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.One of the countries in that list has been particularly newsworthy of late, and somewhat surprisingly it’s Jordan. Annelle is here to provide some context for the alleged coup attempt that Jordanian authorities claimed to have thwarted over the weekend, including an examination of the key question: has former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein really been plotting with unnamed foreign governments to overthrow his half-brother, King Abdullah II (shown above)? Suffice to say we’re both a bit skeptical. Annelle’s Responsible Statecraft piece on the coup and its potential to serve as a justification for a broad political crackdown is available here and you can find her on Twitter here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

Journalist Séamus Malekafzali joins me to try to get a head start on assessing the state of Iran’s June presidential election, a task that I acknowledge is a bit of a sucker’s game since the Guardian Council hasn’t started rejecting candidates yet. At this point the only thing we know for sure is that term-limited incumbent Hassan Rouhani won’t be sticking around.But along the way we discuss the current direction of Iranian politics, the increasing politicization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and check in with a couple of prominent presidential candidates from years past, including once and would-be future President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.Check out Séamus’s writing on Iranian politics and other stories about the Middle East at his Substack newsletter, and also check out his podcast, The Greatest Sin, here or at Spotify and Apple Podcasts.(The episode title refers to the current year on the Iranian calendar, if that wasn’t clear.) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

Returning champ and brand new FX contributor Alex Thurston, of the University of Cincinnati and Sahel Blog, joins me to discuss his first FX column and the similarities between America’s Forever War in Afghanistan and France’s Forever War in the Sahel. Alex also offers his perspective on Sunday’s presidential runoff in Niger and the unrest that has ensued, which diverges from what you’re likely to find in most Western media outlets. Enjoy!Check out Alex’s latest book, Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel, at Bookshop.org or wherever you buy books. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

Thanks for listening! If you’re interested in more coverage of international affairs and US foreign policy, check out Foreign Exchanges at Substack and sign up for our free email list today:This week I’m joined for the second time by the University of Florida’s Terje Østebø. The last time Terje was on the podcast we talked about Ethiopia’s “ethnic federalist” political system and the tensions between it and the agenda of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. As most of you are probably aware, those tensions have since escalated into a full-blown armed conflict between the Ethiopian military and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Terje returns to discuss the TPLF’s background, the roots of this conflict, and where things stand in the wake of reports that Ethiopian forces have captured the Tigray regional capital, Mekelle.Terje Østebø received his PhD in the History of Religion from Stockholm University, and is currently the chair of the Department of Religion and associate professor at the Center for African Studies and the Department of Religion, University of Florida. He is also the founding director of the UF Center for Global Islamic Studies. His research interests are Islam in contemporary Ethiopia, Islam, politics, and Islamic reformism in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, ethnicity and religion, as well as Salafism in Africa. He has lived in Ethiopia for 6 years, and has extensive field-research experience.Terje’s major publications include “African Salafism: Religious Purity and the Politicization of Purity” in Islamic Africa, 6, 1-2, 2015; Muslim Ethiopia: The Christian Legacy, Identity Politics, and Islamic Reformism (co-edited with Patrick Desplat), (Palgrave-Macmillan 2013); Localising Salafism: Religious Change among Oromo Muslims in Bale, Ethiopia (Brill 2012); Islamism in the Horn of Africa: Assessing Ideology, Actors, and Objectives, International Law and Policy Institute (2010). His latest book, Islam, Ethnicity, and Conflict in Ethiopia: The Bale Insurgency (1963-1970), is now available for purchase and seems particularly relevant at present. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

Thanks for listening! If you’re interested in more coverage of international affairs and US foreign policy, check out Foreign Exchanges at Substack and sign up for our free email list today:Returning champion Alexander Thurston rejoins the podcast to talk about his new book, Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel: Local Politics and Rebel Groups. He’s offering a different way to understand jihadist organizations that challenges the dominant narratives of the War on Terror, which flatten those organizations into global monoliths at the macro level and simplistically treat their recruits as brainwashed dupes at the micro level. Alex instead focuses on the regional and local factors that create and sustain jihadist groups, emphasizing their roles as political actors and their interactions with the societies around them.Check out the book at bookshop.org or wherever you shop for books, and you can also check out Alex’s Sahel Blog at WordPress. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

Thanks for listening! If you’re interested in more coverage of international affairs and US foreign policy, check out Foreign Exchanges at Substack and sign up for our free email list today:Thomas C. Field Jr. of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University joins me for the second time to update us on the situation in Bolivia. Luis Arce, nominee of Evo Morales’ Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, won a decisive victory in last month’s election, potentially capping a year that saw Morales ousted in a right-wing putsch that then made every effort to stop MAS from returning to power. We look back on what happened to Morales and the destructive legacy that the Jeanine Áñez-led junta has left in its wake, and look ahead to the challenges that face Arce, from a revanchist Bolivian far right, to an economy devastated by mismanagement and COVID-19, to a regional political environment (largely overseen by the Organization for American States) that is designed to undermine left-wing governments.Thomas is the author of From Development to Dictatorship: Bolivia and the Alliance for Progress in the Kennedy Era and co-editor of the recently published Latin America and the Global Cold War, both of which are available from Powell’s (here and here, respectively) and many other booksellers. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

This is the web version of Foreign Exchanges, but did you know you can get it delivered right to your inbox? Sign up today:This time around I’m joined by Stephen Wertheim, Deputy Director of Research and Policy at the Quincy Institute and a Research Scholar at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University. We’re discussing his brand new book, Tomorrow, the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy, which is, ironically enough, coming out tomorrow. In contrast to those who argue that America has always been overtly an imperial project and to those who argue that America reluctantly had empire thrust upon it in the 20th century, in the book Stephen argues that the American Empire stems from a conscious choice made by policymakers during World War II.You can buy Tomorrow, the World direct from the publisher or wherever you get your books, ebooks, and/or audiobooks. You can also get a preview of what’s in the book from Stephen’s latest piece for the New York Times.Or from, you know, this interview. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

Daniel Bessner, a University of Washington professor and Quincy Institute fellow, dives into the depths of U.S. foreign policy and its institutional frameworks. He critiques the enduring influence of realism and the 'blob' of established policymakers, arguing for reforms from a leftist perspective. The conversation also highlights the pivotal role of the National Security Council and the need for a non-militarized approach to global issues. Bessner emphasizes constructive U.S.-China relations and the necessity for diverse voices in academia and media to reshape policy views.

This is the web version of Foreign Exchanges, but did you know you can get it delivered right to your inbox? Sign up today:This week I’m joined by Jessica Moody, a PhD candidate at Kings College London whose work focuses on post-conflict Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire for you francophones out there). She’s here to discuss the tensions surrounding President Alassane Ouattara’s (somewhat abrupt) decision to seek a constitutionally-questionable third term in the forthcoming (October 31) election, and the context for those tensions going back to the 1990s), as well as her thoughts on what’s likely to happen next.Ouattara speaking at a 2017 US State Department event (State Department photo via Flickr)Jessica is on Twitter and is a great source for news and analysis on Ivory Coast and West Africa in general: @JessMoody89. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe