Foreign Exchanges: the Podcast

This is the web version of Foreign Exchanges, but did you know you can get it delivered right to your inbox? Sign up today:Today I’m joined by reporter Joshua Kucera of Eurasianet, a great source for news and analysis on the Caucasus and Central Asia. As you may be aware, fighting broke out several days ago between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Josh gives us an update on that situation (current as of Tuesday evening, September 29, in the Caucasus) as well as some of the historical and political context to the Nagorno-Karabkh dispute and some perspective on the potential for this latest clash to escalate into a full-blown war or even a wider regional conflict.This map of the situation as it’s been frozen in place since the 1990s Nagorno-Karabakh War ended may be helpful:Source: Wikimedia CommonsYou may also appreciate this photo of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin pretending to like each other, which as you’ll see is relevant to the discussion:Source: Russian government via Wikimedia CommonsJosh’s latest, which attempts to suss out what Azerbaijan is trying to accomplish with this latest round of fighting, is now available at Eurasianet. You can also find him on Twitter: @joshuakucera. 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:FX’s regular analyst on all things related to the Sahel, Alex Thurston, joins me to discuss the August 18 coup in Mali, the ouster of former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, and what may be on the horizon for Mali and the rest of the region.Keïta voting in Mali’s 2018 presidential election (Voice of America via Wikimedia Commons)As always, Alex’s blog is a great resource for those interested in the political ups and downs of the Sahel region. He also mentioned a recent Jacobin piece by historian Gregory Mann that is available 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

This is the web version of Foreign Exchanges, but did you know you can get it delivered right to your inbox? Sign up today:I’m very pleased to be joined this week by Terje Østebø of the University of Florida to discuss the roots and nature of Ethiopia’s “ethnic federalist” system and the impact that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s political changes have had on it. If you’ve been following reports of violence in Ethiopia’s Oromo community or of the rise of nationalist movements among some of its smaller ethnic groups and felt like you would appreciate some deeper background into those stories, this is the interview for you.Abiy during last year’s Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi (Russian government via Wikimedia Commons)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. Major publications include Islam, Ethnicity, and Conflict in Ethiopia: The Bale Insurgency (1963-1970) (Cambridge University Press, 2020); “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). 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:The Ploughshares Fund’s John Carl Baker returns to the show to talk about the push to modernize the US nuclear arsenal, what that entails, and how much it will cost. We then assess the wreckage the Trump administration has made in terms of arms control and what that means for the future, depending on what happens in November.Then-US President Barack Obama signing the ratification of New START, February 2011 (Official White House Photo)Plugs:Check out the work Ploughshares and its partners are doing.Sign up for the Discontents newsletter.Check out what’s happening with OptOut and sign up for their newsletter.If you’ve somehow come here and aren’t signed up for Foreign Exchanges, please do that too. 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

I'm joined by Dr. Owen Miller, lecturer in Korean Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Building in part off of his recent piece for Jacobin, Owen helps me better understand the root causes of the Korean War, the factions involved, and the impact the conflict had on the Korean people.A US Navy Douglas AD-4 Skyraider preparing to launch from the USS Philippine Sea for a strike mission in Korea in October 1950 (US Navy photo via Wikimedia Commons) 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

I'm very pleased to be joined by Brendan James and Noah Kulwin, co-hosts of the fantastic podcast "Blowback," covering the Iraq War and the utterly surreal political and media environment that both enabled the war and was fundamentally shaped by it.Mission accomplished indeed (US Navy via Wikimedia Commons)Episodes are currently being released every Monday on your favorite podcast outlet, but you can hear the full 10 part series plus get access to bonus episodes right now at Stitcher Premium (sign up with the code "BLOWBACK" for a free one month preview). 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:Returning guest and scholar of the Sahel Alex Thurston joins me to discuss the recently reported death of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb leader Abdelmalek Droukdel. Serendipitously, this subject coincides with Alex's forthcoming (probably in September) book, Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel: Local Politics and Rebel Groups. He’s also written about Droukdel’s (probable) death at his blog. Twice, actually. We delve into the history of AQIM and the diminishing role it's played as the center of jihadist gravity has shifted from Algeria into the Sahel region. The piece Alex mentions toward the end of the interview on the regional crisis surrounding the Fulani, from anthropologist Modibo Ghaly Cissé, is available 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

This is the web version of Foreign Exchanges, but did you know you can get it delivered right to your inbox? Sign up today:Latin America scholar Thomas C. Field Jr. joins me to discuss the last six or so months in Bolivia, from the disputed October election to the ouster of President Evo Morales to the machinations of the post-coup government that replaced him. You can find Thomas on Twitter @thomascfield and you can find his books at lots of places, but Powell’s has them here and here. Apologies for a few glitchy moments but in my defense this time they were caused by Skype, not me personally. That’s progress, at least.I mentioned a couple of relevant interviews during the interview, one with southern Altiplano peasant workers leader Ramiro Huayta that you can find here and another with MAS presidential candidate Luis Acre that’s available 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

Returning guest Alex Thurston joins the show to discuss COVID-19 in the Sahel, how the region's militant groups have responded to the pandemic, and recent militant and military activity in Nigeria, Chad, Mali, and elsewhere. Be sure to check out Alex's Sahel Blog and follow him on Twitter: @sahelblog. 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

I'm joined by Andrew Fishman, reporter for The Intercept and managing editor for The Intercept Brasil, to discuss the ongoing soap opera that is Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's haggard response to the coronavirus, as well as the new drama surrounding the recent resignation of ex-Justice Minister Sergio Moro.It’s been a rough couple of weeks (Brazilian government via Wikimedia Commons)You can follow Andrew on Twitter @AndrewDFish. 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