Disorder

Investigative journalist Tom Burgis discusses the link between corruption in Kazakhstan and donations to the Tory party, revealing how money influences elite access in the UK. They explore potential solutions to combat illegal money flows and prevent illicit gains from shaping campaign donations.

Award-winning investigative journalist Tom Burgis joins the host to dissect how corruption and kleptocracy thrive in today's global disorder. They delve into the role of London and Washington laws in enabling illicit behavior, explore the risks of transnational corruption, and discuss the central nature of corruption in shaping politics and security. The conversation uncovers the systemic impact of dirty dealings and the offshoring of illicit gains, shedding light on the depths of corruption within the global economy.

At the end of the 20th century many world governments sought to lower birth rates – e.g. China’s One Child Policy – but now in 2024… most major world governments are focussed on bringing fertility rates up. In fact, nearly all of the developed world is facing a declining and aging population. Hence, for the first time in human history a majority of the globe’s population now lives under governments with a stated intent to influence childbearing.  So why do so many governments seem obsessed with national fertility rates? Should they be in the business of encouraging more people to have children – and if yes, what kind of incentives do or don’t work? Are their coherent international regulations governing adoption and surrogacy and if not, why not? Is the domain of demography another realm of coordination failures and enduring disorder?  To start this week’s episode, Jason Pack and Alex Hall Hall discuss the overall demographic state of our planet and why there can be so much traffic at the Holland Tunnel even amidst failing fertility rates. Alex talks about her own IVF journey and the thought process that led to the eventual adoption of her kids and she discusses why governments need holistic approaches to fertility rather than the mere use of cash incentives. Jason rails about the glaring need for global governance to provide universally acknowledged rules concerning adoption, surrogacy, and to deter the use of those pesky chemicals in plastics that reduce men’s sperm counts.  To close the show, Alex and Jason take some listener questions. They cover: 1) Could Russia implode when Putin loses in Ukraine? 2) Should Britain finally create a written constitution? 3) Are voices that point out western hypocrisy without proposing solutions actually spreading disorder? And 4) All things considered (meaning holidays, NHS, and public transport) is one better compensated in the UK or US for the same work?  Twitter: @DisorderShow  Subscribe to our Substack: https://natoandtheged.substack.com/   Website: https://natoandtheglobalenduringdisorder.com/   Producer: George McDonagh Exec Producer: Neil Fearn  Show Notes Links Listen to Birthrates Are Plummeting Worldwide. Why? https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id1548604447?i=1000649683423   Hear Are we living through an infertility epidemic? https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-bunker/id1496246490?i=1000650753528   Listen to The Guardian’s The chilling policy to cut Greenland’s high birth rate https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/today-in-focus/id1440133626?i=1000652922783   Check out Who screwed millennials: a generation left behind – Full Story podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/today-in-focus/id1440133626?i=1000650954693   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guest Jane Kinninmont discusses the UK general election, foreign policy, and election timing with a focus on competence over worldviews. They delve into the disordering role of anti-system players like Corbyn and the mystical grand unified theory of how global elections impact US elections.

The sun is shining, the flowers are in bloom, there is a dense fog over the Iranian-Azeri border, what time does that make it? Russo-Ukrainian Summer Offensive Time!   This episode starts with a short emergency-cast about the crash of the Iranian President’s helicopter due to fog. Jason briefly investigates if the death of this ‘disorderer-in-chief’ is likely to bring any more order to the Middle East region, before rejoining our regularly scheduled programming about Ukraine.  Over the last two weeks, Russia has been gaining territory in Ukraine’s northeast, while the shelling of Kharkiv has progressively increased. This does not come as a surprise. The Ukrainians have been on the back foot militarily since their 2023 Summer offensive stalled.  What is the strategic logic of Russia’s recent advance? Jason is joined by acclaimed military historian Saul David. He co-hosts our sister podcast within the Goalhanger network, Battleground. Saul and Jason debate the strategic logic behind Russia’s recent moves – proposing three alternative theses for Russia’s actions: 1) Putin is trying to create a buffer zone in northeastern Ukraine; 2) the current offensive is a faint to draw Ukrainian troops to the north prior to a Russian attack in Donbass; 3) Russia is trying to turn Kharkiv into Mariupol, Grozny, or Aleppo, that is to say to aerially decimate the city and inflict tremendous humanitarian suffering on its populace without any hope of actually conquering it.    After sketching a broad-brush stroke picture of the tactical and strategic situation on the ground, Saul and Jason discuss how new shipments of Western armaments will affect the current fighting; recent Russian attempts to assassinate President Zelensky; if the murder of Navalny has changed battlefield dynamics at all; the role of China and the ongoing Gaza war upon the fighting in Ukraine; and what are the relevant historical parallels to the current fighting and what lessons they hold for orderers.  Twitter: @DisorderShow  Subscribe to our Substack: https://natoandtheged.substack.com/   Website: https://natoandtheglobalenduringdisorder.com/   Producer: George McDonagh Exec Producer: Neil Fearn  Show Notes Links  For a quick overview of Iranian President Raisi’s death and what happens next: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/20/world/europe/raisi-iran-instability.html   Listen to Goalhanger’s excellent Battleground Pod here: https://www.goalhangerpodcasts.com/battleground   Get Saul’s Sunday Times bestselling book, Sky Warriors: British Airborne Forces in the Second World War, here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sky-Warriors-British-Airborne-Forces/dp/0008522162  Learn more about what is going on: Is the Russian offensive a faint? Read more here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/05/16/russias-victory-day-campaign-just-ran-into-a-wall-of-ukrainian-mechanized-troops/   More on Tactics and Armaments affecting development in Kharkiv: https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/15/russia-kharkiv-offensive-ukraine-vovchansk-weapons-biden/     For more on Blinken’s visit to Kyiv: https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/14/ukraine-zelenskiy-calls-for-more-air-defences-as-blinken-arrives-in-kyiv  And on the Russian plot to assassinate Zelensky:  https://www.newsweek.com/zelensky-assassination-plot-foiled-1897852  Find out more on Ukraine's will to survive and defend Kharkiv from Jade McGlynn: Her recent Pod with Arthur Snell:  https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/behind-the-lines-with-arthur-snell/id1704344656?i=1000653710733  And her Dispatch from Kharkiv commemorating the 2 year anniversary of the war: https://engelsbergideas.com/notebook/despatch-from-kharkiv/  Finally, Jason and Bill Browder’s ideas on the need for a seizure of Frozen Russian asset via Navalny acts: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/what-makes-a-martyr-alexei-navalny-shines-a-light-on-vladimir-putin-s-evil-tyranny/ar-BB1ja4If   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this week, Georgia passed its controversial ‘foreign agent’ law. Under the bill, NGOs and independent media that receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign donors would have to register as organisations "bearing the interests of a foreign power”. The law has been met with mass protests across the country.So what does the passing of this bill mean for Georgia’s hope to become an EU and NATO member? What could it mean for the countries elections later this year? And how should the West respond?To find out, Alex Hall Hall (who served as Ambassador to Georgia), speaks to Ia Meurmishvili. An international journalist based in Washington, DC. She a former Managing Editor at Voice of America's Georgian Service, where she hosted the weekly TV show, "View from Washington."  She is a frequent commentator and moderator in international discussions about U.S. foreign and national security policy, particularly with respect to the Caucasus and Eurasia region.Twitter: @DisorderShowSubscribe to our Substack: https://natoandtheged.substack.com/ Website: https://natoandtheglobalenduringdisorder.com/ Producer: George McDonaghExec Producer: Neil FearnShow Notes LinksRead Alex’s article How the Georgian ‘Foreign Agents Bill’ May Cost it Everything its People Have Ever Dreamed Of – And Benefit No One But Russia https://bylinetimes.com/2024/05/02/how-the-georgian-foreign-agents-bill-may-cost-it-everything-its-people-have-ever-dreamed-of-and-benefit-no-one-but-russia/ Georgia approves controversial 'foreign agent' law, sparking more protests https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-69007465 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The podcast delves into the role of empathy in geopolitics amidst tribalism and partisanship. It explores empathy in interactions, negotiations, and political leadership, highlighting the importance of understanding different perspectives. The discussion also focuses on reevaluating policy approaches through an empathetic lens and the essential role of empathy in shaping global order.

Putin’s nuclear threats over Ukraine and the constant potential of an Iranian/Israeli escalation have brought concerns over nuclear proliferation back up the geopolitical agenda. Western-aligned Asian countries – like South Korea and Saudi Arabia – have begun talking openly about whether they might need their own nukes. Meanwhile, even Germany – one of the most avowedly anti-nuclear countries in Europe – is now having a new debate about whether there should be a “Eurobomb”.  All these countries American allies are thinking of nuclearizing as they have a growing fear that they might not be able to rely on the US if the chips are down. All of this talk leads us to wonder will nuclear weapons ever be used and are nuclear threats and discussions of nuclearizing important even if the weapons will never be used?  In this episode of Disorder, Jason Pack talks to Jane Kinninmont. Jane is a peace and security expert with two decades of experience covering the Middle East, at the Economist Intelligence Unit and Chatham House. She is now with the European Leadership Network, which brings together more than 400 current, former and future European leaders to reduce nuclear risks and prevent conflict. The duo discuss: what are the risks of countries like South Korea, Germany and Saudi Arabia going nuclear? Is the current non-proliferation treaty regime up to scratch? And does nuclear non-proliferation actually work?  Twitter: @DisorderShow  Subscribe to our Substack: https://natoandtheged.substack.com/   Website: https://natoandtheglobalenduringdisorder.com/   Producer: George McDonagh Exec Producer: Neil Fearn  Show Notes Links  Germany debates nuclear weapons, again. But now it’s different: https://thebulletin.org/2024/03/germany-debates-nuclear-weapons-again-but-now-its-different/   Read Keir Starmer: Labour commitment to nuclear weapons unshakeable: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68790435   For more on Jane’s background and work: https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/person/jane-kinninmont/   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Armenian President Sarkissian discusses how small states can promote stability and leverage diasporas. They explore the idea of an international club for small states to make a big difference in global order. Topics include NATO response to Armenia's geopolitical tilt, smallness as an asset, and the potential of the S20 organization.

Former Armenian President Sarkissian discusses the forgotten Armenian genocide and recent ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. They also talk about missed peace opportunities in the 1990s, the importance of remembering the genocide for global order, challenges of small states, and Armenia's struggle for Western support.