The Red Line

South America's largest nation is currently in the middle of a tumultuous period, with war at home and a looming financial crisis on the horizon. What does the next decade hold in store for the heart of the continent, and will the military retake control of the country? We ask our expert panel.  - Christoph Harig (HSU Hamburg) - Victor Pougy (Intercept Brazil) - Christopher Sabatini (Chatham House) Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus For more info visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the attention of the world focused elsewhere, a conflict that threatens the stability of an entire continent has slipped under the radar. Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict has rapidly spiralled out of control, decimating their Armed Forces and sending the country toward the brink of collapse. With few options left, the now desperate Ethiopian Government is recalling their peacekeepers from dozens of hotspots across Africa, opening the door for conflicts throughout the continent to reignite.  On the panel this week. Kjetil Tronvoll (Oslo Analytica) Alan Boswell (Crisis Group)Alex De Waal (World Peace Foundation)For more info please visit www.theredlinepodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diamonds have been used to pay militias and rebel groups for decades due to their ease of transportation, global demand, and reliable value. After diamonds fuelled conflict across Africa, the Kimberley Process was created to stop the use of conflict diamonds, but its limitations have left key loopholes open. Exploiting these has allowed this trade to rampage through the African continent once again. How can this process be reformed? And who will pay the price? On the panel this week. Brad Brooks Rubin - Global Initiative Russel Shor - Minerals Journalist Shamiso Mtisi - Kimberley Process Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus For more information visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dubai's transformation from a fishing village to a global hub epitomises the unlikely country that is the United Arab Emirates. Massive oil wealth has enabled them to punch above their weight, but as the world marches away from oil, the pressure is building to secure their future while they still can. How will the UAE diversify? And what is its ambitious Red Sea strategy? We ask our expert panel: Hilal Khashan (American University of Beirut) Helen Lackner (ECFR) Bilal Saab (Middle East Institute) For more info please visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To counter an ever-expanding China, Tokyo is turning abroad in search of allies. Key to this is the recent revival of "The Quad", a strategic dialogue between The US, Australia, Japan and India. Will it be enough to counter their rising neighbour across the East China Sea? Is this the first step to creating an "Asian NATO", and what will Chinas response be? We ask our expert panel. On the panel this week: Owen Swift (ASPI) John Nilsson-Wright (Cambridge) John Coyne (ASPI) Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus For more information visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Half way down the old Silk Road lies the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, the republic that connects all of the Central Asian states. With the passing of their long-term dictator Uzbekistan is now making big steps forward but the weights left over from their past will be hard to shake, one of those being an entire rotting island that once housed the Soviet biological warfare program now radiating out into the desert.  On the panel this week - Joanna Lillis (The Economist) - Nikita Makarenko (Uzbek Journalist) - Kristaps Andrejsons (The Eastern Border) - Bruce Pannier (Radio Free Liberty) Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael in @MikeHilliardAus For more info visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the unpreparedness of governments for cyber attacks, the integration of cyber warfare into traditional military operations, the vulnerability of systems, the dangers of cyber warfare and zero-day exploits, the challenges of attribution in cyber attacks, the profitability of hacking and the role of AI in cyber warfare, and the spread and democratization of cyber weapons.

On the Northwestern edge of the Sahara desert lies the former Spanish colonial possession of Western Sahara. The region has been in various states of conflict for over 50 years, with Morocco's Royal Armed Forces and the Algerian-supported Arab Sahrawi Democratic Republic battling it out for control. We look at the origins of this conflict, the difficulties in resolving it, and the consequences for failing to do so for the stability of Western Africa.   On the panel this week  Stephen Zunes (Cornell University) Riccardo Rabiani (Crisis Group) Jalel Harchaoui (Global Initiative) Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliard For more in please visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1823 US President James Monroe declared "The Monroe Doctrine", that the Western hemisphere would be the backyard of the United States. That doctrine is now almost 200 years old and the world is a very different place, European powers such as the Netherlands, UK and France all hold colonies in the Sea; and other players such as Venezuela and Cuba are putting forward competition as well.  The real threat for the US though may come from outside powers shopping around for strategic footholds in an area the US regularly overlooks.  On the panel this week.  Ivelaw Griffiths (CSIS) Vicki Assevero (Atlantic Council) Victor Bulmer-Thomas (Chatham House) For more info please visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show on - @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on - @MikeHilliardAus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Georgia has been at the heart of regional geopolitics for decades now, smashed between three expanding areas of influence from Moscow, Ankara and Tehran, with Georgia desperately trying to act as the neutral ground.  But war is already there in the Georgian homeland, with the two breakaway Moscow facing republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, adding more complications to an already tumultuous region.  On the panel this week.  Gerard Toal (Geopolitical Author) Natia Seskuria (RUSI) Neil Hauer (Conflict Journalist) Thomas De Waal (Carnegie Europe) Follow the show in @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus For more info please visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices