Exit Strategy

I speak to Oliver Dodd (University of Nottingham) who recently penned an article in Jacobin titled 'Colombia’s Mercenary Industry is Behind the Haitian Coup' (https://jacobinmag.com/2021/07/colombia-mercenary-industry-haitian-coup-assassination-president-jovenel-moise-right-wing-paramilitaries-retired-armed-forces/). We talk about Colombia's militarism, its mercenary industry, the Haiti connection, and some niche topics around Central and Latin American geopolitics. 

I speak with Dr. Robin Renwick, Research Analyst with Trilateral Research. Continuing from the conversation I had about the intersection of Bitcoin and Human Rights, Renwick provides his critical perspective of this subject area, and speaks about his time at Human Rights Foundation's Oslo Freedom Forum.

Show Notes:

I speak with Dr. Alessandro Arduino, the Co-Director of the Security & Crisis Management programme at the Shanghai Academy of Social Science (SASS-UNITO).

Dr. Alessandro Arduino is the principal research fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI), National University of Singapore. He is the co-director of the Security & Crisis Management International Centre at the Shanghai Academy of Social Science (SASS) and an associate at Lau China Institute, King’s College London.

His two decades of experience in China encompasses security analysis and crisis management. His main research interests include China, Central Asia and Middle East and North Africa relations, sovereign wealth funds, private military/security companies, and China’s security and foreign policy.

Alessandro is the author of several books and he has published papers and commentaries in various journals in Italian, English and Chinese. His most recent book is China’s Private Army: Protecting the New Silk Road (Palgrave, 2018).

I speak with Alexander Lekhtman, a journalist and writer who covers the policy, science, and culture of drugs for Filter Magazine (@Filtermag_org). We discuss drug policy, the international drug trade, illicit trade routes, and have an informal conversation about the basics around heroin and meth production and trade around the world. 

Read one of his articles, 'Support. Don’t Punish—A Call to Reject the World’s Brutal Drug War' here: https://filtermag.org/support-dont-punish-drug-war/

In this episode I speak with Jacob Shapiro (@JacobShap), a former analyst with Stratfor and Geopolitical Futures who has now founded Perch Perspectives (@PerchSpectives), a (geo)political risk and consultancy firm. Shapiro lists his top four geopolitical issues and concerns in a post-COVID world, and we speak about risk analysis and the risk analysis industry. 

I speak to Allison Fedirka, Director of Analysis at Geopolitical Futures, a political forecasting firm founded by George Friedman. We discuss the latest demonstrations in Cuba and what they mean, Cuba's unique geopolitical situation in the world, and why understanding Cuba's geopolitics depends heavily on understanding the political turmoil of the countries that surround this capitavting North Caribbean island.

I speak to Kjetil Tronvoll (@KjetilTronvoll), a peace and conflict studies researcher specializing in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Zanzibar. As of 2021, he is a professor of peace and conflict studies at Bjørknes University College and heads a consultancy firm Oslo Analytica.

We continue the discussion about the War in Tigray, how such a small force has been able to battle several governments attacking from all sides, the war being waged online, and what to make of this overall humanitarian crisis. 

This episode was recorded on 07/20/21 as PART 2 of a two-part series that goes in depth over the Tigray War, the actors involved in that conflict, the resulting human rights abuses, and what's to come for Ethiopia.

I speak to William Davison (@wdavison10), senior analyst with the @CrisisGroup. Davison provides a background and summary of Ethiopia's recent history, and events that led up to the ongoing war in its Tigray region. 

This episode was recorded on 07/13/21 as PART 1 of a two-part series that goes in depth over the Tigray War, the actors involved in that conflict, the resulting human rights abuses, and what's to come for Ethiopia.

Brian Concannon (@HaitiJustice) is the Executive Director of @ProjectBlueprnt and advisor to @IJDH. Concannon is a human rights lawyer and foreign policy advocate, working for a human rights-based US foreign policy by bringing the perspectives of people abroad impacted by US policies into policy discussions and advocacy. 

We speak about Haiti and Haitian history days after its President was assassinated by foreign mercenaries. 

Ali Latifi (@alibomaye) is an Emmy-nominated producer and writer working for major US and International broadcasters and print outlets, including PBS, CNN, The New York Times, Foreign Policy Magazine and the LA Times. Born in Kabul, raised in California, Latifi returned to Afghanistan in 2013 as a reporter for Al Jazeera English and The LA Times.

We speak about what life is like in the country in the months leading up to a major American withdrawal, what can be expected to come in terms of Afghanistan's security, and some critical aspects around the reporting of these events.