Geopolitical Horizons

October 7th, 2023, is considered the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. The Israeli response to October 7th has seen much of the world turn against it with the country taken to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over a likely genocide. In this podcast we look at what drove groups from Gaza to launch the assault, the Israeli response and where things stand after 12 months.

Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and dozens of drones toward numerous Israeli military targets in August after Israel's assassination of Faud Shukr, a Hezbollah commander and Hamas political leader, Ismail Hanaya. With the US ceasefire proposal stalling and Israel’s assassination strategy expanding, it seems events are spiralling out of control and a region wide war is inching closer. In this po

Just 6 months ago Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League secured a fourth consecutive term in office, but now the ruling party faces its biggest challenge yet as hundreds and thousands have taken to the streets in protest against the quota system that reserves government jobs for regime supporters. The regime has responded in brutal fashion, cutting the internet and instituting a curfew. Bangladesh has for long been touted as a rising tiger economy, but the masses are struggling to make ends meet. Is this the beginning of the end of Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League? 

In the last week social media blew up with news regarding the unwritten petrodollar deal between the US and Saudi Arabia, which has been the bedrock of the dollar's dominance, coming to an end. The demise of the dollar has been a regular feature of discussion in geopolitics in the last decade. On the one hand we have China and Russia calling for alternatives and on the other hand you have US commentators questioning the dollar's continued dominance. What does this mean for the US as a global power?  Will this be the end of the American Empire?

In this podcast we cover the questions you had for us at the geopolity. From the Gaza war to the war in Ukraine, as well as the UK elections and who the deep state are in the US. 

In a recent report by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, they concluded the bedrocks of democracy are under threat across the globe. They found democracy is in decline around the world, including Europe, where it was born. The report comes alongside a long line of similar reports, research and analysis that show democracy is in retreat. Democracy was for long presented as the nirvana, the ultimate form of government, the west invaded nations to export democracy, but today its own people seem to be losing confidence in this mediaeval idea. How has it all gone so horribly wrong?

The 15th May will see many commemorating “Nakba Day”, marking the catastrophe of the Palestinians with the creation of the Zionist nation. The Nakba has stood as a grim marker of the Zionist's criminality for 76 years. But these last 6 months have surpassed anything that came previously. Israel is now assaulting the last area of Gaza in Rafah, and the numbers injured and killed continue to grow. In this podcast Umar Hussain from Palestine looks back at the events that led to the Nakba and Jameel Khan assesses where things currently stand in Gaza.

South Asia is one of the fastest growing regions in the world. It is also one of the most populated parts of the world that has two nuclear powers. Russia, China and the US are all looking to win the support of the region for their respective strategic interests which makes the region all the more important to understand.

The world's largest democracy goes to the polls from the 19th April to the 1st June to elect the Indian parliament. The election will be held in several stages and see’s the incumbent  Narendra Modi looking to secure a third term in office. The BJP has now been in power for a decade and is looking to cement its legacy and leave its mark on India. Whoever wins the elections faces some major challenges from the economy to energy to communal relations. 

Central Asia was once the prize in the so-called Great Game, a centre of competition for the Russians, British, Persians, Mongols and Turks at various times. The region sits at the intersection of the Russian steppes, the western Chinese frontier, the mountain passes into the Indian subcontinent, and the modern Middle East. The region is at once a barrier and a bridge between the powers in its periphery. It is a path for trade and a highway for invasion, a vast strategic buffer and a cauldron of ethnic and national competition and instability. In this podcast we look at the geopolitics of Central Asia.