Eritrea is often described as “Africa’s North Korea” – a closed dictatorship where indefinite conscription, disappearances and repression push people to flee, feeding one of the world’s most desperate migration routes.

In this episode of Global Power Shifts, Jim Stenman and Suzanne Kianpour sit down with Vanessa Tsehaye, a Swedish Eritrean human rights activist, founder of One Day Seyoum, 2025 Magnitsky Award winner, and former Amnesty International campaigner and Al Jazeera journalist. Vanessa’s uncle, a photojournalist, has been imprisoned in Eritrea for more than two decades, and that personal story runs through her work. She explains the country’s human rights crisis, how it connects to migrant journeys across the Sahara and Mediterranean, and how Eritreans are still fighting for accountability – and quietly preparing for life after Isaias Afwerki.

Exiled Venezuelan politician Armando Armas joins Suzanne Kianpour and Jim Stenman to talk about life after a brutal attack that nearly killed him — raids, arrests, and a family split across borders. He traces Venezuela’s slide from oil boom to repression, the networks propping up Maduro, and the personal cost of opposition. Armas still backs peaceful resistance, and he spells out what meaningful outside support should look like now.

Getachew Reda, Tigray’s former president and Ethiopia’s Minister of East African Affairs, joins host Jim Stenman (formerly CNN and Reuters). They discuss Tigray’s fragile peace after Pretoria, tensions inside the TPLF, Eritrea’s role, the push for Red Sea access, and the GERD’s regional impact. A grounded look at what comes next for Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.

In this special episode of Global Power Shifts, Jim Stenman and co-host Suzanne Kianpour sit down with Lithuania’s former Foreign Minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, to explore how a small nation on NATO’s eastern flank is navigating an uncertain era.

Born under Soviet occupation and shaped by his family’s role in Lithuania’s fight for independence, Landsbergis guides us through:

•⁠ ⁠The echo of Kremlin tanks rolling through Vilnius — and the enduring lessons of that history

•⁠ ⁠Russia’s war in Ukraine as a true wake-up call, and how the Baltics are shoring up resilience

•⁠ ⁠The future of NATO under Trump 2.0 — can Article 5 still deter aggression?

•⁠ ⁠Europe’s Western-centric blind spots, the EU’s eastern dimension, and whether Brussels can adapt before it’s too late

Tune in to discover why the Baltics matter for us all — and what’s at stake if NATO fails to uphold the post-Cold War security order. If you enjoy the episode, please leave us a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts — it makes a world of difference.

🎙 This week on Global Power Shifts, we turn our focus to one of the world’s most overlooked yet strategically vital regions: the South Caucasus.

Our guest is Emil Avdaliani — Georgian analyst, university professor, Oxford graduate, and contributor to the Carnegie Endowment and TRENDS Research. He specializes in Eurasian connectivity and the evolving role of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan in a shifting global order.

From Georgia’s EU aspirations to the tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Emil argues that this narrow corridor between Europe and Asia is no longer just a post-Soviet borderland — it’s becoming a case study in 21st-century multipolarity.

We explore:

• Why the post-Soviet label no longer fits

• How Russia’s regional influence is being tested

• The role of China, Turkey, and the West in shaping the Caucasus

• What Georgia’s future tells us about global power realignment

If you want to understand how big power politics are playing out in smaller, critical places — this episode is for you.

Hosted by Jim Stenman and recorded on May 17, 2025, in Tbilisi, Georgia.
🎧 Subscribe for more conversations decoding the new world order.

What does Vladimir Putin really want — for Russia, for himself, and for the post-Soviet world?

In this episode of Global Power Shifts, Jim Stenman and co-host Suzanne Kianpour sit down with Christopher Steele, the former head of MI6’s Russia desk and the man behind the now-infamous Steele Dossier, to decode the Russian president’s strategy — from Ukraine to Eurasia to the global stage.

Steele, a career intelligence officer turned geopolitical consultant, brings decades of insight into the Kremlin’s inner workings. With war still raging in Ukraine and tensions rising across former Soviet republics, his perspective on Russia’s evolving role in the 21st century is more relevant than ever.

We explore:

• Putin’s long game in Ukraine and beyond

• What motivates Russia’s foreign policy

• How the West misunderstands Moscow

• The risks ahead — and the signs we’re missing

Whether you follow geopolitics, international relations, or global security, this is a deep dive into how power is shifting — and why understanding Russia is key to understanding the world today.

BRICS is often misunderstood — especially in Western capitals.

In this episode, Gustavo de Carvalho joins Global Power Shifts to unpack what the BRICS grouping is really about. We trace its evolution from an economic acronym to a political force, explore tensions between member states (think India vs. China, Egypt vs. Ethiopia), and ask whether expansion strengthens or stretches the bloc.

We also look at the role of the New Development Bank, how Trump-era tariffs renewed BRICS' relevance, and what the group’s future says about the shifting balance of global power.

In Episode 4 of Global Power Shifts, host Jim Stenman is joined by Suzanne Kianpour — foreign policy reporter, former BBC correspondent, and founder of Helmet to Heels, a platform that blends fashion and global affairs.

After years reporting from the Middle East — from covering ISIS to witnessing the fallout of October 7th — Suzanne returns to Washington, D.C., just as Trump begins his second term. What she finds is a country that feels at once familiar and deeply changed.

In this episode, we unpack the growing gap between America’s self-perception and its place in the world, explore how China is gaining ground in the Gulf through public diplomacy, and reflect on how war looks in the age of social media. It’s a wide-ranging, personal conversation about power, perception, and the realities of coming home.

Follow Suzanne on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/kianpourworld/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannekianpour/

Is traditional media dying, or is it simply undergoing a much-needed transformation?

This week, we explore the rise of content creators and the decline of trust in legacy platforms, as Donald Trump continues to attack the mainstream media and Elon Musk stirs fear on X. With affordable tech putting news in everyone’s hands, the lines between fact and fiction are blurring in an attention-driven economy, where misinformation is rampant. So, how do we navigate this new reality, and does truth even matter anymore?

Our guest, Jamie Angus, former BBC and Al Arabiya news executive, shares his insights on this shifting landscape. One thing is certain: the media genie isn’t going back in the bottle.
Join us as we discuss the future of journalism, the influence of social media moguls, and the battle for your attention.

This week, tech journalist Samuel Burke joins us to explore the innovation gap that’s holding Europe back in the AI race—while America and China seem to be thriving—and what it means for the future. In his latest article forFortune, the three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, who spent years as a tech correspondent at CNN, examines how the EU and U.K.’s complex regulatory landscape is slowing AI adoption in Europe, while other regions race ahead. While Europe’s leadership in consumer protection, such as the GDPR’s global data privacy standards, is well recognized, some regulations come at a steep cost. These hurdles are delaying the latest AI technologies, with real-world consequences as the Fourth Industrial Revolution accelerates, risking Europe’s position in the global AI race.