Global Takes on Trump

Welcome back to Global Takes on Trump, a podcast from Global Studies at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK. This time, regular host Dr Synne Dyvik is joined by Dr Melissa Gatter, Associate Professor of International Development and Dr Jo Wilding, Associate Professor in Law.

This episode examines immigration, asylum, and border policies in the US and UK, focusing on how Trump's immigration agenda fits into longer histories of border control, migration governance, and state violence. In the episode we also look at how immigration legislation and regulation 'travels' between countries, paying attention historical developments and more recent changes changes in the UK and the various different manifestations of 'borders'.

We also discuss various responses to the violent border crackdowns and movements working to support immigrants, refugees and migrants, including the excellent work that the Sussex Law Clinic does, as well as the power of 'critical hope'.

In this episode, Synne is joined by Professor Benjamin Selwyn and Dr Julian Germann, Associate Professor of International Relations to discuss Trump's trade and tariff policy.

The episode explores how Trump's economic policies, especially tariffs and industrial policy, are reshaping global supply chains and international politics. Studying this historically shows that Trump's approach is not an isolated phenomenon but part of a broader shift in US economic and foreign policy that began before his presidency and continues across both Republican and Democratic administrations. The central political question is whether these changes ordinary workers and society or primarily serve corporate and geopolitical interests.

Episode 7 – Corruption

In this episode of Global Takes on Trump, Synne is joined by Matthew Price and Prof. Dan Hough to discuss corruption and the second Trump presidency.

Matthew Price is a PhD researcher at Sussex, in the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, and has previously worked for international organisations like the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, which focus on accountability and oversight.

Dan Hough is a Professor of Politics, and the former director of Sussex’s Centre for the Study of Corruption.

Synne, Matthew and Dan examine the different types of corruption, how they play out locally, nationally and internationally, and take a look at Trump’s place in the long history of scandal and intrigue.

To stay immersed in the murky waters of corruption, check out these additional resources:

Welcome back to Part 2 of our doubleheader on Trump and his sweeping cuts to USAID.

Last time round, Synne and Paul spoke to Suda Perera about the interest groups underpinning the international aid sector.

This time, they’re joined by Cathy Schutt, a development practitioner with over 30 years’ experience delivering aid.

Join our experts for a zoomed in look at the real-life impact that Trump’s cuts have had on both the people in the aid sector, and those they’re working to help.

Sussex is the best place in the world study in International Development, and if you’re interested in learning to blend cutting-edge research with real-life practice, click here.

Further Reading

Cavalcanti, C. et al. (2025) in The Lancet on USAID Cuts

Torres-Raposo, F. et al. (2025) Survey Data on Attitudes Towards Foreign Aid & Development in France, Germany, Great Britain, and the U.S., in Nature

Welcome to part 1 of a special double episode of Global Takes on Trump, where we’ll be tackling Trump’s huge impact on the world of development.

This episode sees Synne joined by Paul Gilbert and Suda Perera to discuss the international aid, whose interests aid serves, who it benefits, and how we might build a fairer system.

Paul Gilbert is a Reader in Development, Justice and Inequality. His research looks at the production of inequality and how marginalised knowledge can help us achieve justice.

Dr Suda Perera is a Lecturer in International Development, focusing on conflict and armed groups, especially in the African Great Lakes.

Both Paul and Suda’s amazing research helps make Sussex the top-ranked International Development department in the world. To find out more about what makes ID at Sussex special, click here.

Stay Tuned for Part 2...

On this episode of GTOT, Synne is joined by Josh Bowsher and Tom Cowin for a look at Trump’s role within the far-right’s surge.

Josh Bowsher is Assistant Professor of Sociology in the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, working on the relationship between human rights and digital infrastructures. He teaches cutting-edge modules like Technology and the Human.

Tom Cowin’s work examines elite power and the mainstreaming of the far-right. He is a research associate at the Centre for Global Political Economy.

To learn more about the Research Centre, and study with our experts, click here.

Today’s conversation was particularly wide ranging, and (unsurprisingly) there is so much excellent scholarship on the far-right at the moment. Some of Tom and Josh’s favourites are:

Alberto Toscano. (2023). Late Fascism.

Tuori, K., & Karjalainen, I. (2024). The European far right and human rights language. The International Journal of Human Rights, 29(1), 1–21.

Wendy Hui Kyong Chun. (2021) Discriminating Data.

Mondon, A., and Winter, A. (2020) Reactionary Democracy.

Dangerous Speech Project, 2024 Election Research

Welcome to Global Takes on Trump, a podcast from the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex, based in Brighton, UK, where we ask what Trump’s second term means for global politics today.

Join our regular host, Dr Synne Dyvik and a range of experts from across Sussex as we take on Trump 2.0.

In our first episode, Synne is joined by Prof Peter Newell and Dr Will Lock to discuss Trump’s determination to drill, baby, drill. Together, they explore Trump’s disastrous environmental programme, what America’s retreat from green policies means for the wider world, and where we can find hope in our struggle to navigate the climate emergency.

Guest Host Peter Newell is Professor of International Relations, the co-founder and research director of the Rapid Transition Alliance and author, most recently, of States of Transition (CUP, 2025)

This episode’s expert is Will Lock, Assistant Professor in International Development and Anthropology. Will’s research explores carbon offsetting, reforestation and food systems, and he is the co-convenor of Sussex’s new BA in Climate Justice, Sustainability and Development..

To learn how to fight the climate crisis with Will, Pete and more of Sussex’s world-leading researchers, click here.

Global Takes On Trump is brought to you by the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex, based in Brighton, on the south coast of the UK. Join host Synne Dyvik and our Global experts as we ask what Trump 2.0 means for international politics today.

During today’s discussion, Synne, Pete and Will drew on a wide range of scholarship, reporting and, yes, other podcasts. You can keep this conversation going by reading, watching and listening to some of those resources:

Climate Justice BA

• Climate Justice, Sustainability and Development BA (Hons)

Additional Reading

• Petro-Masculinity: Fossil Fuels and Authoritarian Desire, by Cara Duggett
• The Great Driving Right Show, by the Zetkin Collective
• No Is Not Enough, by Naomi Klein
• Feminist Ecologies by Diana Ojeda, Padini Nirmal, Dianne Rocheleau and Jody Emel
• Dining Across the Divide, in the Guardian Magazine

Podcasts

• Drilled

• Red Media

Show notes – Episode 2: The Empire Strikes Back

Against the backdrop of Trump’s threats to annex Canada and Greenland, in our second episode, host Synne Dyvik is joined by Alan Lester for a conversation with David Wearing to discuss the past, present and future of US empire.

Alan Lester is Professor of Historical Geography in the Department of Geography. He specialises in the history and geographies of the British Empire and is editor of The Truth About Empire: Real Histories of British Colonialism, published by Hurst.

Dr David Wearing, Assistant Professor in International Relations, and an expert in UK foreign relations in the Middle East. David is the author of AngloArabia: Why Gulf Wealth Matters To Britain.

David and Alan teach modules on Colonialism and its Afterlives and the International Relations of the Modern Middle East across our undergraduate degrees programmes in International Relations and International Development.

To study with our world-leading experts, and keep this conversation going, click here.

Throughout today’s episode, Synne, Alan, and David drew on a wide range of scholarship, reporting and, yes, other podcasts. Some favourites, below.

News

• Trump’s retreat from Nato was priced in. But his humiliation of Qatar and India spells total chaos
• Trump’s threats on Greenland, Gaza, Ukraine and Panama revive old-school US imperialism of dominating other nations by force

Books

• Richard Evans’ superlative The Third Reich Trilogy
• Ian Kershaw’s equally excellent, Personality and Power

Articles

• Robinson and Gallagher’s article on Formal and Informal Empire

Podcasts

• Ones and Tooze
• Millennials Are Killing Capitalism
• Empire, available on Apple and Spotify

Welcome back to Global Takes on Trump, a podcast from Global Studies at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK. This time, regular host Synne Dyvik is joined by PhD researcher Tanja Weis for a conversation with Melanie Richter-Montpetit about some of the key members of Trump’s coalition: Tradwives and Techbros.

In this wide-ranging conversation, our experts discuss how gender is constructed, how it relates to race, empire, power, and crisis, and how Trump and his tech bro and trad wife supporters stoke these anxieties to fuel their reactionary project.

This episode’s guest host is Tanja Weis, a PhD researcher in International Relations at the University of Sussex. Tanja’s doctoral research examines the attacks on LGBTQIA+ rights across Europe by drawing on critiques of family, empire, and liberalism.

Our expert in this episode is Dr. Melanie Richter-Montpetit, Associate Professor in International Security. Much of her research examines how gender, sexual and racial formations are fundamental to global politics in ‘the colonial present’ with a focus on liberal war and security regimes.

Melanie teaches modules on Sex, Race and Violence as well as the Liberal World Order across our undergraduate degrees programmes in International Relations.

During today’s conversation on the role of gender, sex, race and power, Synne, Tanja and Melanie drew on a wide range of scholarship, reporting and, yes, other podcasts. You can keep this conversation going by reading, watching and listening to some of those resources.

Further reporting:

• Trad Values Meets Tech, from Gaby Del Valle
• The False Escapism of Soft Girls and Tradwives, in Time Magazine
• Kiera Butler’s deeper dive into JD Vance and the 'TheoBros'
• Tradwife Content Offers Fundamentalism Fit for Instagram, by Kelsey Kramer McGinnis

Books and Articles:

• Anne McClintock’s Imperial leather: Race, gender, and sexuality in the colonial contest.
• Gagan Kaur’s Master Thesis from City University, New York (CUNY), Tradwives: The Housewifization of the Girl Boss
• A Well-Trained, by Tia Levings
• Aurelien Mondon and Aaron Winter’s Reactionary Democracy: How Racism and the Populist Far Right Became Mainstream

Podcasts:

• A Bit Fruity, on Spotify

In this introductory episode, we will introduce the hosts, the topics and get you acquainted with the varied research expertise the podcast will bring to bear in discussions of the second Trump presidency, coming soon.

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