The Hated and the Dead

J.R. Jayewardene served as prime minister and then president of Sri Lanka between 1977 and 1989.

Sri Lankan history, politics and society is dominated by tensions between two ethnic groups. Ethnic divisions are intrinsic to countless countries, including many covered on this podcast before. The key question the Sri Lankan experience raises though is this: in stoking ethnic tensions, what is more important: how the government works, or who runs it?

Today's subject demonstrates that in the case of Sri Lanka, the latter is true. During his presidency, J.R. presided over the so called Black July riots, which saw the deaths of 5000 Tamils in a single month. But even when he saw the results of leaning into ethnic division - and there was evidence of the results of doing so long before Black July- he wasn’t compelled to stop. For this reason, J.R might hold greater responsibility for Sri Lanka’s ethnic strife and ensuing civil war than any other Sri Lankan.

My guest today is Dr. Asanga Welikala. Primarily focusing on constitutional theory and commonwealth constitutional history, Asanga is a lecturer in public law at the University of Edinburgh School of Law. He is also a Research Associate of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. 

The Houthis, a Yemeni political and military organisation, have made headlines across the World since they began blocking the Red Sea nearly six months ago. But despite their association in people's minds with Gaza, and Iran's "Axis of Resistance", their true motives are poorly understood.

This is the second half of a two-part conversation seeking to explain the Houthis' influence in Yemeni politics and society. Today's episode deals with the period since 2013, and especially since the outbreak of civil war in Yemen in 2014.

How have the Houthis gone from being an obscure group in the mountainous region of Northern Yemen to controlling two thirds of the country’s population? And most importantly of all, how have the Houthis managed to fend off a US-backed alliance comprised of the armed forces of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar?

As was the case in Part 1, my guest for this conversation is Isa Blumi. Isa is an associate professor of Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies at Stockholm University. Isa has published several books on Turkey, the Balkans, the late Ottoman Empire and Yemen, including Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us about the World.

The Houthis, a Yemeni political and military organisation, have made headlines across the World since they began blocking the Red Sea nearly six months ago. But despite their association with Gaza, and Iran's "Axis of Resistance", their origins in the turbulent Yemeni politics of the 1990s and 2000s are not widely understood.

This is the first half of a two-part conversation seeking to explain the Houthis' rise to prominence, and covers the unification of Yemen in 1990, the arrival of Sunni extremism in the country from Saudi Arabia, and the violent attempts of President Saleh to impose order on Yemen. All of these strands, and others, contributed to the Houthis' development, and sent Yemen hurtling towards the Arab Spring, and civil war.

My guest today is Isa Blumi. Isa is an associate professor of Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies at Stockholm University. Isa has published several books on Turkey, the Balkans, the late Ottoman Empire and Yemen, including Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us about the World. 

Jens Stoltenberg has been Secretary General of NATO since 2014, and prior to that served twice as Prime Minister of Norway. 

Looking at him is interesting because, at least in the early part of his premiership, many commentators, buoyed by the end of the Cold War and the third wave of democratisation, genuinely believed that the world was converging on Norwegian attitudes towards democracy and international cooperation. During his time as NATO Secretary General, though, the World has stopped converging on Norwegian, or Western, ideals of democracy. In fact, too often, it seems as if the West is converging on the rest of the World. 

In this context, is gradualism, the political approach favoured by Stoltenberg, insufficient? Stoltenberg is rarely described as controversial, but is his political philosophy and his outlook now the very thing all politicians wish to avoid becoming more than anything else - outdated? 

My guest today is Magnus Takvam. Magnus is a Norwegian journalist, broadcaster and political commentator who until 2022 worked with NRK, the Norwegian state-owned Broadcasting Corporation. As well as Stoltenberg’s career, Magnus and I discuss the effect oil wealth has had on Norwegian politics and society, the 2011 Norway attacks, which occurred on Stoltenberg’s watch, and the future trajectory of Norwegian politics.

John Magufuli was the President of Tanzania between 2015 and 2021.  He was the sixth in a long line of presidents drawn from the same political party, the CCM, which has ruled Tanzania since its independence in 1961.

CCM presidents came and went, standing down after two terms in office, just as American presidents do. But in the 2000s, the CCM started to lose popularity in Tanzania. Corruption scandals and political infighting saw elections become closer - even after the CCM had rigged them. And it was at this point, sensing vulnerability, that the CCM decided to take a more openly authoritarian turn, by choosing John Magufuli as its leader.

Magufuli quickly moved to shut down dissenting voices and newspapers, as well as restrictions on opposition rallies. Like the canniest of dictators, he sought to demonstrate his power to others by openly lying to them, claiming green was blue. He also came to lie about the coronavirus pandemic, which he said could be treated by steam inhalation, and discouraged was wearing, testing and vaccination. 

My guest today is Aikande Kwayu. Aikande is a Tanzanian social scientist, author and management consultant who has written extensively about the political and society of her home country. Much of her work focuses on international development, political economy and the role of religion in Tanzanian society.

Mary Lou McDonald has been the Leader of the Opposition to the Irish Government since 2020. She is also the leader of centre-left political party Sinn Fein, currently the second largest party in the Irish parliament (Dail).

Since 2000, Sinn Fein has gone from being an extra-parliamentary party to being the most popular party in the Irish Republic, on course to win the next general election under McDonald. On the face of it, Sinn Fein’s success seems reasonably straightforward; in a country with fast economic growth, but unequal distrubiton of opportunity, social service provision and housing, especially for young people, a party of the left has become popular.

However, Sinn Fein also seeks to bring about a united Ireland, something which forces the party to reconcile the views, priorities and memories of its voters in the Irish Republic with those of its voters in Northern Ireland. These views, priorities and memories, as you're about to hear, are often hard to bring together.

My guest today is Pat Leahy. Pat is the political editor of The Irish Times, and also the author of books on Ireland’s political system, including The Price of Power: Inside Ireland’s Crisis Coalition. 

Nayib Bukele has been the President of El Salvador since 2019. He has transformed the country from the nation with the world's highest murder rate to that with the world's highest incarceration rate, having arrested more than 70,000 people (1% of the population) in less than two years.

His programme presents complicated trade offs and moral dilemmas; how much of your freedom would you be willing to submit for safety?

Meanwhile, economic opportunity is still difficult to come by, as Bukele’s government has done little to invest in social services, and instead has spent his time gentrifying the Salvadoran coastline and making Bitcoin legal tender. The deal Bukele has offered Salvadorans seems to be: you’ll submit your civil liberties, I'll eradicate crime, but after that, you’re on your own.

My guest today is Ricardo Avelar. Ricardo is a Salvadoran journalist at Revista Factum, a digital magazine committed to bringing independent journalism to El Salvador.

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamist militant group and political party, established in 1985. Hezbollah has a reputation as one of the Middle East’s great agitators, having engaged Israel in conflict twice, once in the 1980s and again in 2006. Their financing by and allegiance to the Iranian ayatollah, the West’s bogeyman in the region, underpins this image.

But simply viewing Hezbollah as a regional troublemaker conceals an intriguing domestic story which is far more nuanced; in the context of Lebanon’s sectarian strife, Hezbollah has consistently gone in to bat for the country’s Shia Muslim population. For decades seen as the nation’s underdog, patronised and belittled by Christians and Sunnis, Hezbollah has made it clear that Shia interests will no longer be dismissed out of hand.

My guest today is Heiko Wimmen. Heiko is head of the Iraq-Syria-Lebanon project at the International Crisis Group, an independent organisation working to prevent wars and shape policies that will build a more peaceful world. Heiko, who is German by origin, has lived in the region, and mostly in Lebanon, since 1994, and has worked as a journalist, broadcast producer and researcher. As well as the group’s history, we discuss the precarious situation of 2024, when another war between Hezbollah and Israel appears possible. 

Kim Yo Jong is the younger sister of the Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un. 
Since Jong Un’s accession to power in 2011, he has placed his sister into positions of increasing importance domestically and increasing prominence internationally.

The question is: is Jong Un following the advice of Michael Corleone, keeping his friends close but his enemies closer? Or is there genuine affection between Jong Un and Yo Jong? Furthermore, does Yo Jong have aspirations beyond playing second fiddle?

My guest today is the author of a recent book about Kim Yo Jong. He is South Korean scholar Sung-Yoon Lee. Yoon is a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. His book is The Sister: The extraordinary story of Kim Yo Jong, the most powerful woman in North Korea, which has been released to critical acclaim. 

Hafiz al-Assad was the President of Syria between 1970 and 2000. Father of present Syrian leader Bashar, Hafiz inherited a country in disarray, beset by political and religious division at home, and subject to interference from regional powers. 

Displaying extraordinary brutality, Hafiz imposed order on Syria’s diverse population and also turned his country into an important decision maker. His troops intervened in Lebanon’s dreadful civil war, and occupied large parts of the country for the rest of Hafiz’s life. As well as cementing Hafiz’s own position, this also strengthened Assad’s hand in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Hafiz understood that for small countries, geopolitical success rests on making yourself difficult to be dispensed of, or overlooked. The career of my guest today shows how well Hafiz did this; in conjunction with his role as Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Itamar Rabinovich was Israel’s Chief Negotiator with Syria from 1993 until 1996, at a time when many believed that peace between Israel and Palestine hinged upon Syrian recognition of Israel. Rabinovich has dedicated his life to researching Syria, and its relations (or lack thereof) with Israel, and is the author of 14 books on the country.