Behind The Lines with Arthur Snell

What does the climate crisis mean for sovereignty in a world where certain countries face existential risk? I spoke to Taukiei Kitara, a native of Tuvalu, about the case of low-lying Pacific Islands, including his native Tuvalu.Please sign up for my substack at arthursnell.substack.com and follow me on Bluesky @snellarthur.bsky.social. You can sometimes find me on other podcasts - most often Disorder which I am involved with in partnership with RUSI, the Royal United Services Institute, the world's oldest think tank. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read RUSI piece The Rise of Ransomware as a National Security Threat: https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/organised-cybercrime-rise-ransomware-national-security-threat Read RUSI piece Beyond the Bottom Line: The Societal Impact of Ransomware: https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/beyond-bottom-line-societal-impact-ransomware Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The impact on Central and Eastern Europe, with Jonathan Terra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Transatlantic Alliance is coming to an end. I discuss this with academic and journalist Jonathan Terra. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every year, tens of thousands of labourers in the wealth countries of the Gulf, most of them migrants from South Asia, die in unsafe working conditions on construction sites. As the GCC states pour enormous resources into developing their infrastructure, little attention is paid to the plight of the people doing the actual building work. I spoke to James Lynch of FairSquare, a UK-based non-profit that researches and advocates for the rights of labourers in the Gulf.https://fairsq.org/Assistant Producer: Japji Oberoi Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the past 4 years, Myanmar has experienced an ever more serious civil war, which now threatens the ruling military junta in Naypyitaw. I spoke to Ronan Lee about this little-reported conflict.You can find Ronan's work here: https://ronanlee.com/And my writing here: arthursnell.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Samir Puri of Chatham House is the author of Westlessness, a book about the post-Western world. The book came out last year but the geopolitical setting that he examines is one that is rapidly emerging in front of our eyes, as the chaotic actions of the Trump presidency bring an end to the Western Liberal Order. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The role of disinformation in our current world, whether feeding the false allegations put out by Trump, the lies spread online by Elon Musk, or the over-reliance on social media for news coverage, is feeding the rise of extremism and dysfunction in democratic systems, to the detriment of liberal and progressive political movements. To help us understand this better, I was delighted to be joined by Amil Khan, CEO of Valent Technologies and a disinformation expert.Many thanks to Assistant Producer Japji Oberoi Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I spoke to the man in the lucky orange hat, everyone's favourite war correspondent John Sweeney about the latest developments from Kyiv in this week of extraordinary events relating to Ukraine. Find John's work at x.com/johnsweeneyroar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The actual end of the Western Alliance, the departure of the United States from European Security and the need for a new Euro-Atlantic Treaty Organisation (EATO) is the subject of this fascinating and urgent discussion with Mike Martin, MP for Tunbridge Wells, member of the defence select committee and military expert. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In November 2023, I spoke to John Sweeney, veteran war correspondent, about the pressures on Ukraine as the world's attention turned towards the Middle East in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre and Israel's assault on Gaza. What he said at the time now sounds both poignant and prescient in the light of the unfolding betrayal of Ukraine by Donald Trump, something which was both predictable and widely predicted. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gaia Vince is a writer, journalist and fascinating thinker on issues relating to the crossover between humanity and the planet we inhabit. Her book Nomad Century looks at how climate change affects the liveability of large areas of the planet and the likely impact that will have.You can find her work here https://wanderinggaia.com/ and on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/wanderinggaia.bsky.social Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The idea that people can change weather has a long history - both as part of mythology and as part of modern day conspiracy theory. But the science of geoengineering is one that some scientists think could be an important opportunity to give the world space to make progress on reducing CO2 emissions. But geoengineering, including stratospheric aerosol injection, remains very controversial and little understood. Alistair Duffey is a scientist at University College London and one of a small number of researchers looking into solar geoengineering. He spoke about his work, the risks and potentialities that go with it, and whether it might be something we can expect in the near future.Alistair Duffey mentions a novel about this subject, Termination Shock. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How would the Gulf countries transition to a post oil economy? Could they do so and what happens if they don't? I spoke to Dr David Roberts, author of Security Politics in the Gulf Monarchies about this complex future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a co-host with the Disorder Podcast. You can find their details here: https://tr.ee/ksicr-3Wty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since 2011, war crimes investigator Bill Wiley has been on the trail of the criminal elements of the Assad regime who have carried out extraordinary amounts of killings, torture and other crimes. His organisation https://cijaonline.org/ has been collecting evidence and documenting these crimes since the start of the civil war. Now that Assad's regime has fallen, it was a good opportunity to understand the current status and likely trajectory of attempts to bring justice to Syrians. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does a society like France grapple with the challenge of populist politics? I spoke to Thom Reilly, former British Ambassador to Morocco who was a candidate in the European parliamentary elections for Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance political party. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marika Mariashvili returns for a special bonus episode as Georgia faces a constitutional crisis - the existing president refusing to cede power after a stolen election, and a new puppet in place taking his order from Moscow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does the fall of Assad mean for the mad Mullahs running Iran? I spoke to Charles Gammell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Miguel Delaney, Chief Football Writer at the Independent is the author of states of play, a book about the geopolitics of football. You can find him on Bluesky and Twitter.migueldelaney Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are literally a tiny number of people in this world who can speak with authority and insight on Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham - or HTS - the militant group that swept into Damascus a week ago. One of those people is Orwa Ajjoub, a Sweden-based academic of Syrian origin who has been studying this group for several years and who has direct contacts inside the group.I feel incredibly privileged to have had an extensive conversation with Orwa about HTS's origins, their evolving relationship with jihadism, their intentions and ambitions now in power and whether Al-Jolani is genuinely no longer part of a terrorist network. I found the whole discussion absolutely fascinating and I hope that you do too.You can follow Orwa's work here: https://x.com/OAjjoub and here https://www.mei.edu/profile/orwa-ajjoub and here https://bsky.app/profile/orwaajjoub.bsky.social If you feel able, please support the work of this podcast by becoming a paid subscriber of my substack arthursnell.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I spoke to the brilliant historian James Barr about the history of Syria from the Pharaohs to the present day. You can find James on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/jamesbarr.bsky.social and his books in all the good book places.Please check out my susbtack and - if you feel like supporting this podcast and are able to - take out a paid subscription which is enormously appreciated. https://arthursnell.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With bewildering events unfolding all over the place, I wanted to give some coverage to the Republic of Georgia, where the pro-Western political movement is responding to a rigged election and the decision of the illegitimate Moscow-aligned 'Georgian Dream' to block negotiations to join the EU, in spite of the fervent wish of most Georgians to join the bloc. Huge demonstrations have broken out all over the country, in spite of intimidation and violence from police and security forces, some of whom may be Russian imports.I was privileged to be able to speak to Marika Mariashvili, a politician and academic who has been active at the heart of the democracy movement in the country. You can (and should!) follow Marika on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/marikamikiashvili.bsky.social or Twitter https://x.com/Mikiashvili_M. This is genuinely a transitional moment in this country's story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The extraordinary turn of events in Syria in recent days saw the city of Aleppo, once Syria's largest and a key part of the earlier story of Syria's revolution, fall to Syria's rebels, with the soldiers of the Assad regime in chaotic retreat. I spoke to Thomas van Linge, one of the few journalist who has been covering the story, about what has happened and the reasons why.You can support Thomas's work here https://ko-fi.com/thomasvlinge and he is active on Twitter and Bluesky.If you'd like to support this podcast the easiest way to do that is becoming a paid subscriber of my Substack: arthursnell.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christopher Steele needs almost no introduction. But if you are interested in learning more about him you can buy his new book, Unredacted, here https://www.amazon.com/Unredacted-Russia-Trump-Fight-Democracy/dp/0063373432/ref=sr_1_1?crid=VZCQ114PBRZX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.qv6Zf5VhmrCD7zu54PyFEawg2dYzrTOT0sYgpY4o3jI.poSf3-HXXCfxlQwgK_vy6Xubh-BXVRLmOA0iPDWXVhc&dib_tag=se&keywords=unredacted+christopher+steele&qid=1732891790&sprefix=unredac%2Caps%2C201&sr=8-1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlie Gammell is a historian and Iran expert. His latest article on Iran can be found here: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-winds-of-change-are-blowing-in-iran/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Jonathan Terra is an American academic and analyst who has been based in Prague for 30+ years. We spoke about the impact of a Trump presidency on Eastern Europe and the wider geopolitical context. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I spoke to Mike Martin, military expert, writer, former soldier and now Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Tunbridge Wells about the new world (dis)order that lies before us under a Trump presidency.Mike can be found here: https://x.com/ThreshedThought and here https://mike-martin.co.uk/ and his book How to Fight a War is available in all the usual places. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I spoke to Jason Pack of the excellent Disorder podcast (https://x.com/DisorderShow) about conspiracy theories and how they are affecting the 2024 US presidential election. We also spoke about the state of the race which remains on a knife edge. You'll be interested to look at Jason's article in The New European on conspiracy theories here https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/a-lizard-persons-guide-to-us-election-conspiracy-theories/ and also an article Jason mentioned by Jonathan Winer on how Trump's people might try a coup in this election https://washingtonspectator.org/endgame-the-risk-of-a-trump-coup-and-how-to-prevent-it/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I spoke to the Swedish journalist Axel Gordh Humlesjö about his work investigating Russian dirty money in Sweden, especially in relation to Swedbank, Sweden's largest bank, whose CEO has been imprisoned on money-laundering charges.https://x.com/axelhumlesjo?lang=en Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the chaotic world we inhabit, the smartphone has become a key element of warfare, even in societies where we might imagine that connectivity is limited by reduced technological sophistication. I was privileged to be able to discuss this rapidly evolving landscape with three brilliant scholars:Professor Mirjam de Bruijn (https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/mirjam-de-bruijn#tab-1)Dr Jethro Norman (https://www.diis.dk/en/experts/jethro-norman)Professor Matthew Ford (https://www.fhs.se/sc/profile-page.html?identity=400.78d9ed61181920a3a625796c Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A special episode in support of the Vladimir Putin Do F*ck Off - #VPDFO - festival. This event, held in Kyiv earlier in October brought together soldiers, journalists, activists and politicians with the primary purpose of raising funds for a group of charities doing essential work on the ground in Ukraine. Go to VDPFO.org to find more details of the charities involved and please donate using the link below:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/ukraine-can-win-vpdfo-2024This is a straightforward way to get funds to some incredibly valuable organisations. Everything you donate goes direct to the charities.The festival ran for two days and there were several sessions. This episode contains highlights of the first day and you'll get to hear from day two in a subsequent episode.During the recording you'll hear from Mariia Chepa, Vlad Demchenko, Paul Conroy, Caolan Robertson, Paul Niland, Liudmyla Buimister and Dima Kovalchuk . The event was of course moderated by John Sweeney. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Veteran China correspondent Michael Sheridan has published a biography of Xi Jinping, China's leader, entitled The Red Emperor, published by Headline. You can find details of his book here:https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/michael-sheridan-2/the-red-emperor/9781035413478/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlie Gammell is an Iran expert, former British diplomat and historian. I spoke to him about the latest developments with Iran and the war now sweeping across the Middle East. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In July this year, the well entrenched autocratic regime that ruled Bangladesh, a country of nearly 200 million people, was toppled entirely unexpectedly by a student-led democracy movement, ushering in an interim government led by a Nobel prize-winning peace and development activist. How the Bangladesh Spring happened and whether it is likely to succeed is the subject of this episode. I spoke to Dhaka-based expert David Bergman about the extraordinary events and their political background. Bergman also covers the surprising role played by supporters of Bangladesh's ruling party in British politics.https://www.channel4.com/news/tulip-siddiq-uk-wing-of-bangladeshs-ruling-party-appear-to-be-campaigning-for-labour-candidateYou can find David's work here: thedavidbergman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the UN General Assembly taking place in New York I spoke to the International Crisis Group's UN Director Richard Gowan about the the organisation, its current challenges and where it might be headed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I spoke to Charlie Gammell, author, former diplomat and Iran expert on the unfolding crisis in Lebanon after the explosions of Hizbullah communications equipment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I spoke to Professor James Crossland about the extraordinary life of diplomat, secret agent and journalist Robert Bruce Lockhart.You can find James's book on the subject here: https://eandtbooks.com/books/rogue-agent/James is on Twitter @drjcrossland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Veteran foreign correspondent Jonathan Rugman is the author of The Killing in the Consulate about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. More recently he has produced a fascinating two-part documentary about MBS and his rise to power. You can find it on BBC Iplayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001zprq/the-kingdom-the-worlds-most-powerful-prince-series-1-1-game-of-thrones and you can find Jonathan's enlightening article about MBS here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gz8934wrroJonathan is on Twitter at https://x.com/jrug Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have we entered a post-Western world? What does that mean and how does it look from the other side of the world? Singapore based academic and former British diplomat has published a new book, Westlessness about this idea and I spoke to him for a wide-ranging discussion on the decline of the west, the rise of Asia and the potential implications. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Dorsey is a writer and journalist and author of the new book The Battle forthe Soul of Islam - Defining the Muslim Faith in the 21st Century, published by Macmillan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In September last year, an established community in a European country of hundreds of thousands of people was removed in its entirety after a devastating military campaign. This was not Ukraine, but the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, which has now ceased to exist. To understand this and the dynamics of a little understood region including the complex interplay between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, all under the watchful and interfering Russian eye, it was a great pleasure to speak to Neil Hauer, a Canadian journalist based in the region for several years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Away from NATO's glitzy summit 75th anniversary summit in Washington DC, the war in Ukraine drags on. Ian Bond, a former British ambassador and now Deputy Director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank spoke to me about his recent visit to Ukraine and Moldova and what it portends for the war in Ukraine and wider European security. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Annette Dittert, London correspondent of German TV channel ARD since 2008. She has lived here since 2008, but she remains someone who can look dispassionately at our politics, culture and institutions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I spoke to Nick Cohen, veteran political journalist and author of the Writing from London substack https://nickcohen.substack.com/ about the record of the past 14 years of Conservative government and what we might expect from a Labour one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I spoke to Jason Pack about the fallout from President Joseph Biden's poor debate performance on 27 June. Jason has written about this in his substack and also recorded his own podcast on the subject, both available here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-146086715?source=queueWe covered: does the poor debate even matter? What is the process (if one exists) for replacing Biden as the presidential nominee? Who are the likely candidates? What is at stake if Biden doesn't stand down and Trump wins? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Macron did something truly unexpected when he called a snap election in the aftermath of the European parliamentary elections. It now looks very likely that France's next legislature will contain a plurality of hard right deputies from Marine Le Pen's National Rally. I spoke to Lord Peter Ricketts, former British Ambassador to France about this unexpected election and what it portends. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was delighted to speak to Akanksha Narain, Indian political analyst and consultant about the unexpected election results in India where Modi's BJP party fell far short of their target of 400 seats in the 542-seat lower house of Parliament (Lok Sabha). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I spoke to Christina Keßler of the Centre for European Reform (CER) about the current EU elections and the possibility of Europe taking a turn to the right.You can find Christina's work at the CER here: https://www.cer.eu/personnel/christina-kesslerSeparately, I appeared on the new podcast Quiet Riot. Find the episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6RGol2iYEkToCCrYjFUwkm?si=4FDTU1NaTgOaRfGf_Y2Qog Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Trump's criminal conviction, the chaos and division of American politics seems set to increase. But this is about much more than what happened in a New York courtroom, with roots in American history, its political structures and the rise of certain ideological movements. I spoke to American political scientist Jonathan Terra about the backdrop to the current events. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I spoke to disinformation expert Amil Khan about the current state of disinformation in global and UK politics and the risks it could pose to the 2024 UK general election. Amil is Director of Valent projects. His work has been covered in a range of media outlets including Disinformation is on the rise. How does it work?economist.com, and the BBC How some AI developers are combatting malicious bots | BBC Newsyoutu.be. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.