Podcasts about political transition

What does an interrupted democratic transition look like? In this episode, we speak to Dr. Ibrahim Elbadawi, managing director of the Economic Research Forum and former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning in the Republic of Sudan. In May of 2023, Dr. Elbadawi joined us in Chicago at the sixth annual Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Lecture to discuss Sudan's political transition and economic policymaking. The lecture took place just weeks after violent conflict erupted in Sudan. Fighting between two military factions has forced millions of Sudanese to flee the violence and cast a shadow of uncertainty over Sudan's ambitions to transition to a civilian-led democracy.Watch the Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Lecture featuring Dr. Elbadawi here.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Access the transcript here.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Hisham Yousif and Kirgit AmlaiEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah Balikci

Sudan is in the grip of escalating armed conflict and on teetering on the edge of civil war. Two rival armed forces, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are fighting in the capital, Khartoum and in regional cities and towns across the country. Both are heavily armed and have regional backers. The crisis has its origins in Sudan's failed internationally-backed political transition since the revolutionary events that led to the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir in 2019. In his remarks, Professor Srinivasan discusses how did the RSF, and its entrepreneurial leader Mohamed "Hemedti" Hamdan Dagalo, come to play a central role in Sudanese politics? How does this conflict play out regionally with Egypt, Libya, Chad, Ethiopia, and Gulf countries having clear interest and what role did western and international peacemaking play in precipitating Sudan's violent unravelling? About the Speaker: Sharath Srinivasan is David and Elaine Potter Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge's Department of Politics and International Studies, a Fellow of King's College Cambridge, and Co-Director of the University's Centre of Governance & Human Rights (CGHR). He lived and worked in Sudan in the early 2000s and has been researching on the region since then. His book, When Peace Kills Politics: International Intervention and Unending Wars in the Sudans, was published in 2021 (Hurst/OUP). He also co-edited Making and Breaking Peace in Sudan and South Sudan: The Comprehensive Peace Agreement and Beyond (British Academy/OUP, 2020). Sharath is a Fellow of the Rift Valley Institute and a Trustee of the British Institute in Eastern Africa. Alongside longstanding work on Sudan, his current research focuses on communication technology and politics and peaceful assembly. He co-edited Publics in Africa in a Digital Age (Routledge, 2021) and is co-founder of non-profit digital social research spinout, Africa's Voices (www.africasvoices.org).

Tunisian President Kais Saied has reformed the structure of the Tunisian government, creating worries that democracy is being eroded in the North African country. Amidst ongoing economic turmoil and a growing migration issue, many are wondering if it is still possible to preserve democracy in Tunisia. Intissar Fakir, Director of MEI's North Africa & Sahel program, is joined by Chiraz Arbi and Lilia Blaise to discuss the current political situation and what the future may look like for Tunisia.

Few national elections received as much global attention last year as the ones organised in Brazil. With the future of the Amazon at stake, the tight race between Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva seemed to have turned into an international affair. Lula's inauguration came with the vow to overhaul environmental and territorial policies. Within this ‘zero deforestation' and sustainable development strategy, civil society actors, previously silenced by Bolsonaro, are promised to play a key role. Beyond the mediatised political transition, this series gives voice to civil society actors and populations who are directly impacted by and actively challenged the country's territorial and environmental management. From urban space to indigenous territories, from agricultural landscapes to protected areas.

American democracy is in crisis, much of it the direct product of Donald Trump, a petty scammer who managed to talk his way into the White House who was willing to overthrow our government after he lost in 2020. But the crisis of the present moment is larger than Trump himself. It's also larger than the extremist political movement that calls itself “conservatism” in the United States. The political left is also in crisis, a crisis of stasis. Poll after poll has shown that Americans overwhelmingly support more progressive public policies like universal health care, paid parental leave, higher taxes on the wealthy, more oversight for corporate behemoths, and a lot stronger protections for employees. There's no doubt that reactionary Republicans have played a role in stopping these policies from becoming reality, but it is also the case that more than a few Democrats have also worked hard to block them. At the same time, however, progressive activists who do favor these policies and want to implement them for their fellow Americans have had difficulty promoting the ideas into law. What can be done about this situation? Can the political left take at least some lessons from the right on how to make change? I think so. Joining me to discuss all this is Max Berger, he's the editorial director of More Perfect Union, which is a new site featuring in-depth reporting about how corporate America abuses workers and showcasing employees who fight back. He also is the co-author of a 2018 report called “Beyond Trump: A Theory of Political Transition” that sought to give advice to progressives on a way forward. GUEST INFO Max Berger on Twitter: https://twitter.com/maxberger More Perfect Union: https://perfectunion.us/ Report, "Beyond Trump: A Theory of Political Transition" https://plantogovern.us/beyond-trump/ ABOUT THE SHOW Theory of Change is hosted by Matthew Sheffield and is part of the Flux network, a new content community of podcasters and writers. Please visit us at https://flux.community to learn more and to tell us about what you're doing. We're constantly growing and learning from the great people we meet. Theory of Change website: https://theoryofchange.show Theory of Change on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheoryChange Matthew Sheffield on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattsheffield SUPPORT THE SHOW PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/theorychange Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/discoverflux If you're not able to support financially, please help us by subscribing and/or leaving a nice review on your favorite podcast app. Doing this helps other people find Theory of Change and our great guests. Thanks for your help! Theory of Change on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/theory-of-change-podcast/id1486920059

In episode 13, we chat with Jana's supervisor, Prof. Louise du Toit about her current research on Mahatma Gandhi and non-violent protests in South Africa today. You can look forward to discussions about Gandhi's spiritual ontology, a deep dive into aggressive non-violence, and how we can rethink self-care and discipline within our current political landscape. This episode was recorded a few weeks before the events that transpired in KZN & Gauteng, but we believe that it can still offer some relevant insights. More about our guest: Louise du Toit is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Her main research interests include a wide range of themes within feminist philosophy, especially in the European and African traditions. She is interested in sexual violence, Critical Theory, political philosophy, hermeneutics, philosophy and literature, phenomenology, legal philosophy, environmental philosophy and feminist philosophy of religion. She is the author of A Philosophical Investigation of Rape: the making and unmaking of the feminine self (Routledge, 2009) and is currently working on a second monograph with the title Sexual Violence and Political Transition. She was also guest editor of ‘Rape and Its Meaning/s', a special edition of Philosophical Papers, November 2009. She is on the editorial board of Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, De Uil van Minerva and of Gender Questions. She is currently involved in several international research collaborations with themes including ”Towards a Political Ontology of Violence: reality, image and perception' (Leiden University), ‘Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict' (Hamburg Institute for Social Research), ‘Boundaries and Legal Authority in a Global Context' (Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study), and ‘African Philosophy and Literature' (Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program). If you haven't subscribed to our podcast yet, please do so. Rate and review us if you enjoy our content– this way you help us by making it easier for other listeners to find us. Thank you to our Patreon members that make this labour of love possible! If you like what we do, please consider supporting us on Patreon or make a donation here: https://www.nbcollective.space/air-it-support-us As always, we would love to hear what you think about the concepts, theories, texts, and practices discussed in this podcast, so please reach out: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/airit_podcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/airitpodcast/?hc_location=ufi Email: airitpodcast@gmail.com Post-production, research, and editing by Jana Vosloo and Nicolene Burger. Social media square designs by Margaux Loubser. Music by Thabo Krouwkam. And remember, STAY STIMULATED!

Haiti is in political turmoil after President Moïse's assassination in his home last week. The Miami Herald's Jacqueline Charles and the University of Virginia's Robert Fatton Jr. join Deep Dish to assess the country's stability, how international interference factored into the hollowing out of democratic institutions, and what could tip the scales towards disaster or hope for the future. 

"If you were to look closely at his time in power, it is punctuated by rebellions, it is punctuated by coup attempts, it is punctuated by civil unrest, human rights abuses; there is no way to look at the domestic political situation in Chad, under Déby and walk away thinking this is a stable, prosperous regime." Daniel Eizenga In this conversation, Dr. Daniel Eizenga, Research Fellow at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies examines the current political situation in Chad following the unexpected death of President Idriss Déby Itno who ruled the country for 30 years.

This event was organised by MEI's Political Economy Research Cluster on 24 March 2021. Click on the following link for more details: https://mei.nus.edu.sg/event/egypt-and-myanmar-how-the-militarys-economic-interests-complicates-political-transition/  Abstracts Egypt and Turkey: The Military's Economic Stake and the Path to Political Transition by Dr Yezid Sayigh Comparison between the political and economic roles of the National Armed Forces in Turkey and Egypt allows three principal insights. First, the degree to which the military is committed to a dominant economic model has a major bearing on the form and purpose of its own economic activity. It follows that the lack of a clear vision for the path to capitalist development, or an enduring legacy of non-capitalist path to development, allows opportunistic economic activity and raises the military's stake in holding on to state power. Second, the retreat of the military role in national politics and government is heavily contingent on social transformations resulting from economic modes that generate significant social classes and private sectors with a higher relative degree of autonomy from the state. The converse is also true – the military may tighten its grip where economic mode and state power impede social transformation of this kind and instead, generate concentration of wealth and widen income disparity. Lastly, the preceding two dimensions are reflected in the political domain: in a multi-party system, the military tends to act as a balancer and arbiter whereas in a one or non-party system, the military tends to entrench its role as a regime pillar and further concentrate all forms of power in the state.    The Military Coup in Myanmar: Taking Care of Business by Dr Htwe Htwe Thein The coup in Myanmar is partly about protecting the military elite's economic interests. These interests are vested in two vast military-owned conglomerates – Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC).  The spectre of the democratically elected National League for Democracy gradually diluting the military's political power also challenged its economic power. The military's conglomerates were established in 1988 when the armed forces were in full control of Myanmar. As market players, they benefitted from Myanmar's embrace of international trade with Asian investors who, unlike their Western counterparts, did not adhere to US sanctions imposed in 1997 and were only lifted after the political transition in 2011. Myanmar's isolation allowed the military to strengthen the conglomerates' grip on the economy and enrich senior military personnel by controlling licensing, issuing concessions and developing partnerships with Asian investors and emerging domestic private businesses that were dependent on the armed forces. The military maintained its economic interests and partnerships over the last decade despite the transition from military to quasi-civilian rule in 2011 and the subsequent shift into-quasi democratic rule. That is the primary reason why the Civil Disobedience Movement, since the coup on 1 February 2021, has emphasised a boycott of products and services provided by the military's conglomerates as well as domestic and international businesses that are part of the armed forces' nexus. The focus on the nexus highlights the need for future transition to involve both political and economic change and the international community can contribute to that by designing sanctions accordingly.

Special Envoy of the African Union to Sudan, Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt, recounts his mediation role in the political transition in Sudan; his arrival in Khartoum in an atmosphere of fear just ten days after the 2019 coup, his late-night talks with the military authorities and his discussions with opposition groups, particularly after a massacre that killed over one hundred civilians. He recalls shedding tears in the search for peace, and how those tears turned to elation once a deal was done.

Political Transition in Somalia - Q and A by Rift Valley Institute

Political Transition In Somalia - Panel by Rift Valley Institute

In a landmark ruling in February of this year, Malawi’s High Court concluded that the country’s president Peter Mutharika was “not duly elected”. The Court thus annulled the May 2019 elections in Malawi citing massive irregularities. It ordered new elections within five months and concluded that the Malawi Electoral Commission had failed to carry out its responsibilities according to the constitution and electoral law. The lengthy, meticulously detailed, and unanimous ruling by the five judges has attracted widespread international acclaim. The court ruling followed numerous protests organized throughout the country after the May 2019 elections. Edge Kanyongolo is an Associate professor at the Department of Law at Chancellor College, University of Malawi. Resources:A great judgment, but court victories won’t deliver democracy in Malawi (Dan Banik & Happy Kayuni, The Conversation, February 2020)Political Transition and Inclusive Development in Malawi: The democratic dividend (open access book with a chapter by Edge Kanyongolo, edited by Dan Banik and Blessings Chinsinga, Routledge).Courts and the Poor in Malawi: Economic Marginalization (Siri Gloppen and Edge Kanyongolo, International Journal of Constitutional Law, 2007)Edge Kanyongolo on TwitterDan Banik on TwitterIn Pursuit of Development on Twitter  

Malawi is my second home. Every year, for the past fifteen years, I have made numerous trips from Norway to this beautiful country in Southern Africa to conduct research and to teach at the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College. During this time, I have been privileged to strike up many friendships with Malawians from all walks of life. I miss my friends. With borders closed all over the world, I worry that I may not be able to return to this beautiful country for a very long time. My initial interest in Malawi was spurred by two Masters students of political science at the University of Oslo who were studying health policy and local perceptions of the impact of democracy in Malawi in 2004-2005. While supervising these students, I began to learn about a country that did not normally elicit much international attention. The more I read, the more intrigued I became. The narrative then, as is also often the case now, was of Malawi struggling to achieve economic growth and address poverty reduction while undergoing democratic consolidation. The social science literature on Malawi then was limited. And the few good books that offered nuanced analyses explaining Malawi’s underdevelopment highlighted a dysfunctional political system, pervasive corruption, and the general lack of trust in democratic institutions. Hence, many questioned the added value of democracy and whether hard fought democratic freedoms have provided citizens with improved livelihoods. Many of these issues remain as relevant today as they were fifteen years ago. I have tried to decode the “Malawi paradox” – i.e. despite peace, political stability and consistent support for democracy, most Malawians have not witnessed radical improvement in their living standards and the country continues to perform poorly on most development indicators. And high levels of corruption, administrative inefficiency and political inaction and the lack of foresightedness continue to dominate the development landscape. Malawi lags behind its neighbours, and hence the international development discourse is frequently characterised by the perception that “there are developing countries, and then there is Malawi”. Such statements imply a sense of hopelessness about the country’s development trajectory. We address many of these issues in a book that I edited with Professor Blessings Chinsinga in 2016 entitled Political Transition and Inclusive Development in Malawi: The Democratic Dividend (open access). In this book, we concluded that democracy does not necessarily always foster or guarantee development when the desire to win the support of the electorate results in the adoption of populist policies. Indeed, although the overarching policy goals of the various governments in Malawi since 1994 have been poverty alleviation, the empirical evidence suggests that the impact of democracy on poverty reduction and socio-economic development has been negligible. Will the upcoming elections usher in a new age for Malawi? Only time will tell. My guest in this episode is Dr. Boniface Dulani, who studied at York and Sussex universities in the UK and has a doctorate in political science from Michigan State University in the United States. He is the Director of Survey at Afrobarometer – a non-partisan, pan-African research institution conducting public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, the economy and society in over 30 countries on the African continent. Dr. Dulani is senior lecturer at the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at Chancellor College, University of Malawi.

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with William Pomeranz, Deputy Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute and author of Law and the Russian State: Russia's Legal Evolution from Peter the Great to Vladimir Putin (Bloomsbury, 2018). They discuss the proposed Russian constitutional reform, its key provisions, and what their impact is likely to be.   Will’s previous appearance on Russian Roulette, when he discussed his book, can be found here: https://www.csis.org/podcasts/russian-roulette/law-and-russian-state-%E2%80%93-russian-roulette-episode-78 Will’s book is available for purchase here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/law-and-the-russian-state-9781474224246/, or for order from your local bookstore.   You can find his bio as well as his other works here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/william-e-pomeranz   We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.  

Shamila Chaudhary, Michael Kugelman, and Marvin Weinbaum join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the political situation in Afghanistan following the expiration of President Ashraf Ghani’s term in office, presidential elections in September, the state of US-Taliban talks and the intra-Afghan dialogue.

Matthew J Walton, Ma Khin Mar Mar Kyi and Aye Thein speak at the Southeast Asia Seminar on 14 February 2018. Myanmar's formal religious authority, the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (Ma Ha Na), was formed in the 1980s, as part of the military government's efforts to centralise religious control. Popular opinion sees Ma Ha Na as the tool of previous military governments. The contemporary 'Buddhist nationalist' movement is led by the Buddha Dhamma Parahita Foundation (formerly known as Ma Ba Tha), a group that has had an increasingly contentious relationship with Myanmar's formal political and religious authorities. Often portrayed simply as a xenophobic, anti-Muslim movement, we argue that Ma Ba Tha can instead be understood as a group that many of its members and leading voices see as a vehicle to challenge the formal religious hierarchy, viewed by many monks as undemocratic and rigid. This struggle over spiritual authority is usually missed in analyses of pro-Buddhist 'nationalist' activism in Myanmar. Yet, this perspective can help explain the group’s persistent and widespread popularity and also portends a more divisive conflict brewing in the country, between formal religious authorities and a growing alternative centre of spiritual influence. Matthew J Walton, Ma Khin Mar Mar Kyi and Aye Thein are all members of the research team for the ESRC-funded project 'Understanding 'Buddhist Nationalism' in Myanmar: Religion, Gender, Identity, and Conflict in a Political Transition.' This two year research project seeks to critically assess and disaggregate the category of 'Buddhist nationalism' in Myanmar by focusing on the creation, deployment, and critical response of differently positioned groups and individuals in Myanmar to various 'Buddhist' and 'nationalist' narratives, with particular regard to ethnic, geographic and gendered identities.

Leaders Voices presents an interview with Ms. Fatou Camara, founder and CEO of The Fatu Network, an online radio station focusing on the politics and ongoings in The Gambia. Listen here and learn about Ms. Camara’s views on The Gambia’s political transition and prospects for the future. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão is the Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment for the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. He has served as President of his country for five years, Prime Minister for seven and a half years and was a central figure in his country’s 24-year struggle for the restoration of independence. In this public address he discussed Political Transition and National Unity: The Timor-Leste Story, exploring the lessons of nation building and transition in Australia’s ‘near neighbor to the north’. He reflected on the ways Timor-Leste’s experience relates to international experience and present his views on how emerging global trends are impacting developing nations and fragile States. His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão is the Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment of the Government of Timor-Leste. Until stepping aside in February 2015 to facilitate a generational leadership transition, he was the Prime Minister of his country for seven and a half years. Prior to this role as Prime Minister he served as the first elected President of the Republic after being sworn in on the 20th of May 2002, the day marking Timor-Leste’s official restoration of independence. Xanana Gusmão was a central figure in the quest for independence and after the Indonesian occupation began in 1975 he became deeply engaged in the resistance struggle. In 1981 he was elected leader of the Resistance and Commander-in-Chief of the National Liberation Armed Forces of Timor-Leste. He went on to conceive and implement the Policy of National Unity bringing together all to work cooperatively to achieve the goal of national sovereignty. In November of 1992, after 17 years of active resistance, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão was captured in the capital Díli and even though imprisoned in Indonesia until September 1999, he continued to lead the struggle to achieve freedom for his people. On release he returned to see his dream of an independent Timor-Leste realised and turned his efforts to the task of national reconstruction, continuing his life-long work of service to uphold the independence and dignity of the people of Timor-Leste. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão has received recognition around the world for his humanitarian work and his role as a champion of peace and reconciliation. ST Lee Lecture The ST Lee Lecture on Asia and the Pacific was established in 2007 thanks to the generous support of Singaporean businessman and philanthropist Dr ST Lee. The lecture provides an opportunity for a distinguished figure from the Asia Pacific to speak on developments or trends in the region.

A Center for Social Theory and Comparative History colloquium with Cihan Tugal (Sociology, UC Berkeley), Caglar Keyder (Sociology, SUNY Binghamton), Asli Bali (Law, UCLA).

This is a re-broadcast of an interview conducted in 2003 on radio KJLH, a prominent radio-station in Los Angeles. Fellow panelist include Fofo Lukata and economist Professor Adelar.

Presentation 3 of plenary 1 of the Amnesty in the Age of Accountability: Brazil in Comparative and International Perspective Conference. Please note: This presentation is in Portuguese.

Transcript -- Residents of Atlantic Beach in Cape Town, South Africa, talk about why they feel more comfortable and more secure living in a gated community.

Residents of Atlantic Beach in Cape Town, South Africa, talk about why they feel more comfortable and more secure living in a gated community.

Transcript -- Residents of Atlantic Beach in Cape Town, South Africa, talk about why they feel more comfortable and more secure living in a gated community.

Residents of Atlantic Beach in Cape Town, South Africa, talk about why they feel more comfortable and more secure living in a gated community.