Ep 132. Why Backgammon Can Help us Order the Disorder

In this week’s episode, Alex and Jason are joined by former US congressman Tom Malinowski (D-NJ). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Malinowski. In addition to talking about why Tom ziplined to his wedding, they discuss: how to end the war in Ukraine, smear campaigns in American elections, Russian misinformation, why democracy seems to be on the back foot globally, how American and British Neo-populism is connected to the rise of authoritarianism abroad, and why the US and UK experience so many structural inefficiencies when building railroads and highways.  Twitter: @DisorderShow    Read Tom’s thoughts about how to end the war in Ukraine, here: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/08/18/how-to-end-ukraine-war-00111752    Producer: George McDonagh  Exec Producer: Neil Fearn    Show Notes Links  For more on Tom, visit https://twitter.com/Malinowski   Subscribe to the Disorder Show Monthly Newsletter here     Read Jason’s recent writing, ‘The Road to Middle East Peace Runs Through Doha’ here For all who are interested in 'the definitive' reading of how The Global Enduring Disorder (including the divisiveness and ineffectiveness of Neopopulism) caused the war in Gaza listen to Yuval Noah Harari on Sam Harris’s Making Sense here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21 Nov 202346min

Diplomacy is a game, and geopolitics is a psychological sport. Though we may root for the ‘democratic good guys’, it is often the disordering ‘autocratic bad guys’ that achieve their aims through effective use of psychological tactics like bluffing and intimidation.    In this episode, we meet Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s former Chief of Staff, who helped negotiate landmark treaties like the Good Friday Agreement. He tells us how our leaders could use various skills to get to mutually beneficial agreements. We’ll also meet Kenneth Dekleva, a former US diplomat and a Professor of Psychiatry, who will present certain ways we can psychologically outfox disorderers like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.    Twitter: @DisorderShow    Website: https://natoandtheglobalenduringdisorder.com/nato-and-adversaries     Producer: George McDonagh  Exec Producer: Neil Fearn    Show Notes Links    Jonathan Powell’s Majestic work on the Negotiations in Northern Ireland is here Get Kenneth Dekleva’s latest books. The Last Violinist here  Read a recent article by Kenneth here  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 Nov 202350min

In this episode, Alex Hall Hall talks to Tom Fletcher, the former British Ambassador to Lebanon. Tom and Alex discuss the Palestinian refugee and surrounding Arab states narratives as an entry point to examine whether there’s any risk of the war spreading. They delve deeper into: the rationale for humanitarian de-escalation, the interests and motives of players like Lebanon, Hezbollah and Iran, and what international actors like the UK, the US and the UN need to be doing to stabilize the situation, and how they can be working towards longer term solutions.    Twitter: @DisorderShow  Website: https://natoandtheglobalenduringdisorder.com   Producer: George McDonagh  Exec Producer: Neil Fearn    Show Notes Links    Read Tom Fletcher’s writing around this issue at here    You can listen to Jason’s take on the regional context on the PREVAIL podcast here     You can read current Alex’s writing around this issue here   Read, As dark as things seem, the war in Gaza could end up restarting the peace process here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7 Nov 202339min

As the Israeli-Hamas war enters a new phase, Alex and Jason discuss how hard it is to speak publicly and diplomatically about an issue that’s become so partisan and so emotive. Plus: the pair talk about Jason’s idea for interim post-war governance of Gaza involving a Qatari-Saudi-Egyptian-Emirati condominium which would need to be mediated by American and British diplomats. Although only a medium-term solution, Jason believes it could give key regional players a stake in forging peace in the region. Twitter: @DisorderShow  Website: https://natoandtheglobalenduringdisorder.com   Producer: George McDonagh  Exec Producer: Neil Fearn    Show Notes Links    Read Jason’s Article, “Qatar is the key to peace in postwar Gaza” here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Okt 202356min

Across the world, there are vast swathes of the planet (especially our oceans and atmosphere) that have been left without governance, and into that space have stepped terrorist groups, disordering non-state actors, drug cartels, and polluting and exploitative corporations. So how can global institutions help bring a semblance of order back to these places ?  In this episode, Sam Quinones will help us look at how rogue actors have helped to perpetuate disorder across the world – for example, in Mexico where drug cartels turn the absence of governance into proift. Harold A. Trinkunas talks to us about how ungoverned spaces in Venezula and other failed States came to be and what their existence says about our era of disorder. In the conclusion, Alex and Jason ‘Order the Disorder’ propose how communities and interested institution can mitigate the disordering impact of spaces that are without global governance.    Twitter: @DisorderShow   Website: https://natoandtheglobalenduringdisorder.com/nato-and-adversaries     Producer: George McDonagh  Exec Producer: Neil Fearn    Show Notes Links    Get Harold’s co-authored book, Ungoverned Spaces: Alternatives to state authority in an era of softened sovereignty here    For more on Sam Quinones, visit here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

24 Okt 202348min

From London to Miami, illicit cash has been flowing through the West’s financial systems. Coordination failures have allowed disruptors like Russia to prop up a transnational kleptocracy – while groups like the UN, IMF and NATO are ill-equipped to deal with this problem, especially as key players in Britain and America, actively encourage the financial deregulation on which the kleptocrats thrive.  In this episode we look at the origins of globalized finance and how illicit money flows cause global disorder by empowering thieves and increasing inequality, and what can be done to stop the spread of dirty cash. Peter Geoghegan explains how illicit money influences British politics. Tena Prelec examines the role of Eastern Europe and sketches how the answer out of our current mess is to advocate for radical transparency. In the Ordering the Disorder segment we showcase why we should focus on ordering our own house first rather than focusing on the sins of our systemic competitors.  Twitter: @DisorderShow  Website: https://natoandtheglobalenduringdisorder.com/nato-and-adversaries     Producer: George McDonagh  Exec Producer: Neil Fearn    Show Notes Links    For more on Peter Geoghegan is here   For more on Tena Prelec, visit here More on this kleptocracy and tax havens can be found here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Okt 202355min

On Saturday October the 7th the world awoke to the most horrific, chaotic, and game changing Arab-Israeli war in 50 years. But despite how tragic the news was, it wasn’t at all surprising. Internal divisions and partisan dysfunction inside previously functioning democracies (like Israel) have left previously secure and united societies, divided and open to their enemies. This has been an open invitation to those who wish to actively disorder global affairs.  In this bonus episode, Jason Pack and David Patrikarakos discuss how, in our era of disorder, conflicts in one part of the world create immediate disordering reactions elsewhere. They’ll also talk about David’s time in Gaza, Jason’s conversations with anti-Semitic cab drivers in Lebanon and the West Bank, and how the internet radicalizes reporting on this conflict. Jason and David disagree agreeably about whether Hamas has already won this war. Finally, they’ll try to suggest ways out of this conflict, as they try to Order the Disorder.  Twitter: @DisorderShow  Website:   https://natoandtheglobalenduringdisorder.com/    Producer: George McDonagh  Exec Producer: Neil Fearn    Show Notes Links  Subscribe to the Disorder Show Monthly Newsletter here   For depth on the historical context of the War: listen to Jason on Arthur Snell’s Behind the Lines here   Brett Stevens NYT Op-ed on potential solutions here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Okt 202336min

Nation states no longer work effectively in tandem. Gone are the days of hegemonic US power directly ordering the allies. Furthermore, groups like the UN are ineffective, with disruptors often calling the shots. However, NATO stands apart as an example of how countries can work together successfully and how a global institution can remain largely uncontroversial, while doing serious coordinating work to solve real world problems.    In this episode our hosts and guests relate their perspectives about what NATO stands for, its strengths and limitations, and the threats it faces. Former NATO Deputy Sec General, Jamie Shea tells about how the organisation worked in the Balkans and Afghanistan, while Kori Schake mulls over the role of the US as NATO’s hegemonic leader. Timothy Garton Ash comments on distinctions between NATO and the EU especially as pertains to values like liberty. Finally, Charles Kupchan examines why Russia chooses to actively disorder. Charles and Jason disagree agreeable on China’s role as an orderer vs. disorderer.     Twitter: @DisorderShow  Website: https://natoandtheglobalenduringdisorder.com/nato-and-adversaries     Producer: George McDonagh  Exec Producer: Neil Fearn    Show Notes Links    For more on Kori Schake, visit here   For more on Jamie Shea, visit here    Get Timothy Garton Ash’s book, Homelands here   For more on Charles Kupchan, visit here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10 Okt 202354min