The Red Line

Latest Episodes:

45 - Japan and the Quad Jun 13, 2021

Show notes

To counter an ever-expanding China, Tokyo is turning abroad in search of allies. Key to this is the recent revival of "The Quad", a strategic dialogue between The US, Australia, Japan and India. Will it be enough to counter their rising neighbour across the East China Sea? Is this the first step to creating an "Asian NATO", and what will Chinas response be? We ask our expert panel. On the panel this week: Owen Swift (ASPI) John Nilsson-Wright (Cambridge) John Coyne (ASPI) Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus For more information visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

44 - The Geopolitics of Uzbekistan (and the Island of Anthrax) May 30, 2021

Show notes

Half way down the old Silk Road lies the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, the republic that connects all of the Central Asian states. With the passing of their long-term dictator Uzbekistan is now making big steps forward but the weights left over from their past will be hard to shake, one of those being an entire rotting island that once housed the Soviet biological warfare program now radiating out into the desert.

On the panel this week - Joanna Lillis (The Economist) - Nikita Makarenko (Uzbek Journalist) - Kristaps Andrejsons (The Eastern Border) - Bruce Pannier (Radio Free Liberty) Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael in @MikeHilliardAus For more info visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

43 - The Next Phase in Cyber Warfare May 16, 2021

Show notes

With each major technological leap forward in warfare the rules of war also change, and the new frontier of Cyber Warfare has completely thrown out the conventional concept of the first strike. With tens of thousands of cyber-attacks are occurring each day from all of the major players how prepared any nation is to be able to defend itself is now a giant question mark.

On the panel this week - Tom Uren (ASPI) - Brandon Valeriano (CATO) - Jody Westby (Global Cyber Risk) - Bruce Schneier (Harvard University) Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus For more info visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

42 - The Battle for Western Sahara (Africa's Last Colony) May 02, 2021

Show notes

On the Northwestern edge of the Sahara desert lies the former Spanish colonial possession of Western Sahara. The region has been in various states of conflict for over 50 years, with Morocco's Royal Armed Forces and the Algerian-supported Arab Sahrawi Democratic Republic battling it out for control. We look at the origins of this conflict, the difficulties in resolving it, and the consequences for failing to do so for the stability of Western Africa. On the panel this week

Stephen Zunes (Cornell University) Riccardo Rabiani (Crisis Group) Jalel Harchaoui (Global Initiative) Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliard For more in please visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

41 - Who Controls the Caribbean? Apr 18, 2021

Show notes

In 1823 US President James Monroe declared "The Monroe Doctrine", that the Western hemisphere would be the backyard of the United States. That doctrine is now almost 200 years old and the world is a very different place, European powers such as the Netherlands, UK and France all hold colonies in the Sea; and other players such as Venezuela and Cuba are putting forward competition as well. The real threat for the US though may come from outside powers shopping around for strategic footholds in an area the US regularly overlooks. On the panel this week. Ivelaw Griffiths (CSIS) Vicki Assevero (Atlantic Council) Victor Bulmer-Thomas (Chatham House) For more info please visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show on - @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on - @MikeHilliardAus

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

40 - Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia (A War for the Crossroads) Apr 04, 2021

Show notes

Georgia has been at the heart of regional geopolitics for decades now, smashed between three expanding areas of influence from Moscow, Ankara and Tehran, with Georgia desperately trying to act as the neutral ground. But war is already there in the Georgian homeland, with the two breakaway Moscow facing republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, adding more complications to an already tumultuous region. On the panel this week. Gerard Toal (Geopolitical Author) Natia Seskuria (RUSI) Neil Hauer (Conflict Journalist) Thomas De Waal (Carnegie Europe) Follow the show in @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus For more info please visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

39 - Pakistan's Two Front War Mar 21, 2021

Show notes

When Obama left the White House he stated that the thing that kept him up at night more than anything else was the potential for Pakistan and India to stumble into an unplanned nuclear exchange. What was once a regional conflict has now drawn in a number of great powers such as China, and the US, but no side yet has a real plan to try to avert the risk of this simmering conflict going nuclear. The estimate is that in the event of an Indian invasion toward Islamabad the Pakistani command may only have around 6 hours to either "use or lose" their nuclear weapons, so we ask our panel what the likely outcome will be for this nightmare scenario. On the panel this week. Ayesha Jalal (Tufts University) Adam Weinstein (Foreign Policy) Andrew Small (George Marshall Fund) For more information please visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

38 - Iraq: What Went Wrong? Mar 07, 2021

Show notes

For a number of years Iraq has been spiraling, with worsening insurgencies, sectarian violence and numerous regional players all treating Iraq like a political battleground. How did we get here though? What was the decision made to bring Iraq to the point we stand at now, and will decisions coming up better or worsen the situation? On the panel this week. JAMES LEBOVIC (George Washington University) DIYAR AMEEN (Kurdistan Mission to the EU) JOSEPH VOTEL (Rtr 4-Star US General) For more info please visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

37 - The Geopolitics of Rare Earths Feb 21, 2021

Show notes

We dont think much about it but Rare Earth elements are a huge part of our everyday life, powering our phones, laptops, satellites and cars. The thing we all overlook though is where those Rare Earths are coming from, and right now China controls 98%+ of the market, meaning that every single high technology item we use at some point relies on China. That issue compounds as well when you realise that this problem extends to the defence industry, with state of the art US fighters such as the F-35 being unbuildable if the Chinese refuse to do their part of the process. The situation is far more complicated than many people realise, and we may be a decade from any real solution. This weeks guests

- Guillaume Pitron (Le Monde Diplomatique) - Julie Klinger (University of Delaware) - Teague Egan (EnergyX) - Sophia Kalantzakos (New York University) For more information please visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show on - @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on - @MikeHilliardAus

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

36 - Lake Chad (Boko Haram and the French Foreign Legion) Feb 07, 2021

Show notes

Lake Chad has shrunk by almost 90% since 1960, and the situation on the ground is becoming a breeding ground for regional terrorism. Outfits like Boko Haram, and ISIS in Africa are now capturing big patches of land in Lake Chad Region. France, the US, and their regional partners are trying desperately to avoid the situation spinning out of control, but with a shrinking lake how successful can they be? This weeks panel Tomasz Rolbiecki (Uni of Gdansk) Vincent Foucher (CNRS + Crisis Group) John Campbell (CFR + Fmr US Ambassador) For more info visit - www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected