Behind The Lines with Arthur Snell

Following on from the episode on 22 April, the second part of my conversation with Sydney Nash on the UK's relations with Europe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At a time when the unbreakable city of Kharkiv faces untold destruction and sustained bombardment by Russian forces it was a privilege to speak to Dr Jade McGlynn, a scholar of Ukraine and Russia, who is based there. We discussed the situation in Kharkiv and across the wider front and also the vital work she is involved with to raise funding for new technologies to support Ukraine's defence. You can find more details of it here https://uscc.org.ua/en/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As ever, British debates about the EU tend to be debates about Britain. We might hope to rejoin, or at least regain a better-functioning trading relationship with the organisation, but we don't do enough thinking about where the EU is headed in its own development. So I spoke to Europe expert Sydney Nash about this over two episodes. The first of these focuses on the EU's current situation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iran and Israel have been on the brink of open conflict, in the light of Iran's barrage of drone and missile strikes on Israel, which in turn followed Israel's strike on Iran's consulate in Damascus. I spoke to Charlie Gammell, Iran expert, historian and former diplomat, about the crisis and what we might learn from it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do British political parties get funded? What does that money buy? With only a few weeks to go until the local elections and in a year of a general election I spoke to Seth Thevoz, political and investigative journalist, about how parties are funded. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Amalendu Misra of the University of Lancaster is an expert in Latin America and the Caribbean, notably Haiti. I spoke to him about the current crisis there and what it tells us about the wider region. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike Martin (who is on Twitter and elsewhere @threshedthought) is one of the most insightful thinkers on conflict and geopolitics active today. He served in the army in Afghanistan with some distinction and subsequently has worked as an academic and adviser on conflict and strategy. He is now running for parliament as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Tunbridge Wells. When we say that parliament needs more people who have actually done things with their lives and fewer professional politicians, it's hard to imagine a better candidate than Mike. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Democracy for Sale? The degree to which dark money, powerful interests and political power intersects in this country is startling and depressing. One of the most dogged chroniclers of this phenomenon is the investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan whose book, published articles and substack are all essential reading for people that take an interest in this question.I spoke to Peter about his work and what it means for our politics. You can find Peter's substack here https://democracyforsale.substack.com/ and he is on Twitter here https://twitter.com/PeterKGeogheganI'm, as always, at https://twitter.com/SnellArthur and https://arthursnell.substack.com/ as well as on BlueSky for those that celebrate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Returning to our occasional episodes on Britain's relationships with Europe and the EU, I spoke to EU law professor Jacob Öberg about how Britain could evolve its relationship with the EU in future, the realistic possibilities of joining a customs union, the single market and the EU itself, and the need for future governments to start talking honestly to the British people about the realities of our relations with Europe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Frank Ledwidge is a War Studies academic, a former serviceman and an expert on military matters. He made several visits to Ukraine since the start of the current conflict and offers an incisive, clear-eyed account of the challenges faced there, the capacity of the Russian military to learn and the risks the West has brought on itself through chronic underinvestment in its military. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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At the heart of much of the discussion of the multiple crises facing the Middle East is Iran, whose proxies are active across the region. But what is it that Iran itself wants? What is it trying to achieve and and what considerations does it bring to these questions?To try to answer these complicated questions I was fortunate to be joined by Charlie Gammell, historian, Iran expert and former UK diplomat, to talk through Iran's recent history, it's current preoccupations and its possible futures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Repeated airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen do not appear to have dampened their willingness or their ability to continue strikes against shipping. What are the appropriate responses to this determined and dangerous group? To get a better understanding of their role in Yemen, the wider political context and the regional factors in play, I spoke to Laura Cretney, scholar, researcher and social entrepreneur based in the region.You can find Laura on Instagram:Laura.Cretney and on Twitter @LauraCretney1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Argentina's 'anarcho capitalist' president Javier Milei haș a series of policies that are barely believable. I spoke to Leiza Brumat about the political and economic background to his election, his political platform and whether he is likely to get it adopted. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BONUS EPISODEIn conversation with Jason Pack of the Disorder Podcast about Yemen. This is a joint episode with Disorder, so if you are already listening to that show, you won't find too much different between these two. There are some links that were referenced during the show. https://time.com/6555947/houthi-airstrike-history/https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/01/12/houthis-red-sea-british-royal-navy-is-back/And my substack articles on Yemen can be found here https://arthursnell.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EMERGENCY EPISODEOn 11 January US and UK airforces struck targets in Yemen associated with the Huthi militia which has been targeting international shipping in the Red Sea, purportedly in solidarity with the plight of the Palestinians.To try to understand the bewildering background to these worrying events I was privileged to be joined by Hannah Porter, Senior Research Officer for Yemen at ARK Group and a particular expert on Yemens Huthis.Hannah can be followed on Twitter @HannaheporterYou can find me in the usual places, including a recent Substack piece I wrote about Yemen's Huthis here: https://arthursnell.substack.com/p/what-do-the-houthis-want Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a tough year in 2023 and a lack of major progress in regaining territory from the Russians, this year promises to be another challenging one for Ukraine. Looming over all of what Ukraine does is the question of Western support. Will the USA be able to overcome its political turmoil and continue to provide the Ukrainians with the weapons and aid they desperately need? Will Europe be able to step up its weapons production? And perhaps the biggest question of all: will Donald Trump return to the presidency, thereby ending American support to Ukraine?Luke Harding, Guardian foreign correspondent and author of the book Invasion, has spent most of 2023 in Ukraine, reporting from the frontlines of that conflict. He joined me to discuss the war so far and the war to come.Thank you for listening to this podcast. Please check out my substack Not All Doom https://arthursnell.substack.com/ and don't forget to give us a positive review if you have enjoyed this episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With all the pressure of the Christmas season I held off from putting out a 'geopolitical review of the year' or something like that: there's a lot going on and people need some space. Instead, I wanted to finish the year with an episode that is in some ways completely different, but also relevant to the issues we have covered in the podcast earlier. Shane O'Mara is a professor of experimental brain psychology at Trinity College, Dublin and the author of numerous books and studies. He also has a brilliant Substack called Brain Pizza which I can highly recommend.Recently, Shane published a book called Talking Heads which explains the unexpected link between human conversation, which of course depends on human memory, and nations. At a time when nationalism in its most pernicious and dangerous form is an increasing phenomenon, understanding that it is a function of human memory, not some inherent feature of Englishness, Germanness, Russianess or whatever, feels like an important insight and worth talking about.Thank you all for listening to this and other episodes of the podcast. I hope you have enjoyed it and hope that you will continue to listen into 2024.You can follow me https://twitter.com/SnellArthur also more often on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social. I write at https://arthursnell.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Israeli assault on Gaza, immediately preceded by the Hamas-led massacre in Southern Israel, continues, we return to the history of this conflict. This is the second part of my extended interview with the historian James Barr, author of several books on the history of the Middle East including A Line in the Sand and Lords of the Desert, some of the best regarded guides to the region, particularly in the early years of the twentieth century. If you have not yet heard the preceding episode 18, where James starts this story, I recommend that you listen to that first.In this episode we start at the aftermath of World War II and the horrific events of the Holocaust, as Jews are trying to emigrate to what will become the State of Israel and the British colonial authorities are trying to stop them.You can follow James via his website https://www.historythatmatters.org/ as well as on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/jamesbarr.bsky.socialI am on Twitter @snellarthur, Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social and arthursnell.substack.com If you’ve enjoyed this podcast why not subscribe, and give us a positive review.Also, don't forget to check out the Disorder Podcast https://www.goalhangerpodcasts.com/disorder Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The crisis in Israel - Palestine continues, currently unfolding with the Israeli attack on Gaza, immediately preceded by the Hamas-led massacre in Southern Israel. Unpicking the history and origins of these events remains a particularly difficult task, with history used and abused by people with points to prove on all sides. For that reason I was particularly happy to be able to conduct an extended interview with the historian James Barr, whose books on the history of the Middle East, including A Line in the Sand and Lords of the Desert are some of the best regarded guides to the region, particularly in the early years of the twentieth century.With James, in this first episode, we got to the bottom of famous moments in the Levant region in the early twentieth century, including the Sykes-Picot agreement and the Balfour Declaration, as well as the underlying colonial tensions, notably between Britain and France that drove much of these events. In a subsequent episode we will talk about Jewish militancy in the mid-twentieth century, the events of 1948 including the Nakba and the establishment of the State of Israel. You can follow James via his website https://www.historythatmatters.org/ as well as on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/jamesbarr.bsky.socialI am on Twitter @snellarthur, Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/snellarthur.bsky.social and arthursnell.substack.com If you’ve enjoyed this podcast why not subscribe, and give us a positive review.Also, please check out the podcast Disorder, featuring Jason Pack and Alex Hall Hall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.