David's Politics Show

In the popular recollection of the Second World War, the month of December 1941 is associated almost exclusively with what Roosevelt famously termed “the date that will live in infamy”, namely, the 7th of December, Pearl Harbor. Yet a mere four days later another momentous event took place which would see the war take on a whole new dimension and a truly global scale: on the 11th of December, Adol...

“I fear that the war will now lead to revolution.” Those words were uttered by Erich von Falkenhayn on the 29th of August 1916, the day he was replaced as Chief of the General Staff by Paul von Hindenburg and his associate, Erich Ludendorff. Those words proved to be prescient: the wardid in fact lead to revolution, in fact to several. Indeed, the First World War led to the cataclysmic collapse of...

A year on from the tragic and fateful events of October 7, and in the wake of the most recent extension of the ensuing conflict to the northern front, in Lebanon, Israel seems to have turned the tables on its enemies: Hamas’ forces have been either wiped out or rendered combat-ineffective, Hezbollah’s command-and-control structure has been decapitated, and Iran’s ballistic-missile barrage seems no...

Almost uniquely among the states created in the wake of the end of colonialism, Singapore has been blessed by sure-footed and visionary leadership since its separation from Malaysia and full independence in 1965. Lee Kuan Yew’s eldest son, Lee Hsien Loong, has now stepped down after 20 years as Prime Minister of Singapore, passing the baton to Lawrence Wong, in what is generally known as the trans...

One of the most salient and interesting aspects of the war in Ukraine is the seemingly omnipresent threat of what is still a relatively new technology: the drone. Whether Bayraktars or Lancets, small reconnaissance drones or long-range strike ones, both the Ukrainian and Russian armies have designed, bought, and deployed an stonishing variety of these new weapons. What does the proliferation of th...

Two years on since Russia’s full-scale re-invasion of Ukraine, I’m joined by Dr. Andreas Umland from the Swedish Institute of International Affairs to take stock both of the current military situation in Ukraine and of the politics of the war in Ukraine, Russia, and the West.

Now that we’ve reached the 100-day mark in Israel’s war against Hamas, where does the Israeli operation in Gaza stand, both militarily and politically? And lifting our eyes to more distant horizons, how is the strategic force field changing in the Middle East as a result of the historic caesura that October 7 already represents? To discuss all this and more I’m delighted to be joined on the podcas...

The nature of undersea warfare is changing and the “silent service” has to evolve to meet today’s and above all tomorrow ’s challenges – but just what will that adaptation look like? How is the role played by the submarine changing in an increasingly contested undersea environment? And how should the U.S. Navy, in particular, think about choosing platforms and a force structure that will meet the...

Three weeks have passed since the dramatic events of the 7th of October. What kind of failure did October 7 represent? What are Israel's options now and what are the possible risks? And is there a sliver of hope that this dramatic crisis will create an opening for a better future in the region? With me to discuss all this and more is the noted Iraq and Hezbollah expert Amatzia Baram, Professor...

Pakistan is mired in crisis, economic and political. With a caretaker government having been nominated but elections as yet still uncertain, how is the latest saga in Pakistani politics, centered this time around Imran Khan, likely to play out? And what are the consequences for India and the wider region? I’m delighted to have had Sushant Sareen of the Observer Research Foundation on the podcast t...

Israel is on the verge of celebrating 75 years of independence, yet finds itself in a state of unprecedented domestic discombobulation. How did it come to this, what is at stake, and to what extent is the internal upheaval beginning to impinge on Israel’s national security? I’m delighted to have Professor Chuck Freilich back on the podcast to discuss all this and more.

Almost exactly a year has passed since the start of Russia’s second invasion of Ukraine in less than a decade – and what a year it’s been, marked first by jubilation at the unexpected success of the Ukrainian armed forces, then by consternation at the realization that this was going to turn into a long, grinding, attritional war. To take stock of the current military and political situation at the...

The scale of Chinese naval modernization in the past three decades has been staggering. Whereas in the 20th century the Chinese navy played second fiddle to the army, in the 21st they have become a force to be reckoned with in their own right. My guest today has spent decades closely watching the PLAN’s development. Captain James Fanell is a retired naval intelligence officer whose most recent ass...

Do we need to privilege or at least revalorize the methods of the historian, as opposed to those of the political scientist or theorist of international relations, when thinking about and studying American foreign policy, especially American nuclear statecraft? Was the history of the Cold War, for example, really coterminous with the history of the nuclear revolution? And what might an interdiscip...

Has India struck the right political and diplomatic balance since Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine began, almost eight months ago? How are Russia’s blunders and difficulties on the battlefield likely to affect India’s geopolitical room for maneuver? With me to discuss all this and more is noted Indian foreign-policy expert and returning guest on this podcast, Professor Rajesh Rajagopalan.

Can the humble homing pigeon teach us something about what it means to return home, to be at home? Do the stories we tell and read about home influence our understanding of homes, homecomings, homelands? Do our experience and memory of homelessness, exile, and return have something to do with how we relate to the animal world as such? And could dwelling perhaps be the preferable alternative to thi...

“Pan-Asian Zionism” – to our twenty-first century ears the phrase sounds odd, even absurd. And yet the ideological position it represented in the early twentieth century was vigorously championed by a German-speaking Habsburg Jew, Eugen Hoeflich. Why did he think Zionism should take on a pan-Asian orientation? What became of his ideas? And what did he make of “official” Zionism? With me to discuss...

More than half a century has passed since Israel’s dramatic victory in the Six Day War, yet its after-effects are still with us. What were some of its long-run implications? Former Israeli deputy national-security adviser Chuck Freilich joins me to talk about the war and the latest developments in Israeli politics.

The Modi government’s “Agnipath” reform of the Indian military, if fully implemented, will determine a dramatic change in the way in which the Indian armed forces have been recruited and thus have related to wider Indian society. What was the genesis of this reform? Why has it been introduced? And what are its pros and cons? I discuss all this with former Indian Army Brigadier Rahul Bhonsle.

Ben Gurion and Nehru – two of the most important statesmen of the twentieth century. What can we learn about their respective countries from a detailed comparison of these two leaders’ lives and political careers? What were the ideological and historical factors underlying the complicated diplomatic dance between India and Israel in the first decades after independence? And what is the nature of t...

We’ve now crossed the 100-day mark on Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Where do we stand, militarily and politically? What should the West’s policy goals be at this point? With me to discuss all this is returning guest and noted Russia and Ukraine expert, Dr. Andreas Umland.

How, historically, has India thought about its place in Asia? Which ideas and challenges have shaped its foreign policy since independence? And what kind of country will (should) India become? I discuss all this and more, including the importance of studying history and the value of books, with Indian ambassador and former national-security advisor Shivshankar Menon.

Putin’s war of aggression may seem absurd and incomprehensible, but evidently he considered it a gamble worth taking, which in turn raises the following questions: What are the intellectual origins of this war? And how does the answer to that question help us understand the nature and extent of Putin’s political objectives? With me to discuss all this, as well as Germany’s policy shift and the fut...

Spy stories are all the more fun to read when they are not made up. David E. Hoffman’s “The Billion Dollar Spy” tells the true story of Soviet engineer Adolf Tolkachev, who spied for the CIA for half a decade without ever leaving Moscow. Join us for a thrilling story of Cold War intrigue, tradecraft, and betrayal.

How is China viewing Russia’s war in Ukraine? And what might the consequences of that war be for the Sino-Russian partnership? Dr. Jabin Jacob, one of India’s best China hands, joins me to discuss all this and more.