The Global Jigsaw

The JNIM branch of al-Qaeda is one of the world's deadliest jihadist groups. It has firmly planted its flag in the Sahel. Sub-Saharan Africa has emerged as a key battlefront for jihadists: around 50 percent of deaths from terrorism in 2024 were registered in the Sahel region alone, according to the Global Terrorism Index. JNIM is an eclectic yet united coalition, rooted in the tribal desert region...

Why are Poland's young voters turning to the right? With his veto powers, Poland’s president-elect Karol Nawrocki could halt the pro-EU government of Donald Tusk. Poland is a NATO member and backs Ukraine in the war with Russia. Scaling up security is an issue almost all Poles agree on, yet there are some signs of shifting attitudes - on foreign policy and immigration. We examine the gender gap am...

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Quds force and the Basij militias are back in the news due to the conflict between Israel and Iran. What are they, how do they operate and how have they become so influential? In this episode, we look at the origins, the branding and the ideological blueprint of the Tehran-led influence network that has been shaping events in the Middle East for decades.

The Israeli government’s push to transform the media landscape has been described by critics as a “hostile takeover” that poses a threat to press freedom. In this episode we take a look at what people in Israel see about the war in Gaza on their TV screens. We examine the methods and the motives behind the prime minister’s media squeeze, and ask what this means for the country priding itself on be...

We assess the damage to independent journalism globally by cuts to USAGM and USAID, described as “the chainsaw approach” of the Trump administration. The defunding of Voice of America, RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) and its multiple language services has been decried as “a gift to dictators”. Although these cuts are being disputed in court, they could have long-lasting implications for a...

Will the call for the PKK to disarm end in a new era of peace for the Kurds, or is this just another turn in a tortured history? In February, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, released a jaw-dropping written message to his followers from his jail cell, calling for the group to lay down arms and disband. In this series we explore the Kurdish is...

Will the call for the PKK to disarm end in a new era of peace for the Kurds, or is this just another turn in a tortured history? In February, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, released a jaw-dropping written message to his followers from his jail cell, calling for the group to lay down arms and disband. In this series we explore the Kurdish is...

Will the call for the PKK to disarm end in a new era of peace for the Kurds, or is this just another turn in a tortured history? In February, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, released a jaw-dropping written message to his followers from his jail cell, calling for the group to lay down arms and disband. In this series we explore the Kurdish is...

Russia’s land grab playbook aimed at erasing local identity and Russifying “liberated” territories. Three years into the full scale invasion of Ukraine, we ask what life is like in areas under Russian control. Part 1 looks at “ripe for Russification” Crimea, which was annexed 11 years ago. Part 2 focuses on Moscow’s subsequent efforts to assert itself in the separatist East. And in Part 3 we explo...

Russia’s land grab playbook aimed at erasing local identity and russifying “liberated” territories. Three years into the full scale invasion of Ukraine, we ask what life is like in areas under Russian control. Part two focuses on Moscow’s efforts to assert itself in the separatist east. Producer: Kriszta Satori Presenter: Krassi Twigg

Russia’s land grab playbook aimed at erasing local identity and Russifying “liberated” territories. Three years into the full scale invasion of Ukraine, we ask what life is like in areas under Russian control. Part one looks at “ripe for Russification” Crimea, which was annexed 11 years ago. Part two focuses on Moscow’s subsequent efforts to assert itself in the separatist East. And in part three...

Kyiv’s answer to the Kremlin’s warspeak. In part one of this miniseries, we focused on Russia’s case, trying to see through Moscow’s war propaganda: its purpose and building blocks. In this episode, we turn to the Ukrainian side of this linguistic tug or war. Here we find that language itself is at the heart of this conflict, fuelling Ukraine’s “linguistic decolonisation”. Producer: Kriszta Satori...

Decoding the Kremlin’s warspeak to understand the power of propaganda as a weapon of war. “Let’s cut dill”, “a pop of cotton”, “meat assault”: expressions the average foreigner might struggle to understand. We analyse Moscow’s military jargon; in part two of this mini-series, we’ll explore Kyiv’s answer to it. Producer: Kriszta Satori, Vitaly Shevchenko Presenter: Krassi Twigg

What would the potential loss of Syria naval and air bases mean for Russia? The fall of the Assad regime triggered the start of possibly the greatest reshaping of the Middle East in decades, throwing into uncertainty the fate of Russia’s military bases in the country, among many other things. Tartus and Hmeimim served as a springboard for Moscow’s foreign missions elsewhere. We assess their signif...

A shock offensive on Aleppo turned Syria’s forgotten conflict into hot war. The group spearheading it, Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), has been at pains to present itself as a credible governing body, having renounced its jihadist past. With a bounty on his head, its leader, Abu Mohammed al Jawlani, has been spinning his propaganda machine in the northern province of Idlib, wearing western suits and t...

Why is the Kremlin worried about population decline? President Putin has made the increase of human capital a national priority. Decision-makers have been competing to offer a solution, from fiscal incentives to encourage women to have more children, to restricting access to abortion, to banning "propaganda" of “childless lifestyle”. Will their plan work? Producer: Francis Scarr, Veronika Malinboy...

What’s behind the evolution of President Erdogan’s narrative on LGBT issues, and how did Turkey’s Islamic conservatives find common ground with American Evangelicals? President Erdogan skipped the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris in August after his granddaughter warned him about the “LGBT show”. He berated the French organisers for “debasing humanity to a level below animals”. His a...

Ten years on, where do the warring parties stand? And is there a way out of the stalemate? This is not just a civil war - it’s a battle between rival camps in the Middle East, led by Iran on the one hand, and Saudi Arabia on the other. The Houthis are said to be Iran’s proxy, but they sometimes act against Tehran’s interest. We go granular on the complexities in the alliances and the rivalries tha...

Ten years after the start of the civil war in Yemen, Sanaa, Aden and Taiz are stuck in a “no war, no peace” limbo. The three ancient cities are ruled by different warring parties, all vying to expand their reach. We look at life under the Houthis, the “government of hotels”, the separatists and the snipers. Producer: Kriszta Satori, Elchin Suleymanov, Sumaya Bakhsh Presenter: Krassi Twigg

The Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan has led to the erasure of women from public life. There’s a UN-led campaign to recognise it as “gender apartheid”, but the international community is divided and lacking leverage. Three years after the group took the capital Kabul, our experts explain what life is like for half of the population and why women have become a proxy for the nation’s image o...

The geopolitical tectonic shifts in Africa that could be felt in Europe too. A year after the coup in Niger, which was seen as a key ally of the West, Africa’s ‘coup belt’ faces growing uncertainty about its future security. As US and international forces withdraw, legacy Wagner groups seek to conquer new zones of influence for Russia in the face of a growing jihadist threat. What hope is there fo...

After a lull in activities, in 2024 the Islamic State Group claimed to be behind several major attacks, showing the world they haven’t gone away. Among them was the storming by gunmen of a Moscow concert hall. Ten years after the Islamist extremists declared the establishment of a caliphate, our Jihadist Media Monitoring Team considers the current capabilities and ambitions of the group that once...

What does it take to track media in Africa where radio is king? Originally set up as the East Africa Unit after the Suez crisis, BBC Monitoring’s Nairobi operation has seen history unfold on the continent over six decades. The Global Jigsaw team travels to Nairobi to meet the monitors. Producer: Kriszta Satori Presenter: Krassi Twigg

“China is not buying Africa, it is building Africa” is the view from Beijing. How is this landing with local audiences? There have been hints of a cooling down of Sino-African friendship. For this episode, the team travels to the Kenyan capital Nairobi to get a sense of Chinese influence on the ground, and understand why Beijing has chosen it as a hub for its media operation in Africa. Producer: K...

A dive into the narratives surrounding Turkey’s ambitions in Africa, where Ankara is touting itself as a “non-colonising” alternative to Western powers. Turkey has been expanding its influence operations in Africa in recent years: from military muscle and drone diplomacy to education, humanitarian projects, soft power and spiritual bonding. We ask what sets Turkey apart from other foreign powers v...