The Pivot by Globely News

Independent journalist Zaid Jilani joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss the political evolution of JD Vance and his transition from being a Never Trumper to Donald Trump’s running mate. They assess Vance's heterodox political beliefs, how they clash with his personal life, and whether he represents the future of MAGA and the broader conservative movement. (Image Credit: Gage Skidmore) LEARN MORE: Who...

The Economist correspondent Tom Gardner discusses with host Arif Rafiq the enigma that is Ethiopia's prime minister Abiy Ahmed, who would preside over a civil war roughly a year after being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. The conversation is wide-ranging and covers Abiy's childhood, the role of religion in his life, his rise through the Ethiopian system, his transition from revered to reviled, and hi...

Juan David Rojas ( @rojasrjuand ) of Compact magazine and host Arif Rafiq discuss the historic victory of Claudia Sheinbaum in this month’s Mexican general elections. They take a deep dive into the record of her mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, known as AMLO, and explore his heterodox, anti-neoliberal politics. They also assess what the future holds for Morena and Mexico under the leadership o...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is returning to power for a third consecutive term, but with a slimmed-down mandate delivered by an electorate weighed down by economic precarity. India's surprising election results will have a profound effect on how Prime Minister Narendra Modi rules and who succeeds him.   LEARN MORE: https://globelynews.com/south-asia/india-elections-2024-modi-bjp/   CONNECT...

It’s a new era in South Africa. In last week's general elections, the African National Congress (ANC), which led the country’s freedom struggle, failed to win a National Assembly majority for the first time since the fall of apartheid in 1994. The party will now have to form a coalition government. Its choices may have profound effects not just on the ANC and South Africa, but beyond the country's...

Venezuela is in the midst of a military buildup along its border with its smaller neighbor Guyana, a tiny South American country home to the world’s fastest-growing economy — driven by oil. CONNECT WITH US: Web: globelynews.com X: @GlobelyNews | @arifcrafiq Facebook: facebook.com/globelynewsweb YouTube: youtube.com/@GlobelyNews

Mexicans head to the polls on Sunday to choose their next president.  If the pre-election surveys are correct, their next president will be Claudia Sheinbaum — who would make history as Mexico’s first woman and first Jewish president. CONNECT WITH US: Web: globelynews.com X: @GlobelyNews | @arifcrafiq Facebook: facebook.com/globelynewsweb YouTube: youtube.com/@GlobelyNews

Cobus van Staden of the China in Africa podcast and host Arif Rafiq discuss two competing corridors that are at the heart of the great power race for green metals in the Central African Copper Belt: the Western-backed Lobito Corridor from Angola to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia and the China-constructed and potentially soon-to-be revamped Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA). They unpack...

Guest Ali Hashem ( @alihashem_tv ) of Al Jazeera English and host Arif Rafiq ( @arifcrafiq ) discuss the prospects for a full-blown conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. The episode looks at the history of conflict between the two belligerents, including the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, assesses how both parties have adapted and evolved since then in anticipation of another war, and explains what’s...

Khalil Sayegh of the Agora Initiative joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss conditions on the ground in Gaza, what kind of political future awaits the Palestinian people, and his views on the response of Christian Zionists in the U.S. to the mass killings of Palestinians. CONNECT WITH US: Web: globelynews.com X: @GlobelyNews | @arifcrafiq Facebook: facebook.com/globelynewsweb YouTube: youtube.com/@Glob...

India’s general elections begin this month and are likely to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party back to power for a third consecutive term. King’s College London Prof. Christophe Jaffrelot and host Arif Rafiq discuss the fundamental features of Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist project developed in the “laboratory” of the Gujarat state and applied n...

University of Maryland Professor Michael Woldemariam joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss the recent maritime access agreement between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland. They address landlocked Ethiopia’s problem of geography, its regional aspirations, the challenges of federalism and fragmentation in Somalia and Ethiopia, and the contestation between great and regional powers, including...

Uyghur activist Nury Turkel ( @nuryturkel ) speaks with host Arif Rafiq on China’s persecution of the Uyghur Muslims; the systems of coercion, surveillance, and collective punishment directed at the Uyghurs; and how you, the listener, may be unknowingly consuming products made in part through forced Uyghur labor.   LEARN MORE: https://globelynews.com/asia/china-uyghur-muslim/   CONNECT WITH US: We...

Jacqui Baker ( @indobaker) of Murdoch University joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss Prabowo Subianto’s victory in Indonesia’s presidential elections, the legacy and political future of the popular outgoing president Joko Widodo, and the durability of the economic and political status quo in this rising Southeast Asian power.   LEARN MORE: After Joko Widodo: What a Prabowo Presidency Means for Indone...

Jay Mandle, a professor emeritus of economics at Colgate University, joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss whether Guyana, now the world's newest petrostate and fastest-growing economy, can leverage its newfound oil wealth to change its destiny and avoid the "resource curse." By 2035, Guyana could become the world's fourth-largest producer of oil. But it faces a host of challenges in exploiting these r...

Meredith Weiss, a professor of political science at the University at Albany, joins host Arif Rafiq  to discuss the many political transformations of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim over his political career. A prominent Islamist student activist, Anwar was cultivated by longtime Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as his heir apparent, only to be victimized and imprisoned by him later. As a di...

Afshon Ostovar, an associate professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss how Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) transformed from being a ragtag militia to a preeminent outside force in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere in the Middle East. They explore the IRGC’s network of partners, including the so-called Axis of Resistance, and evaluate the strengths and we...

Ali Wyne, a senior advisor at the International Crisis Group, joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss the implications of Taiwan's recent elections, how China is responding to the results, the risks of a U.S.-China war over Taiwan, and the broader challenge of managing a rising China.   LEARN MORE: The China Challenge: How to Manage Strategic Rivalry With Beijing   CONNECT WITH US: Web: globelynews.com X...

Journalist Emily Tamkin, author of "Bad Jews," joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss the evolving and often contentious debate over what it means to be an American Jew and how today's conversations about Jews, whiteness, and wealth fit into the broader historical, American Jewish experience. They also discuss the parallels between neoconservatism in the 60s and 70s and today's counter-progressivism — o...

Bangladesh has seen rapid economic growth and development gains amid poor governance, rampant corruption, and growing repression. On Sunday, Bangladeshi voters went to the polls to take part in elections that were neither free nor fair. Ali Riaz, a distinguished professor of political science at Illinois State University, joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss how deep and durable Bangladesh's socio-eco...

Hesham Sallam of Stanford University joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss Pres. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's 10 years as ruler of Egypt and how this one man has dominated Egypt, its institutions, and its 110 million people for a decade. They dive deep into El-Sisi's motives, how his brand of authoritarianism differs from those of his predecessors, and what the future holds for this new pharaoh and the 110 m...

Francisco Rodríguez of the University of Denver joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss Venezuela's long political and economic crises, the drivers of its instability, the role played by the U.S., its links to the migrant crisis, and the potential for a way out. In this episode, we take a deep look at the broader political and economic crisis that Venezuela has been experiencing for more than two decades...

Murtaza Hussain of The Intercept joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss India’s global assassination campaign, its modes, methods, and motivations, and what it means for the future of India’s partnership with the United States and the West. Previously limited to its neighborhood, India's assassination campaign is now extending to the West. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed it has cha...

University of Michigan-Dearborn Professor Sally Howell joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss the history of the Arab Americans of Detroit and Dearborn and their rise as a force that is not only reshaping the political landscape in Michigan but could also play a decisive role in choosing the next president of the United States. Learn more

Rice University scholar  Kristian Ulrichsen  joins host  Arif Rafiq  to discuss how the October 7 attacks by Hamas have impacted Saudi Arabia's moves toward normalizing ties with Israel, its relations with Iran, and plans by its de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to transform the country's economy and society through Vision 2030. Learn more