The Pivot by Globely News

Cobus van Staden of the China in Africa podcast and host Arif Rafiq discuss two competing corridors: the Western-backed Lobito Corridor and the China-constructed (and potentially soon-to-be revamped) TAZARA. They unpack the great power rivalry that is driving interest in these corridors and the interests and development strategies of regional states, including Angola, the Democrati

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.

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.

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 G

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

Uyghur activist Nury Turkel 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.

Jacqui Baker of Murdoch University joins host Arif Rafiq to discuss Prabowo Subianto’s victory in Indonesia’s presidential elections, the legacy and political future of Joko Widodo, and the durability of the economic and political status quo in this rising Southeast Asian power.

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 ex

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.

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.