Bungacast

On geopolitical competition over Africa.

 

This episode was originally for subscribers only. To join, sign up at patreon.com/bungacast

 

In light of the 'new Cold War', we look at what the US, Europe, Russia and China's respective "pitches" are to African countries – what are they selling? And we examine the factors that contribute to Africa's place in geopolitics today: Chinese hunger for raw materials, the global war on terror, the green energy transition, drug and people smuggling, and more.

 

If the original Scramble for Africa (1884-1914) was driven by an attempt to displace European class war onto another terrain, can we say anything analogous is happening today?

 

Links:

• /303/ The Failure of the French Forever War ft. Yvan Guichaoua
• /304/ The Failure of the French Forever War (2) ft. Yvan Guichaoua
• Russia in Africa, Financial Times series of articles
• Defending Our Sovereignty: US Military Bases in Africa and the Future of African Unity, Tricontinental Institute
• Italophone Somalia, Then and Now, Iman Mohamed, The Drift
• Emmanuel Macron must reset France’s Africa policy, Sylvie Kauffman (Le Monde editor), FT
• Debunking the Myth of ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’, Lee Jones & Shahar Hameiri, Chatham House
• Let’s talk about neo-colonialism in Africa, Mark Langan, LSE blog
• /267/ South Africa Mafia State ft. Benjamin Fogel

 

On cracked-up capitalism.

Historian of ideas Quinn Slobodian joins us again, this time to discuss his latest book, Crack-up Capitalism – the vision of a global capitalism with its constituent nation-states perforated by ‘zones’ shorn of any national oversight or democratic accountability. We talk through these archetypal zones encompassing deregulation, investment and sweatshop labour, ranging from the glittering city scapes of Hong Kong, Singapore and Canary Wharf to forgotten zones such as Ciskei in apartheid South Africa as well as the gated communities of California and bit-coin paradise Honduras.

We also talk about archetypal crack-up capitalists such as Peter Thiel, William Rees-Mogg and Milton Friedman’s offspring. How did crack-up capitalism feature in the Tory vision of Brexit? Plus, why is Dominic Cummings the one true Singaporean, and why do crack-up capitalists love medieval LARPing?

For part two, sign up at patreon.com/bungacast

Readings:

• Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy, Quinn Slobodian
• The Ciskei experiment: a libertarian fantasy in apartheid South Africa, Quinn Slobodian, The Guardian
• /115/ Singapore Shangri-La ft. Lee Jones
• As special enclaves proliferate, what are the consequences for democracy?, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, The Spectator
• Dominic Cummings understands Singapore. The Tories still don’t, Quinn Slobodian, The Spectator

• Crack-up Capitalism video trailer, Twitter

On geopolitical competition over Africa.

[Patreon Exclusive]

In light of the 'new Cold War', we look at what the US, Europe, Russia and China's respective "pitches" are to African countries – what are they selling? And we examine the factors that contribute to Africa's place in geopolitics today: Chinese hunger for raw materials, the global war on terror, the green energy transition, drug and people smuggling, and more. 

If the original Scramble for Africa (1884-1914) was driven by an attempt to displace European class war onto another terrain, can we say anything analogous is happening today?

Links:

• /303/ The Failure of the French Forever War ft. Yvan Guichaoua 
• /304/ The Failure of the French Forever War (2) ft. Yvan Guichaoua 
• Russia in Africa, Financial Times series of articles
• Defending Our Sovereignty: US Military Bases in Africa and the Future of African Unity, Tricontinental Institute
• Italophone Somalia, Then and Now, Iman Mohamed, The Drift
• Emmanuel Macron must reset France’s Africa policy, Sylvie Kauffman (Le Monde editor), FT
• Debunking the Myth of ‘Debt-trap Diplomacy’, Lee Jones & Shahar Hameiri, Chatham House
• Let’s talk about neo-colonialism in Africa, Mark Langan, LSE blog
• /267/ South Africa Mafia State ft. Benjamin Fogel

On The Covid Consensus.

 

We're joined by two authors whose new book asks why lockdowns were adopted almost universally. National and transnational health authorities dropped pre-pandemic plans in favour of open-ended nationwide lockdowns which were to remain in place until vaccines were developed. Why this course of action? 

 

And how to account for the unprecedented level of policy alignment across the majority of countries: was it coordination, imitation, or coercion?

 

In part two of the interview, we discuss the devastating impact of lockdowns on poor and middle-income countries where the informal economy is the norm.  

 

For access, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast 

 

Links:

• The Covid Consensus: The Global Assault on Democracy and the Poor—A Critique from the Left, Toby Green & Thomas Fazi
• /213/ The Leopard Lockdown ft. Adam Tooze
• /38/ The Economics of Exit ft. Thomas Fazi

On your questions & criticisms.

[Patreon Exclusive]

We debate what kind of work 'shared-labour socialism' would involve in a complex society, and what role 'dispossession' or 'expropriation' has in the contemporary economy. Plus: strategies on Ukraine – backing independence, guerilla warfare, and what an 'anti-NATO' stance actually looks like; and whether the forces exist for exiting the EU.

Fill out our 2022 Listener Survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XNLTVLB 

On Mali and the Sahel.

 

French president Emmanuel Macron declared the end of Opération Barkhane on 9 November 2022, bringing to an end to nearly 10 years of French military intervention in Mali. But what is the legacy of the French Forever War in the Sahel, and what happens next?

 

Sahel expert Yvan Guichaou joins us to talk about French defeat in the war on terror, the continued French military presence in the region, the growing extent of jihadi power, as well as the crisis of the post-colonial state in Africa and the new geo-politics of Franco-Russian competition in the region. How do these various political forces intersect with the political economy of aid and smuggling networks?

 

[Part 2 is available to subscribers at patreon.com/bungacast]

 

Readings:

• Norms, non-combatants' agency and restraint in Jihadi violence in Northern Mali, Yvan Guichaoua and Ferdaous Bouhlel, International Interactions
• The bitter harvest of French interventionism in the Sahel, Yvan Guichaoua, International Affairs

Music: Nous Non Plus / Bunga Bunga / courtesy of Sugaroo!

On your questions & criticisms.

[Patreon Exclusive]

 

The weakness of anti-EU forces; the implications of defending Ukrainian sovereignty; what should we call the new far-right and what does it *do* in power? And the gravity of nuclear war

 

Also, is Phil okay?

On nuclear exterminism. 

To commemorate our 300th episode, we discuss how the world is closer to a nuclear conflict than at any point since the Cold War. After decades of inconsequential 'permawar' (at least inside the Western bubble), the proxy war in Ukraine between NATO and Russia is suddenly very consequential indeed.

How does our situation differ from that of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis? Why might it be more unpredictable? Does today's very different ideological configuration make war more or less likely?

Before that, we reflect on five and half years of Bungacast, how the world has changed over the period, and pick out some of our favourite episode from the past half-decade.

The main discussion begins at 23mins.

Readings:

• Who will stop Putin from going nuclear?, Philip Cunliffe, UnHerd
• How to prevent World War III, Philip Cunliffe, UnHerd
• Notes on Exterminism, the Last Stage of Civilisation, EP Thompson, New Left Review
• The War in Ukraine Could Lead to Nuclear War, Anatol Lieven, Quincy Institute

On who's responsible for prolonging the Ukraine War + your questions & criticisms.

 

[Patreon Exclusive]

 

We start off by discussing whether the Zelensky tail is wagging the NATO dog, and what possible exits to conflict there might be. 

 

Then, in the main section, we respond to listener comments: we talk about the possibility of a "Chinese Dream", what the point of economic growth is, the monarchy and modernisation, and whether 'fascism' is an appropriate term for the far right today.

On the meaning of Gorbachev.

 

[Patreon Exclusive]

 

Mikhail Gorbachev continues to be lauded in Western circles for overseeing the collapse of the Soviet Union without much bloodshed. But given the historic societal disaster that followed, is this status unmerited? How naive was Gorbachev about the wolves at the door? And to what extent was the writing on the wall by the late '80s – was there an alternative path not taken?

 

Readings:

• Big Man Walking: Gorbachev’s Dispensation, Neal Ascherson, LRB, 2017
• Voices of Glasnost review 
• Why Gorbachev Failed, Slavoj Zizek, Compact

 

Listenings:

• OK BUNGER! The Problem of Generations, pt. 4 (on Gen X, the End of History and Soviet collapse)
• /276/ Broken Promises ft. Fritz Bartel (on the end of the Cold War and the rise of neoliberalism)
• /270/ Russia vs the West ft. Richard Sakwa (on the geopolitics of NATO expansion)

On Communism's historic role.

 

We talk to renowned Serbian-American economist Branko Milanovic about growing up in Yugoslavia and how, in much of the world, History never ended. We then dedicate much of the episode to discussing Branko's claim that communism was essentially an engine of economic convergence, allowing developing countries to haul themselves into the industrial age.

 

We also talk about Branko's work on inequality and why growth still matters. 

 

Readings:

• Capitalism, Alone, Branko Milanovic, Harvard UP
• The Aloofness of Pax Sinica, Branko Milanovic, Global Policy Journal

On Rojava and Ukraine.

We talk to Stefan Bertram-Lee, former volunteer fighter for the the YPG in Rojava, about whom a Hollywood movie is being made. We ask him about the type of person who volunteers, and how this compares to those who have gone to Ukraine. How does this stop you "being a teenage nihilist"? And who would win in a fight: ISIS, Azov or the YPG?

Part two of this episode is available at: https://www.patreon.com/posts/70597308 

Reading:

• Ukraine the Day after Tomorrow, Stefan Bertram-Lee, Sublation
• The Nazification of Ukraine, Stefan Bertram-Lee, Sublation
• ‘Stefan Vs. ISIS’ Pic In Works, Deadline

[Patreon Exclusive]

With European liberals waving Ukraine flags, how might the war and escalating geopolitical tensions between major power be prompting a return to nationalism and patriotism? Is it just a means for elites to extract sacrifices from the people? And how 'real' are nations anyway?

Articles:

• As we unite for the jubilee, let’s believe Britain’s best days are ahead, not behind, Lucy Powell, The Guardian
• The Return of Liberal Nationalism, Sohrab Ahmari, Compact
• What Putin and liberals share, Aris Roussinos, Unherd

On the end of the Cold War and the rise of neoliberalism.

Fritz Bartel talks to us about his new book in which the 1970s crisis and its aftermath takes centre-stage. How did the response to this global crisis differ in Western democratic capitalism versus Eastern state socialism? And why did this determine which side won the Cold War? How did the twin factors of global finance and energy emerge then, to the extent they still seem so determining today?

We discuss Bartel's striking claim that democracies, rather than authoritarian systems, were better able to 'break promises' – that is, impose economic discipline. And we conclude by discussing whether it could have been otherwise, whether neoliberalism and the collapse of the 'really existing socialism' were inevitable.

Readings: 

• The Triumph of Broken Promises: The End of the Cold War and the Rise of Neoliberalism, Fritz Bartel, Harvard UP
• Democracy and Discipline: Review Essay, Alex Hochuli, American Affairs

On the endgame to war in Ukraine.

 

Eminent Russian expert, Putin and Gorbachev biographer and ex-Sovietologist, Prof Richard Sakwa, joins us in advance of his imminent retirement from the University of Kent. We talk about the geopolitics of NATO expansion and the dynamics of the Ukraine war reaching back to 2014. How high is the risk of nuclear war now, and how might the Ukraine war play out?

Readings:

• Whisper it, but Putin has a point in Ukraine, Richard Sakwa, The Spectator
• The Dual State in Russia, Richard Sakwa, Post-Soviet Affairs
• A Review of 'Frontline Ukraine' by Richard Sakwa, Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday
• Putin Redux: Continuity and change, Richard Sakwa, openDemocracy