Following the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah by Israel two weeks ago, this episode discusses with Dr. Emil Archambault how the use and justification of assassinations by Western states and their allies has changed over time, what the reasons for this changing norm are, what their goal is, and whether they achieve it.

Dr. Emil Archambault's website: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/emil-d-archambault/

References and additional sources:

• Archambault et al. (2024). The Killing of Hassan Nasrallah and how the West Legitimized its use of Assassinations. The Conversation, 3.10.2024. https://theconversation.com/the-killing-of-hassan-nasrallah-and-how-the-west-legitimised-its-use-of-assassination-240247 [Last accessed: 11.10.2024].
• President Biden's statement on the killing of Hassan Nasrallah https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/09/28/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-death-of-hassan-nasrallah/ [Last accessed: 11.10.2024].
• President Obama's Speech at the National Defense University 2013 https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/23/remarks-president-national-defense-university [Last accessed: 11.10.2024]
• Trenta, Luca (2024). The President's Kill List: Assassination and Foreign Policy since 1945. Edinburgh University Press. https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-president-s-kill-list.html.
• Rigterink, Anouk (2021). The Wane of Command: Evidence of Drone Strikes and Control within Terrorist Organizations. American Political Science Review 115(1), 31-50. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055420000908
• Bergman, Ronon (2019). Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations. Penguin Random House. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/209254/rise-and-kill-first-by-ronen-bergman/

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Welcome to the Politics in the Rear View Mirror, the podcast of the School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA) at Durham University. This brief intro gives you an overview if what the podcast will be about. Subscribe to not miss out on the next episode!

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In early June 2025, the government published the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which was commissioned by Prime Minister Kier Starmer shortly after the July 2024 election. The SDR sets out 62 recommendations to transform the UK Armed Forces from hollowed-out forces into “war-fighting ready” capabilities, with a focus on expanding the nuclear deterrent, cyber and electronic warfare, autonomous systems, and strategic stockpiles. The government has accepted all 62 recommendations and pledged to increase UK defence spending from ~2.3% to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with an ambition to reach 3%.

Joining me to discuss the SDR, whether it is an appropriate response to the identified rising global threats, what new technologies and domains might have been missed, whether it can even be delivered within the set budget envelope, and if not, what should be prioritised, is Dr. Bleddyn Bowen. Bleddyn is the Associate Professor of Astropolitics and an expert in astropolitics, space warfare, technology and modern warfare, and international relations.

To learn more about Dr. Bowen's research and expertise, visit his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/bleddyn-e-bowen/

Literature:

- Ministry of Defence 2025. The Strategic Defence Review 2025 - Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad. Online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-strategic-defence-review-2025-making-britain-safer-secure-at-home-strong-abroad [Last accessed: 12 June 2025].Music: The Good News by SHANTI from https://tunetank.com/track/263-the-good-news/

In this episode, we are turning our attention to the war in Ukraine and two recent, bold attacks carried out by Ukraine's Secret Service deep within Russian territory. These aren't just isolated military actions; looking at them through the lens of the bargaining model of war and taking a broader international security perspective suggests that theirthe timing was carefully chosen and their aim goes far beyond the physical damage done to the Russian air force and infrastructure.

Prof. Patrick Kuhn, a Professor of Comparative Politics at Durham University's School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA) and convenor of Analytical Politics, a second year UG module, considers the implications of these attacks through the lens of the bargaining model of war for war in Ukraine and the broader global international security.

To learn more about Prof. Patrick Kuhn's research, visit his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/p-m-kuhn/

Literature:

- Reiter, Dan 2003. Exploring the Bargaining Model of War. Perspectives on Politics 1(1), 27-43.

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Migration remains one of the most contentious political issues, shaping debates on borders, identity, and economies, including in the UK. Earlier in February this year, the Labour government announced that those arriving irregularly to the UK, even if they are legitimate refugees, will be barred from ever becoming British citizens. Joining the show to discuss the politics behind this announcement, what it aims to achieve, whether it will work, and what alternative approaches Labour could have pursued is Dr. Omar Hammoud-Gallego, an Assistant Professor of Public Policy in the School of Government and International Affairs here at Durham University, where he teaches in the new MSc Public Policy starting this coming academic year.

To learn more about Omar and his research on migration, visit his website: https://www.omarhgallego.com/

Related Literature:

- Gathmann, C., & Garbers, J. 2023. Citizenship and integration. Labour Economics, 82, 102343. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2023.102343 

- Hammoud Gallego, O. 2025. Labour’s latest immigration policy is counterproductive. LSE Blog, online at https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/labours-latest-immigration-policy-is-counterproductive/ [Last accessed: 7th March 2025].

- Krause W, Cohen D, Abou-Chadi T. Does accommodation work? Mainstream party strategies and the success of radical right parties. Political Science Research and Methods. 2023;11(1):172-179. doi:10.1017/psrm.2022.8 

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40 years ago on Monday, 3rd March 1985, the 1984-1985 UK’s miners’ strike ended. The coal miners' strike aimed to prevent the closure of pits that the conservative government deemed “uneconomic”. Many observers regard the miners’ strike as “the most bitter industrial dispute in British history” and with 26 million person-days of work lost, it was the largest by impact since the 1926 General Strike. Joining me, to look back at this major industrial dispute and why it still matters today is Dr. Lewis Mates, an Associate Professor in Political Theory in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University.

To learn more about Lewis' research visit his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/lewis-mates/

Resources mentioned in this episode:

- Sherwood (2022) BBC One Series, for more information on the show see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherwood_(2022_TV_series). To view the series see https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0c724lz/sherwood (only available in the UK).

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Germany is heading to the polls this coming Sunday (23rd February 2025) after the traffic light coalition between the Social Democrats (red), the Liberal Party (yellow), and the Greens (green) collapsed in November last year. In this episode, Dr. Moritz Osnabrügge outlines the main topics of the election campaign, how the campaign compared to 2021, what the latest polls predict, and what potential government coalitions may emerge.

To learn more about Dr. Moritz Osnabrügge's research, visit his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/moritz-osnabruegge/

Polling and election modeling:

- Reuters (2025): The Latest Polls Ahead of the German Snap Election. Online at: https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GERMANY-ELECTION/POLLS/akveedlravr/ [Last accessed 20th February 2025].

- Zweitstimme.org (2025). Die Wissenschaftliche Vorhersage der Bundestagswahl. Online at: https://zweitstimme.org/ [Last accessed: 20th February 2025].

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This week we are looking at the politics behind one of the Executive Orders from President Trump. The Executive Order “Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa”, was issued on the 7th of February 2025. As justification for this order, President Trump cited South Africa’s Expropriation Act 13, which allows for land to be expropriated with nil compensation in limited circumstances and has been criticized as racially discriminatory by some white Afrikaners, decedents of the European settlers that have ruled South Africa during apartheid and still own a disproportionate share of land and wealth. Dr. Simon Taylor, a Teaching Fellow in International Relations & Security at Durham’s School of Government and International Affairs and an Extraordinary Researcher at North-West University in South Africa, is joining me to discuss the politics behind this Executive Order. Before joining academia, he served as a Senior Foreign Service Officer for the South African Department of International Relations and Co-operation.

To learn more about Simon's research visit his website: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/simon-d-taylor/

Literature related to the episode:

- Executive Order "Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa" 7th February 2025. Online at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/addressing-egregious-actions-of-the-republic-of-south-africa/ [Last accessed: 14th February 2024].

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"Tariffs, the most beautiful word in the dictionary!", President Trump exclaimed at one point during the election campaign. In office, he has (so far) announced general import tariffs against Columbia, Mexico, Canada, and the US, only to withdraw them once Columbia, Mexico, and Canada accepted to take back criminal immigrants or strengthen border controls, respectively. In this episode, we discuss with Dr. Michael Nower, an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Durham University Business School, how trade tariffs work, who ultimately pays them, for what purposes they have been used in the past, and how President Trump talked about them and is currently using taxes on trade.

To learn more about Dr. Michael Nower and his research, visit his website: https://www.durham.ac.uk/business/our-people/michael-nower/

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On Wednesday, the 29th of January 2025 Friedrich Merz, the leader of the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), broke a longstanding taboo in German politics, the so-called "Brandschutzmauer" (firewall) by passing a non-binding motion to tighten immigration rules with the backing of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), a radical right party, with established links to Neonazi groups. Neither the ruling Social Democrats (SPD) nor the Greens supported the motion. In this episode, Prof. Patrick Kuhn will describe what happened, why this event sent shockwaves through German politics, and what political science research tells us about mainstream parties' likely success of such accommodative strategies.

To learn more about Prof. Patrick Kuhn's research, visit his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/p-m-kuhn/

Literature referred to:

- Budge, Ian and Farlie D. 1983. Explaining and Predicting Elections: Issue Effects and Party Strategies in Twenty-three Democracies. London/Boston: Allen & Unwin.

- Chou, Winston, Rafaela Dancygier and  Amaney A. Jamal 2021. Competing for Loyalists? How Party Positioning Affects Populist Radical Right Voting. Comparative Political Studies 54(12), 2226–2260.

- Downs Anthony 1957. An Economic Theory of Democracy. New York: Harper.

- Krause Werner, Cohen Dennis, Abou-Chadi Tarik 2023. Does accommodation work? Mainstream party strategies and the success of radical right parties. Political Science Research and Methods 11(1), 172-179.

- Meguid, Bonnie M. 2008. Party Competition between Unequals: Strategies and Electoral Fortunes in Western Europe. Cambridge MA: Cambridge University Press.

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On the 19th January 2024 a cease fire process between Israel and Hamas started, which will hopefully end the fighting and human suffering, which has been ongoing since the bloody October 7 attacks by Hamas in 2023. In season 1 episode 9 we have talked about the challenges Humanitarian Organizations face in getting aid into Gaza and to other vulnerable people to alleviate human suffering. In this episode we will look at what impact the War in Gaza had on Israeli society and the state. Joining the show to discuss this topic is Prof. Ilan Baron, a Professor in International Political Theory and Director of the Centre for the Study of Jewish Culture, Society and Politics. Prof. Baron's research explores different ways that we experience international politics in our everyday lives. To learn more about our guest visit Prof. Baron's website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/ilan-baron/

To lear more about the Centre for the Study of Jewish Culture, Society, and Politics, visit their website: https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/jewish-studies/

Literature mentioned in the episode:

- Baron, Ilan and Ilai Saltzman 2024. The Undoing of Israel: The Dark Future that Awaits After the War in Gaza. Foreign Affairs. 12th August 2024. Online at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/undoing-israel [Last accessed: 22 Janaury 2025].

- Rabin, Ytzak 1996. The Rabin Memoirs, Expanded Edition with Recent Speeches, New Photographs, and an Afterword. The University of California Press.

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The peaceful transition of power is a hallmark of democracy. In January 2021 and 2023, the US and Brazil, respectively, both experienced post-electoral riots as supporters of the outgoing presidents ransacked government buildings. Four, respectively two years later Prof. Patrick Kuhn, a Professor of Comparative Politics at the School of Government, looks at the actions taken in those countries to hold the various actors accountable and what this tells us about the state of democracy in the United States and Brazil.

To learn more about Prof. Patrick Kuhn's research, visit his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/p-m-kuhn/

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To tell us what you like and dislike about the podcast please complete this 3min survey: https://forms.office.com/e/bv0tQMczUv.

The survey will remain open until 6th January 2025.

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At the end of October 2024, Israel’s parliament voted to ban the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) from operating within Israel and occupied East Jerusalem. While most of Unrwa's projects take place in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, it relies on agreements with Israel to operate. Thus, on a practical level, the ban on interacting with Israeli officials means it is now almost impossible for the agency's staff to operate effectively. Joining the show to discuss the Unrwa ban and the broader issues of when, why, and how states obstruct Humanitarian Assistance is Dr. William Plowright, an Assistant Professor of International Security at the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, where he teaches on the MSc Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding and MSc Defence, Development and Diplomacy. Before joining Durham Will spent nearly a decade working in operational management in the humanitarian sector, for Doctors Without Borders / Medecins Sans Frontieres, in various countries and situations of armed conflict, mass displacement, detention, and disease outbreaks. He has just published a new book entitled “War on Rescue: The Obstruction of Humanitarian Assistance in the European Migration Crisis”, where he describes, analyses, and explains why and how governments block assistance to people in times of crisis. To learn more about our guest, Dr. Will Plowright, see his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/william-plowright/

More information on Dr. Will Plowright's book "War on Rescue: The Obstruction of Humanitarian Assistance in the European Migration Crisis”, can be found at https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501778353/the-war-on-rescue

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In light of the devastating humanitarian situation in Gaza we are reposting episode 9 from our first series (published on the 6. December 2024), in which we talk to Dr. William Plowright, an Assistant Professor of International Security at the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, about his new book " War on Rescue: The Obstruction of Humanitarian Assistance in the European Migration Crisis”, where he describes, analyses, and explains why and how governments block assistance to people in times of crisis.

To learn more about our guest, Dr. Will Plowright, see his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/william-plowright/

More information on Dr. Will Plowright's book "War on Rescue: The Obstruction of Humanitarian Assistance in the European Migration Crisis”, can be found at https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501778353/the-war-on-rescue

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On the 12th of November 2024, President Trump announced that “the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Together, these wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies - essential to the “Save America” Movement.” On the show this week to discuss what reforms for efficiency gains are, what Musk and Ramaswamy might target, and what institutional hurdles they might face is my colleague Dr. Aung Hein, an Assistant Professor of Public Policy in the School of Government and International Affairs, and a core member of staff on our new MSc Public Policy starting next academic year. His research interests include state capacity, public bureaucracy, and civil service reforms. Before joining Durham, he led a policy research programme advising two successive Myanmar civilian governments.

To learn more about Dr. Aung Hein and his research visit https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/school-government-international-affairs/about-us/news/meet-assistant-professor-aung-hein/

To learn more about the MSc Public Policy at Durham's School of Government and International Affairs visit https://www.durham.ac.uk/public-policy

Relevant Literature:

Bevan G. and C. Hood 2006. What's Measured is What Matters: Targets and Gaming in the English Public Health Care System. Public Administration 84, 517-538.

Burgess S. and M. Ratto 2003. The Role of Incentives in the Public Sector: Issues and Evidence. Oxford Review of Public Policy 19, 285-300.

Finan, F. , B. A. Olken, and R. Pande 2015. Personnel Economics of the State. Cambridge: Bureau of Economic Research.

Hood C. 1991. A Public Management for All Seasons? Public Administration 69: 3-19.

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The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of Parties (COP) at Baku in Azerbaijan closed at the end of November 2024. The COP aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, emphasising the urgent need for investment in climate action. The COP29 Presidency also stresses the importance of operationalising the Loss and Damage Fund to support vulnerable communities, especially Small Island Developing States. Joining this episode to evaluate the COP29 and put it into a broader perspective in relationship to the global political economy, livelihoods, and politics is my colleague Dr. Maria Eugenia Giraudo, an Assistant Professor of International Political Economy. Her research explores developing states’ capacities to govern the uneven geographies of capital that emerge during commodity booms and critically analyses the policy frameworks states employ.

To learn more about Dr. Eugenia Giraudo's work visit her website at: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/maria-e-giraudo/

Literature mentioned in the episode:

Jarvis, A., and Forster, P.M. 2024. Estimated human-induced warming from a linear temperature and atmospheric CO2 relationship, Nature Geoscience. Open Access via: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01580-5.

Daniela Gabor 2022. The Wall Street Consensus at COP27: https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/the-wall-street-consensus-at-cop27/ [Last accessed: 22nd November 2024].

Jessica Green 2021. Follow the Money: ⁠https://www.foreignaffairs.com/world/follow-money ⁠[Last accessed: 22nd November 2024].

Jessica Green 2023 The False Promise of Carbon Offsets: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/world/false-promise-carbon-offsets [Last accessed: 22nd November 2024]. Music: The Good News by SHANTI from https://tunetank.com/track/263-the-good-news/

This episode looks at a brutal Sudanese civil war, which started in April 2023 and so far has displaced over 8 million people and caused tens of thousands of deaths., but has been happening largely outside the global media spotlight. The conversation with Dr. Will Plowright, an Assistant Professor of International Security in the School of Government and International Affairs, summarizes Sudan’s recent history, highlights the factors contributing to the outbreak of the civil war, and describes the humanitarian situation. Will is an expert on intra-state armed conflict and has before his academic career worked for almost a decade in the Humanitarian sector for Medicine Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) in various sub-Saharan African countries, the Middle East and Sudan. The conversation was initially recorded in February 2024, but the introduction has been updated with the latest figures.

To learn more about our guest, Dr. Will Plowright, see his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/william-plowright/

For the most recent information on the Humanitarian situation on the ground see the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA) website on the Sudanese civil war at https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/sudan/ [Last accessed: 16.11.2024].

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Earlier in October CHOGM, the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting, took place in Samoa, where Caribbean leaders succeeded in including a call for reparatory justice regarding the trans-Atlantic trade in enslaved Africans and chattel enslavement in the Leader Statement (point 22, page 8) despite the UK government's objection. In this episode Dr. Elizabeth Kahn, an Associate Professor of Political Theory researching injustices and moral dilemmas, looks more closely at the concepts of historical injustice, reparations, and colonialism and what case can be made for reparations from a philosophical perspective.

To learn more about our guest, visit Elizabeth Kahn's website: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/elizabeth-kahn/

The CHOGM Leader Statement can be found here: https://thecommonwealth.org/news/chogm2024/Samoa-communique-leaders-statement-and-declarations

Literature discussed in this episode:

Amighetti, Sara. and Nuti, Alasia 2015. Towards a Shared Redress. Journal of Political Philosophy, 23: 385-405.

Bhargava, R. 2013. Overcoming the Epistemic Injustice of Colonialism. Global Policy, 4: 413-417.

Butt, Daniel 2007. “On Benefiting from Injustice.” Canadian Journal of Philosophy 37(1): 129–52. 

Butt, Daniel 2008 Rectifying International Injustice: Principles of Compensation and Restitution Between Nations Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Butt, Daniell 2012. Repairing Historical Wrongs and the End of Empire. Social & Legal Studies, 21(2), 227-242. 

Lu, Catherine 2011. Colonialism as Structural Injustice: Historical Responsibility and Contemporary Redress. Journal of Political Philosophy, 19: 261-281.

Lu Catherine 2017. Justice and Reconciliation in World Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

McKeown, Maeve 2021. Backward-looking reparations and structural injustice. Contemporary Political Theory 20, 771–794.

Nuti Alasia 2019. Injustice and the Reproduction of History: Structural Inequalities, Gender and Redress. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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After months of primaries, a late change candidacy, blockbuster conventions, two assassination attempts, and hundreds of rallies nationwide, US citizens will finally be heading to the polls this Tuesday. To reflect on the 2024 race to the White House and put it into context by comparing it to presidential elections in the recent past, we assembled SGIA’s US Politics trio Dr. Tessa Ditonto, Associate Professor of Gender & Politics, Dr. David Andersen, Associate Professor of US Politics, and Dr. Neil Visalvanich, Associate Professor of Political Science to unpack what changed and what remained the same in this campaign compared to past presidential races.

To learn more about our guests, visit their websites:

Dr. Tessa Ditonto: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/tessa-m-ditonto/

Dr. David Andersen: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/david-j-andersen/

Dr. Neil Visalvanich: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/neil-visalvanich/

The link for Durham University staff and students to sign-up for our Chancellor in Conversation event is: https://pay.durham.ac.uk/event-durham/chancellor-in-conversation#:~:text=Staff%20and%20students%20are%20invited,pm%20in%20Mount%20Oswald%20Hub.

Links to information and further reading on the topics covered in this episode:

- Burn-Murdoch, J 2024. Will Trumpism Outlast Trump: the changed political and cultural landscape makes a rest unlikely. The Financial Times 1st November 2024 https://www.ft.com/content/3ce7ceef-9135-45ab-a4f5-412ee5037da2 {Last accessed: 1st November 2024].

- Campbell, W. J. (2022). Misfires and Surprises: Polling Embarrassments in Recent U.S. Presidential Elections. American Behavioral Scientist, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642221118901.

- Cassese, E.C. and Barnes, T.D., 2019. Reconciling sexism and women’s support for Republican candidates: A look at gender, class, and whiteness in the 2012 and 2016 presidential races. Political Behavior, 41, 677-700.

- Ditonto, T., 2017. A high bar or a double standard? Gender, competence, and information in political campaigns. Political Behavior, 39, 301-325.

- Eagly, A.H. and Karau, S.J., 2002. Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders. Psychological Review, 109(3), 573.

- Jennings W, Wlezien C. 2018. Election polling errors across time and space. Nature Human Behaviour 2(4):276-283. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0315-6.

- Junn J, Masuoka N. 2020. The Gender Gap Is a Race Gap: Women Voters in US Presidential Elections. Perspectives on Politics 18(4):1135-1145.  https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592719003876

- Lake, C. and A. Iovino 2024. A Democratic and a Republican Pollster Agree: This Is the Fault Line That Decides the Election. The New York Times 30th October 2024: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/30/opinion/gender-education-gap.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare [Last accessed: 1st. November 2024].

- Sommer, U. and I. Franco 2022. Trump’s African Americans? Racial resentment and Black support for Trump in the 2020 elections. Politics, Groups and Identities 12(4), 921-947. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2023.2265899

- Sommer, U. and I. Franco 2024. Solidarity in question: activation of dormant political dispositions and Latino support for Trump in 2020. European Political Science Review 16(3), 351-377. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773923000371

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Tackling obesity has been on the UK’s public health agenda for quite some time. Recently weeks received prominence via the government's announcement that it is looking into whether the new weight-loss drugs could be used to reduce unemployment for obesity-related reasons. Joining the show to discuss obesity policy more broadly and Labour's "jabs for job" announcement is Dr. Renu Singh, an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at SGIA. Her research focuses on public health and she is finishing a book manuscript on the topic. She is also the Programme Director of our new MSc Public Policy. 

To learn more about Renu and her research, visit her website: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/renu-singh/

To learn more about SGIA's new MSc Public Policy visit: https://www.durham.ac.uk/public-policy

For background information on this topic see:

- Unemployed could get weight loss jabs to return to work. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjd54zd0ezjo [Last accessed: 26.10.2024].

- Weight loss jabs for jobless not dystopian - Streeting. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgk7l30egjeo [Last accessed: 26.10.2024].

- What are weightloss jabs and how do they work? BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/clyz9xzr0d4o [Last accessed: 26.10.2024].

- Why weight-loss drugs may be no obesity silver bullet. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czxgqp1nd1jo [Last accessed: 26.10.2024].

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In less than two weeks, the southeast of the USA was hit by two hurricanes Helene and Milton, forcing hundreds of thousands of residents to flee and causing millions of dollars in private and public property damages. Joining the podcast to discuss the academic literature on the consequences of natural disasters on elections and how Helene and Milton might affect the final weeks of the US Presidential election is Dr. David Andersen, an Associate Professor of US Politics at Durham University's School of Government and International Affairs.

To learn more about David and his research visit his website: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/david-j-andersen/

References and literature discussed during this episode:

• Achen, C. H., & Bartels, L. M. (2012). Blind retrospection: Why shark attacks are bad for democracy.Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, Vanderbilt University. Working Paper, 10.
• Achen, C. H., & Bartels, L. M. (2017). Democracy for realists: Why elections do not produce responsive government. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.
• Fair, C. C., P. M. Kuhn, N. Malhotra and J. N. Shapiro 2017. Natural Disasters and Political Engagement: Evidence from the 2010-11 Pakistani Floods. Quarterly Journal of Political Science 12(1), 99-141
• Fowler, A., & Hall, A. B. (2018). Do shark attacks influence presidential elections? Reassessing a prominent finding on voter competence. The Journal of Politics, 80(4), 1423-1437.
• Healy, A. J., Malhotra, N., & Mo, C. H. (2010). Irrelevant events affect voters' evaluations of government performance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(29), 12804-12809.
• Heersink, B., Jenkins, J. A., Olson, M. P., & Peterson, B. D. (2020). Natural disasters, ‘partisan retrospection,’ and US presidential elections. Political Behavior, 44(4), 1-22.
• James, T. S., A. Clark, and E. Asplund (2023). Elections During Emergencies and Crisis: Lessons for Electoral Integrity from the Covid-19 Pandemic. International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Online: https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/elections-during-emergencies-and-crises-en.pdf [Last Accessed: 18/10/2024].
• Rubin, O. (2020). The political dynamics of voter retrospection and disaster responses. Disasters, 44(2), 239-261.
• Rudolph, L. and P. M. Kuhn 2018. Natural Disasters and Political Participation: Evidence from the 2002 and 2013 Floods in Germany. German Politics 26(1), 1-24.

This episode takes us into the world of foreign policy bluffing, nuclear strategy, and presidential unpredictability. We’re talking about the Madman Theory -- a term associated with colourful US Presidents like Richard Nixon or Donald Trump in combination with words like "unhinged" or "strategic genius". But what is the Madman Theory, really? Does acting crazy help a world leader win concessions? And what does the data actually say?

Prof. Patrick Kuhn, a Professor of Comparative Politics at Durham University's School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA) and convenor of Analytical Politics, a second year UG module, unpacks the theoretical mechanism underlying the madman gambit and reviews the existing empirical evidence, before considering the extent to which the madman strategy will work for President Trump in his second term.

To learn more about Prof. Patrick Kuhn's research, visit his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/p-m-kuhn/

Literature referred to:

• Drezner, Daniel W. 2025. It's a Mad Mad Mad Madman's World: I see we're gonna be testing the madman theory in 2025. Online at: https://danieldrezner.substack.com/p/its-a-mad-mad-mad-madmans-world [Last accessed: 23. May 2025].
• McManus, Roseanne W. 2019. Revisiting the Madman Theory: Evaluating the Impact of Different Forms of Perceived Madness in Coercive Bargaining. Security Studies 28(5),976-1009
• McManus Roseanne W. 2021. Crazy Like a Fox? Are Leader with Reputations of Madness More Successful at International Coercion? British Journal of Political Science 51, 275-293.
• Schwartz, Joshua A. 2023. Manman or Mad Genius? The International Benefits and Domestic Costs of the Madman Strategy. Security Studies 32(2), 271-305.

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It has been half a year since President Trump announced the creation of DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk. In the 8th episode of the first season, we discussed whether government efficiency is important, what efficiency reforms might look like, and what institutional hurdles and constraints DOGE might face.

 Now that the media focus on DOGE has died down and Musk is stepping away to focus more on his business ventures again, my colleague Dr. Aung Hein and I thought we’d take a look at the last half-year to see what DOGE has achieved and at what costs, how Musk justified DOGE's actions, and what alternative approaches could have been taken.

If you'd like to learn more about Aung's research, visit his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/aung-hein/.

Sources:

DOGE's Wall of Receipts: https://doge.gov/savings [Last Accessed: 16th May 2025]

The Financial Times: What has Elon Musk’s Doge actually achieved?: https://www.ft.com/content/085430ab-27fe-46fc-a798-1059649d3b32 [Last Accessed: 16th May 2025]

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A bit more than a week ago, on the 1st May 2025, a series of local and mayoral elections, as well as a Westminster by-election were held in England. The results showed a large swing to Reform UK. The two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, both lost seats. The Conservatives suffered a particularly devastating loss of over 670 councillors and control of all 16 councils they had previously controlled. Both the Greens and the Liberal Democrats gained seats, withthe Liberal Democrats gaining control of three out of the 23 councils holding elections. In the immediate aftermath of these results, commentators were quick to pronounce the end of the British two-and-a-half party system and the end of class-based voting, proclaiming a major political realignment in British politics.

Joining me on this episode to contextualise these results in light of current British Political Science research is Prof. Gidon Cohen, a Professor of Politics in the School of Government and International Affairs here at Durham University. He researches British political development and public opinion using both qualitative and quantitative methods and teaches a module called “Class, Nation, and Party in British Politics.”

To learn more about Gidon's research, visit his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/gidon-cohen/

This FT article offers some interesting data and graphs on Reform UK run English Councils: https://www.ft.com/content/d7858718-91a9-4881-baa6-10dc7c05a260 [Last accessed: 13th May 2025].

Music: The Good News by SHANTI from https://tunetank.com/track/263-the-good-news/

On the 23rd April 2025, Jordanian security forces raided the offices of the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition movement of the kingdom, confiscating assets and property and outlawing all the group’s activities. This is not an isolated event. Rather, Jordan seems to be joining other countries in the MENA region by taking actions to sideline Islamist opposition parties in recent years.

Dr. Rory McCarthy, an Associate Professor in Comparative Politics of Islam in Durham University's School of Government and International Affairs, joins the show to unpack the domestic, international, and global factors that explain the timing of this action and what it means for democracy and the political stability of the wider region.

To learn more about Rory and his research, visit his website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/rory-p-mccarthy/

Music: The Good News by SHANTI from https://tunetank.com/track/263-the-good-news/

Due to current events, we are starting our third season with a bonus episode. On Wednesday, the UK government announced that it, together with the US, had bombed Houthi targets in Yemen to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

In the bonus episode you are about to hear, I discuss with Dr. Tom Walsh, a former PhD Student and current Tutor at the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, why the Houthis have decided to attack international shipping lanes in the Red Sea, what the links between the Houthis and Iran are, and to what extent US military intervention will resolve the issue or could lead to a further escalation involving Iran.  The episode was originally recorded at the end of January 2024.

To learn more about our guest, visit Tom's webiste at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/tom-j-walsh/

Music: The Good News by SHANTI from https://tunetank.com/track/263-the-good-news/

On February 27, 2025, Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), called for the group to disarm and disband, signaling a possible end to the four-decade-long conflict with the Turkish state. A few days later, the PKK declared an immediate ceasefire. This development followed months of preparations and overtures from the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, marking what could be a crucial turning point in Turkish politics and the broader region. Joining me unpack the conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state and discussing the various political factors explaining the emergence of this latest ceasefire is Dr. Francesco D’Alema, a Teaching Fellow in International Relations and Security at the School of Government and International Affairs here at Durham University.To learn more about Francesco's research visit his website: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/francesco-dalema/

Relevant literature:

- Associated Press (AP) 2025. What to know about the latest effort to end Turkey’s 40-year Kurdish conflict. Online at https://apnews.com/article/turkey-kurds-pkk-peace-ocalan-dem-prison-3d6e7e2c0cedcb87d4bd145667d79ae1 [Last accessed: 21st March 2025].

- Christofis, Nikos 2019. The State of the Kurds in Erdoğan's `new' Turkey. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 21(3), 251-259.

- D'Alema, Francesco 2024. Turkey's approach to the Arab spring revisited: political field and foreign policy in the AKP era. Turkish Studies 25(5), 806-834.

- Guardian 2025. PKK declares ceasefire with Turkey after more than 40 years of conflict. Online at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/01/pkk-declares-ceasefire-with-turkey-after-40-years-kurdish [Last accessed: 21st March 2025].

Music: The Good News by SHANTI from https://tunetank.com/track/263-the-good-news/

President Trump’s unilateral attempt to end the war in Ukraine raised concerns among Western allies. Both his statements and actions have sparked widespread debates about diplomacy and power in the 21st century, and whether they signify an end to the rules-based international order established in the aftermath of World War II.  Joining me online to unpack the concept of “international order”, what it involves, how it emerged, whether actions taken by President Trump have indeed unravelled it, or whether it has always been more fragile than its defenders admit, are my colleagues Prof. John Williams, a Professor of International Relations, and Dr. Dennis Schmidt, an Assistant Professor of International Relations here at Durham University's School of Government and International Affairs.

To learn more about our guests, please visit their websites:

Prof. John Williams: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/j-c-williams/

Dr. Dennis R. Schmidt: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/dennis-schmidt/

Related literature:

- Schmidt, Dennis R. 2023. International Law and World Order: Theoretical Perspectives. In: Oxford Research Encyclopedias. Online: https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.696 [Last accessed: 13th March 2025].

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