The Red Line

India is fast becoming one of the world's great powers, set to take the number 2 or 3 slot by 2050. This is unless another country were to derail India's current path, and the list of potential derailers is fairly long.  So this week we take a look into who will be India's great strategic threats over the next 3 decades, and where India sits in the power struggle for leadership of South Asia today.  This weeks guests are Swaminathan Aiyar (CATO Institute) Dhruva Jaishankar (ORF/Brookings) Harsh V Pant (Kings College London) More Info available at - www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show at @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thailand has for a long time been the centerpiece of South East Asia, and many powers are starting to relearn its importance when it comes to shifting the direction of the region.  With the boom in internationalism and regional trade, we also see a boom for drug cartels as well; so this week we layout just how chemicals in Southern China travel through a number of nations to be sold as Methamphetamine on the streets of Vancouver and Sydney.  Guests this week are  Matt Wheeler Josh Kurlantzick John Coyne More info at www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show at @TheRedLinePod or @MikeHilliardAus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the historical dispute between Belgrade and Kosovo, the challenges of traveling between Serbia and Kosovo, and the geopolitical dynamics surrounding the conflict. Delve into the Kosovo War for Independence, the occupation of Pristina Airport by Russian Special Forces, and China's strategic goals in the Balkans. Discover the possibility of Kosovo becoming a province of Albania as a solution.

When we covered the Libyan Civil War in February it looked like Haftar was about to be victorious, shelling the very gates of his enemies capital in Tripoli; but 5 months can make all of the difference.  The GNA has turned the tide and now Haftar is on the run and held up in the fortress city of Sirte, taking the city though may mean Turkey and Russia escalating to all-out war.  This weeks guests are Jalel Harchauoi (Clingendael Institute) Frederic Wehrey (Carnegie Centre) Jonathon Winer (Fmr Asst Secretary of State for the USA) Find more info at - www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show at @TheRedLinePod or Michael the host at @MikeHilliardAus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The South China sea is the new battleground between Beijing and Washington with the winner controlling the trades routes; and therefore the future of Asia. Caught in the middle is The Philippines, now torn between their military partners in Washington and their economic partners in Beijing, with the decision-maker being a wildly popular president accused of numerous human rights abuses. Manila is the linchpin for both sides, and we ask our guests in which direction the nation is heading.  This weeks guests are Aaron Jed Rabena (Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress) Sheena Greitens (Brookings Institute) Derek Grossman (RAND Corperation) Oriana Skylar Mastro (Stanford University) For more information visit www.theredlinepodcast.com Or follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Or follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While everyone has their eyes on its imploding neighbours Guyana is entering its own new phase, one that is likely to make it one of the world's next big geopolitical flashpoints. With Iranian missiles, Cambridge Analytica buying elections, and a country up for sale this isolated jungle nation could be the next launchpad to threaten the world superpower at home. Thie week we sit down with Brittany Kaiser (Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower) Ivelaw Griffiths (International Institute for Strategic Studies) Michael Unbehauen (US Army/Acamar Consulting) Find more info on the show at - www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show on @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Peter Leonard, an expert on Central Asia, Naz Nazar, a Turkmen-born journalist, and Alexander Cooley, a political scientist, as they unravel the complexities of Turkmenistan. They explore its paradoxical nature, from its glittering capital's marble architecture amid widespread poverty to the cult of personality surrounding former president Niyazov. The guests discuss Turkmenistan's unique neutrality in a perilous geopolitical landscape and its shifting allegiances, especially towards China, which has become a vital economic partner. Expect surprising insights into this enigmatic nation!

In the South Caucasus between Armenia and Azerbaijan lies an island of Armenians in the middle of Azerbaijan, two countries now firmly at war with each other. The Armenians have invaded and now occupy a quarter of the Azeris territory, but they assert are only doing to protect their people from the government who threatens to "cleanse" the pocket of Armenians.  A complicated conflict with Russia selling to both sides and Turkey (and therefore NATO) obligated to defend the other, this war is a classic situation of "the tail wagging the dog". Will we see another 1914 with a small mountain nation dragging the great powers into war, well for that we turn to our experts? Svante Cornell (Institue for Security and Development) Tyrone Shaw (Conflict Zone Author) Thomas De Waal (Carnegie Europe) More details >> www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show @TheRedLinePod Follow Michael on @MikeHilliardAus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are few geopolitical flashpoints in the world more dangerous than North Korea, and with instability at the top of the regime we can add another layer of complexity to an already shaky situation; one that few people truly understand. USA, China, Seoul and Pyongyang all have competing goals and needs to keep their own domestic politics in check, but some of those goals infringe upon others, and with a few minor missteps the Korean peninsula could easily break out in full war again. The difference this time is that there are 60+ nuclear weapons to factor into the equation.  So this week with sit down with Eric Gomez (CATO) Jacob Bogle (Access DPRK) Soo Kim (RAND/CIA/DHS) More information on --- www.theredlinepodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a 30 year war with Sudan, South Sudan finally gained its independence, but with no external enemy, a power vacuum quickly told hold. Two men lead a nation into a civil war that destroyed the country and broke the future for this African nation even further.  Now peace talks are starting again and people are wondering if this will this be the peace deal that finally brings stability, or will the nation once again backslide into mass slaughter? That decision lies in the hand of just two men, the same two who started this war almost 7 years ago. Guests this week are Alan Boswell Ahmed Soliman John Campbell More info at ---  www.theredlinepodcast.com Follow the show on @theredlinepod Or Michael on @MikeHilliardAus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices