A View from Afar, by Dr Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning. https://www.youtube.com/live/hdFvrGO8Y38?si=6-QsPHtyk4L9VYgt In this the eleventh episode of A View from Afar for 2023, political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan and journalist Selwyn Manning examine how the post-World War II liberal internationalist system is being challenged by a fluid constellation of global and regional powers to influence the shape of an emerging new world order. And Paul and Selwyn also assess how this massive shift in geopolitic demarcations is forming, relatively quickly, into a world of bipolarity where on one side we have a multipolar constellation of states, and on the other the traditional western liberal democracies. The catalyst behind this rapidly forming bipolarity is conflict. And, most recently, it is clear, that the Israel-Hamas war – and the atrocities committed initially by Hamas and more lately by Israel forces – is driving the world toward a transitional moment. It appears

https://www.youtube.com/live/NRuObMSC4ns?si=LnL3Txl1rXV2u0Qj In this the tenth episode of A View from Afar for 2023 political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan and journalist/analyst Selwyn Manning examine the current Israel-Palestine Atrocities. As we prepared for this podcast, representatives of Arab states have presented a united front at the United Nations, criticising the UN Security Council of doing nothing to protect civilians from Israeli bombing and missile attacks on Gazan civilians and locations. Since then, the UN Security Council has considered two resolutions, the latter calling for a pause in hostilities to allow a humanitarian effort to enter Gaza to assist civilians. The United States vetoed that Security Council resolution. Al Jazera has detailed that Israel forces have targeted and bombed civilian facilities include Hospitals, schools, residential areas resulting in the deaths of thousands of people, civilians, - around one-third of the deaths are childr

https://youtu.be/bZX1lFdoUJ8 In this the ninth episode of A View from Afar for 2023, political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan and journalist Selwyn Manning examine why there is a trend toward military dictatorships in North Africa. And, in particular, Paul and Selwyn analyse the reasons why countries like Sudan, Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea have all become part of a challenge to a weakened western-led global order. In this podcast, Paul and Selwyn examine why events in North Africa are connected to authoritarian multipolarity, a realignment of global power that favours the Russian Federation’s Putin regime. And, within this context, Paul and Selwyn address the complexities of Russian Federation involvement in the African continent - involvement that includes the notorious Wagner mercenary group; Russian state controlled energy giants like Gazprom that act as envoys of the Kremlin; and how Western powers appear unable to address geopolitical and terrorist-caused instabili

https://www.youtube.com/live/ICw01SOOLqk?feature=share In this the eighth episode of A View from Afar for 2023, political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan and Selwyn Manning examine the risks of a 21st century nuclear war. The movie Oppenheimer has renewed interest in the dawn of the nuclear era. Almost 80 years later, are we safer from nuclear war than we were in the years immediately after 1945? The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved its Doomsday Clock hand to 90 seconds before midnight, the highest threat level since the Cuban Missile Crisis.What does that say about contemporary international security affairs? No new nuclear arms limitation agreements have been signed in over a decade, several have lapsed and most nuclear armed countries are not signatories to them anyway. Countries like China are rapidly expanding their arsenals and others like North Korea and Iran are seeking to join the nuclear armed club. Has nuclear arms control failed? What is the future of the Non-Prolifer

https://www.youtube.com/live/tpt6q5Dpd_o?feature=share In this the seventh episode of A View from Afar podcast for 2023 political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan and Selwyn Manning examine the strengths and weaknesses of democracy around the world. In particular Paul and Selwyn consider how and why democracy in many countries around the world is on the slide. They examine the causes of democratic backsliding and also test why the erosion of high democratic ideas have, in many cases, popular support. First, Paul offers a context, and defines democratic backsliding. He identifies the countries that are decisively eroding their own democracies of principles that were once embraced by both power elites and citizenry. The Questions include: Why are we seeing more democratic backsliding in recent times? Is it just a political phenomenon or does it extend beyond the political sphere? Where has democratic backsliding been most evident? What do Chile, Guatemala, Israel and Thai

https://www.youtube.com/live/X7ImqFWZvqM?feature=share In this the sixth episode of A View from Afar for 2023 political scientist Dr Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning present a two-part episode to analyse what to make of New Zealand Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins’ bilateral meetings with People's Republic of China's President Xi JinPing and other leaders of the PRC. In part one, Paul and Selwyn also consider how the PRC-NZ trade relationship is seen in the eyes of New Zealand’s security partners. Then, in the second half of today’s podcast, Paul and Selwyn analyse the most recent events in Russia - events that have taken shape since Wagner Commander Yevgeny Prigozhin’s pronounced intent to mobilise his mercenaries against the Russian Federation’s top two military heads, and, while doing so, pronounced that the Kremlin’s decision to invade Ukraine was based on falsehoods. What should we expect next? What is the real state of Putinism? What do the political and power elit

In this episode of A View from Afar Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning examine how a real war of global proportions has been waged to shape opinions. https://youtu.be/Alhm7LfqgVY Paul and Selwyn deep dive into the battle to control a narrative, waged by all sides in a polarised combative world, and how modern mainstream media institutions, like Radio New Zealand, fall vulnerable in the absence of robust all-sides-considered analysis and debate. In this episode, Paul and Selwyn analyse how fourth Estate bias, propaganda, and conflict-force fact-vacuums are the challenge of our times in this disinformation age. Upon this context, Paul and Selwyn consider: * Why Is the Radio New Zealand sub-editor pro-RU-content debacle symptomatic of a fact-vacuum environment? * Why is all media vulnerable to disinformation in the absence of robust NATO-Ukraine-Russia analysis? * What are the unspoken of ‘big picture’ shifts in Russian Federation / Global South relations? LINKS

A View from Afar: In this episode political scientist, and former Pentagon analyst, Dr Paul Buchanan, and Selwyn Manning analyse the question: What does the Geopolitical balancing that is taking place in the West and South-West Pacific mean for the region and the globe? https://youtu.be/w1TRV5UgaHU Analysis: Paul and Selwyn consider the question from several angles, and provide a context to the headlines that suggest both global powers, the USA and the Peoples Republic of China, are on a collision-course toward conflict. Paul takes us through the US-PNG and Japan-NZ bilateral security/military agreements as a balancing response to the PRC-Solomons security agreement. In addition, Paul considers the question: Does the PRC have legitimate interests in the Pacific and, as a great power, should those interests be understood and respected? Selwyn considers whether China’s ascendancy as a global power threatens the United States’ position as the perceived ‘preeminent defender’ of the

https://youtu.be/HgxeJzYAmew PODCAST: In this the second episode of A View from Afar podcast for 2023, political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan and Selwyn Manning analyse the question: How stable is Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin’s regime? PAUL AND SELWYN look at this question from a number of angles, and, reveal shifts within the regime’s control and structure that may surprise many in the West. In this episode Paul deep dives into the dynamics between the mercenary Wagner Group’s commander Yevgeny Prigozhin, his relationship with Putin, the Kremlin, and the estrangement from Russia’s military generals and Putin appointees. Paul and Selwyn consider: What is going on here? What is Prigozhin’s end-game? Does he have the support of Putin? Or is that support conditional on successes on the Ukraine conflict frontline? And Selwyn digs into the pillars of power in the Russian Federation, in particular: Putin as the head of Russia’s personalised autocracy The

A View from Afar: Political scientist Paul G. Buchanan and journalist/analyst Selwyn Manning deliver their latest podcast A View from Afar. This episode: AUKUS, should New Zealand and other Asia Pacific nations join this security pact? And if not, why not? https://youtu.be/MjNWw6GdEXs In this the first episode of A View from Afar for 2023 political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan and host Selwyn Manning examine the pros and cons of New Zealand, and other APAC nations, joining the AUKUS security defence pact. Specifically, Paul and Selwyn examine the following questions: * What is AUKUS’s purpose? * What are the risks to New Zealand’s national and public interest? * What does AUKUS ‘success’ look like? What could its failure look like? Paul presents the reasons why he believes New Zealand will not join AUKUS, and Selwyn delivers his assessment of why New Zealand must not join the Anglophile security pact. ALSO, Paul and Selwyn will headline: * The latest on the US