Kellogg's Global Politics Anita Kellogg

On this episode, we begin with some short updates on the situation in Ukraine and Israel. We also discuss the US House vote on TikTok and whether the social media platform is a propaganda tool of the CCP. 

We then take a deep dive into life in the UK after Brexit. Were promises kept and who is better off? 

Finally, we look at the extraordinary story of Poland’s democratic revival and examine its battle back from its recent flirtation with authoritarianism. What lessons can Western nations learn from as they fight their own right-wing populism?


Topics Discussed in this Episode
20:00 - Ukraine and Israel update40:00 - Post-Brexit UK: Looking back after 7 years56:30 - Poland: How to fix a democracy?

Articles and Resources Mentioned in Episode
Ukraine and Israel Updates
Trump will not give a penny to Ukraine - Hungary PM Orban (BBC)Schumer Urges New Leadership in Israel, Calling Netanyahu an Obstacle to Peace (NY Times)Pentagon to give Ukraine $300 million in weapons (NPR)Post-Brexit UK: Looking back after 7 years
Brexit Britain has ‘significantly underperformed’ other advanced economies, Goldman Sachs says (CNBC)How Brexit and Boris Broke Britain (Foreign Affairs)Brexit has completely failed for UK, say clear majority of Britons – poll (The Guardian)Sir Keir Starmer: bureaucrat first, politician second (The Economist)Poland: How to fix a democracy?
Poland’s Post-Populist Rehab (Foreign Affairs)Donald Tusk tries to restore Poland’s rule of law (The Economist)Poland is a test case for reviving a corrupted democracy (The Washington Post)Follow Us
Show Website: www.kelloggsglobalpolitics.com Show Twitter: @GlobalKellogg Anita’s Twitter: @arkellogg Show YouTube

On this episode, we are talking about several big wins for Putin over the past week, including Navalyny’s demise, the opportunity to spread his propaganda to Western audiences through Tucker Carlson, and Russia’s solid economic growth. 
Another big win for Putin is Trump’s threats to withdraw from NATO by not respecting our treaty commitments were he to become the US’s next president. 

The news keeps getting better for Putin with Ukraine’s struggles on the battlefield, while future military assistance continues to be blocked in the US Congress. 

Finally, we look at the continuing conflict in Gaza, frustrating the White House and its hopes for a ceasefire that would see the release of the remaining hostages. 


Topics Discussed in this Episode
10:00 - Putin’s very good week38:50 - Ukraine's battlefield struggles1:01:25 - Israel-Hamas Update

Articles and Resources Mentioned in Episode


Putin’s Very Good Week
Carlson, like the populist right, dislikes what makes America great (WaPo)What Tucker Carlson Saw in Moscow (The Atlantic)Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death, explained (Vox)U.S. Fears Russia Might Put a Nuclear Weapon in Space (NY Times)Trump reiterates to NATO allies: If you don’t pay up, ‘I’m not going to protect you’ (Politico)

Ukraine Battlefield Struggles
Avdiivka, Longtime Stronghold for Ukraine, Falls to Russians (NY Times)How Ukraine sank the Caesar Kunikov—and is beating Russia at sea (The Economist)Ukraine backers in House explore bypassing Johnson to secure more aid (WaPo)Top House Dems gauge support for forcing foreign aid vote (Politico)

Israel-Hamas update
If Israel invades, hell looms in Rafah (The Economist)A Biden Doctrine for the Middle East Is Forming. And It’s Big. (Friedman, NY Times)Follow Us
Show Website: www.kelloggsglobalpolitics.com Show Twitter: @GlobalKellogg Anita’s Twitter: @arkellogg Show YouTube

Welcome to a New Year and a new season of Kellogg’s Global Politics!
As funding for Ukraine has been held up by negotiations on the US Border Crisis, we take a deep dive into the recent history and the current status of immigration to the United States through its Southern border.. 

We then turn to the Middle East and concerns over the increase in military violence throughout the region and the implications of the escalating threat of war with Iran. 

Finally, we discuss the latest in East Asia and whether there might be an increased chance of war with North Korea. We also look at the implications of the recent Taiwanese presidential elections.


Topics Discussed in this Episode
06:00 - US Border Crisis32:30 - Middle East Spiraling Out of Control?44:30 - North Korea Preparing for War?54:30 - Taiwan’s Election

Articles and Resources Mentioned in Episode


US Border Crisis
With Deal Close on Border and Ukraine, Republican Rifts Threaten to Kill Both (NY Times)New York City’s not-so-sudden migrant surge, explained (Vox)Key findings about U.S. immigrants (Pew Research Center)

Middle East Spiraling Out of Control?


Attacks in Syria and Iraq Ratchet Tensions in a Region Already on Edge (NY Times)The US and UK hit Houthi targets in Yemen. It probably won’t stop Red Sea attacks (Vox)The Middle East faces economic chaos (The Economist)

North Korea Preparing for War?
As if We Didn’t Have Enough to Frighten Us … (NY Times)Is Kim Jong Un Preparing for War? (38 North)A Fundamental Shift or More of the Same? A Rebuttal (38 North)

Taiwan’s Election
How China’s public views Taiwan’s elections (The Economist)Taiwan’s 2024 Elections: Results and Implications (CSIS)Follow Us
Show Website: www.kelloggsglobalpolitics.com Show Twitter: @GlobalKellogg Anita’s Twitter: @arkellogg Show YouTube

There have been several big stories since we last recorded. We begin with Ukraine and the fight over continued aid and military support in the U.S. Congress. 
Then, tensions have been heating up between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea. What does this mean for the U.S.? Tensions are also rising in South America over a territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana. Will the U.S. need to intervene? 
Right-wing populists made another gain with the election of Geert Wilders in the Netherlands. As former residents of the country, we offer our perspective. 
Finally, we made some foreign policy predictions for the year ahead. 


Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:00 - Anti-Semitism or Anti-Zionism: Case Study at Montgomery County Public Schools14:00 - Ukraine’s Very Bad Week35:00 - China-Philippines Tensions in the South China Sea42:00 - Venezuela claims most of Guyana50:00 - The Rise of the Dutch Trump: Geert Wilders Wins Big1:03:00 - Anita and Ryan’s 2024 Predictions

Articles and Resources Mentioned in Episode


Anti-Semitism or Anti-Zionism: Case Study at Montgomery County Public Schools
Westland Middle teacher on leave, under investigation for social media posts (MoCo 360)

Ukraine’s Very Bad Week
The High Price of Losing Ukraine (Institute for the Study of War)What happens in Ukraine if US aid disappears? (Vox)

China-Philippines Tensions in the South China Sea


Fleets of Force (NY Times)Rising Philippines-China tensions in South China Sea: 5 moments from 2023 (WaPo)

Venezuela claims most of Guyana
How the Venezuela-Guyana border almost started a U.S.-British war (WaPo)

The Rise of the Dutch Trump: Geert Wilders Wins Big
Geert Wilders: the Dutch far-right figurehead sending a chill across Europe (The Guardian)How Geert Wilders Won (NY Times)Follow Us
Show Website: www.kelloggsglobalpolitics.com Show Twitter: @GlobalKellogg Anita’s Twitter: @arkellogg Show YouTube

Recent headlines have been focused on the Xi-Biden meeting at APEC in San Francisco this week. We talk about what happened and the implications for the future of U.S.-China relations.

But first, we discuss the Israel-Hamas war, now in its sixth week of fighting. Can Israeli military actions achieve their objectives of destroying Hamas and recovering the more than 200 hostages? Are they doing enough to protect civilian lives in Gaza?
Then we turn to the Russia - Ukraine war, which seems to have hit a stalemate. With the popularity of continued support from the West waning, where does the war go from here? What does “success” look like? 

Topics Discussed in this Episode
05:50 - Israel-Hamas War23:50 - Russia-Ukraine Stalemate45:30 - Xi-Biden Meeting at APEC

Articles and Resources Mentioned in Episode


Israel-Hamas War
The rights and wrongs of Israel and Hamas at al-Shifa hospital (The Economist)The Left Comes for Biden on Israel (The New Yorker)Many Arab governments would like to see Hamas gone (The Economist)What the War in Gaza Means for Saudi Arabia (Foreign Affairs)Iranians see both sides of the Israel-Gaza conflict (Financial Times)

Russia-Ukraine War: Stalemate, Rethinking Success, and Russia Resurgent?
Redefining Success in Ukraine (Foreign Affairs)Why Ukraine’s Stalemate Will Likely Last Another Year (Time)Some Preliminary Thoughts on Ukraine’s Position in the War (War on the Rocks)

Xi-Biden Meeting at APEC
The Biden-Xi Meeting: Did the White House Get More Than It Gave? (Foreign Policy)Joe Biden and Xi Jinping rediscover the joy of talking. Good (The Economist)‘He’s a dictator’: Biden claims progress in Xi meeting, but deep fault lines remain (Politico)










Follow Us
Show Website: www.kelloggsglobalpolitics.com Show Twitter: @GlobalKellogg Anita’s Twitter: @arkellogg Show YouTube

Last week, shortly before we recorded our episode, we woke up to the news of the Hamas attack on Israel. Very little was known at the time, and so we kept our reactions brief. We felt the need to go deeper into this significant conflict, however, and decided to record an episode just on the Israel-Hamas war. We hope this brings you greater insight into this terrible event in a very complicated region of the world.

Articles and Resources Mentioned in Episode
Hamas Attack on Israel and Preparing for Gaza Invasion
Israel Is Walking Into a Trap (The Atlantic)Israel Could Be Walking Into a Trap in Gaza (NY Times)Israel ordered a ‘complete siege’ of Gaza. Here’s what that looks like. (WaPo)The Meaning of the Attack on Israel (War on the Rocks)The Hamas horror is also a lesson on the price of populism (WaPo)US Policy Options and a Vision after the War
A war that must be waged with an eye toward what comes after (David Ignatius; WaPo)The Missed Chance for Peace (David Brooks; NY Times)Biden, Netanyahu and America’s choice (Financial Times)Hezbollah, Iran, and China
How to Avoid a Second Front Between Israel and Hiaballah (War on the Rocks)China’s soft message on Hamas is part of a much bigger strategy (Politico)


Show Website: www.kelloggsglobalpolitics.comShow Twitter/X: @GlobalKelloggShow YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgJeUZcTUGsNwTh-us65cIAAnita’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/arkelloggAnita’s Website:https://www.anitakellogg.com/Anita’s email: anita@kelloggsglobalpolitics.comRyan’s email: ryan@kelloggsglobalpolitics.comFollow Us
Show Website: www.kelloggsglobalpolitics.com Show Twitter: @GlobalKellogg Anita’s Twitter: @arkellogg Show YouTube