April 2023 Newsletter
The primary dynamics of the Global Disorder are showcased yet again by the evolving situation in Sudan. As developments there spiral out of control and further suck in disordering actors like the Wagner Group, Western embassies are high tailing out of the country rather than trying to mediate a solution. Meanwhile, our experts are busy trying to diagnose the roots of our era of interconnected chaos and how we got to here. Stay informed, with the NATO & the Global Enduring Disorder Project ...
We are excited to offer a belated welcome to James M. Dorsey, an illustrious, award-winning journalist and commentator on foreign affairs who is joining the project as Project Fellow in the Struggle for Global Leadership segment. James has covered conflict, terrorism and football politics across the globe for over three decades. He is currently adjunct senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the author of the syndicated column and podcast, The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey. You can access his Twitter here and sign up for his substack here.
Conflict in Sudan broke out between the notorious RSF and the Sudanese armed forces on April 15, with hundreds of casualties already reported. Jason Pack (Project Director, Founder) examines the causes of this fresh and troubling conflict and the lessons to be learned for Western foreign policy. Arthur Snell (Project Lead, Climate Change and Geopolitics) recounts the RSF's dark history, its role in the Darfur genocide and international complicity, even as Britain fights side by side with the group in Yemen. Meanwhile, our newest contributor James M. Dorsey considers the prospects of a US withdrawal from the Middle East in the context of unprecedented Chinese diplomatic achievements, and Helena Ivanov (Project Fellow, NATO and its Adversaries) delves into the risks of international research collaboration for the UK and others.
You can read these articles and further cutting-edge analysis on our site. As always, we are here to provide analysis, insight, and potential solutions to the Enduring Disorder.
New Perspectives on Disorder
▪Sudan Proves that the Only Thing Worse than Western Meddling is Western Absence: Jason Pack (Founder & Director) explores how the Global Enduring Disorder is at the root of the Sudanese crisis, and what the policy implications are for the West, in The Telegraph. Read more...
▪The Fallacy of a US Withdrawal from the Middle East: James M. Dorsey (Project Fellow, the Struggle for Global Leadership) considers a US withdrawal from the Middle East in the face of Beijing's unprecedented diplomatic achievements, in The Turbulent World. Read more...
Sudan, the War in Yemen and the Company You Keep: Britain's allies in the war in Yemen were the paymasters of the genocidal group now laying waste to Khartoum. Perhaps the paymasters should seek to end the fighting? Arthur Snell explores in Not All Doom. Read more...
▪Research Collaboration with High-Risk Countries: What does the UK Public Think?: Helena Ivanov's (Project Fellow, NATO and its Adversaries) new report for the Henry Jackson Society delves into the question of research collaboration with international actors and systemic rivals amidst a soaring geopolitical temperature. Read more...
▪The Wagner Files: Wagner Group has catapulted out of the shadows and into the fore as the invasion of Ukraine wages on and the group expands its influence in Africa. Now, internal documents reveal how the mercenary group operates. David Patrikarakos David Patrikarakos (Project Lead, Unregulated Cyberspace) explores in Unherd. Read more...
Ordering the Disorder
Season Four of DOOMSDAY WATCH with Arthur Snell
The much anticipated fourth season of the widely popular podcast Doomsday Watch with Arthur Snell (Project Lead, Climate Change and Geopolitics) has finally arrived.
In this season, the series will focus on the story of the Ukraine war. Find out how how Russia’s febrile history, Putin’s paranoid resentment and Western complacency led to a historic crime against a peaceful nation, the destruction of the rules-based international order, the largest European land action since the Second World War… and a conflict of unprecedented brutality.
In weekly episodes Arthur Snell talks to soldiers, civilians, analysts and journalists to tell the story of the war and capture the enormity of Moscow's crimes.
Listen to the first episode here.
“Putin has just started an epic global conflict between democracy and authoritarianism, one whose outcome is still in doubt.” – Arthur Snell
“To see these places – deep mud, wet, such cruel conditions – you’d think it’s not too far from Verdun or Passchendaele.” – Paul Conroy
“We don’t do what we do out of hatred, we do it out of love for justice and for the people we care about. This is a battle of life and darkness.” – ‘George’, Georgian National Legion
▪If you have not already, we would like to invite you to follow NATO & the Global Enduring Disorder on Twitter (@NATOfightsback) and LinkedIn. We post updates on articles as they are released, keeping track of recent developments of the Enduring Disorder.
▪While the NATO & the Global Enduring Disorder site and social media accounts continue to provide analysis of our current era of Enduring Disorder, you may be aware that our main push is towards the podcast. Our podcast is ever-closer to its launch, and we cannot wait to share more information about who we have been talking to. Be sure to stay tuned and visit our site for more updates. You'll be hearing from us soon!
Thanks for reading, clicking, listening, and engaging. As always, we hope we will be writing to you from a more ‘ordered’ world, but don’t hold your breath.
Jason Pack & the Global Enduring Disorder team