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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Is Saudi Arabia really ‘liberalising’?

Episode 284 – Can we deal with the ‘new’ Saudi Arabia? Saudi Arabia is desperately trying to change its image from an ultraconservative Middle East oil power to a modern state. Much of this change is at the hands of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MBS) who is the darling of the international community and […]

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Recognising Palestine is not a ‘reward’ for terrorism

Episode 271 – Why it is important to analyse state recognition objectively If there is one conflict I have tried to stay away from, because it is so intractable, it is Israel-Palestine. The two have been at each other’s throats for decades and terrorist attacks have been carried out on each other’s territory by individuals […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Just how much of a national security concern is the Muslim Brotherhood?

Episode 283 – Why have more nations not listed the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist entity? The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is one of the oldest Islamist organisations, dating back to 1928. It is conservative in its outlook and is seen by some as the inspiration for terrorist groups such as Hamas. And yet, few countries […]

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Climate change and national security, part two

Episode 270 – The melting of the icecap and mass migration may also impact national security in the West During the Cold War, Canada maintained radar stations in its north to warn against Soviet ballistic missiles coming over the pole, in an arrangement with the US called the DEW Line (distant early warning). Now with […]

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Is climate change a ‘national security’ threat?

Episode 269 – How do we deal with climate change and global warming through a threat lens? When we talk national security the same few challenges come up: terrorism, espionage, cyber attacks, sabotage, foreign interference, etc. These are ‘traditional’ in the sense that they are open to investigation, information gathering and, in the worst case […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

What does a Houthi-Al Shabaab alignment entail for regional security?

Episode 281 – The Horn of Africa is beset by a new, albeit odd, alliance To say that the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia) is unstable is an understatement. Whether we are talking about war, famine or terrorism, the region has had its challenges for decades. Now a working relationship between Al Qaeda-affiliated Al […]

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Personal reflections on Air India flight 182 – 40 years later

Episode 266 – Why did Canada’s protectors not prevent a terrorist attack by Sikh extremists in June 1985? For those of us who work(ed) in national security the job boils down to one thing and one thing only: stop bad things from happening. So what gives if we screw up and a bomb on an […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Can the state call a popular political party an ‘extremist’ organisation?

Episode 272 – What will the German government decision to label the AfD backfire? That extremist/terrorist groups can form political parties – and in some cases actually govern – is not unknown. Hamas ran Gaza until the Israeli invasion in October 2023, Hizballah controlled much of southern Lebanon and even ISIS created a so-called ‘Caliphate’ […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Sir John A Macdonald, 1885, and national security

Episode 267 – How do prime ministers deal with national security crises? Sir John A Macdonald was Canada’s first Prime Minister and a ‘Father’ of Confederation. And yet a figure of that importance has suffered a great deal in recent years over his role in the residential schools system for First Nations children, with statues […]

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Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

How the digital world undermines national security

Episode 266 – With all the advantages of online info there are serious drawbacks Can you imagine a world without the Internet and social media platforms? Pretty hard, eh? And yet for all the good it has brought us – access to information from everywhere and helpful links to solve questions, not to mention keeping […]