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Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory unpicks the complexity of a fragmenting world. It is hosted by Hassan Damluji and Mike Martin. 


Reaching behind the events that shape the news, the duo discuss the real calculus for political leaders as they navigate the shifting plates of our international order.  


Hassan, a former executive at the Gates Foundation, now advises governments and international organizations on global challenges like pandemics and climate change; Mike, a former British Army officer and writer on conflict, was elected in 2024 as a British Member of Parliament and sits on the Defence Select Committee.


Whether it be war or peace, crisis or development, Hassan and Mike expose the true currents shaping global events.


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Mike Martin MP has authored several major books on conflict, most recently ‘How to Fight A War’ (Hurst, 2023). As a Pashto-speaking British officer in Afghanistan, he reinvented the role of political officer for the modern age and has since advised militaries all over the world on this approach. In 2024 he was elected Liberal Democrat MP for Tunbridge Wells, a seat that had been held by the Conservative Party for 114 years. As an MP and a member of the UK Defence Select Committee, Mike sits at the interface of international geopolitical challenges, government, and the day-to-day concerns of voters.


Hassan Damluji is the founder and Executive Director of Global Nation, a think tank focused on strengthening international cooperation. He is also Senior Fellow in International Relations at the London School of Economics. Hassan is a senior advisor to many of the largest global philanthropies, UN agencies and governments, helping them to build concrete initiatives to tackle global challenges. His book, The Responsible Globalist (Allan Lane, 2019) set out a bold theory for how to strengthen international cooperation, which he now works to implement through his think tank, Global Nation.  

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  • 2 episodes
  • Avg 55 min
  • English

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  • S1 · E2
    Tuesday · 56 min

    Can Democracy Survive AI Imperialism?

    Welcome back to Chaos Theory! Hassan has just returned from the UN General Assembly, where winning the AI race was top of the agenda. Mike's party has just won a council by-election against a Reform campaign that was heavily backed by crypto billionaire money. AI is new, but we’ve seen this movie before. The last time a few countries pulled ahead in a technological race, the result was colonialism, deep inequality and exploitation. Most countries, Europe included, are not doing enough to prevent history repeating itself. And this time they'll be the losers. The worst impacts are still to come, but Hassan and Mike talk about the disruption that is already visible, including billionaires using the AI era to serve their own interests and politics, and weakening democracy as a result. Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:58 Are We Racing to AI Imperialism? 09:45 Replicating China's Strategy 16:06 AI as Offensive Weapon 19:21 Can Middle Powers Achieve 'Non-Dependence' 24:47 Return To The Law of The Jungle 27:55 Will The US Invade its Allies? 32:45 Whoever Wins AI, Wins? 34:57 Mike's Council By-Election vs. Reform 38:30 Campaigning Against Reform's Crypto Millions 43:54 Farage Says You Can't Change Electoral Law 49:10 Is US-Led Tech Imperialism Dividing the UK? 54:01 Can Democracy Survive? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • S1 · E1
    September 15 · 54 min

    How Iran and Ukraine Became One War

    Why has Iran's regime survived a war with Israel and the US - two of the world's most advanced militaries? Why can't Russia, with one of the most powerful armed forces, defeat Ukraine? And what do these two conflicts, thousands of miles apart, have to do with each other? In the first episode of Chaos Theory, Hassan Damluji and Mike Martin MP argue that Ukraine and Iran are merging into a single war, fought on two fronts, and together they reveal the fault lines of our fracturing world order. Hassan and Mike unpack why raw military power keeps failing to deliver victory, what the war in Ukraine and the conflict with Iran reveal about the limits of US and Russian strength, and why the outcomes of both will shape the global balance of power for a generation. Join Hassan and Mike for the first episode of Chaos Theory, a new podcast about the geopolitics of war, power, and our fracturing international order. Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:52 The Iran War is Expanding 09:06 Never Fight Mountain Folk 12:58 Why Are Arab Armed Forces So Ineffective? 16:05 Has American Security Collapsed In The Gulf? 18:28 Ukraine’s Alliance with The Gulf 21:27 Developments in Drone Warfare 25:03 Can Ukraine Survive? 27:38 How Ukraine and Iran Became One Conflict 30:18 Cold War 2 33:54 The Pathway to World War Escalation 37:39 An Optimistic Case 40:53 25th Anniversary of 9/11 44:20 Trump’s Diesel Price Nonsense 46:47 Are China Long-Term Winners 50:01 Did US Allow Saudi To Fail? 52:15 Will China Ever Expand Into The Gulf? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Showing 1–2 of 2 episodes