Podcasts by Hold Your Fire!

Iran: Gaza, “Axis of Resistance” and Nuclear Calculations from 2023-12-01T16:42:35

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s Iran Project Director Ali Vaez to talk about Iran’s position on the war in Gaza and its advantages and drawbacks ...

What Threat Does the Rebel Offensive in Myanmar Pose to the Junta? from 2023-11-24T14:40:26

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s Myanmar expert Richard Horsey to talk about the offensive launched by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, comprising ...

Will There Be a Day After for Gaza? from 2023-11-17T16:37:23

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard talks to Crisis Group experts Tahani Mustafa and Heiko Wimmen, as well as to Daniel Levy, president of the U.S./Middle East Project, about th...

Sudan’s Collapse and the Demise of Peacemaking from 2023-11-10T17:51:06

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group experts Alan Boswell and Shewit Woldemichael to talk about the latest developments in Sudan’s civil war, where figh...

What Hope for a Ceasefire in Gaza from 2023-11-05T09:29:47

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group experts Mairav Zonszein, Robert Blecher and Azmi Keshawi to discuss Israel’s assault on Gaza, the mood in Israel ne...

Gaza, Ukraine and An Inflection Point in World Politics? from 2023-10-27T15:32:41

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s Europe & Central Asia Director Olga Oliker and U.S. Director Michael Hanna to discuss the war in Gaza, its im...

War in Gaza: To What End and At What Cost? from 2023-10-20T21:06:32

In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group experts Mairav Zonszein, Robert Blecher, Tahani Mustafa and Heiko Wimmen to discuss what has happened over the past...

No Going Back? Hamas’s Atrocities and Another Catastrophe in Gaza from 2023-10-13T18:34:53

For the first episode of a new season of Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group experts Joost Hiltermann, Mairav Zonszein and Azmi Keshawi to discuss Hamas’s shock attack on...

A Long War Looming in Sudan from 2023-07-07T13:21:45

Almost three months into the war in Sudan that has pitted the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the Sudanese Army, the fighting shows no sign of slowing. Khartoum remains the epice...

Bonus Episode: What Egypt Wants in Sudan from 2023-06-30T14:54:51

Today we're bringing you a bonus episode on Egypt and Sudan from Crisis Group's The Horn Listen

Is This the End? Wagner in Russia, Ukraine and Africa from 2023-06-28T16:16:31

Over the weekend, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian private security company known as the Wagner Group, spearheaded an insurrection in Russia. In response to Kremlin moves to bring Wagn...

Blinken in Beijing: Will the Secretary of State's Visit Calm China-U.S. Tensions? from 2023-06-23T16:35

This week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Beijing, where he met with top Chinese foreign policy officials as well as President Xi Jinping. His trip, the first high-level vis...

Myanmar’s Forgotten War from 2023-06-16T09:32

In February 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup that plunged the country into a protracted crisis. Mass protests against the junta met a brutal crackdown and morphed into armed resis...

Could Jihadists Seize Parts of Coastal West Africa? from 2023-06-02T20:43:02

Recent years have seen increasing fear in some Gulf of Guinea countries, notably Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, that jihadists who have overrun much of the Sahel move south. Militants alr...

Libya: Political Gridlock, Regional Politics and Sudan’s War from 2023-05-26T15:21:33

Last week, Libya’s parliament fired one of the country’s two prime ministers, Fathi Bashaga. Libya for years has been split between two rival governments. An internationally recognised prime min...

Riyadh and the World: What to Make of Saudi Arabia’s Recent Diplomacy from 2023-05-22T19:25:30

Saudi Arabia’s diplomacy is flourishing after a decade in which Riyadh has been entangled in regional conflicts and rivalries. Over the past few years, Saudi Arabia has turned the page on the Gu...

Fighting in Khartoum, Talking in Jeddah from 2023-05-12T16:58:23

Fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and a rival paramilitary outfit, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has torn apart Sudan for nearly a month. The capital Khartoum and its residents have b...

What to Expect from Ukraine’s Counter-Offensive from 2023-05-05T15:27:28

As fighting rages in Ukraine, with high casualties but little ground gained or lost on either side, Kyiv seems poised to launch its much anticipated counteroffensive. New Western equipment, incl...

What Can Stop Sudan’s Devastating War from 2023-04-28T14:13:32

Sudan has entered its second week of fighting between rival military factions. Battles between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have torn apart cities and towns,...

War in Sudan from 2023-04-22T11:50:51

Two rival armies are driving Sudan toward full-blown civil war. Fighting between the Sudanese armed forces, led by Abdelfattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary force...

Drones and Diplomacy: Will Türkiye’s Elections Change its Middle-Power Activism? from 2023-04-04T10:31:27

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in power for two decades, faces a stiff challenge in Türkiye’s forthcoming election, which will take place only a few months after devastating earthquakes killed ...

Somalia’s Latest Battles Against Al-Shabaab from 2023-03-24T16:16:56

Over recent months, the Somali army, backed by clan militias, has recaptured areas in central Somalia from Al-Shabaab militants. Profiting from local anger at Al-Shabaab’s predation, President H...

Iran: A Deal with Saudi Arabia, Closer Ties to Russia and the Looming Nuclear Crisis from 2023-03-17T21:06:39

Last week, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to restore diplomatic relations in a deal brokered by China. The two countries had broken off ties in 2016, after Saudi authorities executed a prominent S...

Will the Ukraine War Blow U.S.-China Relations Further Off Course? from 2023-03-11T07:51:57

The past few weeks have seen U.S.-China tensions ratchet up. In early February, a U.S. fighter jet shot down what Washington concluded was a Chinese spy balloon off the east coast of the U.S., p...

Another Year of War in Ukraine? from 2023-02-24T11:19:24

One year into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, prospects for a settlement remain bleak. On 21 February, President Vladimir Putin announced in a belligerent yearly address that he would s...

Insecurity and Identity Politics Ahead of Nigeria’s Vote from 2023-02-17T18:21:10

Nigerians will go to the polls on 25 February to elect a new president. The election is shaping up as a three-way contest between Bola Tinubu, a veteran Nigerian politician from the ruling All P...

Mark Malloch-Brown on the Ukraine War and Challenges to Open Societies from 2023-02-10T16:54:40

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood speaks with Mark Malloch-Brown, president of Open Society Foundations (OSF), Crisis Group trustee, and former UN Deputy Secretary-General an...

Israel-Palestine’s Worsening Violence and Despair from 2023-02-03T17:55:37

On Friday last week, a Palestinian gunman killed seven civilians in occupied East Jerusalem, the deadliest such attack for years. The shooting came the day after a raid by Israeli forces in a re...

Great Lakes Tensions Spike After Rwanda Nearly Downs a Congolese Fighter Jet from 2023-01-27T17:10:01

On 24 January, Rwanda's defence forces fired a missile at a DR Congo army jet for allegedly violating Rwandan airspace. Congolese officials called the incident an “act of war”. The shooting has ...

Bonus Episode: Eritrea’s Long Bitter Feud with Ethiopia’s Tigray from 2023-01-20T13:19:05

Today we're bringing you a bonus episode on Ethiopia and Eritrea from Crisis Group's The H...

Ten Conflicts to Watch in 2023 from 2023-01-15T11:36:13

On this week’s Hold Your Fire! Richard Atwood is joined by Comfort Ero, Crisis Group’s president and CEO, and Stephen Pomper, chief of policy, to reflect on 2022 and look ahead to 2023. They tal...

Can Foreign Forces Tackle Haiti’s Gangs? from 2022-12-09T17:40:40

Haiti has long suffered political crises, gang violence and natural disasters, but the past two years have been especially cruel. In July 2021, gunmen murdered then President Jovenel Moïse in hi...

No End in Sight in Ukraine? from 2022-12-02T17:09:46

Winter is setting in as the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches. Recent months have seen Ukrainian forces advance, but whether front lines will continue to...

Football and Politics in the Gulf from 2022-11-25T18:00:48

The 2022 FIFA World Cup kicked off this week in the Qatari capital Doha. The tournament comes at a time of fast-evolving politics in the region. Just a few years ago, a spat within the Gulf Coop...

Finland's FM Pekka Haavisto on the Ukraine War, European Security and Peacemaking Elsewhere from 2022-11-18T16:41:10

In this episode of Hold Your Fire! Richard Atwood is joined by Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto for a wide-ranging discussion from the war in Ukraine to peacemaking efforts in ...

Ethiopia’s Tigray War: After the Cessation of Hostilities, What Next? from 2022-11-10T20:32:46

On 2 November, the Ethiopian federal government and Tigrayan forces reached an agreement to cease hostilities and end almost two years of bloody war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. The tru...

Lula and Latin America’s Leftward Lurch from 2022-11-05T13:19:56

Last Sunday in Brazil, former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a tightly fought presidential run-off against incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro’s supporters took to the...

After the Crackdowns, is Chad’s Transition Unravelling? from 2022-10-28T17:00:14

On 20 October, Chadian security forces killed more than 50 protesters on the streets of Chad’s capital N’Djamena and other cities and towns. Demonstrators had taken to the streets in anger at an...

Can a New UN Envoy Help Resolve Libya’s Political Crisis? from 2022-10-21T15:08:06

Clashes between rival factions rocked Libyan capital Tripoli over the summer. The fighting pit forces loyal to UN-backed Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba against supporters of Fathi Bashagha, w...

An Escalatory Spiral in Ukraine? from 2022-10-14T16:08:08

The war in Ukraine took another nasty turn this week. Last Saturday, a blast destroyed parts of the Kerch bridge, which links Russian-occupied Crimea with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Puti...

Coup in Burkina, Russia in Mali and a New Chapter in the Sahel? from 2022-10-07T15:59:20

On 30 September, a group of young army captains, led by Ibrahim Traoré, seized power in Burkina Faso. They ousted Interim President Paul-Henri Damiba, who himself had come to power in a coup las...

The U.S. and the Taliban after the Killing of al-Qaeda Leader Ayman al-Zawahiri from 2022-09-30T15:20:47

On 31 July, a U.S. drone strike killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the Afghan capital Kabul. Zawahiri appears to have been living in a house maintained by the family of powerful Taliban...

Back to War in Ethiopia from 2022-09-23T15:49:07

Just a few months back, a humanitarian truce in Ethiopia offered a glimmer of hope that an end might be in sight to the war in and around the country’s northern Tigray region. Fighting pitted th...

What to Watch at the UN General Assembly, plus Ukraine’s Kharkiv Offensive and the Armenia-Azerbaijan Border Clashes from 2022-09-16T16:37

World leaders are gathering this week in New York for UN General Assembly week, in an event that looks set to be overshadowed by Russia’s war in Ukraine and skyrocketing food and fuel prices. In...

Iraq’s Political Crisis, Moqtada al-Sadr and a Divided Shia House from 2022-09-09T15:00:57

Almost a year since Iraq’s parliamentary elections in October 2021, the country’s political parties have struggled to form a new government. Despite doing well in the vote, the Sadrist Movement,...

Season Finale: Ukraine and an Unsettling Few Months in Global Politics from 2022-07-11T10:59

In a special Hold Your Fire! episode to mark the end of Season Two, Richard Atwood speaks first to Olga Oliker, Crisis Group’s Europe and Central Asia director, for an update on the war...

India’s Response to Russia’s War in Ukraine from 2022-07-05T11:06:04

Since late February, when Russian forces crossed the Ukrainian border en masse, India has steered what it portrays as a neutral course on the war. It has abstained on UN votes condemning Russia’...

Finland’s NATO Application, Western Policy in Ukraine and the War’s Global Fallout from 2022-06-24T13:59:28

NATO leaders meeting next week in Madrid have a lot on their agendas. Russia’s war in Ukraine has entered its fifth month, with fierce fighting continuing along front lines in Ukraine’s east and...

Rollercoaster Politics Ahead of Kenya's August Elections from 2022-06-17T16:18:35

Kenya’s presidential race has been turned upside down. After a high-profile split with President Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto – despite being in government for the last nine years – is runn...

Peacemaking After Ukraine: A Look at Nagorno-Karabakh and Libya from 2022-06-10T17:17:36

How much have the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reverberated across other warzones? Moscow is involved in several of the world’s conflicts, and the breakdown of relations between Russi...

Who is Rodolfo Hernández, Colombia’s “TikTok King”, and Can He Win the Presidency? from 2022-06-03T14:05:21

Colombians decisively rejected mainstream political parties in the first round of their presidential election last week, with two anti-establishment candidates advancing to the run-off on 19 Jun...

New President in Somalia, New Opportunity for Reconciliation from 2022-05-27T13:43:33

On 15 May, Somali lawmakers voted in new president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The peaceful vote and transfer of power drew a line under what had been a fraught, long-delayed and sometimes violent el...

Shades of Jihad in Syria from 2022-05-20T10:53:27

On 3 February, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that American special forces had killed the leader of the Islamic State (ISIS), Abdullah Qardash, in a house where he was hiding out in Idlib pr...

A Perilous Free-for-all in the Eastern DR Congo? from 2022-05-13T11:42:02

Neighbouring states are fighting again in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In November 2021, Tshisekedi invited Ugandan units to cross into the DRC’s North Kivu province in pursuit of t...

Taliban Rule in Afghanistan from 2022-05-06T15:02:10

It’s been almost nine months since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. What for years had been the world’s deadliest war is mostly over and the country is suffering considerably less violen...

Is the Danger of a NATO-Russia War Growing? from 2022-04-29T13:37:55

Ukraine’s war has entered a new phase, with Russia launching a major offensive in the east and south. This follows Moscow pulling back its forces from around Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, after fierc...

European Security and France’s Election in the Shadow of Russia’s War in Ukraine from 2022-04-22T14:49

This week on Hold Your Fire! Richard Atwood is joined by Gérard Araud, Crisis Group Trustee, distinguished French diplomat and former ambassador to both the UN and the U.S., to look at ...

Pakistan After Imran Khan’s Ouster: Tests at Home and Away from 2022-04-15T12:30:42

On 10 April, Pakistani legislators passed a no-confidence vote that ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government. The vote capped weeks of political turbulence, as a coalition of rival parties ...

S2 Episode 29: Pakistan After Imran Khan’s Ouster: Tests at Home and Away from 2022-04-15T12:30:42

On 10 April, Pakistani legislators passed a no-confidence vote that ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government. The vote capped weeks of political turbulence, as a coalition of rival parties ...

Can a Truce and New Government Help End Yemen’s War? from 2022-04-08T18:16:13

On 7 April, the head of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi made the surprise announcement that he would cede all executive power to an eight-person ...

S2 Episode 28: Can a Truce and New Government Help End Yemen’s War? from 2022-04-08T18:16:13

On 7 April, the head of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi made the surprise announcement that he would cede all executive power to an eight-person ...

S2 Episode 27: Can a “Humanitarian Truce” Help End Ethiopia’s Civil War? from 2022-04-01T15:30:26

After almost seventeen months of devastating civil war in Ethiopia, the federal government on 24 March announced what it called a humanitarian truce. The offer would ostensibly allow aid into Et...

Can a “Humanitarian Truce” Help End Ethiopia’s Civil War? from 2022-04-01T15:30:26

After almost seventeen months of devastating civil war in Ethiopia, the federal government on 24 March announced what it called a humanitarian truce. The offer would ostensibly allow aid into Et...

S2 Episode 26: Decoding Russia’s Nuclear Threats over Ukraine from 2022-03-25T14:37:30

Since Russian forces crossed en masse the Ukrainian border a month ago, the war has been overshadowed by Moscow’s nuclear menacing. Vladimir Putin has made thinly veiled threats of nuclear escal...

Decoding Russia’s Nuclear Threats over Ukraine from 2022-03-25T14:37:30

Since Russian forces crossed en masse the Ukrainian border a month ago, the war has been overshadowed by Moscow’s nuclear menacing. Vladimir Putin has made thinly veiled threats of nuclear escal...

The Fallout from Ukraine: Iran Talks Stalled; U.S. Woos Caracas? from 2022-03-19T16:01:23

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s Iran and Andes senior analysts Naysan Rafati and Phil Gunson to talk about the Ukraine war’s fallout on Iran nuclear ta...

S2 Episode 25: The Fallout from Ukraine: Iran Talks Stalled; U.S. Woos Caracas? from 2022-03-19T16:01:23

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard is joined by Crisis Group’s Iran and Andes senior analysts Naysan Rafati and Phil Gunson to talk about the Ukraine war’s fallout on Iran nuclear ta...

S2 Episode 24: France’s Troop Withdrawal from Mali from 2022-03-16T16:02:14

On 17 February, President Emmanuel Macron announced he would withdraw all French troops from Mali after a deployment in the country of almost ten years. In early 2013, French forces together wit...

France’s Troop Withdrawal from Mali from 2022-03-16T16:02:14

On 17 February, President Emmanuel Macron announced he would withdraw all French troops from Mali after a deployment in the country of almost ten years. In early 2013, French forces together wit...

International Women’s Day Special Episode: Can War Be Feminist? from 2022-03-11T14:02:02

Both our political mapping of conflict and peacebuilding efforts too often neglect the powerful role of gender dynamics in driving war. The identities of men and women shape their motivations an...

S2 Episode 23: The Ukraine War: A View from Moscow from 2022-03-09T16:00:31

Russia’s war in Ukraine thus far has not gone Moscow’s way. Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have expected that Russian forces would capture Ukraine without much resistance, but Ukrai...

S2 Episode 22: Any Hope Left For Diplomacy Over Ukraine? from 2022-03-05T13:06:27

Fighting rages on in Ukraine. Despite massive advantages in fire and manpower, the Russian military is facing much fiercer Ukrainian resistance than Moscow appears to have anticipated and has st...

S2 Episode 21: Russia’s War in Ukraine from 2022-02-26T15:51:32

On Thursday 24 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the launch of, in his words, a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Russian airstrikes on military and other infrastructure...

S2 Episode 20: Can Western Diplomacy Still Avert War in Ukraine? from 2022-02-18T15:54:15

Russia has amassed over 150,000 troops at the Ukrainian border, fuelling growing fear that Moscow plans an attack. Russian leaders deny any such plan and in recent days, the defence minister has...

S2 Episode 19: Turkey's Foreign Relations Balancing Act from 2022-02-05T09:46:32

This week, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was in Kyiv. The Turkish leader has previously offered to use his ties to Ukraine and reasonably cordial relations with Russia to mediate betwe...

Season 2 Episode 18: Another Coup in West Africa: The Burkina Faso Military Seizes Power from 2022-01-28T15:17:10

Burkina Faso is the latest in a string of African states to fall victim to a military coup. Late January saw Burkinabé soldiers oust President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, dissolve the government...

Special Episode: Ten Conflicts to Watch in 2022 from 2022-01-21T18:07:10

As Russia appears poised for a military escalation in Ukraine, humanitarian catastrophe looms in Afghanistan and negotiations over the Iran nuclear deal enter crunch time, what should we worry a...

S2 Episode 17: Will the Iran Nuclear Deal Survive and What Happens if Not? from 2022-01-14T14:53:23

It’s crunch time for negotiations over the Iran nuclear deal. That deal, the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), curtailed Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for substantial sanctio...

S2 Episode 16: Can the U.S. Address Migration’s “Root Causes” in Central America? from 2021-12-17T14:56:47

Over recent years, an estimated million and a half Central Americans have made the journey up to the U.S. seeking a better life. Many are fleeing political instability, corruption, poverty or ga...

S2 Episode 15: Russia in Africa from 2021-12-10T15:52:45

After a post-Cold War hiatus, Russia is returning to Africa. Through both traditional diplomacy and the deployment of security contractors, Moscow’s influence on the continent is growing. Partic...

S2 Episode 14: Will Russia Invade Ukraine? from 2021-12-03T17:11:44

Over recent weeks, some 100,000 Russian troops have massed on the Ukrainian border -- for the second time this year. Ukrainian officials warn of a potential Russian invasion; Western leaders war...

S2 Episode 13: Western Policy and Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Devastation from 2021-11-26T17:20:19

Afghanistan is on the brink of becoming the world’s worst humanitarian emergency. Western governments responded to the Taliban takeover in August by suspending aid, freezing state assets and imp...

S2 Episode 12: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte: Populist or Peacemaker? from 2021-11-19T14:31:22

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s term ends next June. Abroad, Duterte is arguably best known for a brutal anti-drug campaign which has killed thousands of people, prompting the Internatio...

S2 Episode 11: Bosnia Unravelling? from 2021-11-12T14:47:20

Bosnia faces what the current international High Representative to the country, Christian Schmidt, calls “its greatest existential threat of the post-war period”. It is grappling with dual crise...

S2 Episode 10: Will Tigrayan Rebels Attack Ethiopia’s capital? from 2021-11-05T16:32:48

 This week, as Ethiopia’s civil war enters its second year, Tigrayan rebels captured the strategically placed cities of Dessie and Kombolcha, only hours away from the country’s capital Addi...

S2 Episode 9: The Military’s Dangerous Power Grab in Sudan from 2021-10-29T13:43:53

On 25 October, Sudan’s military leaders ousted the country’s civilian government, detaining Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and several of his ministers. The coup took place two and a half years a...

S2 Episode 8: U.S.-China Tensions and Beijing’s Show of Strength in the Taiwan Strait from 2021-10-22T15:25:54

In recent weeks, record numbers of Chinese fighter jets have entered Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone in what appears to be a deliberate show of strength by Beijing. This comes at a time...

S2 Episode 7: Cameroon's Forgotten Anglophone Conflict from 2021-10-15T13:15:36

For almost five years, Cameroon’s western provinces have been wracked by a deadly separatist insurgency. In 2016, Anglophone protesters took to the streets angry at the increasing use of French ...

S2 Episode 6: Lebanon is Falling Apart from 2021-10-08T13:59:48

Lebanon is in the midst of what the World Bank describes as what could be one of the worst economic crises of the past 150 years. Over three-quarters of the population have been plunged into pov...

S2 Episode 5: Could Talking to Mali's Jihadists Bring Peace? from 2021-10-01T13:30:36

The war in the Sahel appears to have reached a stalemate. In Mali, fighting pits the Malian security forces, backed by regional militaries and French special forces and airpower, against an al-Q...

S2 Episode 4: Avoiding Another Afghanistan: Could Al-Shabaab Seize Power in Somalia? from 2021-09-24T14:12:59

Many people in the Somali capital Mogadishu watched with apprehension as the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan. Could Somalia, struggling against its own Islamist insurgency -- Al—Shabaab --...

S2 Episode 3: License to Kill: Lawyering in the War on Terror from 2021-09-16T13:54:53

Only days after the 9/11 attacks, Congress ushered in extraordinarily broad legislation that authorised President Bush to use military force in order to eliminate terrorist threats to the U.S. I...

S2 Episode 2: Al-Qaeda and ISIS Twenty Years after 9/11 from 2021-09-10T15:35:51

On the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a new episode of Hold Your Fire! looks at the shadow cast by the “global war on terror” across South Asia, the Middle East a...

S2 Episode 1: Afghanistan: the Islamic State, still no Taliban government and a looming humanitarian catastrophe from 2021-09-03T16:48:56

After days of chaos at Kabul airport, including an attack by the Islamic State’s local chapter, the last American plane has left, ending the Americans’ twenty-year war against the Taliban. As ye...

Special Episode: What Will the Taliban Do Next? from 2021-08-19T10:28:35

The Taliban is back in power in Afghanistan. A few days ago, insurgents entered the Afghan capital Kabul, topping off a week in which they had swept through cities and towns across the country. ...

Episode 46: Iraq: Protests, Iran’s Role and an End to U.S. Combat Operations from 2021-07-30T14:58:13

After a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi earlier this week, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that American forces would end their combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021....

Episode 45: The Taliban’s Advance in Afghanistan from 2021-07-22T14:25:31

The past few weeks have seen sweeping gains by Taliban insurgents across parts of Afghanistan as U.S. forces withdraw. This week, Richard Atwood is joined by Laurel Miller, Crisis Group’s Asia d...

Episode 44: #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar from 2021-07-15T12:32:37

Six months after the military seized power in Myanmar, mass strikes and a brutal crackdown by the regime continue to paralyse the country – as the economy and public services, including the heal...

Episode 43: Ten Years of South Sudanese Statehood from 2021-07-08T14:04:23

This week marks the tenth anniversary of South Sudan’s independence, much-celebrated at the time but now eclipsed by the brutal civil war that followed. The conflict, which saw the army split al...

Episode 42: A Dramatic Turn in Ethiopia’s Tigray War from 2021-07-01T14:39:53

Earlier this week, fighters loyal to the ousted leaders of Ethiopia’s Tigray region recaptured Mekelle, the regional capital, as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed withdrew federal forces and a...

Episode 41 : Biden in Europe from 2021-06-24T13:19:52

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh are joined by Michael Hanna, Crisis Group’s U.S. Program director, to talk about U.S. President Joe Biden’s first oversea...

Episode 40: Iran: the Vote and the Bomb from 2021-06-17T15:02:07

As Iranians go to the polls on Friday to elect a new president, Iranian diplomats are meeting their Western counterparts in Vienna in their latest efforts to get back to the 2015 Iran nuclear de...

Episode 39: COVID-19, Inequality and Protests in Colombia from 2021-06-10T11:56:32

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk to Renata Segura, deputy program director for Latin America and the Carribean, and Beth Dickinson, senior analyst fo...

Episode 38 : The Insurrection in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado from 2021-06-03T15:33:13

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and guest co-host Comfort Ero, our Interim Vice President and Africa Program Director, talk to Crisis Group’s Deputy Africa Director Dino Mahta...

Episode 37: What Does Hamas Want? from 2021-05-27T15:22:06

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood talks to Tareq Baconi, Crisis Group’s senior Israel/Palestine analyst, about Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that governs Gaza. The...

Episode 36: Another War: Views from Israel/Palestine from 2021-05-20T15:24:14

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood talks to Crisis Group experts Azmi Keshawi, Tahani Mustafa and Mairav Zonszein, respectively based in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, about ...

Episode 35: UN Security Council Crankiness and Antonio Guterres' Re-election from 2021-05-12T15:14:41

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk to Crisis Group’s UN Director Richard Gowan. They reflect back on Antonio Guterres’ first term as UN Secretary-Gener...

Episode 34: Delayed Palestinian Polls, Israeli Politics and U.S. Middle East Policy from 2021-05-06T14:56:12

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk to Daniel Levy, president of the U.S./Middle East Project, which works in partnership with Crisis Group on Israel/Pa...

Episode 33: What Déby’s Death Means for Chad and the Region from 2021-04-29T13:38:10

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk to Crisis Group’s Project Director for Central Africa Richard Moncrieff and Crisis Group’s Libya expert Claudia Gazz...

Episode 32: Rising Russia-Ukraine Tensions and the West from 2021-04-22T14:04:23

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk to Crisis Group’s program director for Europe and Central Asia, Olga Oliker, about rising tensions between Russia, o...

Episode 31: Is The Gulf Dispute Actually Over? from 2021-04-15T14:27:31

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk to Crisis Group’s Senior Adviser for the Middle East and North Africa, Dina Esfandiary, about what drove Saudi Arabi...

Episode 30: How Afghanistan Views the U.S. Troop Drawdown from 2021-04-08T13:55:31

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk to Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Afghanistan, Andrew Watkins, about the fast-approaching 1 May deadline for U.S....

Episode 29: Tshisekedi Consolidates Power in DR Congo from 2021-04-01T13:16:12

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Naz Modirzadeh and guest co-host Comfort Ero, our Interim Vice President and Africa Program Director, talk to Nelleke van de Walle, Crisis Group’s Central ...

Episode 28: Ethiopia’s Tigray Crisis and Horn of Africa Politics from 2021-03-25T12:57:01

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood, Crisis Group’s interim president, and guest host Comfort Ero, our interim vice president and Africa Program director, talk to Murithi Mutig...

Episode 27: Good News in Libya? from 2021-03-18T13:15:24

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk to Crisis Group’s Libya expert, Claudia Gazzini, about the historic turn of events resulting in a new unity government ...

Episode 26: The War on Drugs in Colombia’s Countryside from 2021-03-11T14:45:25

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh speak with Beth Dickinson, Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Colombia, about the Colombian government’s new war on drugs ...

Episode 26: Gender and Conflict from 2021-03-08T17:14:50

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Naz Modirzadeh and Richard Atwood talk to Azadeh Moaveni, Crisis Group’s Gender Project Director, in honor of International Women’s Day. They look at the c...

Special Episode: Gender and Conflict from 2021-03-08T16:14:50

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Naz Modirzadeh and Richard Atwood talk to Azadeh Moaveni, Crisis Group’s Gender Project Director, in honor of International Women’s Day. They look at the c...

Episode 25: A Dangerous New Turn in Yemen’s War from 2021-03-04T13:34:39

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Naz Modirzadeh and Richard Atwood speak with Peter Salisbury, Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Yemen, about Yemen’s multilayered conflict, now in its seve...

Episode 24: The War in the Sahel from 2021-02-25T15:28:37

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Naz Modirzadeh and Richard Atwood are joined by Jean-Hervé Jezequel, Crisis Group’s Sahel Project Director, for a frank look at why French-led efforts to w...

Episode 23: The Coup in Myanmar from 2021-02-18T11:33:45

Why did the generals seize power on 1 February in Myanmar? With protests gathering steam, what does the future hold? How should outside actors respond? 

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