logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2024
49m 29s

An Alliance of Autocracies?

Foreign Policy
About this episode

North Korea and Iran are fascinating countries for many reasons, but also because they're part of an emerging alliance of autocracies. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are increasingly helping each other out in a range of global hotspots, often stymieing U.S. interests. But what is their end goal?

FP Live asks Barbara Slavin, an Iran expert at the Stimson Center, and Chung Min Lee, a Korea expert at the Carnegie Endowment.

Suggested reading

(FP links are paywall-free):Daniel R. DePetris and Jennifer Kavanagh: The ‘Axis of Evil’ Is Overhyped

Robbie Gramer: Looks Like ‘Axis of Evil’ Is Back on the Menu

The Economist: A new “quartet of chaos” threatens America

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Oct 7
The World After Oct. 7, 2023
Tuesday marks two years since Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, Israel has decimated Gaza in what many independent organizations are calling a genocide and attacked several countries in the region. How have all of these events impacted the world? FP columnist ... Show More
39m 37s
Oct 3
A U.S. Shutdown and a Constitutional Crisis
With increased polarization and ongoing budgetary disputes, the U.S. government does not seem to be acting in the way that the American forefathers intended. Host Ravi Agrawal brings on historian Jill Lepore to share more. Lepore is a professor at Harvard University and the autho ... Show More
33m 50s
Sep 24
One-on-One With Europe’s Top Diplomat
How is Europe navigating the Trump administration and a troubling moment in the trans-Atlantic relationship? FP Live host Ravi Agrawal sits down with Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, on the sidelines of the United Nations’ annual meetings to discuss relations with ... Show More
41m 38s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
Israel retaliates against Iran
Today on the show, Israel launched retaliatory strikes on Iran. New York Times Magazine staff writer Ronen Bergman joins Fareed to discuss the fallout from these strikes and the likelihood of further escalation.  Next, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon Ryan ... Show More
42m 59s
Sep 2024
Why We Should Be Worried About Iranian Nukes
Eric and Eliot pay homage to Daily Telegraph journalist and podcaster David Knowles who was the driving force behind the podcast, Ukraine: The Latest, on which Eliot has appeared several times. They also discuss the intensifying cooperation among Russia, China, Iran, and North Ko ... Show More
1h 1m
Apr 2025
Nuclear diplomacy: Trump, Iran and a potential new deal
After years of stalled diplomacy, the US and Iran are back in high-level talks. Surprise meetings have taken place in Oman and Rome, with more expected soon. Could this be President Donald Trump’s long-awaited foreign policy win? Or will competing agendas, regional tensions and i ... Show More
32m 25s
Jun 2025
Europe Tries to Restart Iran Diplomacy
A.M. Edition for June 20. President Trump gives himself two weeks to decide whether to j oin Israel in attacking Iran. WSJ foreign correspondent Sune Rasmussen describes how European countries hope to avoid such an outcome by pushing Iran to make compromises on its nuclear progra ... Show More
12m 22s
Sep 2024
Hezbollah targets Mossad, Russia and Houthis talk missiles in Iran, US national polls and Tuvalu’s maritime fight
Hezbollah fires a rocket at the Mossad spy agency headquarters in Israel ahead of UN Security Council talks. Iran has brokered secret talks between Russia and the Houthis about Moscow potentially supplying the rebel group with missiles. We look at why national polls matter when t ... Show More
12m 51s
Jul 2024
North Korea in Geopolitics: US Threats, Russia’s Alliance and the Palestine Connection
To discuss the recent North Korean treaty with Russia, new threats from the U.S. and the untold history between North Korea and Palestine, Rania Khalek was joined by Ju-Hyun Park, a member of Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, an anti-imperialist organization of Koreans i ... Show More
49m 27s
Sep 4
Xi, Kim and Putin: A new world alliance?
After China's President Xi welcomed North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin to Beijing: we ask what do Western nations make of this show of strength?In this special edition, Celia Hatton is joined by our correspondents across the globe to discuss the reaction ... Show More
34m 20s
Sep 27
UN set to reimpose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme
United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme look set to be reintroduced after the failure of a last-ditch diplomatic push to delay them. Iran's president has strongly criticised the US and other UN Security Council members for blocking Russia and China's efforts. ... Show More
29 m
Aug 31
The United States vs. Iran
Fareed Zakaria hosts a detailed special tracing the historical conflict between the United States and Iran, starting with a dramatization of a B-2 bomber strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. The narrative revisits the pivotal 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, emphasizing its roots in ... Show More
48m 6s
Dec 2024
Evening Edition: Short Lived Martial Law Declaration In South Korea
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law overnight but hours later the parliament unanimously voted against the measure lifting the lockdown. President Yoon said the move was made to eradicate North Korean supporters and 'anti-state forces'. It does raise concern ... Show More
16m 6s