Bungacast

On oligarchy and the end of reform.

Vedi Hadiz is back on to talk to Lee and Alex about Indonesia, amidst severe economic instability in the country.

What does the ascendancy of Prabowo Subianto represent?

What is going on with the erratic economic policymaking?

How is Prabowo bullying other oligarchs, and is it working?

What similarities are there between Prabowo and Putin, or even Trump?

– For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast

Links:

Oligarchy and the End of Reformasi in Indonesia: Power Reorganised, Vedi Hadiz & Richard Robison

Prabowo’s Clampdown on Indonesian Tycoons Fuels Capital Flight, Bloomberg

/391/ The Biggest Country No One Talks About ft. Vedi Hadiz

On the complex connections between globalisation and political Islam.

The OG Bunga Boys reflect on the quarter-century since that spectacular terrorist attack, and talk about Phil's recent essay on the waning of Islamism.

Whatever happened to 'solving' Islamic radicalism through moderate conservatism?

Is the end of globalisation also the end of global jihad? Why?

Why did Islamism fail in pursuit of state power?

Will the Left back 'Islamopopulism'?

For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast

Links:

The Man Who Was Friday: Global Islamism after Unipolarity, Philip Cunliffe, American Affairs

The Interventionist Future of the DSA, Philip Cunliffe, Compact

NOW UNLOCKED: /355/ F***ing and shooting are not the same

On Zohran Mamdani.

Writer Ross Barkan, author of The Revolutionary on the New York mayor, talks to Ryan Zickgraf and Alex Hochuli about what Mamdani means for the Left.

How did Mamdani mute cultural progressivism to focus concentrate on rent, transport, childcare and food?

Is municipal socialism part of a strategy to rebuild national power, or is it a retreat to the cities after the failure of Bernie?

Is the New York strategy replicable elsewhere in the US?

How is Mamdani different from AOC?

Is Mamdani a populist, not a socialist?

Is the rentier, rather than the worker, the subject of politics?

Links:

Zohran Mamdani and the Remaking of American Politics, Ross Barkan

Ross Barkan on Mamdani and where DSA goes from here, Current Affairs

The New Socialist Revolution, Ross Barkan

NYC-DSA endorsement and platform overview

How Mamdani used social media to build a movement, The Washington Post

Brandon Johnson: Sewer Bill socialist, Ryan Zickgraf

We deal with your questions, comments and criticisms from the past month.

Key issues:

How big a deal, historically, is the US's failure in Iran?

Is populism rooted in resentment and/or cynicism?

Why is fascism not the right label for Trump?

How to debate immigration?

Are NGOs and international organisations actually relevant?

For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast

Links:

/152/ I Can't Believe It's Not Weimar ft. David Broder

Debating the F-Word, Bunk History

The National Interest in Women’s Freedom, The Northern Star

The Civic Foundations of Fascism in Europe, Dylan Riley

Taking a short break – back in late August.