On this episode of American Prestige: Mat Nashed on the state of Sudan’s ongoing civil war.
Demonstrators, holding banners and placards, gather to hold a solidarity rally for Sudan on November 22, 2025, in Berlin, Germany. (Halil Sagirkaya / Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Derek and journalist Mat Nashed assess the state of Sudan’s ongoing civil war, particularly the fall of Al-Fasher and the Rapid Support Forces’ consolidation of control across much of Darfur. They discuss the throughline from the 2003 genocide to today; the wider humanitarian catastrophe; the shifting battlefield in Kordofan; the growing role of drones; the RSF’s political gambits; the international dimension of the war, including the UAE’s backing of the RSF and the Sudanese army’s search for external patrons; and they examine why accountability remains elusive as Sudan’s rival powers continue a war that hurts civilians above all else.
Follow Mat on Twitter and Instagram.
Read Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s WSJ opinion piece.
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Derek and journalist Mat Nashed assess the state of Sudan’s ongoing civil war, particularly the fall of Al-Fasher and the Rapid Support Forces’ consolidation of control across much of Darfur. They discuss the through line from the 2003 genocide to today; the wider humanitarian catastrophe; the shifting battlefield in Kordofan; the growing role of drones; the RSF’s political gambits; the international dimension of the war, including the UAE’s backing of the RSF and the Sudanese army’s search for external patrons; and they examine why accountability remains elusive as Sudan’s rival powers continue a war that hurts civilians above all else.
Follow Mat on Twitter and Instagram.
Read Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s WSJ opinion piece.
Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.
Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Danny and Derek considered helping Flavio Bolsonaro mount a political comeback here in the States, but cut ties on the advice of Danny's psychic. In this week’s news: Israel's election leaves Netanyahu without a parliamentary majority (1:41); Lula wins Brazil's presidential runoff and Flávio Bolsonaro flees Brazil for the United States after his defeat (8:53); Serbia's student-led opposition topples the ruling party (14:33); the United States and Gulf states pursue a new peace initiative with Iran as the United States prepares for another military campaign after the midterms (18:35); a Sudanese military drone strike kills more than 100 people in Nyala (23:55); Turkey hosts talks between Libya's rival governments looking toward reunification (26:01); in the Russia-Ukraine war, Zelenskyy announces peace talks in Abu Dhabi for November (28:50), the two countries observe a local ceasefire near Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid (29:56), and the Trump administration considers major sanctions relief for Russia (32:21); Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado returns to the country (34:50); and apparent cyberattacks disrupt refrigeration systems at U.S. military bases (37:41).
Listen to our full special on the election in Brazil with Andre Pagliarini.
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Derek DavisonDerek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.
Daniel BessnerTwitterDaniel Bessner is a historian of US foreign relations and is the author of, among other books, Imperialist Realism.