Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight
A 'Dictators v Democrats' program https://tamullis.substack.com/ Buy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/tamullis Patreon: patreon.com/DictatorsvDemocrats Join the Discord: https://discord.gg/vsTNKRvy Democracy is at war. We can see the forces rallied against it: autocratic states like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, techno-aristocrats, religious fundamentalists and populist demagogues. From the trenches of Ukraine to the halls of power in the US, democratic, free values are under determined assault. But, there are those who resist. In 'Why We Fight' we talk to those who claim to be defending democracy; that's everyone from soldiers, protestors, activists, religious leaders, industrialists and politicians. We find out who they are, what drove them to take up the struggle, what their work is and why their idea of democracy is worth fighting for.
Episodes
This week on Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, We sit down with former French General Dominique Trinquand — one of Europe’s leading military voices on NATO, Russia, Ukraine and the future of European defence.
Drawing on decades of experience in NATO, the United Nations, the Balkans and Lebanon, General Trinquand explains why Europe is rapidly rearming, whether NATO can survive a weakening American commitment, an...
Amber French-Griette — co-founder and Executive Director of the Organization for Nonviolent Movements — joins Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight to explain why nonviolent resistance remains one of the most powerful weapons against authoritarianism.
From Ukraine’s civic resistance against Russia to the role of strikes, boycotts, social cohesion and information warfare, this conversation explores how ordinary people...
Steven Moore, founder of the Ukraine Freedom Project, joins Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight to discuss the war in Ukraine, Russian propaganda, faith under occupation, and why freedom remains worth fighting for.
A former Republican congressional chief of staff who arrived in Ukraine days after the full-scale invasion, Moore reflects on frontline aid work, the persecution of religious communities in occupied territ...
We are joined by Roger McNair, founder of Project Jinn, to examine the growing crisis of confidence in British democracy and the case for reform.
McNair argues that the current system—built around elections every five years—is no longer sufficient for a politically aware and connected population. He sets out a vision for a more direct, participatory model, where citizens have a meaningful say on key issues between el...
Jason Pack, host of the Disorder podcast, joins Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight to discuss his idea of “enduring disorder” — a world where democracies struggle to coordinate, institutions fail to deliver, and power is increasingly fragmented.
The conversation looks at what that means in practice: from Libya and Ukraine to British politics and the failures of Western leadership
What we cover
- What Pack means by ...
In this episode of Why We Fight, I speak with Akhmed Zakayev, the exiled Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
Zakayev lays out his case that Chechnya remains under Russian occupation, describing life inside the republic as lawless and repressive, and arguing that the Chechen struggle is not a recent conflict but part of a centuries-long resistance to Russian imperialism.
We discuss the legacy of the Che...
In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, We speak with Iranian human rights activist Zolal Habibi of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
Born into a family shaped by repression Habibi has spent her life advocating for a democratic alternative to the Islamic Republic.
Amongst the backdrop of America and Israel's war on Iran
They discuss:
- The reality of resistance inside Iran
- Why repeate...
In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, We sit down with Jaden Braves a young Canadian political organiser and director at the Sephira Institute.
They explore how a new generation is engaging with democracy—and where it’s breaking down. From flawed electoral systems and youth disengagement to the impact of social media, foreign influence, and global conflict, Jaden argues that democratic systems are f...
Are political parties actually undermining democracy?
In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, We sit down with businessman-turned-author Metin Peckin, whose new book Breaking Democracy’s Chains argues that the biggest threat to modern democracy isn’t dictators—it’s the system itself.
Peckin makes a provocative case: political parties have become gatekeepers, limiting true representation and concentrati...
In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, We speak with Dr. Roberto Foa, one of the world’s leading political scientists studying democratic legitimacy and populism. Drawing on decades of research into public attitudes, Dr. Foa explains his influential theory of “democratic deconsolidation” — the erosion of faith in democracy, particularly among younger generations.
We explore why democratic values li...
*Note from the host - I apologize for the missed weeks, a combination of holiday and family concerns. Also, my audio in this one is a little poor, unfortunately my good mic has developed an issue.*
In this episode, we speak with Ukrainian veteran and civil activist Dmytro Koziatynskyi, a former combat medic who returned from war to fight a different battle — defending democracy at home in Ukraine.
After serving on the...
In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, we speak with Mamatjan Juma, a veteran Uyghur journalist and one of the most important voices documenting China’s repression in Xinjiang.
For nearly two decades, Juma reported for Radio Free Asia’s Uyghur Service, helping to expose the reality of mass internment, forced labour, family separation and the systematic erasure of Uyghur identity. His reporting was am...
In this special and unusually candid episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, we speak to an anonymous American investor who has privately channelled close to half a million dollars into Ukrainian frontline units fighting Russia’s invasion.
At his request, this interview is audio-only and his voice has been altered.
Our guest explains what drove him, as a private citizen, to step far beyond conventional chari...
In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, we speak with Jakub Kalenský, one of Europe’s leading experts on disinformation, hybrid threats, and information warfare.
Jakub is Deputy Director at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki and a former senior figure behind the EU’s flagship EUvsDisinfo initiative. For over a decade, he has worked at the sharp end of efforts t...
In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, We are joined by Commander (Ret.) Lance McMillan, a former US Navy officer with more than 25 years of service and a regular contributor to independent US media on defence, security and global affairs.
Lance reflects on growing up across multiple countries during the Cold War, witnessing stark inequalities and contrasting political systems, and how those experien...
In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, Theo Allthorpe-Mullis is joined by Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon OBE, one of the UK’s leading authorities on chemical weapons and modern deterrence.
Drawing on more than three decades of service and frontline experience, Hamish reflects on why he joined the British Army, what service means in a democracy, and how Syria shaped his understanding of power, respo...
In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, We speak with Jenny Chan, historian and co-founder of Pacific Atrocities Education, about the overlooked history of the Asia–Pacific theatre of the Second World War and its impact on today’s geopolitics.
Jenny explains how her grandmother’s experience under Japanese occupation shaped her interest in history, and why much of the Pacific War remains absent from We...
In this episode, T. A. Mullis speaks with Ji Hyun Park, who escaped North Korea twice and went on to rebuild her life in the United Kingdom. (Sorry for the delay, recent family bereavements have left my schedule all out of whack)
Park describes her childhood under the Kim dictatorship, the famine, and the complete control the regime holds over information and daily life. She explains her first escape to save her youn...
In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, we speak with Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe, for a wide-ranging and unusually candid conversation about the state of democracy, the duty of military leaders, the future of Ukraine’s defence, and the global challenge posed by modern autocracies.
General Hodges reflects on the oath he took, how its meaning evol...
In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, host T. A. Mullis speaks with Zarina Zabrisky, an American war correspondent and filmmaker reporting from the frontlines of Kherson, Ukraine — a city living under daily Russian drone and artillery attacks.
Zabrisky, who has spent a decade documenting Russia’s hybrid war against the West, reveals the horror of what she calls a “human safari” — Russia’s use of FPV...
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