Global Dispatches -- Conversations On Foreign Policy And World Affairs

Ukraine is a major exporter of key food staples around the world. Even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the prices of food commodities like wheat were near all time highs. Since the outbreak of armed conflicted, these prices have soared even higher.  What impact is this war having on global food supply, food prices and food security? I put this question and more to Joe Glauber, Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington and formerly the chief economist at the United States Department of Agriculture. 

I caught up with Michelle Milford Morse on International Women's Day and as the war in Ukraine entered its second week. Michelle Milford Morse is the United Nations Foundation’s Vice President for Girls and Women Strategy. I wanted to speak with her to both better understand gender dynamics in armed conflict and how these dynamics are playing out today in Ukraine.  Also, we spoke about a week before the Commission on the Status of Women kicked off at UN headquarters in New York. The Commission on the Status of Women is the second-largest annual gathering at the UN and I was keen to learn from Michelle Milford Morse what to expect from this meeting and how, if at all, the war in Ukraine will impact CSW this year.   

It has been a very intense few weeks of diplomacy at the United Nations. Even before Russia mounted its full scale invasion of Ukraine there were several meetings at the Security Council intended to deter and dissuade Russia from doing so. And it was in the middle of one such Security Council meeting on February 23rd that Vladimir Putin declared war and began the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Two days later, Russia predictably vetoed a Security Council resolution denouncing the invasion and from there, the action went to the entire UN General Assembly and its 193 member states.  Anjali Dayal is an assistant professor of International Politics at Fordham University and a longtime UN watcher. We kick off discussing the significance of this General Assembly vote before having a broader discussion about how Russia-focused diplomacy is playing out at the United Nations.  

It was 7pm Ukraine time on the evening of Friday February 25 when I caught up with my guest today, journalist Catia Bruno.  She had recently arrived in Lviv, a city in Western Ukraine not far from the Polish border. She was there to report to bear witness to the growing refugee and displacement crisis caused by the Russian attack on Ukraine, which began three days prior. This conversation provides a valuable perspective on the choices facing Ukrainians as many seek to leave the country while others are forced to remain.

I caught up with Ambassador Karen Pierce in the middle of a very intense day of diplomacy on February 22.  She is the United Kingdom's Ambassador to the United States and earlier that morning Boris Johnson announced new British sanctions on certain Russian oligarchs and financial institutions. This was followed by similar sanctions announcements by the European Union and the United States later in the day.  These new sanctions come after Vladimir Putin's government formally recognized the independence of two regions of Eastern Ukraine,  and Luhansk.  This specific set of sanctions from the UK, EU and USA seem to be a very calibrated and coordinated response to this provocation, which we discuss at the outset of this interview.     

overran Kabul a few weeks prior. Despite the apparent danger and uncertainty, Zuhra Bahman told me that she was eager to get back home and return to work as the Afghanistan country director for the peace building NGO Search for Common. Ground. Today, she is back in Kabul, which is where I caught up with her for the conversation you are about to hear And she kicks off explaining why and how she returned home. We then have a long conversation about how she navigates her life and work as a professional woman in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and how her work on peace building issues continues under the new political order in Afghanistan.

Over the last few days, there has been a flurry of diplomatic activity between Russia, Ukraine, the United States, Germany and France -- among others. Meanwhile, the messaging coming from the White House indicates that they believe a Russian attack on Ukraine is imminent.  I am joined by Melinda Haring of the Atlantic Council who offers some context and analysis of the recent diplomatic maneuvering. We spoke via Twitter Spaces just after President Biden concluded remarks from the White House. After I ended my interview with Melinda Haring, I noticed that the former US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder was in the audience listening in, and he graciously agreed to take a few questions from me, impromptu.   

There have been a spate of coups in Africa over the last 18 months. Most of these coups have taken place in West Africa, but not all. This includes Burkina Faso, Guinea, Chad, Sudan and two coups in Mali. This is not to mention some attempted coups, most recently in Guinea Bissau.   On the line with me to discuss why there have there been so many coups recently, and whether or not this is a trend is Solomon Dersso. He is the founder of Amani Africa, an Adis Ababa based think tank with a focus on the African Union and African Union Affairs.

For about two weeks now, truck driving protesters have snarled traffic and otherwise disrupted daily life in downtown Ottawa, ostensibly to protest covid related restrictions and vaccine mandates.   These protests have spread elsewhere in Canada and for a time, forced the closure of the busiest border crossing between the United States and Canada.  Meanwhile, right wing media in the US are now cheering on these protests.    Canadian journalist Justin Ling explains what exactly is happening in Canada, and the broader political implications of this protest movement in Canada and the United States.   

The 2022 Winter Olympics have kicked off in  Beijing. Meanwhile, in the northwestern Xinjiang region of China, the government is implementing policies that many human rights organizations and foreign governments have determined amount to crimes against humanity and even genocide against the Uyghur people.   The juxtaposition of this internationally celebrated Olympics in the midst of an ongoing human rights calamity is what drives our conversation today, with four different speakers.    Rushan Abbas is the founder and executive director of the campaign for Uyghurs   Teng Biao is a Chinese human rights lawyer and the Pozen Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago.   Yaqiu Wang is the senior china researcher for human rights watch   Sean Roberts is a professor at the Elliot School of International Affairs at the George Washington University and author of the book The War on the Uyghurs.   We recorded our conversation live on Twitter Spaces just before the opening ceremony.

On January 31, the United Nations Security Council held a meeting about Russia's military buildup on the border of Ukraine.  Here to help understand what happened at this meeting and any potentially significant outcomes is Ashish Pradhan, who covers Security Council affairs for the International Crisis Group. We kick off discussing this procedural vote before having a broader conversation about the international and geopolitical dynamics informing diplomacy around this crisis. 

North Korea has already launched more than six missile tests since the start of the new year. Why is North Korea is suddenly launching so many new missile tests -- and what can be done about?  Three experts weigh in: Jeffrey Lewis is a Professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterrey and an open source researcher at the James Martin Center for non proliferation studies Ankit Panda is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Michelle Kae is the Deputy Director of the 38 North Program at the Stimson Center  

On Monday January 24th, mutineers in Burkina Faso overthrew the democratically elected president, Roch Kabore.   This was the fourth military coup in the region in the past 17th months, including two coups in Mali and a coup in Guinea. To better understand the significance of the coup in Burkina Faso and its broader international and humanitarian implications, I am joined by three guests. Brice Bado is a political scientist and Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Center for Research and Action for Peace (CERAP)/Jesuit University, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire  Andrew Lebovich a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Alexandra Lamarche, the senior advocate for West and Central Africa at Refugees International. 

After nearly eight years, the conflict in Yemen is getting worse. Scott Paul, the senior manager for humanitarian policy at Oxfam America, explains the significance of a recent attack in Abu Dhabi and the latest bombardment of Yemen's capital before having a broader discussion about the trajectory and impact of this years long crisis.  

The likelihood that Russia will invade Ukraine seems to be growing by the day. If Russia indeed attacks Ukraine, how should the United States and Europe respond?    Joining me to take on that question and more are four excellent speakers: Andrew Weiss of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Nina Jankowicz the Woodrow Wilson Center Jim Goldgeier of Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation.   Melinda Haring of The Atlantic Council     Recorded live via Twitter Spaces. Follow me @MarkLGoldberg to be notified of the next live taping.       

Hong Kong used to have one of the most vibrant media ecosystems in all of Asia. But not today.  There is an ongoing crackdown on independent media in Hong Kong. Outlets large and small are being shut down, ostensible for violating newly enacted laws intended to suppress the pro-democracy movement.  On the line with me from Hong Kong to discuss the plight of independent media there is Austin Ramzy of the New York Times.  "For the Love of Hong Kong: A Memoir from My City Under Siege" by Hana Meihan Davis Austin Ramzy's New York Times story

Bosnia is facing its deepest political crisis since the civil war in the 1990s.   In 1995, the United States helped broker an agreement between the waring parties known as the Dayton Accords. This agreement created a new political order in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has been an uneasy agreement, certainly tenuous at times, but it has held.      Now, the agreement is unraveling -- and very quickly.   On the line to explain why and how Bosnia is on the verge of potential political disintegration is Jasmin Mujanovic, a political scientist and analyst of southeast European and international affairs.    

David Miliband is the president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, one of the larger global humanitarian organizations with relief operations around the world. At the end of 2021 David Miliband, the former Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, delivered a lecture at the Council on Foreign Relations identifying and defining what he called a "Systems Failure" in global crisis response. This is the topic of much of our conversation today.   

For the last week, massive protests have swept across the large Central Asian country of Kazakhstan.  The spark was a decision by the government to increase fuel prices in the country, which is a major fuel producer.  But as my guests today explain, though the fuel price hike was the proximate cause of the protests, they are rooted in deep and widespread disaffection with Kazakhstan's ruling class.  Three Kazakstan political and security experts contribute to this episode:  Dr. Erica Marat, a professor at the National Defense University in Washington, DC.  Dr. Diana T. Kudaibergenova, a professor at the University of Cambridge  Dr. Jen Brick Murtazashvili a professor at the University of Pittsburgh  

Just before the start of the new year, Somalia's President Mohammad Abdulahi Farmaajo sought to arrest and remove from power Somalia's Prime Minister Mohammad Hussein Roble. This move added a layer of instability on top of an already fragile political and security situation. Somalia is both in midst of elections and fending off an insurgency by al Shabaab, which controls much of the countryside. On the line from Mogadishu is journalist Sakariye Cissman, who explains the current state of Somalia's political, constitutional and electoral crises.