Global Dispatches -- Conversations On Foreign Policy And World Affairs

Zubaida Akbar is an Afghan human rights activist living in Washington, D.C. She is desperately trying to get vulnerable people out of the country, including a group of female journalists who are almost certainly marked for execution by the Taliban.  We kick off discussing what she is hearing from her friends in Kabul as people attempt to flee the Taliban's retribution.  We then have a very heavy conversation about the tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan.         

Back in 2008, in the midst of both a global economic catastrophe and stalled progress on climate diplomacy, a unique multilateral platform called the Climate Investment Funds was born.   The G-8 created the Climate Investment Funds to support developing economies as they shifted to a less carbon intensive future. The Climate Investment Funds supports the development of clean energy markets and invests in projects and programs the enable clean energy transitions and adaptation to climate change. The CEO of the Climate Investment Funds, Mafalda Duarte is on the podcast today to explain the significance of this multilateral platform to the common global effort to confront climate change.

The Global Peace Index is an ambitious effort to measure peacefulness around the world using quantitative data. Now in its 15th year, the Index has offered policymakers and analysts a useful way to measure key trends in peace and conflict.  Steve Killilea, founder and executive director of the Institute for Economics and Peace, is on the podcast to discuss the report's findings and what it suggests about trends in peace and conflict around the world. 

This episode was recorded live in front of a virtual audience and produced in partnership with CGIAR, the world’s largest agricultural innovation network, as part of a series of episodes examining the relationship between climate and security. In today's conversation we discuss the key question of how one measures the relationship between climate variability and peacefulness or insecurity.  Sign up for the next live taping!  https://bre.is/e5REazzj 

Yemen has two rival central banks. These banks have their own priorities and fiscal policies -- and were set up, in part, to help defeat the other and control the Yemeni Rial.  The result has been runaway inflation and food prices that are increasingly out of reach for ordinary Yemenis.  Annelle Sheline of The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft explains how Yemen came to have rival central banks and how this situation fits into the broader conflict in Yemen.   

On July 25th, Tunisian President Kais Saied fired the prime minister, dismissed parliament, and assumed dictatorial powers . This was a self-coup in which the president invoked an emergency clause in the constitution allowing him to rule by decree. Tarek Megirisi, Senior Policy fellow at European Council on Foreign Relations, explains what happened in Tunisia and the broader domestic and international implications of this power grab.   

United States Senator Chris Murphy wants to radically reign in the President's ability to use military force abroad. Chris Murphy is a Democrat from Connecticut and along with Independent Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont and Republican Senator Mike Lee from Utah is a co-sponsor of the new National Security Powers Act.  This legislation would give Congress far more say in matters of war and peace than it currently enjoys. This includes placing strict limits on the ability of the executive branch to conduct military operations abroad without congressional approval; increased Congressional oversight on international arms sales; and reforming how the President is able to declare a national emergency. Senator Chris Murphy is on the podcast today to describe the problem he sees this legislation as helping to solve; and why he thinks increased congressional oversight over war powers is important for renewing and sustaining American democracy.    

In March 2020, when countries around the world started imposing COVID-19 lockdowns Kashmir was just emerging from a lockdown of its own. Several months prior, in August 2019 the government of India revoked the special status that Kashmir had enjoyed since the partition of India in 1947. This sparked mass protests, violence and a heavy handed government response -- including curfews and an internet shutdown.  But just as restrictions were slowly being lifted in the early part of 2020, COVID emerged and the Indian government opted to invoke COVID to impose new restrictions on the people of Kashmir. This includes new citizenship laws and restrictions on press freedom.  My guest today, Adnan Bhat is a journalist in Kashmir who has documented how COVID-19 has served as a pretext to advance policies that abrogate the rights of people in Kashmir.  His article on this was published as part of the Stanley Center's "Red Flags or Resilience Series?" that uses journalism to explore the connections between the coronavirus

Unique among countries in the world, Mexico considers Femicide as a crime distinct from homicide. Sometimes known as "Feminicide," this is the crime of murdering a woman or girl on account of her gender.  Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, the documented numbers of Femicide in parts of Mexico have skyrocketed. This includes a part of the State of Mexico, near Mexico City, known as The Periphery.  It is here that my guest today, Caroline Tracey, has reported on the increased frequency of femicide and actions that local groups are taking to fight back against this trend. Caroline Tracey is a writer and doctoral candidate in Geography at the University of California-Berkeley.  Her article was published as part of the Stanley Center's "Red Flags or Resilience Series?" that uses journalism to explore the connections between the coronavirus pandemic and the factors for risk and resilience to mass violence and atrocities around the world. This episode is produced in partnership with the Stanley Center. To

Protest, looting, and riots have plunged South Africa into a deep crisis. Scores of people have been killed in this unrest which was sparked by the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma on July 7th.  At time of recording, the government was dispatching 25,000 troops to bring order--and unprecedented military mobilization in the post-apartheid era.  On the line with me from Johannesburg is journalist Geoffrey York, the Africa Bureau Chief for the Globe and Mail.

Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland) is a small country in Southern Africa nestled on the border between South Africa and Mozambique. It is notably Africa's only absolute monarchy --  the king rules by decree, with no meaningful checks or balances.  Today, the country in in the midst of its most intense and significant protests against that monarch in recent history. The protests began in May and accelerated in June. The monarchy's response was violent, with many protesters killed and disappeared.  Journalist Mako Muzenda explains these unprecedented protests and the broader significance of the ongoing crisis in Eswatini.    

Colombia has been rocked by the most significant protests in recent memory. In late April and May Colombians took to the streets across the country initially to protest a proposed new tax law. But what began as a a protest against this new tax bill swiftly morphed into a broad based protest movement against systemic inequality.  Colombia is one of the most unequal countries in the world and these protests are seeking to upend the political system that has entrenched this inequality in Colombian society.  From Bogota. Elizabeth Dickinson of the International Crisis Group explains where this protest movement is headed.  

In the early morning hours of July 7th, unknown assailants assassinated the President of Haiti Jovenal Moise.  Haiti was already facing an uncertain political future. And now, the line of succession is not at all clear.  Journalist Jonathan Myerson Katz explains the tumultuous political context in which this audacious assassination occurred and what the assassination of the president means for the future of Haiti. 

The Okavango River is a major river system in Southwest Africa. It begins in Angola, passes through Namibia and ends in a vast delta in Botswana. This river system, its ecological and social impact is the subject of a breathtaking new podcast called Guardians of The River.  Guardians of the River won the best narrative non-fiction podcast award at the Tribeca Film Festival -- and after listening to the pilot episode you will understand why. It is produced by the House of Pod, Wild Bird Trust and National Geographic, and available wherever you find podcasts.      

The crisis in Syria is at a crossroads. Millions of displaced people trapped in northern Syria may soon face a near complete cutoff of the humanitarian aid upon which they rely. This is because Security Council must vote to keep this aid flowing, but Russia is threatening a veto. On the line to explain how we got to this point and the implications of restricting aid access is Vanessa Jackson, UN Representative and Head of Office for CARE International at the United Nations. 

On June 18th, Antonio Guterres was re-appointed United Nations Secretary General for a second and final five year term.  Richard Gowan, the UN Director of the International Crisis Group, looks back at the highlights and lowlights of Guterres' first term and discusses some of the key challenges and opportunities that will present themselves over the next five years.  Global Dispatches debut book: For The Love of Hong Kong

Climate variability can cause the mass movement of people -- but does the mass movement of people fleeing climate shocks undermine political and human security?  A diverse panel of experts who explores the relationship between security challenges and climate induced migration -- both across and within borders. This episode was recorded live in front of a virtual audience and produced in partnership with CGIAR, the world's largest agricultural innovation network.   

The government of Sri Lanka is using COVID-19 as a pre-text to assert control over ethnic minority populations. This is particularly troubling because the government has a history of atrocity crime. The leaders of the country today are they very same people responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against ethnic tamils 11 years ago.   Journalist JS Tissainaygam explains how Sri Lanka's history of atrocity crimes is plaguing its response to COVID-19 and puts it at risk for a return to atrocity.  Red Flags or Resilience? 

By all accounts, the situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia is extremely grim and about to get much worse. The United Nations now says that famine has struct parts of the region. The civil war in Ethiopia continues without and end in sight. Meanwhile, fraught national elections are scheduled for June 21.  Ethiopian journalist Zecharias Zelalem explains how we got to this point and where the conflict may be headed next.  

Ban Ki-moon served as the eighth Secretary General of the United Nations from 2007 to 2016.  He is out with a new memoir titled Resolved: Uniting Nations in a Divided World. We cover quite a bit of ground in this interview, including his perspective on what the covid crisis revealed about the strengths and weaknesses of the United Nations, what can be done to bolster multilateralism today, his frustrations with the Security Council and what advice he might offer to his successor Antonio Guterres. We also spend a good deal of time talking climate change diplomacy, which was Ban's signature issue as Secretary General.  Resolved: Uniting Nations in a Divided World, by Ban Ki-moon For The Love Of Hong Kong: A Memoir From My City Under Siege, by Hana Meihan Davis