Global Dispatches -- Conversations On Foreign Policy And World Affairs

John Shattuck is the former US Ambassador to the Czech Republic, former President of the Central European University, and served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy Human Rights and Labor During the Clinton administration.  He is currently a professor at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts John was deep in the policy debates over the US response to the Rwanda genocide and explains how and why the United States failed to mount a meaningful response to this crisis. John also played a key role in uncovering the genocide at Srebrenica in which some 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were murdered by Serb forces, and he explains how he came to help uncover this crime. John is a board member of Humanity in Action and we kick off this conversation discussing the situation in Poland and Hungary, where pluralist values and civic institutions have come under extreme threat by right wing governments. W discuss how civic organizations and universities can push back against this creeping illiberalism. Th

With Houston still reeling from Hurricane Harvey, Irma causing massive havoc in the Caribbean, and more storms on the way, I thought it would be timely and interesting to speak with my guest today, Maria Ivanova Maria Ivanova is an academic who straddles the university and policy worlds to help think through the connections between human security, environmental stresses and global governance--that is, the mechanisms that the international community and beyond have designed to deal with environmental challenges. In this conversation she helps put the onslaught of these hurricanes into a kind of broader global context that addresses how the international community might more productively organize itself to confront the realities of climate change.   Maria is a Professor of Global Governance and Director of the Center for Governance and Sustainability at the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston and a Visiting Scholar at the Climate CoLab at MIT. She is also Ambassador

Helene Cooper is the Pentagon correspondent for the New York Times. She is also the author of the new book "Madame President: The extraordinary journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf" which is a biography of the Liberian president and nobel peace prize winner was was Africa's first female head of state.  Helene was born and raised in Liberia. Her family fled to the United States in 1980, when she was 13 years old, following a coup. Her immediate family was brutally targeted during this coup.  She describes the trauma around these events, and also the search for her sister with whom she became separated during this time in her critically acclaimed book, "The House on Sugar Beach: In search of a Lost African Childhood."     Helene discusses some of these experiences in our conversation and describes how a near-death experience covering the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 motivated her to go back to Liberia.    We kick off this conversation with a discussion of upcoming elections in Liberia and her newest book about ellen

My guest today, Hillary Matfess of Yale, has discovered that there is a link between bride prices and violent conflict.     She is the co-author of a fascinating new paper that appears in the current, Summer 2017 issue of the academic journal International Security. In it, she and her co-author Valerie Hudson identify how the cost of getting married can lead to the outbreak of violent conflict and war.    Brideprice  is sometimes known more commonly as dowry payments, but it is essentially, as Matfess explains, wealth that would-be grooms must transfer to the family of his would-be wife. In this way, brideprice acts as a regressive flat tax that poorer younger men pay to wealthier, older men. 75% of the world's population lives in societies that practice brideprice in one form or another    Anyone who has ever taken an international relations or security class knows that there are volumes of research on what causes the outbreak of violent conflict. Through case studies, which Matfess discusses in this conver

In Kazakstan this week, the international atomic energy agency is opening a new facility that will serve as a bank for low enriched uranium.    This facility is known as the LEU fuel bank and its opening is the result of over a decade of work by my guest Senator Sam Nunn.    Now the idea behind the, bank which Senator Nunn explains in detail is basically this. countries that want to use civilian nuclear power must either build their own enrichment facilities, or must purchase enriched uranium on the open market. the concern with the former is that facilities that enrich uranium for civilian purposes could also be used to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb. The bank is basically an insurance policy to dissuade countries from wanting to build their own enrichment facilities because if for some reason the market is disrupted and supplies cut off, the county can get their fuel from this bank, which stores enough fuel to power a mid sized city for three years.    Senator Nunn is a former US senator who is co-chair

Poland is in the midst of a democratic backslide. The country's politics is dominated by the far right Law and Justice Party, which has embarked on a series of moves to curb the independence of the judiciary and free press. This has put Poland on a collision course with the European Union, of which it is a member. It has also earned the government the praise and support of Donald Trump--indeed Trump visited Poland this summer and delivered a rabble rousing speech appealing directly to right wing elements in Polish politics. So how did we get here? And how threatened is liberal democracy in the heart of Europe? On the line with me to discuss the situation in Poland and why what happens in Poland matters to the rest of the world is Konsanty Gebert    Konstanty Gebert is an Associate Fellow at the European Council for Foreign Relations and an international reporter and columnist at Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s largest daily publication.  He was also a speaker at the Humanity in Action International Conference in Be

Tensions are very clearly escalating on the Korean Peninsula, with the North making unrelenting progress on their nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and the United States president now overtly threatening a new war.    In the meantime, the United Nations Security Council, which of course includes China, the United States and Russia, passed a new round of sanctions on North Korea intended to force Pyongyang back to the negotiating table -- but as of yet it is unclear if these new sanction will succeed in that regard.    So what are the policy options right now? And if North Korea does succeed in developing the capacity to reliably hit the United States with a nuclear weapon can it even be deterred from doing so? What would happen if the United States strikes North Korea first? What diplomatic paths are still open right now? On the line to discuss these questions and more is Dr. Jim Walsh of MIT. He discusses the current situation and why deterrence might be the least bad option we face.    Become a premi

After receiving dozens of emails from podcast listeners asking for career advice, I decided to put together this special episode in which your questions are answered. On the line are Paul Stronski and Alanna Shaikh, two individuals who have had varied careers in world affairs. Paul is a senior fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Alanna is a consultant who has worked with several international development and global health organizations. They were on hand to answer questions from listeners who joined a virtual conference call, or emailed me ahead of time. Topics covered include: how to pull off an early-to-mid career shift. How to pick the right grad school program; how to network; how to land that first job; and many other topics.  Enjoy! Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!   

Somalia is ground zero for an emerging trend in global affairs-- the nexus between climate change and conflict. My guest today, journalist Laura Heaton  spent years reporting on how climate change and conflict feed off each other in profoundly destabilizing ways in horn of Africa.  She's the author of a feature story in Foreign Policy magazine that uses the work and life story of  a British Scientist named Murray Watson to explain how climate change in Somalia has exacerbated conflict -- both local and international -- and how that conflict and insecurity has inhibited policies to mitigate the destabilizing effect of climate change.   Watson went missing on 2008 after being kidnapped in Somalia, and it was assumed that his trove of ecological research went missing with him -- until Laura uncovered its existence in an attic in the British countryside. 

On July 17 a very rare thing happened in the world of humanitarian relief. Eight organizations that typically compete for donor dollars joined forces to launch a joint appeal to raise funds and awareness around a global food crisis. Some 20 million people in four countries— South Sudan, Yemen, Nigeria and Somalia — face acute food scarcity. South Sudan even experienced a famine for a period of time this year. Facing funding shortages and relatively little popular awareness of this crisis, these NGOs formed that they are calling the Global Emergency Response Coalition. On the line with me to discuss the reasons that this coalition formed is Deepmala Mahla, the country director for Mercy Corps in South Sudan. (Mercy Corps is one of the eight members of the coalition.) She explains the food crisis across these four countries and discusses at length the situation in South Sudan. Deepmala also describes in detail her work delivering humanitarian relief to vulnerable populations in South Sudan. This is a valuable a

On June 27th, FARC rebels turned over the last of their weapons to the United Nations in a ceremony attended by both the leader of FARC and President Juan Manuel Santos. This officially marked the end of a over 50 year civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions more.  So how did we get to this point? And what are some of the big challenges that lay ahead for Colombia as peace takes hold? I put these questions and more to Kyle Johnson of the International Crisis Group. I reached him in Colombia a couple weeks after the laying-of-arms ceremony, which he attended. And we have an interesting conversation about this peace process and the conflict that lead to it.    Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained.  #5: Meet the Kim fami

Wendy Pearlman is an academic who studies the Middle East, but also writes popularly focused narratives that examines everyday life of people caught in the chaos of the region.Her latest book, We Crossed a Bridge and it Trembled: Voices from Syria, is a collection of interviews of Syrians displaced by the war. That book was published by Harper Collins in June, but she used some of the research in that book for peer reviewed academic papers, that among other things examine the role of fear in revolutionary protests. And in this conversation we alternate--much like Wendy-- between her social science work and her narrative storytelling.  We get wonky, but also personal. Wendy describes how she got interested in the Middle East and how her fascination with Morocco morphed to a passion for researching and studying the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and, of course, the Arab Spring.     Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribe

Eric Schwartz served as the top refugee policy official in the Obama administration as the Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration between 2009 and 2011. He was recently appointed the president of Refugees International, an advocacy organization in Washington, DC. We kick off this conversation discussing US refugee policy in the wake of President Trump's attempts to sharply curb the number or refugees allowed into the United States.   Eric has had a fascinating career. He worked in the NGO sector helping to establish Human Rights Watch's Asia branch; and also for both the United States government-- including in Bill Clinton's national security council -- for the United Nations, under the high commissioner for human rights and under the special envoy for Tsunami recovery to help countries affected by the massive 2004 indian ocean Tsunami. (That special envoy was Bill Clinton.)    We also discuss at length about Eric's relationship with Sergio Vieira de Mello. He was a well known fig

Conflict is escalating in one region of the Democratic Republic of Congo and this conflict  has the potential to become one of Africa's next big crises.    At issue is a brewing situation in a region of DRC called Kasai. Now, if this is unfamiliar to you, it is with reason. This was not a region heretofore that had experienced much violence or conflict that caught international attention. (Indeed it is the far away eastern part of the country -- and this is a very large country, about the size of western Europe -- that has experienced the bulk of violence in the last several years.) To be honest, Kasai was totally off my radar until earlier this until two UN workers, including an American and Swede went missing there and were later found murdered and mutilated.    On the line with me to discuss the situation in the Kasai region is Ida Sawyer, the Central Africa director of Human Rights Watch. She does a very good job of explaining how the conflict started, how it is changing and also the broader political con

  The Supreme Court has issued a preliminary decision on Trump’s travel ban–and this decision could have a profound impact on refugees around the world. The court upheld key portions of the travel ban pending a final ruling by the court in October. This includes a 120 day ban on all refugees coming to the United States from everywhere in the world — though with some exceptions. On the line with me to talk through the Supreme Court ruling, including its implications for US refugee resettlement policy is Rachel Landry a Policy and Advocacy Officer for Global Protection and Resettlement with the International Rescue Committee, which is one of the largest refugee resettlement agencies in the United States. (Like me, Rachel is also a Humanity in Action Senior Fellow). Rachel discusses the ways in which this ruling could impact how the United States takes in refugees from around the world. She also discusses the US refugee resettlement process more broadly; that is, how it works, it’s history and background. I pro

My guest today Jeffrey Smith helps topple dictators for a living. His organization, Vanguard Africa, is very new but they already have one success under their belt--the peaceful transition of power from The Gambia's longtime ruler. He now has his sites set on Africa's second longest ruling leader, Paul Biya of Cameroon. We kick off with a discussion of the situation in Cameroon and have great digressions about the Zimbabwe, some deficiencies of the NGO community in DC and, of course, the Gambia.    Jeff discusses how and why he came to focus on issues of democracy and human rights in Africa and how he found inspiration from the hero of an anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.      Leave a review on iTunes!    You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here.    Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History

Pop Quiz: do you know how many people are in the world right now?    The answer is 7.6 billion.    That data point and much more are contained in a report called "World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision," which was recently published by the UN. The report contains all sorts of facts and figures that are both interesting on its own, but also extremely consequential to understanding the future of our species in a very literal sense.    On the line with me to talk through some of the demographic trends of the world's population, is John Wilmoth, Director of the Population Division at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. We discuss the trajectory of the world's population including where the big population centers of the future will be. We also have a fascinating conversation about the relationship between contraception, child survival and population growth and why, from a policy perspective one of the more useful things you can know is the age distribution of a population -- and here, Europe

Gregory Stone once lived underwater for 30 days. He is an ocean scientist and author who has spent a career studying and advocating on behalf of our oceans. He's now with an executive vice president with  Conservation International  and is one of the world's leading authorities on ocean health and ocean conservation.   We caught up just as a big UN conference on oceans was wrapping up in New York. This was the first-ever UN conference on Oceans and ocean health and we kick off discussing some of his takeways from that meeting.   We of course discuss his life and career and where his love for the oceans all began. And we have some great digressions along the way about scuba diving in the antarctic, the first time he saw up close the effect of climate change on coral reefs and why plastic is such a nemesis for our oceans.   Leave a review on iTunes!    You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here.    Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for prem

Marietje Schaake was under 30 years old when she first joined the European Parliament as a representative from the Netherlands in 2009. She candidly discusses the kinds of challenges she faced as a young woman navigating what was then--and still is--mostly and old mens club.  We caught up shortly after a series of consequential elections in Europe, including the victory of Emmanuel Macron in France and the surprising  near-defeat of Therese May in the UK. We kick off this conversation discussing the current state of right wing populism in Europe and the effect that Donald Trump is having on European politics.    This conversation is a great explainer of how the European Parliament works--we use Martietje's efforts to create some rules of the road for digital trade as an entry point to discuss the procedures, processes and politics of the European Parliament and the EU more broadly.   Marietje Schaake is someone I've known for many years. We are both alums of Humanity in Action from our University days and it

Hans Binnendijk is a senior fellow at the Center for Transatlantic relations and a longtime DC foreign policy insider. He served in top posts in the Clinton administration, including in the National Security Council and he was the founding director of the Center for Technology and National Security Policy at National Defense University.   Hans is a senior foreign policy hand who has collected many affiliations along the way.    Hans wrote one of my favorite op-eds of all-time, that made the case for robust State Department funding by comparing the number of people in military marching bands to the number of US foreign service officers. We kick off with a discussion about State Department staffing and then have a longer conversation about his life and career, including his experience as a child immigrant from post-war Netherlands and how he rose through the ranks of the DC foreign policy establishment. It's a good talk with some interesting digressions along the way.      Leave a review on iTunes!    You ca