Deep Dish on Global Affairs

You may have missed it, but at the end of 2020, the European Union and China solidified an investment deal that will open EU access to China's markets while raising China's global profile. Former US trade negotiator Wendy Cutler and the Rhodium Group's Noah Barkin join Deep Dish to look at the geopolitical consequences of the deal and how President-elect Biden can work toward better relationships with both sides.

Last week's attack at the US Capitol could have long-term effects for the stability of the United States and the state of democracy around the world. In this bonus episode of Deep Dish, journalists Susan Glasser, James Harding, and Stefan Kornelius join Council President Ivo Daalder to discuss what happened on the Council's weekly news rundown World Review. Watch the full episode here or check out new episodes of World Review at 10:00 am CST each Friday at thechicagocouncil.org/worldreview.

Even as more people globally are vaccinated for COVID-19, a record-breaking number died from the pandemic this week in the United States. Physician and Partners in Health founder Paul Farmer joins Deep Dish to explain the lessons the 2014 Ebola outbreak taught him and what the world can learn from past infectious disease outbreaks to combat the current crisis.

Iran's president signaled he would rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) if President-Elect Biden signs on after taking office. The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft's Trita Parsi and the Atlantic Council's Barbara Slavin join Deep Dish to explain why Biden must focus on improving relations between the two countries, not just renewing the agreement. Check out new Deep Dish episodes when we return on January 7, 2021.

The United States broke records for the number of COVID-19 deaths this week – more than Pearl Harbor – and the total number of cases now hovers around 1.4 million. As vaccine rollout starts around the world, the Financial Times' Hannah Kuchler and Johns Hopkins' Crystal Watson join Deep Dish to explain the science and politics behind the next phase of the pandemic.

Ethiopia rests on brink of a civil war after long-term tensions between the government and former power brokers, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), exploded in November. Michelle Gavin joins Deep Dish to explain why Ethiopia's fate will affect the stability of the region and African influence on global affairs.

As COVID-19 continues to surge around the world, CNN's Fareed Zakaria joins Deep Dish to explain why today's crises are the product of the international system and how the quality, not quantity, of government is part of the solution. Tune in for the next episode of Deep Dish on December 3, 2020.

President-Elect Biden faces a divided country and a deadlocked Congress when he takes office on January 20, 2021. Author Rebecca Lissner joins Deep Dish to argue that while there are domestic challenges, Biden also has a unique opportunity to reimagine the US approach to foreign policy and focus on openness, rather than dominance.

Two days after Americans voted, it's still too close to call the 2020 election. As the world waits, American Enterprise Institute's Kori Schake joins Council President Ivo Daalder and Deep Dish host Brian Hanson to examine how the results – whenever they arrive – will affect US foreign policy, global relationships, and national security.

Last Sunday, an overwhelming 78 percent of Chileans voted to replace the country's existing constitution after a year of large-scale protests driven by social movements and economic inequality. Political scientist Claudia Heiss joins Deep Dish to explain what to watch for during the two-year drafting process and examine whether wide-spread change is possible for Chile.

Democrats and Republicans are in different worlds when it comes to evaluating critical threats facing the United States and preferred foreign policy approaches, according to findings of the 2020 Chicago Council Survey. Council polling experts Dina Smeltz and Craig Kafura join Deep Dish to examine how public opinion matches up with the candidates' perspectives and whether issues like China's rise, global cooperation, climate change, and trade are driving voter decision making.

From Iran in 1953 to Syria in 2011, the United States has relied on regime change as a core facet of Middle East policy -- with mixed results. Author and former White House Middle East advisor and expert Philip Gordon joins Deep Dish to explain that while regime change is a tempting policy option, in the long-term it leads to high costs, unintended consequences, and the spread of instability.

This week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with new Japanese Premier Yoshihide Suga, signaling both Japan's importance to the United States and both sides' fear of a rising China, analysts argue. Stanford University's Michael Auslin and Teneo Intelligence's Tobias Harris join Deep Dish to explain how the 2020 election could influence US foreign policy towards Japan and whether Suga has the power to successfully continue former Prime Minister Abe's legacy.

Last weekend, fighting broke out in the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region, reigniting a frozen conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The New York Times' Andrew Kramer and Chatham House's Laurence Broers Join Deep Dish to examine what the conflict could mean for the region and Russia's broader competition with Turkey for power.

With just 10 years remaining to reach the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, COVID-19 has undermined much of the existing progress toward the ambitious targets. As the UN General Assembly takes place this week, BP's Trine Mong and McDonald's Francesca DeBiase join Deep Dish to explain how their companies are making strides towards sustainability to support the SDGs and revolutionize their industries.

An unprecedented hunger crisis is looming as the world grapples with COVID-19, the global economic downturn, stark inequality, and fractured political relationships. But 10 years after the launch of the US government's Feed the Future program, USAID's Jim Barnhart joins Deep Dish to explain why there's still hope for eradicating hunger within this generation.

This year, the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and other Black people drove mass Black Lives Matter protests against racial injustice demanding communities defund the police. Princeton University's Laurence Ralph and the Council on Criminal Justice's Thomas Abt join Deep Dish to explain why police brutality is not a uniquely American phenomenon and argue the strongest examples of successful police reform come from outside the United States.

COVID-19 has exacerbated our society's extreme inequality in access to healthcare, economic opportunity, education, and the rights that protect some but not others based on race. Economist Thomas Piketty joins Deep Dish to examine the ideas that drive persistent global inequality and the solutions he believes will produce a more equitable future.

Inspired by Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, Thailand's youth organized mass protests to demand reforms from the culturally revered monarchy. Political scientist Pavin Chachavalpongpun joins Deep Dish to explain how social media makes these protests different than past movements and why the United States should see Thailand as a foreign policy priority when negotiating a rising China.

Decades of political corruption and financial crisis in Lebanon came to a head in early August when an explosion decimated much of the country's economic hub, Beirut. Carnegie Middle East Center Director Maha Yahya and the International Institute for Strategic Studies' Emile Hokayem join Deep Dish to examine the ongoing protest movement, Hezbollah's role in the crisis, and how a system built on sectarian politics could be rebuilt.

This week, US intelligence released a report examining the threat of foreign influence in the 2020 presidential election from China, Russia, and Iran. The Alliance for Security Democracy's Laura Rosenberger and Stanford University's Jacob Helberg join Deep Dish to discuss digital interference, misinformation, and data privacy within the lens of geopolitics.

August 6 marks the 75th anniversary of the first time nuclear weapons were used in combat, when the United States bombed Hiroshima and later, Nagasaki. Former Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall and Stanford University's Scott Sagan join Deep Dish to examine nuclear weapons today and what Americans can do as arms control regimes falter, modernization programs move forward, and new technologies upend the logic we've relied on to deter the weapons' use.

This week, the Pentagon announced a plan to remove 12,000 troops from Germany, a key US ally, claiming the country was "delinquent" on defense spending. The Council on Foreign Relations' Mira Rapp-Hooper joins Deep Dish to explain why the alliance system is still essential for America's global leadership – but must be remade to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

The United States and China are locked in a tense global technology rivalry with significant geopolitical and national security implications. The Council on Foreign Relations' Adam Segal joins Deep Dish to explain the battles between China and the US over products like Huawei and TikTok, their role in US foreign policy, and why US allies are choosing sides.

Mali's mass political protests against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita escalated over the last few weeks, prompting the government to clash with protestors and dissolve the constitutional court. This week on Deep Dish, the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Judd Devermont and the Financial Times' Neil Munshi explain why Mali's instability is a threat to Africa's Sahel region — soon to be the West's largest conflict zone.

Israel's long-time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided not to annex the West Bank on July 1, at least for now. Former Netanyahu foreign policy advisor Jonathan Schachter and Brookings' Tamara Cofman Wittes join Deep Dish to examine the bigger story — how Israel's foreign policy has changed and the way the country's relationships will shape the future.

From the controversial 2016 Muslim ban to recent efforts to dismantle DACA, immigration has been a key issue for President Trump's administration — but the legacy of punishing immigrants extends throughout US history. Lawyer and author Alina Das joins Deep Dish to share the stories that give a face to decades of legislation criminalizing immigrants and what we can do to begin to fix the system.

A July 1 presidential referendum will determine if Russia's President Putin can remain in power until 2036. Investigative reporter Catherine Belton joins Deep Dish to examine the people that surround Russia's enigmatic leader – and the financial ties to the West that makes the Kremlin's dominance possible.

Brazil is poised to overtake the United States for most total COVID-19 infections and deaths globally — but far-right President Jair Bolsonaro is preoccupied with politics and discredits the pandemic's risk and response. The Igarapé Institute's Ilona Szabó and the Financial Times' Andres Schipani join Deep Dish to examine the implications of social, political, and economic turmoil in South America's largest economy.

The murder of George Floyd and the US government's reaction to national protests on racial injustice have raised concern over the demise of US global leadership. University of Wisconsin-Madison historian Brenda Gayle Plummer joins Deep Dish to examine what the United States must learn from our past in order to fix our foreign policy.

Ahead of the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, China's plan to implement a restrictive new national security law in Hong Kong prompted the United States to end decades of a special relationship with the city. Jamil Anderlini, the Financial Times' Asia editor, and Ambassador Kurt Tong, former US Consul General in Hong Kong, join Deep Dish to examine what this means for the US-China rivalry.

This week President Trump announced he wants all US troops out of Afghanistan by election day. But is that possible? And what does it mean? In this episode from October 2019, the University of Chicago's Robert Pape joins Deep Dish to help us understand the right—and wrong—ways to end the United States' longest war.

While the world is distracted by COVID-19, China has been ramping up its military actions in hotly contested waters – the South China Sea. The Center for Strategic and International Studies' Bonnie Glaser and Lieutenant Commander Matthew Dalton, US Navy, join Deep Dish to examine China's strategy and potential US policy options to ensure freedom of navigation remains intact.

Venezuelans face a global pandemic, a stalled economy, crippling oil shortages, and a potential famine. After a failed coup attempt, will President Maduro hold on to his power? The Inter-American Dialogue's Michael Camilleri and the International Crisis Group's Ivan Briscoe join Deep Dish to discuss.

Germany's effective, science-driven response to COVID-19 is a model for countries around the world. But as life returns to normal for many Germans this week, Chancellor Merkel says the country is still on the "thinnest of ice" in addressing the pandemic. The Wall Street Journal's Bojan Pancevski joins Deep Dish from Berlin to examine Germany's reopening strategy.

Tensions between the United States and Iran continue to simmer amid the coronavirus pandemic. Iran is blaming US sanctions for its lack of medical supplies and recently harassed US warships in the Gulf, while the United States is threatening to increase economic pressure with additional sanctions. Brookings' Suzanne Maloney and the German Marshall Fund's Ariane Tabatabai join Deep Dish to examine internal politics and the future of the US-Iran standoff.

As New Zealand prepares to emerge from a national lockdown on April 27, Axios' Rebecca Falconer joins Deep Dish from Auckland to explain the aggressive and effective national eradication strategy and how the government's actions might influence the general election in September.

Drawing from today's global crises and the patterns of American history, geopolitical forecaster George Friedman predicts the 2020s will be a decade of storm and strain for the United States, followed by a period of prosperity. He joins Deep Dish to examine the institutional and socioeconomic cycles of upheaval that have rebuilt and reinvented American life in the past and explains why he's still optimistic about the future.

In another special edition episode, we're taking you inside the global COVID-19 pandemic response by talking to Nikkei's Kiyoshi Ando, reporting from Tokyo. He joins Deep Dish a few days after the start of a national state of emergency to explain why Japan appeared to be a miracle success story but is currently seeing a spike in infections — complicated by an impending national travel holiday and a lack of protective medical equipment.

Over the weekend, OPEC+ finalized the biggest oil supply deal in history — drastically cutting production with the hopes of stabilizing plummeting prices as a result of COVID-19 shutdowns. Charlotte Howard, the Economist's New York bureau chief and energy and commodities editor, joins Deep Dish to explain the economic and political implications of the agreement and how it could affect the future of oil in the United States and beyond.

Through a series of special edition episodes, we're taking you inside the global COVID-19 pandemic response by talking to journalists on the ground. The New York Times' Steven Erlanger, reporting from Brussels, joins Deep Dish to examine how European nations are learning from the devastation in Italy and Spain — and what the pandemic might mean for European solidarity in the long-term.

While Europe has been struggling to contain COVID-19, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has used his country's emergency response to reduce checks on his power and make himself a de facto dictator. Princeton University's Kim Scheppele joins Deep Dish to explain why the failure of one democracy should matter to every democracy and examine whether Hungary could have ripple effects on other political systems in Europe and beyond.

Stock markets have plunged, economic output is falling, businesses are closed with some facing bankruptcy, and unemployment is soaring as a result of COVID-19. In a new episode of Deep Dish, former Bank of London governor Lord Mervyn King draws from lessons he learned during the 2008 financial crisis to discuss how to manage the current economic uncertainty.

Through a series of special edition Deep Dish episodes, we're taking you inside the global COVID-19 pandemic response by talking to journalists on the ground. We begin in South Korea, which ranked among the top ten countries for total cases at the time of recording. The Wall Street Journal's Dasl Yoon, reporting from Seoul, joins us to explain what other countries can learn from South Korea's innovative approaches to successfully flatten the curve of new infections – without shutting down the economy.

Countries across the globe are rushing to contain COVID-19 and "flatten the curve" – with mixed results. After months of shutdowns China is slowly reopening; India has initiated a national lockdown; leaders in Brazil and Mexico have dismissed the danger; and Italy and Spain report high death totals and lack medical supplies. POLITICO's Ryan Heath joins Deep Dish to explain the lessons the United States can learn from countries that are further ahead in the infection timeline.

While the political importance of the American Midwest in 2020 is clear, the region of 70 million people is all too often written off as an economic has-been and a cultural backwater. Shayndi Raice of the Wall Street Journal and John Austin of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs join Deep Dish to tell a different story, one of bright spots as well as blights in this region encompassing all or part of 12 US states.

Yemen's years-long war pits Iran-backed Houthis against a coalition of Saudi-led forces seeking to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government. The war has created not only a dire humanitarian crisis but also an opening for terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda. International Crisis Group's Daniel Schneiderman, who was NSC director for Yemen under presidents Obama and Trump, joins Deep Dish to explain the US role in the conflict.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Levant Affairs and Special Envoy for Syria Joel Rayburn joins Deep Dish to explain the Trump administration's plan in war-torn Syria, discussing everything from ISIS and the Assad regime to Russian and Iranian influence.

"The United States needs allies more than it ever has," says Mira Rapp-Hooper, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of the forthcoming book Shields of the Republic. On the latest Deep Dish, Rapp-Hooper joins Council President Ivo Daalder for a discussion about the state of US alliances at a moment when new concerns are flaring up from the Philippines and East Asia to Europe.

This week, soldiers with automatic weapons occupied El Salvador's legislature, demanding more funds to fight rampant criminal gangs. For years, violence and crime have led to poor living conditions in the country and mass emigration. Rosa Anaya, a Gus Hart Visiting Fellow at the Council, joins Deep Dish to discuss her groundbreaking work rehabilitating inmates and gang members in El Salvador with Catholic Relief Services' Second Chances.