Deep Dish on Global Affairs

There's no sign of a big deal soon in the US-China trade war, the US Congress has not yet passed the USMCA, and the World Trade Organization's appeals panel is in peril. But the US jobs market is booming, with 266,000 jobs added in November. The University of Chicago's Austan Goolsbee, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama, and The Economist's Soumaya Keynes join Deep Dish to discuss whether it's a moment for optimism or concern about the US economy.

A centerpiece of US strategy during the Trump administration has been the idea of the "Indo-Pacific," a massive single region stretching across both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. One of the goals in this strategy is to link up India with US allies in East Asia as a counterbalance to a rising China. But how does New Delhi see the situation? Sushant Singh, deputy editor of the Indian Express newspaper, joins the University of Chicago's Paul Staniland and the Council's Brian Hanson to discuss.

While Ukraine dominates US news this week due to the impeachment proceedings, Ukrainian President Zelensky and Russian President Putin are preparing for an upcoming meeting to find a peaceful resolution to the five-year conflict in eastern Ukraine. Melinda Haring of the Atlantic Council and Joanna Rohozinska of the National Endowment for Democracy join Deep Dish to discuss the latest in Europe.

This week, a case was filed in the International Court of Justice accusing Myanmar of having committed genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority. It is a far cry from where the country also known as Burma seemed to be a few years ago, when the long-ruling military junta opened the door for democratic elections. Historian Thant Myint-U, author of the new book The Hidden History of Burma, joins Deep Dish to discuss Burma's recent struggles with race, capitalism, and democracy, as well as the consequences for Southeast Asia.

Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple are massive companies, commanding so much of the market that they are now being called monopolies. Rana Foroohar, global business columnist for the Financial Times and author of the new book Don't Be Evil: How Big Tech Betrayed Its Founding Principles—and All of Us, joins Deep Dish to discuss how these data-fueled tech behemoths are disrupting the US economy and American politics.

The breakdown of fledgling democracies in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan, the return of authoritarian leaders, and the resurgence of protesters in the streets all suggest that democracy promotion is a failed project. But the United States still has an essential role to play in promoting democratic institutions abroad, argue Ambassador Derek Mitchell and Daniel Twining. The presidents of the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute join Deep Dish to explain why.

The US Congress has not approved a use of force since 2002, when it voted to invade Iraq. "Too many members of Congress are all too happy to abdicate their constitutional responsibility and allow the president to go it alone," explains Oona Hathaway, professor of International Law at Yale Law School. Hathaway joins Deep Dish to lay out a step-by-step plan for Congress to revive its war powers.

The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for his role in ending a 20-year military stalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea. In fact, the historic rapprochement is just one element of the young leader's ambitious, fast-moving reforms. Boston University's Michael Woldemariam and the Council's Ertharin Cousin join Deep Dish to discuss the strides so far and the steps ahead.

More than 1,200 days have passed since Britain's referendum to leave the European Union, but little has been decided in that time about how Brexit will actually take place. As the Oct. 31 deadline nears and Boris Johnson's government tries to negotiate a deal at the wire, the editor-in-chief of The Economist joins Deep Dish to explain how the United Kingdom fell into this predicament and what to expect next.

Monday, October 7, marks 18 years since the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom. Since 2001, more than 2,400 US military personnel have died in Afghanistan, yet the Taliban and other insurgents continue to launch attacks, hold terrain, and decimate the US-backed Afghan security forces. Robert A. Pape, professor of political science and the director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats at the University of Chicago, joins Deep Dish to discuss another way forward for America's longest war.

On October 1, the Chinese Communist Party marks 70 years in power. Much has changed since the founding of the People's Republic of China, but the legacy of its founder, the revolutionary Mao Zedong, still looms large today over Xi Jinping's leadership and Beijing's foreign policy. Julia Lovell, author of Maoism: A Global History, joins Deep Dish to discuss.

National security, alliances, immigration, and trade wars have already surfaced in debates and speeches by 2020 US presidential candidates. But how do the candidates' ideas match those of Americans overall? James M. Lindsay of the Council on Foreign Relations joins the Council's Dina Smeltz to discuss the findings of the newly released 2019 Chicago Council Survey on how Americans view US foreign policy.

Australia has long been a strong ally of the United States, but new challenges and opportunities, including the rise of China, confront the alliance in the 21st century. Ahead of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's visit to the United States and state dinner with President Donald Trump, Dr. Michael Fullilove, executive director of the Lowy Institute in Sydney, joins Deep Dish to delve into this important but often-overlooked relationship.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel will annex part of the Jordan Valley if he stays in power after elections next week. The decision comes as tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon and with Iran-backed militias in Syria flare up. The Jerusalem Post's Middle East affairs analyst Seth Frantzman and the Council's Cécile Shea join Deep Dish to discuss.

Flames raging across the Amazon have captured the world's attention, but Brazil faces other pressing economic, political, and conservation consequences due to deforestation as well. In all, the fires have revealed a stark division between increasingly urban populations and the rural areas that feed their modern way of life. Robert Muggah of the Igarapé Institute in Rio de Janeiro joins Deep Dish to discuss.

On September 1, two important state elections are being held in Germany's Brandenburg and Saxony. The far-right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) looks poised to win. On Deep Dish, Sheri Berman of Barnard College explains why the AfD has emerged as a formidable populist challenger to the two long-dominant parties in Germany, the social democrats and the Christian democrats.

Indonesia's massive, overcrowded capital is sinking due to climate change and depleted ground water. Now President Joko Widodo wants to move the capital and build an entirely new city. The decision comes just as Jokowi, as he is known, begins his second presidential term—and it's not the only challenge he faces. Tom Pepinsky of Cornell University and the Brookings Institution joins Deep Dish to discuss.

Last week, Narendra Modi's government revoked the constitutional provision that had long granted special autonomy to India-administered Kashmir. Bloomberg's Nisid Hajari, author of Midnight's Furies, and Paul Staniland of the University of Chicago join Deep Dish to discuss how the decision has once again torn open tensions between India and Pakistan—and what it means for the United States.

Last week, Tokyo decided to downgrade its trade relationship with Seoul following weeks of protests, boycotts, and sparing. While bad blood between the two US allies goes back decades, its reemergence today raises new questions about stability and security in the region—and all while US relations with China and North Korea worsen. Alexis Dudden of the University of Connecticut and the Council's Karl Friedhoff join Deep Dish to discuss.

Tunisia is the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring. Yet the death of its first democratically elected president last week has raised new questions about its future. The outcome matters not just to Tunisians, but also as a test case for democracy across North Africa and the Arab world. Sarah Yerkes of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Gordon Gray, the US ambassador to Tunisia from 2009 to 2012, join Deep Dish to discuss.

With the return of national populism to global politics, multilateral organizations such as the United Nations have come under renewed scrutiny. Yet the UN is much more than just colorful speeches from leaders each September in New York and vetoed resolutions in the Security Council. The Council's Catherine Bertini, a former executive director of the UN World Food Programme, and the Council's global governance fellow, Thomas Weiss, join Deep Dish to discuss the future of the UN and why the United States should lead its renewal.

US sanctions on Iran are shifting the strategic calculus for Tehran to retaliate, creating a situation reminiscent of the sequence in 1941 that led Imperial Japan to attack the US naval base in Hawaii, argues Robert Pape of the University of Chicago. Ellen Laipson of George Mason University, too, warns about the White House neglecting the risks of economic coercion when it fails. Both join this week's Deep Dish to discuss what is at stake with Iran.

More than a million people have demonstrated in Hong Kong over the last month, rallying against a proposed bill that would have allowed for the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China. Yet even now that the bill has been suspended, the protests show no sign of abating. Director of the Southeast Asia Project at the Lowy Institute Ben Bland joins Deep Dish to explain what is happening.

In a recent 90-minute interview with the Financial Times, President Vladimir Putin detailed his thoughts not only about Russia, but also about the United States, China, Europe, and the Middle East. Financial Times editor Lionel Barber, who conducted the interview, joins Council President Ivo Daalder and Deep Dish host Brian Hanson to discuss what the Russian president revealed about his worldview.

Sudan is careening towards a crisis. President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in April after three decades in power, yet heavily armed groups are now fighting in Sudan for control. At the same time, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, and the United States are each vying for influence. Andrew Natsios, director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at the Bush School at Texas A&M University and US envoy to Sudan during the George W. Bush administration, joins Deep Dish to explain what is going on and why it matters.

For each bold move abroad, from the Belt and Road Initiative to island building, China seems confronted with new vulnerabilities at home, including the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. Jessica Chen Weiss, author of an intriguing new essay in Foreign Affairs, and Ali Wyne of the Rand Corporation join Deep Dish to discuss what is intrinsic and what is incidental to Beijing's ambitions.

This week President Donald Trump touted a new agreement with Mexico to stem the flow of migrants into the United States. But Mexican officials claimed both sides were still evaluating the situation. Earl Anthony Wayne, a former US ambassador to Mexico, joins Deep Dish to discuss what can realistically be done about migrant flows.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is facing "the most severe crisis in the security environment in Europe since the end of the Cold War and perhaps ever," warn Douglas Lute and Nicholas Burns. The two former US ambassadors to NATO recently joined Deep Dish to explain why.

As cities grow in size and power, local governments are increasingly shaping their own diplomatic agendas independent from national governments. New York City's Commissioner for International Affairs Penny Abeywardena and Montréal's Director of International Relations Henri-Paul Normandin join Deep Dish to discuss the rise of city diplomacy.

The Trump administration raised tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum last year in the name of national security. Last week, President Trump ended the tariffs as a new trade agreement, the USMCA, moves forward. Bruce Heyman, a former US ambassador to Canada, and the Council's Phil Levy join Deep Dish to discuss what happened and where the relationship goes now.

The White House escalated warnings about a threat from Iran this week, Tehran warned it may resume enriching uranium at higher levels, and more US warships were sent to the Middle East. Michael Singh of the Washington Institute and Ariane Tabatabai of the RAND Corporation join Deep Dish to explain what's going on.

The spread of internet-connected smartphones in India is upending everything from jobs and marriage to politics and education. In 2000, only 20 million Indians had internet access. By 2020, more than 700 million will. Ravi Agrawal, author of India Connected, joins Deep Dish to explain how the smartphone is transforming the world's largest democracy.

Washington Post contributing editor and Council expert Daniel Drezner joins Deep Dish to discuss how trade disputes could spark World War III and why US grand strategy is more or less dead. His views on both could pretty accurately be described as "apocalyptic."

Artificial Intelligence is changing what it means to be human. From jobs and the economy to security and geopolitics, AI is rewriting human society in big ways that we are only just beginning to understand. Data scientist JT Kostman joins this week's Deep Dish podcast to explain.

Warming ties between Baghdad and Iran and souring ties between Washington and both raise the question: Did Iran come out as the real winner of the Iraq war? Ryan Crocker, who served as the US ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon, joins Deep Dish to discuss.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's long-dominant political party lost elections in Ankara and Istanbul last week. At the same time, a dispute between Washington and Ankara over Turkey buying a Russian missile system has hurt ties between the NATO allies. Steven A. Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations and Mustafa Akyol of the Cato Institute join Deep Dish to explain.

President Trump has signed an executive order to formally recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Ambassador Dennis Ross, who led the Israeli-Palestinian peace process for 12 years and served in senior political positions under Presidents Carter, Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, and Obama, joined this week's Deep Dish podcast to explain what this means.

The world is in for a shock. Global population is expected to peak and then decline this century, reshaping everything from economic growth and immigration to government spending. Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson, authors of the provocative new book Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline, join the Council's Brian Hanson and Dina Smeltz to discuss why it's happening and how nations can prepare for this radical shift.

Comic actor Volodymyr Zelensky, who has no political experience but has played the Ukrainian president on TV, is leading in the polls ahead of Ukraine's presidential election on March 31. Last weekend marked five years since Russia annexed Crimea, and fighting in eastern Ukraine, which has killed thousands, continues. Steven Pifer, former US ambassador to Ukraine, joins Deep Dish to explain what's going on.

In recent months, Somalia has seen a surge of airstrikes by the US military as part of an intensifying campaign against al Shabaab, an extremist group affiliated with al Qaeda. Bronwyn Bruton of the Atlantic Council and Paul D. Williams of George Washington University join Deep Dish this week to explain what the United States is doing in Somalia and why al Shabaab is a target.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces corruption charges ahead of Israel's election and the subsequent rollout of President Trump's Mideast peace plan. Douglas J. Feith, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in the George W. Bush administration, and Aaron David Miller, a twenty-year analyst, negotiator, and adviser on Middle Eastern issues at the Department of State, join Deep Dish this week to discuss the future of US-Israel relations.

Bad blood between India and Pakistan goes back decades, but tensions have escalated in recent days after a suicide bomber from a Pakistan-based militant group killed Indian paramilitary troops in Kashmir. Former US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution explain what you need to know about the ongoing crisis between two nuclear powers on this week's Deep Dish podcast.

The 91st Academy Awards take place on Sunday in Los Angeles, but international markets, led by China, have eclipsed the domestic market in importance for the US movie industry, rewriting the rules about what kinds of films get made. On this week's Deep Dish podcast, Lynda Obst, producer of Sleepless in Seattle, Contact, Interstellar, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Orville Schell of the Asia Society join Brian Hanson to discuss how China is changing the US box office.

For thirteen straight weeks, demonstrators in high-visibility vests have taken to the streets in Paris and in cities around France. Government buildings have been attacked, shops looted, and cars set ablaze. On this week's Deep Dish podcast, Sophie Pedder of The Economist and Benjamin Haddad of the Atlantic Council explain what the political demonstrations mean for French President Emmanuel Macron, for France, and for Europe.

The chief of naval operations recently visited the Council and spoke with Deep Dish host Brain Hanson about China's growing global ambitions and Russia's troublesome actions in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic. Richardson also explained what the US Navy needs now to retain its supremacy in the years ahead.

Venezuela has two claimants to power: Juan Guaidó and Nicolás Maduro. Western countries back Guaidó, Putin and China favor Maduro, and the people of Venezuela are looking for a way out of their country's rolling economic disaster. Latin America expert Peter Schechter and veteran diplomate Cécile Shea join this week's Deep Dish to discuss.

China announced its economic growth had slowed to its lowest annual rate since 1990. At the same time, Beijing and Washington remain locked in a trade war that shows no sign of resolution. Global economics expert Phil Levy joins this week's Deep Dish podcast to explain what's going on, and how lessons from the US shutdown might help explain what will happen next.

As the Trump administration prepares to withdraw from Syria, former US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford and Tamara Cofman Wittes, former deputy assistant secretary of state for near East Affairs, join this week's Deep Dish podcast to dissect the withdrawal's implications for US-Syria policy.

A president's ability to enact their vision is not absolute. It is constrained by international laws and by the willingness of allies and partners to go along with what the White House wants. On this week's Deep Dish, Harold Hongju Koh, former Legal Adviser at the US State Department, joins Council President Ivo Daalder and Brian Hanson to discuss Koh's new book The Trump Administration and International Law.

The massive Marriott records breach was the latest in a series of economic espionage cases attributed to China. Top cybersecurity experts Lesley Carhart and Adam Segal join this week's Deep Dish podcast to discuss the evolving tactical and policy challenges involved in managing international cyber space.