Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous region in the south caucuses that is claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Since 1994, the sides have been locked in stalemate, with periodic fighting. Now, the worst fighting in decades has erupted. In a matter of days, this has become a major international crisis with big geopolitical implications. Olesya Vartanyan is a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, working in the South Caucuses. I caught up with her from Tblisi, Georgia. We kick off discussing the history of conflict in this region, before she gives her analysis of why such intense conflict is erupting right now. We also discuss the broader regional and geopolitical implications of this fighting.

In rural Ethiopia women are more likely than men to collect firewood and cook over stoves that emit harmful smoke. Meanwhile, men are more likely than women to control how household income is spent. Accordingly, men are less likely than women to purchase improved cooking stoves that emit fewer pollutants while cooking. This is the case in rural Ethiopia and also across rural communities throughout much of the developing world. Dr. Sied Hassan, sought to dig deeper into this phenomenon. He designed an inventive field experiment to uncover the willingness of men versus the willingness of women to pay for an improved cookstove. Dr. Sied Hassan is a research fellow at Ethiopian Policy Studies institute, a think tank in Ethiopia. He discusses his experiment and the very big policy implications of his findings. We also discuss a related experiment in which he tested various methods to increase the willingness of rural households to pay for solar lighting. Today's episode is part of series of episodes that showcase the research and work of the Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative. SETI is an interdisciplinary global collaborative that aims to foster research on energy access and energy transitions in low and middle-income countries. Currently, SETI is housed at Duke University, where it is led by Professors Subhrendu Pattanayak and Marc Jeuland. To learn more about SETI, follow them on Twitter @SETIenergy.

This episode was taped live in front of a virtual audience and featured four panelists discussing the intersection of climate and security in Colombia. The experts and policymakers featured in this conversation bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives on the links between climate variability and security in an historically conflict-prone country. This episode is part of a series of episodes examining the relationship between climate and security, produced in partnership with CGIAR, the world's largest global agricultural innovation network. Panelists include: Governor Luis Fernando Suarez, is acting governor of the Antioquia department, Former Secretary of Government during several periods and a key player in the efforts city and regional governments deployed since the 90's to counter different waves of political and criminal violence in the Department. Angelika Rettberg, professor of Political Science at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. She was part of the government delegation that tried to negotiate with the ELN, which is one of the older insurgent groups that has not signed a peace agreement with the government. Frank Pearl, former Minister of Environment of Colombia, the High Presidential Commissioner for Reintegration, and Senior Lead Peace negotiator during the peace talks between the Colombian Government and the FARC, which lead to the Peace agreement of 2016. He was also chief negotiator with the ELN Juan Lucas Restrepo, Director General of the Alliance between Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture with CGIAR

On Monday, September 21 the United Nations officially commemorated its 75th anniversary. The centerpiece of this commemoration is a declaration from all 193 member states of the United Nations that reaffirming their commitment to international cooperation to advance peace and security, human rights and development. The 75th anniversary of the UN provides a good opportunity to reflect on the changing role of the United Nations and of multilateralism more broadly in international relations. On the line with me to discuss these questions and more is Ambassador Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation. We kick off discussing the significance of the UN 75 Declaration before having a broader conversation about the role of the United Nations and multilateralism in international relations today. The UN 75 Declaration

It will be a United Nations General Assembly like no other. Typically this is the time of year where world leaders gather in New York to deliver speeches at the UN and participate in all manner of diplomatic events at the United Nations. But this year UNGA goes virtual. UNGA Week is always a highlight of the diplomatic calendar, though of course it will look much different this year. A great number of heads of state and world leaders are delivering video-messages, with the exception of Donald Trump who has said he would like to deliver his address in person. On the line with me to preview some of the storylines for this most unusual UNGA is Richard Gowan, the UN Director of the International Crisis Group. Related Links: Crisis Group report on "Snap Back" Sanctions on Iran. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches Now on Amazon Music!

On August 27th Paul Rusesabagina flew from his home in Texas to Dubai. Three days later, he mysteriously appeared in Kigali, Rwanda, where authorities proudly proclaimed his arrest. He would not be the first person whom the Rwandan government has targeted this way -- but he is arguably the highest profile. Paul Rusesabagina was the manager of a high-end hotel in Kigali, Rwanda as the genocide unfolded. His heroism was dramatized in the film Hotel Rwanda. On the line with me to discuss this situation is Lewis Mudge, the Central Africa Director of Human Rights Watch. We discuss how this government action against Rusesabagina's fits into larger patterns of how the regime of Paul Kagame has targeted dissidents abroad. https://www.undispatch.com/category/podcast/ https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches

The Sahel region of Africa is one of the regions of the world that is worst impacted by climate change. It is also a region beset by instability, insecurity and conflict. This episode, which was taped live in front of a virtual audience, examines the relationship between climate and security in a discussion featuring five panelists. This episode is part of a series of episodes examining the relationship between climate and security, produced in partnership with CGIAR, the world's largest global agricultural innovation network. This episode was taped live in front of a virtual audience and featured five panelists discussing the intersection of climate and security in the Sahel region of Africa. https://climatesecurity.cgiar.org

When a COVID-19 Vaccine is available, most of the world will have access to it thanks to a unique platform for international cooperation called The COVAX Facility. The COVAX Facility is a platform for pooled investments in the development, manufacture and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. At time of recording, 172 countries have entered into an initial agreement with COVAX, representing about 70% of the world's population. The goal of the COVAX Facility is to provide 2 billion doses of a vaccine to cover 20% of the population of all participating countries by the end of 2021. GAVI--The Vaccine Alliance administers COVAX and on the line with me today to explain how COVAX works is the Managing Director for Country Programs at GAVI Thabani Maphosa https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches http://undispatch.com/

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, or the GERD, is a major hydroelectric project that is being built on the Blue Nile river near the border with Sudan. The dam promises to bring a much needed source of electricity to the people of Ethiopia. But the dam sits on what is the main tributary to the Nile River. Egypt, which is downstream from Ethiopia, has been vehemently opposed to its construction. Egypt contends that the dam will restrict water flow and undermine its rights to the Nile waters. Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan are now locked in a fight over water and who gets to benefit from the Nile River. On the line with me to explain the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is Mekdelawit Messay, an independent water science researcher based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Today's episode is supported in part from a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to showcase African voices in peace and security issues. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches https://www.undispatch.com/category/podcast/

When a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, chances are that the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will have played a big role in bringing it into the world. CEPI is a partnership between governments, philanthropies and civil society organizations to support the development of vaccines and medicines for infectious diseases that have the potential to become pandemics. When COVID-19 emerged, CEPI made early investments in vaccine research and development and in building infrastructure around the mass production of a vaccine. In this episode, the CEO of CEPI Richard Hatchett explains how this platform for international cooperation is supporting the development of a COVID-19 Vaccine that will be made available worldwide as a public good. This episode is Part 1 of of a series examining how international cooperation and "vaccine multilateralism" is accelerating an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches https://www.undispatch.com/category/podcast/

The Central African Republic is near the bottom of every major economic or development indicator. Out of 189 countries ranked in the UN Development Program's Human Development Index, the Central African Republic is second to last. When it comes to life expectancy at birth, the country ranks dead-last. It is also a country that is emerging from civil war. Despite these challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic is not raging out of control in CAR. This is in large part due to the work of the World Health Organization, UN Peacekeeping, the Government of CAR -- and specifically Dr. Marie Roseline Belizaire. She is a Haitian epidemiologist with the World Health Organization who was deployed to the Central African Republic early in the pandemic to assist the country with COVID -19 preparedness and response plan. We kick off discussing how her work fighting ebola across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo has informed her response to COVID in the Central African Republic. We then discuss some of the strategies she developed in partnership with the government and the UN peacekeeping mission which has helped to contain the spread of COVID in the Central African Republic.

Joe Biden formally accepts the Democratic party's nomination for US President this week at the Democratic National Convention. The convention is always a key moment in the presidential election calendar so I thought this would be a good opportunity to have a discussion about what a Joe Biden administration's foreign policy agenda would look like? And whether or not there is something that could be credibly called a "Biden Doctrine?" Other than Joe Biden himself, Steve Clemons is the perfect person to discuss this question -- not least of which is because in August 2016, he wrote an article for the Atlantic called "The Biden Doctrine." Steve Clemons is the Editor at Large for The Hill, which is a media outlet that focuses on Congressional affairs. He has also had a career in which he has straddled journalism and insider foreign policy circles, which gives him a unique perspective as a foreign policy analyst. If you're interested in hearing more about topical global issues, check out Rising to Respond… a podcast that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes for humanitarians to fight COVID-19 around the world. Brought to you by World Vision. They're covering stories you're not seeing in the news. Hear from global leaders, frontline workers and children about the realities they're facing during this global pandemic. You can find Rising to Respond on your favorite podcast player https://undispatch.com https://patreon.com/globaldispatches https://www.wvi.org/risingtorespond

Belarus is sometimes referred to as Europe's last dictatorship. Since 1994 it has been ruled by just one man -- Alexander Lukashenko, and he has ruled the country with an iron fist. In early August Belarusians went to the polls for presidential elections in which Lukashenko was declared the winner by a wide margin. Belarusians, however, did not accept the results and took to the streets in record numbers. Government forces cracked down hard and the main opposition candidate was apparently detained and then removed from the country. Belarus is bordered on one side by Russia and the other by the European Union. The fate of Lukashenko is of profound importance to Russia and Europe -- and increasingly the United States. On the line to provide some context for understanding these recent events in Belarus is Stephen Nix. He is the regional director for Eurasia at the International Republican Institute and a longtime policy hand focusing on former Soviet Republics

China is the world's largest consumer of coal, though in recent years the government has sought to reduce the country's reliance on coal for energy. This includes transitioning away from coal for home heating. In 2014, the government launched what is known as the household heating energy transition program. This program sought to replace household coal heating units with electricity, natural gas, or cleaner burning coal. Like many Chinese infrastructure projects it was a massive undertaking. It was also directed by the government, top down, and mandatory for homes that used dirty burning coal. My guest today, Lunyu Xie is Associate Professor at the School of Applied Economics, Renmin University of China. She conducted a unique cost-benefit study of this program that analyzed both the effectiveness of the household heating energy transition program. Dirty burning coal from home heating units is a major pollutant, particularly in northern China that both causes significant harm to individual health and also contributes to climate change. What makes Lunyu Xie's study so significant is that she uses data from household surveys to see how this major government program benefits end users--or not. Today's episode is part of series of episodes that showcase the research and work of the Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative. SETI is an interdisciplinary global collaborative that aims to foster research on energy access and energy transitions in low and middle-income countries. Currently, SETI is housed at Duke University, where it is led by Professors Subhrendu Pattanayak and Marc Jeuland. To learn more about SETI, follow them on Twitter @SETIenergy.

The story of a leaky oil tanker stranded off the coast of Yemen is, in part, the story of the country's civil war. There are about a million gallons of oil stored in this tanker, which has not been operational since 2015. That is when Yemen's civil war escalated into an international conflict pitting Houthi rebels who overthrew the government against an international coalition lead by Saudi Arabia. Since then, the condition of this old oil tanker has deteriorated and is threatening to cause what would be the world's worst-ever oil spill, causing immense environmental, economic and humanitarian damage throughout the Red Sea. The Houthi rebels control access to this tanker and so far, they have not permitted UN experts or an international team to inspect the tanker, nor take steps to safely remove the oil from it. On the line to discuss is Gerry Simpson, Associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch. He has been following the situation with the tanker closely and We kick off discussing the history of this tanker before having a broader conversation about the possible damage that a leak may inflict and its broader relationship to the conflict in Yemen. The situation with the tanker is something that has been on the radar of the UN Security Council, and even US Congress. The damage from an oil spill would be at a scale that is hard to comprehend. It's a crisis waiting to happen and so far there has been very little progress in securing the tanker. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches

Mali is in the midst of its worst political crisis in years. Since June, protesters have gathered in the streets of the capital city of Bamako demanding the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. On top of this, a conflict in the northern part of the country, to which the UN has deployed a large peacekeeping mission, is continuing to drive instability throughout the country. My guest, Dr. Amadou Bocoum, is the Mali Director for the NGO Search for Common Ground and I caught up with him from Bamako, the capital city which is in the South. In our conversation, Amadou Bocoum describes how these protests were sparked by a court decision to annul the results of parliamentary elections. But as he explains, the discontent that is driving these protests runs much deeper. This is a useful conversation about a crisis that is very much unfolding at the present time -- and is one that is of profound regional and international significance. Today's episode is supported in part from a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to showcase African voices in peace and security issues.

Billions of dollars are spent each year on foreign aid and global development. In the past, the exact amount of aid that is being spent, where is it is being spent, by whom it is being spent--and to what end is the aid serving has been very difficult for outsiders to parse. But that has been changing in recent years. Aid agencies in government and multi-lateral institutions like the World Bank and the United Nations are becoming increasingly transparent -- not least because they have been spurred to do so by my guest today, Gary Forster. He is the executive director of Publish What You Fund -- the global campaign for aid and development transparency. The organization publishes an annual index of 47 aid agencies from the public sector and private philanthropy which assess how open each entity is in regards to its operations. In our conversation, Gary Forster explains why transparency in aid is so important and identifies some of entities that rank highest and lowest on the aid transparency index. The data compiled by Publish What You Fund also offers a very good birds-eye view of aid and development spending, so we also discuss some of the broad trends that he has seen in recent years among donors. This includes the impact of COVID-19 on foreign aid and development assistance.

Rais Bhuiyan has an absolutely incredible and very moving story. In the days after the September 11th attacks in the United States, Bhuiyan -- an immigrant to the US from Bangladesh -- was working behind the counter at a gas station in Texas when he was shot in the face by a white supremacist who was on a killing spree and looking for foreigners to murder. After surviving the attack, Bhuiyan embarked on an improbable journey of peace and reconciliation, seeking to prevent his attacker from the death penalty. He is the founder of the NGO World Without Hate and this episode was recorded in 2014. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches

As the Coronavirus Pandemic tore through the world this spring, it resulted in sharply lower demand for oil, driving down prices. Added to this, Russia and Saudi Arabia got into an oil price war that brought the price of oil to near historic low levels. Needless to say, the low price of oil has deeply impacted countries in the region who rely on oil wealth. This includes not only oil-rich gulf countries, but also governments and other groups that rely on aid derived from oil largesse. My guest today, Mohammed Soliman is a Non-Resident Scholar with the Middle East Institute and a member of the McLarty Associates MENA Practice. We kick off discussing how wealthy Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar used their oil wealth in the wake of the Arab Spring to shore up domestic stability and pursue their regional foreign policy goals. We then have an extended conversation about the ways in which COVID-19 and slumping oil prices are shaking up the foundations of the geopolitics of the Middle East. This episode was recorded as a live taping of the podcast, produced in partnership with Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, YPFP. https://www.undispatch.com/

Since the Kosovo War of 1999, the status of Kosovo as a country independent of Serbia has not been resolved. Many countries, including the United States and most of Europe, recognize Kosovo as an independent country. But others do not--including Russia, which has blocked Kosovo's aspirations to join the United Nations. This has been the status quo for many years. But in recent months there has been some renewed momentum in diplomacy intended to find an agreement that would satisfy both Serbia and Kosovo and lead to Kosovo's formal independence. To that end, on June 24th, The president of Kosovo set off for Washington, D.C. for high level talks at the White House. But mid-air, the flight turned around when a special court unsealed an indictment against him for war crimes committed decades ago during the war. This indictment is the latest wrinkle in the long effort to secure an international agreement over Kosovo's status. Another key issue is ongoing protests in Serbia and that country's ongoing democratic backsliding. On the line with me to explain the significance of these recent events in the Balkans is Jasmin Mujanović . He is a limited term professor of political science and policy studies at Elon University and host of the Sarejevo calling podcast. We kick off with discussing the Kosovo-Serbia talks and then have a conversation about the implications of rising authoritarianism in Serbia

Chile is one of the most air polluted countries in the world. This is partly a matter of geography -- many cities are in valleys that trap pollution. But it is also the consequence of how many Chileans heat their homes. Wood burning home heat stoves are very common in much of Chile, and these stoves burn dirty and emit harmful pollution. My guest today, Carlos Chavez, is professor of economics at the School of Business and Economics at Universdad de Talca in Central Chile. His research has focused on the use of wood burning heating stoves in chile and government policies that could reduce the prevalence of wood burning stoves and improve air quality. In our conversation we discuss why so many people in Chile heat their homes this way and how he was able to create a research project that suggests some effective policy remedies. Chile is a higher income country, yet the way that many households create energy by burning wood is something far more common in poorer countries -- it is generally not associated with countries at Chile's level of wealth. This makes Chile an interesting case study that I am glad to bring you today. This episode is part of a series of episodes that showcase the research and work of the Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative. SETI is an interdisciplinary global collaborative that aims to foster research on energy access and energy transitions in low and middle-income countries. Currently, SETI is housed at Duke University, where it is led by Professors Subhrendu Pattanayak and Marc Jeuland. To learn more about SETI, follow them on Twitter @SETIenergy.

In recent years, as China has become more powerful on the world stage, the Chinese Communist Party has sought to erode Hong Kong's political independence. In fact, on June 30th, the Chinese government passed a so-called National Security Law that criminalized free speech and political activity in Hong Kong. Additionally, last year at this time there were massive peaceful protests against a law that Beijing sought to impose on Hong Kong that would permit the extradition of people from Hong Kong to China. In the year since, police and pro-Beijing authorities have cracked down on protests. And now, with this fully new law, people are being arrested for the signs they are waving. "This law," says my guest Victoria Tin-Bor Hui, "means the One China, Two Systems model is dead." Victoria Tin-Bor Hui is an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. We discuss the content of the new National Security Law before having a broader conversation about its political and social implications of this new era for Hong Kong. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches https://www.undispatch.com/

This episode is part three of a six-part series examining the relationship between climate and security, produced in partnership with CGIAR, the world's largest global agricultural innovation network. This episode was taped live in front of a virtual audience and featured five panelists discussing how sustainable finance can support peace and climate security. In the context of our conversation, sustainable finance is something of an umbrella term for harnessing private sector capital in the service of social and environmental goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals. The conversation that unfolds over the course of about 50 minutes includes examples of innovative financial products, a discussion of the role of traditional development aid, and a broad conversation about what else needs to be done to scale up private sector investment in climate security. https://climatesecurity.cgiar.org

Burundi's longtime ruler Pierre Nkurunziza died suddenly on June 8th, quite possibly from COVID-19. Nkurunziza has been president of Burundi since 2005, and in recent years his rule became firmly authoritarian. His death sent shockwaves across Africa and the world On the line with me today is Yolande Bouka, a professor of political studies at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. We discuss the legacy of Pierre Nkurunziza and what this chaotic moment means for Burundi and the surrounding region. We kick off discussing the circumstances surrounding Nkurunziza's death. We then discuss his fraught time in power, including a key moment in 2015, when he engineered for himself a constitutionally dubious third term in office and survived a coup attempt. The conflict surrounding that episode lead to the displacement of 400,000 people -- the impact of which is being felt across the region today. We also discuss the background of the new president of Burundi, Évariste Ndayishimiye and what his rule may bring for the country. https://www.undispatch.com/

Today's episode is part three of a three-part series that gives you an inside look at how the United Nations is commemorating its 75th anniversary this year. This episode includes a 15-minute interview with Kate Dodson, Vice President for Global Health at the United Nations Foundation. We of course discuss the COVID-19 pandemic -- specifically how the World Health Organization and other United Nations entities are responding. We also discuss what reforms might make the WHO more effective at responding to future global health emergencies. After that interview concludes, the consultation begins. And for the podcast, I edited this down to include some of the questions and answers discussed. A big thank you to the UNA-USA for partnering with the podcast around these consultations. (Part one and part two of the series.)

On June 26, 1945, after months of negotiations in the city of San Francisco, representatives from 50 countries signed the Charter of the United Nations. In October that year, after the requisite number of countries ratified the charter, the United Nations was born. To mark the 75th anniversary of the signing of treaty that created the United Nations, I am re-leasing a conversation I had with author Stephen Schlesinger who wrote the definitive book about the 1945 San Francisco Conference, Act of Creation. Stephen Schlesinger and I recorded this conversation exactly five years ago, when the UN turned 70. We discuss the history of the UN Charter and the post war diplomatic intrigue that lead to its signing.

Mary Fitzgerald a researcher specializing in Libya. When we last spoke, the Libyan conflict was intensifying very rapidly. For months, a renegade general named Khalifa Haftar had been attacking Tripoli, the seat of the UN-backed government. That assault was locked in a stalemate until Russia increased its support of Haftar's forces, seemingly turning the tide. But then, Turkey announced that it was going to ramp up its support for the Tripoli government, setting the stage for a proxy war between Russia and Turkey -- among others. That was the state of play as we entered 2020. Then, in June, forces backed by Turkey finally ended Haftar's offensive on Tripoli. Haftar's forces are now on the retreat. This dramatic turn of events in a civil war has profound international implications. In addition to Russia, the UAE, Egypt, and France have given political or military backing to Haftar, at least until now. Meanwhile, the position of the United States has not been consistent, at times seemingly encouraging Haftar and backing a UN-peace process. I am glad to have Mary Fitzgerald back on the show to discuss these latest events in Libya and their broader international impact.

This episode is part two of a six-part series examining the relationship between climate and security. I moderated this session with Grazia Pacillo of CGIAR, the world's largest global agricultural innovation network. Today we had four panelists from diverse fields grapple with how data and technology can be put to better use in the service of peacebuilding, resilience, and other aspects of climate security. Panelists: Elisabeth Gilmore, Associate Professor in the Environmental Science and Policy Program in the Department of International Development, Community, and Environment at Clark University. She is also a Senior Associate Researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo PRIO and Visiting Scientist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development COMOD Andy Jarvis, Associate Director General, Research Strategy and Innovation, The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT Enrica Pocari, Chief Innovation Officer and Director of Technology at the UN World Food Programme Maarten van Aalst, Director of the International Federation of the Red Cross Climate Center https://climatesecurity.cgiar.org/ https://www.undispatch.com/

The Black Lives Matter movement has spread quickly around the world. Over the last several weeks, there have been BLM demonstrations in nearly every major city in Europe. Tens of thousands of people showed up for protests in Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, and London, just to name a few. There were also many protests across Latin America, Australia--even Asian cities like Seoul and Tokyo saw Black Lives Matter protests. So how did the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota spark an anti-racism and civil rights movement that extends far beyond the United States? My guest today, Dominique Day, is in a unique position to analyze that question. She is an American who serves as vice-chair of the "Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent," a UN human rights entity that monitors anti-black racism around the world. We kick off with a discussion of how the Working Group operates and how anti-black racism manifests itself differently around the world. We then have a broader conversation about what is motivating the Black Lives Matter movement outside the United States. https://www.undispatch.com/

Today's episode is part two of a three part series that gives you an inside look at how the United Nations is commemorating its 75th anniversary this year. Rather than holding a big party or jubilee, the UN is instead embarking on a listening tour. The UN is seeking feedback from as many people in as many communities as possible, all around three big questions: What Kind of World do We Want to Create? Are We on Track? And What is Needed to Bridge the Gap? Here in the United States, the United Nations Association is hosting what are called global consultations around these questions. They are gathering groups to solicit input that will be relayed to leadership at the United Nations ahead of a major meeting in September to mark the UN's anniversary. In part one of this series, I moderated a global consultation that discussed those big questions, but using the lens of gender equality. In today's episode, I moderate a consultation about climate change and the environment. This episode kicks off with my 15 minutes interview of Julie Cerqueira who is the Executive Director of the U.S. Climate Alliance, which is a coalition of US states committed to climate action. That conversation focuses on the Paris agreement and specifically what sub-national groups, like individual states, can do to advance the climate change agenda in the face of inaction at the federal level. After that interview concludes, the consultation begins. And for the podcast, I edited this down to include some of the questions and answers discussed. A big thank you to the UNA-USA for partnering with the podcast around these consultations. https://www.undispatch.com/

In late May a confrontation between Indian and Chinese soldiers in a remote border region of the Himalayas descended into what appears to be a massive fistfight. Most accounts describe a giant brawl between as many as 100 soldiers with no shots fired and no deaths. But soon after the fight, India and China mobilized heavy guns and artillery to the region threatening a major escalation of hostilities between two regional heavyweights. Since then, tensions seemed to have eased between the two countries. Still, this incident underscores the very tense relationship between India and China and the very tenuous situation concerning India and China's border. On the line to explain this mini-crisis between India and China is Michael Kugelman. He is the senior associate for South Asia and Asia program deputy director at the Woodrow Wilson Center. We kick off discussing what exactly happened in Ladakh, the border region where the fight occurred. We then have a conversation about what this incident says about India, China, and the relationship between the two. UPDATE: At least twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the confrontation. https://www.undispatch.com/

The podcast has partnered with CGIAR, the world's largest global agricultural innovation network, around a series of live tapings on the topic of climate security. For today's episode, we are examining the link between food security, climate and conflict. My guests include a leading food systems scientist, Dr. Sonja Vermeulen, Director of Programs, CGIAR System Organization and Dan Smith, the director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI. The episode was taped on June 4th. We unpack some of the linkages between climate, climate change, food systems science, conflict and peace building. This is clearly a very big topic, but not one you see often discussed in key policy making circles. The idea behind this conversation was to identify some aspects of that relationship that demand further study by researchers and attention from policymakers. I'll be hosting a total of six of these live tapings in partnership with CGIAR over the next several months. The next will be on June 18th. Register for future events in the climate security series

In the Caribbean, where many country's depend on tourism to sustain their economy, COVID-19 is exacting a particularly heavy toll. Millions of people are out of work, and governments that were already deeply in debt are now in even deeper economic and budgetary distress. My guest today, Geneive Brown Metzger, is the former Consul General of Jamaica in New York. She is also President of the American Caribbean Maritime Foundation. And she is the host of the new Caribbean affairs podcast, Diplomatically Speaking. In our conversation, she explains how COVID-19 is impacting the Caribbean. This includes not only the domestic affairs of the various countries in the region, but also foreign policy. In particular, Geneive Brown Metzger explains how China is using this moment to advance its interests in the Caribbean -- at a time when the United States under the Trump administration has been generally neglectful of the region. www.diplomaticallyspeaking.com. https://www.undispatch.com/

Barbara Saitta is a nurse with Doctors without Borders who specializes in vaccination campaigns, primarily in poorer countries. She tells me that because of supply chain interruptions, a number of countries are running out of routine childhood vaccines. This includes vaccines for measles, polio, and the all-important pentavalent vaccine that protects against five common diseases. What is so alarming about the interruption of routine childhood vaccines is that there is a direct correlation between mass immunization and avoiding mass death. We kick off with a discussion of how vaccine campaigns generally operate in a developing country with poor infrastructure, before having a broader conversation about the impact of COVID-19 on routine childhood immunizations. https://www.undispatch.com/ https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches

Just over 52% of households in Rwanda have access to some form of electricity. This access is not evenly distributed across Rwanda. In rural communities, where most Rwandans live, energy access rates are far lower. Furthermore, the country's geography severely limits the reach of Rwanda's electric grids. This means Rwandans are increasingly turning to off-grid energy solutions, namely solar power. My guest today, Rebecca Klege, is a Ghanian economist whose research focuses on the intersection of clean energy access and female entrepreneurship. She is a researcher at Environmental Research Policy Unit who is completing her PHD studies at the School of Economics, University of Cape Town in South Africa. What makes Rebecca Klege's work so unique is that she flips a common study question on its head. Rather than asking how energy access empowers women, she examines how empowered women can promote energy access, and whether or not they do a better job of it than men. At the center of her research is a for-profit social enterprise called Nuru Energy. This company provides re-chargeable solar lighting to village level entrepreneurs, who then sell the lighting to others in their community. Using sales data from Nuru Energy, Rebecca Klege was able to compare the effectiveness of female salespeople versus their male counterparts. She finds that female entrepreneurs of this solar energy product are significantly more successful than male entrepreneurs. There are broad implications of this finding, which touches on questions around sustainable development, clean energy access, and women's empowerment. These questions and more are being put to the test in an on-going randomized control which Rebecca Klege also discusses in this episode. And on a very similar note, I want to draw listeners attention to a recently concluded Virtual Workshop on Gender & Energy Access, hosted by Duke University and featuring 200 practitioner-scholars from over 30 countries. You can find a link to that workshop and white paper on globaldispatchespodcast.com. Today's episode is the third installment in a series of episodes that will be published over the next few months that showcase the research and work of the Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative. SETI is an interdisciplinary global collaborative that aims to foster research on energy access and energy transitions in low and middle-income countries. Currently, SETI is housed at Duke University, where it is led by Professors Subhrendu Pattanayak and Marc Jeuland. To learn more about SETI, follow them on Twitter @SETIenergy.

My guest today, Dr. Mosoka P Fallah is helping to lead Liberia's fight against COVID-19. He is an infectious disease and public health expert and is the Director General National Public Health Institute of Liberia. Dr. Fallah was a key player in Liberia's successful suppression of Ebola in 2014, for which he was named as one of Time Magazine's Persons of the Year. I mention this because, as Dr. Fallah explains, Liberia's experience with Ebola is very much informative of how both government and society approach COVID-19. I kick off by asking him about the role of regional cooperation in the fight against COVID-19 before we dive into the situation in Liberia. Today's episode is supported in part from a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to showcase African voices in peace and security issues. To view other episodes in this series, please visit GlobalDispatchesPodcast.com https://www.undispatch.com/

My guest, David Kaye, is the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression. He has held this position for the last three years, which has given him a unique vantage point--and unique platform--to monitor trends in the suppression of free speech. Today we discuss a new report to the UN Human Rights Council. In this report, David Kaye identifies and explains the ways in which governments and other entities have used the coronavirus pandemic to crack down on freedom of expression, independent media, and access to information. Among other things, this includes invoking laws to punish "fake news," and broad internet shutdowns. https://www.undispatch.com/

The United Nations turns 75 this year. But rather than have a diamond jubilee, the UN is instead embarking on a listening tour. The UN is seeking feedback from as many people in as many communities as possible, all around three big questions: What Kind of World do We Want to Create? Are We on Track? And What is Needed to Bridge the Gap? In today's interview, I talk to Michelle Milford Morse, who is the UN Foundation's Vice President for Girls and Women Strategy. She explains the significance of a 1995 UN meeting on women and gender equality which resulted in a key document called the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. We discuss progress and the lack there of on gender equality since that meeting, including how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting gender equality. Then, after speaking with her for about 15 minutes, the consultation begins. This involved the audience answering a series of about 10 questions on the future of gender equality. https://www.undispatch.com/

Lebanon is in the midst of an economic free fall, the degree to which is jaw dropping. Inflation is out of control, commodities are hard to come by, and its currency is devaluing at a rapid clip. This all was happening months before the coronavirus pandemic. Now, in the midst of the pandemic, a deteriorating economic situation is poised to turn into a major political and social crisis. This is arguably the worst crisis since Lebanon emerged from a 15 year civil war in 1990. The government of Lebanon signaled that it would seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. But IMF loans come with conditions and as my guest today Maha Yahya explains, it is entirely unclear right now whether or not the government would be able to accept the kinds of conditions required for an IMF bailout. Maha Yahya is the director of the Carnegie Middle East Center and I caught up with her from Beirut. We kick off discussing the roots of this economic crisis, which she explains can be traced to the political arrangements that ended the civil war 30 years ago. We then have a broad conversation about the impact this economic crisis is having in a country that is already fragile. https://www.undispatch.com/

Today's episode was recorded in front of a live-online audience, and featured an all-star panel discussing how to make the economic recovery from COVID-19 sustainable, just, and resilient. In other words, as governments and institutions prepare their economic rescue and stimulus packages what can they do to ensure that the recovery is a green one? I moderated and guided the conversation which included Isabella Lovin; the Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden and Minister for Climate and the Environment; Rachel Kyte, the Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University ; Henrick Henricksson the CEO of Scania, which is a major manufacturer of trucks and buses; and Michael Lazarus, Senior Scientist Center Director of Stockholm Environment Institute US. The live taping was co-hosted by the Leadership Group for Industry Transition, in partnership with Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). It's members are countries and companies that subscribe to the notion that energy-intensive industry can and must progress on low-carbon pathways, aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. https://www.undispatch.com/

My guest, Prachi Singh, is an associate fellow at the Brookings Institution, India Center and is a PhD candidate at Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi. Her research analyzed height and weight ratios of children who were exposed, in utero, to air pollution events like crop burning and forest fires. She finds a significant correlation between low weight and low height ratios and exposure to this pollution. But her research goes further than that. She demonstrates how low height and weight ratios stemming from this exposure impacts India's entire economy, including taking a significant toll on India's Gross Domestic Product. The peer reviewed research is cutting edge and has broad global implications. We kick off discussing the impact of what is known as stunting on children's health before having a conversation about her research methods and the significance of her findings. Today's episode is the second installment in a series of episodes that will be published over the next few months that showcase the research and work of the Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative. SETI is an interdisciplinary global collaborative that aims to foster research on energy access and energy transitions in low and middle-income countries. Currently, SETI is housed at Duke University, where it is led by Professors Subhrendu Pattanayak and Marc Jeuland. To learn more about SETI, follow them on Twitter @SETIenergy.

If you have been following news recently out of the Korean Peninsula, you may have seen a report that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was gravely ill. He had, according to this report, undergone heart surgery and was fighting for his life. The thing is, we have no way of knowing whether or not this is true. Patricia Kim joins me to discuss the significance of the rumor about Kim Jong Un's ill-health. She is the senior policy analyst with the China program at US Institute of Peace. We also analyze what we know about North Korea's experience with COVID-19, and what lies ahead for nuclear diplomacy between the United States, North Korea, South Korea, and China. The bonus episode for premium subscribers this week is a conversation with Richard Haas, the longtime head of the Council on Foreign relations. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches https://www.undispatch.com/

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the global order was poised for disruption. Global institutions were seemingly getting weaker, the United States under the Trump administration was abdicating its traditional role as a global leader, and China was most definitely flaunting its rising power on the global stage. Now, in the midst of a pandemic all these trends are still very much present -- but they're also accelerating according to my guest, Ian Bremmer. Ian Bremmer is President of the Eurasia Group and President of GZERO Media. And in our conversation we discuss the big geopolitical shifts that are being exposed and hastened by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes what Ian Bremmer calls "the Great Decoupling" of China and the United States. We discuss the idea that economic and technological interdependence between the United States and China is giving way to the creation of two separate systems. We also talk about how political disruptions and the coming election in the United States will impact geopolitics. Join a Live Taping of the podcast on April 29th! Featuring: Isabella Lövin, Minister for Environment and Climate and Deputy Prime Minister, Sweden Henrik Henriksson, CEO, Scania Rachel Kyte, Dean, Fletcher School at Tufts University Michael Lazarus, Senior Scientist and US Centre Director, SEI Register here

Congressman Ami Bera is a Democrat from California who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is chair of the subcommittee on Asia and Pacific. He is also a medical doctor who has long championed global health issues. Last November he served on a commission on pandemic preparedness convened by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC that issued a series of recommendations that looks rather prescient today. We spoke just a day after President Trump announced that the United States was freezing funding for the World Health Organization and, needless to say, Congressman Bera strongly disagrees with that move. He explains the WHO's critical role in preventing clusters of COVID-19 from taking hold in poorer countries to secure the US homeland. We cover other ground too, including what the trajectory of the outbreak looks like here in the United States, and how that trajectory might shape US politics and foreign policy. https://www.undispatch.com/

For years, the global development community has struggled over the problem of dirty burning cookstoves. These are typically rudimentary stoves that burn wood or other biomass -- and in the process emit harmful smoke indoors. Nearly three billion people around the world cook their meals this way, leading to environmental damage and illness. Indoor air pollution attributed to dirty burning cookstoves kills millions of people each year. The solution to the problem of dirty cookstoves should be straightforward -- just replace cookstoves that emit harmful pollutants with cleaner burning, improved cookstoves. Indeed, there are a great variety of efficient and clean cookstoves available today. But so far, these improved cookstoves are not being used at anywhere near a scale commensurate with the problem. The solution might exist, but consumers are often not using these better cookstoves. My guest today, Subhrendu Pattanayak, sought to learn why people who would benefit the most from improved cookstoves are not using them. He is the Oak Professor of Environmental and Energy Policy at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy. In 2019, he published the results of a five year study with co-author Marc Jeuland of communities in rural India that offers some key insights into the barriers of increasing demand for cleaner burning cookstoves. We discuss these findings at length in our conversation. Today's episode is the first installment in a series of episodes that will be published over the next few months that showcase the research and work of the Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative. SETI is an interdisciplinary global collaborative that aims to foster research on energy access and energy transitions in low- and middle-income countries. Since 2015, the network has expanded to include over 150 researchers, policymakers, and practitioners working in the field of energy from over 35 countries. Currently, SETI is housed at Duke University, where it is led by Professors Subhrendu Pattanayak and Marc Jeuland. SETI's research addresses the most pressing energy challenges faced by low- and middle-income countries, from clean cooking in Senegal to micro-hydro power in Nepal to coal divestment in Chile. To learn more about SETI, follow them on Twitter @SETIenergy.

On March 26th, the United States Department of Justice did something very unusual. In a press conference, Attorney General William Barr unsealed indictments against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and top regime officials, alleging drug trafficking and narcoterrorism. Previously, when the Trump administration declared Maduro to be an illegitimate leader it was done on the assumption that such a move would inspire defections among Maduro loyalists--particularly in the military and security services. That assumption was proven incorrect. Now, Venezuela has two rival governments with Maduro still in control of most state institutions and Juan Guaidó backed by the United States and most western powers. On the line with me to discuss this is Keith Mines, senior advisor for Venezuela and Colombia at the United States Institute of Peace. We kick off discussing the indictments, how they fit into US policy toward Venezuela and whether or not this move may succeed in helping to dislodge Maduro from power. We also discuss how COVID-19 is impacting domestic politics in Venezuela and what role the United Nations might play in helping mediate a resolution to this crisis. https://www.undispatch.com/

During this state of emergency, some governments -- many in fact -- are using this time as a pretext to further consolidate power, crack down on a free press, and restrict civil liberties. This is happening in authoritarian countries, but also some democracies. Philippe Bolopion is the deputy director for global advocacy at Human Rights Watch. He is on the line with me to discuss how, exactly, regimes around the world are using the coronavirus pandemic to justify crackdowns and human rights abuse. We kick off discussing the example of Hungary: a parliament controlled by the illiberal Prime Minister, Viktor Orban recently passed a sweeping measure giving Orban near-dictatorial powers. We also discuss other examples of leaders invoking COVID-19 to entrench themselves in power. This pandemic seems to be serving as an accelerant to certain negative trends in global human rights, trends we were seeing previous to the virus. Additionally, governments are using means of population control that were initially developed to target minorities to control the entire population. We discuss both of these issues in detail. https://www.undispatch.com/

As I record this, we are nearing the one million mark of reported cases of COVID-19. Although the spread is distributed unevenly, nearly every country on earth has now reported cases of COVID-19. It seems that certain countries, even countries with high case loads, are handling it better than others. Why is that? Political science, specifically comparative politics, can give us a new perspective in understanding why some countries are dealing with the outbreak better than others. This is a field of study that examines how the internal political characteristics of a country explain the way a state behaves, whether it's a democracy or a dictatorship. My guest today, Sofia Fenner is an assistant professor of political science at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and she specializes in comparative politics. Recently, Sofia Fenner wrote a really fascinating article on an academic blog, Duck of Minerva, that explains whether or not certain characteristics of a state determine how well it will respond to the coronavirus crisis. Among certain corners of the media, there is a debate as to whether or not authoritarian dictatorships are dealing with this crisis better than liberal democracies-- a question she addresses very directly in this conversation. https://www.undispatch.com/

Before the coronavirus became a global pandemic, the world was confronting a series of humanitarian crises; ranging from wars to natural disasters. Much of the responsibility for providing emergency relief to people caught up in these kinds of crises falls on international non-governmental organizations, INGOs. Now, many of these organizations are taking on the additional responsibility of responding to the impact of the coronavirus in places already beset by crises. So, how does a large INGO prepare its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and what will that response look like? I was glad to be able to present these questions to Susannah Friedman. Susannah is the Humanitarian Policy Director for CARE, which is one of the larger global humanitarian organizations. It has a staff of over 6,000 and works in over 100 countries. We start by discussing the importance of a $2 billion funding appeal launched by the UN to coordinate a global response to COVID-19. We then discuss how this pandemic is impacting the day-to-day work of CARE and what CARE is doing to prepare for COVID-19 in the places where it works. This includes an extended conversation about the particular impact of COVID-19 on the health and safety of women and girls already in vulnerable situations. https://www.undispatch.com/

Desert locusts are eating their way through East Africa on a scale not seen in decades. These migratory pests travel from field to field destroying either crops meant for human consumption or grasslands on which herders graze their livestock. It is estimated that a swarm the size of one square kilometer can eat as much food in a day as 35,000 people. Right now, Ethiopia and Somalia are experiencing its worst locust situation in 25 years. For parts of Kenya, the swarms are larger than they have been in the last 70 years. These massive swarms are threatening to plunge this vulnerable region deeper into crisis. On the line with me to help explain the desert locust situation is Keith Cressman of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. He has been studying desert locusts for decades -- in fact, he is the senior desert locust forecasting officer at the UN FAO. In our conversation, he explains why we are seeing this historic upsurge in desert locusts in East Africa, their impact on the lives and livelihoods of people in this region, and what can be done to control the swarms and mitigate their impact. https://www.undispatch.com/