Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Exactly two weeks to the day before this interview, Beatrice Fihn received a phone call from Norway. It was the Nobel Committee informing her that the NGO she leads, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. The committee cited ICAN, as the NGO is known, for its work to achieve an international treaty against nuclear weapons. The treaty is often compared to the Landmine Ban Treaty and Convention Against Chemical Weapons in that it invokes broadly humanitarian principles to ban what is an inherently indiscriminate weapon. The treaty was finalized in July and has already gained over 50 signatories from governments, with many more expected in the near future. What does this treaty hope to accomplish? What logic do Beatrice Fihn and her colleagues use to press their case against countries who include nuclear weapons as part of their national security strategies? How will winning the Nobel Peace Prize affect her organization's work? Fihn discusses these questions at length, and explains how campaigning to abolish nuclear weapons takes a kind of fearlessness and disregard for traditional power dynamics. (And it's worth pointing out that this is a treaty that is opposed, at least for now, by all nuclear weapons possessing states.) We also discuss Beatrice Finh's life and career and how she first became interested in nuclear issues. It's an inspiring conversation. We kick off with a discussion about the moment she learned her organization had won the Nobel Peace Prize. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

A case that is pending before the Supreme Court of the United States could have profound implications for human rights and corporate social responsibility around the world. The case is called Jesner vs. Arab Bank. It is a lawsuit in which The plaintiffs allege that Arab Bank, which is a Jordanian financial institution, facilitated payments to terrorist groups that carried out attacks in Israel, killing and injuring them. Now a case involving foreign victims of a terrorist attack carried out on foreign soil by a foreign group would typically not be the business of the US legal system. But the plaintiffs in this case are pursing damages using a law that has been on the books since the 18th century, called the Alien Tort Statute. And according to my guest today, Dr. Zachary Kauffman, if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Plaintiffs this statute could influence corporate decision making and even US foreign policy. Zachary Kauffman is a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and teaching at Stanford Law school -- he is also, like me, a humanity in action senior fellow. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

Alexis Okeowo is a staff writer for the New Yorker whose debut book was published earlier this month. The book, A Moonless, Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa has been getting rave reviews -- rightfully so. The book tells the story of subtle forms of resistance; how individuals, in their own way, are pushing back against injustice. In doing so, she shines a light on some important though often overlooked global stories, like slavery in the country of Mauritania or the plight former child soldiers in Uganda. Alexis traces her interest in these issues to her upbringing as an American born child of Nigerian immigrants to Montgomery, Alabama where Rosa Park's act of resistance ignited a civil rights movement. Alexis discusses her career in journalism, including some key stories she reported on like the Chibok School girls kidnapping in 2014. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

President Trump is widely expected to decertify the Iran Nuclear Deal. But what decertification actually mean? And will this action destroy the Iran Nuclear Deal? On the line with me to discuss these questions and more is Spencer Ackerman, the Pulitzer Prize winning reporter with the Daily Beast. It's becoming increasingly clear that even if this White House action does not result in the re-imposition of US sanctions, which could kill the deal, it nonetheless undermines American credibility among both America's allies and adversaries around the world. The diplomatic fallout from this move will be far and wide. As Ackerman puts it, this action "cannot be cauterized" from any other aspect of American diplomacy. Ackerman recently wrote about the likely diplomatic fallout from this action, which we discuss in depth. If you have 20 minutes and want to learn about the broader implications of this move by President Trump, have a listen. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

The Central African Republic is facing some serious challenges right now. Four years ago, the country was on the brink of genocide after the longtime strongman Francois Bozize was ousted in an armed rebellion. The violence quickly turned sectarian with Christian and Muslim militias attacking civilian populations and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. UN Peacekeepers along with French forces deployed to the country and prevented this crisis from spiraling totally out of control. A peace process emerged, a new government was elected and a tenuous peace took hold. The French forces withdrew last October. Now, about 12,800 UN peacekeepers remain. In recent months, though, violent conflict started to re-emerge -- particularly in more remote parts of the country. The trend-lines now are not as positive as they were a year ago. This episode on the Central African Republic is in two parts. First, I speak with a member of Congress, David Cicilline of Rhode Island. He visited the country in August as part of a congressional delegation examining the work and role of UN Peacekeepers in the country. He describes what he saw in the country and makes a strong case that the peacekeepers in CAR need far more support than they are currently getting. Congressman Cicilline also discusses UN peacekeeping more broadly and why he believes Blue Helmets are an important pillar of US national security and global stability. After my conversation with Congressman Cicilline, I play an excerpt from my conversation from last May with the photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale, whose work from the Central African Republic was included in the may issue of National Geographic magazine. Marcus has travelled extensively in CAR and covered the violence in 2013. In the excerpt, we discuss the roots of the conflict -- why it emerged and its effect on the population at the time. This includes a conversation of Marcus' journalism and photos from CAR. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

People in Kurdish region of Iraq have voted overwhelmingly for independence in a popular referendum that took place in late September. No country in the region wanted this referendum to happen--and neither did the United States, with whom the Kurds have been a longtime ally. Soon after the results were announced, the Iraqi government and other countries in the region like Turkey and Iran threatened retaliatory measures. The implications of this referendum and its fallout are still unfolding, and here to help me make sense of what this referendum was all about and how it may impact the political and diplomatic dynamic of the region is Morgan Kaplan. He is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Buffett Institute for Global Studies and the Department of Political Science at Northwestern University. We discuss why this referendum was so politically significant and how it may affect the future shape of the Middle East. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

When Keith Harper was confirmed as President Obama's Ambassador to the Human Rights Council he became the first American-Indian to achieve the rank of Ambassador. The longtime attorney for native American rights soon put his knowledge of tribal culture to use in Geneva where he represented the United States on the top UN human rights body. Keith is a Cherokee Indian. He was born in San Francisco and from an early age was animated by a civil rights movement known as "Red Power." After law school he represented a number of Native Americans and Native American causes and this culminated in a billion dollar class action lawsuit against the federal government that he successfully litigated. We spend this first few minutes of this conversation discussing the work of the Human Rights Council, so let me give you a little bit of a background on it. This is a 47 member body in which each member state is elected by the entire UN membership to three year terms. Now, one of its flaws that critics sometimes point to is that some of the members of the council have pretty lousy human rights records themselves--and this is undoubtedly true. But the reason they get elected to is because the membership of the council is apportioned based on a UN principle known as equitable geographic representation. This means that a certain number of seats are reserved for a certain number of countries in each region. Now, there are more African countries than there are western European countries so it would stand to reason that Africa gets more seats. Now the problem arises when regions negotiate amongst themselves to nominate an equal number of candidates as there are seats so you get uncompetitive elections that result in countries like Burundi getting a seat. Now, that is one of they key flaws of the council. But despite it, Keith makes a compelling argument for why the United States should nonetheless stay engaged. And whether or not the US will remain a member of the council is very much in question by the Trump administration. Keith also discusses at length some tangible outcomes in the service of human rights that the council achieved while he was the US ambassador there. Apply for the Humanity in Action fellowship! Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

The Trump administration this week announced sweeping new restrictions on travelers from eight countries: Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen Days later, the administration formally established that the United States will take in no more than 45,000 refugees fleeing conflict around the world. This is a record-low cap on the number of refugees that the United States has ever resettled since 1980. To put this in context, the previous cap authorized by President Obama was 110,000. The travel ban and refugee cap are two separate policies, but they are related, at least politically, in the eyes of this administration. With the exception of Venezuela, in which only government officials are targeted, the travel ban prevents nearly any national from these countries from obtaining a visa to visit, live, study or work in the United States. According to my podcast guest Mark Hetfield, there is only one historic precedent for this: the 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was an explicitely racists law barring all Chinese migration to the United States Hetfield is President of HIAS--a jewish non-profit organization that is one of nine American agencies that resettles refugees in the United States. In this episode, Mark discusses the travel ban, its implications for people both in the United States and abroad and also his organization's new legal strategy to confront this travel ban. We also discuss at length this new refugee cap, which is an unprecedented abrogation of the traditional American approach to refugee admissions. Apply for the Humanity in Action fellowship! Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

My guest today Meghan O'Sullivan is the author of the new book Windfall: How the new energy abundance upends global politics and strengthens American power. And we kick off our conversation with a discussion of the ways in which the natural gas boom in the united states is changing international diplomacy and geopolitics. It's fascinating stuff. Meghan is the Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School and has had a career in government and the think tank world. She served, for a time, as the deputy national security advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan during the Bush administration and she was one of the first American civilian officials on the ground in Baghdad after the city fell to US forces in 2003. We discuss these events and more--including being mentored by the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

Amid all the pageantry, hoopla and media circus that is UN week in New York there is always some interesting and substantive work being done on important global issues. Sometimes these issues are not on top of the agenda of world leaders (though they probably should be) and conversations around them do not get the kind of attention they deserve for one reason or another. So, I was very glad to catch up with Carolyn Miles, President and CEO of Save the Children to have a conversation about the challenges of getting refugee children in quality schools. According to a new report from Save the Children, 700 million days of school have been missed by 3.5 million registered refugee children. More than half of all refugee children globally are out of school. For Syrian refugee children, the situation is particularly bleak. 43 percent of school-aged Syrian refugee children will be missing school this year. This number is an increase over the same statistic last year, when 34 percent were out of school — this means that around 730,000 Syrian refugee children are receiving no education. Earlier this week, I had a chance to meet one young Syrian girl who is trying to change this statistic. Muzoon Almellehan is a Syrian refugee who fled to a refugee camp in Jordan and quickly became a prominent advocate for both her own interrupted education and for that of her friends and fellow refugees. Earlier this year she was named a UNICEF Goodwill ambassador for this work--the youngest ever appointed UNICEF goodwill ambassador. She said something profound that stuck with me and made me want to do this episode with Carolyne Miles. She said: "As you have nourishment for your body, you also need nourishment for your mind." And this conversation you are about to hear with the CEO of Save the Children does a good job of explaining the scope of this this challenge, and how and why the international community is failing refugee children and what it can do to succeed. We speak nearly a year to the day after leaders gathered at the United Nations and made big pledges to confront the global refugees crisis, but as Caroline explains, they are largely failing to live up to their promises when it comes to educating refugee children.

World leaders gather at the United Nations this week for the annual summit at the United Nations General Assembly. This is always one of the big highlights of the international diplomatic calendar and it will be all the more interesting this year for the fact that President Trump is making his UN debut. So what should expect from Trump at UNGA? What are some of the big issues on the diplomatic agenda in New York this week? How much oxygen will the US President suck from the room? On the line to discuss these questions and more is Richard Gowen, fellow at the European Council. We also discuss key issues — beyond Trump — that will drive the conversations this week, including the crises in North Korea and Myanmar, how Antonio Guterres his first UNGA as Secretary General and what to expect from Emmanuel Macron's debut. This is a useful preview of some of the key issues of substance and style that will drive the global conversation in New York this week. It will be useful to both UN-nerds and general international relations enthusiasts alike. If you have 30 minutes and want get learn what this UNGA is all about, have a listen. Can Trump and the United Nations Just Get Along? -- Richard Gowan Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

Nearly 400,000 ethnic Rohingya have fled Myanmar across the border to Bangladesh. By the time you listen to this, that number will almost surely be much higher. Since late August, security forces from the government of Myanmar (also called Burma) have attacked villages and towns in a seemingly coordinated fashion to create a massive displacement crisis. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has described what is happening a textbook example of ethnic cleansing." On the line with me to discuss this current crisis is John Sifton, the advocacy director Human Rights Watch-Asia. We spoke just after he got off the phone with his colleagues on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border who have witnessed profound scenes of destruction. John also describes satellite imagery he's reviewed that depicts towns, villages and neighborhoods being burned to the ground. John gives a useful background on the plight of the Rohingya population in Burma and explains why Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi,the de-facto leader of the country, has been such a disappointment and unable or unwilling to stop this onslaught against a minority community in her country. John also offers some good suggestions on how the international community might best respond to this unfolding crisis. If you are regular listener to the show, you know that I have done several episodes on this issue--which is one of those under-the-radar global issues that I like to highlight on the podcast. Now, of course the situation is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

John Shattuck is the former US Ambassador to the Czech Republic, former President of the Central European University, and served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy Human Rights and Labor During the Clinton administration. He is currently a professor at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts John was deep in the policy debates over the US response to the Rwanda genocide and explains how and why the United States failed to mount a meaningful response to this crisis. John also played a key role in uncovering the genocide at Srebrenica in which some 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were murdered by Serb forces, and he explains how he came to help uncover this crime. John is a board member of Humanity in Action and we kick off this conversation discussing the situation in Poland and Hungary, where pluralist values and civic institutions have come under extreme threat by right wing governments. W discuss how civic organizations and universities can push back against this creeping illiberalism. This is a great talk with someone who has had a fascinating career standing up for civil liberties and human rights in the United States and around the world. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

With Houston still reeling from Hurricane Harvey, Irma causing massive havoc in the Caribbean, and more storms on the way, I thought it would be timely and interesting to speak with my guest today, Maria Ivanova Maria Ivanova is an academic who straddles the university and policy worlds to help think through the connections between human security, environmental stresses and global governance--that is, the mechanisms that the international community and beyond have designed to deal with environmental challenges. In this conversation she helps put the onslaught of these hurricanes into a kind of broader global context that addresses how the international community might more productively organize itself to confront the realities of climate change. Maria is a Professor of Global Governance and Director of the Center for Governance and Sustainability at the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at UMass Boston and a Visiting Scholar at the Climate CoLab at MIT. She is also Ambassador for the New Shape Prize of the Global Challenges Foundation. This is a $5 million prize that will be awarded next year to "the best ideas that re-envision global governance for the 21st century." Toward the end of this conversation we discuss what exactly that means. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

Helene Cooper is the Pentagon correspondent for the New York Times. She is also the author of the new book "Madame President: The extraordinary journey of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf" which is a biography of the Liberian president and nobel peace prize winner was was Africa's first female head of state. Helene was born and raised in Liberia. Her family fled to the United States in 1980, when she was 13 years old, following a coup. Her immediate family was brutally targeted during this coup. She describes the trauma around these events, and also the search for her sister with whom she became separated during this time in her critically acclaimed book, "The House on Sugar Beach: In search of a Lost African Childhood." Helene discusses some of these experiences in our conversation and describes how a near-death experience covering the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 motivated her to go back to Liberia. We kick off this conversation with a discussion of upcoming elections in Liberia and her newest book about ellen johnson sirleaf before having a longer conversation about her experiences as a refugee to the United States and finding her long lost sister in Liberia. This is a great conversation. I've been a fan of her work for a long time and it was great to get to know her a little bit more. Madame President The House on Sugar Beach Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

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

In Kazakstan this week, the international atomic energy agency is opening a new facility that will serve as a bank for low enriched uranium. This facility is known as the LEU fuel bank and its opening is the result of over a decade of work by my guest Senator Sam Nunn. Now the idea behind the, bank which Senator Nunn explains in detail is basically this. countries that want to use civilian nuclear power must either build their own enrichment facilities, or must purchase enriched uranium on the open market. the concern with the former is that facilities that enrich uranium for civilian purposes could also be used to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb. The bank is basically an insurance policy to dissuade countries from wanting to build their own enrichment facilities because if for some reason the market is disrupted and supplies cut off, the county can get their fuel from this bank, which stores enough fuel to power a mid sized city for three years. Senator Nunn is a former US senator who is co-chair of the NGO the Nuclear Threat Initiative. For years, the Nuclear Threat Initiative has been working behind the scenes to set up this bank and they got a big boost when Warren Buffet pledged 50 million to the cause. And in this episode Senator Nunn tells the story behind the LEU bank and why its advent is an important boon for international security and non-proliferation. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

Poland is in the midst of a democratic backslide. The country's politics is dominated by the far right Law and Justice Party, which has embarked on a series of moves to curb the independence of the judiciary and free press. This has put Poland on a collision course with the European Union, of which it is a member. It has also earned the government the praise and support of Donald Trump--indeed Trump visited Poland this summer and delivered a rabble rousing speech appealing directly to right wing elements in Polish politics. So how did we get here? And how threatened is liberal democracy in the heart of Europe? On the line with me to discuss the situation in Poland and why what happens in Poland matters to the rest of the world is Konsanty Gebert Konstanty Gebert is an Associate Fellow at the European Council for Foreign Relations and an international reporter and columnist at Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland's largest daily publication. He was also a speaker at the Humanity in Action International Conference in Berlin this year. If you have 20 minutes and want to learn why democracy in Poland is under threat right now, have a listen. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show!

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

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

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

On July 17 a very rare thing happened in the world of humanitarian relief. Eight organizations that typically compete for donor dollars joined forces to launch a joint appeal to raise funds and awareness around a global food crisis. Some 20 million people in four countries— South Sudan, Yemen, Nigeria and Somalia — face acute food scarcity. South Sudan even experienced a famine for a period of time this year. Facing funding shortages and relatively little popular awareness of this crisis, these NGOs formed that they are calling the Global Emergency Response Coalition. On the line with me to discuss the reasons that this coalition formed is Deepmala Mahla, the country director for Mercy Corps in South Sudan. (Mercy Corps is one of the eight members of the coalition.) She explains the food crisis across these four countries and discusses at length the situation in South Sudan. Deepmala also describes in detail her work delivering humanitarian relief to vulnerable populations in South Sudan. This is a valuable and timely conversation about an issue that is far too overlooked in the mainstream media. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: How to Get a Job at the United Nations #8: How to Pick the Right International Relations Graduate School

On June 27th, FARC rebels turned over the last of their weapons to the United Nations in a ceremony attended by both the leader of FARC and President Juan Manuel Santos. This officially marked the end of a over 50 year civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions more. So how did we get to this point? And what are some of the big challenges that lay ahead for Colombia as peace takes hold? I put these questions and more to Kyle Johnson of the International Crisis Group. I reached him in Colombia a couple weeks after the laying-of-arms ceremony, which he attended. And we have an interesting conversation about this peace process and the conflict that lead to it. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: How to Get a Job at the United Nations #8: How to Pick the Right International Relations Graduate School

Wendy Pearlman is an academic who studies the Middle East, but also writes popularly focused narratives that examines everyday life of people caught in the chaos of the region.Her latest book, We Crossed a Bridge and it Trembled: Voices from Syria, is a collection of interviews of Syrians displaced by the war. That book was published by Harper Collins in June, but she used some of the research in that book for peer reviewed academic papers, that among other things examine the role of fear in revolutionary protests. And in this conversation we alternate--much like Wendy-- between her social science work and her narrative storytelling. We get wonky, but also personal. Wendy describes how she got interested in the Middle East and how her fascination with Morocco morphed to a passion for researching and studying the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and, of course, the Arab Spring. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: How to Get a Job at the United Nations #8: How to Pick the Right International Relations Graduate School

Eric Schwartz served as the top refugee policy official in the Obama administration as the Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration between 2009 and 2011. He was recently appointed the president of Refugees International, an advocacy organization in Washington, DC. We kick off this conversation discussing US refugee policy in the wake of President Trump's attempts to sharply curb the number or refugees allowed into the United States. Eric has had a fascinating career. He worked in the NGO sector helping to establish Human Rights Watch's Asia branch; and also for both the United States government-- including in Bill Clinton's national security council -- for the United Nations, under the high commissioner for human rights and under the special envoy for Tsunami recovery to help countries affected by the massive 2004 indian ocean Tsunami. (That special envoy was Bill Clinton.) We also discuss at length about Eric's relationship with Sergio Vieira de Mello. He was a well known figure around the United Nations who served as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees before working for a stint as the top UN official in Iraq immediately following the US invasion and occupation of the country. de Mello was killed in a bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, along with 21 others, and Eric discusses how that impacted him personally and professionally. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: How to Get a Job at the United Nations #8: How to Pick the Right International Relations Graduate School

Conflict is escalating in one region of the Democratic Republic of Congo and this conflict has the potential to become one of Africa's next big crises. At issue is a brewing situation in a region of DRC called Kasai. Now, if this is unfamiliar to you, it is with reason. This was not a region heretofore that had experienced much violence or conflict that caught international attention. (Indeed it is the far away eastern part of the country -- and this is a very large country, about the size of western Europe -- that has experienced the bulk of violence in the last several years.) To be honest, Kasai was totally off my radar until earlier this until two UN workers, including an American and Swede went missing there and were later found murdered and mutilated. On the line with me to discuss the situation in the Kasai region is Ida Sawyer, the Central Africa director of Human Rights Watch. She does a very good job of explaining how the conflict started, how it is changing and also the broader political context in which this conflict has erupted. If you have 20 minutes and want to learn why this local conflict could metastasize into something bigger, have a listen Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: How to Get a Job at the United Nations #8: How to Pick the Right International Relations Graduate School

The Supreme Court has issued a preliminary decision on Trump's travel ban–and this decision could have a profound impact on refugees around the world. The court upheld key portions of the travel ban pending a final ruling by the court in October. This includes a 120 day ban on all refugees coming to the United States from everywhere in the world — though with some exceptions. On the line with me to talk through the Supreme Court ruling, including its implications for US refugee resettlement policy is Rachel Landry a Policy and Advocacy Officer for Global Protection and Resettlement with the International Rescue Committee, which is one of the largest refugee resettlement agencies in the United States. (Like me, Rachel is also a Humanity in Action Senior Fellow). Rachel discusses the ways in which this ruling could impact how the United States takes in refugees from around the world. She also discusses the US refugee resettlement process more broadly; that is, how it works, it's history and background. I promise that after listening to this conversation you will learn a lot about US refugee policy and why it matters. Rachel is speaking in her personal capacity as an expert on these issues and is not speaking on behalf of the International Rescue Committee. Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: How to Get a Job at the United Nations #8: How to Pick the Right International Relations Graduate School

My guest today Jeffrey Smith helps topple dictators for a living. His organization, Vanguard Africa, is very new but they already have one success under their belt--the peaceful transition of power from The Gambia's longtime ruler. He now has his sites set on Africa's second longest ruling leader, Paul Biya of Cameroon. We kick off with a discussion of the situation in Cameroon and have great digressions about the Zimbabwe, some deficiencies of the NGO community in DC and, of course, the Gambia. Jeff discusses how and why he came to focus on issues of democracy and human rights in Africa and how he found inspiration from the hero of an anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: How to Get a Job at the United Nations #8: How to Pick the Right International Relations Graduate School

Pop Quiz: do you know how many people are in the world right now? The answer is 7.6 billion. That data point and much more are contained in a report called "World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision," which was recently published by the UN. The report contains all sorts of facts and figures that are both interesting on its own, but also extremely consequential to understanding the future of our species in a very literal sense. On the line with me to talk through some of the demographic trends of the world's population, is John Wilmoth, Director of the Population Division at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. We discuss the trajectory of the world's population including where the big population centers of the future will be. We also have a fascinating conversation about the relationship between contraception, child survival and population growth and why, from a policy perspective one of the more useful things you can know is the age distribution of a population -- and here, Europe and Africa represent two extremes that we discuss at length. I promise after listening to this interview you will about the world demographics and why it matters. Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: How to Get a Job at the United Nations #8: How to Pick the Right International Relations Graduate School

Gregory Stone once lived underwater for 30 days. He is an ocean scientist and author who has spent a career studying and advocating on behalf of our oceans. He's now with an executive vice president with Conservation International and is one of the world's leading authorities on ocean health and ocean conservation. We caught up just as a big UN conference on oceans was wrapping up in New York. This was the first-ever UN conference on Oceans and ocean health and we kick off discussing some of his takeways from that meeting. We of course discuss his life and career and where his love for the oceans all began. And we have some great digressions along the way about scuba diving in the antarctic, the first time he saw up close the effect of climate change on coral reefs and why plastic is such a nemesis for our oceans. Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: How to Get a Job at the United Nations #8: How to Pick the Right International Relations Graduate School

Marietje Schaake was under 30 years old when she first joined the European Parliament as a representative from the Netherlands in 2009. She candidly discusses the kinds of challenges she faced as a young woman navigating what was then--and still is--mostly and old mens club. We caught up shortly after a series of consequential elections in Europe, including the victory of Emmanuel Macron in France and the surprising near-defeat of Therese May in the UK. We kick off this conversation discussing the current state of right wing populism in Europe and the effect that Donald Trump is having on European politics. This conversation is a great explainer of how the European Parliament works--we use Martietje's efforts to create some rules of the road for digital trade as an entry point to discuss the procedures, processes and politics of the European Parliament and the EU more broadly. Marietje Schaake is someone I've known for many years. We are both alums of Humanity in Action from our University days and it was great to catch up with her and learn about her work as an MEP. Marietje's website Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: How to Get a Job at the United Nations #8: How to Pick the Right International Relations Graduate School

Hans Binnendijk is a senior fellow at the Center for Transatlantic relations and a longtime DC foreign policy insider. He served in top posts in the Clinton administration, including in the National Security Council and he was the founding director of the Center for Technology and National Security Policy at National Defense University. Hans is a senior foreign policy hand who has collected many affiliations along the way. Hans wrote one of my favorite op-eds of all-time, that made the case for robust State Department funding by comparing the number of people in military marching bands to the number of US foreign service officers. We kick off with a discussion about State Department staffing and then have a longer conversation about his life and career, including his experience as a child immigrant from post-war Netherlands and how he rose through the ranks of the DC foreign policy establishment. It's a good talk with some interesting digressions along the way. Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) #9: "Sustainable Development," explained (Coming soon!)

There is yet another crisis in the middle east. This week, Saudi Arabia and its close allies in the region moved against Qatar, cutting off sea and air travel and moving to isolate their fellow sunni Gulf country. Like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Qatar is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional group of erstwhile allies that coordinate security policies against Iran and other common threats. But tensions have been brewing for many years between Qatar and other countries on the Arabian Peninsula and these tensions have apparently come to a head in the wake of Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia. Qatar is home to both Al Jazeera and the region's largest US military airbase -- which is currently the strategic nerve center of the US air campaign against ISIS. This fact did not apparently stop President Trump for issuing statements, on Twitter of course, in support of Saudi allegations that Qatar is a nemesis that supports terrorist groups. On the line with me to unpack this situation and explain the roots of these regional rivalries, which has much to do with both the Al Jazeera television station and Qatar's backing of different proxies during the aftermath of Egypt's Arab Spring is Marc Lynch. Marc has been on the show before, most recently to discus his newest book The New Arab Wars, Uprisings and Anarchy in the Middle East. He is a professor at George Washington University and someone I rely on to help me make sense of tangled middle eastern politics. You can--and should follow him on Twitter at @AbuAardvark. If you have 20 minutes and want to learn about why this spat between Qatar and its neighbors is so profoundly consequential to global politics, then have a listen. Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) #9: "Sustainable Development," explained (Coming soon!)

Donald Trump has pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement In the wake of this decision, I wanted to get a sense of the consequences of this decision to both the climate change goals embedded in the Paris Agreement and also to the wider diplomacy and geopolitics that surrounds global climate change. I bring you two perspectives on these very timely questions. First, I speak with Paula Caballero of the World Resources Institute who does a good job explaining the kinds of global implications of this decision. Then, I speak with Pete Ogden of the United Nations Foundation and we discuss the linkages between federal and sub-national domestic politics, like the actions of mayors and governors, to this decision. If you have 30 minutes and want a deeper understanding of the implications of the US decision to walk out of the world's most important climate change agreement, have a listen. Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) #9: "Sustainable Development," explained (Coming soon!)

One overlooked aspect of the global conversation on conflict, disaster and humanitarian affairs is internal displacement and the plight of internally displaced people, or IDPs. Like refugees, IDPs have been forced from their home by conflict or disaster. But unlike refugees, they have not crossed an international border and are not afforded the kind of legal protections embedded in widely adopted international treaties like the refugee convention. But as my guest Alexandra Bilak a explains, the number of IDPs around the world is actually greater than the number of refugees. Alexandra is director of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and we caught up as her organization released its latest flagship annual report on Global Trends in Internal Displacement. We run through the numbers, the key policy challenges and discuss how the international community can do a better job of keeping the priorities of IDPs in the front and center of broader conversations about refugees and migration. Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) #9: "Sustainable Development," explained (Coming soon!)

Sharon Weinberger is the author of the new book The Imagineers of War:The Untold Story of DARPA. DARPA, for the un-initiated, stands for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and it is the branch of the Pentagon that is famous for developing some far-out-there technologies, some of which were total flops but others that have become central to not only modern warfare, but also daily life. We have a fascinating conversation about the history of technology in modern warfare and the implications of having a military institution conducting research that can have big-society wide consequences. Sharon has been a journalist on my radar for many years since she founded this great national security focused section of Wired magazine called Danger Room. And we discuss Sharon's pathway into journalism and another book called A Nuclear Family Vacation, with co-author Nathan Hodge that offers something of a tourist perspective on nuclear sites around the United States and its territories. Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) #9: "Sustainable Development," explained (Coming soon!)

We are nearly six months into the year and already 9 journalists have been killed in 2017, including 4 in Mexico alone. That figure comes from reporters without borders and is part of a larger data set that my guest Sabine Carey is collecting on the murders of journalists around the world. Sabine is a political scientist at Mannheim University in Germany, and co-author with Anita Gohdes of a new study about the killing of journalists around the world. Their research finds that the murder of journalists can predict the deterioration of human rights in a country within two years of the murder. Their study is is titled "Canaries in the Coal Mine: What the Killing of Journalists Tell Us About Future repression" and can be found in the academic Journal of Peace Research. And in this conversation Sabine walks me through her research and the broader political and policy implications of her findings. Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) #9: "Sustainable Development," explained (Coming soon!)

Jill Filipovic is author of the new book The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness. She is a Nairobi based journalist, but we caught up while she was on book tour in her hometown of Seattle. Jill is someone I've known both online and in real life for many years. She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and regular contributor to the Guardian among many other publications. She is one of the original pioneers of political blogging; her contributions to the blog Feministe helped inspire the growth of a very vibrant feminist blogosphere that exists to this day. We kick off with a discussion about some her global health reporting from Ghana and Niger. Jill and I spoke a few days after the State Department issued some clarifying guidance on how the Trump administration would interpret what is known as the Global Gag Rule; and jill explains what the Global Gag Rule is and how Trump's interpretation of it is a profound deviation from how previous Republican administrations sought to prevent US global health aid from contributing to abortions. We then pivot to a conversation about her life, career, and her book--which is getting rave reviews. You can find a link to the book on Global Dispatches Podcast.com Leave a review on iTunes! You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) #9: "Sustainable Development," explained (Coming soon!)

As I'm typing, the White House is busy doing damage control over revelations that Donald Trump revealed sensitive information to the Russians when he met wth the Russian ambassador and foreign minister the day after he fired the FBI director. But at the same time, the White House is also preparing for Trump's first foreign trip as president. The first stop is Saudi Arabia, followed by Israel and then to Europe, including to Brussels for a NATO summit. On the line with me to discuss the strategic and political implications of this trip is Dave DesRoches, an associate professor at National Defense University. We discuss the significance of choosing Saudi Arabia as Trump's first foreign destination and what is on the agenda during that visit. On Israel, we discuss the lingering question over the location of the United States embassy and what potential consequences around the world could result from a decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem; and finally we discuss what to expect from the NATO summit. This episode is short but sweet--and a good overview of the key issues on the agenda during Trump's first foreign foray. You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) #9: "Sustainable Development," explained (Coming soon!)

Dr. James Walsh of MIT is a nuclear security security expert and one of the few Americans who have travelled to both Iran and North Korea for talks on nuclear issues. To this day, Jim meets frequently with North Korean officials to discuss nuclear issues. I spoke with Jim the day that Moon Jae-In was elected as president of South Korea, potentially setting up a very different dynamic for nuclear diplomacy with North Korea. We kick off with a discussion about this new South Korean leader and how his approach to the North differs from that of his predecessor. We then pivot to a longer conversation about how Jim became involved in nuclear issues and his decades long study of North Korea's nuclear programs. You will learn a whole lot about North Korea and nuclear security issues in this rather lively episode. You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) #9: "Sustainable Development," explained (Coming soon!)

By now, of course, you are well aware that Emmanuel Macron won a stunning election victory in France, besting by huge margins the far right candidate Marine Le Pen. But if you are like me, you probably did not know too much about Macron -- who he is, where he came from, and how he emerged from the political wilderness to become one of the most intriguing personalities in politics today. On the line with me to discuss the election, give a biographical sketch of Macron and offer insights into the implications of his entrance to the political scene is Christopher Mesnooh a lawyer and media personality in France. I caught up with Christopher from his office in Paris just a few days after the election. If you have 20 minutes and want a deeper understanding of the domestic and international consequences of this election, including on the debate over immigration, the European Union and France's role in the world then have listen. You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) #9: "Sustainable Development," explained (Coming soon!)

Lisa Palmer is author of the new book Hot Hungry Planet: The Fight to Stop a Global Food Crisis in the Face of Climate Change. As the title suggests, the book examines the intersection of climate change, population growth and the politics of food all -- of which we discuss in this episode. Lisa is a journalist who writes for both popular and academic outlets. She's been covering climate change and environmental issues for many years and she discusses how her upbringing in an agrarian community informed her career path. We discuss how fighting food insecurity requires a very broad based approach that touches on politics, technology, women's empowerment and many, many other issues. You can EMAIL Mark by clicking here. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: Better Know Vladimir Putin #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) #9: "Sustainable Development," explained (Coming soon!)

Millions of people in Yemen are facing a potential famine. The country was already the poorest in the region and for the last several years has been beset by a civil conflict stoked by key regional players. And now, one of the lifelines into the country, the Port of Hoedeida, could be beset by intense fighting. On the line with me to discuss the conflict in Yemen and why despite the availability of food Yemen is still at serious risk of famine is Joost Hiltermann, the Middle East and North Africa Director for the International Crisis Group. We discuss how and why this conflict erupted, the role of key regional players like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran and how the United States is shaping the conflict. This is a useful look into one of the world's worst conflicts that gets the least amount of attention. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: The Sustainable Development Goals, explained (Coming soon!) #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) #9: Better Know Vladamir Putin (Coming soon!)

The internationally acclaimed and award-winning photojournalist Marcus Bleasdale has a spread in the latest issue of National Geographic magazine from his collection of photos documenting the conflict in the Central African Republic. His work in CAR is a good demonstration of how Marcus puts his significant talents to work in the service of human rights around the world. We kick off with an extended conversation about the conflict in CAR and how he want about documenting. Marcus started out his career as a banker in London, but the conflict in the Balkans in the 1990s inspired him to change career paths in a very dramatic way. He describes that transition as well as some of his work in the DRC and Sierra Leone. And I also want to thank Marcus for opening up about the PTSD and the emotional impact of his work to his own well-being. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. (Well, sort of -- it's complicated!) #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: The Sustainable Development Goals, explained (Coming soon!) #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!)

When I reached Ahmad Shuja in Kabul the country was still reeling from the deadliest single Taliban attack since the start of the insurgency nearly 15 years ago. Some 160 young soldiers--mostly recruits-- were massacred in a brazen assault on a base in the northern part of the country. That attack came after the United States dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat on what was reportedly a network of tunnels used by insurgents Shuja is an Afghan analyst and researcher who previously worked for Human Rights Watch. Now, he is affiliated with the American University of Afghanistan -- though he stresses that he is speaking in his personal capacity. He discusses the implications of this recent Taliban attack, what the US government could be doing differently in Afghanistan, and how and why the government of Afghanistan is struggling to meet some of the basic needs of its people. Ahmad also discusses the deteriorating security environment in Kabul and the effect that is having on daily life. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. (Well, sort of -- it's complicated!) #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: The Sustainable Development Goals, explained (Coming soon!) #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!)

Laurie Adams is president of the NGO Women for Women International which works with women survivors of war. She has had a long career in the NGO sector and as an activist, including many years with Oxfam in various parts of Africa and the NGO ActionAidInternational. Laurie also had a career as an activist initially inspired by the anti-apartheid movement and we have a really thoughtful conversation about both the role of activism in international affairs and also just how one becomes a professional activist. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. (Well, sort of -- it's complicated!) #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: The Sustainable Development Goals, explained (Coming soon!) #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!)

Venezuela is at yet another crisis point. The government of Nicolas Maduro is facing steep opposition from the very people that swept Maduro's predecessor and mentor Hugo Chavez to power nearly 20 years ago. But after years of sharp economic decline it appears that the "revolution's" hold on power is a tenuous as ever. On the line to explain what is going on in Venezuela is Francisco Toro, editor of the news website Caracas Chronicles. He discusses how the situation reached this crisis point and why there is such high probability of violence. Francisco has been on the show before: last year he explained how Venezuela's economy so sharply and abruptly began a downward spiral. He discusses that again, but also in the context of a new protest movement. I caught up with Francisco one day before a massive protest was scheduled in Caracas. Things were definitely heating up. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. (Well, sort of -- it's complicated!) #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: The Sustainable Development Goals, explained (Coming soon!) #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!)

Linda Thomas-Greenfield grew up the oldest of eight children in a small segregated town outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They were poor. Her father was not literate. Despite these circumstances, she became one of America's top diplomats, having just left her post a few weeks ago as the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. Amb Thomas-Greenfield speaks candidly about the kinds of racial animus she faced growing up and in college at Louisiana State University. She tells how she first became interested in Africa and how her career as an Africa specialist evolved, including a formative stint as a diplomat in the small country of the Gambia. Stay for the discussion of the "Gumbo Diplomacy" she practiced as ambassador to Liberia when Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the Nobel Peace Prize. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. (Well, sort of -- it's complicated!) #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea. #6: The Sustainable Development Goals, explained (Coming soon!) #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) This is about two and a half hours for your listening pleasure. With more on the way. If there's a topic you want me to explore, please send me an email!

Micah Zenko has researched whether or not limited airstrikes -- like the kind Donald Trump ordered on Syria last week -- actually achieve their stated political and military objectives. His book Between Threats and War: US Discrete Military Operations in the Post Cold-War World examined some 36 airstrikes and finds that they very rarely do what they are intended to do. We discuss why that is--and what implications his findings have for further US involvement in Syria. We do a little name dropping in this episode, including Robert Pape who wrote a definitive book on airpower called Bombing to Win. Bob was my guest on Episode number 87 and I'd highly recommend that episode.Micah was last on the podcast about a year and a half ago to discuss his newest book, called "Red Team" which takes a look at the role of the devils advocate in international relations. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. (Well, sort of -- it's complicated!) #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea #6: The Sustainable Development Goals, explained (Coming soon!) #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) This is about two and a half hours for your listening pleasure. With more on the way. If there's a topic you want me to explore, please send me an email!

Xi Jinping is headed to Mar-a-Lago for his first big meeting with Donald Trump. The US-China relationship is arguably the most consequential bi-lateral relationship in the world so naturally this trip is garnering a lot of attention. But what is actually on the agenda? And how might US-China relations shift in the coming years under President Trump? I put these questions and more to Susan Jakes who is the editor of ChinaFile and Senior Fellow at Asia Society's Center on US-China Relations. She discusses why the optics of this meeting are so meaningful to both sides, how the domestic politics in China inform a trip like this, and why the irksome and threatening actions of North Korea may become an increasingly important aspect of US-China relations. If you have twenty minutes and want to learn more about the key elements of the relationship between the US and china and how they may evolve, have a listen. Become a premium subscriber to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show! Bonus episodes for premium subscribers include: #1: International Relations Theory, explained. #2: A Brief History of Nuclear Non-proliferation #3: A Brief History of NATO #4: The Syrian Civil War, explained. (Well, sort of -- it's complicated!) #5: Meet the Kim family of North Korea (Coming soon!) #6: The Sustainable Development Goals, explained (Coming soon!) #7: The Six Day War, Explained. (Coming soon!) This is about two and a half hours for your listening pleasure. With more on the way. If there's a topic you want me to explore, please send me an email!