Archives for February 2019

A Crisis in Kashmir Threatens War Between India and Pakistan

Tensions are rapidly escalating between India and Pakistan, following a suicide bombing in India controlled Kashmir that killed scores of Indian security forces. In retaliation, India bombed what it called a terrorist camp inside Pakistani territory. 

The situation is still unfolding–as I’m recording this there is word that an Indian Air Force pilot has been captured after his plane was shot down over Pakistan. 

On the line to discuss this ongoing crisis, and explain why Kashmir has become such a flash point between India and Pakistan is Michael Kugelman, senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center.  We kick off discussing the events leading up to this escalation of hostilities before having a longer conversation about the history of Kashmir and India-Pakistani relations.

One thing I particularly found helpful in this conversation was Michael’s description of the domestic political logic in India and Pakistan that propels conflict over Kashmir.  Needless to say, India and Pakistan have gone to war with each other–the last time was in 1971. But now, they both have nuclear weapons so any hot crisis like the one unfolding now has the potential to descend into the worst-case scenario.

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How Energy Poverty is Stifling Job Growth in the Developing World

Energy Poverty conventionally refers to the lack of household electricity. Over 1 billion people live without reliable sources of electricity — but a new group seeks to change how we think about energy poverty.

My guest today, Todd Moss is the founder and executive director of the Energy for Growth Hub, a new think tank. that seeks large scale solutions to end the kind of energy poverty that can stifle industrial and commercial development in the developing world.

We kick off talking about energy poverty–specifically why the traditional definition of that term may be an inadequate understanding of the problem. We then have a lengthy discussion about the link between big scale energy solutions, global development and climate change.

The Sustainable Development Goals call for “inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.” Todd Moss argues convincingly that without the kinds of large scale energy solutions for industry, that goal will prove elusive.

If you have 20 minutes and want to learn about energy access in the developing world, have a listen

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What Happens When Women are Excluded from Peace Talks?

The United States is deep into negotiations with the Taliban over some sort of political arrangement that would enable the Taliban’s entrance into Afghan politics while the US drew down its troop levels.

The specifics of these negotiations are opaque–not much is known about what is on the table.

What we do know is that there are precisely zero Afghan women at the table.

And what we also know, thanks to research done in part by my guest today Anna Tonelli, is that the exclusion of women from peace negotiations is a predictor of failure for peace negotiations.

When women are excluded from peace talks, those peace talks are less likely to result in any durable success.

Anna Tonelli is the inclusive peace and security senior policy advisor wth Oxfam International. In this conversation we discuss some of the research that links the success of peace talks to the inclusion of women. We discuss examples from around the world, but kick off discussion the situation in Afghanistan.

If you have 25 minutes and want to learn what the research says about the inclusion and exclusion of women in peace negotiations, have a listen.

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We Already Know Vaccines Save Lives. New Research Shows How They Fight Poverty, Too

A measles outbreak is ravaging children in several states in the United States, including Washington and Oregon have sickened hundreds of of children, many unvaccinated. Thousands more have been exposed to the highly contagious and sometimes deadly virus. The Philippines is also in the midst of an outbreak, where more than 150 children have been killed.

These measles illnesses and deaths come despite the fact that vaccines are routinely available and extremely safe. We have known for years that vaccinations, including routine childhood vaccinations for diseases like measles, mumps and rubella prevent children from dying on a fairly massive scale. We also know that as a health intervention, most vaccines and vaccination programs are relatively inexpensive.

Now, new research suggests an added benefit of getting a measles vaccine: it can prevent poverty.

Dr. Angela Chang lead a ground breaking study that shows how vaccines can be an effective tool to prevent individuals in the developing world from slipping down the income latter and into extreme poverty. Specifically, she examined dozens of vaccines and vaccination campaigns in the developing world and used statistical modeling and analysis to determine the relationship between what is known as medical impoverishment and vaccine coverage.

The study was published in the journal Health Affairs while she was a doctoral candidate at Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Angela Chang is now a post doctoral fellow at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

We kick off the conversation discussing what we mean by medical impoverishment before having a longer conversation about her findings.

If you have 20 minutes and want to learn how vaccines not only save lives, but also fight poverty then have a listen.

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Massive Protests in Haiti Spark a New Kind of Political Crisis

Thousands of Haitians have taken to the streets in anti-government protests that quickly turned violent. Several people have been killed and a great amount of property has been damaged in these protests.

Haiti, of course, is no stranger to political crisis. But this crisis feels different, according to veteran reporter Jacqueline Charles.

Jacqueline Charles is the Haiti Caribbean reporter for the Miami Herald and in this conversation she explains the origins of this new protest movement and how it may play out over the coming weeks.

As she explains, these protests began, in part, over allegations of corruption surrounding a Hugo Chavez-era Venezuelan oil subsidy program, known as Petro Carbibe. But what began as an anti-corruption protest movement has morphed into something much broader that now threatens to bring down the government of President Jovenel Moise.

This crisis in Haiti has potential to unleash great instability in a very fragile country, which could have big international implications. This conversation does a very good job of giving you the background and context you need to understand events as they unfold. If you have 25 minutes and want to learn what caused this crisis and how it may impact peace and stability in the region, have a listen.

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New Research Shows How Countries Can Avoid the “Resource Curse”

The riddle of how to avoid the so-called “resource curse” has bedeviled a generation of policy makers, economists and academics.

“Resource curse” refers to the negative consequences that befall a country when it discovers a valuable natural resource, like oil. Often times the discovery of oil does not propel a country’s economic development. Rather, it sets back the political and economic development of the place where oil was discovered.

My guest today is engaging in ground-breaking research that suggests some ways that a government may avoid the resource curse. Sam Hickey is a professor of the politics and development at the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester. He is engaged in some long-term research into how governments in Africa are approaching their oil sectors. This includes a fascinating study comparing how democratic Ghana and authoritarian Uganda have approached their relatively recent oil discoveries.

Responsible resource extraction is a key element in the development of many countries around the world.  This conversation offers a very useful explanation about how the resource curse manifests itself in various contexts, and how the conventional approach to avoiding the curse has fallen short over the years. Finally, we discuss what emerging academic research says about what works–and what does not — in avoiding the resource curse.

If you have 20 minutes and want a better understanding of how natural resources can help or hinder economic development, have a listen.

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This episode is part of a content partnership between the podcast and the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester. Experts from the Global Development Institute discuss their research and also the pressing news of the day as it relates to global inequalities and development. If you’d like to learn more about the Global Development Institute you can go to GDI.Manchester.ac.uk 

About Sam Hickey

Sam Hickey is Professor of Politics and Development at the University of Manchester, and Joint Director of Research at the ESID research centre. He is also Research Director at the Global Development Institute, where ESID is based.

Research

Sam’s research interests include the links between politics and development, including issues of state capacity and elite commitment; natural resource governance; social exclusion and adverse incorporation; citizenship participation and NGOs; the politics of social protection and social justice.

Within ESID, Sam is coordinating and researching on a project that will investigate the implications of oil for governance and inclusive development in Ghana and Uganda. He is also working on a project exploring the politics of securing higher levels of capacity and commitment to delivering improved quality schooling, through a comparison of Bangladesh and Ghana. Finally, he is providing support for a project on women’s political empowerment exploring the link between women’s political inclusion in developing countries and the successful adoption and implementation of policies aimed at gender equity.

The Co-Founder of Global Citizen Describes the Future of Advocacy in International Affairs

About a decade ago, Simon Moss co-founded Global Citizen with a few friends in Australia. It has since grown into a behemoth of global advocacy on issues related to ending extreme poverty around the world.

I’ve known Simon for years and have watched Global Citizen evolve over the years. So, I thought it might be useful and interesting to learn from him how an advocacy group like Global Citizen is adapting to broader geopolitical shifts. How does a group focused on ended extreme poverty respond to China’s increasing influence in the global development space? How does it adapt to the withdrawal of the United States from its traditional role as a champion of global health and anti-poverty programs? I put these questions and more to Simon Moss in this enlightening and lively conversation about the future of global advocacy on issues related to sustainable development and fighting extreme poverty.

We kick off discussing the origin story of Global Citizen before having a longer conversation about new trends in global advocacy work.

Global Citizen is probably best known for its annual music festival in Central Park in New York that takes place during UN week, bringing together music stars, NGO leaders and government officials on stage in an effort to catalyze action on key global issues like polio eradication or girls education. Simon Moss explains the pros and cons of using a major event like a rock concert to leverage concrete policy outcomes.

If you have 25 minutes and want to learn where international advocacy is headed in the Trump era, have a listen.

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About Simon Moss

Simon Moss is a Co-Founder of Global Citizen, and is currently the Managing Director of Campaigns. He’s another Australian living in New York, has been campaigning on global issues for more than a decade, and writes and speaks regularly on the role of global citizens in ending extreme poverty.

Zimbabwe is in the Midst of its Worst Crisis Since the Fall of Robert Mugabe

Zimbabwe was rocked by protests in mid-January in the most significant public display of dissatisfaction with the government of Emerson Mnangagwa.

Mnangagwa deposed longtime Zimbabwe ruler Robert Mugabe in a coup in November 2017. This past summer he further ensconced himself in power through an election in which he was declared the winner.

The proximate cause of these protests were a sudden increase in the price of fuel. The government’s response was exceedingly violent and repressive. Thousands of people are now languishing in jail.

On the line with me to explain what caused these protests and why the once promising rule of Emerson Mnangagwa is now looking more and more like a facsimile of the Mugabe era is Mako Muzenda.

Mako Muzenda is a freelance journalist from Zimbabwe who contributes to UN Dispatch. She is currently finishing her post graduate work at university in South Africa, which is where I caught up with her for this episode.

We kick off discussing the fuel tax hike that lead to these protests before having a longer conversation about the ups and downs of the Mnangagwa era in Zimbabwe.

If you have twenty minutes and want to learn the impact of these mass protests in Zimbabwe, have a listen

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