Archives for June 2020

Global Health and the Future We Want — A UN 75 Consultation

The United Nations turns 75 year this year. Rather than celebrate with a diamond jubilee, the United Nations 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? What is Needed to Bridge the Gap?

Here in the United States, the United Nations Association is hosting “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.

Today’s episode is part three of a three part series that gives listeners an inside look into how the UN is commemorating its 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 part two, we used discussed those questions in the context of climate and the environment. 

In today’s episode, I moderate a consultation about global health. This episode kicks off with my 15 minutes interview with Kate Dodson, Vice President for Global Health at the United Nations Foundation. We 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. For the podcast, I edited this down to include some of the questions and answers discussed.

 

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The Crisis in Libya Takes a Dramatic Turn

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. 

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How Big Data and New Technologies Can Advance Climate Security | Climate Security Series – Taped Live

credit: Marius B Big Data: water wordscape Flickr CC license

How can data and novel technologies can be put to better use in the service of peace building, resilience, and other aspects of climate security? In part two of the Climate Security Series, produced in partnership with CGIAR, we examine how big data can advance progress on climate security.

Four panelists from diverse fields grapple with how data and technology can support 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

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The Black Lives Matter Movement Goes Global

Anthony Quintano Black Lives Matter Protest Times Square New York City June 7 2020. CC License via Flickr

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.

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Climate Change and the Future We Want — A UN 75 Consultation

The United Nations turns 75 year this year. Rather than celebrate with a diamond jubilee, the United Nations 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. Today’s episode is part two of a three part series that gives listeners an inside look into how the UN is commemorating its 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. Our conversation focuses on the Paris Agreement and what sub-national groups, like individual states, are doing to advance the climate change agenda in the face of inaction at the federal level. After that interview concludes, to consultation begins. And for the podcast, I edited this down to include some of the questions and answers discussed.  

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A Fight Between Indian and Chinese Soldiers Has Huge Global Implications

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 fist fight. 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.  

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The Link Between Food Security, Climate and Conflict

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

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Why the Conventional Wisdom About the Arab Spring is Wrong | Noah Feldman

When we think about the long term impact of the Arab Spring what comes to mind first is failure and disaster. With the notable exception of Tunisia, every Arab Spring uprising ended in bloodshed or renewed authoritarianism —  or both.

But that is not the full story.

In his new book The Arab Winter: A Tragedy, Noah Feldman maps some of the enduring political consequences of the Arab Spring– beyond what the conventional wisdom holds. In this conversation, he explains how the Arab Spring resulted in

Noah Feldman is an author and constitutional scholar who is the Felix Frankfurter professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He also hosts the Deep Background Podcast.

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COVID-19 and the Caribbean

My guest today Geneive Brown Metzger is the former Consul General of Jamaica in New York. She is  President of the Caribbean American Maritime Association and  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. The Caribbean has quietly become yet another venue for China’s global development and infrastructure building projects, under what is known as the Belt and Road Initiative

If you have twenty minutes and want a good explanation of how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting the people and governments of the Caribbean, have a listen

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