Conversations about Foreign Policy and World Affairs
On January 23, protests erupted in several cities and town across Russia in support of Alexey Navalny, the anti-corruption activist who was poisoned in an assassination attempt last August. Navalny returned to Russia and was promptly arrested.
On the line with me to discuss the significance of these protests and what they signal about politics in Russia today is Michael McFaul, who served as US Ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014.
Nigeria has a population of over 200 million people. It is the largest country in Africa.
The country is now in the midst of a second wave of COVID infections which is straining an already fragile health system. But Nigerian officials have not been able to secure any doses of any COVID-19 vaccine for their frontline health workers–let alone general population.
My guest today, Dr. Faisal Shuaib heads Nigeria’s National Primary Healthcare Development Agency and a member of the country’s COVID-19 task force. He explains the impact of the COVID–19 in Nigeria and the difficult task of securing doses of the vaccine.
On January 14th, Uganda held national elections for president and parliament. The incumbent was the 76 year old Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986. His main challenger was a 38 year old music star turned politician who goes by the stage name Bobi Wine. Museveni claimed victory and his security forces have laid siege to Wine’s home.
On the line to help me understand the current state of play of the fraught election and its aftermath in Uganda is Rosebell Kagumire. She is a writer and editor at a the publication African Feminism and I caught up with her from Kampala, Uganda.
Ambassador Klaus Scharioth, who served as German Ambassador the United States from 2006 to 2011, discusses the implications of the Pro-Trump insurrection on US foreign policy and international relations.
There is a worsening Jihadist insurgency in a province in Northern Mozambique called Cabo Delgado. The insurgency began in 2017, but in recent weeks the fighting has intensified substantially. Over half a million people have been displaced — most over the last few months. And in early January 2021, the French energy company Total announced it was suspending operations on a massive $3.9 billion natural gas project in the region amid concerns about the safety of personnel.
Zenaida Machado is a senior researcher with the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. I caught up with hear from Maputo, the capitol of Mozambique. She explains the history of this insurgency, including how this group has shifted tactics from targeted assassinations to more recently capturing territory, including strategically important cities and corridors.
One of the most visible tools of international cooperation on peace and security are UN Peacekeepers — Blue Helmets. Today there are about 95,000 uniformed personnel deployed to to 13 missions around the world.
Though the United States deploys very few boots on the ground to peacekeeping missions, it is the single largest funder of UN Peacekeeping. And, as a veto-wielding member of the Security Council, it also determines where peacekeepers should be sent. This means that the United States hold tremendous potential to determine the effectiveness of UN peacekeeping.
Victoria Holt has spent a career studying what makes UN Peacekeeping effective and designing policies to strengthen American support for UN Peacekeeping. Victoria Holt is Vice President at the Henry L Stimson Center and served as Deputy Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Security during the two terms of the Obama administration.
Today’s episode is produced in partnership with the Better World Campaign as part of a series examining the opportunities for strengthening multilateral engagement by the new Biden-Harris administration and the incoming 117th Congress. To learn more and access additional episodes in this series, please visit http://getusback.org/
