Thinking Through with LJ: Recent Episodes
Leopoldino
A podcast to discuss power dynamics, conflicts, international development, and systems affecting people’s lives, with Leopoldino Jeronimo
Valentina Lana, a Lecturer at the Sciences Po law school in Paris, discusses the 2022 Corruption Perception Index, highlighting that global peace has deteriorated for the past decade and a half. Valentina is also a German Marshall Fund's 2023 Marshall Memorial Fellow.
Latest Valentina's publication:
Lana, V., & Sapin, M. (2023, March 3). The Impact of the Sapin II Act on the Extraterritorial Application of American law and on cooperation between France and the United States in the fight against international corruption | International Enforcement Law Reporter. https://www.ielr.com/content/impact-sapin-ii-act-extraterritorial-application-american-law-and-cooperation-between-france
Reference:
Transparency International. (2023, January 31). 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index. Transparency.Org. https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2022
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The episode focuses on Sci-Fi and Practical Orientalism, Chapter 7 of Greta's book, and the Concluding Thoughts.Greta Lynn Uehling is the Author of Everyday War, a book resulting from her long-term research between 2015 and 2017 in Donbas, Ukraine. Greta is also a Teaching Professor at the University of Michigan. Greta's expertise includes international migration, human smuggling and trafficking, and refugee resettlement.
Reference
Uehling, G. L. (2023). Everyday War: The Conflict over Donbas, Ukraine. Cornell University Press.
Subscribe and watch the video version of this episode and others, here.
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Greta Lynn Uehling is the Author of Everyday War, a book resulting from her long-term research between 2015 and 2017 in Donbas, Ukraine. Greta is also a teaching Professor at the University of Michigan. Greta’s expertise includes international migration, human smuggling and trafficking, and refugee resettlement.
This episode introduces a sequence where Greta presents her research findings while exploring the political conflict implications in the noncombatant relationships between Ukraine and Russian identities, all sharing internally displaced person spaces. Each one had to adopt survival strategies, some of which caused social and family fractures. But most importantly, ensuring they remain alive among the casualties of that war.
Book Store: Amazon
Episode Cover: TDyuvbanova
Reference: Uehling, G. L. (2023). Everyday War: The Conflict over Donbas, Ukraine. Cornell University Press.
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Honoring International Women's Day 2023, we will dedicate the month of March 2023 to shed light on women’s issues across the black continent and dive into some of the structures that continue to create and maintain the existing gender gaps, focusing on forms of gender-based violence as a common continental challenge.
Mokshda Pertaub, a Lawyer, trained as a barrister from Mauritius with 25 years of experience in legal practice, judiciary, and legal advisory, as well as teaching and training, particularly in the areas of gender laws, Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), children rights and environmental law. She is an international gender expert and a Gender Responsive Policing consultant with UNWomen for Senegal National Police, as well as a gender and law consultant with various international agencies like IOM, Equality Now, Agence France de Development, etc. She is also a judicial trainer in environmental law, cyber crimes and digital evidence, judicial ethics and integrity, and gender and violence.
Ubuntulist
Producer: Fatma Awadalla
Host: Leopoldino Jeronimo
Photo Cover: Image-Source
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Ms. Brenda Uche Anugwom is an international development specialist working to ensure gender equity and justice. With 19 years of experience in the development sector, Brenda has dedicated most of her time to speaking against all forms of discrimination against women. In her home country Nigeria, she has been a formidable force in canvassing inclusive representation and gender equity. Brenda has carried out several research projects on women's inclusion and Gender Based Violence (GBV) and has advocated for girls' education. Brenda has a Master of Laws degree from Loyola University Chicago, and she works with a humanitarian organization in South Sudan and volunteers with Give Girls A Chance (GGAC) in Nigeria from time to time.Producer: Fatma AwadallaHost: Leopoldino JeronimoPhoto cover credits: YuriArcursPeopleimages.Note: The entire episode was recorded through online services impacted by the internet speed on the field.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thinking-through-wi/message
A discussion journey, a simple preventive conflict analysis looking int to the status of the Liberian State.
For that, there is nothing better than to explore one of the oldest democratic states ever built in Africa, questionably from scratch waiving local and regional threats because of the conflicts between Liberian natives and the Settlers, Americo-Liberian repatriates in the 1800s.
Baba Sillah is a researcher in Global Studies at Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan. And Ali Kaba, a researcher in International Development at the American University.
Your host: Leopoldino Jeronimo
Website: https://thinkingthroughwithlj.com/
Episode Cover: Evanto elements, by SteveAllenPhoto999
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Perspectives and questions towards state making in Africa. A discussion with Ali Kaba a Ph.D. researcher at The American University. And yes, I mean Africa as a continent, not a country.
Some of Ali’s research interests include customary land governance, rural migration, and foreign investment in local communities.
Ali previously worked as a Program Director and Senior Researcher at the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI). A Liberian-based Non-Governmental Organization committed to transforming decision-making processes in land and natural resources.
Photo by James Wiseman on Unsplash
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Perspectives and questions towards state making in Africa. A discussion with Ali Kaba a Ph.D. researcher at The American University. And yes, I mean Africa as a continent, not a country.
Some of Ali’s research interests include customary land governance, rural migration, and foreign investment in local communities.
Ali previously worked as a Program Director and Senior Researcher at the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI). A Liberian-based Non-Governmental Organization committed to transforming decision-making processes in land and natural resources.
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In this last episode of three, Valentina Lana, a Lecturer at the Sciences Po law school in Paris, rounds up the best anti-corruption practices in global policies. As the last piece of her proposed knowledge map, Valentina ends with a set of positive tones, a takeaway for institutions and people determined to embrace an anti-corruption system.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Additional Material:
UN. (2022). UN Office of the Iraq Program—Oil-for-Food. https://www.un.org/depts/oip/sector-food.html
Transparency International. (2013). Oil-for-food programme plagued by ‘lack of transparency’ and…. Transparency.Org. https://www.transparency.org/en/press/oil-for-food-programme-plagued-by-lack-of-transparency-and-scandalous-confl
An Inquiry on the U.N. Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme | NYU School of Law. (n.d.-a). Retrieved August 24, 2022, from https://www.law.nyu.edu/news/IILJ_IRAQ_OILFOOD
An Inquiry on the U.N. Iraq Oil-for-Food Programme | NYU School of Law. (n.d.-b). https://www.law.nyu.edu/news/IILJ_IRAQ_OILFOOD
Duke University School of Law. (2013, October 11). Investigating the United Nations Oil-For-Food Program. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvhyg3zbqH0
Valentina Lana, a Lecturer at the Sciences Po law school in Paris, discusses the US, France, and UK anti-corruption laws. She describes best practices to create robust corporate programs to deter, prevent and combat corruption.
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash
With Victor Uhuru a community organizer, conflict analyst, and specialist in Monitoring and Evaluation, I discuss the trends of democracy and ethnic conflicts in Kenya as it applies to his understanding of what the country awaits for brighter governance and an inclusive system. He argues on the intricacies of lack of public participation and discrepancies in coordinated efforts for better accountability while also highlighting the greatest achievements Kenya as a nation has reached.
Leopoldino Jeronimo
Cover Image by Kurious From Pixaby
Valentina Lana, a Lecturer at the Sciences Po law school in Paris discusses the concepts, magnitude, and nuances of the fight against corruption. In this series, Valentina sets the ground for her next few episodes in the legal framework guiding the global work of the anti-corruption-based advocacy in public, private and societal landscapes.
Photo by Nathaniel Tetteh on Unsplash
References
Lana, V. & Sapin, M. (2022, April 14). Guest Post: France’s Anticorruption Turnaround–and the Path Forward. GAB | The Global Anticorruption Blog. https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2022/04/14/guest-post-frances-anticorruption-turnaround-and-the-path-forward/
Lana, V. (2022). Covid19: A better humanity is incubating. Émile Magazine. https://www.emilemagazine.fr/article/2020/5/12/better-days-ahead-a-better-humanity-is-incubating
OECD. (2021). OECD - Public Integrity Indicators. https://oecd-public-integrity-indicators.org/
OECD. (2022). Opening remarks, followed by “Strengthening political integrity.” https://oecd-events.org/gacif2022/onlinesession/b0571382-9b7a-ec11-94f6-a04a5e7d3e1c
Transparency International. (2021a). 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index—Explore the results. Transparency.Org. https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021
Transparency International. (2021b). Corruption Perception Index 2021. https://images.transparencycdn.org/images/CPI2021_Report_EN-web.pdf
Phamolie Morris orris Kromah breaks it down to de essence of sustained peace and development for ECOWAS, the Economic West Africa Society. He elaborates on what sets back the economic growth while also acknowledging the major tipping progress to date. Among the key detailed statistics, he also delivers a qualifying analysis driving a reflection on the autonomy of the region and the African Union, as it relates to its functional external funding source. Moreover, what exactly will drive progress in the region, and if not ambitious what about the continent?
Photo by Edouard TAMBA on Unsplash
Political and Economilitary discussions make the flow of this episode's discussion with Anastasia Bannikova, Elizabeth Morgan, and Phamolie Morris Kromah. From the imperialist beginnings, in the structure of power dynamics, the ongoing conflicts come to light as a result of historical accounts of what; the way wars and other conflicts have been negotiated and unsustainably settled in addition to the structural system of political and economilitary bases that dominates the militarization of the world and divide, which includes the long-lasting quest of identity between the powerful economies, the West versus Russia and the others in between. whether it is a quest for a global democratic world or a more coexisting diverse world of multiple systems.
Here are the readings we recommend:
Lowe, P. (2016). The rise of the BRICS in the global economy. Teaching Geography, 41(2), 50–53. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26455170
Motyl, A. J. (1996). Russia, Ukraine, and the West: What are America’s Interests? American Foreign Policy Interests, 18(1), 14–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10803920.1996.10391918
Motyl, A. J. (Ed.). (2001a). Encyclopedia of nationalism. Academic Press.
Motyl, A. J. (2001b). Imperial ends: The decay, collapse, and revival of empires. Columbia University Press.
Motyl, A. J., Ruble, B. A., & Shevtsova, L. (2004). Russia’s Engagement with the West: Transformation and Integration in the Twenty-First Century. Taylor & Francis Group. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brandeis-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4605363
NW, 1615 L. St, Washington, S. 800, & Inquiries, D. 20036 U.-419-4300 | M.-857-8562 | F.-419-4372 | M. (2022, March 15). Public Expresses Mixed Views of U.S. Response to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine. Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/03/15/public-expresses-mixed-views-of-u-s-response-to-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/
Snyder, T. (2018). The road to unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America (First paperback edition). Tim Duggan Books.
Stevis-Gridneff, M., Levenson, M., & Erlanger, S. (2022, April 7). What Happened on Day 43 of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/04/07/world/ukraine-russia-war-news
Photo by Brett Zeck on Unsplash
To understand what Coercive and Nuclear Negotiations are I discuss with Professor Eugene B. Kogan, a researcher and an expert in the power dynamics of negotiation. This is also the core of his fast-paced and interactive pro-seminar offering an in-depth introduction to the principles and dynamics of coercive and nuclear negotiations around the world with a focus on a few conflicts for reference.
The world is now overwhelmed with a few ongoing negotiation processes over conflicts with multiple actors in the global north and south countries. Although the list of these conflicts might be probably endless depending on how each conflict is reported and to who it affects, different data sources and conflict analysis have put together some for our benefit and focused discernment.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) reported last February 2022 that Ethiopia, Yemen, The Sahel, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Sudan, Haiti, Colombia, and Myanmar would be the 10 conflicts to watch this year (ACLED, 2022).
While the International Crises Group went further to pinpoint Ukraine, Israel-Palestine, Afghanistan, Iran Versus the US and Israel, Ethiopia, Yemen, Islamist Militants in Africa, and Ethiopia as the most concerning 10 conflicts to watch in 2022 (International Crisis Group, 2021).
But the Center for Preventive Action under the Council on Foreign Affairs provide another set of survey results of their version of the conflicts to watch this year which included Afghanistan, Haiti, Lebanon, Venezuela, China Taiwan, Iran, Israel, Mexico, North Korea, Ukraine, and Russia and added a Cyberattack on US critical infrastructure (Stares, 2022)
Eugene Kogan, is a professor of conflict resolution at Harvard, Brandeis, and other Universities. He is also a Co-Author of the book Mediation: Negotiation by other moves. In addition, he has also been engaged in delivering an analytical message and strategies a contribute to sustainable negotiation processes.
Episode cover Photo by Humphrey Muleba on Unsplash
Here are the readings we recommend:
Walsh, C. (2022, March 18). Finding exit to war in Ukraine. Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/03/finding-exit-to-war-in-ukraine/
Kogan, E. B. (2022, March 7). Without giving in, a united West needs to offer Putin a face-saving way out | Opinion. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/without-giving-united-west-needs-offer-putin-face-saving-way-out-opinion-1685551
Robert J. Art and Patrick Cronin, The United States and Coercive Diplomacy. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Institute of Peace, 2003), Introduction and Conclusion.
Alain Lempereur, Jacques Salzer, Aurelien Colson, Michele Pekar, Eugene B. Kogan, Mediation: Negotiation by Other Moves (Wiley 2021), Chapter 1.
James K. Sebenius and Eugene B. Kogan, Henry Kissinger’s Negotiation Campaign to End the Vietnam War. Harv
Roddy Denor and Martin Alexis unfold Haiti's development dilemmas. Between the 80s and 90s, there came the Structural Adjustment Programs. These, are a set of combined loans and policies with strings attached directed at restoring political and economically weak nations, most of them emerging from civil wars. The path for the intended restoration was to create conditions to increase foreign direct investments, reduction of taxes and prohibitive regulations, less state interference in the economy, and of course, this followed the boom of international non-governmental organizations and development agencies. it is in this late setting that both Roddy and Martin walk their intellect to carve their statement.
Sources
Episode cover Photo by Claudia Altamimi on Unsplash
Leroy, D. (1991a). IMF Structural Adjustment Programs: The case of Haiti, Part 1. https://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/24980/1/1991_leroy_dominique.pdf
Leroy, D. (1991b). IMF Structural Adjustment Programs: The case of Haiti, Part 2. https://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/24980/2/1991_leroy_dominique_part2.pdf
Weisbrot, M. (1997, January). Structural adjustment in Haiti. Monthly Review, 48(8), 25+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A442779610/AONE?u=anon~3612484d&sid=googleScholar&xid=fceed8a7
We follow up on the Russia Ukraine conflict with Professor Pratistha Joshi Rajkarnikar, Elisabeth Morgan, Anastasia Bannikova, Tyler Rossi, Ruya Akar, Roddy Denor and Alex Homer. In this episode, we focus on understanding the interests of China, economic alternatives for Russia, as well as the power dynamics between impacting the humanitarian crises.
Episode cover Photo by Nati Melnychuk on Unsplash
A thinking-through episode unpacking the Russia Ukraine conflict with Elisabeth Morgan, Anastasia Bannikova, Tyler Rossi, and Ruya Akar. The first of many to come every two weeks until we get to some ground of resolution for peace and security, not to mention the restoration of people's dignity and identity.
Episode cover photo by Nati Melnychuk on Unsplash.
The Africa Forum at Brandeis University started a series of debates on what happens on the continent. Therefore, in this episode, you’ll hear Burkina Faso’s discussion with Fatim Wedraogo and the updates of Sudan with Yasser Adam. In between the participants of the debate session, have also delivered their elaborate questions for discussions.
After learning about the Political Instability in Sudan, and following up the active protests, the curse goes own in the continent. Armed groups killed two thousand people and displaced about one million and four hundred who had to flee for their lives. Ebenezer Obadare blogged at the Council on Foreign Relations on January 25. An informative situation report of the last Coup d’état about the military taking command of the government that was not delivering its promise of development. Instead, it led the country to chaos through increased violence against the population, political instability, and economic collapse.
Resources for this Episode
UN (n.d) Burkina Faso Map - Geospatial location information for a better world, available at https://www.un.org/geospatial/content/burkina-faso-1
African Union. (2021, January 29). Conflict Resolution, Peace & Security | African Union. https://au.int/en/conflict-resolution-peace-security
African Union & Commission. (2015). Agenda 2063: The Africa we want.
AfricaNews. (2021, November 25). Burkina Faso: Opposition, business community protest internet suspension. Africanews. https://www.africanews.com/2021/11/25/burkina-faso-extends-internet-suspension/
Aljazeera. (2021, November 17). Burkina Faso: Death toll in security post attack jumps to 53 | News | Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/17/burkina-faso-death-toll-security-post-attack-jumps-to-53
Mednick, S. (2021, November 17). Hundreds go missing in Burkina Faso amid extremist violence. AP NEWS. https://apnews.com/article/africa-islamic-state-group-burkina-faso-missing-persons-80ffd2f58e9bd11c94db316da45f5014
Obadare, E. (2022, January 25). Coup in Burkina Faso Bodes Ill for Stability in West Africa [Council on Foreign Relations]. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/blog/coup-burkina-faso-bodes-ill-stability-west-africa
Palik, J., Rustad, S. A., & Methi, F. (2020). Conflict Trends in Africa, 1989–2019. 40.
Raleigh, C., & Kishi, R. (2021, February 1). Africa: The only continent where political violence increased in 2020. The Mail & Guardian. https://mg.co.za/africa/2021-02-01-africa-the-only-continent-where-political-violence-increased-in-2020/
Reuters. (2021, December 1). Sudan’s Hamdok would quit if post-coup deal not implemented—Source. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/hamdok-would-quit-if-post-coup-deal-not-implemented-supported-source-2021-12-01/
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (n.d.). Goal 16 | Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at a
Professor Alain Lempereur discusses the Dilemmas of Conflict Transformation and Power Dynamics. As a professor, author of publications in the field of conflict resolution and coexistence, and being an active expert member of the global experts in negotiation programs Alain, holds a key experienced opinion to shape change narratives. In this podcast, I seek to explore why conflicts recur and most importantly who pays the price while a handful of minorities shapes the lives of the world's population. Furthermore, I also ask whether the Accademia plays a role, assuming that most of the world's ongoing and past negotiations are managed by actors who come from a particular school of liberal or local agendas. To that, a key question followed to find out if a change in the narrative away from the colonial legacies could not be an option to build better senses of ownership in most of the peacebuilding processes, so far failing to address the root causes of conflict and the use of more exclusive approaches to negotiation.
Episode Art Cover source is a map of visualized world's ongoing conflicts in 2021, available at:
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-where-are-the-worlds-ongoing-conflicts-today/
The context in which countries differ their capability response to an outbreak is highly dictated by the global health system rules which place millions of civilians in the global south countries already trapped in ongoing political unrests and economic hardships, in vulnerabilities through which their inability to respond, poses a global security threat.
Samantha Lee shares her research findings and analysis around global health as it relates to security and international development. During the discussions we hold, her concerns are mostly around policy designs and governance in global health with a focus on the impacts of such decisions made at the top, to the people on the ground who are in constant need of accessible vaccines, testing kits, and locally applicable containment measures. Her arguments advocate for prevention as the best and cheapest solution for a global health crisis.
Links for more information on the data we used and a few extra relevant for the Global Health discussions:
Episode Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash
Fisher DA, Carson G, on behalf of the GOARN Steering Committee. Back to basics: the outbreak response pillars. Lancet 2020; published online August 17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31760-8.
²Michaud, J., Moss, K., & Kates, J. (2021, May 21). The U.S. Government and Global Health Security. KFF. https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/issue-brief/the-u-s-government-and-global-health-security/
³Broad, W. J. (2020). Putin’s Long War Against American Science. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/science/putin-russia-disinformation-health-coronavirus.html
⁴Howard, A. (2020). The Pandemic and America’s Response to Future Bioweapons. https://warontherocks.com/2020/05/the-pandemic-and-americas-response-to-future-bioweapons/
⁵Das, K. N. (2021). India could ship vaccines to COVAX in a few weeks, say sources. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-could-ship-vaccines-covax-few-weeks-say-sources-2021-11-09/
**⁶Gostin LO, Halabi SF, Klock KA. An International Agreement on Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness. JAMA. 2021;326(13):1257–1258. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.16104
Worldometers.info (November 23, 2021) Coronavirus Cases.** https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
On October 30, Sudanese citizens and supporters based in the United States organized none violent protests and delivered messages of concern to the country's future. Jessica Addis and Krithi Vachaspati, as Conflict Resolution and Coexistence students, organized another discussion session at Heller with Nagi Mussa and Yasser Adam.
This episode blends both the nonviolent protest messages and the discussion insights as an in-depth analysis of what this conflict entails and what scenarios are to be explored.
On October 25, 2021, the Military Army in Sudan took power and arrested government officials, claiming to restore the wellbeing of the Sudanese. This claim is not shared with all, more than 40 million Sudanese in the world. In this episode, I have Yasser Adam analyzing the ongoing conflict with lenses of a Sudanese born in the Darfur region and Studying Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence at Brandeis University, the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.