Wilson Center NOW: Recent Episodes
Wilson Center
NOW is a series of brief, incisive conversations with our leading experts that make sense of today’s headlines and the forces behind them.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Wilson Center Middle East Fellows Marina and David Ottaway. They discuss their new book they co-authored with their sons, “Living Interesting Lives: A Memoir.” The book, “covers over 20 years of the life of a Washington Post foreign correspondent and his family, working and trying to make a home and bring up small children in various hot news spots in Africa and the Middle East while also reflecting on the strange normalcy of daily life in the midst of coups d’etat and revolutions.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Wilson Center Global Fellow Jason Steinhauer. Jason is a bestselling author, public historian, podcast host, and founder of the History Communication Institute. He discusses his recent article, The End of the 20th Century, in which he argues the ideologies and linear organizing structures of the 20th century have finally given way to a new societal and political order.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Michael Kugelman, Director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute. He discusses the continued unrest in Pakistan and the deadly clashes in the capital Islamabad between security forces and supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. Kugelman also highlights recent sectarian violence and increased terrorism from militant groups, the nation’s economic outlook, and what the return of President Trump will mean for US-Pakistan relations.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Robert Daly, Director of the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the United States. He highlights his recent trip to China and discusses how Beijing is preparing for the second Trump administration by deepening ties with allies and Global South nations, boosting its internal tech sector, and bracing the economy for increased tariffs.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we discuss the state of democratic governance on the African continent and what US and African leaders can learn from recent trends. Joining us are Charles Ukeje, Professor of International Relations at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and Rawia Tawfik, Visiting Associate Professor with the Council on African Studies at Yale University’s MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. We also highlight the first event in a series on Trendlines and Transformations in African Democratic Governance, which examines how citizen participation and civic engagement demands are shaping governance in different ways across the continent.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Michael Kugelman, Director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, and Xavier Delgado, Senior Program Associate with the Canada Institute. They discuss the latest developments in the growing diplomatic standoff between Canada and India, which began after the murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Kugelman and Delgado examine how, “the relationship that had been on a downward trajectory for several years has now hit rock bottom.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Merissa Khurma, Director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center. We discuss the latest
developments with widening conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, possible implications from Israel’s retaliation for the October 1st missile attack by Iran, and where US diplomatic efforts stand in the region.
Note: This interview was recorded prior to the killing of Yahya Sinwar.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, and current Wilson Center Fellow Molly O’Toole. She discusses her upcoming book, “The Route: How American Policy, a Billion-Dollar Black Market, and Indomitable Resilience are Bringing the World’s Refugees to the US Border.” The book examines “one of the most consequential issues of our time — the mass movement of people around the globe in the face of climate change, civil unrest, and more, with tens of thousands of migrants from Africa and Asia attempting the same treacherous route through South America and Central America each year to reach the US-Mexico border in hopes of gaining entry to America.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we highlight the latest from Venezuela in the aftermath of the disputed July 28th presidential election with Benjamin Gedan, Director of the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program. Gedan discusses the Maduro regime’s claims of victory, the government’s brutal crackdown on protesters, and the state of the opposition movement after presidential candidate Edmundo González fled into exile and with María Corina Machado in hiding within the country.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, Sherri Goodman, a Senior Fellow with the Wilson Center's Polar Institute and Environmental Change and Security Program, discusses her new book, “Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security.” The book “takes us onto the battlefield and inside the Pentagon to show how the US military is confronting the biggest security risk in global history: climate change.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we focus on the latest edition of the Wilson Quarterly, The Great Population Shakeup. We are joined by editor Stephanie Bowen and contributor Lauren Herzer Risi. The issue “assesses how the immediate and growing effects of changing global demographics may drastically shift longstanding economic and political patterns and perhaps, help to shift long-held assumptions.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we highlight the Wilson Center’s Sudans Working Group with Oge Onubogu, Director of the Wilson Center’s Africa Program and co-chairs Ambassador Nureldin Satti and Ambassador Donald E. Booth. Established in 2009, the Sudans Working Group (SWG) “engages US, African, and international policymakers and stakeholders in inclusive and forward-leaning policy dialogue aimed at advancing the prospects for peace, security, and development between and within Sudan and South Sudan. The SWG serves as a space for key stakeholders to share analyses and perspectives and provide policy options for addressing critical issues related to the two countries.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Rebecca Pincus, Director of the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute. She highlights the recently announced Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE-PACT) by the US, Canada, and Finland. The collaboration is intended to “strengthen shipbuilding and maritime industrial capacity through closer cooperation on polar icebreakers and counter Russia and China in the Arctic and Antarctic.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by William Drozdiak, Global Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Global Europe Program and author of “The Last President of Europe: Emmanuel Macron's Race to Revive France and Save the World.” He discusses the recent legislative election in France in which, contrary to pre-election projections, left wing alliance New Popular Front candidates won a plurality of seats after the second round. Drozdiak discusses what’s next in President Macron’s efforts to form a coalition government and what the fractured election results could mean for the second largest economy in Europe going forward.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Michael Collins, Executive Director, The Americas at the Institute for Economics & Peace. He highlights the 18th edition of the annual Global Peace Index (GPI), produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP). The index is the world’s leading measure of peacefulness, and “reveals that the world is at a crossroads and without concerted effort, there is a risk of a surge in major conflicts.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Arnaud Kurze, Wilson Center Global Fellow and Associate Professor of Justice Studies, Montclair State University, Liana Almony, Deputy Director at UNANIMA International, and Franz Baumann, Former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations. They highlight the concept of climate justice, the idea of putting equity and human rights at the core of decision-making and action on climate change. They discuss ideas for bringing marginalized communities, including women and populations in the Global South, into the multilateral decision-making processes when seeking solutions to climate change.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Sung-Yoon Lee, Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Indo-Pacific Program, Former Kim Koo-Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies and Assistant Professor, the Fletcher School, Tufts University. He discusses his project at the Wilson Center, “The Pyongyang Playbook: North Korea’s Provocations, Peace Ploys, Propaganda, and Unification Policy.” Lee explains that while many in the West often mock North Korea and the Kim regime, we need to take the self-isolated, totalitarian state much more seriously.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we speak with Nader Nadery, Senior Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Indo-Pacific Program. He discusses the new report, “Human Rights Under Siege Salvaging the International Rights Regime in a Turbulent World Order.” The report examines how, 75 years after the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “the past two decades have witnessed a dramatic shift in the geopolitical landscape, characterized by the erosion of multilateralism, the rise of nationalism, the resurgence of authoritarian regimes, and the discernable retreat of US leadership in global human rights advocacy.” The report outlines a concise set of recommendations to bolster international accountability for rights violations, reviving US leadership in human rights advocacy, enhancing multilateral collaboration, and boosting the effectiveness of global institutions such as the UN.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we focus on the latest edition of the Wilson Quarterly, Understanding Russia, with the help of editor Stephanie Bowen and contributor Izabella Tobarovsky. Tobarovsky’s article, Antisemitic Propaganda and Disinformation in Putin’s War Against Democracies, examines how “Russia’s long history of exploiting antisemitism for political purposes is benefiting its larger strategy to destabilize democratic societies and the West.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we speak with Robert Daly, Director of the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute. He highlights Secretary Blinken’s recent trip to China and examines whether a new Cold War has developed between the two nations. Daly also discusses how the Biden administration’s goal of “managed competition” with Beijing is playing out with continued tensions over the South China Sea, Ukraine conflict, and China’s attempts to leverage the ongoing Israel-Hamas War for improved relations with the global south.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we highlight the Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative (RAFDI) Working Group Report, “US Leadership Matters in Addressing Forced Displacement Crisis,” with co-authors, John Thon Majok, James Hollifield, and Susan F Martin. The report “seeks to provide guidance and actionable recommendations for the US government and other actors on ways to protect, assist, and find sustainable solutions for refugees and other displaced people.” The report identifies six major policy and programming issues that require effective US leadership, consistent global response, and multilateral collaboration.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Ambassador Kristie Kenney, former senior US diplomat who served as the 32nd Counselor of the US Department of State and Ambassador to the Republic of Ecuador, the Philippines, and Thailand. She discusses the first-ever US-Japan-Philippines trilateral summit held in Washington on April 11th. Kenney explains how the summit highlights the importance of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy and could change the military and economic security dynamic in the region going forward.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by David Sanger, former Wilson Center Distinguished Fellow andWhite House and National Security Correspondent for the New York Times, and Mary Brooks, researcher, writer, documentarian, and former Wilson Center Public Policy Fellow. They discuss their new book, “New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West.” The book is “an insider account of what happened as five presidents grappled with new foreign policy realities and moves rapidly through 30 years of Washington's dawning awareness of Vladimir Putin's and Xi Jinping's ambitions, cultivating in the Biden Administration's efforts to contain China's technological progress and push back on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we highlight the 5th anniversary of the Middle East Program's blog, Enheduanna with Merissa Khurma and Faria Nasruddin. The blog seeks to “inspire diverse women contributors from the Middle East to voice their thoughts and express their ideas about the state of women in their countries and their often ignored yet important work to advance women’s issues across the region.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we speak with Jacqueline Charles, Pulitzer Prize finalist and Emmy Award-winning foreign correspondent for the Miami Herald. She discusses the ongoing political and security crisis in Haiti. With gangs reportedly controlling large areas of the capital and the resignation of acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry, Charles examines the current efforts by the international community to create a multinational force to support Haiti’s security forces in their effort to reestablish rule of law.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we speak with Steve Coll, editor at the Economist, author, and a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. He discusses his latest book, “The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the CIA, and the Origins of America’s Invasion of Iraq.” The author uncovered unpublished and underreported sources, conducted interviews with surviving participants, and obtained Saddam’s own transcripts and audio files, to create "the definitive account of how corruptions of power, lies of diplomacy, and vanity—on both sides—led to avoidable errors of statecraft, ones that would enact immeasurable human suffering and forever change the political landscape as we know it." The author has donated many of the assets he used to research the book to the Wilson Center Digital Archive.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we speak with William Pomeranz, Director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute. He discusses the anniversaries of Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Pomeranz also explains what the death of Russian activist Alexei Navalny may mean for the Putin regime, Russia, and the West.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we focus on the latest edition of the Wilson Quarterly, The New Multilateralism, with the help of editor Stephanie Bowen. Also joining us are contributors Robin Quinville and Philip Reeker. Their article, Reinventing Security and Cooperation in Europe, examines how “by taking lessons from NATO, the OSCE could be more effective in responding to today's complex challenges.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Wilson Center Distinguished Fellow Robin Wright. She discusses the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war and assesses the impact of regional escalation which has drawn the US deeper into the crisis.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Jennifer Turner, Director of the Wilson Center's China Environment Forum, and Karen Mancl, Wilson Center Fellow and Professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering at The Ohio State University. They discuss a new Wilson Center and Ohio State University joint project, Cultivating US and Chinese Climate Leadership on Food and Agriculture. The project “engages with US and Chinese agriculture, food system, and climate experts with two goals in mind: illustrate the complex climate footprint from US and Chinese agriculture and highlight opportunities for bilateral cooperation on policies, projects, and strategies to reduce agriculture’s climate footprint.”
When Wilson Center NOW launched almost 10 years and more than 500 episodes ago, our topic was the Sochi Olympics and our guest was then Kennan Institute Director Matthew Rojansky. Matt, now President and CEO of the U.S. Russia Foundation and a Distinguished Fellow with Kennan, is back to mark the program’s anniversary and also help us explore how Russia’s role in the world and Vladimir Putin’s ambitions have changed during the past decade. In addition to taking a look back at that first episode focused on the 2014 Winter Olympics, Rojansky also discusses Russia’s rapidly deteriorating relationship with the West, beginning with the invasion of Crimea and continuing through its ongoing attack on Ukraine. This will be the final episode of NOW in calendar year 2023. We’ll see you in 2024 and until then wish you and yours a most happy and healthy holiday season.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by the Mexico Institute’s Andrew Rudman and Lila Abed. The discuss the upcoming 2024 presidential election in Mexico and highlight the program’s new publication, Mexico's Next President | Challenges and Recommendations. This booklet “offers recommendations on six of the most salient issues for consideration by the presidential candidates and their campaign teams including energy, migration, USMCA and North America, security, water, and nearshoring.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Southern Voices Network for Peacebuildingscholars Kgalalelo Nganje, Adane Tadesse, and Marie Grace Kagoyire Gasinzigwa. They discuss their projects, “Toward Greater Synergy Between International and Domestic Election Observation,” “Simmering Inte
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Merissa Khurma of the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program, and Izabella Tabarovsky, Kennan Institute Senior Advisor on Regional Partnerships and Programming. They discuss the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the threat of the war expanding to neighboring states, and the Biden administration’s shuttle diplomacy in the region.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we discuss the record-breaking heat of the summer of 2023 and the high number of extreme weather events experienced around the globe. Can a direct line be drawn between such events and climate change? And what are the implications of this emerging new normal as it relates to climate projections, resilience, and adaptation? Joining us are Matthew Huber, a professor at Purdue University where he directs the Institute for a Sustainable Future, and Lauren Herzer Risi, program director for the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we focus on the latest edition of the Wilson Quarterly, Africa Matters, with the help of editor Stephanie Bowen. Also joining us are contributors Akunna Cook and Amarachi Nwosu. Their articles, Africa Is Ready For Its Next Narrative and Culture in Motion highlight the rapidly growing creative economy throughout the continent.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Peter Zwack, Former U.S. Army Brigadier General and Global Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute. He provides an update on the ongoing Ukrainian counter offensive against Russia, the mood among the Ukrainian population and leadership, and the continued focus on increasing supplies of military equipment and diplomatic support from western nations.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist and former Wilson Center Fellow. He discusses the book he co-authored, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “definitive biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century.” The book served as the inspiration for the recent blockbuster film “Oppenheimer.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, Christopher Sands of the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute, and Michael Kugelman of itsSouth Asia Institute, discuss tensions between Canada and India over the recent killing of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Where does the relationship stand after the Trudeau government accused India of having a role in the murder? What is the historical context behind Sikh diaspora support of the Khalistan movement in Canada and the West? They answer these questions, and more.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined by Michael Keays, Senior Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State and Senior Diplomatic Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute. He discusses his project at the Center which focuses on how to re-engage with Russia after the fighting in Ukraine has ended and what history can teach us about what paths this US-Russia re-engagement may take in the future.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined by Kellee Wicker, Director of the Science and Technology Innovation Program at the Wilson Center. She recently returned from DEF CON 2023 in Las Vegas, the nation’s premier “ethical” hacking conference, supported by the White House and AI companies. She discusses her participation in the first red-teaming event, hosted by AI Village, to hack generative AI language models such as ChatGPT in an effort to promote “responsible innovation” in artificial intelligence.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined by Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former Vice President, Director, and Scholar at the Wilson Center. He discusses the latest from Israel after the government moved ahead with its judicial overhaul legislation in July. How have months long mass demonstrations against the overhaul affected the Netanyahu government’s plans moving forward and what has been the larger affect on Israeli society and identity?
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined by Michael Collins, Executive Director, The Americas, Institute for Economics & Peace. He discusses the newly released 17th edition of the annual Global Peace Index (GPI), produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP). The index is the world’s leading measure of peacefulness, and “reveals the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated for the ninth consecutive year with post-COVID civil unrest and political instability remaining high while regional and global conflicts accelerate.”
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined by Robert Litwak, Senior Vice President and Director of International Security Studies at the Wilson Center. He discusses his latest publication, “Tripolar Instability: Nuclear Competition Among the United States, Russia, and China.” The study explains how “China’s emergence as a peer nuclear power to the United States and Russia has brought the world to the cusp of a tripolar nuclear order.”
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined by Barry Rabe, the Arthur Thurnau Professor of Environmental Policy and the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He discusses his latest article, “Carbon Pricing Enters Middle Age.” The article “reviews the last half-decade of global climate policy and carbon pricing experience and examines the significant political challenges to pricing adoption in nations including the United States.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Akbar Ahmed, Wilson Center Global Fellow and the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University, and Michael Kugelman, Director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute. They discuss the ongoing political crisis in Pakistan in the wake of the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Robert Daly, Director of the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute on China and the United States. He discusses deteriorating relations between Canada and China in the wake of Ottawa’s expulsion of a Chinese diplomat and retaliation by China’s government.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Robert J. Lieber, Professor Emeritus of Government and International Affairs at Georgetown University. He discusses his new book, “Indispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in a Turbulent World,” which argues, “in a world full of revisionist powers, America’s role is more important than ever.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we take a look at the Spring 2023 issue of the Wilson Quarterly, “When Goods Cross Borders,” with the help of editor Stephanie Bowen. Also joining us is contributor Zoe Robbin who highlights her article, “Trading Water for Sun.” The piece discusses the dire water scarcity problem in the Jordan River Basin and explains how, “the Abraham Accords have opened the door for a green energy exchange between Israel and Jordan.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Mark Kennedy, Director of the Wilson Center’s Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition. He highlights that program’s mission which includes, “shaping conversations and inspiring meaningful action to strengthen the technological, economic and infrastructure underpinnings required for America and its allies to deter aggression and secure the rules-based order.” Kennedy discusses how WISC also seeks to, “serve as a hub on both topical and regional research, from infrastructure, trade, and energy to longstanding alliances such as the G-7 and the Quad—as well as newer U.S. partners.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Merissa Khurma, Director of the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program, and Lynn Mounzer, Gender in Business Specialist and Global Fellow with the Middle East Program. They discuss a new MEP report, Women Entrepreneurship in MENA: The Cases of Bahrain, Lebanon, and Tunisia. The report, “aggregates datasets from various national, regional, and global sources to better explain why women entrepreneurship in the MENA region continues to lag behind, despite striking progress in education, particularly tertiary education.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Andrew Rudman, Director of the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute. Also joining us is Lorenzo Córdova, Councilor President of Mexico's National Electoral Institute (INE). Córdova discusses the threat from the passage of a bill by Mexico’s legislature designed to curb the power of the INE, the non-partisan and independent agency that oversees elections. They also discuss recent mass protests across Mexico in support of the INE’s mission and the success that organization has had in helping protect political stability in Mexico.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, our guests are Sarah Barnes, Project Director for the Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative, and Samantha Karlin, Founder and CEO of Empower Global, a gender consulting firm that works with organizations to help them better recruit, retain, and advance women. Karlin discusses more about her organization, as well as how the definition of women’s empowerment and leadership are changing with younger generations. Both guests also share thoughts on how much progress has been made and how much work still remains.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Robert Daly, Director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, and Joseph Dresen, Senior Program Associate with the Kennan Institute. They discuss the increasingly close economic and military ties between China and Russia and how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further strained already tense relations between China and the West.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Robert Litwak, Senior Vice President and Director of International Security Studies at the Wilson Center. He discusses Russia’s decision to suspend participation in the New START Treaty, its last nuclear arms treaty with the United States. He also discusses increased nuclear sabre rattling by Russia since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine and highlights how China’s rapid nuclear arsenal expansion has only increased tensions with the West.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Sharon Burke, Global Fellow with the Environmental Change and Security Program and Founder and President of Ecospherics. Also joining us is Claire Doyle, Program Assistant for the Environmental Change and Security Program. They discuss ECSP’s new policy brief, U.S. Governance on Critical Minerals, which “offers an overview of key policy considerations in securing a reliable, sustainable, and affordable supply of some of the most important commodities of the 21st century: critical minerals.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Rebecca Pincus, director of the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute. Also joining us is Mathieu Boulegue, a research fellow at the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, and Michael B. Petersen, director of the Russia Maritime Studies Institute and an associate professor at the U.S. Naval War College. They discuss challenges posed by Russia in the Arctic and High North, how the war in Ukraine has affected Russian operations and objectives in the region, and the prospects for cooperation in the Arctic with the United States and western nations moving forward.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we highlight the Winter 2023 edition of the Wilson Quarterly, “Strategic Competition: Strengthening America’s Advantage in a Competitive World,” with the help of editor Stephanie Bowen. Also joining us is contributor Daniel Covarrubias, director of the Texas Center for Economic and Enterprise Development at the Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) A. R. Sanchez Jr. School of Business. He discusses his article, “A Living Lab at the Southern Border,” which examines “how the Fourth Industrial Revolution is changing how businesses operate and the environments where they compete.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Melvyn P. Leffler, Professor Emeritus of American History at The University of Virginia and Co-Chair of the History and Public Policy Program’s Advisory Board. He highlights his new book, Confronting Saddam Hussein: George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq. Leffler “vividly portrays the emotions and anxieties that shaped the thinking of the president after the shocking events of 9/11 and shows how fear, hubris, and power influenced Bush's approach to Saddam Hussein's Iraq.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Lauren Herzer Risi, Program Director of the Environmental Change and Security Program and Peter Schwartzstein, a Wilson Center Global Fellow and environmental journalist who reports on water, food security, and the conflict-climate nexus around the world. They highlight three newly released reports written by Peter focusing on climate-related migration and its short and long-term impacts on Senegal, Bangladesh, and Moldova.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Jon Hilsenrath, Senior Writer for The Wall Street Journal and a former Wilson Center Public Policy Fellow. Jon is also the author of the new book, “Yellen: The Trailblazing Economist Who Navigated an Era of Upheaval.” The book is “an engrossing and deeply humanchronicle of the past fifty years of American economic and social upheaval, viewed through the consequential life of the most powerful woman in American economic history, Janet Yellen, and her unconventional partnership in marriage and work with Nobel Laureate George Akerlof.”
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we discuss the new book, “Mapping Global Justice: Perspectives, Cases and Practice,” with authors Arnaud Kurze, Wilson Global Fellow, and Christopher Lamont, Assistant Dean, Tokyo International University. Also joining us for the discussion are Franz Baumann, Former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, and Sarine Karajerjian, Program Director, Environmental Politics, Arab Reform Initiative. The book offers a “broad and multidisciplinary survey of global justice, bridging the gap between theory and practice while examining persistent international conflicts, increasing inequality, and acute environmental and climate-related threats to humanity.”
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we highlight the Fall 2022 edition of the Wilson Quarterly, “As Strong as Our Weakest Link,” with the help of editor Stephanie Bowen. Also joining us is journalist and contributor Alden Wicker, who discusses her article, “Could the Uyghur Human Rights Crisis Finally Force Fashion to Reveal Its Supply Chain?” The article examines how blockchain technology might finally push the fashion industry into a new era of transparency.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Benjamin Gedan, Acting Director of the Wilson Center's Latin American Program and the Director of its Argentina Project. He discusses current U.S. policy approaches to Latin America and what shifts have occurred under the Biden administration. Gedan also highlights how global competition with China has affected U.S. political and economic focus on the region.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Federico Borsari, Leonardo Fellow with the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and a NATO 2030 Global Fellow. He discusses the success of the right-wing coalition in Italy’s 2022 general election, setting the stage for the most conservative government in decades. Borsari also provides background on Giorgia Meloni, expected to become the next prime minister of Italy.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Bruce Jentleson, the William Preston Few Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Political Science, Duke University. He discusses his new book, Sanctions: What Everyone Needs to Know, a “concise, authoritative overview of a little-understood yet extremely important phenomenon in world politics: the use of economic sanctions by one country to punish another.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Bruce Jentleson, the William Preston Few Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Political Science, Duke University. He discusses his new book, Sanctions: What Everyone Needs to Know, a “concise, authoritative overview of a little-understood yet extremely important phenomenon in world politics: the use of economic sanctions by one country to punish another.”
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we meet the new director of Wilson Center’s Polar Institute Rebecca Pincus. She discusses the increasing interest in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions and provides insight into how climate change is rapidly changing environmental, political, and economic factors at the poles for nations and individuals.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we meet the new director of Wilson Center’s Polar Institute Rebecca Pincus. She discusses the increasing interest in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions and provides insight into how climate change is rapidly changing environmental, political, and economic factors at the poles for nations and individuals.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Ruth Greenspan Bell, Public Policy Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program. She highlights her latest article, Wealth and the Climate Dilemma, which focuses on the crossroads that developing nations face when confronting increased development of fossil fuels and combating climate change.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Ruth Greenspan Bell, Public Policy Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program. She highlights her latest article, Wealth and the Climate Dilemma, which focuses on the crossroads that developing nations face when confronting increased development of fossil fuels and combating climate change.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we discuss the latest on the Russian invasion of Ukraine with William Pomeranz, the Director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute, and Robin Quinville, Director of the Global Europe Program. They provide insight on the state of Russia’s economy, unity among western powers facing energy supply threats, and where forces stand on the battlefield.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we discuss the latest on the Russian invasion of Ukraine with William Pomeranz, the Director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute, and Robin Quinville, Director of the Global Europe Program. They provide insight on the state of Russia’s economy, unity among western powers facing energy supply threats, and where forces stand on the battlefield.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined by Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding scholars Florence Odiwuor and Hyginus Banko Okibe.They discuss their projects focused on food security in Africa entitled, “Food Security Systems as Drivers for Sustainable Peacebuilding in Africa: The Case of Kenya,” and “Herder-Farmer Conflicts and Food Security in Southeast Nigeria.”
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we discuss India and Pakistan marking 75 years since independence. Joining us are Akbar Ahmed and Nirupama Rao, both Wilson Center global fellows and former senior diplomats with a keen understanding of the India-Pakistan relationship and its complexities. They examine how the traumatic and tragic events of partition in 1947 continue to impact both countries today. They also assess what the future might hold, and consider the prospects for dialogue between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we discuss India and Pakistan marking 75 years since independence. Joining us are Akbar Ahmed and Nirupama Rao, both Wilson Center global fellows and former senior diplomats with a keen understanding of the India-Pakistan relationship and its complexities. They examine how the traumatic and tragic events of partition in 1947 continue to impact both countries today. They also assess what the future might hold, and consider the prospects for dialogue between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we explore the Summer 2022 edition of the Wilson Quarterly, Ripples of War, with editor Stephanie Bowen. Also joining us is documentary photographer and journalist Wil Sands. He discusses his article, Weapons of a Hybrid War, a photographic essay on Europe's disparate approach to families fleeing crisis.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined byRobin Quinville, Director of the Wilson Center’s Global Europe Program.We discuss the latest challenges in Europe including the resignation of Boris Johnson, political trends on the continent, NATO expansion, Ukraine, as well as how Europe continues to deal with the COVID pandemic.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Ian Lekus, Policy and Communications Specialist at the Council for Global Equality, and Alex Long, Program Associate for the Science and Technology Innovation Program and the chair of Wilson Center’s LGBTQI+ Employee Resource Group. They discuss the state of LGBTQI+ human rights around the world and highlight setbacks as well as progress being made on achieving new levels of equality in the global north and south.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we speak with Duncan Wood, Vice President for Strategy & New Initiatives and Senior Advisor to the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute. He discusses the Wilson Center’s continued focus on the critical importance of global and national supply chains, how current shortages and inflation are affecting government and private industry, and highlights the Center’s ongoing Strengthening America’s Supply Chains initiative.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined by Benjamin Gedan,acting director of the Wilson Center's Latin American Program and the director of its Argentina Project. He recaps the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles and highlights what progress has been made on economic recovery, climate change, health, and migration issuesamong nations in a divided hemisphere.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined by Venezuelan political leader, pro-democracy activist and Sakharov prize laureateLeopoldo López.He discusses his project at the Wilson Center, “Facing the Rise of Authoritarianism,” which examines the growth of autocratic regimes throughout the world. He also highlights how his own time as a political prisoner under the Maduro regime has influenced his life and activism.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we discuss the latest issue of the Wilson Quarterly entitled, Reconcilable Differences: Portraits of Challenging U.S. Partnerships with its editor Stephanie Bowen. Contributor and director of the Kissinger Institute Robert Daly also highlights his article, U.S.-China Engagement: Regrettable or Inevitable?
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined byBradley Jardine, Global Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute. He discusses his latest book, Great Wall of Steel: China’s Global Campaign to Suppress the Uyghurs, which highlights the dramatic increase in China's strategic targeting of the Uyghur Muslim population since 1997 and how this targeting has increasingly crossed international borders.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined bySouthern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP) scholarsYared Debebe Yetena, Sandra Tumwesigye ,andAwet Halefom Kahsay.They highlight their research while in residence at the Wilson Center and discuss how collaboration with colleagues at the Center and in Washington D.C. has supported their projects. The SVNP is a continent-wide network of African policy, research, and academic organizations that works with the Wilson Center’s Africa Program to bring African knowledge and perspectives to U.S., African, and international policy on peacebuilding in Africa.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined byLaura Elena Carrillo Cubillas,Executive Director, of the Mexican Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AMEXCID). She discusses the organization’s role in providing development aid in the region, partnerships with USAID and similar global agencies, and AMEXCID initiatives that bolster socioeconomic capacity through educational, cultural, social, and financial initiatives. Mexico Institute director Andrew Rudman also joins the conversation.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director of the Asia Program and Senior Associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center. He discusses Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s removal after a no-confidence vote and what to expect from the Shehbaz Sharif administration. Kugelman also discusses U.S.-India relations in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined byJames Hollifield,Global Fellow with the Global Risk and Resilience Program. Jim is a Professor of Political Science, the Arnold Chair in International Political Economy, and Director of the Tower Center at Southern Methodist University. He discusses the refugeecrisis stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how Eastern Europe, the European Union, and nations around the world have responded.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,we are joined by Distinguished Fellow Bruce Jentleson and Public Policy Fellow Meg Lundsager.They discuss the rapid implementation of sanctions by the U.S. and Europe on Russia after its attack on Ukraine. What are the short term and long-term implications for Vladimir Putin, Russia’s oligarchs, and average Russian citizens? And can the sanctions lead to the end of the invasion of Ukraine?
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Wilson Quarterly editor Stephanie Bowen and contributor and journalist Melody Schreiber. We discuss the Winter 2022 edition of the Quarterly titled “The New North,” which focuses on Arctic issues. Melody also highlights her article, “Setting Our Sights by the Northern Lights: Struggles and Solutions from the Arctic’s Pandemic Experience.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, Latin American Fellow Niambi Carter discusses where American society stands in dealing with its long struggles with racial inclusion and equality. Also joining us is Karen Dale, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for AmeriHealth Caritas. She provides an update on her company’s efforts to establish an equity, diversity, and inclusion program across the organization.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Steven Philip Kramer and William Drozdiak, Global Fellows with the Wilson Center's Global Europe Program. They discuss the upcoming presidential election in France, the collapse of traditional French political parties, and what Macron’s agenda for a second term could encompass if reelected.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Andrey Shlyakhter, Former Title VIII Research Scholar, and Dina Abramowicz Emerging Scholar Fellow in Eastern European Jewish Studies at YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. He discusses his Wilson Center project, “Smuggling Across the Soviet Borders: Contraband Trades, Soviet Solutions, and the Shadow Economic Origins of the Iron Curtain, 1917-1932.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Jason Steinhauer, Global Fellow, and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the History Communication Institute. He discusses his new book "History, Disrupted: How Social Media and the World Wide Web Have Changed the Past." The book examines how an internet that privileges signals of attention and getting noticed is currently shaping the study of the past and e-History.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Jonathan Brunstedt, former Title VIII Research Scholar with the Kennan Institute and Assistant Professor of History at Texas A&M University. He discusses his Wilson Center project, “Entangled Defeats: The Soviet-Afghan War and the Shadow of Vietnam." Jonathan also highlights his most recent book, “The Soviet Myth of World War II: Patriotic Memory and the Russian Question in the USSR,” which examines official notions of patriotism and patriotic identity in the USSR through the lens of World War II's public remembrance.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Middle East Fellow David Ottaway. He discusses his latest book, “Mohammed bin Salman: The Icarus of Saudi Arabia?,” which examines if MBS is a social reformer determined to bring his country into the twenty-first century or a brutal dictator in the making?
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Sue Mi Terry, Director of the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy. She discusses the increasing global appeal and reach of South Korean pop culture including music, film, gaming, and sports. Terry describes how this soft power is increasingly seen by the South Korean government as a source of strength and influence on the international stage.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW,our guests areAnders Beal, Andrea Capurro,andMaximiliano Bello. Anders describes a new project from the Latin American Program,Latin America’s Environmental Policies in Global Perspective. Andrea and Max discuss their contributions to the project, focusing on ocean health issues. The project is co-sponsored by the Brazil Institute, Environmental Change and Security Program, China Environment Forum, and Global Europe Program. It explores how environmental challenges in Latin America increasingly influence the region’s most important diplomatic and economic relationships.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Michael Sfraga, Founding Director of the Polar Institute and Director of the Global Risk and Resilience Program. President Biden also recently appointed Dr. Sfraga as Chairman of the United States Arctic Research Commission. We discuss why the Arctic increasingly plays a larger role in geopolitical competition, what the COP26 agreement means for the rapidly changing Arctic environment, and Mike's new role with the USARC.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by environmental journalist and author Sharon Guynup. Guynup is also a Global Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program and the Global Risk and Resilience Program. She discusses the future of global pandemics and the increased threat from zoonotic diseases to human populations in an increasingly developed world.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Hallam Ferguson, Public Policy Fellow with the Middle East Program and former Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, USAID. He discusses the latest on Afghan refugees and the continued plight of those trying to flee Afghanistan under the Taliban. We also highlight his recent Wilson Quarterly article, “The Long Road from Afghanistan to Albania.”
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Abe Denmark, Vice President of Programs and Director of Studies and Senior Advisor to the Asia Program, who gives us an update on the recent China hypersonic missile test and the latest in continued tensions between China, the U.S., and its allies in the Indo-Pacific concerning Taiwan. We also preview his new role at the Center and discuss how he views the Wilson Center’s place in the evolving think tank landscape in DC.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Shihoko Goto, Meg Lundsager, andSuman Bery. They recap the recently concluded 2021 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund and discuss how these institutions are addressing concerns such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and debt sustainability for advanced and emerging economies around the world.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Duncan Wood, Vice President for Strategy & New Initiatives and Senior Advisor to the Mexico Institute. He discusses a new publication he co-authored entitled, “The Mosaic Approach: a Multidimensional Strategy for Strengthening America's Critical Minerals Supply Chain,” which argues that the United States must take a number of key steps to make the critical minerals supply chain more resilient.
In this edition ofWilson Center NOW, we are joined by Robert Litwak, Senior Vice President for Scholars and Director of International Security Studies. He discusses his recent article, “Geostrategic Competition and Climate Change: Avoiding the Unmanageable.” Litwak argues the nexus between geostrategic competition and climate change must be understood and integrated into policy if the twin threats are to be averted.
In this special presentation of Wilson Center NOW, Colombian President Iván Duque, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, and the Wilson Center's Ambassador Mark Green and Cynthia Arnson discuss the current humanitarian and development challenges facing Colombia as well as what the international community can learn from Colombia’s generous treatment of migrants and refugees.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW,we are joined by the Kissinger Institute’s Robert Daly who discusses China’s reaction to the just-announced security pact between the United States, Britain and Australia, dubbed the "Aukus" alliance. Daly highlights the regional and geo-strategic implications for the United States, European allies, and Pacific nations.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, Sadek Wahba, a Senior Fellow with NYU's Development Research Institute and Chairman and Managing Partner of I Squared Capital, joins us to discuss his new paper, “Integrating Infrastructure in U.S. Domestic & Foreign Policy: Lessons from China.” The paper examines the many reasons why U.S. and Chinese infrastructure policies have diverged over the past decades. Also joining the discussion is Duncan Wood, the Wilson Center's VP for Strategy and New Initiatives. Sadek Wahba is a member of the Wilson Center's Global Advisory Council.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Duncan Wood, Vice President for Strategy & New Initiatives and Senior Advisor to the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute. He discusses the launch of a new stakeholder-focused dialogue process focusing on finding ways for governments, private industry, academia, and non-profit research centers to strengthen supply chains and mitigate their economic and national security risks.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we highlight the latest issue of the Wilson Quarterly with editor Richard Byrne. Also joining us is contributor Michael Kugelman, who discusses his article, Pacts, and Impacts: India’s selective approach to treaties maximizes its global autonomy.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOWwe are joined by Nicola Casarini, Fellow with Global Europe and Senior Research Fellow, Instituto Affari Internazionali, Italy. He explains why the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament must work together and increase cooperation to counter rising challenges from China.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Distinguished Fellow Blair Ruble and Allison Garland, Project Director for the Wilson Center's Urban Sustainability Laboratory. They discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a reimagining and reevaluation of the form and function of cities and urbanization. They examine hybrid work, mass transit, inequality, and what the United States can learn from leading Asian and European cities.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Elizabeth M H Newbury, Director of the Serious Games Initiative for the Wilson Center, on how she leverages games as a tool for public communication of science and policy research. She discusses her works in progress, including serious games focused on cybersecurity and plastic pollution. Newbury also highlights current games such as the Fiscal Ship, which challenges the player to put the federal budget on a sustainable course.
Serious Games Link: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/program/serious-games-initiative
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Benjamin Gedan, Deputy Director of the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program and Director of the Argentina Project. With the United States hosting this year’s Summit of the Americas, Gedan argues the Biden administration should put environmental protection at the center of the hemispheric agenda.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak withFred Hochberg,former Chairman of the Board and President, Export-Import Bank, and former Wilson Center Public Policy Fellow. He discusses his decades-long advocacy for LGBTQ rights, the progress that has been made, as well as legal and political setbacks. Also joining us is Alex Long, Program Associate, Science and Technology Innovation Program, and Chair of Wilson Center’s LGBTQI+ Employee Resource Group.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOWwe speak with Robert Daly, Director of the Kissinger Institute, for an update on U.S.-China relations. Has the relationship further deteriorated and how does Beijing view the Biden administration? Daly highlights possible areas of engagement and new areas of concern in what may be the greatest geostrategic challenge for the United States.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW our guest is Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University, and author of the new book, "Flying Man, Aristotle, and the Philosophers of the Golden Age of Islam." The book makes the case that the study of the golden age of Islam can serve as a bridge between the East and West today. Joining us to discuss the book and its implications for education is Atif Qarni, who serves as Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Secretary Qarni describes efforts to improve history curriculum, and discusses his experience immigrating to the U.S. from Pakistan at age 10, and running for political office as a Muslim-American.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we once again discuss the Spring 2021 issue of the Wilson Quarterly: Public Health in a Time of Pandemic with editor Richard Byrne. Also joining us is John M. Barry, Distinguished Scholar at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and author of The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History. He highlights his Quarterlyarticle, Pandemics: Then and Now.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Jane Harman, Distinguished Fellow and President Emerita of the Wilson Center.
She discusses her just released policy memoir, Insanity Defense: Why Our Failure to Confront Hard National Security Problems Makes Us Less Safe. Harman chronicles how four administrations have failed to confront some of the toughest national security policy issues and suggests achievable fixes that can move us toward a safer future.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we discuss the Spring 2021 issue of the Wilson Quarterly: Public Health in a Time of Pandemic with editor Richard Byrne. Also joining us are contributors Rui Zhong, Alex Long, and Joseph Dresen, who focus on what COVID-19 has taught us about our ability to battle global outbreaks and about ourselves more than a year into the pandemic.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Beth Chalecki, Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Nebraska Omaha and Research Fellow with the Environmental Change & Security Program. She discusses research and advances in geoengineering, the deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system to combat climate change. Chalecki also discusses how the international community can come together to tackle the growing threat posed by increased carbon in the atmosphere.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by the Asia Program’s Abe Denmark and Shihoko Goto and the Science and Technology Innovation Program’s Melissa Griffith. They provide post-summit analysis of Prime Minister Suga’s recent meeting with President Biden in Washington. Included in their analysis are thoughts on US-Japan cooperation on technology and a look ahead to the overall implications of the summit for bilateral and regional relations.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Anya Prusa, Slater Family Fellow and a Senior Associate at the Brazil Institute. She discusses the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in Brazil and highlights how a huge influx of patients are driving that nation’s healthcare system to a breaking point.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Jean Lee, Director of the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy. She provides an update on the latest North Korea ballistic missile tests and how the Biden administration may approach relations with the DPRK.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Joby Warrick, National Security Correspondent for The Washington Post and former Public Policy Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program. He discusses his new book “Red Line: The Unraveling of Syria and America's Race to Destroy the Most Dangerous Arsenal in the World,” which tells the unknown story of the U.S. mission to find and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons and keep them out of the hands of the Islamic State.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Merissa Khurma, Program Director of the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program, and Haleh Esfandiari, Distinguished Fellow; Director Emerita, Middle East Program. They discuss a special series of new blog posts celebrating Women’s History Month in Enheduanna. Enheduanna seeks to “inspire diverse women contributors from the Middle East to voice their thoughts and express their ideas about the state of women in their countries and their often ignored yet important work to advance women’s issues across the region.”
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Harry Wiland, Founder, Co-President and Co-CEO of Media Policy Center, historian Tammy Greer, Clark Atlanta University, and Ted Widmer, a former speechwriter for the Clinton White House. They discuss a new multimedia project from the Media Policy Center, which examines how the Three-Fifth’s Compromise of 1787 became one of the tenets of our democracy and continues to affect U.S. politics into the 21stcentury.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by the new President, Director, and CEO of the Wilson Center, Ambassador Mark Green. Ambassador Green discusses a 30-plus year career of service with a deep commitment to representing the United States around the world. He also looks ahead to his tenure at the helm of the Wilson Center beginning March 15th.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Global Fellow Philippa Strum. She reflects on the life and legal influence of her friend, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Strum also previews her upcoming book with the working title, “On Account of Sex: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Making of Gender Equality Law."
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Wilson Center Diversity & Inclusion Council Co-chair Shahrazad Hired, Wilson Global Fellow Michael Forster, and Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at AmeriHealth Caritas Karen Dale. They discuss how the Black Lives Matter movement has redefined and renewed focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives in both the public and private sectors.
In this special edition of Wilson Center NOW, we are joined by Col. Eries Mentzer, 42nd Air Base Wing Commander of Maxwell Air Force Base and Steven Reed, Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, for a discussion of a diversity and inclusion partnership they launched on the 65th anniversary of Rosa Parks' iconic bus protest. Col. Mentzer is the first African- American woman to command Maxwell and Mayor Reed is the first African-American chief executive to be elected since the city's incorporation in 1819.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Wilson Quarterly editor Richard Byrne and contributors to the Winter 2021 issue Alasdair Roberts and Dalia Dassa Kaye. Alasdair discusses his article The Hundred Day Mistake: Is an FDR-style legislative blitz the best way forward in our present crisis? Dalia examines the Iran nuclear deal in her article Reverse Engineering: Can revival of the nuclear deal with Iran spark a new regional security dialogue?
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by bestselling author and global fellow James Reston, Jr. He discusses his latest book, The 19th Hijacker: A Novel, which imagines what led an educated son of a successful Lebanese family to the jihadist message of destruction and the terrible events of September 11th, 2001.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by the Global Risk and Resilience Program's Lauren Herzer Risiand Mike Sfraga. They discuss environmental security and polar issues facing the incoming Biden administration. They also provide updates on current and new initiatives from the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute and Environmental Change and Security program.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined bythe Asia Program’s Abe Denmark, Shihoko Goto,andMichael Kugelman. They discuss the many complex policy challenges awaiting the Biden administration in the Indo-Pacific.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW,Public Policy FellowDiana Negropontediscusses her new book, Master Negotiator: The Role of James A. Baker, III at the End of the Cold War.The book examines the critical role President George H. W. Bush's secretary of state played on the world stage in the final years of the Cold War as the Soviet Union unraveled.
In this episode of International History Declassified, we speak with historian Sarah B. Snyder about how domestic social movements shifted the conversation about global human rights, what role the State Department played, and her experience with research on human rights with corporate archives.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Anya Prusa, Slater Family Fellow and a Senior Associate at the Brazil Institute. She discusses a series of events, publications, and podcasts the Wilson Center is hosting on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) worldwide. These events parallel the United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, an annual international campaign that kicks off on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Melissa K. Griffith, Public Policy Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program. Griffith discusses the continuing global digital divide and highlights cybersecurity related issues with the rolling out of 5G services around the globe.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Tyler Kirk, former Title VIII Research Scholar and Assistant Professor, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He discusses his Wilson Center project “Remembering the GULAG: Community, Identity and Cultural Memory in Russia's Far North, 1987-2018.” The project highlights both the legacy of the Gulag and the intense dilemmas which surfaced involving local politics of memory during a revolutionary moment in Soviet and post-Soviet history.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Richard Byrne, editor of the Wilson Quarterly, and Izabella Tabarovsky, Program Associate for the Kennan Institute. Byrne provides an overview of the Fall 2020 edition of the Wilson Quarterly entitled, The Ends of History. Tabarovsky highlights her article, Russia’s Lost War, which examines how the official Russia narrative of the Soviet victory in World War II erases uncomfortable truths.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Blair Ruble, Distinguished Fellow and author of the new book, Portraying the Soul of a People: African Americans Confront Wilson’s Legacy From the Washington Stage. Ruble examines the Washington African American theater community’s response to systematic racism during the Woodrow Wilson administration and highlights efforts to showcase the Black experience using the arts.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Robert Litwak, Senior Vice President and Director of International Security Studies at the Wilson Center. He discusses his latest book Managing Nuclear Risks, which assesses the heightened risks across the three major nuclear categories: relations among the existing nuclear-weapon states, the possible proliferation of nuclear weapons to additional states, and nuclear terrorism.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by David Shimer, Global Fellow with the Kennan Institute and author of Rigged: America, Russia, and One Hundred Years of Covert Electoral Interference. Shimer discusses his book which examines covert operations to influence elections from the Cold War to 2016 and highlights why he believes the threat to American democracy is greater than ever in 2020.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Sherri Goodman, Senior Fellow with the Polar Institute and Environmental Change & Security Program. Goodman discusses how climate change has quickly become a “threat multiplier” for national security and how the U.S. military is seeking to mitigate the worst climate effects moving forward.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined bythe new director of the Wilson Center’s Global Europe Program, Dan Hamilton. He discusses the most pressing challenges facing Europe in the new decade. Hamilton also highlights the important role the Global Europe program intends to play in researching and framing key US-European issues for policymakers and the public.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by the Kissinger Institute’s Robert Daly and historian and author Thomas Schwartz. We discuss Schwartz’s latest book, Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography, which seeks to separate the man from the myth and provide a greater understanding of one of the most complex figures in U.S. political history.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by the Asia Program’s Shihoko Goto, who discusses what we can expect from Japan’s newly elected prime minister Yoshihide Suga. Goto also looks back at the legacy of Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving post-war prime minister, and highlights how foreign and economic policies may change under Suga.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Aaron Salzberg, Director of the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina. He discusses the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project, which will become Africa’s largest source of hydropower when fully operational. Salzberg highlights the dam’s impact on Ethiopia’s economy and environment and how the project is affecting relations with downstream neighbors Egypt and Sudan.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by former Wilson Center Fellow Marjorie Spruill. She discusses the centennial of the passing of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratifying the vote for women. Spruill also discusses the current state of voting rights in the United States and how movements like Black Live Matter have refocused attention on access to the vote.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Robert Daly, Director of the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute. He discusses the latest in U.S.-China relations and critiques the Trump administration’s increasingly fiery rhetoric against China’s communist party leadership and government.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by the Middle East Program’s Merissa Khurma andAlex Farley. They discuss a new study on workforce development in the Middle East and North Africa, which is strained by demographics, political instability, as well as more recent pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Abraham Denmark, Director of the Wilson Center’s Asia Program. He discusses his new book, U.S. Strategy in the Asian Century:
Empowering Allies and Partners, which examines the new power dynamics in the Indo-Pacific region with the rise of China and India. Denmark highlights the critical and pragmatic roles that America and its allies can play to ensure long-term regional stability and successfully navigate the complexities of the new era.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Quito Swan, former Wilson fellow, professor of Africana studies, and director of the William Monroe Trotter Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He discusses how movements like Black Lives Matter can create real change in political, economic, and health policies in the U.S. and the importance of connecting local movements to greater international efforts for transformative justice. Swan also highlights his new book Pauulu’s Diaspora, a story of Black Internationalism across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean worlds, told through the life and work of twentieth-century environmental activist Pauulu Kamarakafego.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by the History and Public Policy program’s Kian Byrne and Pieter Biersteker. They discuss their new podcast International History Declassified. Byrne and Biersteker interview scholars and historians and take a deeper look into the field of international history to discuss how that history is recorded and where the field is headed.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Christopher Sands, Director of the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute. He discusses Canada’s recent failure to win a U.N. Security Council seat and possible ramifications for the Trudeau government moving forward.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Nina Jankowicz, Disinformation Fellow with the Wilson Center's Science and Technology Innovation Program. She discusses her new book How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict.The book examines five failed Western governments' responses to Russian information warfare tactics and highlights what the United States and the West can do to counter Russia’s aggressive online attacks in the future.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Susan Stokes, the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. She discusses the current Black Lives Matter movement and global protests over the killing of George Floyd. Stokes also highlights her recent Wilson Quarterly article Why Protest?, which examines if the surge in mass protests around the world in the last decade was an example of democracy in crisis or democracy in action.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Wilson Center senior vice president and director of international security studies, Robert Litwak, and global fellows,Katarina Kertysova,andMichael Kofman.Theydiscuss the recent Trump administration decision to exit the Open Skies Treaty, the 34-nation agreement which allows the United States, Russia, and other countries to fly their aircraft over each other's territory. How will the withdrawal affect already fraught relations between Europe, Russia, and the U.S.?
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Robert Daly, Director of the Kissinger Institute, and Maria Repnikova, Director of the Center for Global Information Studies and an Assistant Professor in Global Communication at Georgia State University. They discuss how COVID-19, the George Floyd protests in the United States, and China’s National Security Law for Hong Kong are affecting US-China relations.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director of the Asia Program and Senior Associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center. He discusses the latest from Afghanistan and the prospects for peace between the Taliban and Afghan government after the recent deadly attack on a maternity ward in Kabul.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Anya Prusa, Senior Associate for the Brazil Institute. She discusses increased rates of gender based violence around the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prusa also highlights national initiatives to stem this ongoing crisis that affects up to one in four women around the world.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University, and Alex Thurston, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Cincinnati. They discuss the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the Muslim world during the holy month of Ramadan.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Bruce Jentleson, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University and Wilson Center Global Fellow. He discusses how COVID-19 is further straining an already weakened liberal international order and examines how the Trump administration’s response compares with other nations.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Nina Jankowicz, Disinformation Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program. She discusses how COVID-19 has provided “fertile ground” for disinformation from state actors and individuals as global population’s fears have increased during the pandemic.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Mike Sfraga, Director of both the Wilson Center's Global Risk and Resilience Program and Polar Institute. He explains his framework for examining Arctic issues through the “7 Cs,” which include climate; commodities; commerce; connectivity; communities; cooperation; and competition.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW our guest is author, journalist, and Wilson Global Fellow, Sharon Guynup. Sharon describes the two-year investigation into the "tiger tourism" industry she and photographer Steve Winterconducted for National Geographic. The Netflix hit series "Tiger King" tells part of the same story, but Guynup says it fails to expose the dark underbelly of exotic animal trade where the tigers and other often rare and endangered species are the true victims. The discussion also connects the dots between wildlife trade and zoonotic diseases, explaining the underlying risks that created the conditions for COVID-19 to emerge.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Richard Besser, a medical doctor who serves as President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is also a former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Besser discusses what the US can do to better prepare for pandemics such as COVID-19, while highlighting past government and nonprofit responses to infectious outbreaks. Alex Long, a Program Associate specializing in public health for the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation program, also joins the discussion.
Is Covid-19 a geopolitical “game-changer” for China? In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by the Wilson Center’s Abe Denmark and Robert Daly who discuss the latest political and economic fallout from the pandemic for China. We also examine the virus’s effect on relations with the US and nations around the world.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding Scholar Osei Baffour Frimpong. He discusses his Wilson Center project
Violent Extremism in West Africa: Are Current Responses Enough?
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding Scholar Richmond Commodore. He discusses his Wilson Center project
Beyond Remittances: Engaging the Diaspora to Meet Africa’s Development Financing Needs. Commodore examines how African diaspora populations around the world continue to provide a key revenue stream for countries throughout the continent.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding Scholar Messay Asgedom Gobena who discusses his project Countering Transnational Organized Crime as a Strategy for Peacebuilding in East Africa. Gobenaexamines causes and government and civil society based solutions to combating increased cross-border crime throughout the region.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Merissa Khurma, Project Manager for Middle East Special Initiatives. We discuss the latest edition of the Middle East Women’s Initiative blog Enheduanna. The blog provides a platform for a diverse group of women contributors from the Middle East and North Africa to voice their thoughts and express their ideas about the state of women in their respective countries. We also preview the soon-to-launch Middle East Women Leaders Index.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we are joined by Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding Scholar Rigobert Minani Bihuzo who discusses his project “Peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Revisiting the Tool Kit.” He explains why, despite the deployment of the world’s largest UN peacekeeping mission, conflicts that have killed and displaced millions have continued. Father Minani also discusses what new approaches the government and non-state actors can take in combating the long-term violence within the DRC.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we continue our look at the Wilson Center Spotlights 2020initiative, this time focusing New Arctic Landscapes: Security, Commodities, & Communities. The Director of the Wilson Center’s Global Risk and Resilience Program and Polar Institute, Michael Sfraga, discusses how the Arctic region is now a critical component of the global discussion as it relates to policy, economics, and security, due to its rapidly changing physical landscape.
Wilson Spotlights 2020 is a new initiative of the Wilson Center that is bringing special focus to four critical topics shaping the future. One of the topics looks at competition among so-called “great powers.” In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with the point persons for the special focus we call, Great Powers Game On: Competition & Cooperation. Robert Daly is Director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the US and Matthew Rojansky leads the Kennan Institutefocusing on Russia and Eurasia.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Science and Technology Innovation Program Fellow Stuart Brotman about his Wilson project, U.S. Digital Data Privacy Protection at the Crossroads: Developing a Workable National Policy and Legal Framework. Brotman discusses the quickly evolving data privacy landscape and how new technology, as well as smarter federal and state government policies, can help close the “digital trust” gap.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Aaron Jones, the creator and host of the Wilson Center’s Need To Know podcast. Jones discusses the idea behind the creation of the podcast and highlights the latest series within a series, Trading Views, which focuses on the micro and macro effects of US trade policies.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with the Kissinger Institute’s Schwarzman Fellow Bradley Jardine who discusses China’s government crackdown on the Uighurs in the Xinjiang Region of western China. He also discusses how Europe and the United States are responding to increased repression in the region by Xi Jinping’s government.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with the Wilson Center’s Robert Litwak to discuss his latest article, Anatomy of the US-Iran Crisis. Litwak examines the escalation of tensions between Iran and the United States in the wake of General Suleimani’s killing and the effects of the Trump administration’s “maximum-pressure” campaign after withdrawing the US from the Iran nuclear deal.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Nina Jankowicz, author and Disinformation Fellow with the Science and Technology Innovation Program. She discusses US-Ukraine relations as the partnership is tested like never before with impeachment proceedings underway in Washington. Jankowicz also discusses areas of continued cooperation such as cyber-warfare and the state of the conflict in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with author Hope Harrison about her new book, After the Berlin Wall: Memory and the Making of the New Germany, 1989 to the Present. Drawing on an extensive range of archival sources and interviews, the book profiles German citizens who have fought to commemorate the history of the Berlin Wall and examines their roles in the creation of a new German national narrative for the 21st Century.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding Scholar Paterne Mombe. Mombe discusses the impact the five-year conflict in the Central African Republic has had on subsistence farmer’s food production, exacerbating rampant poverty among rural populations. He also describes how revitalizing the agricultural sector is a possible key to sustaining peace building efforts in the Central African Republic as well as throughout Africa.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding Scholar Emmanuel Matambo. Motambo discusses his project which focuses on China's relations and investment in Zambia and how this has shaped politics and recent elections in that nation. The project also compares China’s influence in Zambia with other African nations as China has increased its economic investment and political influence on the continent
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Arnaud Kurze and Christopher Lamont, co-editors of the new book New Critical Spaces in Transitional Justice: Gender, Art & Memory.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Meg Lundsager and Shihoko Goto on the International Monetary Fund’s new leadership under Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. We also focus on the tenure of former Managing Director Christine Lagarde, the changing role of the IMF in a shifting global order, and that institution’s biggest worries headed into 2020.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Andrei Kozyrev, former Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, about his new book The Firebird: The Elusive Fate of Russian Democracy. Kozyrev provides an eyewitness account of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the struggle to create a democratic Russia under Yeltsin, and how this critical period eventually allowed the rise of crony capitalism and Vladimir Putin.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Wilson Center Middle East Fellow and author Amy Austin Holmes about the release of her new book, Coups and Revolutions: Mass Mobilization, the Egyptian Military, and the United States from Mubarak to Sisi. The book analyzes the waves of revolution and counterrevolution in Egypt between 2011 and 2018 and brings together the literature on bottom-up revolutionary movements and top-down military coups.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Natalie Belsky, former Title VIII Research Scholar with the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute. She discusses her project “Encounters in the East: Evacuees in the Soviet Hinterland During the Second World War,” which focuses on the wartime experiences of Soviet evacuees and their interactions with the local communities at sites of resettlement.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Robert Litwak, author of the new book, “Nuclear Crises with North Korea and Iran: From Transformational to Transactional Diplomacy.” Litwak explains how the ongoing nuclear impasses with both North Korea and Iran reflect a continuing tension in U.S. policy between two diplomatic approaches: the transactional, focused narrowly on the discrete nuclear challenge; and the transformational, comprehensively addressing a regimes’ objectionable behavior.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with author Elizabeth Stanley about her latest book, Widen the Window: Training Your Brain and Body to Thrive During Stress and Recover from Trauma. Stanley discusses the science of stress and trauma and explores cultural norms that impede resilience, such as the collective tendency to disconnect stress from its consequences and override our need to recover. She also explores how recovery and resilience are skills that can be taught and learned.
In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Kennan Institute Title VIII Research Scholar Jonathan Hunt. Hunt discusses his upcoming book Atomic Condominium, which examines the surprising level of cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War. He also discusses the current approach to the nuclear question and its implications for broader US-Russia relations.