The Wilson Center: Recent Episodes
The Wilson Center
Jill Dougherty sits down with Kennan Institute Director Michael Kimmage to discuss the latest developments from Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Trump administration’s evolving approach to US-Russian relations, Europe’s security transformation, and other trends in international affairs from the second Trump term. Listen to the end for an announcement about the future of Kennan Institute podcasts.
Season 1: The Future of Internet in MENAHost Alex Farley sits down with Joe F. Khalil and Mohamed Zayani to discuss their latest book, “The Digital Double Bind: Change and Stasis in the Middle East.” In the book, the authors discuss the development of the telecommunications industry in the Middle East and its impact on the development of the internet in the region. The conversation explores infrastructure development, early chatrooms experiences, and the evolving world of political speech on the internet in the Arab World.On this episode:1:54 – Inspiration for the book7:02 – Defining the digital double bind12:50 – Development of ICT in MENA22:40 – Connections between states and markets31:04 – Building a history of the Arab Internet37:45 – Looking at the startup ecosystem todayReferences:The Digital Double Bind: Change and Stasis in the Middle East (https://academic.oup.com/book/55303)By Mohamed Zayani and Joe F. Khalil, Oxford University Press, 2024
NOTE: This interview was recorded before the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, March 28. Please see the statement from our guest, Lucas Myers, which follows the episode description below.In this episode of Need to Know, Lucas Myers, Senior Associate for Southeast Asia for the Wilson Center's Indo-Pacific Program discusses Myanmar’s proposed elections, the junta’s dwindling control, and China's role in the crisis. Along with host John Milewski, they analyze whether or not a vote under military rule would be credible. Statement from Lucas Myers:Midday local time on Friday, March 28th, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand. The epicenter was near Mandalay, the second largest city in the country, and damage extended throughout the country’s central regions. Thailand was also heavily impacted, including Bangkok. Given the ongoing civil war, human cost could be catastrophic for the people of Myanmar. Casualty numbers are difficult to verify considering the wartime circumstances but could be well into the thousands. The humanitarian situation in Myanmar was already dire, and the earthquake only adds to a number of crises across the country. These include a widespread risk of famine in parts of the country and a collapsing economy.Rapid response international aid will be needed, but the Myanmar military junta is likely to attempt to interfere for its own ends. The international community will need to coordinate closely with the resistance actors who now control almost 50% of Myanmar’s territory.
In this episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan, director of the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program, is joined by Wilson Center fellow Molly O'Toole to discuss the migration crisis in the Western Hemisphere. From asylum seekers navigating treacherous routes to shifting enforcement strategies under the new US administration, their conversation examines the drivers of migration and what lies ahead for regional cooperation.
Within 72 hours of returning to the White House, President Donald Trump issued a landmark Executive Order aimed at reshaping US cryptocurrency policy and positioning America as a global leader in digital assets, blockchain innovation, and financial technology. Listen to a selection from a recent Digital Assets Forum briefing analyzing the order's impact, in which we explore what is changing and how this directive could influence US fiscal and monetary policy moving forward. For more, check out the entire briefing on our website to learn about the blockchain basics that underpin this technology and hear questions digging into the order's impact.
H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), joins co-hosts Oge and Witney on Beyond a Single Story. Over the course of the conversation, Wamkele shares his goals for the AfCFTA, the process of implementing the free trade area, and where they are seeing immediate successes. Finally, Wamkele, Oge, and Witney discuss the future of the US-Africa trade relationship and the opportunities for mutual benefit presented by initiatives like the AfCFTA and AGOA.
Beth and Chris take in the view from British Columbia, and a look at how Canada's economy and resources have it poised to thrive in the 21st Century. And that there is further opportunities to grow with the world and with the United States.
Focused on understanding how African products impact US consumers and how African markets create opportunities for US businesses, Oge and Witney sit down with Gavin van der Burgh and Stephanie Agee. Gavin and Stephanie are international trade leaders working to expand opportunities for US businesses and consumers, but in two very different roles. As Chief Commercial Officer of the US-Africa Trade Desk, Gavin connects US retailers, supply chain leaders, and financial experts to African producers, expanding African market access to US consumers. Stephanie is Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for International Trade at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, where she supports Virginia businesses grow their international sales. Recently, Stephanie led a trade mission to West Africa spotlighting the role of US subnational engagement with African businesses and markets.
NOTE: This episode of Need to Know was recorded March 12, 2025... 2 days before Mark Carney was sworn in as prime minister. In this episode of Need to Know, Xavier Delgado, Senior Program Associate for the Wilson Center's Canada Program, joins us to discuss the future of Canadian politics following the Liberal Party’s election of Mark Carney as its new leader. Along with host John Milewski, they explore Carney’s background, the potential for an early election, and how Canadian sentiment toward the US is shifting.
In this episode of Need to Know, Robin Quinville, Director of the Wilson Center’s Global Europe Program, joins host John Milewski to break down Germany’s recent elections, the rise of the far right, economic challenges, and the evolving US-EU relationship.
In this episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan, director of the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program, is joined by Rep. Sidney Kamlager-Dove of California, a co-sponsor of the Summit of the Americas Act, to discuss the past, present, and future of this hemispheric gathering.
During an interesting time for the Canada/US relationship, Chris and Beth have a conversation with former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp. Listen in as we discuss the long friendly relationship between the two nations, trade, borders and how things look going forward.
Co-hosts for this season, Oge Onubogu and Witney Schneidman are joined by Margaret Nyamumbo and Rahama Wright, entrepreneurs who have built successful brands connecting African products to US markets by utilizing AGOA trade preferences. Rahama and Margaret share perspectives from small business owners bridging US and African markets, creating jobs both in the US and the African countries where they operate, and changing the narrative around African goods. Through the conversation, Margaret and Rahama reflect on how they built their companies and their engagement with different US agencies and policies along the way.
在本期节目中，ECSP的克莱尔·多伊尔（Claire Doyle）和威尔逊中心中国环境论坛的阮叶芬（Jennifer Nguyen）将与奥伯特·博尔（Obert Bore）共同探讨津巴布韦矿业有关的一些问题。 奥伯特是津巴布韦环境法协会（Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association）的商业与人权项目的负责人，并是国际贸易、中国在非洲的投资以及自然资源治理方面的专家。 他在推动政策改革，加强受采矿影响社区的人权保护方面一直作为领袖 在这次对话中，奥伯特介绍了津巴布韦的重要矿产部门，也强调了近来的重要矿产投资以及与之相关的一些环境和社会挑战。 他还分享了一些战略和建议，以促进可持续和负责任的采矿实践，同时确保津巴布韦矿产行业的扩张成为发展的机遇。English Description: (In this episode, ECSP's Claire Doyle and Jennifer Nguyen from the Wilson Center's China Environment Forum are joined by Obert Bore. Obert, who serves as the Business & Human Rights Program Lead at the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association, is an expert in international trade, Chinese investments in Africa, and natural resource governance. He has been a leader in advancing policy reforms to strengthen human rights protection for communities impacted by mining. In this conversation, Obert sheds light on the critical mineral sector in Zimbabwe, highlighting recent critical mineral investments and some of the environmental and social challenges associated with them. He also shares strategies and recommendations to promote sustainable and responsible mining practices and ensure the expansion of Zimbabwe’s mineral sector is an opportunity for development.)
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski speaks with Benjamin Gedan, Director of the Wilson Center's Latin America Program, about the geopolitical and economic significance of the Panama Canal. They explore the immediate and potential future impact of President Trump's overtures about control of the waterway. Gedan also describes China's role, and Panama's investments in the canal's expansion and modernization.
Join our co-hosts for a conversation with Michael Greenwald, AWS Global Head of Financial Innovation and Digital Assets, and Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase Global, to talk about the intersection of AI and blockchain. Michael and Paul cut through the buzz and hype to talk about how AI is actually driving better security, more efficient user onboarding, and better business practices for companies using digital assets. Listen now to hear more about how AI also makes it easier for people to use digital assets as a financial tool, adding healthy competition to the financial world and driving more innovation in both traditional finance and decentralized finance. For more from Michael and Paul on what's happening on the cutting edge, check out their October 2024 blog post on how these technologies combine.Link here: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/industries/enhancing-public-sector-digital-asset-security-and-efficiency-with-generative-ai/
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski discusses the recent trade agreements between the US, Canada, and Mexico, with guests Lila Abed, Director of the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute and Christopher Sands, Director of the center's Canada Institute. They discuss the implications of now delayed tariffs and the political dynamics affecting trade and overall relations. Lila and Chris provide insights into how each country is navigating the challenges, impacts of leadership changes, and the interconnectedness of their economies.
In this episode, ECSP's Claire Doyle and Jennifer Nguyen from the Wilson Center's China Environment Forum are joined by Obert Bore. Obert, who serves at the Business & Human Rights Program Lead at the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association, is an expert in international trade, Chinese investments in Africa, and natural resource governance. He has been a leader in advancing policy reforms to strengthen human rights protection for communities impacted by mining. In this conversation, Obert sheds light on the critical mineral sector in Zimbabwe, highlighting recent critical mineral investments and some of the environmental and social challenges associated with them. He also shares strategies and recommendations to promote sustainable and responsible mining practices and ensure the expansion of Zimbabwe’s mineral sector is an opportunity for development.
Africa program director, Oge Onubogu, and co-host for this season, Witney Schneidman, take stock of the current moment in time and ask a series of US-Africa trade experts, What would you like to see next for AGOA and for US-Africa trade? Guests discuss coordination with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), prospects for renewal, diaspora investment, and the role of China, with Oge and Witney reflecting on implications for the future of AGOA and US-Africa trade.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski speaks with Kellee Wicker, Director of the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program, about China’s DeepSeek AI breakthrough. They discuss its implications for US AI strategy, global competition, and the future of innovation.
Listen to Izabella Tabarovsky read Andriy Fert’s analysis of the controversy about tradition and ownership currently surrounding the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).
In this episode of Plaza Central, guest host Catherine Osborn explores a new Latin America security initiative involving 18 countries, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Interpol. Katherine Aguirre of the Igarapé Institute and Joana Monteiro of the Getulio Vargas Foundation discuss how regional cooperation could help the fight against organized crime, which often spurs migration and is intertwined with the impacts of climate change.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski speaks with Merissa Khurma, Director of the Wilson Center's Middle East Program, to explore the evolving geopolitical landscape of the region and what it means for the new administration. From shifting alliances to economic opportunities and humanitarian challenges, this conversation provides key insights for policymakers navigating the Middle East.
In this episode of Beyond a Single Story, we explore the role of civil society in maximizing the impact of the AGOA with Ndidi Nwuneli, President and CEO of The One Campaign. Her conversation with Oge and Witney explores how trade, investment, and human rights factor into in the US-Africa partnership, reflecting on AGOA's untapped potential and what’s needed to drive meaningful change going forward.
Join co-hosts Alan Rechtschaffen and Kellee Wicker for a wrap-up of 2024 and a brief review of what's ahead in 2025, in an episode recorded just before the close of 2024. Hear more about our take on the renewed focus on monetary and fiscal policy implications of crypto in the new administration, which is putting up pro-crypto picks for key roles, and why we think this is the year we'll see wider adoption of blockchain for faster and more innovative financial technology.
Back from hiatus, Beth and Chris begin 2025 talking about the very special commitment that President Carter had to the US/Canada relationship. The CANUSA team remembers Carter's extraordinary life, decades in politics, and global impact on the world stage.
In this episode, Need to Know host John Milewski explores America’s evolving role in the Indo-Pacific with Shihoko Goto, Director of the Wilson Center's Indo-Pacific program. Topics include U.S. alliances, China’s growing influence, and strategies for the new administration to strengthen regional partnerships.
Last week, Oge and Witney spoke with Jas Bedi, a Kenyan business leader and chairman of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance. In this longer conversation, Jas, Oge, and Witney touch not only on AGOA but on other topics that directly impact business investment related to AGOA. Tune in to hear more about Jas’ background as well as his views on domestic legislation processes, second-hand clothing markets, and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
In this year-end episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan, director of the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program, is joined by analyst James Bosworth to review a consequential year for Latin America that saw a peaceful transfer of power in Guatemala, Brazil’s presidency of the G20, record migration, and the troubling rise of organized crime. Bosworth, a Global Fellow in the Latin America Program, is the author of the Latin America Risk Report.
This week, we are exploring how AGOA has supported African businesses. Africa Program Director Oge Onubogu and co-host for season 1, Witney Schneidman, speak with Jas Bedi and Vanessa Adams. Jas is a Kenyan business leader, the Chairman of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, and vice-chair of the East Africa Business Council. Vanessa is the CEO and Founder of Level4International and has spent nearly two decades working to boost agricultural productivity, expand international trade, facilitate investments across Africa, and help companies utilize AGOA trade preferences.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski speaks with Lila Abed, director of the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute. They discuss key issues like trade, security, fentanyl, and migration. Lila comments on the potential for even stronger collaboration while identifying the challenges both countries face in fostering mutual trust and crafting effective policies.
In today’s episode of The Arc, we are featuring a panel discussion on how to accelerate just energy transitions around the globe from the Forum on Advancing Inclusive Climate Action in Foreign Policy and Development, hosted by the Wilson Center in collaboration with the White House and USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, with support from the USAID Climate Adaptation Support Activity. You will hear from the panel’s moderator, John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. The expert panelists include Amol Mehra, Director of Industry Programmes, Laudes Foundation; Jennifer Sara, Global Director, Climate Change Group, World Bank Group; Patricia Shako, Director, Caribbean RESET, Abt Global; and Aparna Shrivastava, Acting Chief Climate Officer, US International Development Finance Corporation.
Oge and Witney welcome Rosa Whitaker to the show, one of the key architects of the original AGOA legislation and a leading voice on US-African trade and investment. The three of them discuss AGOA's history from its enactment in 2000 to the present day, covering the Act's original intentions, opposition, support, and impact of its decades-long implementation.
Host Alex Farley sits down with Middle East Program Director Merissa Khurma on her reflections from hosting the first year of the Riyada Podcast. Year one featured over 40 interviews with various entrepreneurs, analysts, and officials. In this episode, Khurma discusses her main observations on challenges facing entrepreneurs, including difficulty accessing capital, finding skillsets, and facing the fear of failure. She also discusses the significant barriers to women to become entrepreneurs, and highlights the need for companies to hire more women and advance them into leadership roles.
In today’s episode of The Arc, we’re sharing a panel discussion from the Forum on Advancing Inclusive Climate Action in Foreign Policy and Development, an event hosted by the Wilson Center in collaboration with the White House and USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, and with support from the USAID Climate Adaptation Support Activity. The panel you’ll hear today was the final panel of the Forum, focusing on how to accelerate climate finance while ensuring equitable access to resources. The panel was moderated by Jake Levine, the Senior Director for Climate and Energy at the National Security Council. The experts on the panel include Dilafruz Khonikboyeva, the Inaugural Executive Director of the Home Planet Fund; Jacqueline Musiitwa, the Deputy Assistant to the Administrator for the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance at USAID; Bella Tonkonogy, Senior Advisor at the Department of Treasury’s Climate Hub; and Laura García, the President and CEO of the Global Greengrants Fund.
Meet co-hosts Oge Onubogu and Witney Schneidman for this brand-new podcast series from the Wilson Center Africa Program. Oge and Witney open the series by discussing the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the people and ideas we will hear from throughout the series.
Join our co-hosts for a conversation with Chris Giancarlo, former chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and reported candidate for "crypto czar" in the incoming Trump administration. Giancarlo, known as Crypto Dad after his plea to Congress in support of cryptocurrencies, shares a vision for using cryptocurrencies as anchors for the US dollar, drawing parallels to historical gold or oil standards. He also speculates as to what we could see from the new administration on establishing policy and a clearer regulatory environment for crypto and outlines potential reforms integrating digital assets into the fiat currency system. Tune in now to hear about the role of digital assets in maintaining the dollar's dominance in the global economy, and how an incoming crypto-friendly Congress has already shifted where companies plan to do business.
In this episode, Need to Know host John Milewski discusses the evolving dynamics of US-China relations with Robert Daly, Director of the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute. From economic realities to ideological divides, Daly offers a nuanced take on managing what he says will be a decades-long competition. He provides valuable insights as a new US Congress and administration take shape.
In today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, ECSP Program Director Lauren Risi sits down with Swathi Veeravalli on her last day as the Director for Climate Security and Adaptation at the National Security Council (NSC) to discuss the new US Framework for Climate Resilience and Security, its significance for the future of US security and economic interests, and what success in building climate security looks like over the next decade.
In today’s episode of The Arc, we are featuring a panel discussion on climate action through indigenous and community power from the Forum on Advancing Inclusive Climate Action in Foreign Policy and Development, hosted by the Wilson Center in collaboration with the White House and USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, with support from the USAID Climate Adaptation Support Activity. You will hear from the panel’s moderator, Marcia Wong, Deputy Assistant to the Administrator, Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, US Agency for International Development, and from expert panelists, Desirée Cormier Smith, Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice, US Department of State; Juan Carlos Jintiach, Executive Secretary, Global Alliance of Territorial Communities; Lindsey Allen, the Executive Director of the Climate and Land Use Alliance; and Dr. Gerald Torres, Professor of Environmental Justice, Yale School of the Environment and Yale Law School.
In this episode, Bruna Santos and Carlos Affonso Souza dive into the evolving landscape of digital regulation in Brazil. Carlos, the Director of the Institute of Technology and Society of Rio de Janeiro (ITS Rio) and a Professor of Law at Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), brings his expertise to discuss the critical questions surrounding the accountability of digital platforms and the implications of Article 19 of Brazil’s Internet Bill of Rights.
In this episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan, Director of the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program, discusses President Biden’s trip to South America with Brian Nichols, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. As his term comes to an end, Biden’s journey to the Amazon, the APEC summit in Lima, Peru, and the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, might be his last major opportunity to shape US priorities for Latin America. In their conservation, Nichols addresses Latin America's importance to US policy on climate change, migration, and the defense of democracy, and the US approach to the crisis in Venezuela and the new leadership in Mexico.
In this episode, John Milewski discusses the recent political upheaval in Japan with Shihoko Goto, Director, Indo-Pacific Program at the Wilson Center. Their discussion focuses on the implications of the recent elections that resulted in no party gaining a majority. The conversation explores the challenges of forming a coalition government, the potential for political instability, and the impact on U.S.-Japan relations amidst rising tensions with China.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski speaks with Dr. Rebecca Pincus, Director of the Polar Institute at the Wilson Center. They discuss the trilateral collaboration between the US, Canada, and Finland, known as the Ice Pact. They focus on the urgent need for new icebreakers in the US fleet, the geopolitical implications of icebreaker capacity in the Arctic, and the strengths each country brings to the partnership. The conversation also covers the challenges of implementation and the importance of congressional support for future initiatives.
Host Beatriz García Nice, an associate at the Wilson Center's Latin America Program, interviews Macarena Sáez, executive director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, to explore the state of women's rights in Latin America. They discuss the backlash against feminism, in the context of populism and democratic decline, but also the resilience and creativity of feminist movements, which are increasingly addressing broader social concerns, such as childcare, poverty, and human rights.
In today’s episode of The Arc, ECSP’s Claire Doyle and Angus Soderberg interview Eva Maria Fjellheim, a southern Saami researcher at the Arctic University of Norway, for the final episode of our mini-series focused on climate justice in the Arctic. We explore Eva Maria’s research on strengthening indigenous peoples' land rights in the face of growing climate and clean energy projects. She shares insights from legal battles in Norway and connects the encroachment on Saami land to similar trends with Indigenous communities in Latin America and elsewhere. Eva Maria also discusses how current climate policies may be missing the mark by failing to truly respect Indigenous rights.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski discusses the complexities of migration through the Darien Gap with Ambassador Mark Green and Eddie Acevedo. They explore the motivations behind the increasing number of migrants, particularly from Venezuela, the dangers they face, and the exploitation by human traffickers. The conversation also highlights the role of the U.S. and international community in addressing the humanitarian crisis and the need for a more regional approach to migration policy.
Join our co-hosts for a conversation with Daniel Goldsmith, CEO of Heights Labs, on how forensic analytic labs like his help law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels crack down on illicit uses of blockchain and cryptocurrency. Daniel talks about how mapping and tracing of these very transparent ecosystems can thwart even sophisticated bad actors who are setting up multiple accounts and automating their activity to cover up money laundering, scams, or other illicit uses. Tune in now to learn more about these labs help recover funds, identify scammers and thieves, and how the nature of blockchain inherently helps them tackle crime.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski discusses the rise of populism in Europe with Robin Quinville, Director of the Wilson Center's Global Europe Program. They explore the factors contributing to the popularity of far-right movements, including migration, economic uncertainty, and the polarization of political parties. The conversation also touches on the implications of these trends on EU leadership.
Russia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that the Kremlin’s approach to public health is inextricable from its national security goals. Jill Dougherty and Nataliya Shok discuss the evolution of public health policy in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Sputnik V vaccine as a foreign policy tool, and what policymakers should know about Russian influence in global health policy.
In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, Bruna Santos talks about upcoming municipal elections in Brazil with Thiago Vidal, Director of Political Analysis at Prospectiva Public Affairs Lat.Am. With 5,570 municipalities and over 156 million voters deciding on new mayors and city council members, the results are critical and often overlooked from an international perspective. Bruna explores with Thiago how these elections will serve as a test for Lula’s administration and, facing the current polarization, the perspectives for the next presidential race in 2026.
Latin America has long been a playground for Russia’s anti-American influence operations. But today Russia isn’t alone in this game: In recent years Iran has become an increasingly prominent player on the continent as well—particularly in Venezuela. In this episode, Izabella Tabarovsky talks with Emanuele Ottolenghi of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies about the growing Russian-Iranian influence on the continent, specifically how the two countries work together to spread anti-US and anti-Western propaganda, circumvent sanctions, and contribute to America’s worsening border crisis. The episode was recorded on September 13, 2024. For show notes and transcript, please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/anti-western-influence-campaigns-latin-america-understanding-russia-venezuela-iran-triangle
This month, Nicaraguan strongman Daniel Ortega released 135 political prisoners, including students and religious leaders. The United States played a key role in facilitating their resettlement in Guatemala. Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Eric Jacobstein, deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Enrique Roig, deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, who both played a role in the prisoner release, to discuss the implications for Nicaragua’s future and US strategy to promote a return to democracy.
In this episode of Need to Know we explore China's growing influence in Africa through investments, diplomacy, and military cooperation. Our guests are Oge Onubogu, Director of the Wilson Center’s Africa Program, and Robert Daly, Director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States. Together with host, John Milewski, they discuss China’s investment diplomacy, perceptions of its role on the continent, and implications for US policy.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski and guest Michael Kugelman, Director of the South Asia Institute at Wilson Center, discuss the ongoing political upheaval in Bangladesh in the aftermath of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation. They explore the interim government's challenges, US interests, and the future of Bangladesh’s economy and foreign relations.
In today’s episode of The Arc, ECSP’s Claire Doyle and Angus Soderberg interview Dr. Benno Fladvad, Junior Professor for Natural Science Peace Research with a focus on Climate and Security at the University of Hamburg. Dr. Fladvad unpacks the potential environmental justice issues that arise as renewable energy deployment across the globe accelerates. He also describes the challenges of balancing the demand for rapid decarbonization with equity and justice considerations, drawing on examples from the Saami communities’ experience with green hydrogen and wind development. We also glean Dr. Fladvad’s insights into how energy projects can move beyond ineffective consultation processes toward peacebuilding and justice for marginalized communities.
In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, Bruna Santos talks with Jennifer Prescott about the evolving tech landscape in Brazil. Jennifer highlights the economic impact of cloud computing and AI, collaborations with the Brazilian government on AI regulation, and the country's growing AI ecosystem. They also discuss efforts in digital training and how global best practices can help shape Brazil's regulatory framework.
In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, Bruna Santos talks with Jennifer Prescott about the evolving tech landscape in Brazil. Jennifer highlights the economic impact of cloud computing and AI, collaborations with the Brazilian government on AI regulation, and the country's growing AI ecosystem. They also discuss efforts in digital training and how global best practices can help shape Brazil's regulatory framework.
In today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, ECSP Director Lauren Risi interviews Ratia Tekenet, a climate security expert with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and a former ECSP staff member. In their conversation, Ratia explores how climate change is intensifying South Sudan’s security challenges, creating an immense humanitarian crisis. She also discusses the efforts of UN agencies, the South Sudanese government, and local communities to build resilience and respond to ongoing climate disasters, as well as the need for greater integration of the humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus.
In today’s episode of The Arc, ECSP’s Claire Doyle and Angus Soderberg interview Gunn-britt Retter, Head of the Arctic and Environmental Unit at the Saami Council, in part one of three episodes focused on climate justice in the Arctic. We dive into Gunn-britt’s background and her work on the Saami Council. She outlines how climate change is impacting the livelihoods and daily lives of the Saami people and how even our responses to climate change can threaten Indigenous rights and land use. She also makes the case for a fundamental reexamination of our relationship with nature to make progress on addressing climate change.
Russia’s intensive involvement with the African continent goes back decades. During the Cold War, Moscow viewed Africa as its “natural” sphere of influence and a staging ground for active measures and proxy wars aiming to undermine American interests. When the USSR fell apart, an intermission followed. Today, Russia is unquestionably back. What draws Russia to Africa? Which African countries attract it and why? What purposes do relationships with various African states serve for Russia—and what makes Russia attractive to the African states that choose to partner with it? What is the role of the Russian private military companies Wagner and Africa Corps in these relationships? And what is Africa’s role in Russia’s global propaganda and disinformation effort? Izabella Tabarovsky discusses these and other questions with Maxim Matusevich, professor of history at Seton Hall University in New Jersey and chair of the university’s History Department. The episode was recorded on July 26. For time stamps and transcript, please visit here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/role-africa-russias-geopolitics
The National Security Archive at George Washington University is the largest independent non-government collection of declassified US documents and a goldmine of primary sources for scholars of US-Russia relations. Tom Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, and Dr. Svetlana Savranskaya, a senior analyst and director of the Archive’s Russia programs, share what they have uncovered about post-Cold War politics, the context behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the US government information classification system itself.
In this episode, host Bruna Santos talks to Venezuelan journalist Paula Ramón for an insider's view on Venezuela's elections, the impact of Chavismo on citizens, and Lula's controversial stance.
In this episode, ECSP's Claire Doyle speaks with Carl Bruch, Senior Attorney and Director of International Programs at the Environmental Law Institute and the founding President of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. Bruch describes the early conversations, visioning, and initiatives that helped establish the field, how he's seen it evolve, and what he thinks is on the horizon for environmental peacebuilding. This episode is hosted in partnership with the Environmental Peacebuilding Association, as part of a special series featuring thought-leaders and frontline workers in Environmental Peacebuilding. Through interviews with a range of experts, the series explores how the field of Environmental Peacebuilding first emerged and how it’s being shaped by new approaches and new voices.
In this episode of Canusa Street hosts Beth and Chris sit down with Congressman Buddy Carter, the US Representative for Georgia's 1st District. Together, they delve into the critical importance of the Canada-US relationship. Congressman Carter shares his insights on opportunities for continued collaboration, including USMCA, energy trade and coordination, healthcare, and more. Join us for a discussion that underscores the significance of cross-border cooperation and explores opportunities to strengthen the bilateral partnership.
Ambassador Mark Green, president and CEO of the Wilson Center, interviews Edmundo González, Venezuela’s opposition presidential candidate, ahead of the July 28, 2024 election. González shares his vision for the country’s future and discusses the challenges of opposing an authoritarian regime and the hopes for democratic change.
Join our co-hosts for a conversation with Kyle Hauptman, Vice Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, on how blockchain and crypto represent an opportunity for financial institutions. We discuss how crypto presents an opportunity for income not sensitive to interest rates as well as a simplification of key processes like title transfers, and how the development of a path to access crypto via a trusted institution like a credit union could increase public interest in the tech. The vice chair also highlights the high impact the government can have in this space just by clarifying definitions or where regulations don't apply, short of developing guidance or regulations that will guide the use of blockchain for finance. Listen now for more on how evolving and experimenting with new technologies might keep traditional finance institutions from going the way of Blockbuster.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski and Ambassador Philip Reeker, Chair of the Global Europe Program at the Wilson Center, discuss key takeaways from NATO's 75th anniversary summit. They explore the legacy of the alliance, as well as its future, as it responds to a growing and evolving array of global challenges.
In December 2023, Georgia was granted official European Union candidate status, but the country's path to EU membership may now be at risk because of the recently adopted law “on transparency of foreign influence.” This controversial legislation targeting media and NGOs has sparked mass street protests and, coupled with violence against protesters and a bill that would restrict LGBTQ+ rights and freedoms, has raised concerns about democratic backsliding in Georgia. The Russia File's Nina Rozhanovskaya talks with journalist Joshua Kucera about the motivations of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Georgia's struggle to balance between Russia and the West, and the social and political climate in the country ahead of the parliamentary election. For show notes and relevant links please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/georgian-politics-after-controversial-foreign-agent-law
General Glen VanHerck, USAF, joins Beth and Chris to discuss his time as the 26th Commander of NORAD and the 9th Commander of the US Northern Command. He also talks about how the relationship between the US and Canada is vital for defense and security, his response to the Chinese spy balloon incident, and the importance of collaboration and coordination across different commands and agencies.
In today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, Wilson Center Global Fellow and environmental journalist Anneliese Palmer speaks with longtime leader in regional environmental diplomacy and Executive Director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed. In their conversation, Dr. Hamed unpacks the opportunities and challenges of climate and environmental diplomacy, environmental peacebuilding efforts in Gaza and the Middle East, as well as his role in Jumpstarting Hope, a project that works to provide essential services such as safe drinking water and sustainable electricity to communities in Gaza.
In this episode, host Bruna Santos talks to Leticia Phillips, founder and managing partner of the Ridge Road Group, about Brazil-US cooperation for energy transition.Brazil Institute Podcast is coming out the first Friday of every month and Plaza Central is coming out the last Friday of every month. In this case, the former is being released on 7/5 and the latter on 7/26
When senior officials from 32 countries meet in Washington, DC next week for the NATO Summit, deterrence and defense, as well as Ukraine and global partnerships, are at the top of the agenda. Under Secretary General Stoltenberg’s leadership, NATO has recognized that climate change is also reshaping the security landscape. In today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, Wilson Center Senior Fellow Sherri Goodman speaks with NATO’s Paul Rushton about the Alliance’s efforts to integrate climate security across its core priorities.
It may be hard to believe, but this is the 100th episode of Canusa Street! Today, Beth and Chris share some of their favorite moments as Canusa Street doubles as Memory Lane. Thank you to all of our listeners who have made this show a success.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski, discuses the history and future of US-China agriculture cooperation with Dr. Karen Mancl. She is a professor and water quality specialist at the Ohio State University and a fellow with the Wilson Center's China Environment Program. In addition to exploring the history of cooperation between the two countries, Mancl talks about the impact on trade, the value of scientific exchanges, and hopes for shared climate change solutions. Join us for an insightful discussion of how these two global powers are working together in the field of agriculture despite their ongoing competition in other areas.
“Is Putin insane?” Vladimir Putin's speeches can offer insight into the Kremlin’s political thought patterns and intentions, but they are often misunderstood. Jill Dougherty sits down with Ivan Grek, Director of the Russia Program at George Washington University’s Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, who created a linguistic profile of Vladimir Putin to better understand the Russian leader's approach to statecraft.
In this episode of the Need to Know, we delve into the recent G7 Summit, focusing on the current state of US global competitiveness and assorted economic challenges. Host John Milewski speaks with Mark Kennedy, Director of the Wilson Center's Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition. Kennedy is a former Member of Congress and a former university president. He provides insights into the implications of China's economic strategies, ongoing supply chain vulnerabilities, and the importance of maintaining unity among G7 nations.
Join us to hear from Ross Venokur, an artist, director, blockchain innovator, and the Chief Creative Officer of Driver Studios. Ross talks about his work to harness blockchain technology and NFTs to put creators back in the driver's seat, connecting fans to the artists they love and allowing them to support their work directly. He talks about some of the obstacles to crossing the bridge from web2 to web3, from difficult user interfaces to resistance to terms like NFT, and his vision for how that change could happen. Hear more from Ross about the promise of blockchain for creatives and his work with NFTs to empower creativity - including his 2021 project to "sell the Brooklyn Bridge" with Monty Python's John Cleese https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/03/nfts-are-driving-stunts-and-diving-into-the-culture-wars
In this episode of the Need to Know, host John Milewski explores what we know and what we think we know about North Korea with expert insights from Sung-Yoon Lee, a Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Indo-Pacific Program. Yoon explains the complexities behind North Korea's strategic maneuvers, military ambitions, and the intricacies of its ruling regime. He also dispels common myths and provides a clear-eyed analysis of the motivations and tactics of one of the world's most secretive and misunderstood nations.
Who better to talk to on Canusa Street than Canadian ambassador to the United States Kirsten Hillman? In this very special episode, Beth and Chris take a few moments to discuss how important this relationship is to each country and the whole world.
One of the sectors targeted by U.S. economic sanctions is Russia's civil aviation. Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Boeing and Airbus, whose planes constituted 70 percent of Russia's fleet, announced they would freeze the delivery of spare parts. Many predicted that Russia's commercial aviation would soon be grounded—a potentially devastating development for a country of almost seven million square miles and eleven time zones. Two years later, Russia's domestic aviation seems to have adjusted to the sanctions. How has that happened? What has been the cost of the adjustment, and what is the long-term outlook for the industry? Izabella Tabarovsky discusses the general impact of sanctions on the Russian economy with Dr. William Pomeranz, then delves into the story of the Russian aviation industry under sanctions with Dr. Steven Harris. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/russian-aviation-industry-two-years-after-sanctions
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski discusses Mexico's elections with guest Lila Abed, acting director of the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute. Lila was an International Electoral Observer of Claudia Sheinbaum's, historic victory that will make her Mexico's first female president when she's sworn into office. They discuss the larger political landscape, Sheinbaum's potential policies, the implications of AMLO's legacy, and the possible impact on US-Mexico relations. Tune in for an in-depth analysis of Mexico's largest and most consequential elections.
In this episode, host Lina Doherty discusses the historic climate crisis in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with guests Natalie Unterstell and Anabel Teixeira. They explore the local government’s response, the vital role of civil society, and the imperative for sustainable reconstruction.
With thousands of businesses engaging in cross-border trade, how do Ottawa and Washington work together to reduce costs and red tape? On this episode, Minister Anita Anand, President of the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada, joins Beth and Chris to discuss her work on regulatory cooperation, approach to cyber defense and security, and Asian-Canadian upbringing.
In today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, ECSP’s Claire Doyle and Angus Soderberg speak with Dr. Mizan Khan, Deputy Director at the International Center for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), a research institute based in Bangladesh.Dr. Khan describes Bangladesh’s vulnerability to climate change and its unique role as an adaptation leader. He also discusses what he believes the core principles of the Loss and Damage Fund should be, and the legacy of the late Dr. Saleemul Huq.
In this episode, ECSP's Claire Doyle speaks with Dr. Dhanasree Jayaram, Program Manager at Climate Diplomacy and Assistant Professor at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education in India. Dr. Jayaram describes what environmental peacebuilding looks like in the context of South Asia, how climate diplomacy connects to environmental peacebuilding, and how the field has evolved. In looking at the future of environmental peacebuilding, she also raises insights and questions that an environmental peacebuilding lens can help us consider as we push forward on climate action. This episode is hosted in partnership with the Environmental Peacebuilding Association, as part of a special series featuring thought-leaders and frontline Workers in Environmental Peacebuilding. Through interviews with a range of experts, the series explores how the field of Environmental Peacebuilding first emerged and how it’s being shaped by new approaches and new voices.
Russia is determined that its war in Ukraine will shape the outlines of the future world order, and it’s using influence operations to ensure the outcome will be in Russia’s favor. Washington Post international investigative reporter Catherine Belton joins Jill Dougherty to discuss the crucial role of influence operations in Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, common Russian disinformation talking points, and the ultimate goal of Russian strategic operations in the United States and around the world.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski discuses US policy on Taiwan with Wilson Center Indo-Pacific Program Director, Shihoko Goto. They explore the complexities and nuances of maintaining strong ties to a most important US trade partner, while acknowledging the "one China principle." They also discuss China's efforts to increase its own economic ties to Taiwan and the risk-reward factors related to Chinese investment. Additionally, Goto provides insights into the challenge of helping Taiwan remain secure while avoiding direct confrontation with China. As the title says, it's complicated!
In today’s episode of “The Arc,” ECSP’s Angus Soderberg and Claire Doyle interview Wilson Center Fellow, Dr. Renata Giannini. She shares stories and solutions from her work with women environmental defenders in the Amazon and she looks ahead at COP30 in Brazil. We also hear from Dr. Giannini about her work as a program manager and senior researcher at the Igarape Institute, where she coordinated a project on the challenges faced by women environmental defenders in the Amazon, and her work at the Wilson Center on the role of these defenders in mitigating climate change.
Our co-hosts are joined by Chris Cummings, Founder and CEO of Iconic Moments, to talk about how he uses blockchain and NFTs to help museums and cultural institutions reach more people in the digital age. Hear more from Chris about using NFTs to bring art to people, like their series of pieces featuring sections of Jackson Pollock's studio floor, and the role that NFTs can play in proving provenance and ownership. Iconic is also helping museums build digital twins, creating more valuable experiences through which people from around the world can engage directly with a museum's collection, even if they never set foot in the physical space. Listen now for more on how these digital tools allow museums to tap into new resources and audiences!
In this episode of the Need to Know, host John Milewski discusses the recent direct attack by Iran on Israel and its implications for the region with the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program Director Merissa Khurma. She provides insights into the shifting dynamics and potential consequences of this escalation, highlighting the delicate balancing act for countries like Jordan and the critical role of U.S. leadership in pursuing de-escalation and stability.
In this episode of the Need to Know, host John Milewski explores the evolving landscape of warfare shaped by unmanned aerial vehicles with his guest, Dr. Jack Watling. Dr. Watling is a Wilson Center Global Fellow and senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. They discuss a new study, co-authored by Jack, that focuses on the impact of UAVs on land forces, drawing insights from contemporary conflicts like the one in Ukraine. From precision strikes to procurement challenges, this discussion navigates the complexities of adapting military strategies to technological advancements. It also provides valuable information for lawmakers who will be making funding decisions on weapons systems that are changing the way wars are conducted.
On a solo mission today, host Beth Burke talks with Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli, along with Ontario's newly minted representative in Washington, David Paterson. These two friends of Canusa Street truly understand the bilateral relationship and they take a deep look at the many connections between Ontario and the US, from energy, to trade, to critical minerals and more.
Today’s episode of New Security Broadcast is hosted by ECSP in collaboration with the Environmental Peacebuilding Association as part of a special series, "Thought-leaders and Frontline Workers in Environmental Peacebuilding: An Oral History." The series features interviews with academics, practitioners, and frontline workers to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the history and evolution the environmental peacebuilding field. In this episode, ECSP's Claire Doyle speaks with Dr. Erika Weinthal, Lee Hill Snowdon Professor of Environmental Policy at Duke University and member of the United Nations Environment Programme's Expert Advisory Group on Environment, Conflict, and Peacebuilding. Dr. Weinthal shares how academics, practitioners, and policymakers collaborated to shape and bring momentum to the environmental peacebuilding field, why water was a central focus early on, where she thinks environmental peacebuilding is headed, and more.
Russian authorities are taking tentative steps to limit access to abortion and other aspects of reproductive health, ostensibly to combat the demographic crisis, which has been amplified by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In this episode of The Russia File, Victoria Pardini and Nina Rozhanovskaya talk with two scholars of Russian reproductive politics and health, Michele Rivkin-Fish and Nataliya Shok, about the country’s long history of reproductive rights, the current rhetoric regarding family values, and what restrictions might lie ahead. They also discuss the debates surrounding alternative ways of giving birth and what this all means for women’s rights amid Russia’s conservative turn. For more information and show notes, please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/russias-battle-around-reproductive-health-and-womens-rights
In this episode, Beth and Chris chat with Dr. Andrew Furey, Premier of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, who was in Washington to talk up the energy, critical minerals, tourism experiences, and love for the United States that his province have to offer to the United States. Along the way, we talked about Premier Furey's volunteer work as a trauma surgeon in places like Haiti and Bangladesh, and his time on Fellowship in orthopedic trauma at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at University of Maryland in Baltimore, just one of his personal connections to the American side of Canusa Street.
In this episode of Need to Know, we focus on Pakistan's political and economic situation, as well as its relationship with the United States. Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director of the Wilson Center's IndoPacific program, covers topics such as the health of democracy in the wake of the recent election, the country's ongoing economic crisis, and the value of US support for democracy and human rights. Kugelman highlights the challenges and complexities facing Pakistan and provides insights into the current state of affairs.
Canada and the United States produce a lot of energy but getting it to customers can be a challenge. In this episode, Beth and Chris talk to Gitane De Silva, former CEO of the Canada Energy Regulator and a diplomat who has represented Alberta in Washington and Canada in Chicago. The conversation runs from Canadian federalism to energy infrastructure, the role indigenous communities in Canada and the changing but still challenging experiences of women in business and government. Then there was something about racing pigs at the Wisconsin State Fair – tune in to find out why!
On today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program and the Environmental Peacebuilding Association launch a series of oral history interviews with experts to trace the history of the field of environmental peacebuilding.From the people who helped shape the field to those who are bringing new approaches and perspectives today, our guests give us a behind-the-scenes look at how the field of environmental peacebuilding first emerged and how it has evolved. In this first episode, ECSP’s Claire Doyle speaks with two of the field's early thought leaders, Dr. Ken Conca and Dr. Geoff Dabelko, who unpack what motivated them to publish their 2002 book “Environmental Peacemaking” and share how they’ve seen the field change, as well as their hopes for the future of environmental peacebuilding.
Co-hosts Kellee Wicker and Alan Rechtschaffen briefly discuss current events in blockchain, including the recent Bitcoin ETF and Ethereum's latest upgrades, and how they're affecting the conversation in Washington DC in this election year. Listen now for thoughts on how a bull market for crypto is driving new interest in the technology, and the continued obstacles presented by a lack of regulatory clarity.
Brian Mulroney, who served as Canada's Prime Minister from 1984 until 1993, passed away on February 29, 2024. Tributes from world leaders have been numerous and heartfelt, especially from Americans who hailed Mulroney for his bold efforts to improve Canada's relations with the United States. In this episode, Beth and Chris speak with former Quebec Premier Jean Charest who was elected to Parliament in 1984 along with Mulroney, and named to Cabinet in 1984, Canada's youngest cabinet minister at 28, and became a lifelong friend. In this very special episode, Charest shares stories and speaks to the continued relevance of the shared values that Mulroney made the foundation of Canada's relationship with the United States.
In this episode, we delve into the findings from a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources that examined the fiscal impact of refugees and asylum seekers on the economy over a 15-year period. Many will be surprised by the overwhelmingly positive findings. John Thon Majok, Director of the Wilson Center's Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative, provides insights and analysis that could have significant implications for policy decisions. https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/28fe4e756499bdab08b4e6cb3b952e22/aspe-report-refugee-fiscal-impact.pdf
In today’s episode of “The Arc,” ECSP’s Angus Soderberg and Claire Doyle interview Nisha Singh and Kavin Mirteekhan from Women for Women International. We dive into the organization’s report, Cultivating a more enabling environment: Strengthening women’s resilience in climate-vulnerable and conflict-affected communities, hearing from them on the need for a report at this intersection, their key findings, and the report’s recommendations. Kavin, Women for Women’s Country Director in Iraq, also shares the experiences of women in climate-vulnerable and conflict affected communities there.
In today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, ECSP Program Director Lauren Risi speaks with Sarah Ladislaw, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Climate and Energy at the National Security Council (NSC). In the conversation, Special Assistant Ladislaw describes her role at the NSC and the most pressing climate security challenges facing the US. She also reflects on her recent address at the Munich Security Conference, and her vision for achieving “mutually assured resilience.”
Jill Dougherty sits down with former US Ambassador to Russia and Bulgaria John R. Beyrle to discuss their shared foundational experiences in Soviet Russia, including as US exchange students in then-Leningrad and later as American National Exhibition guides, and how they still inform their work in journalism and diplomacy today.
This is a very special episode where we welcome back original cohost Scotty Greenwood and talk with former Canadian Cabinet Minister Peter McKay. Chris and Scotty go around the world with Peter looking at how Canada fits into many of the global challenges we are seeing today.
In this episode of the Need to Know podcast from the Wilson Center, Ambassador Mark Green, President and CEO of the Wilson Center, shares his recent firsthand observations from Ukraine, marking the two-year anniversary of Russia's invasion. From the war-torn streets to underground schools in subway stations, Ambassador Green provides a vivid account of the destruction caused by Russian attacks and the courageous response of Ukrainians rebuilding their lives amidst ongoing conflict. He emphasizes the urgent need for international support, both humanitarian and military, to address the staggering displacement crisis and bolster Ukraine's efforts to resist Russian aggression.
Join our co-host for a wide-ranging conversation with Jared Ronis, digital assets analyst and advisor for SeedAI. In this episode, Jared talks about the power of using blockchain for verification, how it can close the gap on key AI problems, and why blockchain's time is now. For more, don't miss Jared breaking down the basics in our ongoing Blockchain Brief series, available online at https://www.wilsoncenter.org/collection/blockchain-briefs
Two years after Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine, Izabella Tabarovsky sat down with Maxim Trudolyubov, editor in chief of the Kennan Institute’s Russia File blog, to discuss where Russia is today. They discussed new trends in Russian emigration and the brain drain that never was, how the Russian economy has managed to defy predictions of immediate collapse, and who is actually running Russia. This is part 2 of our conversation about the second anniversary of the invasion. It was recorded on February 6. For show notes and relevant links please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/russia-second-anniversary-invasion-ukraine
Two years after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Izabella Tabarovsky sat down with Mykhailo Minakov, the Kennan Institute’s senior advisor on Ukraine and editor in chief of its Focus Ukraine blog, to discuss where Ukraine is today militarily, politically, socially and economically; Ukrainians’ sources of resilience; and why bipartisan support for Ukraine is in the national interest of the United States. This is part 1 of our conversation about the second anniversary of the invasion. It was recorded on February 6. For show notes and relevant links please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/ukraine-second-anniversary-russian-invasion
In today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, ECSP Program Director Lauren Risi follows up with Iris Ferguson, the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Arctic and Global Resilience, on their previous conversation previewing the DoD delegation to COP28. Deputy Assistant Secretary Ferguson discusses her takeaways from COP28 and the importance of listening to stakeholders outside the Pentagon echo chamber. She also outlines some of DoD’s key energy and climate security priorities in 2024.
It's an anniversary bash along Canusa Street. In this episode, Beth and Chris chat with Wilson Center Mexico Institute director Andrew Rudman about the celebration of eighty years of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Canada.
In this episode of Need to Know, Eddy Acevedo, Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the President and CEO of the Wilson Center, discusses the year ahead for the U.S. Congress. He lists other priorities Congress is juggling in addition to appropriations and supplemental funding. Acevedo shares insights from his experience working on the Hill and emphasizes the importance of bipartisan collaboration. He also touches on the role of Congress in shaping foreign policy and talks about the critical need for reliable information for those making public policy decisions.
El Salvador’s popular and controversial president, Nayib Bukele, has won a second term. Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Noah Bullock, executive director of the human rights organization Cristosal, to discuss the future of El Salvador, including the crackdown on criminal gangs and its implications for the rule of law.
One Under Lula: Brazil's Political Landscape and the Quest for StabilityIn this episode, Bruna Santos and Oscar Vilhena, law professor and Wilson Center global fellow, reflect on Brazil one year after its momentous 2022 election bringing Lula back into power. They analyze early challenges confronting Lula’s administration, from political turmoil to polarization, while discussing the road ahead for institutional stability.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has highlighted some of its own domestic problems. One of them is the uneven economic development of Russian regions and another is the unfair treatment of ethnic minorities. The Republic of Buryatia, a region in East Siberia, has been under the spotlight since February 2022, because of what looks like disproportionate representation of Buryats among the ranks of Russian soldiers. In this episode of The Russia File, Nina Rozhanovskaya talks with Buryat activist and research scientist Mariya Vyushkova about Buryat history and identity, Russia’s discriminatory mobilization policies, and the effects of the war in Ukraine on indigenous groups and ethnic minorities. For show notes, please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/buryatia-and-high-toll-russias-war-ukraine-ethnic-minorities
We've been hearing a lot about India and Canada lately. With so much going on in South Asia in 2024, Beth and Chris talk to Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center to get a bird's eye view of what is going on and what to expect.
Join our co-hosts for a conversation with Amazon Web Services’ Global Head for Financial Innovation and Digital Assets, Michael Greenwald. In this episode, AI Meets Blockchain, Michael Greenwald shares his predictions for Blockchain and digital currencies in 2024, the basket of currencies approach to finance, and more.
With corruption fighter Bernardo Arévalo finally in office, Latin America Program Global Fellow Catherine Osborn speaks with Guatemalan human rights lawyer Alfredo Ortega about the challenges the new president is facing as he attempts to implement his ambitious reform agenda.
Though it insists upon its status as a pacific power, Canada has found itself on the outside looking in on a network of military and economic alliances being formed in the Indo-Pacific. This week, Chris and Beth are joined by Deanna Horton, Canada Institute Global Fellow and Distinguished Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, to discuss Canada’s regional aspirations and woes.
En este episodio de Plaza Central, la exministra ecuatoriana Vianna Maino habla sobre los avances y la hoja de ruta pendiente para construir una Ecuador digital inclusivo, los programas implementados hasta ahora, y las políticas tecnológicas que se requieren para cerrar la brecha digital, expandir la conectividad en áreas rurales y convertir el acceso en un derecho.
Latin America Program Director Benjamin Gedan interviews global fellow James Bosworth about his predictions for 2024. They discuss Mexico’s presidential election, Argentina’s economy, and the outlook for Bernardo Arévalo’s first year in office in Guatemala.
Assassinations, election interference, and geopolitical shifts: Canada’s 2023 was fraught with emerging security threats at home and abroad. This week, former National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister Vincent Rigby joins Beth and Chris for a look ahead at Canada’s security landscape in 2024.
From election speculation to foreign leader visits and everything in between, POLITICO’s Ottawa Playbook gives readers a daily look into stories big and small across Canadian politics. As 2023 draws to a close, Beth and Chris reflect on the biggest Canada-US stories of the year with Nick Taylor-Vaisey: Toronto Maple Leafs fan, trivia master, and mastermind behind the Ottawa Playbook.
Join Blockchain Explained co-hosts Alan Rechtschaffen and Kellee Wicker to reflect on a big year in blockchain and consider what major themes we'll be watching in 2024.
Ukraine isn’t the only country that’s fighting Russian influence for its democratic future. Tinatin Khidasheli, Georgia’s first female minister of defense and current Chairperson at Civic IDEA (Initiative for Democratic and Euro-Atlantic Choice), an NGO in Georgia, joins Jill Dougherty to discuss tensions between Georgia’s government and its civil society over the direction of the country’s future, including this year’s mass protests against a proposed “foreign agents” law, and expectations for Georgia’s upcoming presidential election in 2024.
In today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, ECSP’s Lauren Risi hosts three contributing authors of the international chapter of the recently released fifth National Climate Assessment. Dr. Roger Pulwarty is a Senior Scientist with the Physical Sciences Laboratory at NOAA; Dr. Andrea Cameron is a permanent military professor teaching policy analysis at the US Naval War College; and Dr. Geoff Dabelko is a Professor and Associate Dean with the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University and a senior advisor to ECSP. In the conversation, the authors discuss the implications of climate change for national and international security, and they delve into the international chapter and its significance for policymakers in the US and abroad.
In today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, ECSP’s Angus Soderberg breaks down a recent Wilson Center event against the backdrop of the 10th annual Conference of State Parties (COSP) to the UN Convention on Corruption, which is under way in Atlanta this week. On September 19, ECSP, in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, the Embassy of the Principality of Liechtenstein, and the Basel Institute on Governance, hosted Combating Green Corruption: Fighting Financial Crime as a Driver of Environmental Degradation. The speakers discuss how corruption fuels wildlife trafficking and other environmental crimes, which finance illicit activities, hamper development, and erode efforts to combat biodiversity loss and climate change across the globe.
In today’s episode of “The Arc,” ECSP’s Claire Doyle and Angus Soderberg interview Dr. Yvonne Su, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity Studies at York University in Toronto. Dr. Su challenges oversimplified portrayals of displacement by drawing out how socioeconomic status, identity, and timeframes shape experiences of migration. She also stresses the importance of involving marginalized communities in policy consultations and draws attention to local grassroots organizations as pivotal players in addressing the challenges of climate migration.
Join our co-hosts for a conversation with Stellar Development Foundation's Lesley Chavkin and PwC's Kurt Fields on the potential for blockchain to offer solutions for increased financial inclusion around the world, and how financial service providers can assess whether new solutions fit a particular challenge. Our guests discuss case studies from four countries where blockchain is already being leveraged, drawing from their new report, "Enhancing the social handprint of financial service providers: Using blockchain to foster financial inclusion." Listen now, check out the report, or see more info on blockchain and resolving access gaps from Stellar Development Foundation here.
In today’s episode of “The Arc,” ECSP Director Lauren Risi interviews Dr. Robert McLeman, a professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Toronto. Dr. McLeman unpacks how climate change interacts with social, economic, and political conditions in ways that render some communities to be more vulnerable to climate-related displacement than others. He also shares insights into how we can promote safe, dignified, and just migration in the context of climate change and how justice and equity considerations are being incorporated into climate migration policy. This episode is part one of two focusing on the intersection between climate migration, equity, and policy.
Conflicts an ocean away reverberate in Canada and the United States through economic links, immigrant communities, and shared commitments to human rights and freedom. In this episode from 2022, Chris and Scotty talk to Peter van Praagh, president of the Halifax International Security Forum about the ties that link Canusa Street to a troubled world.
As strategic thinkers from around the world meet at the 2023 Halifax International Security Forum, this classic Canusa Street episode from 2022 featured HISF President Peter van Praagh in conversation with Chris and Scotty on the global tensions that Canada and the United States must confront as allies.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski explores the implications of the conflict between Hamas and Israel on the Abraham Accords with Merissa Khurma, director of the Wilson Center's Middle East program. They review the status of the accords before the Hamas attack and how things have changed since the outbreak of war. They also explore the possible long-term consequences of the war on the future of the accords and their promise of greater regional stability.
In a new mini-series previewing the upcoming UN Climate Summit (COP28)’s new focus on relief, recovery, & peace, the Director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center, Merissa Khurma, spoke with Peter Schwartzstein, an environmental journalist and Wilson Center Global Fellow.Schwartzstein discusses the impact of the war in Gaza on COP28 and environmental peacebuilding efforts more broadly in the region. He also talks about how we can advance the new theme of peace in COP discussions and what his hopes are for a best-case scenario coming out of the upcoming summit.
In today’s episode of “The Arc,” ECSP’s Claire Doyle and Angus Soderberg interview Joanita Babirye, Co-founder of Girls for Climate Action. Joanita shares about her firsthand experiences with climate stressors and the broader impact of climate change on women in Uganda. But it’s also a story of hope: She tells us about her work training over 300 women in climate action and facilitating climate demonstration hubs, underscoring the role that women and girls can play as catalysts for change in the face of the climate crisis.
In this episode, host Bruna Santos talks to labor lawyer Stanley Gacek about the new Partnership for Workers’ Rights between the US and Brazil. Announced at the 2022 UN General Assembly, the accord aims to promote higher standards and strengthen protections for workers in key sectors of both countries. Gacek provides an insider’s look at the partnership’s origins, goals, and potential impact on empowering unions and improving labor conditions in the US and Brazil.
In a new mini-series previewing the upcoming UN Climate Summit (COP28)’s new focus on relief, recovery, & peace, ECSP Program Director Lauren Risi spoke with David Nicholson, Director of the Environment, Energy and Climate Change Technical Support Unit at Mercy Corps.Nicholson described his role in ensuring that climate change is at the center of Mercy Corps’ wide-ranging and successful global humanitarian aid programs in 42 countries—and the importance of having local staff to make interventions a true partnership. He also talks about climate finance, and his hopes that COP28’s theme of “relief, recovery and peace” will advance the view that peacemaking is essential to adaptation efforts.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski, dives into the critical issue of the United States' involvement in the global effort to combat malaria with Wilson Center CEO, Ambassador Mark Green. Ambassador Green explores the progress made over the years and the ongoing challenges in the fight against malaria, while highlighting the humanitarian and economic reasons behind the US's vital role in this battle and the importance of international coordination and continued support for malaria eradication efforts.
In a new mini-series previewing the upcoming UN Climate Summit (COP28)’s new focus on relief, recovery, & peace, ECSP Program Director Lauren Risi spoke with Iris Ferguson, the US Department of Defense’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Arctic and Global Resilience.Deputy Assistant Secretary Ferguson spoke about why climate security has become a crucial element in DOD planning, as well as why the department will have a highly visible presence at COP28. She also shared the story of her own path to leadership at the Pentagon – as well as why her position includes both global resilience and the Arctic.
In the first episode of “The Arc,” ECSP’s Claire Doyle and Angus Soderberg speak with Dr. Maureen Miruka about the complex relationship between gender, climate, and agriculture. Miruka, who is Director of Strategic Partnerships and Research at CARE USA., emphasizes the disproportionate impact of climate stressors on women and vulnerable populations through the lens of food systems. She also underscores the pivotal role women play as change agents in global climate mitigation and adaptation, and makes a call to broaden the scope of research in this space to include other gender minorities.
On today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, ECSP is launching a new series called The Arc, focused on the connections between climate change, equity, justice, and identity. We will cover a wide range of topics – from food and water systems to the energy transition, migration, and climate finance – and talk with practitioners, advocates, professors, and community leaders to discover where these topics intersect with issues related to climate impacts and justice.We will also examine how responses to climate change intersect with justice and equity. From adaptation to mitigation, it is essential to explore how our collective response to climate change—including the financing mechanisms that propel these efforts—provide an opportunity to create more just, sustainable, and vibrant communities. Broad economic and social transitions are underway as we take action on climate change. Against that backdrop, The Arc will also foreground how our responses must prioritize the needs of historically underrepresented communities—and embed their knowledge into any solutions. Tune into The Arc to hear stories about the diverse dimensions of climate change, its connections with inequality, and meet those working in this space to make an impact.
In August 2020, Aleksandr Lukashenko, authoritarian leader of Belarus, denied electoral fraud and claimed landslide victory in his sixth presidential election. The regime’s violent crackdown on the mass pro-democracy protests signaled a new era of political repression in the country and triggered a major emigration wave. In this episode of The Russia File, Nina Rozhanovskaya talks with political analyst Artyom Shraibman about how the situation in Belarus has changed over the past three years, the effects of the war in Ukraine on Belarusian state and society, the regime’s new repressive tools, its growing dependence on Russia, the shared values of Belarusians, and the democratic future of Belarus.
Join our podcast co-hosts for the latest episode of Blockchain Explained: Tackling Global Financial Inclusion. The World Bank's Harish Natarajan shares his perspective on the obstacles in dissolving the gap in access to transaction accounts and other financial tools, what blockchain-based tools can already do to close the gap, and the obstacles that still remain to achieve true financial inclusion.
It’s a new era on Canusa Street, as newly anointed co-host Beth Burke takes the reigns from Scotty Greenwood to join Chris for a conversation with Canadian Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ng. Tune in for a wide-ranging discussion on inclusive trade, female representation in government, and people-oriented policy.
No, this isn’t a Freaky Friday situation – we’re talking about the places the U.S. trades! National Foreign Trade Council President Jake Colvin sits down with Christer Sands Christopher Sands for a lively discussion about explore the prolific and diverse trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada, global considerations for the U.S., and the careful balance of domestic regulation vs. global cooperation. Whether you're an avid trade enthusiast or just curious about what and why things cross Canusa Street, this episode promises a deep dive into the world of cross-border commerce.
In this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski discusses the state of affairs in Afghanistan, two years after the U.S. withdrawal, with Wilson Center South Asia Institute Director Michael Kugelman. Kugelman paints a dire picture of the situation under Taliban rule, particularly as it relates to food security and the status of women. They also discuss the possibility of Afghanistan once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists and whether there is any reason for optimism about possible changes within the Taliban regime.
Get ready for a population party as we celebrate Canada’s recent milestone of hitting 40 million people. Chief Statistician of Canada Anil Arora joins the show to shed light on the factors that led to Canada’s rapid population growth, how we can compare it to U.S. demographic data and the fascinating vantage point that Anil’s position and expertise offers him on cross-border policy, cultural issues, and quality of life.
A shocking number of Kremlin opponents have been left dead or permanently injured from poisonings. During a trip to Prague in May 2023, Free Russia Foundation President and Founder Natalia Arno became one of the latest individuals to develop poisoning symptoms after speaking out against political oppression in Russia. Arno shares her harrowing story with Jill Dougherty, and the two also discuss the work of Russia’s political activists in exile, the Kremlin’s history of transnational oppression of its political opponents, and the signs of hope she sees for Russia’s democratic future.
Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Everything in-between. Natural resources are as central to the history of Canada-US relations as the world’s longest land border or hockey rivalries. This week, Scotty and Chris welcome Daniel Macfarlane, associate professor of environment and sustainability at the University of Western Michigan, to discuss bilateral resource management, balancing politics and science, and the concept of natural security.Purchase his book, “Natural Allies: Environment, Energy, and the History of Canada-US Relations”, here: https://www.mqup.ca/natural-allies-products-9780228017592.php
Canada is famous for its participation in United Nations peacekeeping, but the US rule in UN missions has been an untold story until now. On this episode Scotty and Chris talk to retired US Army Colonel L. Scott Lingamfelter, a former UN Peacekeeper and author of a new book, Yanks in Blue Berets: American UN Peacekeepers in the Midde East (University Press of Kentucky, 2023). Col. Lingamfelter discusses the qualities that make a good peacekeeper, the conditions on the ground necessary for a UN peacekeeping mission to succeed , and the prospects for UN peacekeeping missions in Ukraine and Haiti. We also learn about Scotty's personal connection to peacekeeping, a story that appears in Lingamfelter's book.
The panelists from this event who have climbed countless mountains together, will share their experience studying climate impacts in the Third Pole and discuss the glacier-food nexus in the United States and China. The nearly $14 billion of fruit, grain, potatoes, and hops grown in Washington, Oregon and Idaho are all irrigated by melt water from glaciers. The glacier-fed cotton and grain fields of northwest China are the most vulnerable in the face of climate change. Maintaining or expanding crops in these regions may be unsustainable with the loss of glaciers driving water scarcity.
In this episode of Need to Know, John Thon Majok, Director of the Wilson Center’s Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative, discusses the ongoing challenges faced by Afghan refugees in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan with host John Milewski. They explore the complex issues surrounding Afghan refugees who have found temporary homes and those that remain internally displaced within the country. Majok describes the root causes of displacement and the long-term commitment that will be necessary to address this global crisis effectively.
On today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, ECSP Director Lauren Risi and Distinguished Fellow Dr. Blair Ruble talk with Clare Loveday and Dr. Caroline Wanjiku Kihato about their collaborative installation, “You Will Find Your People Here,” currently on view at La Biennale di Venezia. Loveday is a Johannesburg-based composer, and Kihato is an urban sociologist who specializes in gender, migration, and governance; they worked in concert with pianist, Mareli Stolp, and Ghanian artist, Awo Tsegah, to bring the installation to life at the Biennale.
Drawing from the migrant women’s testimonies in Kihato’s book, Migrant Women of Johannesburg: Everyday Life in an In-Between City, the project combines piano, spoken word, vocal utterances to share their stories. The performance is complemented by artwork and maps designed by Tsegah and informed by data obtained from the Wits-Oxford Mobility Governance Lab.
“You Will Find Your People Here” illustrates the value of using an interdisciplinary and creative process to convey the complex lives of migrant women, and the project speaks eloquently on how migration and mobility connect the global to local, transforming our cities and politics alike.
In part of an ongoing struggle to determine how cryptocurrency fits into existing financial structures, a federal judge issued a July 2023 judgment around whether XRP, the native crypto token for Ripple Labs, was a security or not. The verdict? Depends on the transaction in question. Join us to unpack what is really going on in the Ripple decision with Colin Lloyd, partner in Sullivan Cromwell's Commodities, Futures and Derivatives and Capital Markets Groups.
When Al Mussell isn’t leading research for the Agri-Food Economic Systems, or counting his cows, he likes to unravel the complexities of food security, innovation, and policy regulations. Scotty and Chris sat down with him to harvest his insights on the intricate world of agriculture, supply chains, and where Canada and the U.S. compare and differ.
No one man should have all that PNWER? Don’t tell that to Canusa Street, as Scotty is joined by former U.S. ambassadors David Wilkins, David Jacobson and Gary Doer for a wide-ranging discussion on trade, NATO, diplomacy and more. Recorded live at the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region summit in July.
The future of U.S. decentralized finance, one of blockchain's key use cases, in many ways depends on how Congress decides to act. Hear from Senator Cynthia Lummis, a co-founder of the Digital Asset Caucus, about how Capitol Hill is talking about blockchain, the clarity her legislation would provide for both the industry and enforcing agencies, and her thoughts on the advantages offered by cryptocurrency. This interview was recorded in the spring of 2023.
Join Alan Rechtschaffen, Chair of Wilson’s Digital Assets Lab & Forum, and Jordan Walbesser, Director of Legal & Business Affairs at Mattel, as they discuss the evolution of blockchain technology in the context of NFT’s, Digital Collectibles, and the Metaverse.
During this episode, Alan and Jordan discuss the differences between Digital Collectibles and Digital Assets, identify technologies that appear to be solutions in search of a problem and analyze how regulatory actions will affect innovation in both Digital Assets, Digital Collectibles and gaming.
In this episode of Americas 360, our Wilson Center experts analyze transatlantic relations between Europe and the Americas. With Spain assuming the presidency of the EU Council in July, our experts delve into discussions at the third EU-LAC Summit in Brussels on security, climate, trade, and digital transformation.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Berlin has emerged as a crucial center of activity for both Ukrainian refugees and Russian political exiles. It is here that many known and emerging leaders of the Russian opposition, political activists, human rights defenders, and independent journalists live, work, and gather to meet and discuss Russia’s future. Izabella Tabarovsky visited Berlin to meet with some of the people who are involved in Berlin’s emerging Russian political diaspora culture. In this episode of The Russia File, she talks to Alexey Yusupov of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Jennifer Gaspar of Araminta about Berlin as a city and a home for new Russian political exiles; what makes Germany in general and Berlin in particular such a welcome place for this group; and about organizations that have emerged to help them escape Putin’s regime and find safety abroad. For show notes and episode transcript please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/berlin-home-new-russian-political-exiles
What is soft power? Is it exclusive to the United States or is it something Canada has too? Scotty and Chris converse with author and Center for Strategic and International Studies expert Daniel Runde about his new book "The American Imperative" and talk diplomacy, foreign aid, great power competition and even movies! You can check out the book here: https://www.porchlightbooks.com/product/american-imperative-reclaiming-global-leadership-through-soft-power--daniel-f-runde/isbn/9781637582008
En este episodio del podcast del Proyecto Argentina, Alejo Czerwonko, director general y director de inversiones para mercados emergentes de las Américas en UBS, platica con Diana Mondino, asesora económica senior del candidato presidencial argrentino Javier Milei, sobre la plataforma económica de Milei y sus perspectivas de cara a las elecciones de octubre.
While the border between the U.S. and Mexico is often in the news as a problem, it could just as easily be viewed as one of the greatest economic assesets for both nations. Mexico Institute Director Andrew Rudman talks with host John Milewski about idea for building a more competitive situation on the border. They discuss post-pandemic recovery, new technologies that can improve information sharing, and how people can better capitalize on the opportunities cross-border trade offers.
How can a simulation contribute to a sustainable future? That's the question as Scotty and Chris talk to Hélène Gagnon, Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice President of CAE, a Montreal-headquartered multinational firm known worldwide for its flight simulators. Logging more time on a simulator saves fuel, but that is only the beginning of a great story of Canadian and American innovation to sustain values shared on both sides of Canusa Street.
Washington state is home to 427 miles of the US-Canada land border, thriving aviation and technology hubs, and a stadium that will host matches for the 2026 Men’s World Cup. This week, Scotty and Chris welcome Congressman Rick Larsen (WA-02) to Canusa Street for a conversation on cross-border industries, democratic institutions, and sports diplomacy.
In this episode of the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos talks with Vanessa Canado, director of the Tax Research Center at Brazil’s Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa, about Brazil’s bold tax reform proposal, the state of Congressional negotiations, and its potential impact on businesses, consumers, and economic growth. Notably, Canado drafted the constitutional amendment bill that inspired the proposal soon to be deliberated in the Senate.
This episode, hear from Laura Shin, journalist, podcaster, and author of The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze. She joins the podcast to talk foundational concepts in blockchain, from smart contracts to the role cryptocurrencies play in a blockchain's work as a decentralized ledger. Listen now to hear her take on the key thing you should know about digital assets - and the key misconception many have.
En esta edición especial del podcast Plaza Central del Programa Latinoamericano del Wilson Center, la corresponsal de CNN en Español, Bertha Michelle Mendoza, conversa con los periodistas centroamericanos Wendy Funes, Juan Lorenzo Holmann y Héctor Silva sobre las amenazas a la libertad de expresión en la región y los crecientes obstáculos para su labor de investigación periodística como parte de uno de los eventos de la iniciativa “Voices”, organizado en colaboración con el Departamento de Estado de EE.UU. y la Agencia de EE.UU. para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID).
Jill Dougherty sits down with Zhanna Nemtsova to discuss her work with the Boris Nemtsov Foundation, which Zhanna founded in 2015 in Germany after her father’s assassination, and the generational gaps that have divided Russian civil society. Their conversation touched on the prevailing apathy of Russian society in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, propaganda in higher education being used to advance Putin’s agenda, and why the key to Russia’s democratization lies in education reform. Show notes: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/kennanx-episode-28-zhanna-nemtsova
The 2022 invasion of Ukraine was supposed to illustrate the Russian army’s ability to conduct a “contactless,” “surgical” military operation with minimal civilian casualties and damage to critical national infrastructure. Yet troops began committing war crimes in Ukraine virtually from the first days of the invasion. Did the Russian military anticipate applying such a level of brutality to civilians? If not, how did it become so widespread so quickly? What role has Russia’s early operational and tactical failures, its doctrinal causes, and its general military culture played in enabling such shocking violence? Izabella Tabarovsky speaks to Israeli military analysts Dr. Sarah-Masha Fainberg and Lt. Colonel (ret.) Daniel Rakov to uncover the enabling factors of Russian culture of violence against Ukrainian civilians. The conversation was recorded on May 16.
Meet your co-hosts for Blockchain Explained, Alan Rechtschaffen and Kellee Wicker! Hear more from Alan and Kellee about the podcast's mission to educate a wide audience about the opportunities and challenges of blockchain, study use cases, and assess the current and coming regulatory landscape. Listen now for more on what to expect from this series, and to hear what our hosts find most exciting about blockchain technology.
As Canada continues to struggle with its worst wildfire season in recent history, brave volunteers with Team Rubicon Canada are helping affected communities on the frontlines of the blazes. This week, Scotty and Chris welcome Paul McCarthy, Vice Chair of Team Rubicon Canada, to discuss the organization’s history, mission, and pivotal role in disaster response.
NYT on Quebec fires: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/17/world/americas/canada-wildfires-season.html?smid=url-share
Support Team Rubicon Canada: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E341708QE&id=1
In the wake of forest fires in Canada impacting a large swath of the United States, Chris and Scotty talk with Jean François Samray, the President and CEO of the Quebec Forest Industry Council. Not only does the latest smoke filled atmosphere get an airing, but they also talk about forest management on government owned land and the long standing softwood lumber trade dispute between the US and Canada.
In this episode of the Wilson Center’s Argentina Project podcast, Benjamin Gedan speaks with Francisco de Santibañes, a Wilson Center global fellow and vice president of the Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales, about the implications of Argentina’s October election on the nation’s foreign policy, including its relationships with the United States, the United Kingdom, and China.
Jonatan Vseviov, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Estonian Ambassador to the U.S., joins Jill Dougherty to discuss what it means to be the head diplomat of a country that shares a border with Russia, particularly in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. They discuss how Estonia’s fraught relationship with the Soviet Union and later Russia shaped the Baltic country’s security concerns, and explore how Russia’s war in Ukraine has fundamentally changed European security and partnerships.
In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, guest host Talita Fernandes speaks with Raoni Rajão. As a professor at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, member of the cabinet of Brazil’s Minister of Environment, and a former Brazil Institute Fellow, Rajão sheds light on the profound impacts of misinformation in science, specifically relating to the environment and climate change.
In this episode of Need to Know, Kellee Wicker, Director of the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program (STIP), speaks with host John Milewski about artificial intelligence. They discuss concerns about AI, the need for guidelines and regulations, and the recent statement from the White House. Kellee recaps a discussion she moderated for Members of Congress that featured Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and creator of ChatGPT. She also provides tips on where regulators and others can find the best and most accurate information about the latest developments in AI.
It’s a carbon capture congregation on Canusa Street as Chris and Scotty are joined by Lisa Jacobson of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy and Jonathan Sohn of Capital Power for a discussion on energy transition, incentives and regulations, and the push to net zero on both sides of the border.
In this episode of the Wilson Center’s Americas 360 podcast, our experts analyze Latin America’s new wave of leftist governments and the U.S. response to the region’s second “pink tide.”
Today we hear from a program held by the Canadian American Business Council in their Corporate Action on Social Justice series, discussing how businesses in the US and Canada navigate the political seas of "Woke" vs. "Anti Woke." On the panel we hear from our own Scotty Greenwood as well as Clint Odom, the Vice President of Strategic Alliances and External Affairs for T-Mobile, Kevin Madden, senior partner at the Penta Group, Reg Manhas of Lapis Energy, and Estuardo Rodriguez of the Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino and founding principal of the Raben Group.
Last week, U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen took Canusa Street from Ottawa to Washington for an event at the Wilson Center, where he pushed back on claims of American protectionism and highlighted opportunities for Canadian-U.S. prosperity. Tune in as Chris and Scotty discuss the event, the Ambassador’s remarks, and perceptions of protectionism on both sides of the border.
Dive into the latest episode of our podcast as Chris and Scotty make a splash with special guest, the Hon. Catherine McKenna! From champion swimmer to Canada's former Minister of Environment and Climate, she shares her insights on Canada's carbon pricing, Indigenous engagement, and how we can all work together to tackle climate change.For a look at the report mentioned in the episode go to: https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/high-level_expert_group_n7b.pdf
On this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski speaks with Andrew Walmsley, Senior Director of Government Affairs at the American Farm Bureau Federation. They discuss expectations for the 2023 Farm Bill and how it might address changes and challenges the agriculture community has faced during the past several years. Walmsley says that if lawmakers get it right, the legislation can help farmers adapt and provide them with the security that will allow them to maintain a competitive advantage in a continuously evolving environment.
What do Ontario, Nevada, China and Washington DC have in common? What do Ian Bremmer, Doug Ford and Robbie Diamond have in common? LITHIUM! Jonathan Evans, CEO of Lithium Americas, visits Canusa Street to talk about one of the most important critical minerals for EV batteries, found in Canada and the United States, and what we must do to meet demand.
This week we are treated to a live program in Atlanta where Scotty Greenwood talks to Flavio Volpe, the head of Project Arrow, Canada's first zero-emissions concept vehicle. It is a fascinating discussion about where North America is positioned for the future, and what direction we are headed.
The relationship between the artist and the state has always been fraught in Putin’s Russia, where government remains the primary funder of cultural institutions and censorship of cultural production has been on the rise for at least a decade. But Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has posed new existential questions for those members of the artistic community who do not align themselves with the Kremlin’s agenda. In a wide-ranging conversation, Nina Rozhanovskaya and journalist Sophia Kishkovsky discuss the impact of the war and the growing domestic pressure on the Russian arts and culture scene. What changes have been on view in Russian museums? Why does the state target theaters in particular? Which anti-war voices manage to break through the prohibitions? And what does the emerging “Z culture” look like? Since the conversation was recorded on March 17, 2023, a number of individuals mentioned in it have faced new repercussions for their anti-war stance. For show notes, please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/russian-culture-casualty-and-accomplice-putins-war-ukraine
It’s a cross-podcast extravaganza on Canusa Street as Chris and Scotty welcome CSIS’ Trade Guys for a discussion on open markets, USMCA, supply chains, and perennial trade disputes.
Canusa Street is back on the road, recording on the sidelines of the US-Canada Summit in Toronto! This week, Chris and Scotty interview Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez on climate policy, critical minerals partnerships, and the global challenges that keep him up at night.
In this episode of Need to Know, Deputy Director of Congressional Relations, Erin Jarnagin, provides an overview of the 2023 Farm Bill. She explains what's covered by the bill, how much we should expect it to change from last time around, and what impact the Russian invasion of Ukraine may have on the legislation. Erin also provides thought on the process and timeline for passage.
With President Joe Biden’s visit to Ottawa in the rear-view mirror, Chris sits down with CBC’s Washington-based correspondent Alexander Panetta to discuss Canadians’ reaction to the two-day summit and reflect on policy developments affecting migration, foreign engagement, and cross-border supply chains.
Food scholar and author Darra Goldstein joins Jill Dougherty to discuss her new book, The Kingdom of Rye: A Brief History of Russian Food. They cover the origins and histories of many classic Russian dishes and ingredients as well as their place within the broader culture. Their conversation also touches on the political dynamics between food culture and nationalism during Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. For show notes, please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/kennanx-episode-26-russian-cuisine-and-conflict-darra-goldstein
This week, President Biden is flying north for the first visit to Canada of his presidency. As Ottawa prepares to welcome the President, Scotty chats with the man at the helm of President Obama’s and then-Vice President Biden’s visits to Canada in 2016: former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman. Tune in for a dynamic discussion on expectations for the upcoming visit, wider geopolitical context, and stories from visits past.
In this 50th episode of the Riyada podcast, host Merissa Khurma records from the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan with Deputy Chief of Mission Rohit Nepal and MEP Chair Ambassador Jim Jeffrey. They discuss the importance of supporting entrepreneurship in Jordan and the MENA region, in addition to how the U.S. government can work with the Jordanian government and region officials to propel the startup scene through funding, economic exchanges, trade, and sharing the American experience.
When in 1991 Boris Yeltsin invited Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to open a news bureau in Russia, the move was hailed as the clearest sign yet that the Cold War was ending. Last year, Vladimir Putin’s regime forced RFE/RL to shut down its operations, causing staff to leave the country along with other Russian independent journalists, dissidents, and human rights defenders. With the current exodus from Russia reaching levels comparable to those following the 1917 revolution, the experience of “Cold War radio” has suddenly become relevant again. What lessons does American international broadcasting, widely acknowledged as one of the United States’ Cold War triumphs, hold for the current moment? What practices could today’s political exiles from Russia emulate to connect to their compatriots inside the country? Izabella Tabarovsky explores these questions in her conversation with Mark Pomar, author of Cold War Radio: The Russian Broadcasts of the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty. For show notes, please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/lessons-cold-war-radio-conversation-mark-pomar
Scotty and Chris take a walk on the west side of Canusa Street to talk to Member of Parliament Taleeb Noormohamed who represents Vancouver Granville in the Canadian House of Commons. In a wide ranging conversation, the trio discuss the role of volunteerism in society, Taleeb’s famous thesis advisor, and the unique power of the US and Canada as a beacon for freedom and success in the world and how we should approach migration in North America.
In this episode of the Latin American Program’s Plaza Central podcast, Juan Sebastián Chamorro, a Nicaraguan economist and opposition leader imprisoned by Daniel Ortega for 611 days, recounts his time in El Chipote prison, his sudden release and arrival in the United States, and the future of Nicaragua’s opposition movement.
Chris and Scotty look south of our borders to Haiti with Benjamin Gedan, Wilson Center Latin American Program Director and former National Security Council South America Director. Things have been on a downward trajectory in Haiti, with intractable poverty, brain drain, natural disasters, crime and political strife. How do the US and Canada figure in helping to turn things around?
On this episode of Need to Know, host John Milewski speaks with the Director of the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program, Kellee Wicker, on the value of cryptocurrency for international finance, its downsides, and where the digital asset might be headed in the future.
With President Joe Biden’s promised trip to Canada around the corner, Chris and Scotty welcome Jennifer Savage, Director of the State Department’s Office of Canadian Affairs, for a conversation on life in the foreign service and US perspective on the bilateral relationship.
One balloon in the sky over Canada and the United States has focused attention on the challenge that China poses in North America. Chris and Scotty discuss the balloon and global geopolitics with one of the US leading experts on China, Robert Daly.
Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, Haiti has faced a range of challenges, including gang violence, repeatedly delayed elections, and a resurgence of cholera. In this episode of the Wilson Center’s Americas 360 podcast, our experts discuss how Haiti is responding to these obstacles and how the international community could address Haiti’s humanitarian, political, and security crises.
This week, Congressman Brian Higgins is back on Canusa Street to talk about NEXUS, pandemic-era restrictions, and other roadblocks affecting bilateral traffic and trade along the Canada-U.S. Border.Check out the text of Congressman Higgins’ “Make NEXUS Work Act” here: https://higgins.house.gov/sites/higgins.house.gov/files/NEXUS%20BILL%20-%20MAKE%20NEXUS%20WORK%20ACT.pdf
On this episode, Mexico Institute Director, Andrew Rudman, speaks with host John Milewski about what we Need to Know about security concerns on the US-Mexico border. They discuss which policies are working and which aren’t, what life is like in border communities, and where opportunities might exist to build consensus around new policy options on Capitol Hill.
Scotty and Chris discuss a true Canusa Street issue, the two way street between Canada and the United States when it comes to electricity transmission. Joining them is Francis Bradley, the CEO of Electricity Canada, a trade association of suppliers focused on sustainable electricity. You will probably be shocked at the amount of interesting cross border connections that are made here!
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan joins Jill Dougherty following an ambassadorship during one of the most tumultuous periods of U.S.-Russia relations to provide his perspective on the current relationship and Russia's troubling diplomatic strategies. Their discussion also touches on the domestic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Kremlin's changing relationship with Evgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group.
A record number of people are dying from overdoses of synthetic drugs like illicitly manufactured fentanyl. At the recent North American Leaders Summit, Presidents Biden and Lopez Obrador and Prime Minister Trudeau discussed cooperative ways to address the flow of these substances across our common borders. Chris and Scotty discuss policy approaches to the drug crisis with one of the leading thinkers and advocates on the topic, Regina LaBelle, Distinguished Scholar and Director of the Addiction and Public Policy Initiative at the O'Neill Institute at Georgetown University Law Center.
You may know that minerals are vital for 21st century life. So much so that some are even called "critical minerals." Fortunately, the US and Canada are abundant in these mineral resources, and Scotty and Chris have a conversation with Abigail Wulf of SAFE on how we can align policy to meet a "critical" need.
On this episode of “Need to Know,” the Wilson Center’s VP for Strategy & New Initiatives, Duncan Wood, joins host John Milewski to talk about the importance of affordable, available, and secure energy sources, and the challenges countries face in reaching that goal.
In November 2022, the Russian parliament passed a new bill banning any activity that can be interpreted as the promotion of “non-traditional sexual relations and/or preferences.” In December, President Vladimir Putin signed it into law. This legislation is an expansion of the notorious 2013 bill, which prohibited so-called “gay propaganda” among minors. Nina Rozhanovskaya spoke with Dr. Alexander Sasha Kondakov about the repercussions of this discriminatory legislation, the rationale behind Russia’s crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community, and what its timing can tell us about Russian politics. The conversation was recorded on November 30, 2022.
In this episode of the Wilson Center’s Americas 360 podcast, our regional experts analyze the outcome of the 10th annual North American Leaders summit in Mexico City, where the presidents of Canada, Mexico and the United States gathered to discuss deeper economic integration, climate change, and migration, They also discuss the recent attack on Brazil’s three branches of government by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro and its impact on Brazilian democracy.
Continuing our integrated North America theme we've been on recently, we talk to Jennifer Pierce. She is the CEO of TC Energy, and a Canadian who lives in Mexico, while running a Canadian company that brings US LNG to Mexico. Scotty and Chris discuss trade, pipelines, government cooperation and friction, new energy transitions and more.
With the Tenth North American Leaders’ Summit around the corner, Chris and Scotty discuss priorities for the three leaders and what to expect from their meetings in Mexico City. Then, we listen in on a special event with Chris and Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols co-hosted by the Wilson Center Canada Institute and Mexico Institute.
In this final episode of 2022, Scotty and Chris take their final interview from their pop-up studio in Mexico City, talking to the Director of the Business Transformation & Innovation Division at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Vincent Annunziato. There is so much to learn in this episode about trade, counterfeit products coming into North America, and Scotty's long held secret desire to be an avocado farmer.
Another guest in our Mexico City pop-up studio is Ambassador Louise Blais, whose 25-year career as a Canadian diplomat brought her everywhere from INTERPOL and the United Nations to the Canada’s Consulate in Atlanta and its Embassy in Paris. She joins Chris and Scotty to discuss the importance of people-to-people connections in diplomacy, prospects for growth in North America, and other lessons from her storied career.
On this episode of "Need to Know," the Wilson Center’s China expert, Robert Daly, joins Host John Milewski to talk about the significance of recent protests in China, how the country is advancing its interests in the Middle East, and how President Xi Jinping is trying to shape global the order.
The media landscape has been tough for the last few years. But in Mexico it has been brutal, literally. In this "On The Road"episode, recorded in Mexico City, Chris and Scotty sit down with CBS News Correspondent Enrique Acevedo to talk about the challenges faced by journalists covering politics and crime in Mexico and take a step back to look at the media in North America from Ottawa, to DC, to Mexico City.
Russian independent news channel TV Rain (Dozhd TV) has been operating in Latvia since June 2022, after Kremlin authorities blocked the channel as a result of its coverage of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Now TV Rain’s operation is once again in peril after on-air remarks from one of its anchors resulted in the channel losing its Latvian broadcasting license. TV Rain news director and anchor Ekaterina Kotrikadze joins Jill Dougherty to discuss these challenges and what they mean for the future of the channel.More information and show notes: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/kennanx-episode-24-storm-over-tv-rain
Join Alan Rechtschaffen, Chair of Wilson’s Digital Assets Lab & Forum, and Jordan Walbesser, Director of Legal & Business Affairs at Mattel, as they discuss the evolution of Blockchain technology in the context of NFT’s, Digital Collectibles, and the Metaverse.During this episode, Alan and Jordan discuss the differences between Digital Collectibles and Digital Assets, identify technologies that appear to be solutions in search of a problem and analyze how regulatory actions will affect innovation in both Digital Assets, Digital Collectibles and gaming.
50 years ago, Canada and the Soviet Union faced off in an historic hockey summit series at the height of the Cold War. The impact of the series on both countries, hockey itself, and the cross-cutting field of sports diplomacy are felt to this day.This week, Chris and Scotty are joined by Ambassador Gary Smith, author of Ice War Diplomat, and Andrew Holman, Professor of History and Director of Canadian Studies at Bridgewater University.Book link: https://www.amazon.com/Ice-War-Diplomat-Hockey-Politics/dp/1771623179Documentary link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18395166/
With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US, huge shifts in critical mineral and battery production could flow south, sparking concern in Canada. That sounds familiar doesn't it? Scotty and Chris chat with Brian Kingston, President and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association and Kristin Dziczek, Automotive Policy Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, to find out what this means.Also, for those in the Chris Sands book club, check out the book mentioned in the show: https://www.amazon.com/Really-Restructuring-Geographic-Change-Industry/dp/0880993332
In this edition of “Need to Know,” Raoni Rajao, an Associate Professor at the University of Minas Gerais in Brazil, talks about his experience at COP27. Minas covers the climate change debates taking place at the conference, who the key players are, what challenges they face, and how talks have progressed since he attended his first COP seven years ago.
In this episode of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos speaks with former U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Liliana Ayalde and Universidade de São Paulo Professor Maria Herminia Tavares de Almeida, about the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as Brazil’s next president, the future of U.S.-Brazil relations under Lula, and the implications for environmental, security, and economic policy in Brazil.
Autos are back on the agenda as Chris and Scotty welcome Rob Wildeboer, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Martinrea International Inc., for a private sector perspective on supply chain near-shoring, electric vehicles, and North American opportunity in the wake of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
This week, drive down Canusa Street and into Los Angeles, California with special guest Antonio Villaraigosa. The former Mayor and current California Infrastructure Advisor joins Chris and Scotty from the Mexico City pop-up studio to discuss infrastructure investments, sports diplomacy, and solutions to poverty in urban communities.
En este episodio, Beatriz García Nice platicó con Fernando Straface, Secretario General y de Relaciones Internacionales de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires sobre la reciente cumbre del C40 en dicha ciudad y donde se firmó el Pacto de Buenos Aires. También discutieron el rol de la Argentina en la actual convergencia internacional y como Argentina puede ser protagonista de algunos de los desafíos globales en materia alimentaria, energética, minera asociada al litio y al turismo.
En este episodio, Beatriz García Nice platica con el Secretario de Industria y Desarrollo Productivo del Ministerio de Economía de Argentina, José Ignacio (Vasco) de Mendiguren, sobre la actualización de la matriz productiva argentina en la coyuntura actual con la guerra en Ucrania, la transformación energética que vive el país y las oportunidades que representa para la economía nacional así como qué representó y los pasos a seguir después de la reciente visita a Washington, D.C. del Ministro de Economía.
In this special episode of Americas 360, guest host Bruna Santos speaks with Wilson Center experts Daniela Campello, Luiza Duarte, Raoni Rajão and Cesar Zucco about the historic return of Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva to Brazil’s presidency, the challenges he will face to enact his ambitious economic, social and environmental agenda, as well as the role Brazil will play under his leadership in regional and international politics in the years to come.
Jill Dougherty is joined by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse to discuss how corruption serves not only to enrich the elites of Russia, but also as tool to ensure continuity of power and that all opposition—both internal and external—is crushed. Senator Whitehouse also explains how this corruption directly targets the United States and the steps the government is taking to combat this this threat.
Visit our website for more information and show notes: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/kennanx-episode-23-fighting-strategic-corruption-senator-sheldon-whitehouse
The US and Canada have long been known for their vibrant democratic traditions. But recently, we have seen those traditions tested on both sides of the border. On the eve of Election Day in the US, Scotty and Chris bring back constitutional scholar Susan Lagon to discuss what's going wrong and whether the guardrails will hold on Canusa Street.
Also check out Chris's book reference: Trust by Francis Fukuyama.
In this episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan speaks with U.S. Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch about the role of the United States in helping Guyana maximize the economic development opportunities from its rapidly expanding energy sector while strengthening its democratic institutions.
In this episode of Need to Know, we speak with Wilson Center Fellow Marina Ottaway and Haleh Esfandiari, Director Emerita and Distinguished Fellow with the Center’s Middle Program, about the ongoing protests in Iran sparked by the death of 22-year old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. They describe how women are leading the charge, provide context on the role of leadership and organization in similar movements, and discuss whether these protests can succeed where others have failed.
Poland and Russia share a long history that has been full of grievances and unresolved traumas. And while 2007 saw a positive shift in the relationship, the annexation of Crimea in 2014 put an end to this “reset.” Since February, Poland has been a steadfast ally of Ukraine and a fierce opponent of Russia. Nina Rozhanovskaya talked with Polish political scientist Iwona Reichardt, deputy editor of New Eastern Europe magazine, about Poland’s fears and hopes vis-à-vis Russia and the effects of the war in Ukraine on Polish politics, economy, and society.
Find more information and show notes here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/polish-russian-relations-move-reset-ruin
Chris and Scotty sit with constitutional expert Susan Lagon from the Georgetown Government Affairs Institute. Professor Lagon not only knows the US Congress but she knows Canada and parliamentary systems too! She gives us great insights into the differences between the governments on both sides of Canusa Street.
In this episode of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos speaks with Clara Becker, a journalist and cofounder of Redes Cordiais, a media literacy non-profit designed to counter disinformation and hate speech on social media. They discuss how misinformation is affecting Brazil’s electoral process and potential strategies to fight fake news in the public sphere.
This month, the Riyada podcast featured the talented men and women advancing MENA’s film scene to better understand how creators in the region fare against the global media industry. To conclude, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with film director, writer, and poet Hind Shoufani. Hind’s life experiences in Damascus, Amman, Beirut, Dubai, and NYC have shaped her values, stories, and career trajectory, while celebrating her Palestinian identity.
3…2…1… Liftoff! Scotty and Chris are shooting for the stars this week with special guest Brian Gallant, former Premier of New Brunswick and CEO of Space Canada. Listen in to learn more about Canada’s contributions to space exploration, the layout of the Canadian space industry, and the proposal for Canada’s first commercial spaceport.
En este episodio, Patricia I. Vásquez, miembro global del Programa Latinoamericano, plática con María Laura Castillo Díaz, coordinadora del Programa Altoandinos, en la Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, sobre la falta de suficientes datos científicos para poder entender la huella ambiental que genera el desarrollo del litio en los salares argentinos y sobre algunas falencias en la aplicación de las leyes que rigen los impactos sociales en los desarrollos de litio en Argentina.
In this episode of the Wilson Center’s Americas 360 podcast, our experts discuss the nearshoring potential of U.S. neighbors in the Americas, the progress made in this area since the IX Summit of the Americas, and the challenges faced by companies looking to relocate operations closer to home.
On this special episode, Chris and Scotty are joined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) representatives in Canada (Rema Jamous Imseis), the United States (Matthew Reynolds), and Mexico (Giovanni Lepri) for a conversation on refugees in North America and how immigrants improve society in all three countries.
For more information on the report on refugees in Canada that is mentioned in this episode, please visit: https://bit.ly/3EJdTxA
Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with Sherry Carlin, who serves as Mission Director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Jordan. MD Carlin discussed USAID’s extensive programs targeting youth economic empowerment, breaking down barriers to women’s employment, and addressing issues related to climate change and water scarcity, among other efforts.
During the first week of October, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to South America to meet with the presidents of Colombia, Chile and Peru. They discussed migration, economic growth, climate change and democracy. He also lead the U.S. delegation to the Organization of American States General Assembly in Lima. In this Twitter Space, our Wilson Center experts discuss the outcomes of the secretary’s trip.
Hola from the Canusa Street pop-up studio in Mexico City! This episode, Dr. Dany Bahar, Senior Fellow at the Harvard Center for International Development, joins Chris and Scotty on the podcast to discuss North American migration policy, refugee crises abroad, and his research on the economic impact of immigration.
Dr. Bahar’s paper on birthplace diversity: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048733320300718
Dr. Bahar’s paper on migration and post-conflict reconstruction:
https://www.jointdatacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/BHOR_YugoslavianRefugees-002.pdf
In this episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan speaks with Alejo Czerwonko, chief investment officer for emerging markets in the Americas at UBS, and Gabriela Soní, chief investment officer for Mexico at UBS, about the impacts in Latin America of rapidly rising interest rates in the United States and Europe.
On this episode of the Riyada podcast, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa zoom into the production side of MENA’s film industry. Ali Jaafar, head of the film division at MBC Studios, produced numerous films, including The Swimmers (2022), King of Thieves (2018), and The Idol (2015). Ali discussed his transition from journalism to production and desire to elevate diverse narratives from the Arab world to regional and global audiences.
On this episode of the Riyada podcast, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa zoom into the production side of MENA’s film industry. Ali Jaafar, head of the film division at MBC Studios, produced numerous films, including The Swimmers (2022), King of Thieves (2018), and The Idol (2015). Ali discussed his transition from journalism to production and desire to elevate diverse narratives from the Arab world to regional and global audiences.
The international system as we know it has been forced to grapple with a multitude of disruptions on various fronts, be it the global COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on societies, economies and health systems, or the most recent conflict in Ukraine that has taken a heavy toll on humanity in the loss of innocent lives, forced displacement of millions, and the food and energy insecurity crises it has provoked. At a time of extreme distress on the international system, global leadership is key to addressing the myriad challenges our world faces, especially to restore hope and rebuild trust amongst our communities and societies to move forward towards international cooperation and responsibility sharing.
One of the world's most poised and effective leaders Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan joined Ambassador Mark Green to tackle these critical issues.
The international system as we know it has been forced to grapple with a multitude of disruptions on various fronts, be it the global COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on societies, economies and health systems, or the most recent conflict in Ukraine that has taken a heavy toll on humanity in the loss of innocent lives, forced displacement of millions, and the food and energy insecurity crises it has provoked. At a time of extreme distress on the international system, global leadership is key to addressing the myriad challenges our world faces, especially to restore hope and rebuild trust amongst our communities and societies to move forward towards international cooperation and responsibility sharing.
One of the world's most poised and effective leaders Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan joined Ambassador Mark Green to tackle these critical issues.
Canusa Street is hitting the road again for the North Capital Forum in Mexico City, where the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States will convene in November for the 2022 North American Leaders’ Summit. On this episode, Andrew Rudman, Director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, joins Chris and Scotty for a preview of the conference, an overview of how Mexico compares to its North American neighbors, and an in-depth discussion on trilateral relations.
Check out the Mexico Institute’s latest publication, “Mexico, a Challenging Assignment”: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/uploads/documents/MEX_220506-MexChallengingAssignment%20BOOK-WEB.pdf
Canusa Street is hitting the road again for the North Capital Forum in Mexico City, where the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States will convene in November for the 2022 North American Leaders’ Summit. On this episode, Andrew Rudman, Director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, joins Chris and Scotty for a preview of the conference, an overview of how Mexico compares to its North American neighbors, and an in-depth discussion on trilateral relations.
Check out the Mexico Institute’s latest publication, “Mexico, a Challenging Assignment”: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/uploads/documents/MEX_220506-MexChallengingAssignment%20BOOK-WEB.pdf
In this episode of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos speaks with Felipe Nunes, a political science professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the CEO of the polling firm Quaest, about the upcoming general election in Brazil, where former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and incumbent Jair Bolsonaro will face off at the ballot box, the scientific methods and the growing distrust in election polls, and the potential for political violence on election day.
In this episode of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Bruna Santos speaks with Felipe Nunes, a political science professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the CEO of the polling firm Quaest, about the upcoming general election in Brazil, where former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and incumbent Jair Bolsonaro will face off at the ballot box, the scientific methods and the growing distrust in election polls, and the potential for political violence on election day.
For those living under the Russian occupation in Ukraine, life has turned into a daily struggle and search for food, water, and medicine. Izabella Tabarovsky talked with the Ukrainian war reporter and editor in chief of Zaborona Ekaterina Sergatskova, about the skills needed to survive the occupation, Russian war crimes, and what Ukrainian journalists need the most to do their work. The conversation was recorded on September 20, 2022. Show notes: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/life-under-russian-occupation-conversation-katerina-sergatskova
For those living under the Russian occupation in Ukraine, life has turned into a daily struggle and search for food, water, and medicine. Izabella Tabarovsky talked with the Ukrainian war reporter and editor in chief of Zaborona Ekaterina Sergatskova, about the skills needed to survive the occupation, Russian war crimes, and what Ukrainian journalists need the most to do their work. The conversation was recorded on September 20, 2022. Show notes: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/life-under-russian-occupation-conversation-katerina-sergatskova
Border restrictions, COVID-19, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine: global trade linkages have faced unprecedented strain over the past two years, prompting questions of how Canadian-U.S. cooperation could protect both countries from major disruptions. This week, we tune into Chris’ panel on supply chains with Amazon’s Allison Gifford, Western Washington University’s Edward Alden, and High Peak Strategy LLC’s Spencer Cohen at the PNWER annual summit in Calgary.
Border restrictions, COVID-19, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine: global trade linkages have faced unprecedented strain over the past two years, prompting questions of how Canadian-U.S. cooperation could protect both countries from major disruptions. This week, we tune into Chris’ panel on supply chains with Amazon’s Allison Gifford, Western Washington University’s Edward Alden, and High Peak Strategy LLC’s Spencer Cohen at the PNWER annual summit in Calgary.
In this episode, host Benjamin Gedan speaks with Andrés Borenstein, the chief economist at Econoviews and the host of the podcast, “La economía en tres minutos,” about Argentina’s fragile economic condition and whether the country’s latest finance minister is solving long-term problems or simply postponing the next crisis.
In this episode, host Benjamin Gedan speaks with Andrés Borenstein, the chief economist at Econoviews and the host of the podcast, “La economía en tres minutos,” about Argentina’s fragile economic condition and whether the country’s latest finance minister is solving long-term problems or simply postponing the next crisis.
Migration from countries of the Americas to the United States has increased exponentially since 2020, with migrants from the region making up over 75% of the nationwide encounters with U.S. Border Patrol in 2020, 2021, and 2022. In this episode of Americas 360, our Wilson Center experts examine recent changes in migration trends, not only to the United States but within the region itself.
Migration from countries of the Americas to the United States has increased exponentially since 2020, with migrants from the region making up over 75% of the nationwide encounters with U.S. Border Patrol in 2020, 2021, and 2022. In this episode of Americas 360, our Wilson Center experts examine recent changes in migration trends, not only to the United States but within the region itself.
Former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Sherri Goodman joins Need To Know to discuss a couple of interesting recent developments in the arctic that are of interest. We've always said the Arctic has emerged, and it continues to be a hot area for policy experts watching multiple portfolios.
Former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Sherri Goodman joins Need To Know to discuss a couple of interesting recent developments in the arctic that are of interest. We've always said the Arctic has emerged, and it continues to be a hot area for policy experts watching multiple portfolios.
In this episode of Plaza Central, guest host Anders Beal is joined by Heraldo Muñoz, former foreign minister of Chile, to discuss the results of Chile’s constitutional plebiscite and what the rejection of the proposed constitution means for the future of Chilean democracy.
In this episode of Plaza Central, guest host Anders Beal is joined by Heraldo Muñoz, former foreign minister of Chile, to discuss the results of Chile’s constitutional plebiscite and what the rejection of the proposed constitution means for the future of Chilean democracy.
In September, the Riyada podcast will highlight the world of arts and film, a budding sector across the MENA region. To kick off the discussion, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with Amin Matalqa, a pioneering filmmaker from Jordan. Amin’s first film, Captain Abu Raed (2008), won the Sundance World Cinema Audience Award and was the first Oscar submission from Jordan. He’s gone on to direct other films and TV shows, including Disney’s soccer drama The United (2012) and Jinn (2019), Netflix’s first Arabic show.
In September, the Riyada podcast will highlight the world of arts and film, a budding sector across the MENA region. To kick off the discussion, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa spoke with Amin Matalqa, a pioneering filmmaker from Jordan. Amin’s first film, Captain Abu Raed (2008), won the Sundance World Cinema Audience Award and was the first Oscar submission from Jordan. He’s gone on to direct other films and TV shows, including Disney’s soccer drama The United (2012) and Jinn (2019), Netflix’s first Arabic show.
In this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, host Nick Zimmerman speaks with Richard Back, head of political analysis and strategy for XP Investimentos and a former advisor to the president of the lower Brazilian congressional chamber, about how the Congress is evolving, what to watch for in the upcoming legislative elections this October, and how the composition of the next Brazilian Congress will shape the political and policy environment in the country in 2023.
Romouz Sadeq joined the Riyada podcast to discuss her transition from the corporate to startup world in Jordan. Romouz is the Founder & CEO of Mrayti – or ‘My Mirror’ – the Arab world’s first specialized mobile beauty salon. Mrayti delivers beauty services and products to customers’ homes, offices, and gatherings at any time and at any place.
This month, the Riyada podcast commemorated International Youth Day – recognized on August 12 – by featuring vibrant, young entrepreneurs from the MENA region. In this interview, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Imad Shawa sat down with UNICEF’s youth expert at Jordan’s country office, Giorgia Varisco, to learn more about what she sees as the most pressing challenges and promising solutions facing youth.
Giorgia detailed the organization’s work to address Jordan’s high youth unemployment - particularly among women - with an emphasis on preparing young people for the world of work. This includes connecting them to employment opportunities and providing tailored programs to build entrepreneurship skills and increase access to finance.
The Americas are an energy powerhouse. From the hemisphere’s vast solar and wind energy potential to its significant oil and gas reserves, the region holds a wealth of renewable and non-renewable energy resources. In this episode of Americas 360, originally released in February 2022, our Wilson Center experts discuss how Canada and Latin American nations are addressing their energy needs and economic goals while pursuing environmental objectives and seizing opportunities from the global energy transition.
This week, Denny Heck, 17th Lieutenant Governor of the State of Washington, joins Chris and Scotty in their Calgary pop up studio to talk about border restrictions, the Columbia River Treaty, trade with China, and the concept of “Northwest Nice.”
Dalia Said, Co-Founder and Learning Director at ElRehla, is a young social entrepreneur from Egypt. ElRehla - or ‘The Journey’ - hosts unconventional networking experiences outside of urban settings, bringing together founders, industry leaders, and corporate teams for a reflective and habit-changing retreat. The organization aims to create a more connected community of professionals in Egypt and across MENA.
On August 7, Gustavo Petro was sworn-in as Colombia’s first-ever leftist president. Petro’s campaign platform promised important changes domestically and in foreign policy that could reshape Colombia’s relationship with the United States. In this episode, host Benjamin Gedan speaks with William Brownfield, a distinguished fellow at the Wilson Center and a former U.S. ambassador to Chile, Venezuela and Colombia, about the implications of Petro’s presidency for U.S.-Colombia ties.
Hamad Al Awari is a young stand-up comedian, entrepreneur, and marketing expert from Qatar. On this episode of the Riyada podcast, Hamad shared his decision to pursue an unconventional career route in the MENA region, later inspiring other young people to join the media and arts. He also discussed the importance of enhancing digital literacy so MENA’s youth can take advantage of emerging opportunities, especially in the post-Covid global economy.
As Alaskans prepare for the state’s first primary election under ranked choice voting, Lieutenant Governor Kevin Meyer joins Scotty and Chris on Canusa Street to discuss Alaska’s role as the United States’ sole Arctic state, the anticipated benefits of the infrastructure bill, and relations with friendly neighbors to the east and hostile neighbors to the west.
Travelers hoping to cross the Canada-U.S. border still need to navigate a regime of restrictions, apps, and requirements. Laurie Trautman, Canada Institute Global Fellow and Director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University, joins Scotty and Chris to discuss the status of cross-border travel and the impact of government initiatives from ArriveCAN to Nexus.
In this latest episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, host Nick Zimmerman speaks with Natalie Unterstell, President of the Talanoa policy think tank, member of the UN Green Climate Fund’s accreditation panel, and former Brazilian negotiator at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change about the state of play in the Brazilian Amazon and how the outcome of Brazil’s presidential election in October will impact environmental policy moving forward.
WNBA player Brittney Griner has been wrongfully detained in Russia since her arrest on Feb. 17, 2022. Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon joined Kennan Institute Director William Pomeranz for a Twitter Spaces conversation on the latest developments from Griner's trial in Moscow, how her detention relates to Russia's war in Ukraine, and negotiations for a possible prisoner swap.
At the Doha Forum held in March, MEP Director Merissa Khurma sat down with His Excellency Mohammed al Mannai, Qatar’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology. HE Minister al Mannai shared the importance of digital transformation in today’s global economy and Qatar’s strategy for expanding access. This episode of the Riyada podcast features their discussion.
A flash briefing for policymakers from Robert Daly discussing the possibility of Speaker Pelosi traveling to Taiwan and what it really means for US-China relations.
In this episode, Chris & Scotty take us behind the scenes on the big issues confronting Canada/US relations. And then Scotty interview the current Ambassadors on stage at the Pacific Northwest Economic Region’s annual summit in Calgary, Alberta. They discuss travel woes, frustration over the cancellation of the KXL pipeline, and state of play on developing critical minerals.
The story of Boris Nemtsov, Russia's prominent opposition politician assassinated in 2015, is deeply intertwined with pivotal moments of contemporary Russian history. It is also strikingly relevant today, as the world grapples with Vladimir Putin’s disastrous war in Ukraine and Russia’s dramatic loss of freedom. In Part 2 of our conversation with journalist Mikhail Fishman, we discuss Nemtsov’s relationship with Putin, the roots of Putin’s obsession with Ukraine, and Nemtsov’s legacy. Find more information and show notes here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/successor-story-boris-nemtsov-and-country-where-he-didnt-become-president-part-2
EV tax credits, Afghanistan, trucker protests, leaders’ summits, oil sands: a lot has happened since the Canusa Street podcast launched one year ago in July 2021. Our first guest, Richard Madan, is back in the virtual studio with Scotty and Chris to celebrate the podcast’s one-year anniversary, reflect on the issues and policies of the past 365 days, and talk about what lies ahead in the short- and long-term future for Canada-U.S. relations.
Most of Canada’s crude oil supply, which accounted for 62% of U.S. oil imports in 2021, originates from production in the Athabasca oil sands. This week on Canusa Street, Cenovus Energy Chief Sustainability Office Rhona DelFrari joins Chris and Scotty to highlight why six of Canada’s largest oil producers are banding together to reduce carbon emissions in oil sands operations and how the energy industry on both sides of the border can help lead the push to net zero.
في هذه الحلقة من بودكاست "ريادة" تحدثت مريسا خورما مع محمد عبيدات، المدير التنفيذي لمركز الملكة رانيا للريادة و هو منظمة غير ربحية تأسست عام 2004 للمساعدة في تطوير ودعم ريادة الأعمال التقنية في الأردن. تحدث محمد عن خبرته الشخصية في عالم الريادة في الاردن و المنطقة العربية و عن البرامج و النشاطات المختلفة الذي ينظمها المركز التي استفادت منها آلاف من رواد الأعمال والمهنيين والطلاب في جميع انحاء الأردن. استمع هنا!
Did Richard Nixon predict Justin Trudeau's premiership? Did Jimmy Carter save Ontario from a nuclear reactor meltdown? On this episode, Arthur "Art" Milnes, acclaimed public historian and co-author of Faith & Goodwill, takes Chris and Scotty on a verbal tour of the relationships between Prime Ministers and Presidents that have defined high-level U.S.-Canadian diplomacy for over half a century.
A new initiative has begun at the Wilson Center, the Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative (RAFDI), headed by John Thon Majok, will bring policy makers tools and solutions for these problems, but coming at it from the unique perspective of one who has lived in refugee camps and utilized policy options that were available. Listen to find out more!
Host Jill Dougherty shares the second part of her conversations with Russian journalists — both those now in exile and those who remain in the country — about how their lives have changed after the Kremlin’s crackdown on independent media and full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She is joined by Sergey Parkhomenko, Russian journalist and Kennan Senior Advisor; Tatiana Felgenhauer and Alexander (Sasha) Plyushchev, independent journalists and former anchors for Echo Moscow Radio; Kirill Martynov, Political Editor, Novaya Gazeta Europe; Roman Dobrokhotov, Founder, The Insider; and Yevgenia Albats, Editor-in-Chief & CEO, The New Times.
El 24 de junio pasado, la Suprema Corte de Estados Unidos revocó el fallo de Roe vs. Wade de 1973 el cual daba a las mujeres en Estados Unidos el derecho constitucional al aborto. Hasta el momento, 11 estados ya han prohibido el acceso al aborto y se espera que otros 11 lo hagan en las próximas semanas. En este episodio de Plaza Central, Beatriz García Nice plática con Macarena Sáez, directora ejecutiva de la División de Derechos de las Mujeres de Human Rights Watch, sobre el reciente fallo, las implicaciones que éste tiene para los movimientos feministas a lo largo del hemisferio y cómo esto posiciona Estados Unidos como salvaguarda de los derechos fundamentales de los individuos.
The story of Boris Nemtsov, Russia's prominent opposition politician assassinated in 2015, is deeply intertwined with pivotal moments of contemporary Russian history. It is also strikingly relevant today, as the world grapples with Vladimir Putin’s disastrous war in Ukraine and Russia’s dramatic loss of freedom. We discuss it with the journalist Mikhail Fishman, author of The Successor: The Story of Boris Nemtsov and the Country Where He Didn’t Become President.
In this special presentation of the Brazil Institute Podcast, host Nick Zimmerman speaks with reporter at large and Columnist at Folha de São Paulo Patrícia Campos Mello, CEO and Founder of IDEIA Big Data Maurício Moura, and Partner at JOTA digital media startup Fernando Mello, about Brazil’s upcoming presidential election, how the results may unfold come October, and what are some of the policy implications the result might entail.
With the region struggling to tame rising fuel costs, high inflation, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, citizens across the Americas are also heading to the polls. In this episode of the Wilson Center’s Americas 360 podcast, our experts discuss how current economic conditions are affecting voter preferences across the Americas and what this changing political landscape means for the United Sates.
MEP Director Merissa Khurma introduces her new co-host of the Riyada podcast, Imad Shawa. In this discussion, Merissa spoke with Imad about his journey as an entrepreneur in Amman, Jordan, and the decision to launch his own podcast, Howdy Arabia.
West Asia-North Africa is in a race against time. Within the next thirty years, increasing air pollution and climate change-induced heatwaves and droughts will push the region closer to uninhabitability, triggering unprecedented levels of human insecurity and large-scale displacement. In the face of rapid environmental degradation and intractable conflicts, the pursuit of a dignity-based approach to security becomes vital. Wilson Center President & CEO Ambassador Mark Green spoke with HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan about pressing climate change concerns in the region and need to implement a 'human dignity' approach to solutions.
What does success look like? As Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine enters into its fifth month, it is clear that the military campaign will not end any time soon and that the potential terms of a successful resolution to the conflict are murky. Neither side appears willing, or indeed able, to agree to terms less than victory.
While over half of the world measured by GDP have denounced Russia and/or support Ukraine in this conflict, over half of the world by population have not denounced Russia and take no side in the conflict, other than a desire to see it end. Only four countries – Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, and Syria – voted in support of Russia in the UN General Assembly at the onset of the war.
Now the consequences of war are felt beyond the battlefield, as energy prices soar worldwide and the Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain and fertilizer shipments threatens global food security. In the coming months, millions of additional refugees from Ukraine and other parts of the world are expected to emerge, fleeing conflict as well as economic and food insecurity. Those who succeed in reaching Europe and the United States will put additional stresses on those societies, potentially threatening political and social stability.
Former U.S. Special Representative to Ukraine, Ambassador Kurt Volker joined Wilson Center CEO and Director Ambassador Mark Green in a conversation to review these threats, consider what the West might define as a successful resolution to the conflict, and discuss policy options available to the United States in the coming months.
En este episodio, Beatriz García Nice, coordinadora del Programa Latinoamericano, plática con Nicolás Acero, director de la Consultora Economía y Energía, sobre el déficit energético que vive Argentina durante el invierno austral, la falta de infraestructura para cubrir la demanda actual y los retos que el país enfrenta para incentivar una inversión prolongada en el país.
ضيف الحلقة سليم نجار ، رجل أعمال سوري في عمان ،ومؤسس موقع «شرقي شوب» ،المتجر الالكتروني،الذي يساعد الحرفيين في الأردن للوصول إلى شريحة واسعة من الزبائن. إستمع إلى قصة سليم الملهمة في عالم الريادة و الإقتصاد الرقمي. إستمع هنا!
Dr. Fadi Al Shalabi details the struggles he faced to launch Niuversity, an Ed tech platform, as a Syrian immigrant in Germany. He discussed the myriad bureaucratic and legal barriers that prevented him from starting a business independently, leading him to seek a German partner. Since its establishment in 2017, Niuversity has reached over 73,000 students and achieved a stunning 91% completion rate.
In this episode, Chris and Scotty continue their conversation with one of Canada’s foremost diplomats, the Honorable Raymond Chretien. They consider how Canada and the US navigate global challenges together, and discover what worries the Ambassador most about the state of the world today.
In this episode Chris and Scotty talk with one of the preeminent experts on Canada-US relations, His Excellency Raymond Chretien. They talk about his time as Canadian Ambassador to the US and Mexico and his views in the current state of bilateral relations.
June marks pride month in the U.S.; a time to recognize and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ people in the Americas have long faced structural discrimination and societal oppression. Yet, in the past decade, landmark legislation, granting LGBTQ+ people their rights, recognition, and protection, has been adopted at the national, state, and municipal levels. In this episode, we discuss the strides made and the regional lessons and trends to further strengthen LGBTQ+ rights.
To commemorate World Refugee Day on June 20, this month the Riyada podcast features entrepreneurs from MENA’s refugee community. Merissa Khurma speaks with a Syrian entrepreneur Lara Shahin, who founded Jasmine Foundation in Jordan. Over the last five years, Lara has doubled the number of women refugees working at Jasmine, as well as expanded her training programs across borders.
Since Russia launched its war against Ukraine in February, hundreds of journalists have left their country because they felt threatened by the Kremlin's crackdown on free speech. In the latest KennanX, Jill Dougherty presents the first in a two-part series profiling Russian journalists who have fled. She is joined by The Insider Founder Roman Dobrokhotov and Riddle Russia Co-Founder Anton Barbashin as they discuss how the war in Ukraine has affected their coverage, how to report investigative journalism in a country dominated by censorship and propaganda, and why they continue to stay connected to Russia despite it all.
Fresh back from the West Coast attending the Summit of the Americas, we go over the highs and lows with our Latin America Program Acting Director Benjamin Gedan
Dr. Yazan Hijazi joined the Riyada podcast to share his insight as the Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Excellence at Al Hussein Technical University (HTU) in Amman, Jordan. Yazan has spent over 20 years working across sectors in the role of scientist, professor, executive director, entrepreneur and consultant across industries from academia and design to financial services. He discussed HTU’s efforts to reform, modernize, and upgrade technical and vocational education to be more in sync with labor market demands.
As part of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, host Merissa Khurma spoke with Tala Al Kurd, a psychotherapist in Jordan and host of the podcast ‘Yalla Nehki’, translating to “let’s talk”.
According to a 2018 global study, the Middle East region suffers from one of the highest rates of depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, and suicide. Adding to this is a lack of awareness, limited services, and stigma around speaking opening or addressing mental health concerns. This conversation delves into Tala’s efforts to increase awareness and demystify concepts around mental health.
There's a lot of talk about Cold Wars lately, lessons from the first Cold War, maybe a new one with Russia. Perhaps China too? Robert Daly drops by the pod to let us know his thinking on whether we are in a new Cold War with China as an adversary. And how will this Cold War be the same or different from the first Cold War with the USSR? Well you will just have to listen and find out.
The war in Ukraine has highlighted Russian propaganda and the way it weaponizes the memory of World War II for political purposes—in this case, to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In this episode, Izabella Tabarovsky digs deep into Russia’s myths about the war and considers how the invasion of Ukraine is causing that entire symbolic universe to crumble. Guest: Dr. David Hoffman. Commentators: Dr. Ivan Kurilla and Maxim Trudolyubov.
For show notes and additional information, visit our website here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/crumbling-memory-russian-propaganda-world-war-ii-and-invasion-ukraine
The U.S. will host the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles from June 6-10, 2022. A number of Latin American and Caribbean presidents have said they won’t attend, protesting the exclusion of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Others have criticized the Biden administration’s lack of ambition and concrete proposals to achieve the Summit's broad goals. In this episode, Latin American Program fellow Dr. Richard Feinberg joins us to discuss what we should expect at this Summit of the Americas.
U.S. Ambassador Clint Williamson draws on an unparalleled career investigating alleged war crimes and criminal activity from Cambodia to Kosovo, investigating cases on behalf of the European Union, the United Nations, and the Hague. Ambassador Williamson now leads a major U.S.- and EU-backed effort to respond to suspected war crimes in Ukraine. As we mark the third month of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ambassador Williamson and Wilson Center President and CEO Ambassador Mark Green discuss holding war criminals to account.
Merissa Khurma speaks with Jordan’s former Minister of Youth, Dr. Fares Braizat. Dr. Braizat, now the Founder & Chairman of NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions, is a leading expert on MENA’s socioeconomic and sociopolitical issues, with a particular focus on Jordan. He is author of many articles and most recently a piece titled "Radical education reform" in Jordan News.
En este episodio de Plaza Central, Patricia Vásquez, global fellow del Programa Latinoamericano del Wilson Center, explora con Matías Kulfas, ministro de desarrollo productivo de Argentina, las crecientes inversiones en el codiciado sector del litio y el papel de este mineral en la transición global hacia energías limpias.
Bradley Jardine joins us to discuss his new publication, The Great Wall of Steel - https://www.wilsoncenter.org/book/great-wall-steel
For years, the international community has known about China's treatment of Uyghurs within China, particularly in Xinjiang Province. But here for the first time, the campaign against the Uyghurs beyond China's borders is documented.
Ambassador Mark Green spoke with “Times Radio Breakfast” about the downstream impacts of the war in Ukraine, including worsening food insecurity in Africa. “We need to think about the downstream impacts. So for example, right now in many parts of Africa, farmers are going into their fields and planting—it’s planting season—but they’re doing so without fertilizer, because so much of the fertilizer comes from Ukraine and that part of the world. And so what we’re really looking at some months from now, we’ll see yields will be down, prices will be up, shortages will be up.”
On this episode of the Riyada podcast, host Merissa Khurma spoke with Amro Abu-Hmaidan about the vibrant sector of Ed-Tech – the use of technology for the purpose of teaching and learning – in the MENA region. Amro, an entrepreneur with over 13 years of experience in tech-based businesses, founded 3asafeer (meaning ‘birds’ in Arabic) in 2014, a platform where kids can read quality content in the form of compelling stories in Arabic for free.
As the Ready to Launch series, a joint collaboration between Riyada and Amman-based podcast The Straight Up Start Up, comes to a close, Merissa Khurma interviews co-host Rajae Sahouri about his key takeaways. Over the last six months, Merissa and Rajae interviewed 19 entrepreneurs and stakeholders in MENA’s entrepreneurship ecosystem to better understand its evolution and trajectory. Tune in to this conversation on Rajae’s impression and his next steps.
Scott Reid, the kid from Prince Edward County, talks about how he found himself in the Oval Office, his adventures in Canadian politics, and his work on a new book chronicling the relationships between Presidents and Prime Ministers through history. This is the first of two episodes on “With Faith & Goodwill,” a passion project of Canusa Street co-host Scotty Greenwood. The second episode will feature the co-editor and Kingston historian Art Milnes.
In this episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan speaks with Charles Seville, senior director and co-head of Americas Sovereign Ratings at Fitch Ratings, about the economic impacts in Latin America of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
For hundreds of years, the Columbia River has served as a major resource for First Nations and Indigenous communities in the Columbia Basin. As Canada and the United States renegotiate the treaty that governs usage of the River, Indigenous participation and representation in the process is paramount. This week on Canusa Street, Scotty and Chris are joined by Nathan Matthew, Secwépemc representative to the Columbia River Treaty negotiations.
In May, the Riyada podcast will explore the future of education and Edtech in the MENA region. To kick it off, Arwa Shafi and Haitham Al Humsi from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) discuss the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, and many opportunities available to young innovators.
This episode features the work of Beirut-based Berytech, an ecosystem for entrepreneurs that provides a dynamic environment for startups and SMEs, fostering innovation, technology and entrepreneurship in Lebanon. Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri spoke with Krystel Khalil, Berytech Programs Director, and Patrick El Zoghbi, an entrepreneur and beneficiary of two programs at Berytech.
In this conversation with Ambassador Mark Green, President of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan spoke of her vision for her country and the future of the of U.S.-Tanzania relationship.
The shocking images of Russia’s unprovoked attacks on Ukraine have galvanized Western countries to create a united front against Russia. In the Americas, the response to Russia’s aggression has been mixed and even tepid in light of the extent of the destruction. Canada is a notable exception. Our experts discuss the response of governments from the Western Hemisphere to the conflict and its implications for global diplomacy and economic well-being.
تستضيف هذه الحلقة الناشطة البيئية ورائدة الأعمال صفاء الجيوسي لمناقشة تغير المناخ والأمن في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا، وهي واحدة من أكثر المناطق التي تعاني من الإجهاد المائي في العالم والأكثر عرضة لآثار تغير المناخ. وتأتي مع ذلك المخاوف من العواقب الاقتصادية والآثار المحتملة على الاستقرار السياسي والأمن. تشارك صفاء رؤيتها لأكثر من 10 سنوات في مجال البيئة والتعبئة والتدريب والحملات على المستوى الشعبي في الأردن وعبر منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا.
This episode features environmental activist and entrepreneur Safa’ Al Jayousi to discuss climate change and security in the Middle East and North Africa, one of the world’s most water-stressed regions and the most vulnerable to climate change impacts. With that come concerns of economic consequences and also potential implications for political stability and security. Safa’ shares her insight from more than 10 years in environmentalism, mobilizing, training and campaigning at the grassroots level in Jordan and across MENA.
En este episodio de Plaza Central, Beatriz García Nice plática con Clemencia Carabalí, fundadora de la Asociación de Mujeres Afrodescendientes del Norte del Cauca (ASOM), sobre las dificultades que atraviesan las mujeres afrodescendientes en el norte del Cauca, Colombia, a causa de la violencia, el racismo y el deterioro ambiental. También charlan sobre el rol de ASOM en el empoderamiento de las mujeres a nivel económico y político, y el desarrollo sostenible como derecho ciudadano y causal de desarrollo.
في هذا الشهر سنبحث في رواد الأعمال الذين يركزون على المجتمع والاستدامة للتعرف عن عالم ريادة الاعمال المليئ بالرياديين والرياديات الذين تحركهم أسباب اجتماعية و / أو اقتصادية و / أو بيئية مهمة. نور أبو جبارة ، مؤسس SHEE ، شركة استشارات معنية بالتمكين الاجتماعي والإنساني والاقتصادي ، وحنان شاهين ، الشريك المؤسس والرئيس التنفيذي لشركة Bloom ، أول شركة ناشئة في الأردن “التجربة قبل الشراء" تنضم إلى هذه الحلقة للتحدث عن تقاطع المؤسسة والنشاط.
This month, the Ready to Launch series looks at social- and sustainability-focused entrepreneurs to learn more about how the startup world is buzzing with men and women who are driven by important social, economic and/or environmental causes. Noor Abu Jbara, founder of SHEE, a Social, Human and Economic Empowerment hub and Hanan Shahin, Co-Founder & CEO of Bloom, Jordan’s first “try before you buy” startup, join this episode to speak about the intersection of enterprise and activism.
في شهر مارس ، ركزنا على ريادة الأعمال لدى النساء في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا احتفالًا بشهر تاريخ المرأة في الولاياتالمتحدة. من المواضيع المشتركة التي ظهرت هو التحدي الذي يواجهه المرأة في الحصول على التمويل لبدء الأعمال التجارية او الرياديةوتنميتها. نستعرض في هذه الحلقة أحد القادة الأردنيين في القطاع المصرفي الانسة نور جرار ، الرئيس التنفيذي لسيتي بنك في الأردن. سلطت نور الضوء على دور القطاع المصرفي في النهوض بدور مشاركة المرأة في القوى العاملة ، وتشاركنا في رحلتها الخاصة وكيفيتناسب دورها مع بيئة رياده الأعمال
In March, we’ve focused on women entrepreneurship in MENA to commemorate Women’s History Month. A common theme that emerged is the challenge for women to access finance to start, and grow, a business. This episode features one of Jordan’s leaders in the banking sector, Nour Jarrar, the CEO of Citibank in Jordan. Nour sheds light on the role of the banking sector in promoting women in the workforce, and shares her own journey and where she fits in the ecosystem.
This episode looks at the budding entrepreneurship ecosystem of Iraq with the two co-founders of Five One Labs, Patricia Letayf and Alice Bosley. Five One Labs is an international incubator that works to help entrepreneurs in conflict-affected countries launch their businesses.
Host Jill Dougherty has a special announcement about the future of the KennanX podcast. Plus, we’re sharing a recent conversation between Wilson Center President Mark Green and Baroness Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s first High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, about the impact that Russia’s war in Ukraine is having on Europe and the role of Vladimir Putin. We’ll be back with new KennanX episodes in April 2022!
To meet 2030 and 2050 emissions goals, Canada and the United States need to experiment with innovative approaches to decarbonization. This week on Canusa Street, the stakeholders behind the Open Access Wabamun Carbon Hub in Alberta join us to discuss how the project can be a model for carbon capture projects, Indigenous engagement, and a new approach to energy on both sides of the border.
A free press is a vital component of a healthy democracy, but across the Americas, journalists face a range of challenges, including physical violence, verbal attacks by elected leaders, and censorship. Meanwhile, economic factors, including conflicts of interest, have deprived many news consumers of independent reporting. In this episode of Americas 360, former U.S. Ambassador to Panama John Feeley joins our Wilson Center experts to discuss the state of the press in the Americas.
Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri interviewed Maryam Hassani, co-founder of Dubai-based Hydro Wind Energy. This clean tech startup was listed among the top 100 startups shaping the fourth industrial revolution by the World Economic Forum. Maryam discussed her experience as a woman innovator in a historically male-dominated sector, and encourages other young women to seek out opportunities in science and technology.
Continuing on the themes of Women's History Month, this episode zooms into the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Jordan and explores how women fare. Do they face more barriers because of their gender? Are there policies in place to facilitate access to finance for women, or mentorship programs to help them start a business and hence grow it?
Merissa Khurma spoke with Reem Badran, a Jordanian trailblazer who recently won a prestigious award as one of the world’s most successful women in business from The International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge Foundation in New York. Reem was also an elected board member of the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) in 2009 and 2013, becoming the first and only woman in Jordan to be elected for this post since 1923.
Over a third of all the land in the US and Canada is forest land, which are also a critical source of carbon capture and wood products from paper straws to building logs. This week, Scotty and Chris welcome the heads of both countries' forestry trade associations – Derek Nighbor of Forest Products Association Canada and Heidi Brock of the American Forest and Paper Association – for a discussion on best practices, sustainability, and cross-border collaboration in the industry.
Ambassador Mark Green, president and CEO of the Wilson Center, held a conversation with Baroness Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s first High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, discussing the impact Russia’s war on Ukraine is having on Europe and the role of Vladimir Putin. Baroness Ashton has spent time with the Russian leader and has valuable insights to share.
To kick off women’s history month, Merissa Khurma spoke with Lynn Mounzer, a leading expert on women and entrepreneurship in MENA, about important milestones and persistent barriers facing the region’s women innovators. She researches how women can overcome this lack of support and get access to the tools to build businesses and become more independent, as well as the socioeconomic, cultural, and political conditions needed to foster women entrepreneurship in the region.
In this episode, Chris and Scotty welcome Peter Van Praagh back to Canusa Street. Peter, President of the Halifax International Security Forum, discusses the role of Chinese and Ukrainian diaspora in the current dialogue in Canada and the US about the crisis in Ukraine. Peter also puts Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine into the context of China/Russia/US polarity.
This podcast would be banned in Russia, and we would be in jail for producing it. In our conversation, we use language to describe the crisis in Ukraine including vocabulary that is currently illegal in Russia. We talk about “war,” “aggression,” and “invasion.” Chris and Scotty are joined by the President of the Halifax International Security Forum, Peter Van Praagh, fresh from his travels to Ukraine as we enter week three of the war that is changing everything. Canada and the US, along with the NATO alliance are unified in opposition to the Russian war on Ukraine, yet are searching for the right tools to support the people of Ukraine. One thing is clear, according to our guest, Putin will lose. Its just a matter of how long it will take.
Touching base with Latin America expert (and fellow Wilson Center Podcast Host!) Benjamin Gedan to discuss a recent piece he co-wrote with Richard Feinberg in Foreign Policy magazine, "Latin America's Leftists Aren't Who You Think." Check out the article at https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/31/latin-americas-leftists-arent-who-you-think/
As Americans and Canadians roam the world our devices keep us connected using signals that travel at specific frequencies. Governments allocate frequencies for radio, television, cell phones, and new devices add new demands for spectrum every day. How do US and Canadian approaches compare, and when it comes to broadband internet connections and 5G, how do we avoid mixed signals? In the episode, Scotty and Chris welcome economists Tom Hazlett at Clemson University and Jeff Church at the University of Calgary to Canusa Street to explain the political economy of connectivity and how businesses in Canada and the United States stay on the same wavelength.
Links to reports mentioned in the show:
https://cupdf.com/document/spectrum-policy-as-competition-policy-a-good-choice-spectrum-policy-as-competition.html
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25593718?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-broadband-boondoggle-gao-infrastructure-digital-divide-rural-sandwich-isles-11633552660
Fresh from the Munich Security Conference, Gen. David Petraeus and Sir John Scarlett join Wilson Center President and CEO, Mark Green for a prescient conversation about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
This event, part of the Wilson Center’s Hindsight Up Front initiative, features a conversation—moderated by Wilson Center President, Director, and CEO Mark Green—with Gen. David Petraeus and Sir John Scarlett, co-chairs of the Wilson Center’s Global Advisory Council and two of the world’s foremost public intellectuals. They will evaluate the current situation in Afghanistan, six months after the U.S. withdrawal. Their discussion will include security, economics, refugees, human rights, and the performance of the Taliban regime. They will also revisit their earlier Wilson Center conversation, held in July 2021, that focused on the implications of the U.S. withdrawal.
No one can read Vladimir Putin's mind, but we bring in Kennan Institute expert Joseph Dresen to analyze his actions in the recent invasion. We discuss world reaction and also what may happen next with sanctions. Further Reading: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/putin-has-already-lost
Across the Americas, women have broken new ground in politics and in business. Elections held under new gender parity laws have yielded successful increases in female participation in congresses and parliaments. During the pandemic, women have found and taken advantage of new digital avenues to successfully pursue entrepreneurial ventures. In this episode, our Wilson Center experts discuss the opportunities and challenges women face in the Western Hemisphere.
In this episode of Plaza Central, Benjamin Gedan speaks with Ian Chen, an associate professor at the Institute of Political Science at Taiwan’s National Sun Yat-sen University, to discuss the rivalry between China and Taiwan, why Taiwan is so invested in preserving diplomatic ties in Latin America, and how China wields “medical diplomacy” to pressure Taiwan’s allies.
In February, the Ready to Launch podcast featured key stakeholders in the MENA entrepreneurship ecosystem to survey opportunities and challenges facing the region’s innovators. On the last interview of the month, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri spoke with Yehia Houry, Managing Director of Flat6Labs Tunisia branch. Flat6labs is MENA’s leading seed and early stage venture capital firm that invests in more than 100 innovative and technology-driven startups annually.
It's not just supply chains and people that cross the US/Canada border, there's also the Columbia River! Building off of our previous episode about the Columbia River Treaty, Scotty and Chris talk with Sylvain Fabi, Consul General of Canada in Denver, Colorado, and Canada's top negotiator on the modernization of the Columbia River Treaty.
Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri interviewed Tambi Jalouqa, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Propeller Inc, a Jordan-based venture capital firm. Tambi discussed his mission to leverage technology startups to address the major challenges facing MENA’s economy and entrepreneurship scene, and the issues that remain particularly difficult to overcome, such as the gender gap in locally-led companies.
This Ground Truth Briefing on the ongoing trucker protests in Canada, featured former Ontario Cabinet Minister Monique Smith and Senior Vice President of Global Public Affairs Philip Cartwright.
The Honorable John Manley, Canada’s former Deputy Prime Minister and business leader discusses the protests in his hometown of Ottawa with Chris and Scotty on day 20 of the so called “freedom convoy.” They discuss history of Canada/US collaboration on border issues since 9/11 as well as a multitude of global issues that Canada and the US face in the world today.
The Wilson Center President Ambassador Mark Green and Wilson Fellow Hope M. Harrison joined in a conversation with State Minister Tobias Lindner of Germany’s Foreign Office about Germany’s position in the stand-off between Russia and Ukraine, coordination within NATO, potential sanctions, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ visit at the White House.
Canada/US relations just experienced a major shock when truck protesters closed several border crossings including the Ambassador Bridge which carries one-quarter of all bilateral trade and is the busiest commercial crossing in the world. This came after weeks of the so-called “freedom convoy” arrived in Ottawa and was emulated in other capitals in Canada, the US and Europe. Canusa Street hosts Chris and Scotty talk with a journalist who has been covering the unrest in Canada since it began. Emma Jacobs is a dual citizen living in Montreal and reporting for NPR and other international outlets. Chris and Scotty also pause to reflect on the impact that these protests are having on Canada/US relations.
في هذه الحلقة من برنامج Ready to Launch ، تحدث المضيفين ميريسا خورما من بودكاست ريادة ورجاء ساحوري من the straight up startup مع ركيزة أساسية أخرى لمنظومة ريادة الأعمال الأردنية ، ديما بيبي. ديما هي الرئيس التنفيذي لمؤسسة إنجاز ، وهي منظمة شبابية أردنية رسخت مكانتها على مدار العشرين عامًا الماضية باعتبارها "مزود حلول رائد يربط بين القطاعين العام والخاص وقطاع المجتمع المدني لسد فجوة المهارات بين النظام التعليمي والاحتياجات المتغيرة في سوق العمل "، في منطقة تعاني من فجوة واسعة في المهارات في سوق العمل. في عام 2018 ، أنشأت إنجاز حاضنتها الخاصة mySTARTUP ، والتي تدعم رواد الأعمال الناشئين ومشاريعهم أو أعمالهم. لمعرفة المزيد عن تأثير هذه الحاضنة ، كما إنضم إلى الحديث عبد الله الغويري ، وهو شاب أردني خريج الهندسة المدنية من الجامعة الأردنية. يعمل عبد الله الآن على مشروع " صافي" الخاص به في ال Edtech والذي يركز على إنشاء مجتمع عبر الإنترنت من نظير إلى نظير لمشاركة المواد التعليمية
Experts from our Canada Institute at the Wilson Center walk us through the causes and iterations of protests in Canada which led to the closure of border crossings, having an affect on supply chains and regular cross border commerce and traffic. This audio is taken and edited from a briefing we held for congressional staff on February 14, 2022.
With a long history of strife on both sides of the border, the Colombia/Venezuela relationship is one of the most interesting ones in Latin America. And with one of the world's largest humanitarian crises occurring there right now, it is even more prescient that we talk to one of the world's leading experts on the region, Cindy Arnson.
سنركز هذا الشهر في Ready to Launch بودكاست عن ريادة الأعمال في منطقة الشرق الأوسط و شمال أفريقيا على البيئة الريادية في الأردن و المنطقة، ميزات النظام الريادي، التحديات الذي يواجهها، والفرص التي يقدمها للشباب و الشابات. افتتحنا الحوار حول هذه المواضيع مع مروان جمعة، الريادي الأردني المحنك، و وزير الإتصالات السابق، و الذي يعتبر أحد الركائز الأساسية لنظام ريادة الأعمال بصفته عضو في القطاع الخاص و مستشار لمختلف المجالس الاقتصادية الملكية.
In February, the Ready to Launch: A MENA Entrepreneurship Podcast will feature key players in the Jordanian and regional entrepreneurship ecosystem to better understand what they offer, what is lacking, and how they can be strengthened to improve the performance of local startups. To kick off this discussion, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri spoke with Marwan Juma, a serial entrepreneur, former Jordanian Minister of Communication and Information Technology, and a key pillar of the entrepreneurship ecosystem as a member of the private sector and advisor to various royal economic councils.
The Americas are an energy powerhouse. From the hemisphere’s vast solar and wind energy potential to its significant oil and gas reserves, the region holds a wealth of renewable and non-renewable energy resources. In this episode of Americas 360, our Wilson Center experts discuss how Canada and Latin American nations are addressing their energy needs and economic goals while pursuing environmental objectives and seizing opportunities from the global energy transition.
In this special presentation of Plaza Central, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama Erika Mouynes, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica Rodolfo Solano, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic Roberto Álvarez, and the Wilson Center's Cynthia Arnson discuss the Alliance for Development in Democracy, an initiative to promote democratic strengthening and economic growth through the tightening of the three countries’ commercial, demographic, and cultural ties.
في الحلقة السادسة من بودكاست -------- تحدث المضيفان مريسا خورما و رجائي ساحوري مع ريم السمرات، رائدة تصميم سيارات من الأردن. يعود شغف ريم بالسيارات إلى السن الخامسة عندما أهداها والدها كتالوج BMW. منذ ذلك الحين و هي مستمرة في مسيرتها لتصميم السيارات و أسست أول ستوديو للتصميم المركبات في الشرق الأوسط. استمعوا لقصته الملهمة و التي لا تخلوا من التحديات و خاصة كونها إمرأة في مجال و قطاع ذكوري - تقليديا.
On this episode of Ready to Launch: A MENA Entrepreneurship Podcast, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri interviewed Reem al-Smeirat, a pioneer in automotive design. Reem’s passion for automobiles dates to age five when her father gifted her a BMW catalogue. Since then, she founded the first transportation studio in the Middle East and hails as the region’s first female car designer. This accolade does not come without challenge, though, as women entrepreneurs still face discrimination and pushback from society.
Asia Expert Abraham Denmark fills us in on the relationship and rivalry between mainland China and Taiwan. In this episode we quickly cover history, but also analyze the potential for US involvement in a possible attempt by Beijing to reunify Taiwan to the mainland, and the fact that China has been able to develop a tailored capability to fight the US in a Taiwan scenario.
To kick off 2022, the podcast hosted a discussion on Arab youth, their aspirations for the future and key obstacles they faced in 2021. Co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri spoke with Sunil John, Founder & President of ASDA’A BCW about the latest findings of the Arab Youth Survey. The co-hosts also spoke with Eli Habib, Co-Founder & CTO of the Middle Eastern streaming service Anghami, to share his reactions and insight on this deep dive into where youth stand in the Arab world.
Kazakhstan does not get much attention in US foreign policy, but maybe it should. Recent protests in the country have uncovered the complicated situation that exists at a place where Russia, the US, and China intersect. Edward Lemon and Lucian Kim help walk us through it.
Here we go again. Russia has massed troops at the border of Ukraine and everyone is trying to figure out what Vladimir Putin is thinking. In this episode, Kennan experts Will Pomeranz and Nigel Gould-Davies help us piece together what is going on what what we could see in coming days.
The new Canadian Minister of Labour Seamus O'Regan joins Scotty and Chris to talk about his mandate to work on behalf of working Canadians, his outreach to American counterparts, and the overall state of Canada/US relations. O’Regan reminisces about his youth in Newfoundland, background in the media, and current concerns about the bilateral relationship.
Everyone likes to talk about China, and we've covered India on our podcast as well, including the relationship between those two neighbors. But what happens when you consider Myanmar as well? Michael Kugelman and Lucas Myers have been tracking this and give us a breakdown of what to look out for.
In this exciting episode, Chris and Scotty have a conversation with conservationist Enric Sala, an explorer-in-residence with National Geographic. They discuss his work, writings, Canada, narwhals, and his latest film, "The Last Ice" which is available on Disney+. Clips from "The Last Sea Ice" used by permission.
As the end of the year draws near, our Wilson Center experts take a look back at the most significant developments in the Americas in 2021 and discuss what is on the horizon in 2022, with a focus on economic recovery, vaccination efforts, and electoral politics.
In the last episode, Chris and Scotty spoke with the Premier of Nova Scotia about the holiday tradition of sending a spruce to the City of Boston for it's annual holiday tree display in Boston Common. This episode, they speak with Commissioner of Boston Parks & Recreation Ryan Woods on the receiving end of that tree's historic journey. Special thanks to the City of Boston for additional provided audio at the beginning of the show!
In the last episode of Ready to Launch: A MENA Entrepreneurship Podcast of 2021, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri spoke with Christopher Schroeder, American entrepreneur, investor, and author of Startup Rising: The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East. In this discussion, Chris evaluated how the startup scene has changed across MENA in the decade since his book was released, and the 2010-11 Arab uprisings. While he is encouraged by the skills and talent contributing to a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem, millions of people in the region still lack access to resources to tap into their full potential.
The standoff at the Russia-Ukraine border has reached a boiling point following the Biden and Putin video conference. Moscow is demanding major revisions to European security. In this episode of KennanX, Ambassador John Tefft – former ambassador to Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Lithuania – joins Jill to discuss Putin’s red lines and what they mean.
Over the past 10 years or so, Russia’s relations with the West have been reaching new lows. In bilateral terms, no other relationship has been more indicative of that trajectory than the one with Great Britain. The story of Russian-British ties, partnership, and animosity is thus important to explore.
Joining the Kennan Institute's Maxim Trudolubov to discuss this is David Owen, a veteran British politician, who was active in Britain's Russia politics both in Soviet and post-Soviet Russian times. Lord Owen has just published the book Riddle, Mystery, and Enigma, taking a long view of the West’s struggles to understand Russia.
في الحلقة الثالثة من برنامج Ready to Launch: بودكاست عن ريادة الأعمال في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا ، تحدثت مريسا خورما من ريادة و زميلي رجاي ساحوري من The Straight StartUp مع رائدة الأعمال المحنكة منى بن حليمة من تونس و التي تقود أعمالها الفندقية إلى مستويات جديدة. شاركت منى قصتها حول كيف ورثت العمل من والدها وكيف شكلت ثورة الياسمين في عام 2011 رحلتها الريادية للابتعاد عن نموذج السياحة الجماعية السائد في تونس و كيف تساهم في دعم مجتمعها التونسي و الإقتصاد من خلال توجيه الشباب على المشاريع الريادية الخاصة بهم.إستمع هنا وتعرف على قصة منى الملهمة و على ريادة الأعمال في تونس.
On this episode of the Ready to Launch: MENA Entrepreneurship Podcast, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri interviewed Mouna ben Halima, an entrepreneur from Tunisia who inherited her father’s hotelier business. Following the Jasmine Revolution in 2011, Mouna was inspired to elevate her business from the mainstream mass tourism sector to a luxury hotel that offers guests an exceptional experience. In addition to her reputation as a successful business owner, Mouna is an active member in several civil society organizations, including Reseau Entreprendre, a support network for Tunisian business, and SOS Children’s Village.
On December 9-10, the Biden administration hosted a virtual Summit for Democracy, an effort to mobilize an international agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle democratic threats through collective action. In the Western hemisphere, multiple leaders have taken steps that undermine democracy, for example, by arresting opponents, eroding judicial independence, and attacking critics in the media and civil society. In this episode, our Wilson Center experts discuss the state of democracy in the region.
Did you know that the City of Boston and the Province of Nova Scotia have history? Good history! Join our hosts as Scotty and Chris share some special holiday memories with Premier Tim Houston of Nova Scotia, and discuss the continuing importance of the US/Canada relationship.
في الحلقة الثانية من السلسلة المشتركة بين ريادة بودكاست من مركز ويلسون و الستريتب سترتب في الأردن ، تحدث المضيفان ميريسا خورما ورجاء ساحوري مع فؤاد جريس ، الشريك المؤسس لشركة مقسم في الأردن . روى فؤاد قصته الملهمة . كيف شكلت تجربة والده تفكيره حول المخاطرة وبدء عمله الخاص ، وهي رحلة بدأها في المدرسة الثانوية واستمر في العمل على الرغم من التحديات على طول الطريق. اليوم ، تدعم أعماله تشغيل المؤسسات الصغيرة والمتوسطة الأخرى في المنطقة
In the second episode of Ready to Launch: A MENA Entrepreneurship Podcast, a joint series by the Wilson Center’s Riyada and the Straight Up Start Up, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri spoke with Fouad Jeryes, the Co-Founder of Maqsam in Jordan. Fouad shared his story of self; how his father's experience shaped his thinking about taking risks and starting his own business, a journey he started in high school and pressed on in spite of the challenges along the way. Today, his business supports the operates of other small- and medium-enterprises in the region.
في الحلقة الأولى من Ready to Launch: A MENA Entrepreneurship Podcast ، وهو مسلسل مشترك بين بودكاست "ريادة" من مركز ويلسون و Straight Up Start Up ، تحدث المضيفان ماريسا خورما ورجا ساحوري مع فداء الطاهر ، رائدة أعمال محنكة من الأردن. بعد مشاهدة والدتها وهي تكافح لبدء مشروعها التجاري الخاص والمحافظة عليه ،أطلقت مشروعها الريادي و الآن تديرفداء العديد من الشركات الناشئة التي تدعم وتقوي قدرات رائدات الأعمال الأخريات.
En este episodio de Plaza Central, Beatriz García Nice platica con el Secretario de Estado para Iberoamérica y el Caribe y el Español en el Mundo del Gobierno de España, el Embajador Juan Fernández Trigo, sobre el posicionamiento de España como un gran aliado en la donación de vacunas a países hispanohablantes, el estado de las relaciones entre España y América Latina, y el llamado “revisionismo histórico” de la conquista española.
In the first episode of Ready to Launch: A MENA Entrepreneurship Podcast, a joint series by the Wilson Center’s Riyada and the Straight Up Start Up, co-hosts Merissa Khurma and Rajae Sahouri spoke with Fida Taher, a serial entrepreneur from Jordan. After watching her mother struggle to start and sustain her own business, Fida now runs multiple startups that support and strengthen the capacity of other women entrepreneurs.
Femicide has long plagued the Americas. In 2018, the Latin American region included five of the twelve countries with the highest rates of femicide in the world. Across the region, social and economic insecurities created by the COVID-19 pandemic have deepened the crisis, creating what some are calling a shadow pandemic of violence. In this episode of Americas 360, our experts discuss femicide in the Americas and the region’s attempts to address this persistent and deadly problem.
As the North American leaders prepare for their first summit since 2016, dial in and listen as our experts brief you on what to expect from the upcoming day of meetings in this Ground Truth Briefing with former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Earl Anthony Wayne and former U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson.
Electric vehicles are transforming the automotive industry and both Canada and the United States are poised to be major participants as consumer markets, raw materials suppliers, and vehicle producers. In this episode, Scotty and Chris are joined by David Patterson of General Motors and Nate Baguio of Lion Electric to discuss the future of electric vehicles and the cross-border supply chains in feeding the market's growth.
China and India. Two massive neighbors, with big problems growing between them. Asia Program associates Michael Kugelman and Lucas Meyers help us sort it out and see what could be on the horizon for US foreign policy should the region become a hotspot.
We've heard for years that China has leverage over North Korea. But do they? and if they do, how much, and does that align with US strategy? Robert Daly and Sue Terry discuss.
Supply chains are the talk of the town right now, especially on Canusa Street. In this episode, Scotty and Chris talk with David Woodruff and Eric Hampton about how the border stands with trucking and rail, and how regulation on each side of the border affect the movement of goods.
You know China, and you know the European Union. But do you know their relationship? And how could it affect US Foreign policy? Wilson Fellow Nicola Casarini talks with us about this complicated relationship and where we could see it impact us in the future.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many of the conditions that cause food insecurity worldwide. The United Nations estimates that 59.7 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean faced hunger in 2020, an increase of 13.8 million people from the year prior. In this episode of Americas 360, our Wilson Center experts consider what can be done to improve food security across the Western Hemisphere.
Gov. Ed Rendell rejoins the Canusa Street hosts to discuss the new US ambassador to Canada, David L. Cohen, who was just confirmed by the US Senate. He also happened to be the Governor's Chief of Staff. Learn how this new ambassador can get things done in the US/Canada relationship.
Political discourse in Russia and the post-Soviet space is rife with conspiracy theories, as well as politicians who utilize them to gain an upper hand. On this episode of KennanX, Scott Radnitz, author of Revealing Schemes: The Politics of Conspiracy in Russia and the Post-Soviet Region, joins Jill to discuss the politics driving conspiracies in the region.
The first in a new series from the Need To Know Podcast - "Relationships and Rivalries." In this series, we'll take a look at how other countries relate to one another - and where the hotspots could be if the US becomes involved in a region. In this episode, we dive into the relationships that Mexico has with leftist leaning governments such as Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua.
In less than one month, Brazil is holding one of the largest 5G auctions to date, globally. Over the last year, the question of whether Brazil would allow Chinese companies, including Huawei to participate in the country’s 5G telecoms infrastructure has dominated coverage of the issue and speaks to some of the unease surrounding China’s investment in Brazil, and in Latin America more broadly. But China is Brazil’s largest trade partner and a critical source of foreign investment in commodities, energy, infrastructure, and yes—telecomms. For Brazil, a country in need of investment and economic growth, China is an important economic partner. On this episode, guest Cláudia Trevisan, Executive Director of the Brazil-China Business Council, joins host Anya Prusa to discuss the contours of the Brazil-China relationship.
2,000 kilometres long with a basin slightly larger than France, the Columbia River is the longest waterway in the Pacific Northwest and a critical source of hydroelectricity. This week, Scotty and Chris are joined by Steve Wright to discuss the ongoing renegotiation of the Columbia River Treaty and its impact on Canada and the United States.
In this episode, Chris and Scotty take another look at Canada's involvement in the War in Afghanistan with journalist Kevin Newman. Remember, the actions in Afghanistan were not just an American war, but a coalition effort where nations like Canada joined in.
Disturbing images of Haitian migrants being mistreated by U.S. Border Patrol agents as they attempted to cross the Rio Grande has put the Haitian issue at the center of debate over the U.S. immigration system. The arrival of thousands of Haitians at the U.S. border calls attention to Haiti's chronic political turmoil, economic insecurity, and the impact of natural disasters. In this episode, Latin American Program Fellow Niambi Carter joins us to discuss the root causes of Haitian migration.
In this special presentation of Americas 360, 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.
Within the same week, the White House announced it would be loosening restrictions on international air travelers and kicked the can down the road for another month on travel restrictions at the U.S.-Canada land border. This week, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI 2nd District) joins Scotty and Chris to discuss the bipartisan effort to reopen the border and a host of other topics from American attitudes about the Ambassador Bridge to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Now that the Taliban have recaptured control of the Afghanistan, Canadian and American veterans alike reflect on their years in combat and reckon with the outcome of America's longest war. On this episode of Canusa Street, Chris and Scotty are joined by Col. Charles Hamel of the Canadian Armed Forces and journalist Neil Macdonald of the CBC to discuss the War in Afghanistan, Canada’s role in the conflict, and what the United States’ messy exit means for U.S.-Canada relationsNow that the Taliban have recaptured control of the Afghanistan, Canadian and American veterans alike reflect on their years in combat and reckon with the outcome of America's longest war. On this episode of Canusa Street, Chris and Scotty are joined by Col. Charles Hamel of the Canadian Armed Forces and journalist Neil Macdonald of the CBC to discuss the War in Afghanistan, Canada’s role in the conflict, and what the United States’ exit means for U.S.-Canada relations
Crisis-driven migration is nothing new in the Americas, but recent crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to hurricanes and other natural disasters have added to the number of people leaving their homes and countries. In this episode of Americas 360, our experts are joined by Wilson Center Global Fellow James Hollifield, an expert on migration and immigration policy, to discuss what is driving these migration flows, where people are moving, and how these population shifts are changing the region.
Infrastructure is the word of the day, week, month, year on Capitol Hill as the Biden administration pushes to pass the largest piece of infrastructure legislation since the Eisenhower era. This week on Canusa Street, Scotty and Chris check in with former Governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell. Listen in as the Governor shares his thoughts on the bipartisan American Jobs Plan and the importance of winning support for pieces of cross-border infrastructure along the U.S.-Canada border.
Nearly one year ago on September 15, 2020, the United States, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain signed the historic Abraham Accords. With this accomplishment, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain charted a new course in the history of Arab-Israeli relations by recognizing the State of Israel and normalizing diplomatic relations. Later that year, two other Arab nations, Sudan and Morocco, followed suit and joined the Abraham Accords, raising the number of Arab States with formal diplomatic ties to Israel from two to six. Today, with the new coalition government in Israel led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, there are new political realities at play. This discussion brought together some of the Ambassadors from the Abraham Accords signatory countries for their perspective, one year later. This important diplomatic initiative is key to maintaining and strengthening peace and stability in the region while collaborating on areas of mutual interest. We also broadcast a special video message of Ambassador Gilad Erdan, Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. and United Nations.
China's recent crackdown on many things cultural rang some alarm bells. But what does it mean in practice? And what should US policymakers think about it? We talk to China experts Aynne Kokas and Robert Daly to understand.
Amy Austin Holmes has been tracking attacks that Turkey has been making against Kurdish and Yazidi regions in Iraq and Syria for quite some time. And with so much going on in the world, many may have missed the fact that Turkey has struck again, this time killing a popular Yazidi leader within Iraqi territory.
Check out some of Amy's work on this issue here: https://thehill.com/opinion/international/569838-as-afghanistan-crumbles-turkeys-airstrikes-set-up-the-next-disaster?rl=1
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/threats-perceived-and-real-new-data-and-need-new-approach-turkish-sdf-border-conflict
With echoes of the Soviet retreat, the last American plane left Afghanistan on August 31, 2021 following two decades of war. How do the legacies of the Soviet and American occupations compare, and what does the future hold for Russian-Afghan relations with the Taliban now in charge? Our host Jill Dougherty is joined by Michael Kugelman and Bismellah Alizada for a conversation on Afghanistan and the role Russia is poised to play.
In this episode of International History Declassified, Pieter and Kian sit down with author Alan McPherson to discuss his book, Ghosts of Sheridan Circle, which tells the chilling story of the assassination of Chilean dissident, Orlando Letelier.
The US border is still closed to vaccinated Canadians. A key leader in the US Congress, Representative Suzan DelBene, shares her thoughts about the “incredibly difficult situation for our border communities” including places like Point Roberts, Washington, as well as USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai’s recent visit with DelBene and what the path forward is for Canada/US trade challenges in dairy and wine. What are the metrics needed to re-open the land border with Canada? Canusa Street hosts Chris Sands and Scotty Greenwood have a candid conversation with the Vice Chair of the Ways & Means Committee and a true Congressional champion for the bilateral relationship.
The withdrawal of U.S. and coalition forces from Afghanistan, the rapid deterioration of the Afghan government and military, and the return of the Taliban will have profound implications for the future of South Asia.
Check out our “Afghanistan: Hindsight Up Front” initiative as we discuss the future of the region with leading journalists, former diplomats, and thought leaders from India and Pakistan.
This month, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made his first trip to Latin America, visiting Brazil and Argentina, where he met with Presidents Jair Bolsonaro and Alberto Fernández about COVID-19, climate change, and digital infrastructure. Sullivan’s travel, the July protests in Cuba and a presidential assassination and earthquake in Haiti, have brought new attention to the Biden administration’s Latin America policy.
Cannabis has been federally legalized in Canada for almost three years and decriminalized to some degree in twenty-seven U.S. states. This week on Canusa Street, Chris and Scotty check in with Anne McLellan, former Canadian Minister of Justice, and Graham Boyd, founding director of the national ACLU’s Drug Law Reform Project, about Canada's journey to cannabis legalization and how it can inform advocacy in the United States.
In this episode of "Two the Point," Benjamin Gedan speaks with Liliana Ayalde, former U.S. ambassador to Brazil and former civilian deputy to the commander and foreign policy adviser at the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). They discuss the confirmation of Lieutenant General Laura Richardson as the next commander of the U.S. Southern Command, the first woman to hold that post, and SOUTHCOM's priorities under the Biden administration.
Bringing back our former congressional staffer round table with Monica Pham and Natalee Binkholder to discuss the top ten things that are common in good staffers. Take a listen. If you are on the Hill, maybe you can find some ways to grow professionally, and if you want to work on the Hill, this is a good start to know what you have to do. Happy August everyone!
This event, part of Hindsight Up Front, the Wilson Center’s new Afghanistan initiative, features a discussion with H.R. McMaster, a national security adviser in the Trump administration and currently the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. The conversation—moderated by Wilson Center President, Director, and CEO Mark Green—will assess nearly 20 years of U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, focus on the U.S. withdrawal and its implications, and consider options for future U.S. policy. The discussion will also explore immediate policy recommendations for the Biden administration, and what can be done to ensure that U.S. interests in Afghanistan continue to be advanced.
Congressman Brian Higgins (D-NY)is extremely frustrated with the Biden Administration’s approach to management of the Canada/US border. In this episode of Canusa Street, the Congressman pulls no punches in describing the importance of following science and reopening our shared border. Canada has opened to fully vaccinated Americans, but America hasn’t reciprocated. Here is candid conversation with podcast hosts Chris Sands and Scotty Greenwood.
They're right on our northern border, they have close ties, a lot of trade, a lot of love, so you really need to know more about Canada. That is why we started the Canusa Street podcast! And here with me today are hosts Scotty Greenwood and Chris Sands.
Check it out: https://soundcloud.com/the-wilson-center/sets/canusa-street
Since March 2020, the United States and Canada have restricted border crossing to “essential” crossing only. What’s essential? Commercial trucking. What isn’t? Love, as it turns out. On this episode of Canusa Street we talk to Devon Weber who leads a grass roots group called Let Us Reunite that has been campaigning for months to get Ottawa and Washington to let families cross the border to see partners, children, and elderly family members.
In July 2021, the Americas have been hit by a variety of extreme weather events, including major heat waves in Canada and the United States and intense tropical storms in Central America. Recent droughts and fires in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest have killed nearly 2.5 billion trees, greatly hampering its function as a carbon sink. These events, as well as historic droughts in Mexico, Central America, and South America have re-invigorated discussions about climate change and its impact in the region.
This event kicked off Hindsight Up Front, the Wilson Center’s new Afghanistan initiative, with a discussion between Gen. David Petraeus and Sir John Scarlett, co-chairs of the Wilson Center’s Global Advisory Council and two of the world’s foremost public intellectuals. Their conversation—moderated by Wilson Center President, Director, and CEO Mark Green—focused on the implications of the withdrawal for Afghanistan and the world.
They examined 20 years of U.S.-led war, considered what has and has not been achieved, and assessed President Joe Biden’s withdrawal decision. They discussed the withdrawal’s potential impacts, including terrorism risks and refugee flows. They weighed in on global reactions to the withdrawal—including from U.S. adversaries like China. They also offered insights on what U.S. policy should be in Afghanistan moving forward, and they
It’s been nearly one year since Alexander Lukashenko declared victory over Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in an election rife with fraud. In this episode of KennanX, our host Jill Dougherty is joined by Ms. Tikhanovskaya for a conversation about her campaign for President of Belarus, the fallout from the election, what motivates her to stay in the fight, and the outcome of her recent trip to Washington, DC.
Many prefer to measure today's authoritarian regimes against the West’s standards in everything from governance to culture. But taking a closer look at the authoritarian world itself and studying its evolution is probably more illuminating.
Despite constant geopolitical infighting, Russia and Turkey display striking similarities in the stance they take toward the West. Moscow and Ankara's crackdown on media, political opponents, the non-governmental sector and even independent universities inevitably call for comparisons between the two.
The Kennan Institute's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses novel authoritarian trends with Ayşe Zarakol, reader in international relations at the University of Cambridge, and Sergei Guriev, professor of economics at Sciences Po Paris.
Nicaragua's president has jailed the opposition ahead of the presidential election in a bid to stay in power. Global Fellow Eric Olson takes us through the situation, and what it means for US interests (and dollars) in the region.
The recent discovery of 751 unmarked graves at a former residential school in Saskatchewan, Canada, sent shockwaves throughout the country and brought attention to the country’s past and present mistreatment of its indigenous population. While shocking to some, for indigenous peoples across the hemisphere, this discovery is another example of discrimination and unfair treatment stretching back 500 years. In this episode, we discuss the history of indigenous cultural assimilation and erasure in the Americas.
The Brazilian Amazon has entered the dry season, a period that, in recent years, has seen thousands of forest fires break out across the region. This year, a severe drought in much of Brazil—the worst in decades—has many worried that the fires could hit a new record. On this episode, guest Jake Spring, Reuter’s Environment and Commodities Correspondent in Brasilia, joins host Anya Prusa to discuss the latest deforestation numbers, the government’s response, and the implications of climate change for Brazil.
Dr. Sacha Zala, Director of Diplomatische Dokumente der Schweiz (Dodis), explains to Pieter and Kian the declassification and publication process of the Dodis series. He also gives a guided tour of the Dodis website and archives, explaining how to search their collection of Swiss diplomatic documents and showing off several great features for researchers.
With Special Guest Jerry Howard! In our last segment regarding the softwood lumber trade dispute, we shift to the homebuilder’s perspective to add insight on the real-life implications of this dispute. In this episode, we speak to Jerry Howard, the CEO of the National Association of Home Builders, who has been in the housing industry for over 35 years. Howard speaks with Chris & Scotty about the consequences of soaring lumber prices and the threat it poses on U.S. homebuilders.
With Special Guest Mike de Jong! In Part 2 of this 3 Part series, we look at the longstanding softwood lumber trade dispute from a different lens. Adding his unique Canadian perspective on the issue of softwood lumber is Mike de Jong, member of British Columbia Legislative Assembly, who currently serves as the Official Opposition Critic of the Attorney General in Abbotsford. Seeing as Canada is the world leading exporter and second-largest producer of softwood lumber, with British Columbia representing around 63% of exports, de Jong’s insight of this dispute offers a unique look at real life consequences for the lumber industry.
With Special Guest, Senator Trent Lott! The softwood lumber dispute is one of the longest, yet most important trade disputes between the United States and Canada, with the affects still felt in the lumber industry to the present day. In Part 1 of this 3 Part series, we invite former U.S. Senator Trent Lott to walk us though the effects of the historic lumber dispute from a U.S. lens as the implications are paramount to both countries.
We catch up with resident Afghanistan expert Michael Kugelman, hearkening back to our last Afghanistan episode in May. We evaluate his predictions, and how he sees things going as US troops continue to pull out of the region.
In their June summit, Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin pledged to restart a strategic dialogue on cyber issues. In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty explores how the United States and Russia interact in the cyber realm, and how each country defines how it uses cyber for its national security. She speaks with Meg King of the Wilson Center, Pavel Sharikov of the Center for Applied Research at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Lauren Zabierek of the Cyber Project at the Belfer Center.
En este episodio de “Two the Point,” Beatriz García Nice del Programa Latinoamericano charla con Gloria Porras, Magistrada Electa de la Corte de Constitucionalidad de Guatemala. En la conversación discutieron su salida de Guatemala cuando se le negó tomar posesión de su tercer periodo como Magistrada Titular, el estado de derecho, la lucha contra la corrupción en Guatemala, y la reunión que sostuvo recientemente con la Vice Presienta de Estados Unidos, Kamala Harris.
Guest host Nicolás Saldías, a Latin America analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, sits down with Esteban Paulón, executive director of Argentina’s Instituto de Políticas Públicas LGBT+, to discuss Argentina’s recently approved transgender labor law and the impacts of COVID-19 on Latin America’s LGBTQ+ community.
The first year of implementation of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the USMCA, was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic shockwaves it sent throughout the region and the world. Difficulties aside, the pandemic also served to reinforce the importance of North America as an economic bloc. Wilson Center Public Policy Fellow Earl Anthony Wayne, former Ambassador of the U.S. to Mexico and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Canada, joins us to discuss the first year of the USMCA.
Seeing as the border between Detroit and Windsor is one of the busiest ports of entry along the Canada-U.S. border, the lack of modernized crossing paths at this border is a cause for concern for bilateral supply chains, tourism, and transportation. To remedy this, both governments proposed the construction of a new bridge, now known as the Gordie Howe Bridge. However, things have not been smooth sailing, as the development has faced heavy resistance from interest groups and stakeholders. To speak on the trials and tribulations of the development of the Gordie Howe Bridge is the Hon. Lisa Raitt, who is currently serving as Vice-Chair for Global Investment Banking at CIBC, a global fellow at the Canada Institute, and on the CABC Advisory Board. We are also joined by Dr. Roy Norton, a career foreign service officer who is also a Global Fellow at the Canada Institute, as well as a Resident Fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs.
The inauguration of President Joe Biden marks a hopeful return to normalcy for the Canada-U.S. relationship. However, taking a historical look at the bilateral relationship, this new chapter in history begs the question of what normalcy really means to the two countries. On this episode, we are joined by the esteemed Richard Madan, CTV’s Washington, DC correspondent, as he highlights the role of media in constructing our understanding of the bilateral relationship as well as walking us through the implications of the to normalcy as we transition towards a new era of Canada-U.S. relations.
On Sunday, June 6, voters participated in the largest election in Mexico’s history, choosing officials for over 21,000 offices. That same day, Peruvians also went to the polls for the run-off presidential election between Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori. In this episode of Americas 360, Alejandro Moreno, Director of Public Opinion Polling at Mexico’s El Financiero, and Cynthia Sanborn, a Professor of Political Science at the Universidad del Pacífico in Peru, join our Wilson Center experts discuss the results of these elections.
If you've gone shopping for lumber lately, you know. Prices are sky high. But why? Of course we know the pandemic has affected supply chains, but with lumber, there is more going on. Canada Institute Director Chris Sands helps us understand the complexities of the lumber market and the interplay with our northern neighbors.
On April 23, the popular Russian-language media outlet Meduza was labeled a “foreign agent” by the Russian Ministry of Justice and suddenly faced all the risks and problems associated with this status, including the loss of advertising income. Three weeks later, Meduza, which is headquartered in Riga, Latvia, reported that nearly 80,000 people had joined the crowdfunding initiative to save it. Galina Timchenko, a prominent Russian journalist and CEO of Meduza, considered what new challenges to free speech the Russian media are currently up against, how government pressure affects today’s media development trends, and what motivates independent journalists to continue working.
It made me very happy as a Mexican to see a very peaceful and well run election compared to what we had seen throughout the election process in terms of violence and attacks and intimidation. And yesterday was the opposite of that. And as a Mexican I'm, I'm very happy that it was.
“As we move closer to 2024, these opposition parties are going to have to come up with ideas and an election platform that will convince and inspire Mexicans much more than they have done in this election. Because again, it will not be enough. And clearly it wasn't enough in the states to just attack president Lopez Obrador and be against Morena.”
“I think the main message is that voters decided to establish some sort of checks and balances that did not exist for the first three years of the term of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The main message is that Mexican democracy is not one color only, but it is plural and diverse and all the voices must be heard. ”
“The system worked incredibly well yesterday. And I think that is it's so important, because it gives us faith in the result. And it gives us faith in the strength and the endurance of Mexican democracy looking forward.”
If you attack the legitimacy of the election, you are attacking the legitimacy of more than a million Mexicans who worked on that election.
“It was a terrific opportunity yesterday to observe Mexican democracy in action. The INE did an incredible job of organizing the election but more importantly than that, of working with Mexican civil society, and I don’t mean NGO’s but the people on the street who organized themselves to run the polling stations. The INE worked hand-in-hand with them in terms of training, providing them with resources they need, to actually execute a very well- run, fair, free and transparent election.”
It reinforces the independence of the Supreme Court in the sense that it will be hard for López Obrador to say that he has won an overwhelming election mandate that would allow him to win over the votes that he needs in the senate in order to get the two thirds majority that is required to approve a new Supreme Court Justice.
I think that this has the potential to be the most consequential meeting of the G7 since after the attacks of September 11 2001, primarily because of the immense challenges that the G7 is facing and reacting to. We've already talked about what's been explicitly stated—the COVID 19 pandemic, the rise of China, and climate change. I think there's another challenge that the G7 is tacitly reacting to, and that is the Trump administration, and other populist movements counter to globalization and multilateralism that are happening in other parts of the world and especially in the G7.
When I speak to Asian friends, especially amongst our allies and partners, there is a loud chorus of views looking for a positive US economic agenda for the Indo Pacific. We're not in the TPP, or the CP TPP as it is now……. So what is our economic agenda, what is our economic vision for the region that we are going to use to compete with the Chinese?
South Korea has been invited to be part of the g7 discussions as an observer country, but it's pretty much expected that there will not be a meeting between Prime Minister, Suga, and President Moon Jae In on the sidelines, even though relations between South Korea and Japan are at an all time low and the United States depends heavily on solid relations between Tokyo and Seoul for regional stability. It is I believe a lost opportunity to enhance relations between the two countries.
The United States really does need to regain trust from the world, not just from the leaders of the world's richest countries but the world at large, and a demonstration that US commitments will not be reversed.
I think the White House is trying to project this message of renewed unity among leading like minded democracies. It's really a political message that the United States is back, its back with its closest partners, and together, those partners are trying to shore up their democratic resilience, their unity, and to sort of move the world from sickness to health on a variety of fronts.
There'll be a I think a new emphasis on what's called resilience. That is all of the kinds of arteries that keep our free societies open are susceptible now to disruptive attack or change, you think about the malware attacks in the United States the ransomware, but also cyber activities, hybrid. All of that is creating a new imperative for allies to think about how to become more resilient. That's a new security dimension the Alliance hasn't really done as much on as it could. And I think they will be challenged to do more.
This relationship is deeply fraught. There are any number of risk factors—around Russian cyber intrusions in the United States, the conflict in Ukraine, the crisis in Belarus, and any number of post-Soviet countries, as well as, of course, the internal situation in Russia, the treatment of the Russian opposition the independent press, which we've covered extensively and a recent series of Kennan Institute events. I think any of those things could potentially metastasize within the next week into the kind of crisis that would that would effectively make the summit pointless.
I do think that if both nations, especially the United States, are looking for places to actually cooperate with the Russians, like we do in the International Space Station, and trying to find a path towards some amount of productive engagement, I would argue that the Arctic may provide for us at least a few of those pathways to a more predictable and stable relationship between these two countries.
A Soviet nuclear physicist and Nobel laureate, Andrei Sakharov fought for disarmament, world peace, and human rights. To what extent is his legacy relevant for today’s Russia and the world? What is the state of those values now, at a time when autocracies are on the rise and new international conflicts are developing?
The Kennan Institute's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses Sakharov's legacy in light of his recent centennial with Cecile Vaissie, a professor of Russian and Soviet studies at the University of Rennes 2, and Arkady Ostrovsky, Russia and Eastern Europe editor for The Economist.
The Mexico Institute hosted a Ground Truth Briefing on Monday, June 7, 2021 at 9:00am Eastern time with analysis of the election results and implications for the López Obrador government, featuring insights from experts on the ground, including an official election observer.
On May 6th, a police operation targeting gang members in Jacarezinho, in Rio de Janeiro, left 28 dead. It was the bloodiest police raid in the city’s history. But police violence is common in Rio’s favelas, with residents—often disproportionately Black and pardo—caught up in conflict between drug traffickers, paramilitary gangs, and the police. On this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast, host Anya Prusa speaks with Ilona Szabó, the co-founder and president of the Igarapé Institute, and a recognized expert on questions of public security, crime, and violence in Brazil.
One of the key figures in the Russian opposition, Lyubov Sobol has encountered many of the well-known experiences of Russia’s political life: from electoral campaigns and street protests to hunger strikes and criminal trials. For many people, she represents the new generation of Russian leaders, which has a vision for the country’s future, but faces insurmountable obstacles on the path to public office. In her talk, Lyubov Sobol shared her experience as an independent politician and discussed what developments one can expect in Russian domestic politics in the run-up to the September 2021 elections and beyond.
Speaker: Lyubov Sobol - Russian Political and Public Figure; Lawyer, Anti-Corruption Foundation; Producer, Navalny LIVE YouTube Channel
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
One of the key figures in the Russian opposition, Lyubov Sobol has encountered many of the well-known experiences of Russia’s political life: from electoral campaigns and street protests to hunger strikes and criminal trials. For many people, she represents the new generation of Russian leaders, which has a vision for the country’s future, but faces insurmountable obstacles on the path to public office. In her talk, Lyubov Sobol shared her experience as an independent politician and discussed what developments one can expect in Russian domestic politics in the run-up to the September 2021 elections and beyond.
Speaker: Lyubov Sobol - Russian Political and Public Figure; Lawyer, Anti-Corruption Foundation; Producer, Navalny LIVE YouTube Channel
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Media Studies expert, China watcher, and friend of the Need to Know Podcast, Aynne Kokas comes back to talk about John Cena's faux pas regarding China and Taiwan - and why western celebrities always seem quick to apologize for such things.
Also see Aynne's recent congressional testimony here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/us-china-relations-improving-us-competitiveness-through-trade
Over the last month, Colombia has erupted in protest, with citizens taking to the streets in frustration over pandemic lockdowns and rising poverty and unemployment, among other issues. Demonstrations have been mostly peaceful, but some have been marked by extreme violence, extensive property damage, and deadly clashes with the police. Is Colombia a harbinger of things to come elsewhere in Latin America, where countries struggle with a third wave of COVID-19 and the continued battering of their economies? In this episode of “Americas 360,” our experts discuss the most recent mobilizations in Colombia and what they might portend for other countries of the hemisphere.
The return to Russia and subsequent imprisonment of Alexei Navalny represents a possible turning point in Russian domestic politics. Navalny’s reappearance on the Russian stage sparked a series of large protests and a predictable sharp reaction from authorities. Can the opposition remain organized and united in light of this crackdown, or will Putin’s authoritarian turn be sufficient to maintain his grip on power?
Speaker: Leonid Volkov - Head, Network of Regional Headquarters for Alexei Navalny; Founder, Internet Protection Society
Moderator:
For 70 years, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has played a critical role in working to advance freedom of information and the press in Europe, Eurasia, and the Middle East. Now, as authoritarian governments ramp up efforts to undermine democracy, human rights, and media freedom, RFE/RL is again on the front lines. In a conversation with Jamie Fly, President and Chief Executive Officer of RFE/RL, and Daisy Sindelar, Vice President and Editor in Chief of RFE/RL, we discussed the history, impact, and current challenges faced by RFE/RL in today’s evolving media environment.
Speakers: Jamie Fly - President and Chief Executive Officer, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Daisy Sindelar - Vice President and Editor in Chief, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Introduction: Robert S. Litwak - Senior Vice President and Director of International Security Studies
Moderator: Christian F. Ostermann - Director, History and Public Policy Program; Cold War International History Project; North Korea Documentation Project; Nuclear Proliferation International History Project; Woodrow Wilson Center
The Kremlin’s efforts to silence the Russian opposition have only increased since the attempted poisoning and subsequent imprisonment of Alexei Navalny. From expanding foreign agent legislation, to labeling organizations that promote free and fair elections as “extremist,” to imprisoning Navalny’s supporters and other opposition activists, the Russian government is unwilling to allow even activities that were normal only a few years earlier. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition politician and chairman of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom, described the increasingly repressive political atmosphere in Russia today, looking ahead to the Duma elections later this year and beyond —and what the future could hold given the growing anti-Putin sentiment in Russian society.
Speaker: Vladimir Kara-Murza - Russian democracy activist, politician, author, and filmmaker; Chairman, Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom
Introduction: Ambassador Mark Green - President, Director, & CEO, Wilson Center
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Forged in war and ideological battle, relations between Pyongyang and Moscow have been shaped by shared strategic interests, as well as feelings of perceived betrayal. How does the past affect relations between Pyongyang and Moscow today? Where are their interests aligned and where do they diverge? On May 19, Andrei Lankov, Director of NK News and Professor at Kookmin University in Seoul joined us for a conversation on North Korean-Russian relations.
Speakers: Andrei Lankov - Professor of History at Kookmin University in Seoul, South Korea
Jean H. Lee - Director, Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy; Journalist and former Pyongyang Bureau Chief, Associated Press
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Join the Wilson Center's Canada Institute, Mitch Davidson in Ontario, and Sarah Hubbard in Michigan for a discussion on how the local politics of Enbridge Line 5 is impacting broader Canada-U.S. relations.
President Biden took office with the promise that the U.S would return as the global leader on climate, and make climate change a pillar of American foreign policy. Biden’s Leaders Climate Change Summit brought together leaders from across the world to discuss the world’s most pressing issues relating to climate, and government’s commitments to this agenda. Our Wilson Center experts discuss the climate summit and the actions that governments in the Americas are taking to address climate concerns.
During his extensive work on the Saudi peninsula, Toby Matthiesen has explored many different aspects of Post-War Saudi history, including the development of the Communist Party of Saudi Arabia. In this discussion with Kian and Pieter, Dr. Matthiesen explains the nuances of the CPSA’s belief systems, it’s role as a regional player in the Gulf, as well as Dr. Matthiesen’s own experiences conducting research on the region.
As conflict grows between the United States and Russia, Russia has strengthened its relations with China. In an event co-sponsored by the Slavic-Eurasian Research Center at Hokkaido University, David Wolff will provide an update on the key planks in the partnership between China and Russia. These include economic ties, military cooperation, leadership chemistry, relations in border areas and historical legacies. He considered the shared and divergent goals of these two great powers. Kissinger Institute Director Robert Daly joined the conversation as a discussant.
Speakers: David Wolff - CWIHP Senior Scholar; Professor, Eurasian History, Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University
Robert Daly - Director, Kissinger Institute on China and the United States
Akihiro Iwashita - Director, Slavic-Eurasian Research Center, Hokkaido University
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
On April 28, the government of Ukraine announced the dismissal of Naftogaz CEO Andrii Kobolev and the appointment of Yurii Vitrenko as a replacement. These actions came as a surprise to many and have raised concerns about Ukraine’s progress toward reforms among its Western partners, including the United States. In this panel, experts discussed whether these actions may undermine Ukraine’s corporate governance reform efforts or if they may lead to improved efficiency in how the country’s state-owned companies are operated.
Speakers: Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska - Co-founder and CEO, Ukrainian Sustainable Fund
Andrian Prokip - Senior Associate, Ukraine; Energy Expert, Ukrainian Institute for the Future
Victor Andrusiv - Executive Director, Ukrainian Institute for the Future
Pavlo Klimkin - Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine; Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Germany
Introduction: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
After 20 years, the United States will be withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. Our resident South Asia expert Michael Kugelman walks us through the hurdles and challenges we will have to watch out for in the foreseeable future. Plus, a quick look at the COVID-19 resurgence in India.
In How Ike Led, Susan Eisenhower explains how Dwight Eisenhower’s decision-making was informed by his heritage and upbringing, as well as his strong character and his personal discipline. But he also avoided making himself the center of things. His talent for envisioning the whole picture within in the context of a long-term strategy, and his ability to see causes and various consequences, explains his success as a military commander and political leader. In this book talk, Susan Eisenhower explained her personal insights about President Eisenhower and what can be learned from him today. The Wilson Center’s Global Fellow Walter Hudson joined the conversation as a discussant.
Speaker: Susan Eisenhower - Author
Discussant: Walter Hudson - Global Fellow; Associate Professor, Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, National Defense University
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Full Event Title: Report Launch | Russia in the Middle East: National Security Challenges for the United States and Israel in the Biden Era
As U.S.-Russian tensions continue to escalate, Russia’s role in the Middle East is of urgent concern both to Israel and the United States. Potential flashpoints include Syria and Iran, new spheres of Russian engagement from Afghanistan to North Africa, and sensitive cybersecurity issues. Russia is also moving in tandem with China to push back against U.S. dominance, including in the Middle East. Leading experts from Israel and the United States address these challenges in a new report published by the Kennan Institute and the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. In a discussion moderated by Susan Glasser, the report’s contributors addressed the challenges Russia poses in the region and the decisions that policymakers in the U.S. and Israel face.
Introduction: Ambassador Mark Green - President Director, and CEO, Wilson Center
Speakers: Major General (Res.) Amos Gilead - Executive Director of the Institute for Policy and Strategy (IPS), IDC Herzliya; Chairman of the IPS Annual Herzliya Conference Series
James F. Jeffrey - Chair of the Middle East Program; Former ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition To Defeat ISIS
Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Udi Evental - Col. (res.), Senior Researcher,, Institute for Policy and Strategy, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya
Ksenia Svetlova - Senior Researcher, Institute for Policy and Strategy, IDC Herzliya; Journalist
Michael Kimmage - Professor of History, Catholic University of America
Moderator: Susan Glasser - Staff Writer at The New Yorker; Founding editor of Politico Magazine
Emil Draitser spent a decade contributing to Crocodile, the major Party-sponsored satire magazine known for its sharp-tongued essays and pointed cartoons. After he got in trouble for criticizing an important Soviet official, he began weighing the heavy decision of whether to emigrate. In this book talk about his memoir In the Jaws of the Crocodile, Draitser explored what it means to be a satirist in a country lacking freedom of expression. He provided a window into the lives of a generation of artists who were allowed to poke fun, as long as they toed a narrow, state-approved line.
Speaker: Emil Draitser - Author
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Erika Mouynes, Panama’s foreign minister, to discuss challenges including climate change, migration from Colombia and navigating tensions between the United States and China, Panama’s most critical economic partners.
Kissinger Institute experts Rui Zhong and Bradley Jardine stop in to discuss Xinjiang and the challenge this particular human rights issue poses for policymakers.
Public Policy Fellow Dr. Melissa Griffith helps us go beyond the headlines and the jargon to understand the technology that produces deepfakes, how it is used for good and bad, and what policy options exist in the public and private sectors to address the challenges of this rapidly evolving technology.
In this episode, Pieter and special guest-host Erin Scrimger (Archivist, History and Public Policy Program) speak with NATO Archives Public Disclosure Officer Nick Nguyen about the 70th anniversary of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe and what documents and materials are available in their archives that chronicle its founding.
ASEAN member states find themselves on the frontline of U.S.-China competition. Russia’s involvement in Southeast Asia complicates an easy characterization of Russia-China alignment and speaks to its pursuit of its own strategic and economic interests in the region. In Vietnam, Russia has long enjoyed close ties to the ruling regime, and Russian oil firm Rosneft operates an oil well within waters that China claims fall inside its “nine dash line.” In the Philippines, Russia has worked closely with President Rodrigo Duterte and actively considered joint energy development projects in the South China Sea. Elsewhere, Russia serves as a significant arms supplier for some of the region’s militaries, and it has recently come under fire for its acceptance of Myanmar’s military takeover. What drives Russia’s renewed interest in Southeast Asia? How will Russia manage its ties to both China and its partners in the South China Sea? Will Russia continue to expand its involvement in the region beyond economic and security ties?
Dr. Amy Searight, Senior Associate for Asia with CSIS, joined the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute and Asia Program to discuss Russia’s role in Southeast Asia and its future trajectory.
Speakers: Amy Searight - Senior Associate for Asia, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Lucas Myers - Program Associate, Asia Program
Moderator: Abraham Denmark - Director, Asia Program
n this episode of Americas 360, our Wilson Center experts review the political repercussions faced by President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil stemming from his mishandling of the pandemic, the outcome of recently held elections in Ecuador and Peru, and forthcoming elections in Mexico and tentatively in Canada and why these are so crucial to the hemisphere and beyond.
Fifty percent of entrepreneurs in Brazil are women—but they face an uphill battle to keep their businesses open. Renata Malheiros Henriques, the National Coordinator for Women Entrepreneurship Projects at the Brazilian small business association Sebrae, wants to change this. Under Renata’s leadership, Sebrae launched a country-wide project called Sebrae Delas to support female entrepreneurship and encourage innovation—a mission that has only grown more important as the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately pushes women from the workforce. After the episode, visit www.sebrae.com.br/delas to learn more.
The Soviet pilot Yuri Gagarin made his pioneering spaceflight 60 years ago. In the USSR, it marked a time of optimistic, forward-looking modernization, of which the Soviet space program was the hallmark.
Maxim Trudolyubov discusses the Soviet-American space race and today’s newfound space enthusiasm with Victoria Smolkin, associate professor of history and Russian studies at Wesleyan University and Asif Siddiqi, professor of history at Fordham University.
In the past 70 years, the relationship between India and the Soviet Union, and now Russia, has historically been stable and mutually beneficial. However, cracks are beginning to appear. Russia’s growing alignment with China, a major rival of India, is proving to be a sticking point. There is also growing anxiety in Moscow over New Delhi’s deepening security ties with Washington, both bilaterally and through the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. Additionally, Russia appears to be increasing its relations with Pakistan, a potential concern for India. At the same time, Russia is the largest arms supplier to India which has purchased the S-400 missile system, much to the consternation of the United States. How will India manage relations with Russia as Russia grows closer to a more assertive China, while at the same time balancing its growing ties with the United States and U.S. allies?
On April 22, 2021, Nandan Unnikrishnan, Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, joined the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute and Asia Program for a conversation on the current status and future trajectory of India-Russia relations.
Speakers: Nandan Unnikrishnan - Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation
Michael Kugelman - Deputy Director and Senior Associate for South Asia, Asia Program
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Nearly sixty years after the Cuban missile crisis and thirty years after the end of the Cold War, today’s leaders appear capable of repeating the dangerous precedents of the past. In order to better understand and manage the major nuclear challenges of the 21st century, the lessons of the past should be considered. Serhii Plokhii’s new book, Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis, offers an international perspective on the crisis, tracing the tortuous decision-making that produced and then resolved it. In this book talk, he illustrated the drama and anxiety of those tense days, drawing on a range of Soviet archival sources and White House tapes, and explained how to grapple with the problems posed in the present.
Speaker: Serhii Plokhii - Former Short Term Scholar; Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History, Harvard University
Moderator: Jill Dougherty - Global Fellow; Former CNN Foreign Affairs Correspondent
A new roundtable features Monica Pham and Natalee Binkholder, two former hill staffers who helps us go inside the hallowed halls in search of bipartisanship hiding in plain sight.
On October 22, 1962, American families gathered around their televisions for an address by President Kennedy. What they heard shocked them. In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty revisits the Cuban Missile Crisis, uncovering lessons learned - and forgotten - with Serhii Plokhii, Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University and author of the new book, Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
April 12 is the UN's International Day of Human Space Flight. Officially celebrated in Russia as the Cosmonautics Day, in 2021 it marked 60 years since Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. This Soviet accomplishment came at the height of the Cold War and not only affected the bilateral relationship, but also inspired American and Soviet citizens alike. Despite their fierce competition, the United States and the Soviet Union also managed to identify opportunities for cooperation in the exploration of outer space, which culminated in the joint Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975. Today, when bilateral tensions are high again, space remains one of the few remaining areas of productive interaction between Russia and the U.S. In this panel, our experts considered the enduring legacy of Yuri Gagarin’s flight and its effects on popular culture and scientific innovation in the two countries, and discussed the dynamic of space competition and collaboration since that flight.
Speakers: Slava Gerovitch - Lecturer, Department of Mathematics, MIT
Cathleen Lewis - Curator, International Space Programs and Spacesuits, Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum
Asif Siddiqi - Professor, Department of History, Fordham University
Moderator: Joseph Dresen - Senior Program Associate, Kennan Institute
The economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been severe across the globe, but across the Americas and in other regions, women have suffered disproportionately. The pandemic's effects range from a decline in women's labor force participation, reversing the gains of previous decades, to a surge in gender-based violence during lockdowns. In this episode of Americas 360, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Alicia Bárcena joins us to discuss the unique challenges and inequalities faced by women in the region.
Russia is often seen as a country that was led astray by a former KGB officer, Vladimir Putin. Informed by his training and character, it is often implied, he turned himself into an all-powerful ruler and turned Russia into the autocracy it is today. But what if he simply was helpless to do any better and is not in fact all-powerful?
The Kennan Institute's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses constraints on Putin's ability to execute authority with Timothy Frye, whose book, Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin’s Russia, will be out this month. Timothy Frye is Professor at the Department of Political Science at Columbia University, New York, and a co-Director of the International Center for the Study of Institutions and Development (ICSID) at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.
This year marks Ukraine’s 30th anniversary since its independence and transition toward a democratic system and a market economy. As part of our forthcoming book titled From "the Ukraine" to Ukraine: A Contemporary History, 1991-2021, the Kennan Institute asked several experts to examine this 30-year history of Ukraine’s economic and energy sector development. In this panel, experts who contributed to the book project discussed how Ukraine has managed the shift from a command economy to a relatively free market as well as the major achievements and shortcomings of this transition. They also examined the growth of the private sector and energy market and how this has influenced economic and political developments in Ukraine over time.
Speakers: Margarita M. Balmaceda - Former Fellow; Professor, School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Andrian Prokip - Senior Associate, Ukraine; Energy Expert, Ukrainian Institute for the Future
Ilona Sologoub - CEO and Editor, VoxUkraine
Discussant: Mykhailo Minakov - Senior Advisor; Editor-in-Chief, Focus Ukraine Blog
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
In many ways, the reaction to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the turbulent decade that followed still influences the U.S.-Russia relationship. In light of the forthcoming 30th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kennan Institute hosted a two-day event examining the differing American and Russian experiences of the 1990s and the immediate post-Soviet experience.
Conference participants engaged in a balanced conversation that addressed the highs and lows of this crucial decade and how it continues to influence present-day developments. By focusing on the individual experiences of our speakers with backgrounds in journalism, academia, policy, law, and business, the discussion offered a personal touch for both generations that lived and worked in Russia in the period and to a younger generation who did not experience the decade.
Conference Program: The second panel on April 1 adddressed the Russian experience of the 1990s and how Russians now view the Western guidance that was provided. Was it realistic? Did the westerners understand the complexity of dismantling communism and establishing a new political and economic system? We were joined by prominent Russian politicians, journalists, and commentators, including Olga Malinova, Sergey Parkhomenko, Mikhail Fishman, Andrei Kozyrev, and Ekaterina Mishina.
Day 2 Speakers:
Olga Malinova - Former Short-Term Scholar, Kennan Institute; Chief Research Fellow, Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences, and Professor, Higher School of Economics
Ekaterina Mishina - Independent Legal Scholar
Sergey Parkhomenko - Senior Advisor, Kennan Institute; Journalist, "Echo of Moscow" Radio; Former Editor-in-Chief, Itogi, Vokrug Sveta
Andrei Kozyrev - Distinguished Fellow; Former Foreign Minister of Russia, 1991-1996
Mikhail Fishman - Russian Journalist and Filmmaker
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
In many ways, the reaction to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the turbulent decade that followed still influences the U.S.-Russia relationship. In light of the forthcoming 30th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kennan Institute hosted a two-day event examining the differing American and Russian experiences of the 1990s and the immediate post-Soviet experience.
Conference participants engaged in a balanced conversation that addressed the highs and lows of this crucial decade and how it continues to influence present-day developments. By focusing on the individual experiences of our speakers with backgrounds in journalism, academia, policy, law, and business, the discussion offered a personal touch for both generations that lived and worked in Russia in the period and to a younger generation who did not experience the decade.
Conference Program: The conference was opened by Former Kennan Institute Director Blair Ruble on Wednesday, March 31, who discussed scholarly exchanges and the new interaction between Russian and American scholars in the 1990s. The first day’s panel included American speakers who were on the ground in the 1990s and remain engaged with Russia. The U.S. panel included Jill Dougherty, Amb. Ken Yalowitz, Randy Bregman, and Andrew Kuchins, who addressed their experiences in journalism, the U.S. government, the business community, and the promotion of civil society.
Day 1 Speakers:
Randy Bregman - Senior Counsel, Dentons
Jill Dougherty - Global Fellow; Former CNN Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Andrew Kuchins - President , American University of Central Asia
Introduction: Blair A. Ruble - Distinguished Fellow; Former Wilson Center Vice President for Programs (2014-2017); Director of the Comparative Urban Studies Program/Urban Sustainability Laboratory (1992-2017); Director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies (1989-2012) and Director of the Program on Global Sustainability and Resilience (2012-2014)
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, is joined by Luis Felipe López-Calva, UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, to discuss the pre-existing structural inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19 and the need to address these underlying issues to secure region-wide recovery.
According to UN Women, women serve as heads of state in only 22 countries. However, 2020 was a crucial year for women in politics in Eurasia: in Moldova, Maia Sandu was elected president, in Belarus, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was hailed as the primary opposition candidate against Aleksandr Lukashenko, in Ukraine, the percentage of female MPs was double that of the past parliament, and in Russia, a new generation of women were running for office and promoting important political agendas, despite the lack of competitive politics in the country. In conversation with Jill Dougherty, experts Maryna Rudenko, Katsiaryna Shmatsina, and Valeriya Utkina discussed how female leadership has evolved in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia and what obstacles women still face in holding office.
With a new surge of migrants at the southern border, we have the opportunity to introduce our new Mexico Institute director, Andrew Rudman.
Also check out this recent Mexico Institute report on sustainable migration policy: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/setting-course-toward-sustainable-migration-cooperation-levering-bilateral
Focusing on international law as an integral part of the Russian legal system and revisions introduced by amendments to the 1993 Russian Constitution in July 2020, International Law in the Russian Legal System (Oxford University Press, 2020) considers what role treaties and the generally-recognized principles and norms of international law play under Russian law. Special attention in this talk was devoted to investment protection treaties and the changing relationship between the Russian Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights.
Speaker: William Butler - Former George F. Kennan Fellow; John Edward Fowler Distinguished Professor of Law, Dickinson Law, Penn State University
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
In part two of this special conversation, former U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Noah Mamet hosts his successor, Edward Prado, who served as ambassador in Buenos Aires until this past January, to discuss where the relationship between the United States and Argentina stands today, and where it is headed.
Sputnik V, Russia's COVID-19 vaccine, is not just a scientific achievement but a golden moment for vaccine diplomacy. Despite the initial distrust — some of which persists — dozens of countries have granted Sputnik V emergency use authorization. Why is Russia falling behind in its domestic vaccination campaign, and will Russia be able to maintain its international vaccine leadership?
The Kennan Institute's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses Sputnik V with Olga Dobrovidova, one of Russia’s leading science and environment journalists, and Judy Twigg, a professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University and expert on global health and Russian politics.
This February marks six years since the Minsk II Protocol was agreed upon by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany in order to work toward ending the conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas region. Since then, the implementation of Minsk II by the OSCE-led Trilateral Contact Group has been difficult, with some moments of stabilization but an overall failure to move toward the conflict resolution phase. Additionally, recent ceasefire violations are evidence that the situation is worsening. In this panel, experts discussed what is happening on the Donbas frontline today, assessed the implementation of Minsk II, and shared major achievements and shortcomings on the development of the situation in the region.
Speakers: Hanna Shelest - Director of Security Programmes, Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”; Editor-in-chief, UA: Ukraine Analytica
Brian Milakovsky - Independent Analyst
Mykhailo Minakov - Senior Advisor; Editor-in-Chief, Focus Ukraine Blog, Kennan Institute
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
Ukraine has long been the laboratory for Russian disinformation campaigns. As a result, the Poroshenko and Zelensky administrations have named combatting Russian disinformation a top priority. Recently, President Zelensky signed a decree sanctioning three television stations affiliated with Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian oligarch with ties to the Kremlin. However, Ukrainian citizens are divided on this decision, with some believing it to be a necessary step and others finding it a restriction on citizens’ rights. In this panel, our speakers discussed whether bans like this are effective in fighting state-sponsored disinformation and what this decision implies for freedom of speech in Ukraine going forward.
Speakers: Mykhailo Minakov - Senior Advisor; Editor-in-Chief, Focus Ukraine Blog, Kennan Institute
Victor Andrusiv - Executive Director, Ukrainian Institute for the Future
Angelina Kariakina - Media Manager and Editor, Ukrainian Public Broadcaster; Journalist
Moderator: Nina Jankowicz - Disinformation Fellow, Science and Technology Innovation Program
In part one of this special conversation, former U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Noah Mamet hosts his successor, Edward Prado, who served as ambassador in Buenos Aires until this past January, to discuss their experiences representing very different U.S. presidents and interacting with very different Argentine governments.
It has been a year since the COVID-19 virus began its deadly spread through the Western Hemisphere. Vaccination efforts are only slowly getting underway, and in some countries have barely begun. Across the Americas, governments have struggled to procure vaccines from multiple public and private sources. Thus far, only Chile can be seen as a vaccination success story. In this episode of “Americas 360,” our experts discuss the region’s slow rollout of the vaccine and why it has been so challenging.
From political unrest in Russia and Belarus to the recent conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, journalists in Russia and Eurasia are not at a loss for stories to report on. But the stories of journalists behind this reporting often goes untold. As part of the Kennan Institute’s Black History Month programming, journalists Yelena Khanga and Ann Simmons discussed their experiences of being black female journalists in the region, the challenges and opportunities they face, and the future of journalism for people of color who cover these regions.
Speakers: Yelena Khanga - Journalist, Author, and Talk Show Host
Ann Simmons - Journalist; Moscow Bureau Chief, The Wall Street Journal
Moderator: Jill Dougherty - Global Fellow, Kennan Institute; Former CNN Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Public Policy Scholar and author Diana Villiers Negroponte joins us to discuss her new book about how one administration navigated domestic and foreign challenges to usher in a new world and end the Cold War.
Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, hosts Andrés Allamand, the Foreign Minister of Chile, to discuss what the region expect from the Biden administration, the prospects for a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela, and the forthcoming election to select the members of the Constitutional Convention that will draft Chile’s new constitution.
The initial discussion of Russia’s 2020 constitutional reform focused on the “zeroing” provision that allows President Putin to pursue two more terms in office. Yet, the far-reaching changes also lay the groundwork for Putinism 4.0. To understand these longer-term implications of constitutional reform, we asked nine experts to write essays from the perspective of national institutions, elites, governance, and state-society relations for the April 2021 issue of the journal Russian Politics. In this panel, the authors briefly outlined their arguments in the forthcoming journal.
Speakers: Fabian Burkhardt - Research Fellow, Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies
Vladimir Gelman - Professor, European University at St. Petersburg and the University of Helsinki
J. Paul Goode - McMillan Chair of Russian Studies, Institute of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (EURUS), Carleton University; Editor-in-Chief, Communist and Post-Communist Studies
Ivan Grigoriev - Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and World Politics, Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg
Ben Noble - Assistant Professor, University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies; Associate Fellow, Chatham House; Senior Research Fellow, Higher School of Economics, Moscow
Nikolai V. Petrov - Former Kennan Regional Exchange Scholar; Senior Research Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House; Professor, Political Science, Higher School of Economics in Moscow
Sarah Wilson Sokhey - Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Colorado (Boulder); Faculty Associate, Institute of Behavioral Science; Associate Fellow; International Center for the Study of Institutions and Development, Higher School of Economics
Regina Smyth - Fellow; Professor of Political Science, Indiana University
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
President Biden and President López Obrador will met for the first time since Biden's inauguration as President. During the meeting, the leaders discussed issues key to the bilateral relationship including COVID-19 recovery, migration, joint development efforts in Southern Mexico and Central America, and economic recovery. Coming just days after meetings between Secretary of State Blinken and his Mexican counterparts, this meeting underscores the critical importance of the bilateral relationship and will set the tone for U.S.-Mexico cooperation for the next four years.
In this Ground Truth briefing on the first meeting between President Biden and President López Obrador, experts analyzed the topics discussed and what this reveals about the U.S.-Mexico relationship and future cooperation between the nations.
As Canada looks to restrengthen relations with the United States under the Biden administration and reconsider its role in a Western Hemisphere devastated by COVID-19 and economic disruptions, Pierre Pettigrew, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, joins our experts to discuss the state of U.S.-Canada relations, the upcoming Summit of the Americas, and the role of Canada in Latin America.
This February marks the 75th anniversary of the Long Telegram. The telegram, written by George F. Kennan, detailed what he perceived to be the Soviet view of the world and the confrontation between capitalism and communism. His analysis subsequently became the foundation for the U.S. policy of containment toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War. To mark the anniversary of this document, our panel considered the legacy of the Long Telegram for U.S. and Russian foreign policy and the enduring lessons to be learned from Kennan’s analysis of U.S.-Soviet relations.
Speakers: Thomas Graham - Distinguished Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Angela Stent - Professor of Government and Foreign Service, and Director, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies, Georgetown University
Michael Kimmage - Professor of History, Catholic University of America
Ivan Kurilla - Former Regional Exchange Scholar; Short-Term; Professor, History and International Relations; Director, Department Development Partnership Program, Academic Director of the IMARES program, European University at St. Petersburg, Russia
Introduction: Grace Kennan Warnecke - Chairman Emeritus, National Committee on American Foreign Policy
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Over the past year, protests involving the Black Lives Matter Movement have spurred organizations and universities to engage in discussions of race, racism, and diversity in their workplaces and schools. The Slavic and Eurasian studies field is not immune to these conversations. Today, many in the field are coming to terms with problems such as a lack of racial diversity among educators and students, issues of visibility and vulnerability for minorities who travel to the region, and both real and perceived unequal treatment on behalf of people of color. As part of the Kennan Institute’s Black History Month programming, several experts came together to discuss the issues facing the Slavic and Eurasian studies field today and what can be done to create a more equitable and thriving field for all.
Speakers: B. Amarilis Lugo de Fabritz - Master Instructor for Russian, Howard University
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon - PhD Student in History, University of Pennsylvania
Krista Goff - Former Title VIII Short-Term and Research Scholar, Kennan Institute; Assistant Professor of Russian and Soviet History, University of Miami
Moderator: Louis H. Porter - Assistant Professor, Texas State University
Introduction: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Relations between Turkey and its Western allies have encountered recent challenges as Ankara's relations with Moscow warmed significantly after the downing of a Russian jet over Turkish airspace in 2015. Since then, Turkey has purchased the Russian S400 missile defense system, despite NATO opposition, and has grown its trade and energy ties with Russia through projects including the TurkStream Natural Gas Pipeline and the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. But Ankara and Moscow have backed opposite sides in the conflicts in Syria, Libya, and Nagorno-Karabakh. What key factors shape this complex relationship, and where is it headed? On February 18, Habibe Ozdal, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Istanbul Okan University, joined Kennan Institute Director Matthew Rojansky, and Chair of the Middle East Program Ambassador James Jeffrey for a conversation on Turkish-Russian relations and their future trajectory.
Speakers: Habibe Ozdal - Assistant Professor of International Relations, Istanbul Okan University
Ambassador James Jeffrey - Chair, Middle East Program
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
President Biden has recently taken steps that signal his desire to elevate the importance of diversity and racial equity within the federal government. The United States now has its first black Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, and Biden is working to address opportunity gaps for people of color in the public sector. While Biden has arguably put in place one of the most diverse cabinets in American history, career positions related to Russia, Eurasia, and national security more broadly have historically reflected a less diverse segment of the population. What are the pathways to success for people of color looking to engage in these fields? As part of the Kennan Institute's Black History Month programming, we held a discussion that featured Anna Makanju and LaNitra Berger, who shared their personal career journeys and offered insight on navigating careers in these fields.
Speakers: Anna Makanju - Public Policy and Legal Expert, Facebook
LaNitra Berger - Senior Director, Office of Fellowships, Office of Undergraduate Education, George Mason University
Moderator: B. Amarilis Lugo de Fabritz - Master Instructor for Russian, Howard University
Kian and Pieter are joined by Professor Dayo Gore of Georgetown University to discuss her work on African American women activists of the Cold War. Often overshadowed by their male colleagues and counterparts, these women have remarkable stories of their own and impacted the course of the African American leftist movements in ways not fully appreciated until only recently.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens joins host Benjamin Gedan to analyze the parallels between the 2009 coup in Honduras and the recent coup d’état in Myanmar, which has presented the first foreign policy challenge for the Biden administration. Ambassador Llorens, who served in Tegucigalpa during the coup and its aftermath, discusses the lessons we might learn from the U.S. response to the Honduras political crisis, which occurred early in the Obama presidency.
In 1943, Ethiopia and the Soviet Union established diplomatic relations. Since then, great power competition and evolving political and economic interests have shaped the bilateral relationship between Ethiopia and the Soviet Union, and now Russia. How do the past 78 years affect today's ties? Do Ethiopia and Russia’s objectives in Africa dovetail or diverge, and what effect does the relationship have on the broader region? Abel Abate Demissie, Associate Fellow of the Africa Programme at Chatham House, joined us for a conversation on the state of Ethiopia-Russia relations and their future trajectory.
The military has taken power in Myanmar. What does this mean for democracy in the country and for minorities? Prashanth Parameswaran and Lucas Myers from the Wilson Center's Asia Program help us ground truth.
The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is being felt around the world, and Latin America is no exception. IMF lending to bolster COVID-ravaged economies has gone to 21 countries in the region, where the pandemic’s impact has been magnified by natural disasters. As countries work to bounce back amid increased viral spread, Alejandro Werner, Director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, joins our experts to discuss the road to economic recovery in the Americas and the role the IMF can play.
Poisoning his underwear was Plan C in dealing with Alexei Navalny. So what's next for how Putin deals with a leading opposition figure in Russia? Yuval Weber joins us to explain the Navalny agenda and it's true impact inside Russia.
In this episode of International History Declassified, Kian and Pieter speak with historian Or Rabinowitz about Israeli nuclear history and what present-day and future nuclear negotiators can learn by reading the archival materials.
Politics in Brazil has long been criticized for cronyism and outright corruption, but the last few years have seen the rise of a younger group of Brazilian politicians—from across the political spectrum—calling for accountability, ethics, and data-driven policymaking. On this episode, investor and entrepreneur Eduardo Mufarej talks about the organization he co-founded, RenovaBR, to train young leaders for public service and about the push to renew politics in Brazil.
Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, hosts Ricardo Zúñiga, Senior Diplomatic Fellow and the Brazil Institute Interim Director at the Wilson Center, to discuss the complex push and pull factors that drive Central Americans to migrate to the United States, the first migrant caravans of 2021, and the Biden administration’s plans for Central America.
Nonpartisan information on Russia is hard to find. But we have it here with four of our best scholars on Russia letting us know what to watch for with Russia in a new year and new administration, but also how US policymakers should frame their thinking on Russia.
Brenda Wineapple, author of "The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of A Just Nation," comes by to talk about the first presidential impeachment, and why we should care about it 153 years and four more impeachments later.
The Inter-American Development Bank mounted a momentous effort in 2020 to help Latin America respond to the public health and economic impacts of the pandemic. As the region battles a second wave of the virus that is clouding its recovery prospects for 2021, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the IDB’s new president, joins our experts to discuss the IDB strategy for addressing these historic challenges.
Most Russians have long stopped expecting that any real change may come from electoral politics, a playing field tightly controlled by the Kremlin. And yet, a slew of recent, successful popular movements are proving that, even without real elections, Russians can stand up for their interests. People have defended their electoral choice in Khabarovsk, prevented unwanted construction in Yekaterinburg, and stopped a huge landfill from being built in the Arkhangelsk region. Russia’s most prominent opposition figure Alexei Navalny also recently returned to Moscow from Berlin, where he had received medical treatment in the aftermath of his attempted poisoning. Navalny was promptly arrested, but his followers are organizing protests all over Russia.
The Kennan Institute's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses Russia's newfound social and political activism with Zhanna Nemtsova, co-founder of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom. The organization is named after Boris Nemtsov, Zhanna’s father, who was murdered almost six years ago.
On January 6, 2021, the day the U.S. Congress met to certify President-Elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, a pro-Trump protest turned violent, overwhelming security, breaching and attacking the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC. As these shocking events unfolded, the eyes of the world were on the U.S. and the state of its democracy. Special guests José Díaz-Briseño of Mexico’s Reforma, Paola De Orte of Brazil’s O Globo, Rafael Mathus Ruiz of Argentina’s La Nación, and Alejandro Santos formerly of Colombia’s Semana Magazine join our experts to examine regional perceptions of these events and implications for the U.S. image across the Americas, with a special look at Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia.
Historian and author John Ferling helps us understand other hyperpartisan eras in American politics, particularly the 1790s. We discuss the election of 1800 and its parallels with today, and how we've been through tough politics before.
Wilson Center CEO, Former Congresswoman Jane Harman joins us to discuss the protests and riots at the Capitol on January 6th, including a possibility for the parties to reconcile, and the state of the intelligence community leading up to that day.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Daniel Politi, a contributor to The New York Times based in Buenos Aires, to discuss Argentina’s historic vote in December legalizing abortion, how pro-choice campaigners pulled it off just two years after lawmakers rejected similar legislation and whether activists can replicate their success elsewhere in the region.
In this episode of “Two the Point,” host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Nicolás Saldías, a Latin America analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, to discuss the legacy of the late former president of Uruguay Tabaré Vázquez and how a mild mannered doctor quietly transformed Uruguayan politics.
Read “Farewell to an Unassuming Star of Latin America’s Left” by Nicolás Saldías: https://americasquarterly.org/article/farewell-to-an-unassuming-star-of-latin-americas-left/
Tom Kellermann of VMware was prescient in our last episode, suggesting there was more going on than we then knew about cyber intrusion into corporate and government networks. Now we know more, so we thought we'd have him back -- and we answer some of your questions too!
In this special episode of “Two the Point,” Lucio Castro, a Wilson Center Global Fellow, hosts Andrés Velasco, Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a former Finance Minister in Chile, to discuss education, inequality, and populism in post-pandemic Latin America.
President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil will lose a key ideological ally when U.S. President Donald Trump leaves office on January 20th. From climate change to human rights to China, Brazil-US dialogue is likely to undergo a profound shift. On this episode, Sergio Fausto, Executive-Director of the Fernando Henrique Cardoso Foundation, and Nick Zimmerman, former Director of Brazil and the Southern Cone at the National Security Council, discuss what comes next for the relationship.
In October 2020, Kyrgyzstan’s capital was rocked by protests following an allegedly rigged parliamentary election, ultimately resulting in the resignation of Kyrgyz president Sooronbay Jeenbekov. In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty explores the political geography and changing societal dynamics in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia with Edward Lemon, President of the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs and Research Assistant Professor at The Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University, Washington D.C. Campus, and Bradley Jardine, Schwarzman Scholar at the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the United States and Research Consultant with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs.
As the Arctic opens to global activity, its importance in the geopolitical struggle between NATO and Russia continues to grow. Norway is in a unique position in this relationship, with one of the few direct borders between a NATO member state and Russia. Norway’s relations with Russia are understandably complex, with deep economic ties and a history of regional cooperation, but also mutual suspicion and elevated concern. Norwegian State Secretary Audun Halvorsen joined us for a conversation on the state of Norwegian-Russian relations and their future trajectory.
As the inauguration of President-elect Joseph Biden draws near, special guest Dan Restrepo, former Senior Director for Western Hemisphere affairs at the National Security Council under President Obama, joins our experts for a second episode to discuss Biden’s potential plans and policies for the Americas, with a focus on Canada, Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina.
For years journalists Irina Borogan and Andrei Soldatov have reported on Russia’s security services. This time, they decided to look at the agencies’ history and wrote The Compatriots: The Brutal and Chaotic History of Russia's Exiles, Émigrés, and Agents Abroad. With the poisoning of the Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and its aftermath, the book is suddenly more topical than one is comfortable to admit.
Borogan and Soldatov joined the Russia File's Maxim Trudolyubov to discuss the KGB of old and Russia’s existing security organizations.
While Russian women actively participate in hard sciences, there is a noticeable opportunity gap between male and female scientists. In 2019, women made up just 5.3 percent of membership in the Russian Academy of Sciences, and women earn about 73 percent of the salary of their male counterparts. What specific gender-related challenges do women scientists face in Russia? How does it compare to other post-Soviet countries and the West? What is the role of the Soviet legacy, and how do the current national dynamics fit in with the global context? Olga Dobrovidova, Ina Ganguli, and Olga Valkova addressed these questions.
Speakers: Ina Ganguli - Associate Professor, Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Associate Director, UMass Computational Social Science Institute (CSSI)
Olga Valkova - Doctor of History and Chief Researcher, Department for the Historiography and Sources of the History of Sciences and Technology, S.I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Moderator: Victoria Pardini - Program Assistant, Kennan Institute
As Latin America prepares for a new U.S. administration, special guest Dan Restrepo, former Senior Director for Western Hemisphere affairs at the National Security Council under President Obama, joins our experts to explore the potential hemispheric priorities for President-elect Joseph Biden, including migration, climate, and COVID-19 support. Additionally, Cynthia Arnson, Director of the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program, analyzes Venezuela’s National Assembly elections and the political future of Venezuela.
Under the Trump administration, U.S.-Russia relations continued to decline as the bilateral relationship became a toxic domestic issue. On January 20th, President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as the next President of the United States and with him, a new administration and foreign policy. How might U.S.-Russia relations shift under the incoming Biden administration? Considering the failed attempt at a “reset” during the Obama administration, will Biden pivot to a new strategy? Stacy Closson and Victoria Zhuravleva considered the next four years of the U.S.-Russia relationship, especially as issues like New START, human rights, and sanctions emerge as potential sticking points.
Speakers: Victoria Zhuravleva - Head, Center for North American Studies, Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO)
Stacy R. Closson - Global Fellow; Associate Professor of Russia/Eurasia and Polar Security, National Intelligence University
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
In Book 2 of Between Two Millstones, just released by the University of Notre Dame Press, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn details his final years of exile in America from 1978 until his return to post-Communist Russia in 1994. During this time, while completing his masterwork The Red Wheel, Solzhenitsyn was both confronted by the propaganda machine of the Soviet state and the commercial mainstream media in the West. In this book talk, Ignat Solzhenitsyn and Daniel J. Mahoney discussed Solzhenitsyn’s fight against the communist regime while defending the honor of Russia’s historic past. They also considered how he watched as Russia came out from under the rubble of the Soviet system into a deeply flawed transition.
Speakers: Ignat Solzhenitsyn - Conductor and Pianist
Daniel Mahoney - Augustine Chair of Distinguished Scholarship, Assumption College
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Tom Kellermann, the Head of Cybersecurity Strategy at VMware Inc, and Wilson Center Global Fellow stops by to talk about the continuing escalation of attacks in cyberspace, and recommendations for the next administration and Congress for what can be done to combat a "new cold war that is going on in cyberspace."
In this special episode of “Two the Point,” Lucio Castro, a Wilson Center global fellow, hosts Nora Lustig, professor of Latin American economics and founding director of Tulane University’s Commitment to Equity Institute, to discuss the role of social policy in Latin America’s post-pandemic economic recovery and in mitigating increasing poverty.
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.
The American response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and its electoral interference in 2016 cemented sanctions as America’s primary response to Russian malign activity. This panel discussed the effectiveness and different angles (diplomatic, economic, and political) of the US sanctions regime on Russia. Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Former Ambassador to the United Nations and Russia Thomas R. Pickering addressed the increased reliance on sanctions, both with Russia and Iran, in U.S. foreign policy and whether they are an appropriate substitute for traditional diplomacy. Daniel Ahn analyzed the economic impact of Russian sanctions and to what extent Russia has learned to live with – and get around – U.S. sanctions. Finally, Randi Levinas discussed the political aspect of U.S. sanctions, especially the increased involvement of Congress in the implementation and enforcement of sanctions. Such a broad overview provided an accurate assessment of America’s Russia sanctions program and whether it can continue to serve as the cornerstone of U.S. policy with Russia.
Speakers: Thomas Pickering - Vice Chairman of Hills and Company; Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia and the UN
Daniel Ahn - Global Fellow, Kennan Institute; Managing Director, Chief U.S. Economist, Head of Macroeconomic Strategy, BNP Paribas
Randi Levinas - Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, U.S.-Russia Business Council
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
Thirty years ago, a million Russian-speaking immigrants arrived in Israel. Overnight, they increased Israel’s population by 20 percent—and became one of the largest Russian-speaking communities in the world outside the former Soviet Union. They have changed Israel profoundly. Who are the Russian-speaking Israelis? What did their arrival signify for the country? What was their journey like to becoming Israelis? We discuss these questions with Ksenia Svetlova, Matti Friedman, and Yossi Klein Halevi. Matti Friedman’s essay Israel’s Russian Wave, Thirty Years Later: https://mosaicmagazine.com/response/israel-zionism/2020/11/how-one-million-russian-immigrants-revitalized-israel/ Yossi Klein Halevi’s piece How One Million Russian Immigrants Revitalized Israel: https://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/israel-zionism/2020/11/israels-russian-wave-thirty-years-later/
In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty explores the characteristics and dynamics associated with the generation of young Russians that have grown up with Vladimir Putin as their leader for two decades. She speaks with Denis Volkov, Deputy Director at the Levada Center in Moscow, and Maria Snegovaya, Non-resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council and Post-Doctoral Scholar at Virginia Tech, about the latest CEPA-Levada Center report on Russian youth and civic engagement.
Global Health Policy watcher Alex Long joins me again to discuss the progress being made on a COVID-19 vaccine but also how in the world do you distribute 7 billion of them? Policy and Practice come together here on the Need To Know podcast.
With Hurricanes Eta and Iota smashing into Central America only two weeks apart, countries in the region are dealing with widespread devastation. Flooding, mudslides, and scores of fatalities, compounded by a surge in the COVID-19 pandemic, leave the hardest-hit Central American countries facing a large-scale humanitarian disaster, compounded by infrastructure damage that battered economies can scarcely afford. Special guests Gina Kawas Arita of Honduras, a Wilson Center-Vidanta Foundation Fellow, and Carlos Fernando Chamorro of Nicaragua's El Confidencial join our experts to discuss the scale of the destruction, its implications for migration and the spread of COVID-19, and the need for transparency and accountability in the delivery of economic aid.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Thomaz Favaro, director for the Southern Cone at Control Risks, to discuss Walmart’s exit from Argentina and what it says about the country’s turbulent business climate.
The recently announced Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement brings together a trade bloc of Asian nations. But what is it exactly? Is it significant? And what is its relevance to US relations in the region? Experts Shihoko Goto and Robert Daly help us understand.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts!
Over the past six months, a series of crises has convulsed Russia’s near abroad. There has been a popular uprising in Belarus, violence and leadership changes in Kyrgyzstan, and a now-settled hot war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. Each of these cases has presented a unique set of challenges to Russia’s pursuits in its neighborhood. What has Russia’s response to these crises been and how has its standing in the post-Soviet region been affected? If there are more crises to come, how might Russia respond to them?
This was part of an occasional Kennan Institute series featuring discussions with leading experts on Russia and Eurasia.
Speaker: Igor Zevelev - Global Fellow, Kennan Institute
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Over the last 20 years we have heard a lot of plans to take American and coalition troops out of Afghanistan. The most recent announcement to bring more home prior to the next administration entering office is just the latest. Asia expert Michael Kugelman comes back to help us sort out the domestic and foreign policy situation to help us get what we need to know.
On November 15, incumbent Moldovan President Igor Dodon faced pro-European opposition candidate Maia Sandu in a national run-off election. Sandu, who has been projected the victor of the election, has promised to fight corruption, poverty, and reform the criminal justice system. In contrast, Dodon was the more pro-Russian candidate, advocating to make Russian compulsory in schools and to strengthen Moldova’s strategic partnership with Russia. Amb. William Hill, former Moldovan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicu Popescu, and DGAP Research Fellow Cristina Gherasimov considered the results of the runoff election, its implications, and how the next president in Chisinau will manage Moldova-Russian relations.
Speakers: William H. Hill - Global Fellow; Former Professor of National Security Strategy, National War College, Washington D.C.
Nicu Popescu - Director, Wider Europe Programme, European Council on Foreign Relations
Cristina Gherasimov - Research Fellow, Robert Bosch Center for Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia, DGAP
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Most leaders in the Americas, with the notable exceptions of the Mexican and Brazilian presidents, quickly recognized Joe Biden as the U.S. president-elect and began planning for major changes to U.S. policy in the region. In this episode of “Americas 360,” our experts, and special guests Ernesto Londoño of The New York Times and Ana Paula Ordorica of Televisa, examine perceptions of the election across the Americas, with a special look at Brazil and Mexico.
The media environments in Russia and the US are almost mirror opposites. In the US, mainstream media can cut away from the sitting president on live television or poke fun at him in their opinion pages. In Russia, mainstream media are in the president’s pocket, and independent media are happy just to stay alive. The internet and social media, often seen as sources of polarization in the US, are a lifeline for the embattled journalists in Russia as well as Belarus. Yet, we have a lot to learn from each other—and to disagree upon.
After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, millions of pages of captured archival materials were taken to the US and made available to the public. But after just a few years, they were taken down and eventually returned to Iraq. Why does so much controversy surround these materials, and what issues face historians seeking to work with other captured archives? Rebecca Whiting joins Pieter and Kian for a discussion of the recently-returned Iraqi archives and their complicated history.
In this special episode of “Two the Point,” Lucio Castro, a Wilson Center global fellow, hosts Piero Ghezzi, an economist and former production minister of Peru, to discuss Latin America’s post-pandemic growth challenges and the chronic struggle in Peru to address labor informality.
Russian independent media has progressively come under fire, with independent journalists at risk of persecution, imprisonment, and even physical harm. A series of recent legislative initiatives compound this pressure by creating new ways for the Russian authorities and law enforcement bodies to impose censorship and self-censorship, further stifling public criticism and dissent. In conversation with Sergey Parkhomenko, lawyers and human rights leaders Ivan Pavlov and Pavel Chikov and prominent investigative journalist Roman Anin discussed the state of independent media in Russia, the survival strategies of professional journalists in a hostile political environment, and the effects of new legislation on free speech.
This conversation took place in Russian on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Kennan.Institute
Speakers: Ivan Pavlov - Former Galina Starovoitova Fellow on Human Rights and Conflict Resolution; Attorney; Head, Team 29 Informal Association
Pavel Chikov - Chair, Agora Human Rights Association
Roman Anin - Founder and Editor in Chief, iStories Media
Moderator: Sergey Parkhomenko - Senior Advisor, Kennan Institute; Journalist, "Echo of Moscow" Radio; Former Editor-in-Chief, Itogi, Vokrug Sveta
Saskatchewan’s Chief Electoral Officer, Dr. Michael Boda, managed a provincial general election on October 26. A total of 425,670 votes were cast across 3,301 poll locations with approximately 9.5% of ballots cast via mail in a province almost as big as Texas. The COVID-19 pandemic presents special challenges for election administrators and has sparked a conversation about different methodologies to expand a citizen’s access to voting without compromising their health and well-being. How did Elections Saskatchewan do it? How different are Canadian elections to U.S. elections administratively and are there any tips election administrators in the United States can learn from their Canadian neighbors?
Ukraine began to reform local government in 2015 as one of the demands of Euromaidan. Since then, the key achievement of decentralization policy was the empowerment of local communities through merging local districts. These new local governments broadened the scope of their agenda and budget as they merged. In July 2020, the Rada radically decreased the number of local administrations, or rayons, from 490 to 136. The October 2020 local elections brought new leadership into these administrations. Vita Dumanska, Olena Lennon, and Mykhailo Minakov discussed the results of the local elections, who now governs these reformed localities, and what the consequences of the elections might be on local reforms in the near future.
Speakers: Vita Dumanska - CEO, CHESNO Movement
Olena Lennon - Former Title VIII-Supported Short-Term Scholar; Adjunct Professor of Political Science and National Security, University of New Haven
Mykhailo Minakov - Senior Advisor; Editor-in-Chief, Focus Ukraine Blog
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
This event was co-sponsored by the Sakharov Center.
In July 1980, a group of female dissidents were expelled from the Soviet Union for publishing a samizdat journal, where they contemplated social issues such as the double burden, family pressures, and unequal treatment toward women in a supposedly egalitarian society. In post-Soviet Russia, new groups have emerged in support of women’s rights, and today a new generation of activists is promoting the values of feminism and equality in a civil society that is increasingly under pressure. In this panel marking the forty year anniversary of the expulsion, Dmitry Kozlov, Ella Rossman, and Valerie Sperling considered the past and present of the Russian feminist agenda and will discuss the relationship between feminists and other human rights activists in Russia.
The conversation took place in Russian and English with interpretation.
Speakers: Dmitry Kozlov - Former James Billington Fellow; Research Fellow, Poletayev Institute for Theoretical and Historical Studies in the Humanities, Higher School of Economics, Moscow
Ella Rossman - Historian and Research Assistant, International Centre for the History and Sociology of World War II, Higher School of Economics, Moscow
Valerie Sperling - Professor, Political Science, Clark University
Moderator: Izabella Tabarovsky - Senior Program Associate, Kennan Institute
This event was co-sponsored by the Sakharov Center.
In July 1980, a group of female dissidents were expelled from the Soviet Union for publishing a samizdat journal, where they contemplated social issues such as the double burden, family pressures, and unequal treatment toward women in a supposedly egalitarian society. In post-Soviet Russia, new groups have emerged in support of women’s rights, and today a new generation of activists is promoting the values of feminism and equality in a civil society that is increasingly under pressure. In this panel marking the forty year anniversary of the expulsion, Dmitry Kozlov, Ella Rossman, and Valerie Sperling considered the past and present of the Russian feminist agenda and will discuss the relationship between feminists and other human rights activists in Russia.
The conversation took place in Russian and English with interpretation.
Speakers: Dmitry Kozlov - Former James Billington Fellow; Research Fellow, Poletayev Institute for Theoretical and Historical Studies in the Humanities, Higher School of Economics, Moscow
Ella Rossman - Historian and Research Assistant, International Centre for the History and Sociology of World War II, Higher School of Economics, Moscow
Valerie Sperling - Professor, Political Science, Clark University
Moderator: Izabella Tabarovsky - Senior Program Associate, Kennan Institute
Bolivia's Presidential Election, Chile's Constitutional Plebiscite, and Canada's Surprise Confidence Vote.
In this episode, our experts review the consequential outcome of Bolivia’s presidential election, discuss Chile’s plebiscite on writing a new constitution, and check in on Justin Trudeau’s shaky hold on the premiership and the new bedfellows keeping him in charge.
In this episode of “Two the Point,” host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Patricia Vásquez, an independent energy expert and author of a new Latin American Program report, “The Lithium Triangle: The Case for Post-Pandemic Optimism,” to discuss the development opportunities and challenges for South America’s strategic lithium sector.
Since Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory over Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in an election rife with fraud, Belarus has been rocked by protests. Empowered by Tikhanovskaya and other female leaders, women have taken to the streets, forming the backbone of these society-altering protests. In this episode, Jill speaks with Elena Gapova of Western Michigan University and Maksimas Milta of the European Humanities University about Belarusian women in the opposition, the protests, and the future of Belarusian society.
In a bid to solidify its hold on historical memory, the Kremlin is pushing the history of Soviet political repressions further and further to the margins. The result: nearly half of young Russians today say they never heard of Stalin’s repressions. Meanwhile, Gulag survivors are still around—in some cases, still fighting for their right to return home. In the run-up to Russia’s Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions, we discussed how to transmit this history and make it relevant to Russia’s next generation.
Speakers: Katia Patin - Multimedia Editor, Coda Story
Grigory Vaypan - Former Galina Starovoitova Fellow on Human Rights and Conflict Resolution; Independent Scholar
Nikolay Epplee - Independent Researcher
Moderator: Izabella Tabarovsky - Senior Program Associate, Kennan Institute
A few months ago, we heard a lot of concern about how COVID-19 was going to affect Africa when it arrived there. But many of the assumptions that were held about the continent have failed to play out. Africa Program director Monde Muyangwa walks us through why that is, assessing the positives and negatives of COVID response among African nations.
Over the past 70 years, the relationship between Egypt and Russia has been shaped by shared interests and feelings of solidarity, as well as by perceived abandonment and mutual suspicion. How does the past affect today's ties, in light of Russia's growing role in the region? Do Egypt and Russia’s objectives in the Middle East dovetail or diverge and does the relationship have a broader regional effect? On October 28, Egyptian author Tarek Osman joined us for a conversation on the state of Egypt-Russia relations and their future trajectory.
This event was co-sponsored with the Middle East Program.
Speakers: Tarek Osman - Author and Broadcaster Merissa Khurma - Program Manager, Middle East Program
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Brazil’s municipal elections are in just two weeks, and more than 145 million Brazilians are expected to go to the polls in 5,569 cities across the county. Earlier this month, we sat down with the President of the Superior Electoral Court, Justice Luís Roberto Barroso, for a socially-distanced conversation about the Court’s efforts to keep voters safe—not only from the coronavirus, but also from the threat of disinformation.
During former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s second term, Japanese-Russian relations seemingly improved significantly on the surface, with Abe meeting President Putin 27 times. However, Abe’s public diplomatic efforts shifted neither Russia’s position on the Northern Territories (Kuril Islands), nor helped create a more favorable security environment for Japan. With a new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, should we expect a new course in Japan’s relations with Russia? On October 27th, Dr. Akihiro Iwashita joined us for a conversation on the evolving state of Japanese-Russian bilateral relations and what changes we might see in the relationship under Prime Minister Suga.
Speakers: Akihiro Iwashita - Director, Slavic-Eurasian Research Center, Hokkaido University
Shihoko Goto - Deputy Director for Geoeconomics and Senior Associate for Northeast Asia, Asia Program
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Belarus held its general election on August 9, ostensibly extending Alexander Lukashenko’s 26-year presidency for another five years. However, since the election, mass protests have taken place daily against Lukashenko and what many Belarusians have deemed election fraud. The European Union, Canada, the UK, and the United States have called the elections illegitimate. The EU, Canada, and the UK have taken a further step and imposed sanctions on the country. Meanwhile, Russia has supported the long-time president.
What effect might international sanctions have? How should democratic countries address the charges of election fraud in Belarus? How should they manage relations with Russia in this context? The Wilson Center’s Canada Institute, Global Europe Program, and Kennan Institute invite you to this virtual panel with leading authorities on Friday, October 23, 9:00-10:00am ET to discuss international responses to the crisis in Belarus.
This event was co-sponsored with the Canada Institute ad the Global Europe Program.
Speakers: Radosław Sikorski - Member, European Parliament; Chair of the Delegation for Relations with the United States
Hon. Kenneth S. Yalowitz - Global Fellow, Kennan Institute & Global Fellow, Polar Institute; Former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Belarus from 1994-1997 and to Georgia from 1998-2001; former Career Diplomat and Member of the Senior Foreign Service, U.S. Department of State; former Director of the Dickey Center for International Understanding, Dartmouth College
Joel Sokolsky - PhD, Professor of Political Science at Royal Military College of Canada
Christopher Sands - Director, Canada Institute
Moderator: Dan Hamilton - Director, Global Europe Program; Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Distinguished Fellow
Migration from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, --the Northern Triangle-- poses many risks for women and girls migrating in search of a better life. Women embark on a journey north despite the risk of exploitation, human trafficking and gender-based violence, now exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The reasons for migrating vary from country to country, but relate to how steep inequality and gang violence directly affect women – making them targets of violence. During this episode, Wilson Center fellow, Guadalupe Correa, talks to us about the misconception between human trafficking and human smuggling, the differences between gang violence and cartel organizations when it comes to gender-based violence, and explains how these comprehensive networks take advantage of women’s vulnerability as transit governments do not provide a comprehensive network of support and protection for them.
In this episode, Pieter and Kian speak with Michelle Paranzino of the US Naval War College about her experiences studying Latin American Cold War history in the Russian Archives.
In this episode of “Two The Point,” the Wilson Center’s Beatriz García Nice remembers the influence of “Quino,” the late Argentine cartoonist, and his beloved character Mafalda, on the Spanish-speaking world, and on her family.
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is the last strategic nuclear arms control agreement still in force between the United States and Russia. It will expire in less than 4 months unless extended, and negotiations to that end are now underway. On October 19, Lynn Rusten and Feodor Voitolovsky joedin us for a conversation on the American and Russian perspectives on the future of New START and the changing technological and security landscape that will shape the next five years of arms control.
Speakers: Lynn Rusten - Vice President, Global Nuclear Policy Program, Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)
Feodor Voitolovsky - Director, Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO)
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Research shows Hispanic Americans are more likely to identify as Hispanic or Latino rather than Latinx, a term introduced to be more inclusive and non-gender-specific. For Hispanic Heritage Month, we welcome special guest Mark Hugo López of the Pew Research Center to discuss the origins and rise of Latinx. Our experts step aside to welcome a group of young Latino professionals to discuss how the Latino community is responding to the term Latinx in the Americas and how this relates to identity.
The Russian State Duma is currently considering a law that is meant to protect the victims of domestic violence and make it easier for them to seek justice. This is happening against the backdrop of recent widely discussed domestic abuse stories and high-profile cases of retaliation. However, the proposed legislation has faced opposition from conservative groups who contend the proposal would encroach on traditional values and the privacy of families. Alena Popova, Janet Johnson, and Marianna Muravyeva discussed the proposed law, its political and legal implications, the rationale behind this legislation, and the backlash against it, considering the issue from both the scholarly and the activist perspectives.
America’s universities and think tanks produce first-rate studies of Russia’s history, culture, and politics. And yet, the way Russia features on the U.S. political stage and in the American media is not particularly nuanced. Why is that? Jill Dougherty, a long-time CNN journalist and an expert on Russia and Kevin Rothrock, Senior Editor at the English-language edition of Meduza, join the Kennan Institute’s Maxim Trudolyubov to discuss the state of Russia studies and Russia stereotypes in the American political language.
The protest movements in Eastern Europe are now considered milestones of political change. In addition to the Georgian Rose Revolution and Ukrainian Maidan, Belarus has contributed its own metaphor stemming from protestors’ call to “be like water” and constantly change the place of protests throughout August and September 2020. In this discussion, Mykhailo Minakov, Oxana Shevel, and Andrei Kazakevich considered these mass protests in each country. What do they have in common, how do they differ, and what are their short- to mid-term political consequences?
Speakers: Oxana Shevel - Associate Professor of Political Science, Tufts University
Andrei Kazakevich - Director, Institute of Political Studies “Palitychnaya sphera” (Political Sphere)
Mykhailo Minakov - Senior Advisor; Editor-in-Chief, Focus Ukraine Blog, Kennan Institute
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
From the Great Game, to the Soviet invasion, to the Global War on Terror, Afghanistan and Russia have had a long, complex, and at times violent relationship. In recent years, however, relations between both countries have seemingly been on the mend. On October 7th, Bismellah Alizada, Michael Kugelman, and Matthew Rojansky discussed the state of the bilateral relationship between Afghanistan and Russia and where it might be headed.
This event was co-sponsored with the Asia Program.
Speakers: Bismellah Alizada - Deputy Director, Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS); Co-founder, Rahila Foundation
Michael Kugelman - Deputy Director and Senior Associate for South Asia, Asia Program
Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Pieter and Kian talk with Harvard PhD candidate Ruodi Duan about the intersection of Chinese Cold War history with Africa and African-American social movements during the 1960s-1970s.
The 2020 U.S. Election will be the first time that Latinos will be the largest non-white demographic in the electorate. In this episode, our experts and guest Sabrina Rodriguez, Trade Reporter at Politico, discuss Latino voters in the United States, the differences within this demographic and key policy priorities, and how political campaigns are working to earn the Latino vote, including the use of disinformation.
It has its ups and downs, but on the whole when the US looks at Europe, we see general stability and a lot of democracy, and a lot of allies. But Dan Hamilton is here to remind us why Europe matters and why policymakers should not forget about the continent, and why Americans need Europe.
Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, hosts Juan Sebastián Roldán, Ecuador’s Chief of Staff, to discuss the country’s recent agreement with the IMF, the role of the Galápagos Islands in economic development, and President Lenín Moreno’s democratic reforms.
O Brasil tem um dos maiores mercados de serviços de saúde no mundo. Ele já estava em transformação digital antes do covid-19. Agora, a pandemia criou uma oportunidade para acelerar e aprofundar o uso de tecnologia na área da saúde - da telemedicina à inteligência artificial e big data. Como podemos aprender com essa pandemia e adaptar nossos serviços de saúde as exigências do presente e do futuro?
Earlier this year, Vladimir Putin published an article in a Washington, DC think tank publication seeking to explain to American audiences the “real” lessons of World War II. Why is so much of Vladimir Putin’s attention devoted to WWII? In what ways does it serve his political interests at home and abroad? What messages was he trying to communicate, and to whom? Historians Ivan Kurilla and Dariusz Stola help Izabella Tabarovsky unpack these questions—and to fact-check the piece in the process.
Countess Sofia Vladimirovna Panina (1871-1956) was one of the most remarkable members of the generation that made the Russian Revolution. An aristocrat who found her calling in progressive social work, she became the first female government minister after the fall of the Romanovs. Later arrested as an “enemy of the people,” she faced the Petrograd Revolutionary Tribunal and fled her homeland in 1920. Panina spent the rest of her life in Europe and the United States, where she used her own bitter experience of exile to assist fellow refugees in the Russian diaspora. In a discussion on her latest book Citizen Countess, Adele Lindenmeyr will establish Panina as an astute participant in key historical events and discuss her contributions to the history of women, liberalism, revolution, and Russia abroad.
Speaker: Adele Lindenmeyr - Former Research Grant; Dean and Professor of History at Villanova University
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
In this Ground Truth Briefing, J. Peter Pham provided an update on the current U.S. interests and engagement in the Sahel, gave insights into the key issues facing the region and what the U.S. is doing to address them, and what he sees as the way forward for addressing insecurity in the region.
Kian and Pieter sit down with Bilkent University professor Onur Isci to talk about the Center for Russian Studies and his work in the Turkish Archives. While Turkey and Russia seem to be natural enemies, the documents show that has not always been the case.
On September 13, Russians will be voting in various local elections, including 18 gubernatorial elections, 11 regional parliamentary elections, and 22 local council elections. These elections are taking place in the midst of several domestic and foreign crises, including the recent poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, ongoing protests in the Far East, protests in neighboring Belarus, and the coronavirus pandemic. This will also be the first election after the constitutional plebiscite in June, and may serve as a regional response to the results of that plebiscite. Nikolai Petrov, Regina Smyth, and Maxim Trudolyubov discussed the results of the elections and their possible impact on the current political landscape in Russia.
Speakers:
Nikolai Petrov - Former Kennan Regional Exchange Scholar; Senior Research Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House; Professor, Political Science, Higher School of Economics in Moscow
Regina Smyth - Fellow; Professor of Political Science, Indiana University
Maxim Trudolyubov - Senior Advisor; Editor-in-Chief, Russia File; Editor-at-Large, Meduza
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
How serious a threat is disinformation and freedom of expression infringement to democracy in the Americas? In this episode, our experts and guest Nina Janckowicz, the Wilson Center’s Disinformation Fellow, discuss the origins of disinformation, its pernicious role throughout the COVID-19 crisis and how to sustain and build institutions to mitigate its effects.
As Russian society becomes more modernized, the generational divide between the regime's policies and the expectations and attitudes of young people has widened. In recent years, younger Russians have become more critical of the Putin regime. This generation is also more pro-Western and more likely to support minority rights, and more actively engaged on the internet and social media. Denis Volkov, Stepan Goncharov, Maria Snegovaya, and Jill Dougherty discussed a recent CEPA-Levada Center study of this younger generation of Russians and their propensity toward civic engagement and political openness.
This event was co-sponsored by the Center for European Policy Analysis and the Levada Center.
Speakers: Maria Snegovaya - PPE Postdoctoral Fellow, Virginia Tech; Fellow, Center for European Policy Analysis
Denis Volkov - Deputy Director and Sociologist, Levada Center
Stepan Goncharov - Sociologist at the Levada Center
Jill Dougherty - Global Fellow; Former CNN Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Moderator Joseph Dresen - Senior Program Associate, Kennan Institute
In Russia, one of the hottest subjects for debate right now, on TV and in print, is political correctness. What do Russians mean by "political correctness?" In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty speaks with Russian journalist, TV personality, socialite, and former presidential candidate, Ksenia Sobchak, about political correctness, Russian-style.
On August 20, Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption crusader and Russia’s leading opposition candidate, collapsed on a plane and was later taken to Germany, where he remains in a medically-induced coma. The German government has now announced definitively that he was poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent. What are the broader implications of this assassination attempt for the political climate and political culture in Russia? What does it mean for the future of the Russian opposition? Our speakers Ekaterina Schulmann, Leonid Volkov, and Sergey Parkhomenko addressed these questions.
Speakers: Ekaterina Schulmann - Associate Professor, Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences (MSSES); Associate Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House
Leonid Volkov - Head, Network of Regional Headquarters for Alexei Navalny; Founder, Internet Protection Society
Sergey Parkhomenko - Senior Advisor; Journalist, "Echo of Moscow" Radio; Former Editor-in-Chief, Itogi, Vokrug Sveta
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by María Baron, Global Executive Director at Fundación Directorio Legislativo, to discuss the disappearing act by Latin America’s legislatures during the COVID-19 crisis.
In our latest episode, we explore the archives of the Dominican Republic and Latin American Cold War history with René Cordero of Brown University. René explains his work with the Dominican section of Opening the Archives project, and tells of a personal connection he discovered while conducting research in Santo Domingo.
Ah, summer. we hardly knew ye. And yet here we are and it's already September. Policymakers are gearing up for a busy Autumn, so this episode gets us up to speed on some things we may have missed in the foreign policy world over the summer . We cover, the UAE/Israel deal, North Korea, the resignation of the Japanese Prime Minister, protests in Belarus, the poisoning of a Russian opposition leader and the administration's rhetoric and maneuvers on China in the run up to the election. Time to get up to speed!
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Peter Cerda, regional director for the Americas at the International Air Transport Association, to discuss the catastrophic impacts of COVID-19 on Latin America’s airlines, the responses by governments and the future of air travel in this region.
COVID-19 has upended school systems and worsened academic disparities throughout the hemisphere. Governments are scrambling to cobble together remote learning programs, including in regions where few students have laptops or tablets and many lack internet access. In this episode, our experts and guest Gabriel Sánchez Zinny, the former education minister for the Province of Buenos Aires, discuss back-to-school challenges for students who can’t go back to school.
In this episode of International History Declassified, Kian and Pieter speak with Dr. Mariana Budjeryn of Harvard University's Belfer Center. Dr. Budjeryn explains the significance of the Budapest Memorandum, which was signed 25 years ago on the heels of the collapse of the Soviet Union, and which made Ukraine one of the few countries to give up its nuclear arsenal. Dr. Budjeryn also provides fascinating insight into her experiences researching in Ukrainian archives and interviewing Soviet generals.
Host Benjamin Gedan speaks with Anya Prusa, senior associate at the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute, about Brazil’s COVID-19 crisis and its spillovers on neighboring countries.
Abraham Denmark comes aboard the Need To Know book chat crew, to discuss his new book "US Strategy in the Asian Century," in which he discusses our competition with Asia - not just with China - and how we can empower allies and benefit from the rise of Asia. An engaging discussion and a good book to check out for your summer reading.
A new guest joins me today. Merissa Khurma of the Wilson Center's Middle East Program comes on the show to discuss the situation in Lebanon. Political unrest has been growing for some time and the economy sank. Then the novel coronavirus placed more pressure on the system. Now an explosion at the port in Beirut may place the country's political situation at a tipping point. Here's what you need to know.
On August 6, President Donald Trump announced that the 10% tariff on aluminum products, used against Canada as leverage during last year’s negotiations, would be re-imposed on Canadian imports. Canada responded with a pending retaliatory 10% tariff against a range of imports of aluminum and aluminum-containing products from the United States, scheduled to take effect on September 16. As the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) came into force on July 1, the reopening of the aluminum trade dispute between the two countries raises questions about the substance of the relationship and North American future competitiveness. The aluminum industry has already felt a shift under the USMCA: 70% of aluminum purchased by North American automakers must be produced in North America. What considerations should Canadian aluminum exporters examine as they determine what’s best for their business? Join our discussion with key experts who will look beyond how these tariffs will hurt consumers and workers in the United States and Canada but also provide solutions on how business and government navigate the new tariffs.
Even in normal times, countries in the Americas have struggled to contain corruption, including in the vulnerable public health sector. The coronavirus has amplified this challenge, given snowballing demands for medical equipment and services, and the urgent need to ramp up public spending to support sputtering economies. On today's episode, we ask our experts and guest Delia Ferreira Rubio, chair of Transparency International, why corruption is exploding during COVID-19 and how governments should protect increasingly scarce public resources.
America is losing the information war. But why? On this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty speaks with Nina Jankowicz about the scourge of foreign and domestic disinformation in America and how we can build a more disinformation-resilient society. Nina Jankowicz is the Disinformation Fellow at the Wilson Center and the author of How Not to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict.
The clock is ticking on TikTok and WeChat. With executive orders to restrict access in the US, legislation to bar the apps from government devices, and a general unease, Rui Zhong comes back to explain why these platforms have drawn ire.
Host Benjamin Gedan speaks with Jordana Timerman, a Buenos Aires-based journalist, to discuss her recent New York Times op-ed about how Argentina has avoided social unrest despite massive economic challenges and deep political polarization.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Sabina Frederic, Argentina's security minister, to discuss the new government's security strategies and its approach to drug policy.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Sabina Frederic, Argentina's security minister, to discuss the role of the armed forces in domestic security, and whether rising unemployment and poverty could increase crime, especially after the coronavirus quarantine ends.
Vladimir Putin’s presidency has lasted over 20 years. In July, he further cemented his grip on power with the approval of a series of new constitutional amendments, giving him the ability to extend his presidency to 2036 and potentially making him the longest-serving head of state in modern Russian and Soviet history.
On July 29, we hosted a conversation with Dr. Fiona Hill on Vladimir Putin, his regime, and how her thinking on Putin has evolved over the years.
Speakers: Fiona Hill - Senior Fellow, Center on the United States and Europe, Brookings Institution
Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Central Asia may serve as a prototype for the post-unipolar world. Indeed, three great powers – Russia, China, and the U.S. – all have varying degrees of interest in the region. How do ordinary citizens of Central Asia view these great power players? How will opinions change in the coming years?
Our speakers aim to explore Central Asia's multivectoral policies, the Sino-Russian relationship, and the loss of influence of the U.S. in the region.
This conversation was the seventh in an occasional Kennan Institute series featuring discussions with leading experts and thinkers on Russia and Eurasia.
Speakers: Marlene Laruelle - Director and Research Professor, Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES), Elliott School of International Affairs; Director, Central Asia Program, The George Washington University; Co-Director of PONARS (Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia)
Bradley Jardine - Schwarzman Fellow, Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, Wilson Center
Protests in Russia’s Far East over the arrest of a popular governor have once more brought persistent official corruption into the national spotlight--even as Vladimir Putin takes a victory lap following his nationwide vote to support extension of his presidency to 2036. Meanwhile in Ukraine, where President Zelensky was elected on the promise of cleaning up corruption and has announced his intent to seek another term, public sentiment has turned negative as progress on reforms appears stymied by familiar political, economic, and social forces. Why is official corruption such a persistent challenge in these two very different systems? What impact has Western pressure and support had on reform efforts? Do sanctions targeting individuals for corrupt activities make a difference?
This conversation was the sixth in an occasional Kennan Institute series featuring discussions with leading experts and thinkers on Russia and Eurasia.
Speakers:
Jordan Gans-Morse - Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Northwestern University
Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan
Earlier this year, Brazil announced temporary, emergency cash payments for lower-income workers and other vulnerable groups as the economy went into lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. But as the coronavirus crisis drags on, pressure is mounting for the government to create a more permanent basic income program for lower-income Brazilians, as our guest Gustavo Ribeiro, award-winning journalist and co-Founder of the Brazilian Report, explains in this episode of the Brazil Institute podcast.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Daniel Zovatto, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, to discuss how the coronavirus has impacted and could continue to impact elections, democracy and civil liberties across Latin America.
COVID-19 is challenging Latin America's fragile democracies in many ways, including the region's capacity to hold safe and fair elections. As the region struggles to contain the world's worst outbreak, several countries have postponed elections, while others have muddled through. To discuss how governments should approach elections during a pandemic, we speak to our experts and to Daniel Zovatto, the director for Latin America at International IDEA.
While everyone is preoccupied with the coronavirus pandemic, public protests, and electoral politics, the world’s three largest nuclear powers are busy modernizing their arsenals. They are doing this in a world that will soon be left without any strategic arms control treaties inherited from the Cold War.
Is nuclear still the world’s most powerful deterrent? What do Russian and all other major military forces want? Does the future belong to private military companies? Will wars be fought remotely and entirely by machines?
The Russia File's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses this and more with the astute military analyst Michael Kofman, Director of the Russia Studies Program at CNA.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Fernando Straface, the chief of staff to the major of Buenos Aires, to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 in Argentina’s capital, relations between the mayor, who is the leading opposition figure, and Argentina’s Peronist president, and the city’s prospects for post-pandemic recovery.
Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, hosts Hari Seshasayee, one of India’s foremost analysts of Latin America, to discuss India’s increasing exports to the region, India’s interest in Latin America’s Lithium Triangle, and the significance of China in India’s relationship with the region.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s four-year campaign effort to secure a rotating seat on the UN Security Council ended in defeat in June. Canada received the support of 108 countries of a total 192 that voted on June 17 at the UN Headquarters in New York. Norway and Ireland, Canada’s two biggest contenders, received 130 and 128 votes, passing the required two-thirds majority of 128 ballots. Following Canada’s failure to secure a seat on the agency’s decision-making body, questions arose about whether the vote would alter Canada’s contribution to the UN. Canada’s next Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the Honourable Bob Rae, will highlight Canada's contribution to the United Nations and present his vision to further engage international partners and promote the Canadian values of peace, freedom, democracy, and human rights in a time of global uncertainty.
Nina Jankowicz comes back to discuss her new book "How To Lose the Information War." It's a fun discussion about human nature, regulation, great powers, we even throw a little Shakespeare in there. Something to add to your summer reading list!
Last week, in the first foreign trip of his presidency, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Donald Trump. To help make sense of the visit, our experts and a special guest, Mexico Institute Global Fellow and Former Mexican Ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan, discuss the state of bilateral relations, the significance of the meeting for both leaders, and what was lost and gained from the visit.
Since the start of the Trump era, and as coronavirus has become an "infodemic," the United States and the Western world have finally begun to wake up to the threat of online warfare and attacks from malign actors. The question no one seems to be able to answer is: what can the West do about it?
Nina Jankowicz, the Disinformation Fellow at the Wilson Center's Science and Technology Innovation Program, lays out the path forward in How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict. The book reports from the front lines of the information war in Central and Eastern Europe on five governments' responses to disinformation campaigns. It journeys into the campaigns the Russian and domestic operatives run, and shows how we can better understand the motivations behind these attacks and how to beat them. Above all, this book shows what is at stake: the future of civil discourse and democracy, and the value of truth itself.
Jankowicz delves into the case studies in the book and the broader implications of disinformation for democracy in discussion with Asha Rangappa, Senior Lecturer at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and former FBI counterintelligence agent and with Matthew Rojansky, Director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute.
This event was co-sponsored with the Wilson Center's Science and Technology Innovation Program
Speakers: Nina Jankowicz - Disinformation Fellow, STIP; Former George F. Kennan Fellow Former Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellow, Department of State
Asha Rangappa - Senior Lecturer, Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs; Former FBI Counterintelligence Agent
Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Moderator: Jane Harman - Director, President, and CEO, Wilson Center
Between an assassination in Germany, allegations of bounties in Afghanistan, and a continuing campaign of espionage both cyber and human abroad, Russia's spies continue to be busy. Has coronavirus affected them? And what are the prospects for future activity, including meddling in US politics?
This conversation was the fourth in an occasional Kennan Institute series featuring discussions with leading experts and thinkers on Russia and Eurasia.
Speakers: Mark Galeotti - Director, Mayak Intelligence Consultancy; Honorary Professor, University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies
Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
The Kremlin claims that Russia’s vote on constitutional changes, which allows President Putin to potentially stay in power through 2036, is Putin’s political triumph. But the numbers tell a different story. In this prerecorded conversation with journalist and Kennan Institute Senior Advisor Sergey Parkhomenko, Russia’s leading independent election analyst Sergey Shpilkin presented the data he assembled from around the country to demonstrate what he views as unprecedented levels of fraud and manipulation that accompanied the vote.
Speakers: Sergey Shpilkin - Independent Election Analyst; Journalist Sergey Parkhomenko - Senior Advisor, Kennan Institute; Journalist, "Echo of Moscow" Radio; Former Editor-in-Chief, Itogi, Vokrug Sveta
Moderator: Izabella Tabarovsky - Senior Program Associate, Kennan Institute
With presidential term limits for Vladimir Putin nullified, has Russia become more authoritarian? What is the difference between "overt" and "informational" dictatorships? Do democracies – or the West as a political and cultural concept - still have the appeal they once had for the countries that emerged from the former Soviet Union? Does the left-right divide still make sense in today’s world? Russia File's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses this and more with Daniel Treisman, a professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, hosts Wilson Center’s Global Fellow and IESA Professor Michael Penfold to discuss Venezuela’s authoritarian crisis and the U.S. policy response.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Ginés González García, the health minister of Argentina, to discuss the country’s COVID-19 response, potential post-pandemic health reforms and the challenges of its shared border with Brazil.
"How did George Soros become an international bogeyman? In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty speaks with Emily Tamkin about the proliferation of conspiracy theories surrounding the Hungarian-American philanthropist and investor, from Eastern Europe and Russia to the United States. Emily Tamkin is author of The Influence of Soros: Politics Power and the Struggle for an Open Society."
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Matías Kulfas, the minister of productive development of Argentina, to discuss the new government’s plan to boost economic growth and the implications of the nationalization of soybean processor Vicentin.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by David Smith, The Economist’s Argentina correspondent, to discuss the relationship between Mendoza, Argentina’s famed winegrowing province, with the national government, which has become so strained some Mendocinos are calling for a #MendoExit.
COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted vulnerable communities in Mexico, including women and children. In this episode, host Olivia Soledad speaks with Dr. Silvia Núñez, Professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), about the exacerbated challenges women are facing during the pandemic, including the challenges they face to access health and safety services.
Related links: Observatory on Gender and COVID-19 in Mexico: https://genero-covid19.gire.org.mx/
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Matías Kulfas, the minister of productive development of Argentina, to discuss the outlook for Argentina’s energy sector, the future of Mercosur and the challenges faced by Argentina’s low-cost carriers.
Don't forget to check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts! Duncan Wood and Chris Wilson come back to help us understand how a dip in the Mexican economy can affect USMCA implementation and how a visit from the Mexican President to the US plays politically in Mexico. Interesting stuff.
This presentation and interview are taken from a briefing we conducted over zoom last week. So references to a visit "next week" refer to this week of July 5th.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the historical and human rights society Memorial provided an outlet to document and publicize abuses of the totalitarian regime. In the Komi Republic, a region in Russia’s Far North that was home to one of the densest networks of Soviet labor camps, the local Memorial Society received a flood of correspondence, which began during glasnost and continued following the Soviet Union’s collapse. This posed intense dilemmas that revealed both the legacy of the Gulag and the local politics of memory during a revolutionary moment in Soviet and post-Soviet history. Title VIII Research Scholar Tyler Kirk explained this local history and why the story it tells is emblematic of processes that unfolded throughout the world’s first socialist state as it came to an end.
Speaker: Tyler Kirk -Title VIII Research Scholar, Kennan Institute; Assistant Professor, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Moderator: William Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
As the world could see, women appeared at the forefront of the uprisings and protests from 2010 to 2014 known as the Arab Spring while women rose up in a second round of massive public activism four years later in still other Arab countries. In a book just out, Women Rising: in and Beyond the Arab Spring, women share stories and analyses of their experience on the ramparts in the recent revolts. They look, as well, at the before and after of the recent uprisings revealing the long arc and diverse expressions of Arab women’s political, social, and cultural engagement. Women Rising is a precious and enlightening compendium that will give rise to much reflection and debate and offer a look at women’s earlier historical experience of activism and their ongoing participation in trying to build new societies in challenging contexts.
Check us out on on Apple, Spotify, Google, Castbox or wherever you get your podcasts! We are living through a historic moment. In this episode, I talk with author Dorothy Crawford, who wrote an excellent book called "Deadly Companions: How Microbes Have Shaped Our History." She does an amazing job at providing a historical context to how pandemics shape human actions and civilization. I highly recommend taking a look at her book, where she predicted this current pandemic as being a coronavirus related to the SARS outbreak in the 2000s.
As President Trump mused publicly about a meeting with Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, our experts and a special guest, Latin American Program Global Fellow Michael Penfold, discuss the vanishing prospects for fair elections in Venezuela, the wisdom of direct engagement with the regime, and the influence of electoral politics on U.S. policy toward Venezuela.
In the United States, the federal response to recent protests sparked a national conversation about civil-military relations. In other countries, especially in Latin America, that has been a hot topic for months, as the expanding role of the armed forces in the coronavirus response has brought back uncomfortable memories of military interventions in civilian affairs. Please join Dr. Benjamin Gedan, Wilson Center’s Deputy Director of the Latin American Program, and Director of the Argentina Project, for this week’s Wilson Policy Brief to address the role of the military in the COVID-19 response in the region.
On June 24, Moscow will hold a military parade to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. This year the annual ritual, normally held on May 9 but postponed because of the pandemic, has acquired an even more powerful symbolic significance, as it is being held on the same date that the first victory parade took place in Moscow in 1945. Michael Kofman, Olga Oliker, Jeffrey Edmonds, and Aleksandr Golts discussed the actual and symbolic roles that the military plays in the Russian national narrative advanced by the Kremlin and considered how that shapes Russian military strategy today.
Speakers: Michael Kofman - Global Fellow; Director, Russia Studies Program, CNA Corporation
Olga Oliker- Director, Europe and Central Asia Program, International Crisis Group
Jeffrey Edmonds - Global Fellow; Research Scientist, Center for Naval Analyses
Alexander Golts - George F. Kennan Fellow; Deputy Editor, EJ.RU; Visiting Researcher, IRES, Uppsala University
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty speaks with Yelena Khanga about the story of her family, what it was like growing up Black in the Soviet Union, and the Black Lives Matter movement here in America. Yelena Khanga is a Russian journalist, talk show host, and author of “Soul to Soul: A Black Russian Jewish Woman’s Search for Her Roots.”
Co-hosts Pieter Biersteker and Kian Byrne sit down with Professor Sergey Radchenko to gain some insight into the Soviet view of the Korean War. Professor Radchenko outlines some interesting archives to explore and discusses the future of the field of international history.
The Kennan Institute hosted a Facebook Live featuring a conversation between Angela Stent and James Goldgeier on the role that multilateral institutions and multi- and bilateral summits have played in the evolution of US-Russia relations.
This conversation was the third in an occasional Kennan Institute series featuring discussions with leading experts and thinkers on Russia and Eurasia.
Speakers: Angela Stent - Professor of Government and Foreign Service, and Director, Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies, Georgetown University
James Goldgeier - Professor of International Relations, American University School of International Service
On June 15, 1970, a group of young refuseniks—mostly Soviet Jews denied permission to emigrate—set out to commandeer an empty plane outside of Leningrad and use it to escape the USSR. Known variously as the Leningrad “hijacking” case, Operation Wedding, and the Dymshits-Kuznetsov affair, the event drew international attention to human rights violations in the Soviet Union and spurred a powerful activist movement in the U.S. and elsewhere on behalf of Soviet Jewry that affected the course of the Cold War. Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov, Glenn Richter, Zvi Gitelman and Jonathan Dekel-Chen discussed the events and their lessons.
Speakers: Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov - Filmmaker
Glenn Richter - Leading Activist in U.S. Campaign for Soviet Jewry
Zvi Gitelman - Short-Term Scholar, Kennan Institute; Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Jonathan Dekel-Chan - Short-Term Scholar, Kennan Institute; Rabbi Edward Sandrow Chair in Soviet and East European Jewry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Moderator: Izabella Tabarovsky - Senior Program Associate, Kennan Institute
For over two decades, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko shielded his country from change and fostered a quasi-Soviet economy and society. But even as his pressure never eased, Belarus has developed social and cultural movements that have gained traction in the human rights sphere as well as in the coronavirus relief effort. The possibility of profound political change is premature but Lukashenko, a self-professed “COVID-dissident,” has alienated some of his staunchest supporters by prioritizing his politics over his country's struggles. Katsiaryna Šmacina, Franak Viačorka, Vytis Jurkonis, and Maxim Trudolyubov discussed the emerging civil society in Belarus in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speakers: Katsiaryna Shmatsina - Rethink.CEE fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the U.S.
Franak Viacorka - Digital Media Strategist, U.S. Agency for Global Media
Vytis Jurkonis - Project Director, Freedom House
Maxim Trudolyubov - Senior Advisor; Editor-in-Chief, Russia File; Editor-at-Large, Vedomosti Daily
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
In our globalized world, kleptocracy and corruption are no longer bound by geography. In fact, much of that stolen wealth weaves its way through the international shadow banking system and ends up in the United States, with consequences for the American economy, democracy, and national security. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY12) and Congressman Peter King (R-NY2) discussed what the United States Congress is doing to take on global kleptocracy and corruption.
Speakers: Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney - US House of Representatives (New York, 12th Congressional District)
Congressman Peter King - US House of Representatives (New York, 2nd Congressional District)
Introduction: Jane Harman - Director, President, and CEO, Wilson Center
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
In the first episode of International History Declassified, co-hosts Pieter Biersteker and Kian Byrne speak with Dr. Charles Kraus of the History and Public Policy Program about the origins of the Korean War and the Chinese perspective. Dr. Kraus explains the role of Mao Zedong in the decision to invade South Korea, and how Chinese see the war today.
Esteemed historian Samuel Wells joins co-hosts Pieter Biersteker and Kian Byrne to discuss the broader context of the Korean War and how US President Harry Truman made the decision to involve the US in the conflict. According to Dr. Wells, much of our understanding of the Korean War today is due to the opening of the former Soviet archives in the early 1990s.
Today, there are approximately 600 Finnish businesses operating in Russia. A recent survey of a subset of these businesses show that while Finnish firms have a negative outlook on the Russian economy over the next six months, they continue to see their business prospects in a positive light. Lauri Veijalainen and Sinikka Parviainen of East Office of Finnish Industries analyzed new data and trends on these businesses and discussed their views on operating in Russia’s volatile market in the context of the latest Finnish-Russian Trade Barometer, in conversation with Oksana Antonenko.
The Finnish-Russian Trade Barometer is a biannual survey to determine company management’s views on the Russian market.
Speakers: Lauri Veijalainen - CEO, East Office, Finnish Industries
Sinikka Parviainen - Economist, East Office of Finnish Industries
Oksana Antonenko - Global Fellow, Kennan Institute; Director, Global Risk Analysis, Control Risks Group
Moderator: William E. Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute
It has been a year since Ukrainian voters handed a landslide victory to Volodymyr Zelensky. Politically inexperienced, Zelensky inspired unprecedented levels of optimism among the Ukrainian public, riding into office on promises of ending the war in Donbas, reducing corruption, and improving the economy. Has the upstart politician lived up to his promises? On the first anniversary of Zelensky’s swearing into office, Gwendolyn Sasse, Victor Andrusiv, and Mykhailo Minakov assessed the successes and failures of the Zelensky administration.
Speakers: Gwendolyn Sasse - Director, Centre for East European and International Studies, ZOiS
Victor Andrusiv - Executive Director, Ukrainian Institute for the Future
Mykhailo Minakov - Senior Advisor; Editor-in-Chief, Focus Ukraine Blog
Introduction: Jane Harman - Director, President, and CEO, Wilson Center
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
On Thursday, May 21 from 1:30pm-2:00pm, the Kennan Institute held Facebook Live featuring a conversation between Andrea Kendall-Taylor and William Pomeranz. They discussed what defines Russian authoritarianism and how it affects Russia’s foreign policy and relations with the West.
This conversation was the second in an occasional Kennan Institute series featuring discussions with leading experts and thinkers on Russia and Eurasia.
Speakers: William E. Pomeranz - Deputy Director, Kennan Institute Andrea Kendall-Taylor - Senior Fellow and Director, Transatlantic Security Program, Center for a New American Security
For the Kremlin, the memory of World War II is fodder for a national myth of military glory and sacrifice. But for ordinary Russians, the story is more complex. Izabella Tabarovsky, Maxim Trudolyubov, and Masha Lipman delve into the myths and explore stories that never became part of the national narrative.
Check us out on on Apple, Spotify, Castbox or wherever you get your podcasts! Asia Program Deputy Director Michael Kugelman explains the border dispute between China and India, which leads to an explanation of the complex web of relationships in the South Asia region. There's so much more to understand about these relationships, we hope to dive more into that soon.
In this week’s special focus edition of Americas 360, our roundtable discusses recent events in the United States in response to the killing of George Floyd while in police custody, and takes a look at how other countries in the Americas have reacted to what’s happening in the U.S. and the subsequent U.S. government response. The panelists then expand the discussion to explore the state of race relations throughout the Americas.
Brazil had a record number of femicides in 2019—even as the number of overall murders dropped, and despite groundbreaking laws that criminalize femicide and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV). In this episode, host Anya Prusa speaks with Dabney Evans, Associate Professor of Global health at Emory University, about the persistent challenge of GBV in Brazil and some of the policies and toolkits being used to address the problem, including a new Portuguese version of the Danger Assessment. https://www.dangerassessment.org/DATools.aspx
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Felipe Solá, the foreign minister of Argentina, to discuss Argentina's relationship with Brazil, and the diplomatic challenge of deepening ties to China while maintaining a strong relationship with the United States.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Felipe Solá, the foreign minister of Argentina, to discuss U.S.-Argentina relations, the future of Mercosur and Argentina’s approach to international trade.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Ernesto Talvi, foreign minister of Uruguay and former presidential candidate, to discuss Uruguay's approach to the Venezuela crisis, its relationship with Argentina and the future of Mercosur.
COVID-19 is the newest tie that binds both China and the Middle East. This burgeoning relationship, once based in bilateral oil trade, has been gaining pace in recent years as China has championed its Belt and Road Initiative and the countries of the region have turned towards diversification in both economics and external political support. This partnership has entered a new chapter as COVID-19 has gripped the world. The past few months of Chinese-Middle Eastern discourse have been characterized by an outpouring of mutual support paired with deliveries of medical aid. The seemingly sturdy bridge of Chinese-Middle Eastern trade has been rocked by fluctuating Chinese consumption of oil and the chaotic price drops. What impact has COVID-19 had on Chinese-Middle Eastern ties, and what have the countries involved done to mitigate the fallout?
During a weekly “Wilson Policy Brief Series” Wilson Center Scholars and expert guests will provide their analysis of the current state of the world during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
As COVID-19 has spread across Russia, the virus has wreaked havoc on its healthcare systems, and the country’s leadership has grappled with potential political consequences of the crisis. Throughout this, the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute has been at the forefront, offering on-the-ground insights. Join us as Matthew Rojansky, Director of the Kennan Institute and Jill Dougherty, Wilson Center Global Fellow, host of the KennanX podcast, and former CNN Foreign Affairs Correspondent, discuss Russia’s domestic challenges around COVID-19, and the regional and global implications for the country’s relationship with the West.
How is Brazil handling its explosion of COVID-19 cases? Will discontent in Chile resurface in light of economic pain due to the coronavirus? Our regional experts, including special guest Latin American Program Global Fellow Lucía Dammert, address these topics while our roundtable takes a look at the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis, how the Americas have responded to the pandemic, and more.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Ernesto Talvi, foreign minister of Uruguay and former presidential candidate, to discuss Uruguay's success containing COVID-19, and Uruguay's "Todos en Casa" operation to repatriate Uruguayans stranded abroad by the virus's outbreak.
As the Arctic Ocean becomes more accessible due to climate change, governments and Arctic stakeholders are scrambling to keep up with increasing human activities in that region. Nations concerned have taken several steps to manage these activities, but current international arrangements will likely prove to be insufficient as the Arctic Ocean continues to change in profound ways. Ambassador David Balton and Dr. Andrei Zagorski have recently co-authored a ground-breaking article analyzing the situation, “Implementing Marine Management in the Arctic.” These two authors—one from the United States and one from Russia—have drawn on their long diplomatic and academic involvement with the Arctic to provide a candid assessment of the challenges confronting the Arctic Ocean and the limitations of the current international regime. Balton and Zagorski also offer a number of concrete suggestions for strengthening this regime, in both near-term and long-term.
It has been one year since we started this show, and this is the 50th episode. It's a big moment, and comes at a big moment in history. So in this episode, we go back to the guests of our most popular episodes and take a look back and a look forward. Matt Rojansky joins me to talk about Russia, Aynne Kokas and Robert Daly discuss China, and Mike Sfraga talks about the Arctic. Fun for everyone!
Brazil is facing crises on multiple fronts: COVID-19 cases continue to spike, the economy is in tatters, and the president is scrambling to rebuild political support following criticism of his pandemic response and the resignation of his justice minister in April. In this episode, host Anya Prusa talks with Nick Zimmerman, former NSC Director for Brazil and Southern Cone Affairs and Director at Macro Advisory Partners, about the latest political crisis in Brazil, where President Bolsonaro currently stands, and what to watch for in the weeks ahead.
During a weekly “Wilson Policy Brief Series” Wilson Center Scholars and expert guests will provide their analysis of the current state of the world during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Abraham Denmark, Director of the Wilson Center’s Asia Program and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, joined Congresswoman Jane Harman, President, Director, and CEO of the Wilson Center to discuss themes from his forthcoming book, such as U.S.-China competition and the importance of U.S. alliances in Asia, particularly in a post-coronavirus world. “U.S. Strategy in the Asian Century: Empowering Allies and Partners,” has received international accolades and recognition from leaders in the intelligence, defense, and policy communities.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Alejandro Catterberg, a founder of Poliarquía, Argentina’s leading polling firm, to discuss President Alberto Fernández's surging popularity during the pandemic.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Shihoko Goto, deputy director for geoeconomics and senior associate for Northeast Asia in the Wilson Center's Asia Program, who discusses Taiwan's COVID-19 pandemic response in Latin America.
In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty examines the uncertainties - and risks - associated with interpreting signals from adversaries in the cyber domain. Three experts explain the danger: George Beebe of the Center for the National Interest; Chris Painter, President, Global Forum on Cyber Expertise; and JD Work, the Bren Chair for Cyber Conflict and Security at the Marine Corps University.
As governments around the world impose lockdowns and encourage social distancing to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, a shadow pandemic has emerged. Reports of domestic and intimate-partner violence have spiked, and already femicide rates are rising in some parts of the world. Yet even as the pandemic has increased the incidence of violence, it has simultaneously hampered prevention and protection efforts, including reduced access to law enforcement, social services and healthcare for women. This Ground Truth Briefing provided a global discussion of gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Well-known Belarusian journalist Franak Viačorka and the Russia File's Maxim Trudolyubov discuss Belarusian society's newfound agency and wonder why President Lukashenko is no longer comfortable being seen as pro-Russian.
Check us out on on Apple, Spotify, Castbox or wherever you get your podcasts! Wilson Center Canada Institute Director Christopher Sands has a project looking at how states, provinces and local jurisdictions on both sides of the northern border are approaching reopening their economies. And this begs the larger question of how reopening the international border will take place. It takes two to tango when dealing with opening a border. How are the US and Canada approaching this question?
The smallest country in Central America, El Salvador, has experienced an astounding rate of femicide and violence against women. In this episode host Beatriz Nice talks with Fernanda Vanegas on the challenges faced there and the hope for change.
What if you had to renegotiate all of your trade deals right now with everything go on in the global economy. Well, that's exactly what the UK has to do after Brexit. It has embarked on new trade negotiations with the EU and the US, all while trying to navigate the perils of the Corona Economy. Trade expert and Wilson Global Fellow Michelle Egan joins me to show how the UK is handling this and what to look for next.
Introducing the Wilson Center’s newest podcast. In this episode: Will Argentina default again? Does Canada have a "China problem"? Is there an end in sight for Venezuela’s governing crisis? Our regional experts address these topics and more while our roundtable looks at how the Americas have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The panel discussed the intersection of crises for the Islamic Republic, which was one of the original epicenters of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since the coronavirus outbreak hit Russia, the government has responded slowly, taking a conservative approach to mandatory closures, public health measures, and social support. The Kremlin has also deferred to regional governors to take the lead in responding to the crisis, a marked departure from its notoriously centralized system. Judy Twigg, Robert Heimer, and Sergey Parkhomenko considered Russia’s response to the pandemic and its implications for domestic politics, social welfare policy, and regional governance.
Speakers: Judy Twigg - Professor of Political Science, Virginia Commonwealth University Robert Heimer - Professor of Epidemiology, Department of the Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale School of Public Health Sergey Parkhomenko - Senior Advisor, Kennan Institute; Journalist, "Echo of Moscow" Radio; Former Editor-in-Chief, Itogi, Vokrug Sveta
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
COVID-19 is spreading in Russia. In this episode, Jill Dougherty is joined by Judy Twigg, Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Oksana Antonenko, Director at Control Risks, for a discussion on how the Russian health system is handling the pandemic, how the average Russian is dealing with the crisis, and how the crisis will affect Putin’s presidency and the Russian economy.
Since March 3, when the COVID-19 pandemic is believed to have reached Ukraine, the Ukrainian government has introduced increasingly more aggressive policies to contain its spread. But concern is growing about the ability of Ukraine's weak economy and public health system to weather the storm. On this webcast, our speakers considered the impact of the pandemic on the Ukrainian economy, politics, and society.
Speakers: Victor Andrusiv - Executive Director, Ukrainian Institute for the Future Mykhailo Minakov - Senior Advisor; Editor-in-Chief, Focus Ukraine Blog, Kennan Institute Andrian Prokip - Energy Expert, Ukrainian Institute for the Future Ilona Sologoub - CEO, VoxUkraine
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
Since the coronavirus pandemic emerged in Russia, the information industry has been under increased pressure by the Kremlin. The regime has attempted to make the work of journalists as difficult as possible and wield control over every publication, both public and private, to take control of the information surrounding the outbreak. In this panel, Grigory Yudin, Roman Badanin, Tikhon Dzyadko, and Galina Timchenko considered how the role of the media changes when society is seized by anxiety, fear, and a lack of transparency. They also addressed how independent media is faring as their connection to their audiences and advertisers alike are collapsing.
Speakers: Roman Badanin - Founder and Editor-in-Chief at The Project (Proekt)
Tikhon Dzyadko - Editor-in-Chief, TV Rain (Dozhd); Journalist
Galina Timchenko - CEO, Meduza
Grigory Yudin - Professor, Political Philosophy, Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences
Moderator: Sergey Parkhomenko - Senior Advisor, Kennan Institute; Journalist, "Echo of Moscow" Radio; Former Editor-in-Chief, Itogi, Vokrug Sveta
Seventy five years after the end of World War II, Victory Day has become Russia’s most prominent national holiday and a cornerstone of the Kremlin’s politics of memory. Built around the glorification of Russia’s military successes and the Russian people’s heroism and victimhood, the official May 9 commemorations are meant to symbolize a resurgent Russia. But Victory Day is also a point of confluence for unofficial and deeply held personal and family memories as well as the memory of Stalin’s terror. Professors Larisa Deriglazova, Nina Tumarkin, and Nikolay Koposov discussed the upcoming commemorations - this year significantly tamped down because of the coronavirus pandemic - and the politics of memory associated with the day.
Speakers:
Larisa Deriglazova - Professor, Department of World Politics; Head, Centre for European Studies; and Head, Master Degree Program on EU Studies, Tomsk State University, Russia
Nina Tumarkin - Kathryn Wasserman Davis Professor of Slavic Studies, Professor of History, Director of the Russian Area Studies Program, Wellesley College
Nikolay Koposov - Visiting Scholar, Emory University
Moderator:
Izabella Tabarovsky - Senior Program Associate, Kennan Institute
On April 27, the Kennan Institute hosted a conversation between Thomas Graham and Celeste Wallander on the U.S.-Russia relationship and how and whether the U.S. should engage.
This conversation is the first in an occasional Kennan Institute series featuring discussions with leading experts and thinkers on Russia and Eurasia.
Speakers: Celeste Wallander - President and CEO, US-Russia Foundation Thomas Graham - Distinguished Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
As the United States and Russia struggle with the impact of the coronavirus at home, questions arise over how the pandemic may influence the relationship between the two countries. From disinformation to oil supplies to sanctions to shifting regional alliances, the crisis has the potential to impact a variety of issues relevant to U.S.-Russian relations. Ivan Kurilla, Rajan Menon, and Oksana Antonenko addressed these questions in this panel.
Speakers:
Ivan Kurilla - Professor, History and International Relations; Director, Department Development Partnership Program, Academic Director of the IMARES program, European University at St. Petersburg
Rajan Menon - Anne and Bernard Spitzer Chair, International Relations,Powell School, City College of New York/City University of New York; Senior Research Scholar, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University
Oksana Antonenko - Director, Global Risk Analysis, Control Risks Group
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
As the coronavirus has spread globally, so has disinformation and censorship by authoritarian governments. Both Russia and China have attempted to spread false information about the genesis of the virus and China has clamped down internally on information surrounding the pandemic, silencing both domestic reporters and whistleblowers. Yet even democracies are not immune: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been condemned by social media sites and members of his own government for spreading disinformation on social distancing measures recommended by public health authorities.
STIP Disinformation Fellow Nina Jankowicz, Kissinger Institute Associate Rui Zhong, and Brazil Institute Senior Associate Anya Prusa discussed disinformation surrounding the coronavirus and the U.S. response.
Moderator - Jill Dougherty, Global Fellow, Kennan Institute
During a weekly “Wilson Policy Brief Series” Wilson Center Scholars and expert guests provide their analysis of the current state of the world during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The eighth installment of the series featured a conversation with Congressman Charlie Dent, Senior Policy Advisor at DLA Piper LLP (US), and Wilson Center CEO, Congresswoman Jane Harman. The two discussed what is currently happening in Congress: the end of bipartisanship, the ballooning deficit, and whether Congress can or should provide more relief for COVID-19.
Since taking office in June 2019, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has clashed frequently with the country’s legislature and Supreme Court over issues of executive authority. While Bukele remains highly popular, critics charge that he is weakening El Salvador’s fragile democracy by concentrating power, deploying the military and police to uphold his rule, and defying institutional checks and balances. To confront the coronavirus, he has imposed a harsh lockdown, unleashing the security forces to arrest thousands accused of quarantine violations, in defiance of a Supreme Court ruling declaring such detentions unconstitutional.
Elsewhere in Central America, Nicaragua’s authoritarian government has refused to implement social distancing or other stay-at-home measures. President Daniel Ortega has called the pandemic a “sign from God” and the government has allowed and even encouraged sports events, festivals, and other mass gatherings to occur. By ignoring medical and scientific advice and admitting only a handful of cases, critics charge that the government is inviting an outbreak of disease that would overwhelm the country’s health system, along with Nicaragua’s neighbors, especially Costa Rica, where tens of thousands of Nicaraguans have fled.
In a conversation with Samuel Greene, director of King's Russia Institute, the Russia File discusses the Kremlin's COVID-19 politics and Russian society’s newfound empowerment.
Wilson Center Global Fellow Fernando Cutz, an expert on U.S. foreign policy and Latin America, discusses Brazil’s dealings with the United States and China, and whether the coronavirus pandemic will shift those relationships in meaningful and lasting ways.
Shihoko Goto, of the Wilson Center's Asia Program gives us an economic look at Asia, both in its recovery attempts in dealing with being the leading edge of the coronavirus impact - and the first on the other side of the bell curve - to what is on the horizon.
Continuing our look at economics in a time of global pandemics, I talk with Benjamin Gedan of the Latin American Program at the Wilson Center to see what Latin America is doing in this crisis, and the prospects for recovery.
Scott Cullinane, Executive Director at the US-Europe Alliance and alumni of the Wilson Foreign Policy Fellowship Program talks with me about European Union response to coronavirus, and what the challenges posed for an economic recovery on the continent.
Award-winning journalist Patrícia Campos Mello, columnist and reporter at large for Folha de S. Paulo, discusses the COVID-19 outbreak in Brazil and the three days she spent reporting from the frontlines of the pandemic at the Emílio Ribas hospital in São Paulo.
During a weekly “Wilson Policy Brief Series” Wilson Center Scholars and expert guests will provide their analysis of the current state of the world during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The sixth installment of the series featured a conversation with Dr. Joseph Nye, Former Dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Chair of the National Intelligence Council, and Deputy Undersecretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology. Dr. Nye discussed his new book “Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump.” As the title indicates, Dr. Nye takes us through nearly a century of presidential history and finds that despite our system of checks and balances, the person in the Oval Office matters, and that person’s morals matter.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Margaret Myers, director of the Asia & Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue, who shares insights on perceptions of China’s coronavirus assistance to Latin America, and the implications for U.S.-China competition.
The Wilson Center had a discussion with three experts leading the charge to protect wildlife from COVID-19: Dr. Martin Nweeia, a globally-renowned expert on the narwhal; Dr. Harris Lewin, world leader in mammalian genome evolution as it relates to adaptation and speciation, and; Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, who has for decades worked tirelessly to protect mountain gorillas and the communities that share their home.
If you like what you hear, could you leave us a review? Wilson Center Asia Program Director, Abraham Denmark joined us on a webinar briefing for congressional staff recently to explain where Kim Jong Un could possibly be and why, the small matter of succession in an authoritarian monarchy, and what it means for the future. This edited version of that briefing features questions submitted to us from congressional staff.
In this briefing, Wilson Center scholars and experts who have spent considerable time on the ground in North Korea discuss what’s happening inside North Korea, both in politics and in public health, and assess the impact of COVID-19 on North Korea’s economy, its people and nuclear negotiations with the United States.
On March 8, women in Mexico took the streets in massive numbers to protest the high levels of gender-based violence in the country, where approximately 10 women die every day. Despite the country's robust legislation and global attention to Mexico's problem, violence continues to grow. For our inaugural episode, Isabel Erreguerena from EQUIS Justice for Women, joins us to discuss why violence continues to rise, the main obstacles women in Mexico face when trying to access justice and potential policy solutions.
May 9th in Russia, is like the US' Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day rolled into one. Celebrating the end of WWII is a big deal every year. This year is the 75th anniversary, so it was supposed to be even bigger. To top it off Vladimir Putin weaved a complex constitutional change and plebiscite to extend his rule in office to correspond with the great patriotic celebration. Yuval Weber explains historical memory in Russia, and now that Coronavirus changes the celebration, what happens now?
The Wilson Center's Polar Institute and the Harvard Kennedy School's Arctic Initiative recently released a report entitled "Policy and Action on Plastic Pollution in the Arctic Ocean." This report describes the nature of challenges posed by Arctic marine plastic pollution and provides targeted recommendations to policymakers and researchers; it is based on a workshop the two organizations co-hosted with the Icelandic Chairmanship of the Arctic Council.
Ambassador David Balton, Brittany Janis, Halla Hrund Logadóttir, and Marisol Maddox discussed the report, the challenges of Arctic marine plastic pollution, and recommendations to combat plastic pollution in the Arctic Ocean. The full report is available here:https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/policy-and-action-plastic-arctic-ocean
During a weekly “Wilson Policy Brief Series” Wilson Center Scholars and expert guests will provide their analysis of the current state of the world during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The fifth installment of the series featured a conversation with Ret. General David Petraeus, Partner at KKR and Chairman of its Global Institute, and Co-Chair of the Wilson Center’s Global Advisory Council. General Petraeus offered his perspective of the implications of the pandemic for the recovery of the US economy, U.S.-China relations, broad geopolitics, business and consumer behavior, and for the so-called “return of history.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven most of the world to shut borders, close businesses, and impose lockdowns on citizen movement to mitigate the spread of the novel virus. In the Middle East and North Africa, many countries shuttered businesses and banned public gatherings accompanied by strict curfews enforced by police or national militaries. Oil and Gas producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE injected billions into their economies to ease the economic fallout. However, resource-scarce countries already suffering from economic fragility also took measures to support small and medium-sized enterprises which make up the backbone of their private sectors. With the world heading into a deep recession, the economic future of the region is indeed dire. This will likely reignite political tensions that are temporarily subdued by the lockdown and will drive a renew wave of unrest across the region.
In this Ground Truth Briefing, experts who have been tracking the connections between animal, ecosystem, human health, and security, discuss what steps policymakers need to take to mitigate the next global pandemic.
After an introduction from my kids, Duncan Wood and Chris Wilson from the Wilson Center Mexico Institute, and our brand new Canada Institute Director, Chris Sands, join me to discuss how our supply chain is holding up in North America, and what we are learning from the current COVID-19 crisis.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Alex Schober, DuckerFrontier’s senior analyst for Latin America, to discuss the coronavirus's economic consequences.
China’s Foreign Ministry founded the 17+1 mechanism (China is the “1”) with the nations of Central and Eastern Europe in 2012, in Budapest. The grouping, broadly speaking, is seen by China as a means of promoting cooperation, by CEE nations as a way of attracting Chinese investment, and by Western Europe and the United States as a wedge for weakening European unity and promoting a Sino-centric Eurasia. A new report by China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe (CHOICE) suggests that, seven years into the initiative, 17+1 has a mixed record. Please join us for a discussion the “Empty Shell No More” report and China-European-U.S. relations.
Two of our previous guests come together to talk to us about disinformation in general, and specific to COVID-19 in Europe and Asia. Nina Jankowicz, Disinformation Fellow with the Wilson Center's Science and Technology Innovation Program, and Rui Zhong, an Associate with the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute take a look at what's out there and its effects on response and recovery.
In this Ground Truth Briefing, two of Colombia’s leading public servants in charge of responding to and containing the pandemic in Colombia spoke about the challenges they face.
Fifth generation technology (better known as 5G) will reshape communications and trade. Yet as noted in multiple articles in the Spring 2020 issue of The Wilson Quarterly, 5G’s transformational possibilities already have made it a battleground, even before its broad deployment in advanced economies.
This Ground Truth Briefing will examine some of the key conflicts, concerns, and sites of possible collaboration. Why does it matter who makes the rules for 5G? How might its bounty be shared more widely in the global economy?
During a weekly “Wilson Policy Brief Series” Wilson Center Scholars and expert guests will provide their analysis of the current state of the world during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The fourth installment of the series focused on China – the economy, trade wars, the need for decoupling of supply chains, financial systems and tech systems, and what it all means for the future of U.S.-China Relations. Robert Daly, Director of the Kissinger Institute at the Wilson Center, offered his perspective on how China is handling the pandemic.
In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty has a delicious conversation with Darra Goldstein, author of a new cookbook on Russian cuisine entitled “Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore.” What can you expect? Recipes from the northern corner of Russia and the processes at the heart of Russian cooking: fermentation and preservation. The conversation focuses on the traditional and the modern. On Russians rediscovering traditional flavors and ingredients as part of their culture, today.
During a weekly “Wilson Policy Brief Series” Wilson Center Scholars and expert guests will provide their analysis of the current state of the world during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The third installment of the series focused on Europe – current state of affairs, Brexit, immigration, and what it all means for the European Union. Sir John Scarlett, co-chair of the Global Advisory Council and former Chief of MI-6, offered his perspective on how Europe is handling the pandemic.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Kezia McKeague, the Southern Cone and Brazil team’s director at McLarty Associates, who shares on-the-ground observations from Buenos Aires on the economic and political consequences of the strict public health measures the Argentine government has adopted to halt the spread of COVID-19.
2036 seems like a long way off. That must be why it was chosen as the end date for the next term of the Putin presidency -- if proposed constitutional changes go through -- which everyone believes they will. There is a pesky global pandemic that is slowing things down, but by all accounts, it looks like Putin will have his way. Why is Vladimir Putin such an enduring fixture of the Russian state? Could it survive without him? And what do people think of the plebiscite he has called for on these changes? Kennan Institute experts Matt Rojansky and Will Pomeranz join me to discuss.
During a weekly “Wilson Policy Brief Series” Wilson Center scholars and expert guests provided their analysis of the current state of the world during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The third installment of the series focused on the U.S. Economy – the current state of affairs, long-term economic damage on small businesses, and the effects of the $2.2 trillion stimulus package. Featured experts Dr. Lawrence Lindsey, CEO of The Lindsey Group, and Drew Maloney, Vice Chair of the Wilson Center’s Board of Trustees and CEO of American Investment Council, helped parse out which sectors will be most affected.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Nicolás Saldías, the Argentina Project’s senior researcher in the Wilson Center's Latin American Program, who shares on-the-ground insights on how the coronavirus is affecting life and the economy in Uruguay.
Ben Buchanan, author of "The Hacker and the State" joins me to discuss his book and waiting for "the big one" in cyber. In short, we are not talking about coronavirus -- just your normal everyday other issues that could bring down the world.
During a weekly “Wilson Policy Brief Series” Wilson Center Scholars provided their expert analysis of the current state of the world during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This week’s conversation focused on the medical perspective – statistics, long-term damage, international and domestic responses, and the unintended social consequences, including increased gender-based violence.
The Arctic has been widely understood by coastal states to be an area of “low tension.” However, the Arctic is not insulated from global security challenges, especially those around the impacts of climate change, and the period of Arctic exceptionalism is coming to an end. Mathieu Boulègue, Katarina Kertysova, and Michael Sfraga will consider Russia’s military posture in the European Arctic and seek to explain Moscow’s military build-up in the region, Russia’s general force posture, and its impact for NATO and its allies.
Experts on the ground discuss the outbreak in Mexico and the country's public health system, the possible impact on Mexico's economy, and public sentiment in Mexico surrounding the government's response to COVID-19.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts!
Welcome Back to Need to Know! It has been a month since our last episode, which was on the coronavirus. And wow, the world has changed drastically. Here, we go back to the same three experts we spoke to a month ago, and try to go beyond the everyday news on the virus to what this means more broadly in society and ramifications for the economy and foreign policy. We hope that everyone is staying healthy... and distanced!
Trade relations in Asia remain uncertain in spite of the recent rapprochement between the United States and China. For countries in the region, the challenge remains to craft stable relations that would secure their economic as well as political security amid the rise of great power competition. The definition of a good trade deal continues to evolve as a result, as does what constitutes strong economic relations. Join us for a discussion on the benefits and limitations of trade agreements that meet national economic objectives, and prospects for cooperation among Northeast and Southeast Asian nations as tensions remain between Washington and Beijing.
Despite its overwhelming victory in Parliamentary elections in May 2019, the Narendra Modi government continues to struggle to reverse a deepening economic slowdown underway for more than a year. On February 1, New Delhi presented a new budget and unveiled its strategy for dealing with the downturn, and for reviving investor and consumer confidence for the remainder of the government’s five-year term. Wilson Center Global Fellow and economist Suman Bery analyzes this new strategy and identify potential markers of success for the coming year.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Todd Martinez, Fitch Ratings’s lead Argentina analyst, to discuss Argentina’s high-stakes efforts to restructure its foreign debt and avoid default.
Talented individuals are fleeing Russia for greener pastures. In this episode of KennanX, Jill Dougherty discusses the causes of Russian talent flight and the pain of leaving one’s country with Dr. Sergei Guriev, Galina Timchenko, and Denis Volkov.
The economy of the Donbas suffered greatly from wartime damages and interrupted trade flows on both sides of the frontline. Companies on the Russia-controlled side are isolated from the global economy by blockade and mismanagement by separatist authorities. Brian Milakovsky discussed the importance of restoring economic connectivity in the region as President Zelenskyy carefully pursues a resolution to the six year conflict.
Speaker: Brian Milakovsky - Indenepdent Analyst
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Todd Martinez, Fitch Ratings’ lead Uruguay analyst, to discuss Uruguay’s new government and the economic difficulties it inherited.
In this Ground Truth Briefing, experts who contributed to The Wilson Quarterly’s recent issue on Latin America’s year of protests examined the specific grievances expressed by citizens in several Latin American nations, and the ways that governments, institutions, and civil society are responding to the unrest.
Since 1992, Moscow has grappled with how to address the issue of the 25 million ethnic Russians in other post-Soviet states. In order to write and speak about Russians abroad, political elites and leading intellectuals in Russia have employed three major narratives: “the Russian World,” “Russian civilization,” and “a divided people.” The Russian government has supported these narratives with concrete policy tools, including the protection of “compatriots abroad” and granting Russian citizenship to millions of people in neighboring states. Igor Zevelev presented his analysis of the proliferation of Russian citizenship in the post-Soviet space as well as its geopolitical consequences.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
I'm joined by three experts today. Alex Long, who walks us through the public health perspective of understanding coronavirus, its implications for global health and security -- Rui Zhong, who explains some of the societal dynamics in China that we have seen from this outbreak -- And Shihoko Goto, who deftly explains how this is affecting the global economy and what it may mean for the future. This is a can't miss episode and the most comprehensive look you will find to understand the various angles of this global threat.
In a series of mass executions in April and May 1940, Soviet secret police murdered an estimated 22,000 captive Polish military officers and soldiers, policemen, officials, intelligentsia and others. Conducted on the orders of Stalin’s Politburo, the events came to be known as the Katyn massacre after the Katyn Forest where the first mass graves were discovered. Two leading historians discussed the history and collective memory of Katyn.
Speakers:
Alexander Guryanov -Polish Program Coordinator, Memorial Group
Andrzej Nowak - Professor, Institute of History of Jagiellonian University; Head of the Comparative Imperial Studies Section, Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences
The revival of post-Soviet movements in Muslim-majority regions in Russia highlights a reinvention of new ethnic traditions and the rejection of preexisting religious trends. However, the Kremlin has not exercised a uniform policy toward political Islam or nationalism in Russia. Instead, it has pursued different approaches in every region along with different combinations of hard and soft power. Sufian Zhemukhov discussed the development of post-Soviet nationalism and political Islam and their interaction with the state in Russia’s North Caucasus.
Speaker:
Sufian Zhemukov - Former Fulbright-Kennan Institute Research Scholar, Associate Research Professor of International Affairs at George Washington University
In a series of mass executions in April and May 1940, Soviet secret police murdered an estimated 22,000 captive Polish military officers and soldiers, policemen, officials, intelligentsia and others. Conducted on the orders of Stalin’s Politburo, the events came to be known as the Katyn massacre after the Katyn Forest where the first mass graves were discovered. Two leading historians discussed the history and collective memory of Katyn.
Speakers:
Alexander Guryanov - Polish Program Coordinator, Memorial Group
Andrzej Nowak - Professor, Institute of History of Jagiellonian University; Head of the Comparative Imperial Studies Section, Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences
Chinese business expansion is bringing about fundamental changes to Central Asia. This growing influence has sparked widespread local protests which are likely to amplify the political liabilities of the ruling elites across the region. Drawing from over 60 interviews in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China in 2018 and 2019, former Wilson Center Fellow Gül Berna Özcan analyzed how power anxieties and economic dependencies bring new tensions to Central Asia’s economies.
Speaker:
Gül Berna Özcan - Fellow, Reader, International Business and Entrepreneurship, Royal Holloway, University of London
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Disinformation Fellow Nina Jankowicz joins me to discuss what has been the impact of so many international incidents on the national psyche of Ukraine. And in a Need to Know first, we have questions submitted to our expert by congressional staff!
If you have questions you'd like answered on the podcast, email us at needtoknow@wilsoncenter.org
Along with other advanced surveillance and espionage technologies, photography was a common method of “agent-operational measures” of the Soviet security services. KGB officers photographed crime scenes and criminal evidence, used concealed cameras for surveillance, and photographed intercepted materials. Additionally, a rich collection of confiscated images, subject to alteration and doctoring, was used as evidence against repressed individuals and groups. Drawing upon visual materials recently discovered in the SBU archives in Ukraine, George F. Kennan Fellow Tatiana Vagramenko discussed how specific visual technologies developed by the KGB created a powerful image of the “people’s enemy” and broadly shaped socialist imaginations.
State control on information and media and aggressive pressure on journalists seeking to maintain their independence are critical elements of the modern Russian state. Although the Russian constitution has an article expressly prohibiting censorship, in reality censorship is a constant factor in the life of the Russian media. Censorship is carried out both directly and indirectly by state pressure and through self-censorship by journalists. The Kennan Institute hosted three well-known Russian publicists, analysts, and commentators, Konstantin Sonin, Konstantin Eggert, and Gleb Cherkasov, to discuss censorship and self-censorship in Russia and its role in Russian society.
In the wake of World War II and the Holocaust, public sympathy grew in the United States for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. Yet in a series of memos in 1947 and 1948, George F. Kennan articulated a consensus view among U.S. diplomatic and military leadership that such a state could usher in Soviet influence in the Middle East, undermine access to oil resources in the Arab states and therefore undermine U.S. national interests in the Middle East and around the world. In this talk, Jeffrey Herf examined Kennan’s memos, the context of their emergence, and their consequences for U.S. foreign policy at the dawn of the Cold War and beyond.
Speaker: Jeffrey Herf - Fellow, Distinguished University Professor, Department of History, University of Maryland, College Park
From the mid-1960s on, Peter Reddaway published numerous articles and books about Soviet dissent. In 1969 he co-founded the Alexander Herzen Foundation with historian Jan Willem Bezemer and Karel van het Reve, in order to publish the work of Soviet dissidents for a Western audience. Reddaway got to know many dissidents and their work from a distance, publicizing their writings in the West and helping some of them settle abroad. In a talk commemorating the launch of his new book The Dissidents, Reddaway described the human costs of the repression that marked the Soviet state. He placed the work and struggles of these dissidents within the context of the secretive politics inside the Kremlin, where a tiny elite competed for power — even as the Soviet system was crumbling around them.
Speaker: Peter Reddaway - Former Kennan Institute Director and Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the beginning of the war in Donbas in 2014, international sanctions have been a key instrument in exerting pressure on the Russian government to end the conflict. However, the current sanctions regime is plagued by a number of flaws and is in need of improvement. Vasyl Filipchuk and Anastacia Galouchka analyzed current sanctions, future prospects, and how the application of sanctions against Russia can be improved going forward in the context of their new report. The Latvian Ambassador to Ukraine H.E. Juris Poikans provided opening remarks.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Latin America Program Fellow Michael Penfold joins the Need to Know podcast to discuss the appearance of Juan Guaidó at the State of the Union, and what that means for the situation in Venezuela.
If you have questions you'd like answered on the podcast, email us at needtoknow@wilsoncenter.org
What trade terms will the government of Boris Johnson pursue in negotiations with the EU and will his administration be able to heal some of the socio-economic strains that helped fuel the Brexit vote in 2016? Also, how does the withdrawal affect the constitutional union between England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, with the latter two voting against Brexit and the results further fueling a push for Scottish independence? What if it doesn't work? What if it does? Either way, the implications of the divorce between the UK and the EU are unknown.
Wilson Center Brexit experts help sort thorough these questions and more.
Images and insights from inside the DPRK
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may have transformed his image from Hermit King to diplomatic statesman by stepping out onto the world stage in 2018 and 2019. But in 2020, with few Americans traveling to Pyongyang due to years of tightened sanctions and travel bans, the people of North Korea remain as hidden and muted as ever before.
The limited access makes it tough for journalists to cover North Korea, forcing most to report on the country from the outside, at a distance. However, a few intrepid foreign journalists have managed to gain access inside the DPRK.
Join us for a photo presentation and discussion with veteran correspondents and photojournalists, including AFP’s chief photographer in Pyongyang, who have worked inside North Korea for what promises to be an enlightening look at daily life in North Korea as well as a lively debate about the merits of restricted access inside one of the world’s most censored countries.
This event is being organized by the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy and the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center, with the generous support of the Korea Foundation, and co-hosted by the National Committee on North Korea.
The past 25 years has witnessed a growing scholarly interest in the role of ethnic interest groups, or diasporas, in the conceptualization of America’s foreign policy. In particular, the demise of the Soviet Union has created a need for a more systematized look at the effect of post-Soviet immigrant-ethnic communities on America’s posture toward post-communist states. Of particular interest is mobilization of ethnic diasporas in the U.S. during periods of active conflict within their respective countries of origin. In this panel, experts compared and contrasted the experiences of three “classical” post-Soviet interest groups – Armenia, Ukraine, and the Baltics.
Speakers: Olena Lennon - Adjunct Professor of Political Science and National Security, University of New Haven Aram Hamparian - Executive Director of Armenian National Committee of America, Washington DC office
As the targeted killing of Qassem Suleimani is reshaping power alignments in the Middle East, Russia is determined not to let its influence in the region weaken. From Russian weapons deliveries to Turkey and Iran, to the civilian nuclear reactor the Kremlin is helping Egypt build, to Vladimir Putin’s recent surprise visit to Syria: all of these are meant to send a message of the Kremlin’s intention to remain a player in the region. What are Russia’s strategic objectives in this moment of change? Is Russia looking to fill the power vacuum left by a weakening Iran? Two top Israeli analysts offered their perspectives.
Speakers: Major General (Res.) Amos Gilead - Executive Director of the Institute for Policy and Strategy (IPS), IDC Herzliya; Chairman of the IPS Annual Herzliya Conference Series.
Ksenia Svetlova - Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Policy and Strategy (IPS), Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya
NAFTA -- the FTA that everyone loves to hate. And now, we are fast progressing towards USMCA. Here we talk to our Wilson Center experts about where NAFTA came up short, and how the USMCA addresses those issues.
You know you love trade history. This is a quick download on the history of US trade policy to give us a better understanding of how we arrived at NAFTA and then on to the USMCA. 200 years of history in 20 minutes. You can't beat that!
There are approximately 1,500 Russian nuclear warheads aimed at the U.S. The U.S. has about the same number aimed at Russia.
In February 2021, the last remaining arms control agreement between Russia and the U.S., New START, is set to expire. In this episode, Jill Dougherty sits down with John Beyrle, former Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2008-2012) and Rose Gottemoeller, former NATO Deputy Secretary General (2016-2019) to talk New START, should it be extended, and what its expiration would mean.
On January 15, the Russian government resigned following President Vladimir Putin’s state of the nation address in which he proposed sweeping constitutional reforms. Putin then elevated former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to the role of Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council and Medvedev’s replacement, Mikhail Mishustin, was approved as the new prime minister on January 16.
In this Ground Truth Briefing, our experts will assess Putin’s proposed reforms and political machinations.
Taiwan's strength as a democracy will be evident on January 11 when voters head to the polls to elect their leadership and representatives in the legislature. The election results will not only impact Taiwan's own internal policies, but also relations with Beijing as well as with Washington.
Join us for a discussion on the implications of the Taiwan's latest election results and how they will impact U.S.-Taiwan relations as well as cross-Strait relations on the political, economic, and security fronts.
Speakers: Robert Daly Director, Kissinger Institute on China and the United States
Abraham Denmark Director, Asia Program
Nadia Tsao Director of Mandarin Service, Radio Free Asia
In this second episode of our Trading Views series, we talk to three of the Wilson Center's top Asia experts to understand what phase one of a trade deal with China means.
A new series from Need to Know -- Trading Views -- where we will look at the changes in trade policy seen in the last few years. With the signing of a phase one trade deal happening imminently, we're taking a look at how tariffs have affected businesses. To do that we're on location in Morristown TN to talk to Rusty Smith of Forenta, and Roger Porter of Porter's Tire.
On April 26, 1986, a power surge destroyed Unit 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant causing the largest nuclear disaster in history. On this episode of KennanX our host, Jill Dougherty, explores the lasting legacy and impact of Chernobyl. We are joined by Craig Mazin, Creator and Producer of HBO’s Chernobyl; Serhii Plokhii, Director, Ukraine Research Institute, Harvard University; Masha Gessen, Staff Writer at The New Yorker; and Maxim Trudolyubov, Senior Advisor at the Kennan Institute and Editor-In-Chief of The Russia File.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Michelle Egan comes back to the Wilson Center studio to break down the results of the election in the UK, and what that means for the US going forward.
The Trump administration has branded its core Asia policy as an Indo-Pacific strategy. “Indo Pacific” is just the latest term to be used to describe a region stretching from the southern shores of Asia to the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Before Indo Pacific, there was Indian Ocean—a key spatial category, according to historian Berenice Guyot-Rechard, to understand the notion of Indo Pacific today.
During the Cold War, the Indian Ocean may have been an area of limited importance for the United States. But for the countries around the shores of the Indian Ocean—most of them grappling with the difficult, long-term process of decolonization—the region was a space to assert sovereignty, forge new post-colonial solidarities, and make a mark on the international order. All this, in turn, transformed oceans into a major resource and sovereignty frontier—and made them highly politicized.
Dr. Guyot-Rechard will sketch out these Cold War-era geopolitical contestations over the Indian Ocean, and consider how their legacy has impacted how we envision the Indo Pacific today.
Russian Nobel Laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is the author of two great “literary cathedrals,” The Gulag Archipelago and The Red Wheel, the latter of which is an account of Russia’s path to revolution and totalitarianism in the years culminating in 1917. In the third volume of The Red Wheel entitled March 1917, the story arrives at “the revolution at last.” Professor Daniel Mahoney discussed March 1917 in relation to The Red Wheel as a whole – that is August 1914, November 1916, the four books of March 1917, and the two books of April 1917. The just published English-language version of March 1917, book 2, a work of both literature and dramatic history, chronicles the fateful days of March 13-15, which led to the collapse of the autocracy and the origins of the Russian Revolution.
Professor Daniel Mahoney
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Duncan Wood, director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, to discuss AMLO's high approval ratings, despite struggles with crime and economic malaise.
Since the 2016 presidential elections in the Republic of Uzbekistan, the country has introduced extensive civic, economic, and governmental reforms. In the weeks before the December 22 parliamentary elections, the issue of expanding these reforms to parliament is drawing increased attention. In this talk, Dr. Zeev Levin discussed the future of the division of power and relations between the government and political parties in Uzbekistan.
Speaker: Zeev Levin - Head, Central Asian Unit, Harry S. Truman Institute, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by phone from Buenos Aires by Agustino Fontevecchia, digital director of Perfil, one of the leading news companies in Argentina, and executive director of the English-language Buenos Aires Times, to discuss tensions between the Argentine press and the Cristina Fernández de Kirchner government, and expectations for the media’s relationship with president-elect Alberto Fernández.
December 4, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Email lap@wilsoncenter.org to sponsor the podcast Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
In this Ground Truth Briefing on Mexico's economic outlook, experts discussed the migration challenge, security issues, current and future trends in AMLO's public opinion rating, and U.S.-Mexico relations under the López Obrador administration.
How should middle powers such as South Korea navigate the growing strategic competition between the United States and China? For Northeast Asian nations like South Korea, maintaining harmonious relations with China has been a priority going back centuries while its alliance with the United States dates back only decades. Scholars from Asia and the United States will debate the dilemma faced by South Korea and debate the direction the Seoul government should take as the nation seeks to strike the right balance in policy with its allies and neighbors.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Robert Daly joins us again to discuss the elections that took place in Hong Kong and the reality that they carry on the ground. Plus, how US actions on the situation could affect trade negotiations with China.
After days of street protests in Colombia, some of them violent, President Duque has called for a broad social dialogue to address popular grievances. But given the loose-knit coalition of groups opposed to the government, will a dialogue be able to address all the diverse demands? Cynthia Arnson, Director of the Wilson Center's Latin American Program, provides her insight on the BBC.
Most Russians agree with the official narrative that Russia has re-emerged as a great power under Vladimir Putin, particularly with the annexation of Crimea. However, many Russians are unwilling to bear the economic burden of escalating tensions with the West, evidenced by the declining “Crimea bump” in Putin’s popularity and growing dissatisfaction with a stagnating or falling standard of living. Drawing extensively on public opinion polls, surveys of elites, and focus groups in Russia, Professor Thomas Sherlock will discuss why a majority of Russians are likely to believe that the Kremlin should not pursue costly policies of militarization and external confrontation, but rather focus on pressing domestic problems.
Speakers: Thomas Sherlock - Short-Term Grant Professor, Political Science, United States Military Academy, West Point
Harley D. Balzer - Former Title VIII-Supported Research Scholar Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University
Most Russians agree with the official narrative that Russia has re-emerged as a great power under Vladimir Putin, particularly with the annexation of Crimea. However, many Russians are unwilling to bear the economic burden of escalating tensions with the West, evidenced by the declining “Crimea bump” in Putin’s popularity and growing dissatisfaction with a stagnating or falling standard of living. Drawing extensively on public opinion polls, surveys of elites, and focus groups in Russia, Professor Thomas Sherlock will discuss why a majority of Russians are likely to believe that the Kremlin should not pursue costly policies of militarization and external confrontation, but rather focus on pressing domestic problems.
“Courage and Fear” is an evocative and meticulously documented study of World War II Lviv’s intelligentsia, masterfully told through stories of individuals who inhabited the city in that period. Ola Hnatiuk presents the rich tapestry of Lviv’s intricate social fabric and the way in which it was violently erased as the city changed hands and names, helping us see real human beings behind grand national narratives.
Speaker: Ola Hnatiuk - Professor, University of Warsaw, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Duncan Wood, director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, to discuss Alberto Fernández’s Mexico City jaunt, his first international trip as Argentina’s president-elect.
November 22, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Email lap@wilsoncenter.org to sponsor the podcast Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Latin America has experienced a wave of protests this spring. Remember, it's spring in the southern hemisphere. Latin American Program Associate Anders Beal walks us through the unfolding situations in the region.
On the BBC Radio Scotland Saturday edition of Good Morning Scotland, Latin American Program Director Cynthia Arnson and Michel Reid, Americas Editor of The Economist magazine, discuss the wave of protests taking place in Latin America. They focus especially on Chile and Bolivia and the economic and political roots of the protest movements.
The Kennan Institute, History and Public Policy Program, and the National History Center hosted a panel session marking the centenary of one of the 20th century’s most important diplomats, Anatoly Dobrynin.
Anatoly Dobrynin served as Soviet ambassador to the United States for over two decades, from 1962 to 1986. His tenure coincided with five Soviet leaders and six U.S. presidents, and included such pivotal moments as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. war in Vietnam and Soviet war in Afghanistan, and the Soviet Union’s downing of Korean Airlines Flight 007. His steady diplomatic presence during his service in Washington provided a crucial element of stability during some of the most tense episodes of the Cold War.
Speakers: Amb. Anatoly Antonov - Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States of America, Permanent Observer of the Russian Federation to the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C.
James F. Collins - Diplomat in Residence and Senior Associate, Russia and Eurasia Program, Carnegie Endowment; U.S. Ambassador to Russia (1997-2001)
Svetlana Savranskaya - Senior Analyst, National Security Archive, The George Washington University
William Taubman - Bertrand Snell Professor of Political Science Emeritus, Amherst College
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by phone from Hamburg, Germany by Christoph Harig, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, to discuss the changing role of Latin America armed forces.
Guest host Anna Prusa of the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute is joined by phone from Brazil by Renato Leite Monteiro, head of the Privacy and Data Protection Practice at Baptista Luz Advogados and director of Data Privacy Brazil, an organization focused on education and applied research on privacy and data protection, to discuss what to expect from Brazil's new general data protection law.
Approximately half a year ago, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected based on his campaign promises of peace, a responsive government, anti-corruption reforms, and increasing the average household income. How has the new president and his team met these expectations? Do Ukrainians still trust their new government? Kennan Institute Senior Advisor on Ukraine Mykhailo Minakov discussed these questions and areas in which the new administration has made progress and where more progress is needed.
Speaker: Mykhailo Minakov - Senior Advisor; Editor-in-Chief, Focus Ukraine Blog
Moderator: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute
In this Ground Truth Briefing, a panel of noted Chilean experts discussed the underlying causes of unrest and, just as important, the path forward. Will the dialogue between the government and the opposition parties be successful? What reforms are on the table? Are there grounds for consensus, and if so, over what? How quickly will the legislature respond to measures introduced by the government or the opposition? How best can constitutional issues be addressed? How will the government address future challenges to public order in the midst of widespread criticism over human rights abuses committed by government forces?
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Sarah Nielson, an Argentina Project researcher at the Wilson Center and former reporter for the Bubble, an English-language media company in Argentina, to discuss Alberto Fernández’s dog and how young Argentines are shaping the political landscape.
November 12, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Email lap@wilsoncenter.org to sponsor the podcast Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Anne Slaughter Andrew, former U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica and board member at the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program, to discuss climate policy in Latin America.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Syria presents a tapestry of challenges to policymakers. Wilson Scholar Amy Austin Holmes joins us in part one of a two part conversation about Syria, Turkey, Russia, the Kurds, and the United States.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Syria presents a tapestry of challenges to policymakers. Wilson Scholar Amy Austin Holmes joins us in part two of a two part conversation about Syria, Turkey, Russia, the Kurds, and the United States. So if you haven't already listened to part one, you may want to hit that one first.
In 1919, nearly one hundred thousand Jews were murdered in Ukraine and Poland in pogroms. These ethnic riots dominated headlines and international affairs of their time as aid workers warned that six million Jews were in danger of complete extermination. Twenty years later, these dire predictions came true. This talk examined how the genocidal violence that engulfed the region right after the revolution laid the groundwork for the Holocaust.
Today’s episode features highlights from “Adelante or Déjà vu?”, our recent seminar on Argentina’s presidential election, co-hosted by the John Hopkins SAIS. La Nación’s Rafael Mathus moderated the panel, featuring our host, Benjamin Gedan; Monica de Bolle, a Johns Hopkins professor and board member of the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program; and Paula Alonso, a professor at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.
November 5, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Email lap@wilsoncenter.org to sponsor the podcast Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Forget buying Greenland, the largest island in the world. China wants to lease Tulagi. Never heard of it? Well, after this episode you will. Abraham Denmark walks us through diplomatic moves being made by Pacific Island nations and why the US relationship with these countries is strategically important.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
We have heard a lot of opinions of how President Trump has dealt with immigration, the border, and foreign policy. But in explaining a new piece he has written, Duncan Wood, Director of the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute, provides us with some interesting insight into what President Trump has gotten right on the US/Mexico relationship
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Nicolás Saldías, a senior researcher at the Wilson Center's Latin American Program, to discuss the first round of Uruguay's presidential election, and the possible end to the Frente Amplio's 15-year reign.
Shortlisted for an Academy Award in the documentary category, “Women of the Gulag” tells the compelling and tragic stories of six women—possibly, the last survivors—who found themselves caught up in Stalin’s massive slave labor machine. Through first-person accounts, the film captures the horror of exile and the power of the will to survive, while bringing to the fore the voices and experiences of Gulag’s female victims. The screening was followed by a discussion with filmmaker Marianna Yarovskaya and former Galina Starovoitova Fellow Elena Racheva.
Due to technical difficulties, some of the audio may be cut. We apologize for this inconvenience.
Speakers: Marianna Yarovskaya - Filmmaker Elena Racheva - Galina Starovoitova Fellow; PhD Candidate, University of Oxford
George F. Kennan was the leading voice in shaping the U.S. foreign policy toward Russia for the majority of the 20th century. A Kennan for Our Times: Revisiting America's Greatest 20th Century Diplomat in the 21st Century, edited by Kennan Institute Director Matthew Rojansky and Catholic University Professor Michael Kimmage, highlights his enduring legacy. It is a collection of scholarly and personal essays as well as interviews with four previous directors of the Office of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State, which George F. Kennan established.
To celebrate the book’s launch, the Kennan Institute hosted a discussion with its editors, along with Jon Finer, a former director of the Office of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State, and American University professor James Goldgeier, moderated by Andrea Kendall-Taylor of the Center for a New American Security. This event addressed containment, the U.S.-Russian relationship, policy planning, and the international order in the 21st century via an analysis of the career and thinking of George Kennan.
Moderator: Andrea Kendall-Taylor - Senior Fellow and Director, Transatlantic Security Program, Center for a New American Security
Speakers: Matthew Rojansky - Director, Kennan Institute Michael Kimmage - Professor of History, Catholic University of America Jon Finer - Adjunct Senior Fellow for U.S. foreign policy, Council on Foreign Relations James Goldgeier - Professor of International Relations, American University School of International Service
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by phone from Buenos Aires by Demian Bio, who is covering Argentina's presidential election for the leading online Argentine news site, Infobae. They discuss the return of the Peronists, and why the election showed off Argentina’s maturing democracy.
October 29, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Email lap@wilsoncenter.org to sponsor the podcast Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the forcible deportation of Crimean Tatars from their homes in Crimea by Joseph Stalin in 1944. Crimean Tatars were not allowed to return to Crimea until the late 1980s. The annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 presented the community with new challenges. Brian Williams and Gulnara Bekirova addressed the history of the deportation and the contemporary issues facing Crimean Tatars.
Speakers: Gulnara Bekirova - Historian and Editor, ATR, Kyiv, Ukraine Brian Williams - Professor, Islamic History, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Nicolás Saldías, a senior researcher at the Wilson Center’s Argentina Project, to discuss how Argentina’s powerful unions and restive social movements could complicate life for whoever wins Argentina’s presidential election.
October 25, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Email lap@wilsoncenter.org to sponsor the podcast Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Robert Albro, an American University professor who studies Bolivian politics, to discuss Evo Morales’s controversial attempt to win a fourth term and the implications of the close and contested vote.
Host Benjamin Gedan speaks to David Smith, a foreign correspondent for The Economist, former senior UN diplomat and special contributor to the Wilson Center’s Argentina Project, to discuss President Mauricio Macri’s surprisingly energetic, albeit quixotic, campaign to win reelection.
October 22, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Email lap@wilsoncenter.org to sponsor the podcast Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
China and Russia. So many differences, but yet so much in common. Stacy Closson joins us to sort through the venn diagram of issues that are in the China/Russia relationship. And what that means for the US and the world in the future.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Michael Penfold, a Wilson Center Global Fellow and professor at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA) in Caracas, to discuss if the Norway-mediated dialogue between Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guiadó can be salvaged.
The Short Course on the History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks) defined Stalinist ideology, both at home and throughout the communist world abroad. It was quite literally the USSR’s master narrative between 1938 and 1956—a definitive statement on history, politics, and Marxism-Leninism that scripted Soviet society for a generation. Professor David Brandenberger revealed for the first time the enormous role that Stalin played in the development of this all-important text and the unparalleled control that the dictator wielded over the Soviet historical imagination. He was joined by Vladimir Tismaneanu for a discussion on the book.
In 1991, as tanks moved through Moscow to seize the Russian White House, Russia’s first Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev stood with President Boris Yeltsin and his team. Kozyrev later participated in negotiations among leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus to formally end the Soviet Union and create the newly independent Russian Federation.
To celebrate the launch of his new book The Firebird: The Elusive Fate of Russian Democracy, Kozyrev took the audience into the corridors of power to provide a startling eyewitness account of the collapse of the Soviet Union. He discussed the struggle to create a democratic Russia, as well as the nascent government’s attempts to forge a new foreign policy.
While Russia’s imperial history shares similarities to that of Western European states from the 16th to 20th century, Russia’s is arguably the most complex and contradictory. Dr. Vladislav Inozemtsev, Director of the Center for Post-Industrial Studies, discussed the course of Russia’s empire-building efforts over the centuries. He contends that while modern Russia is the heir to both the Tsarist and Soviet empires, it inherited all the worst features of each system, which has created a highly unstable and fragile political system today.
Benjamin Gedan is joined by phone from Buenos Aires by Bloomberg reporter Patrick Gillespie to discuss Patrick’s recent article on Argentina’s collapsing real estate market and the implications for Argentina’s sputtering construction industry. Read Patrick’s article here, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-01/capital-controls-sky-high-rates-crush-argentine-housing-market.
October 16, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Email lap@wilsoncenter.org to sponsor the podcast Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
American University Professor and Wilson Center Scholar Michelle Egan helps us understand Brexit, whether it will happen or not. This is a great catch up if you haven't followed the day to day back and forth of this international challenge, and great for understanding what comes next. Also, a wonderful thank you to The Right Honourable John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, for providing years worth of colorful clips of him bringing a raucous House to order. He has announced that he will stand down on October 31st of this year, so enjoy his witty retorts while you can!
Host Benjamin Gedan and Monica de Bolle, a Wilson Center Latin American Program board member and director of the Latin American Studies Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, discuss why Uruguay has the most to lose should the Mercosur-EU free trade agreement fall apart. They were speaking at a recent Wilson Center seminar on Uruguay’s presidential election.. Watch the full Webcast here, https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/end-era-uruguays-unexpectedly-close-election
Almost twenty years after Russia ratified the European Convention on Human Rights, the Chairman of its Constitutional Court expressed resentment of the “subordination” of Russian sovereignty. In response, a new law expanded the Russian court’s jurisdiction to review judgements made by the European Court of Human Rights. Professor Jeffrey Kahn analyzed this new law and its application framed within the larger context of Russia’s experience of this human rights treaty. He argued that while it stands on weak ground, the law raises deeper theoretical and practical questions for the Convention and offers a possible challenge to the final interpretive authority of the European Court.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Aynne Kokas is back! You see, she was studying China's censorship of American media since before it was cool. And this week, with situations between China and the NBA and South Park hitting the news, it's definitely cool. Take a listen to her previous episode with us if you haven't already, and listen to our episodes with Robert Daly filling in context on the Hong Kong protests.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Kristie Pellecchia, OPIC’s senior adviser for Latin America, to discuss her high-profile trip to Argentina, Paraguay and Colombia; OPIC’s support for female entrepreneurs; and OPIC’s strategy for drawing U.S. investment to a region in the face of rising Chinese engagement.
October 8, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Email lap@wilsoncenter.org to sponsor the podcast Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Sixty years ago, the first organized bilateral scientific exchange programs between the United States and the Soviet Union began. These exchanges became symbolic of the overall changing bilateral relationship. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, scientific cooperation between the US and successor states has drastically changed and these programs have all but vanished. In his book From Pugwash to Putin: A Critical History of US-Soviet Scientific Cooperation, Gerson Sher, who led major programs in the basic sciences in both government and nonprofit organizations, offers an in-depth assessment of this history and lessons learned based on over sixty interviews with scientists, diplomats, and others from both sides spanning the entire period.
Bangladesh's December 2018 election produced a lopsided victory for the incumbent Awami League party, prompting allegations of fraud. This event examines what the implications of this election have been, and will be, for politics in Bangladesh. Ali Riaz, drawing on his new book Voting in a Hybrid Regime: Explaining the 2018 Bangladesh Election, will argue that Bangladesh's election played out in a hybrid system—combining both democratic and authoritarian traits. Dr. Riaz will discuss what this means for Bangladesh and for the growing numbers of hybrid regimes around the world.
Speaker
Ali Riaz Professor, Department of Politics and Government, Illinois State University; Former Public Policy Scholar, Wilson Center
The Ukrainian healthcare system has undergone major transformation over the past three years as it has transitioned from a Soviet healthcare system to a modern one based on international best practices. The Zelenskyy Administration has promised additional reforms to the healthcare system. Dr. Ulana Suprun, former Ukrainian Minister of Health, discussed the future of Ukraine’s healthcare transformation and share lessons learned during her three years of service from 2016 to 2019.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
In this Quicktake episode, Morgan Jacobs of the Kennan Institute helps us understand Ukraine vs. THE Ukraine. Interesting etymology ahead!
Host Benjamin Gedan talks to James Bosworth, author of the Latin America Risk Report and CEO of the Hxagon consultancy, to discuss whether President Mauricio Macri's reelection hopes are as far-fetched as polls suggest.
October 1, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Email lap@wilsoncenter.org to sponsor the podcast Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
For all the discord that has historically characterized U.S.-Soviet and later U.S.-Russia relations, limiting the further spread of nuclear weapons has been reliably common ground. Since the mid-Cold War, both powers have remained staunch champions of nuclear nonproliferation, even as relations between them have grown increasingly fraught elsewhere. How should we account for this joint campaign against new nuclear powers? Title VIII Research Scholar Jonathan Hunt considered both the national and international perspective to illuminate how the Kremlin turned to global nuclear governance in the 1960s to consolidate its international status.
Host Benjamin Gedan sits down with Alfredo Romero, a Wilson Center scholar and the executive director of Foro Penal, to discuss UN Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet’s recent report on human rights abuses in Venezuela and Foro Penal’s role in protecting Venezuelan citizens from government repression.
During the early Cold War, the United States government backed exiles from the Soviet bloc as part of an effort to subvert communist power from abroad. In his new book, Cold War Exiles and the CIA, Professor Benjamin Tromly tells the story of the involvement of Russian exiles in US political warfare and espionage programs in the 1950s. He explained how officials and spies on both sides of the Iron Curtain became entangled with the internal struggles of the Russian diaspora in Europe. He also analyzed exile politics as a sub-front of the Cold War in Europe that involved the marshaling of proxies and non-state actors.
El episodio especial de hoy incluye los hitos del último evento del programa de América Latina, en conjunto con el Proyecto Argentina, con Juan Manuel Urtubey, actual candidato a la Vicepresidencia de Argentina y gobernador de la provincia de Salta; y Kezia McKeague, de McLarty Associates. La discusión se centró en cómo la Argentina cambió totalmente a partir de las primarias del 11 de agosto.
September 25, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Email lap@wilsoncenter.org to sponsor the podcast Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Deepfake videos have gone beyond the realm of comedic relief and interesting technological innovation. Now things are getting serious. Meg King, the director of the Science and Technology Innovation Program at the Wilson Center spends her time thinking about the challenges posed by this advancing technology, and gives us a heads up on what to watch out for.
The 2019 regional election cycle in Russia has proven to be one of the most intense and potentially pivotal moments in the last decade. In Moscow, the exclusion of opposition candidates sparked citywide protests at a level unseen since 2011. In St. Petersburg, the Kremlin exerted pressure to ensure the election of the city’s acting governor, Alexander Beglov, despite his unpopularity. Three of Russia’s leading political commentators, Valeriy Solovey, Ella Paneyakh, and Mikhail Vinogradov discussed the results and implications of the September 8 election.
Speakers: Valeriy Solovey - Independent Researcher Ella Paneyakh - Docent, Sociology Department, National Research University Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg Mikhail Vinogradov - Founder and President of the St. Petersburg Politics Foundation
The 2019 regional election cycle in Russia has proven to be one of the most intense and potentially pivotal moments in the last decade. In Moscow, the exclusion of opposition candidates sparked citywide protests at a level unseen since 2011. In St. Petersburg, the Kremlin exerted pressure to ensure the election of the city’s acting governor, Alexander Beglov, despite his unpopularity. Three of Russia’s leading political commentators, Valeriy Solovey, Ella Paneyakh, and Mikhail Vinogradov discussed the results and implications of the September 8 election.
The 2019 regional election cycle in Russia has proven to be one of the most intense and potentially pivotal moments in the last decade. In Moscow, the exclusion of opposition candidates sparked citywide protests at a level unseen since 2011. In St. Petersburg, the Kremlin exerted pressure to ensure the election of the city’s acting governor, Alexander Beglov, despite his unpopularity. Three of Russia’s leading political commentators, Valeriy Solovey, Ella Paneyakh, and Mikhail Vinogradov discussed the results and implications of the September 8 election.
Speakers: Valeriy Solovey - Independent Researcher Ella Paneyakh - Docent, Sociology Department, National Research University Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg Mikhail Vinogradov - Founder and President of the St. Petersburg Politics Foundation
Russia’s hybrid war on the West has disrupted politics in the United States and throughout Europe. Its effects are most visible in the "lands in between," the vulnerable countries that lie between Russia and the European Union and are subject to competing geopolitical influences. In the context of his latest book The Lands in Between, Mitchell Orenstein discussed how geopolitical conflict in this region has polarized politics into pro-Western and pro-Russian camps, how some political leaders are benefiting from this divide, and what implications this may have for the West.
Host Benjamin Gedan sits down with Adrian Bono, founder and CEO of The Essential and the Bubble, two leading English-language publications in Argentina, to discuss how the political stability in Argentina amid economic chaos demonstrates how the country has matured since past crises.
September 17, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Email lap@wilsoncenter.org to sponsor the podcast Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
The Lithuanian Parliament designated 2020 as the "Year of the Vilna Gaon and the History of the Jews of Lithuania." To mark the beginning of these commemorative events, we held a conversation between celebrated Lithuanian poet, scholar, and former Soviet dissident Tomas Venclova and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Vadim Altskan and Ina Navazelskis. The Lithuanian Ambassador to the United States H.E. Rolandas Krisciunas provided opening remarks.
Speakers: Tomas Venclova - Professor Emeritus, Yale University Vadim Altskan - Project Director, International Archival Programs, the Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Ina Navazelskis - Program Coordinator, Department of Oral History, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Fernando Cutz, a global fellow at the Wilson Center and former acting senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the White House’s National Security Council, to discuss John Bolton's departure and what it means for U.S. Venezuela policy.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
48 hours after oil facilities were attacked in Saudi Arabia, Middle East Specialist David Ottaway thinks the next 48 hours are crucial for the world. He walks us through what happened, and what we don't know yet, and how all of this could turn into a much larger power play in the Middle East. Get what you Need to Know, right here.
Benjamin Gedan joined a panel of experts in New York City at a seminar co-sponsored by the Wilson Center’s Argentina Project and UBS to discuss the economic drama in advance of Argentina’s election.
September 12, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Michael Kugelman comes back to discuss the collapse of talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan, giving us an overview of what the talks had centered on until now, and a view from the region on where they were heading and where they may go now.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Seven thousand square miles of the Amazon rain forest are on fire. Anna Prusa of the Brazil Institute at the Wilson Center, helps dissect the policy implications of this event, and helps analyze the Brazilian politics that are entangled in the issue.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Jean Lee, Director of the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy, walks us through where talks between President Trump and Chairman Kim stand today. And she gives us some insight into the tactics of the North Koreans and a peek into the horizon. To understand North Korea, there is no one better to hear from than Jean Lee.
The Trump administration’s trade policy has led to a seismic shift in U.S. economic relations with China. The imposition of tariff barriers in the name of national security in particular have strengthened Washington’s export control regime. For China, it has meant a denial of export privileges against Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation (ZTE) and its subsidiary which have subsequently been lifted, while the outlook for Huawei and its affiliates remain uncertain. As economic relations between Washington and Beijing continue to evolve, they are impacting not only trade but also investment patterns and innovation between the two countries. At the same time, there is growing concerns about whether the two sides will be able to decouple security concerns from economic growth. Join us for a discussion on the challenge of separating economic interests from security concerns, and also how relations between the two economic giants will impact Taiwan in particular.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Kezia McKeague, of McLarty Associates, by phone from Buenos Aires, to discuss her recent meeting with leading presidential candidate Alberto Fernández and her advice to U.S. companies trying to answer the biggest mystery in Argentina: the likely economic policies of a Fernández administration.
September 3, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Natalie Unterstell, a climate change expert and co-founder of the environmental think tank Talanoa, to discuss how the fires in the Brazilian Amazon could scorch the historic Mercosur-EU trade agreement.
Host Benjamin Gedan sits down with Stephen Kaplan, a Wilson Center global fellow and George Washington University professor, to discuss why investment in Latin America might not be zero-sum game between China and the U.S.
August 30, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
A few weeks ago in the episode "Foreign Policy on Top Of The World," I asked Polar Institute Director Mike Sfraga what we needed to look for out on the horizon. He said "Greenland." Now Greenland has emerged, and we revisit this territory of Denmark with a deeper look at its significance, both in recent news and in Arctic geopolitical strategy.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by phone from Buenos Aires by Stephen Kaplan, a Wilson Center global fellow and professor at George Washington University to discuss the violent market reaction to Argentina's presidential primaries and whether populism is on its way back.
August 20, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Reuters Buenos Aires correspondent Cassandra Garrison to discuss the political and economic drama in Argentina and the implications of a Peronist presidency on Argentina's global partners.
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Stephen Kaplan, a Wilson Center global fellow and professor at George Washington University, to discuss how the potential return of Peronists to power in Argentina could change its approach to China, as the United States attempts to limit Chinese influence in Latin America.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
While DC has gone quiet for August, things are heating up in the streets of Hong Kong. For an update, we join back up with Robert Daly of the Wilson Center's Kissinger Institute.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Jennifer Turner directs the Wilson Center's China Environment Forum. And to kick off celebrations of her upcoming 20th Anniversary at the Center, she sat down with me to talk about China's environmental policy and how that may affect the United States. We discuss China's clean energy initiatives, not so clean initiatives, Belt and Road, and recycling.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Latin America Program Senior Advisor and fellow podcast host Benjamin Gedan joins me for a discussion on Argentina and whether or not we have hit "peak podcast" as discussed in the New York Times recently. If you don't know about Argentina and why you should be interested, listen here and then join Ben for the Argentina Project Podcast for more in depth discussions!
Host Benjamin Gedan speaks to David Smith, a foreign correspondent for The Economist, former senior UN diplomat, and special contributor to the Wilson Center’s Argentina Project to unpack the results of Argentina’s stunning August 11 primary results. Does Alberto Fernández’s strong showing signal the end of President Mauricio Macri’s chances for re-election and a sharp reversal for his pro-market policies?
August 12, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Host Benjamin Gedan sits down with Cynthia McClintock, a professor at George Washington University, a former Wilson Center fellow and the author of “Electoral Rules and Democracy in Latin America,” to discuss the story behind Argentina’s quirky election system and the moderating power of a presidential runoff.
August 6, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Host Benjamin Gedan sits down with Christopher Wilson, deputy director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, to discuss the El Paso shooting and the Mexican government’s response.
This time, host Benjamin Gedan is in the hot seat, as a guest on the Wilson Center’s “Need to Know” podcast, in a special crossover episode in which Aaron Jones and Benjamin discuss why U.S. policymakers should be paying more attention to Argentina.
If you liked the episode, make sure to subscribe to “Need to Know” for more insights on global issues from Wilson Center experts, available wherever you get your podcasts.
August 2, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Fernando Cutz, a global fellow at the Wilson Center and former acting senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the White House National Security Council, to talk about President Trump’s apparently fading interest in Venezuela.
Host Benjamin Gedan sits down with podcast regular Alexander Schober, a Latin America analyst for Ducker Frontier, to discuss President Mauricio Macri's re-election campaign and his secret weapon, vice presidential candidate Miguel Ángel Pichetto.
July 30, 2019 Connect with the Argentina Project! Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
What can you do in 2 minutes? Steep a cup of tea. Do 20 jumping jacks. Brush your teeth. Scroll through Twitter. Well, now add listen to expert updates on the top developments in Latin America to the list.
A new podcast from the Wilson Center Latin American Program, Two the Point, where developments in Latin America are explained in 2 minutes.
This episode host Benjamin Gedan sits down with Wilson Center researcher Nicolás Saldías for 2 minutes (and 2 minutes only) to discuss Uruguay’s presidential primaries.
July 26, 2019
Host Benjamin Gedan sits down with former U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Tony Wayne to discuss the AMIA bombing, Hezbollah's operations in the region and Ambassador Wayne's experience working with different Argentine governments on the AMIA case.
Missed our recent Wilson Center event on the AMIA Bombing? Watch the webcast here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/25-years-the-amia-bombing
July 24, 2019
Connect with the Argentina Project! Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
This event marks the launch of a new book by former Wilson Center fellow Farhat Haq. Sharia and the State analyzes the formulation, interpretation, and implementation of sharia in Pakistan and its relationship with the Pakistani state. It draws on insights from Islamic studies, anthropology, and legal studies to examine the interactions between ideas, institutions, and political actors that have enabled blasphemy laws to become a source of continuous controversy. Sharia and the State presents the transformation of sharia from a pluralistic religious precept to a set of rigid laws. Using new materials, including government documents and Urdu-language newspapers, Dr. Haq contextualizes the larger political debate within Pakistan. She also utilizes a comparative and historical framework to weave descriptions of various events with discussions on sharia and blasphemy.
Speakers: Farhat Haq, Professor of Political Science, Monmouth College
Hassan Abbas, Professor and Chair, Department of Regional and Analytical Studies, National Defense University
Anwar Iqbal, Washington DC Correspondent, Dawn newspaper
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Nuclear non-proliferation expert and Senior Vice President of the Wilson Center, Robert Litwak discusses where Iran's nuclear program now stands, and their recent moves regarding the JCPOA and uranium enrichment.
Ukraine held its parliamentary elections to the Supreme Rada on Sunday July 21. These elections will shape the course of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s policies and whether he will have a majority in the parliament to fulfill his ambitious agenda.
In this Ground Truth Briefing, experts analyzed the results of the parliamentary elections and discussed what they will mean for Ukraine and the Zelenskyy administration.
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Talking to our resident House rules expert, Don Wolfensberger, about the confusing incident in the House of Representatives on July 16th, in which a Speaker was called out, a Speaker Pro Tempore abandoned the Chair, and historic words were spoken. Don's wealth of experience serving on the staff of the Rules Committee make him the perfect podcast guest for this subject!
Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Wilson Center Latin American Project board member and Brazil expert Monica de Bolle and Wilson Center senior scholar and EU expert George Kopits to discuss the Mercosur-European Union agreement, why it took 20 years to get here, and the likelihood it will go into force.
July 16, 2019
Connect with the Argentina Project! Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Check us out on Apple, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Today we talk to Dr. Cynthia Arnson, the director of the Latin America Program at the Wilson Center. She is a well respected scholar and commentator on all things Latin America, but particularly Colombia. In this episode we take a look at some of the challenges facing Colombia, and how it affects US policy in the region.
The Wilson Center’s newly named global fellow Francisco de Santibañes joins host Benjamin Gedan to talk about Argentina’s historically distant relationship with free trade.
July 9, 2019
Connect with the Argentina Project! Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project
Former U.S. Ambassador to Argentina and board member for the Wilson Center's Latin American Program Noah Mamet phones in to kickoff Argentina's election season on the podcast. Ambassador Mamet discusses what President Mauricio Macri teaming up with Peronist Miguel Ángel Pichetto means for Juntos por el cambio and the prospect of U.S. private investment in Argentina.
For more election commentary, check out Argentina Elige: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blogs/argentina-elige
July 1, 2019
Connect with the Argentina Project! Twitter: @ArgentinaProj Instagram: @theargentinaproject Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/program/argentina-project