Trending Globally: Politics and Policy

Today, there are over 25 million people living as refugees around the world. Humanitarian crises in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, and countless other countries have led to this staggering figure. No matter the circumstance, it’s a human tragedy – one which we don't seem to have a plan for how to fix.Failing to provide new homes for refugees isn’t only bad for refugees, according to Watson economist Dany Bahar. It’s also a lost opportunity for the countries that could be accepting them. That’s because, as Dany explains on this episode of Trending Globally, immigration of all kinds provides profound economic benefits to host countries in a variety of ways. By looking at data from immigration patterns and refugee crises around the world, Dany and his colleagues are making the case that immigration is a consistent boon for countries, as long as host countries provide the right policies to help immigrants thrive.  In the case of the United States, Dany believes that expanding immigration is more than just an economic opportunity  —  our ability to lead the world as an economic superpower may very well depend on it. Read Dany’s recent article on the topic at Foreign Affairs.Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts.  

Last August, the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, ending its longest-ever military engagement. For a moment, it seemed like the US might be entering a period defined more by its domestic agenda than its international entanglements. But then, of course, Russia invaded Ukraine. The US is getting more involved by the day in this new conflict, and Americans are once again debating what role their military should play in the world. One central question hovering over this debate: as we try to support Ukraine and its people, can we avoid making the same mistakes we made when intervening in Afghanistan and Iraq? Watson Senior Fellow Richard Boucher thinks it’s possible. But first, we need to make sure we’re learning the right lessons. And doing that requires looking back even further in our history than Afghanistan. As Richard explains, understanding how the “Vietnam generation” ended up leading the charge into Afghanistan and Iraq has a lot to teach us about the lessons we should take from past conflicts, and why it can be so difficult to learn them the first time around. From 2006 until 2009, Richard Boucher served as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, where he played a leading role in defining American strategy and diplomacy in Afghanistan. Before that he was the longest-serving Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs in American history. You can find more of his analysis and insights on his blog. Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. 

On this episode, Trending Globally was thrilled to welcome a special guest host: Glenn Loury, professor of economics at the Watson Institute. In addition to being a celebrated economist, Loury is also one of America’s most insightful and incisive thinkers on race and public policy. His guest on this episode, Briahna Joy Gray, is a progressive writer and commentator, and former National Press Secretary for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign. Glenn and Briahna discussed some of the Left’s most prized policy ambitions, including student debt relief, Medicare-for-all, and increasing taxes on America’s wealthiest citizens. Neither Glenn nor Briahna’s political views fall neatly into America’s two main political parties, so while they don’t see eye to eye on most of the issues, the resulting conversation strays from typical partisan talking points. Instead, you’ll hear two independent thinkers respectfully debating America’s biggest policy problems, sometimes taking positions that cut across the partisan grain. Hopefully it will help you see some of America’s most long-standing political dilemmas in a new light. Briahna is the host of the podcast ‘Bad Faith,’ and Glenn is the host of his own podcast, ‘The Glenn Show.’ Their conversation was edited down for this episode of Trending Globally, but you’ll be able to hear the full, unedited version on each of those podcasts soon. You can find them wherever you listen to podcasts. Find more conversations like this on Glenn Loury’s Substack. 

This year, Earth Day marks the beginning of the ninth week of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A geopolitical and military crisis that quickly transformed into an energy crisis, this conflict will have far-reaching repercussions for both humanity and our climate. On this episode, Sarah Baldwin ’87 and Dan Richards talk with experts on the politics, economics, and science of fossil fuel about the relationship between war, technological change, and climate change. Sarah talks with Jeff Colgan, political scientist and director of the Climate Solutions Lab at Watson, about how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (and the resulting sanctions imposed upon  them) have altered the global fossil fuel market. They also discuss what Jeff sees as the two different ways this crisis could impact our fight against climate change: one that will leave you hopeful, while the other…less so. In the second half we highlight the work of Deborah Gordon, a senior fellow at Watson and an expert on both the policies and technologies that undergird the fossil fuel industry. In her book ‘No Standard Oil,’ Deborah corrects the flawed assumptions many of us have regarding the fossil fuel industry, and how these assumptions get in the way of finding a realistic way to fight the worst effects of global climate change. Learn more about and purchase Deborah Gordon’s book, No Standard Oil:Managing Abundant Petroleum in a Warming World.Learn more about and purchase Jeff Colgan’s book, Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War.Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. 

Over the past few years, America’s schools have become a battleground in our national politics. Debates about how we teach history and explore issues of race in school have become flashpoints at every level, from school boards to the Oval Office. And there’s one phrase that’s become particularly attached to this tension: “critical race theory.” Those three words have catapulted from the depths of legal academia into the center of partisan politics. But as Danielle Holley-Walker, dean of Howard University Law School and American Council on Education Fellow at Brown University, explains on this episode of Trending Globally, what people today are describing as critical race theory has little to do with its original meaning. And misappropriation of the phrase isn’t just a careless mistake; its use (and misuse) is part of a calculated backlash against social movements that have gained momentum in recent years. On this episode, Sarah talks with Danielle about how the phrase has transformed from a complex legal concept into a conservative talking point, and what that transformation can tell us about race, education, and politics in America today. Read the New Yorker’s 2021 profile of Christopher Rufo. Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. 

The war in Ukraine has upended what many of us thought we knew about the world today. Whether we’re thinking about Russia and Europe or China and Taiwan, it seems like the range of possible outcomes in conflicts around the world has expanded in unsettling ways. In the midst of all this, Watson Senior Fellow Chas Freeman thinks there’s one key concept we’d all benefit from getting reacquainted with: ‘spheres of influence.’ Chas Freeman is one of America’s leading experts on US-China relations, and a wide-ranging thinker on international affairs, diplomacy, and statecraft. On this episode Chas talks with Watson Director Ed Steinfeld about how thinking in terms of ‘spheres of influence’ could help us better understand the world. In fact, it goes beyond just understanding the world. Chas thinks that concept of ‘spheres of influence’ – with a little tweaking – could actually help global superpowers like the US and China navigate and de-escalate conflicts of the future. Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. 

Fiona Hill became a household name in 2019, as a witness during President Trump’s first impeachment hearing. But before all that, she was an intelligence analyst specializing in Russia and Europe for Presidents Obama and Bush. And she watched closely as economic stagnation and inequality in Russia fueled populism and authoritarianism. As her new book explains, a similar trajectory has been playing out in her birthplace in the North of England, and in her new home – the United States. The book, titled ‘There Is Nothing For You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century,’ combines a personal history with a global history, and in the process explains the social and economic forces that lead to anti-democratic movements.  This episode was originally broadcast on the Rhodes Center Podcast, another show from the Watson Institute that’s hosted by political economist Mark Blyth. It was recorded in late February, so some references to the conflict in Ukraine may be a little out of date by the time you’re listening to this. But regardless of where this conflict stands as you hear this, Fiona’s analysis of what brought Russia, the UK, and the US to this troubling reality is as timely as ever.  Watch a recording of the talk Fiona gave to students on our YouTube Channel.Learn more about and purchase Fiona’s book. Recent analyses on the conflict in Ukraine from other experts at the Watson Institute. 

This past November, Daniel Ortega was reelected as president of Nicaragua. He ensured his victory by imprisoning his political opponents and launching the largest crackdown on political dissent in the country in decades. This was just the most recent step in his multi-decade effort to transform Nicaragua from a budding democracy into an authoritarian regime. What can’t be forgotten is that just one year ago this horrific turn didn’t seem inevitable. On this episode, Dan Richards talks with two experts on the subject: one is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute, the other an activist in Nicaraguan politics who is currently living in exile. They explain how Nicaragua got to its current state of extreme repression, and what might be done to change it.  This is also a story with a special connection to the Watson Institute, which hosted a conference in 2019 marking the 40th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution. Both of the guests on this episode were at that conference, as were multiple activists who are currently imprisoned in Nicaragua. For more context on this crisis you can listen to the Watson Institute’s limited podcast series Revolution Revisited, which told the story of the Sandinista Revolution from the people who lived it. Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Guests on this episode:Stephen Kinzer: Watson Institute Senior fellow in international and public affairs, and author of Blood of Brothers: Life and War in Nicaragua.Luis Carrión: Political activist and democracy advocate, and former senior member of the Sandinista National Liberation Front.  

In this episode you’ll hear from Ieva Jusionyte, an anthropologist and associate professor of international security and anthropology at the Watson Institute. In addition to teaching and research, she also has a side job – as a licensed EMT. In May 2015 she combined these two passions. She moved to Nogales, AZ, to study emergency responders on the US-Mexico border. For two years she studied life along this border, and worked on it as an EMT herself. What she found became the subject of her book, ‘Threshold: Emergency Responders on the U.S.-Mexico Border.’ In it, she explores how the US-Mexico border – as a legal boundary, an idea, and a physical space – changes emergency response, and what these changes reveal about how borders affect people who live near them. Learn more about and purchase Ieva’s book. Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts. 

Over the past few months, Russian President Vladimir Putin has built up a massive  military presence on Russia’s border with Ukraine. As a result, pundits, politicians, and casual observers of the news have all been asking the same questions: would President Putin actually invade Ukraine? And if so, what would that mean for the rest of the world? These are fair questions, of course. But Michael Kennedy, our guest on this week’s episode of Trending Globally, thinks this framing might actually obscure more than it illuminates.Michael is a professor of sociology at the Watson Institute and an expert on social transformation in Eastern Europe in the post-Cold War era. He’s written and taught extensively on Ukraine, and on this episode he helps make sense of this crisis that defies easy explanation. Despite the complexity of the situation, there’s one thing Michael wants us all to see clearly right now: the stakes of this crisis – for the Ukraine, the US, and democracies around the world – couldn’t be higher.  Learn more about the Watson Institute’s other podcasts.