Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

On June 27th, a group of food security experts from the United Nations and major international relief agencies known as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released devastating new data on hunger in Sudan. Their data shows that over 755,000 people are experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity. This means that there are almost no coping mechanisms left, and people are starving to death. Those experiencing this extreme level of food insecurity are spread throughout several regions; it is not localized to just one part of the country. The cause is conflict. In April last year, a full-scale civil war erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The food system in the country, including farmlands and trading routes, has been destroyed. Meanwhile, international humanitarian relief is being obstructed by the warring parties and not reaching people in need in sufficient numbers. My guest today, Dr. Oliver Kiptoo Kirui, is a Research Fellow with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). He recently conducted a large wartime household survey of food security in every region of Sudan. We discuss his findings in detail, as well as what can be done to reverse the massive food crisis gripping the country. The war does not look like it will end anytime soon, so in the midst of conflict, what can be done to limit deaths from starvation and widespread hunger?

On Tuesday, June 25, Kenyan protesters stormed parliament in Nairobi in scenes reminiscent of the January 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol. However, unlike January 6, police responded violently, and at least six people were killed. The protests had been ongoing for days as the Kenyan parliament moved on a finance bill that would increase taxes for ordinary Kenyans in unusual ways. Like many countries in Africa, the government of Kenya faces an extreme level of debt and was looking for new sources of revenue to service its debt payments while also keeping the government functioning. Following the protests, President William Ruto said he would no longer pursue this taxation bill. While protests in Kenya are hardly unusual, what makes this protest movement so unique, according to my guest today, Brian Obara, is that it was not organized along ethnic, tribal, or even class divides. Rather, it was youth-led and broad-based -- and that could signal a profound change in Kenyan politics. Brian Obara is a Kenyan lawyer, media professional, and columnist for The Star, a daily newspaper in Nairobi. We kick off by discussing what was in this ill-fated Finance Bill that so agitated Kenyans. We then discuss what transpired in the protests and what this episode suggests for the future of politics in Kenya.

The situation in Southern Lebanon is extremely precarious. Israel is positioning more and more military assets along its northern border, while Hezbollah continues its near-daily attacks on Israeli targets from Lebanon and has threatened an all-out war. Caught in the middle are about 10,000 United Nations peacekeepers. The United Nations Interim Mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has more peacekeepers deployed per square kilometer than any other UN peacekeeping mission in the world. These peacekeepers have helped avert an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah in the past, but tensions are very high right now. If conflict is averted, it may be due to the off-ramp to continued escalation between Hezbollah and Israel that UNIFIL provides. On the other hand, if Israel and Hezbollah decide to escalate, there’s little these peacekeepers can do to stop them. The lead segment of our second episode of To Save Us From Hell explains the role of UNIFIL in managing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah since 2006 and why some diplomats are considering expanding UNIFIL to prevent a new devastating war in the region. On the flipside, we also discuss what would happen to these 10,000 Blue Helmets if they get caught in the middle of a war between Israel and Hezbollah. Our second segment focuses on a summit this week between Taliban officials and representatives of about 30 governments and international institutions, convened in Doha under UN auspices. This meeting is somewhat controversial and has earned reprobation in some circles for the fact that no Afghan women will be represented. Finally, we share an excerpt of our interview with Courtney Fung, an academic who studies Chinese diplomacy and its approach to the United Nations. This is a 15-minute excerpt of our full 40-minute interview that is available to our paying supporters. The interview covers China’s evolving relationship to the UN, including how the policies and strategies it pursues are changing as it becomes a more robust global power. To Save Us From Hell is listener-powered. Please support our work through your paid subscription: https://www.globaldispatches.org/SaveUs 

Since 2019, Burkina Faso has been in a state of near-constant conflict. Extremist groups control or occupy large swaths of the country—about 40-50% according to some estimates. Meanwhile, the government is extremely unstable and has been toppled by a succession of military coups. The military government in power today is generally hostile to the same Western powers that have historically supported the people of Burkina Faso with humanitarian and development assistance. My guest today, Jan Egeland, is the president of the Norwegian Refugee Council, a large international humanitarian NGO. Each year, the NRC publishes a list of what it considers the most neglected humanitarian emergencies on the planet, and this year, the crisis in Burkina Faso tops the list. Jan Egeland recently returned from Burkina Faso, and in our conversation, he explains why the humanitarian crisis there is so challenging and what can be done to make Burkina Faso less neglected by the international community.    

This is the debut of "To Save Us From Hell," our new weekly chat show about the United Nations. "To Save Us From Hell" is a project of Global Dispatches and features weekly conversations between co-hosts Mark Leon Goldberg and Anjali Dayal about the latest news and happenings around the United Nations. They discuss the implications of Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea for the UN, recent progress on Gaza and Sudan at the Security Council, and who should replace the outgoing top UN humanitarian official, Martin Griffiths. To Save Us From Hell is a project of Global Dispatches and is supported entirely through the paid subscriptions of our supporters. You can access a discounted subscription here: https://www.globaldispatches.org/SaveUs  To Save Us From Hell is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and everywhere you get your podcasts. Go here to learn more: https://www.globaldispatches.org/s/to-save-us-from-hell      

Elections for the European Parliament saw sweeping gains for far-right parties in Germany and France. It was in France that these election results led to the surprising—and very daring—decision by Emmanuel Macron to dissolve parliament and call for snap elections. The first round of these legislative elections will be held on June 30th. Macron is facing a challenge from the far-right National Rally, a party that used to be known as the National Front, which was founded by the Nazi-adjacent Jean-Marie Le Pen and is now led by his daughter, Marine Le Pen. These elections could lead to the far right winning enough seats in the French parliament to lead the government. On the line to discuss the European Parliament elections in general and the results in France is Art Goldhammer, a senior affiliate at the Center for European Studies at Harvard. He explains the political dynamics leading up to these snap elections, and we have a long conversation about the implications for Europe should France be led by the hard-right National Rally.

India's election was supposed to be a coronation for Narendra Modi. Instead, he got a comeuppance. India is, of course, the world's largest democracy, and after a nearly month-long election season, the final results were declared in early June. Narendra Modi and his political party, the BJP, fared much worse than expected. They secured far fewer seats in the Lok Sabha, the parliament, than anticipated, and now Modi and the BJP will have to form a coalition government after losing an outright majority. On the line to discuss the election results and what they mean for Indian politics and foreign policy going forward is Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center's South Asia Institute and also the deputy director of the Wilson Center's new Indo-Pacific program. As Michael Kugelman explains, the outcome of this election suggests a growing skepticism among the Indian public of Modi's brand of Hindu nationalism and the authoritarian tendencies he's embraced.

A new podcast delving into the United Nations, offering expert analysis on its global activities. Hosted by veteran UN watchers, the show aims to shed light on the UN's significance amidst limited media coverage. Crowdfunded approach, targeting a diverse audience including UN insiders and foreign policy enthusiasts.

On Friday, May 31, President Biden made a surprising announcement about a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Biden laid out the terms of this three-phased cessation of hostilities and said that this deal was proposed by Israel and sent to Hamas. The optics of a U.S. president making public what he said was an Israeli proposal made many people question whether or not Israel was fully behind this deal. Meanwhile, Biden aimed much of his remarks at Hamas, urging them to accept this ostensibly Israeli deal. At the time of recording, Hamas has neither accepted nor rejected this proposal. My guest today is Joel Braunold, managing director of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace. We kick off by discussing what is included in this ceasefire agreement before having a long conversation about the reactions and responses to the Biden announcement by Hamas and Israel. We spend a good deal of time discussing some of the motivations behind Hamas' approach to a ceasefire deal and the complex domestic politics in Israel surrounding this deal. Check out our new weekly podcast about the United Nations!  https://www.globaldispatches.org/s/to-save-us-from-hell   

Claudia Sheinbaum will be the next President of Mexico. In national elections on June 2, the protégé of President López Obrador and former Mayor of Mexico City won a landslide victory, earning nearly 59% of the vote. She is a former climate scientist and will be the first woman and the first person of Jewish origin to lead the overwhelmingly Catholic country. But beyond the presidency, there were over 20,000 positions at all levels of government up for election, and it was in these state and local elections that things turned violent. Very violent. This was by far the bloodiest election in Mexico's history, with over 30 candidates assassinated during the campaigning. My guest today, Falko Ernst, is the senior analyst for Mexico at the International Crisis Group. As he explains, this election-related violence is a product of criminal gangs competing for control, influence, power, and wealth. We kick off by discussing Claudia Sheinbaum's background and her unique approach to violent crime as mayor of Mexico City. We then discuss the dynamics that led to violence in the lead-up to these elections and what can be done to disrupt criminal gangs' sway over local politics in Mexico.