Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

In this episode, we are joined by Chris Miller, author of the new book "Chip Wars: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology." The books tells the story of microchip, including its history and its profound impact on international relations and geopolitics today.  Chris Miller is an Associate Professor of International History at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. We discuss why the microchip is central to our world today, how Taiwan and South Korea became the two major international hubs for the manufacture of specialized chips, and the geopolitical implications of a chip manufacturing supply chain that relies on just a few key nodes. We also discuss efforts by the US to prevent China from building a domestic advanced chip manufacture industry.

As 2023 begins the world is beset by crises driven by conflict, climate change and the nexus of the two. But some places are expected to be hit harder than others as the year unfolds and this episode's conversation with David Miliband offers listeners key insights into where humanitarian needs are expected to be most acute in 2023. David Miliband is the President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, which at the very end 2022 released a watchlist of the top global crises it foresees this year. We kick off with a brief discussion about the methodology of creating a crisis watchlist like this before having a extended discussion about several of his top crises of concern, as well as discuss solutions to confront humanitarian crises across the world. 

The border region of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is home to violent extremist groups eager to recruit young men to their ranks. To counter the lure of groups like the Islamic State officials have experimented with programs and projects that more deeply root young men to their communities and to reduce inter-ethnic conflict.  This kind of peace-building work to strengthen what is known as "social cohesion" often flies under the radar, at least compared to high profile military activities targeting terrorist groups. But there is growing evidence that such programs are effective.  In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Siaka Millogo who ran an experiment testing the impact of social cohesion programs in villages in rural Niger. He is the Director for Burkina Faso and Niger for the aid group Mercy Corps. From 2019 through 2021, Mercy Corps and local partners identified 40 villages at risk of recruitment by violent extremist groups and undertook social cohesion programs in half of those; while the other half was a control group. And in our conversation we discuss how this experiment worked and what it can teach us about the value and impact of hyper local programs to combat violent extremism. 

The United States has several hundred military bases scattered across the world. But how do citizens within countries hosting US troops feel about those bases and US military personnel?  In this episode, we are joined by Carla Martinez Machain, who conducted groundbreaking public opinion research on how exposure to a US military presence in an allied country impacts attitudes towards the US government, military and Americans more generally.  Carla Martinez Machain is a professor of political science at the University of Buffalo and is co-author of the new book "Beyond the Wire: US Military Deployments and Host Country Public" Opinion, with Michael A Allen, Michael E Flynn, and Andrew Stravers.  We discuss the sheer scope of US basing around the world before having a broader conversation about the relationship between US bases, public opinion, and foreign policy. 

Negotiations for a new Global Treaty on Plastics formally kicked off in early December. Delegates from around 160 countries met in Uruguay for the first round of talks aimed at reducing the harmful impact of plastics on both the environment and health.  Antonio Guterres has called plastics "fossil fuels in another form." And called on governments to support a treaty that not only dealt with plastic waste and recycling, but also the entire life cycle of plastics, including measures to control the production of plastics.  My guest today Andres Del Castillo attended the negotiations, which took place in the seaside city Punta Del Este. He is a senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law.  We kick off discussing why regulating plastics through an international agreement is necessary. We then discuss the process for these negotiations and the stances thus far of key governments around the world, including the USA, China, the European Union and countries in the global south.    

Delegates from nearly every country in the world are meeting in Montreal for the UN Biodiversity Conference known as COP15. Their goal is to come up with a new global action plan to preserve nature and global biodiversity. Top among those goals is agreeing to a new global target to protect for conservation 30% of land and 30% and marine habitats by 2030.  Joining me to discuss the importance of this UN Biodiversity Conference, Ongoing at time of recording is John Reid. He co-author of Ever Green: Saving Big Forests to Save the Planet, with the late Thomas Lovejoy and the senior economist and partnership lead at the non-profit Nia Tero We kick off discussing the recent history of global efforts to protect biodiversity and its link to climate change before having a longer discussion about the key issues at play at COP 15 in Montreal. 

On December 8, the World Health Organization released its latest annual report on the global fight against Malaria. The World Malaria Report found that progress against Malaria has begun stabilize after COVID related setbacks. Specifically, after a sharp rise in global malaria deaths during the first year of the pandemic, deaths have now begun to decrease -- though not yet to pre-pandemic levels. In this episode we are joined by Martin Edlund Chief Executive Officer of the non profit organization Malaria No More, to explain what this data shows about humanity's progress against Malaria. We discuss the impact of the COVID pandemic on the fight against malaria before discussion the broader landscape in which Malaria is evolving to become a more resilient foe. We also discuss exciting technological innovations that may enable humanity to reach the goal of reducing Malaria cases and deaths by 90% by 2030.

This episode of Global Dispatches is a bit different than usual. Rather than the host, Mark Leon Goldberg interviewing someone, he is the one being interviewed. Moderators at the WordNews page on Reddit invited Mark to share some of his expertise on international justice issues in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Specifically, what are the prospects of accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Russian war on Ukraine. Mark has reported on the International Criminal Court and other issues related to war crimes and crimes against humanity for nearly 20 years and took questions from moderator Akaash Maharaj, Ambassador-at-Large for the Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption and a fellow at the Munk School at the University of Toronto.

Rare protests broke out across several cities in China in recent weeks. Demonstrators took to the streets to protest the government's extreme Zero Covid policy, which imposes harsh lockdowns in an effort to stamp out the virus. In some cases, the protests took aim at the government itself, calling for Xi Jinping to step down.  Protests of this kind are extremely rare, so this movement understandable caught the attention of the world. It also apparently caught the attention of the government which has since signaled an easing of its quarantine policies.  In this episode, we speak with Kaiser Kuo, host of The Sinica Podcast, from The China Project. We spoke just hours after it was announced that former president Jiang Zemin had passed away at the age of 96. We discuss Jiang Zemin's legacy on china today and how his death may serve as a catalyst for further protest in China. We then have an extended conversation about the rationale of Xi Jinpin's Zero Covid policy, and what may come next for this policy and the protest movement.

On November 13, six people were killed in a bombing in Istanbul, which the government of Turkey blamed on a Kurdish militant group based in Northern Syria. Shortly thereafter, Turkey began targeting Kurdish positions in Syria and Iraq, with President Erdogan threatening an imminent ground invasion of Northern Syria.  In this episode, we speak with Lisel Hintz, assistant professor of international relations a the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, to discuss this bombing and this escalating conflict, which comes amid a profound shift in Turkey's relationships with other countries in the region. We begin by talking about what we know about the November 13th attack and the Turkish government's attempt to control the narrative before having a broader conversation about how this crisis informs, and is informed by, recent changes in Turkey's foreign policy. This including a warming of relations with former regional adversaries like Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Lisel Hintz also explains the domestic political considerations that may be driving Erdogan's decisions on the use of force in Syria ahead of elections next year --- Podcast announcement: Regular listeners will recall this that summer we announced that the podcast had received a grant from Building a Stronger Future, Inc the family foundation of Sam Bankman-Fried. In case you are unaware Sam Bankman-Fried is the founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and professed effective altruist whose company declared bankruptcy in November. Needless to say, the grant, which was to be for three years will not be extended. The show will keep on keeping on. But we now need the support of our dedicated audience. There are two ways you can support the show. If you are listening to this on Apple Podcasts, you can become a paying subscriber with a few taps of your finger. Alternatively, you can visit Patreon.com/GlobalDispatches and sign up for a premium subscription. In both cases, you will unlock access to our entire archive featuring hundreds of episodes. You will also be helping to ensure that the show continues to thrive for the longterm. So please do take a moment to support out work by subscribing on Apple Podcasts or signing up on Patreon.com/globaldispatches - and if you sign up on Patreon, as an added bonus, we will gladly send you a sticker in the mail. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches