Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Before Russia invaded Ukraine the United States and its European allies signaled strongly that they would impose crushing sanctions if Russia, indeed, invaded. Russia invaded anyway. The threat of sanctions were not a deterrent. After surprisingly heavy sanctions were imposed, Russia did not moderate its behavior and cease its attack. Just the opposite. The imposition of sanctions were not, therefore what is known in International Relations speak, a means of compellence. So what have the sanctions accomplished? And why might these sanctions and countermeasures by Russia be leading to a war of economic attrition between Russia and the West? To answer these questions, we are joined by Bruce Jentleson, a professor of political science at Duke University former senior state department official, and author of the new book Sanctions: What Everyone Needs to Know.

There are over 100 health emergencies in Africa each year -- including outbreaks of infectious and deadly diseases like Yellow Fever, meningitis, and ebola. And it is sometimes the case that diseases endemic only in parts of Africa, like MonkeyPox, can spread globally precisely because of limited local capacity to contain an outbreak. A new African Regional Strategy for Health Security and Emergencies commits African countries to concrete steps to strengthen disease surveillance, response and preparedness. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Abdou Salam Gaye, WHO Regional Emergency Director for Africa to discuss this new African health security plan and Africa's role in global pandemic preparedness and response.

China first tested a nuclear weapon in 1964. And since then, Chinese authorites have been content with a relatively small nuclear arsenal. That was, until very recently. There is now mounting evidence that China is substantially expanding its nuclear capabilities. In this episode, we speak with Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a Visiting Researcher at Princeton University's Program on Science and Global Security, to explain what is driving Chinese nuclear strategy. We kick off with a brief history of China's nuclear weapons program before having an in depth discussion about the intentions and motivations behind China's expanding nuclear arsenal. We also discuss what steps China's main rival, the United States, could take to assuage at least some of the concerns driving Chinese nuclear strategy.

One of the key events during UN High Level Week in the New York is a major fundraiser for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, hosted by President Biden. This is the topic of our first segment with Francoise Vanni, the Global Fund's Director of External Relations and Communications. Our second segment features an interview with Susan Ruffo, Senior Advisor for Oceans and Climate at the United Nations Foundation who discusses a meeting of foreign ministers and civil society leaders focused on the clean energy transition. This episode also leads off with a discussion about a unique meeting of the Security Council about war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

Today's episode was recorded on Wednesday, September 21 and under normal circumstances the President of the United States, as host of the UN, would have addressed the General Assembly yesterday. But because of the Queen's funeral in London at the start of the week, the United States traded speaking slots with Senegal. Meaning today was the day of President Biden's much anticipated address to the General Assembly. Shortly after President Biden's speech concluded, we spoke with Richard Gowan, the UN Director of the International Crisis Group and Anjali Dayal professor of International Relations at Fordham University and Senior Scholar in residence at the US Institute of Peace. We kick off discussing highlights from Biden's address before turning to other key speeches and events driving the diplomatic agenda at UNGA this week. Next, we speak with Kate Dodson, Vice President for Global Health at the United Nations Foundation. She had just come from a key meeting on Pandemic preparedness and response, which we discuss.

A key focus of events at the United Nations and around New York this week is on food security and food access. On Tuesday, world leaders held a major Food Security Summit to combat soaring food prices and food insecurity around the world. This is the topic of our first segment today, featuring Rob Vos, director for Markets, Trade and Institutions at the International Food Policy Research Institute. In the second segment, I speak with the Assistant High Commissioner for Operations at the UN Refugee Agency, Raouf Mazou about how refugee issues are being addressed at UNGA this year.

The annual opening of the United Nations General Assembly is always a key moment on the diplomatic calendar. Hundreds of world leaders head to New York to address the General Assembly and participate in various meetings and events around the city. Each day this week, we will bring you the key highlights from the 77th United Nations General Assembly. Today's epsode kicks off with an UNGA77 curtain raiser featuring Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation. She discusses the key storylines, events, moments and speeches that will drive the diplomatic agendaduring UN Week. Next we hear from Thaís Queiroz, Youth Representative for the World Organization of the Scout Movement and United Nations Foundation Next Generation Fellow. She participated in the Transforming Eduction Summit convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres-- a major meeting of heads of state and civil society leaders focused on improving education access and outcomes.

Energy prices are soaring in Europe, driven largely by the uncertainty surrounding Russian gas exports. Making matters worse was an announcement in early September that Russia would not re-open its Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which is a major supplier of gas to Europe. As winter looms, European governments are scrambling to devise policies to minimize the impact of rising energy costs to both their economies and individual consumers. Putin is very deliberately using gas and energy exports as a way to hit back at Europe and break Europeans' steadfast support for Ukraine. Needless to say, Europe's ability to manage this crisis could have a significant impact on European countries approach to the conflict in Ukraine. In this episode, we are joined by Ben Cahill, Senior Fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. We discuss Europe's energy crisis, the EU's response thus far, and the political impact of rising energy costs in Europe, as well as the potential remedies and consequences of energy shortages and price spikes.

United Nations officials issued fresh warnings that parts of Somalia are on the verge of famine. Half the country is in need of food assistance and if present trends continue famine could hit Somalia by October. In this episode, we are joined by Tjada McKenna, CEO of Mercy Corps, a large international humanitarian organization with operations in Somalia. She recently visited the country to witness this unfolding crisis first hand. We kick off discussing what she saw on her trip, before having a broader conversation about the causes and consequences of this food crisis. We also discuss what can be done to avert a full blown famine from taking hold in Somalia in the near future.

In lay July, the military Junta in Myanmar carried out its first executions in decades. Four activists were killed, including very prominant pro-democracy leaders. The military carried out these executions despite widespread international and regional pressure. These executions come a year and a half after the February 1 2021 coup that ended Myanmar's experiment in democracy. The military has imprisoned much of the civilian political leadership of the country, including the country's de-facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The February Coup was met by widespread civil disobedience and, eventually armed resistance. Today, Myanmar is in the midst of a multi-pronged civil war in which the military is fighting various armed groups organized along ethnic lines of Myanmars many minority ethnic groups; as well as militias backed by the toppled civilian leadership. In this episode, we are joined by Gregory Poling, who directs the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he is also a senior fellow. We discuss the recent executions in Myanmar and have a broader discussion about the changing countours of the conflict and what, if anything, the United States and broader international community can do to influence events in Myanmar.