Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Afghanistan is in a humanitarian and human rights tailspin. Since the fall of the Afghan government to the Taliban in August, the Afghan economy has been in a tailspin. A major liquidity crisis is causing widespread suffering among the Afghan people including severe foos insecurity. Meanwhile, a new report from Human Rights Watch details a spate of summary executions and violence meted out by the newly installed de-facto Taliban government.  Guest: Patricia Gossman, Associate Asia Director for Human Rights Watch.  Become a premium subscriber:  https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches   

On December 6, Aung San Suu Kyi was handed down a prison sentence by a court loyal to Myanmar's military junta. Until February of this year, Suu Kyi was the de-facto civilian leader of Myanmar. Her party, the National League for Democracy, had just won re-election in a landslide victory -- the results of which were rejected by the military, which mounted a coup.  The military junta were not swayed massive protests throughout the country and began violently suppressing dissent. Now, violence seems to be escalating, prompting the UN's top human rights official to warn that Myanmar may be sliding into a civil war. My guest today, Matthew Smith, is the co-founder and CEO of Fortify Rights, a human rights organization long active in Myanmar. We kick off discussing the circumstances of Aung San Suu Kyi's criminal conviction before having a broader conversation about the escalating crisis in Myanmar.  Our conversation was recorded live on Twitter using the new Twitter Spaces platform. Twitter is partnering with the podcast to produce episodes recorded as Twitter Spaces. If you would like to participate in one of these live recordings, the best thing to do is follow me on Twitter @MarkLGoldberg.    

Robert Jervis passed away on December 9th at the age of 81. He was one of the major figures of International Relations scholarship  -- in the entire history of International Relations as a field of study.   In October 2015, Robert Jervis sat down with me for a long interview about his life and career in which he discussed how his upbringing shaped his worldview from a young age.It was a long and thoughtful conversation about both his personal history and the origins of some of the big ideas that he brought into this world. This episode was behind a paywall of archived content, available at https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches         

Today's episode was recorded live in front of a virtual audience in partnership with CGIAR, the world's largest agricultural innovation network. It is part of a series of episodes examining the relationship between climate and security. Today's episode takes a deep dive into how gender impacts and is impacted by climate-security. The episode kicks off with introductory remarks by Nicoline de Haan, director of CGIAR GENDER platform.   I moderate a panel discussion featuring a diverse group of experts on this issue, whom I introduce I the top of the moderated session.   

For only the second time in its,  the governing body of the World Health Organization met in a special session. WHO, the World Health Assembly, gathered for a special session. The question at hand: Should member states of the WHO seek to create a new treaty, convention, accord or some sort of international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response?  The meetings occurred just as the new Omicron variant of COVID-19, was popping up in countries around the world, prompting travel bans focused on Southern Africa. On the line to help us understand what happened at this special session of the World Health Assembly and what it means for progress towards an international agreement of some sort on pandemic preparedness and response is Kate Dodson, Vice President for Global Health at the United Nations Foundation.    

Russian military forces are massing on the border of Ukraine. This has prompted widespread concern that Russia may once again seek to invade Ukraine. On the line with me to discuss this unfolding crisis is John Herbst, Senior Director of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council and Former US Ambassador to Ukraine. We kick off with a conversation about what this military buildup may signal - or not - about Vladimir Putin's intensions on Ukraine before having a discussion about what diplomatic and military options exist to deter Russian aggression.  Links: John Herbst's article on the Atlantic Council's website. Access to a premium subscription and the crypto and global development podcast series.  https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches         

The most innovative cryptocurrency projects today are being built in the developing world (Sub-Saharan Africa in particular) to address real-world obstacles to economic development and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.  Cryptocurrency and the blockchain technologies they power carry big implications for global development, but are generally off the radar of the global development and foreign policy community. That may soon change as these technologies become more widely adopted.  Guest Garry Golden demystifies the world of crypto and explains the implications of this emerging technology for emerging economies and the business of global development.  This is a free episode of the new Cryptocurrency and Global Development podcast series and newsletter from Global Dispatches, which profiles crypto projects built to address common global development challenges.  Future episodes in this series will be exclusively available to paying subscribers to the Cryptocurrency and Global Development podcast series and newsletter.  Subscribe --> https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches

U.S. Senator Chris Coons is one of Congress's leading voices shaping U.S. policy on Africa. For many years he was the top Democrat in the Senate Sub-committee on Africa and earlier this year, President Biden tapped Senator Coons to be his special envoy to Ethiopia. (There is now a full time envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman) I caught up with Senator Coons in person at the Halifax International Security Forum, not long after governments around the world advised their citizens to leave Addis Ababa, ahead of a possible battle for control of Ethiopia's capital. Along with fellow journalist Robbie Gramer of Foreign Policy, we asked Senator Coons to explain U.S. policy towards the Ethiopian conflict, including whether or not the time was right to impose sanctions on government and rebel leaders.   

When Joe Biden came to office the Iran Nuclear Dead was on life support. Known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, the Obama-era deal lifted US and UN  sanctions on Iran in return for Iran placing verifiable limits on its nuclear program. The deal was rejected by the Trump administration which re-imposed sanctions; and Iran has responded in kind by re-starting certain aspects of its nuclear program. Here to explain where things stand with nuclear diplomacy between the United States and Iran is Kelsey Davenport, director for non-proliferation policy policy at the Arms Control Association. We spoke ahead of planned talks in Vienna between the United States and Iran, scheduled for the end of November and early December.

The Halifax International Security Forum is a major annual meeting dedicated to fostering closer ties among the world's democracies. The Forum is organized by HFX, an independent public policy organization based in Washington DC dedicated to strengthening strategic cooperation among democratic nations. And on the line today, is Peter van Praig Founding President of Halifax International Security Forum, HFX to preview this year's forum, which runs from November 19 through 21st in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We kick off discussing this history of the Halifax International Security Forum and why it was created 13 years ago before having a longer discussion about the issues, topics and provocations expected at this year's meeting.