Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Elected in 2019 as a 37 year old third party candidate, the president of El Salvador Nayib Bukele is a political phenom. He has a hipster's disposition, but an authoritarian's proclivities.  a On the line to explain the rise of Nayib Bukele and the demise of democratic checks and balances in El Salvador is Frida Ghitis,  She is a world affairs analyst and columnist for World Politics Review.  We kick off discussing the sudden rise of Bukele in Salvadorian politics before entering into a discussion about the implications of his authoritarian tendencies.   

Conflict in Israel and Palestine is escalating in ways we have seen before: an Israeli military assault on Gaza as rockets fly from Gaza to Israel. But what distinguishes this latest iteration of the Arab-Israeli conflict is that violence is spreading within Israel. Over the last several days there have been multiple incidents of mob attacks between Jews and Arabs in towns in Israel with mixed populations between Palestinian citizens of Israel and Jews. The threat of widespread communal violence is now very acute. On the line with me to help me understand the events leading up to this latest conflict and where it may be headed next is Dana el-Kurd. She an assistant professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and a researcher at the Arab Institute for Research and Policy Studies.   

The last time World Food Program Chief Economist Arif Husain came on the show to discuss global trends in food security was 15 months ago. Needless to say, since January 2020 and the onset of the pandemic food insecurity and hunger around the world have gotten much worse.  We kick off this conversation discussing a new report on global hunger and food security before have a longer discussion about what, exactly, is driving a current surge in food insecurity and hunger around the world today -- and what can be done about it.        

It was a combination of imperial ambition and white supremacy that inspired the advent of the field of global health in the 19th century and that colonialist legacy can still be seen in the practice of global health today.  Guest: Dr. Ashti Doobay-Persaud is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Medical Education at Northwestern University where she co-directs the Center for Global Health Education and is the Faculty Director of the Master of Science in Global Health program.  Learn more about the MSc in Global Health https://sps.northwestern.edu/global   

The longtime ruler of Chad, Idriss Deby, died from wounds sustained while visiting troops on the battlefield. Deby had been the president of Chad for over 30 years and was considered a stalwart ally of the United States and France, who viewed him as the lynchpin of regional counter-terrorism efforts.  On the line to discuss what the death of Chad president Idriss Deby means for regional and international security -- and for the future of Chad is Reed Brody, Counsel for Human Rights Watch.   

When COVID-19 forced countries to impose widespread lockdowns last year, there was a concurrent surge in gender based violence and domestic abuse. The United Nations has called this a "shadow pandemic" in which lockdowns everywhere lead to a sharp increase in gender based violence. This includes Poland, where even before the pandemic levels of gender based violence were extremely high.  During the first month of the lockdown in March 2020, the country's largest women's rights center received a 50% increase in calls to its emergency domestic abuse hotline. This COVID-induced spike in gender-based violence in Poland comes as the country is deep into a democratic backslide. The government of Poland is controlled by the ruling Law and Justice Party which has eroded media freedom and eviscerated the independence of the judiciary, among other anti-democratic moves. The government is also reactionary in its worldview, including on issues related to gender. It has imposed a near-total ban on abortion and is seeking to withdraw from a key treaty to combat violence against women known as the Istanbul Convention.   My guest today, Annie Hylton is an independent investigative journalist who examined the increase in gender-based violence in Poland in the context of the country's vulnerability to atrocity crimes. "Atrocity crimes" is generally understood to encompass genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. As she explains, there is research suggesting that the erosion of women's rights precedes atrocity crimes. We discuss her reporting from Poland at length in this conversation. Today's episode is produced in partnership with the Stanley Center for Peace and Security whose project "Red Flags or Resilience?" examines COVID-19's impact on atrocity risks.  The project uses journalism to explore the connections between the coronavirus pandemic and the factors for risk and resilience to mass violence and atrocities around the world. You can view Annie Hylton's article on Poland and other works of journalism as they are published by visiting resilience.stanleycenter.org.

India is currently in the midst the single worst spike in COVID cases experienced anywhere in the world since the start of the pandemic.  On the line with me to explain how and why the COVID crisis got so bad so quickly in India is Michael Kugelman, Asia Program Deputy Director and Senior Associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center. We kick off discussing the current humanitarian emergency in India before having a broader conversation about the political and international implications of India's spiraling health crisis.   

On April 22 and 23rd, the White House hosted the Climate Leaders Summit which featured more than 40 world leaders. Joe Biden kicked off the summit with a major announcement that the United States has set a target to reduce by 50% its carbon emissions by the year 2030 On the line with me to discuss the significance of the White House announcement and its implications for climate diplomacy is Pete Ogden, Vice President for Climate and the Environment at the United Nations Foundation.  

The American foreign policy tradition has been recently dominated by just a few ideologies: neoconservatism of the Regan and George W. Bush eras and the liberal internationalism of the Clinton and Obama administrations.  Robert Wright, has helped to introduce and popularize a new kind of intellectual tradition to the public square called "Progressive Realism."  He explains some key principals of a progressive-realist foreign policy and how this ideology might be applied to some key foreign policy challenges, including competition with China and conflict in the middle east.  Guest:  Robert Wright is the author of several books, including  NonZero: The Logic of Human Destiny and runs a newsletter of the same name.  

On April 14th President Biden announced that American Troops will be leaving Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, formally ending US military engagement after twenty years of war. What contributed to this decision? What impact will it have on internal dynamics in Afghanistan and does this mean the Taliban will gain control?  On the line with me to discuss the implications of the decision to end US military presence in Afghanistan is Adam Weinstein,  Research Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft