Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

The pandemic has been described as a mass extinction event for journalism. This is true in the United States, Europe and the developed world but even more so in poorer countries.  A free and independent media is a key guardrail for a free and open society -- yet many media organizations in the developing world are struggling to stay afloat.  Guest: Nishant Lalwani, managing director of Luminate, and driving force behind a new International Fund for Public Interest Media. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches

In early November, a civil war broke out in the Tigray region in Ethiopia. The conflict pitted the federal government and its allies against the regional government of Tigray, known as the TPLF.   Since then the fighting has gotten worse and the humanitarian impact for people living in Tigray has been catastrophic. Guest: William Davison, a senior analyst for Ethiopia for International Crisis Group discusses how and why this conflict started, and where it may be headed next.  Premium subscriptions: https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches   

On February 1st, the Burmese military mounted a coup, deposing and detaining the civilian leadership of the country. The military arrested the de-facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other key members of her ruling party.  This coup is a major setback for Myanmar's transition to democracy and a key foreign policy challenge for the new Biden administration.  Why was there a coup in Myanmar and what happens next?  Guest:  John Sifton, Asia Advocacy Director Human Rights Watch. Premium Subscription: https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches 

On February 24 the very first shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine from COVAX arrived in Ghana. COVAX is the international cooperative effort around the development and distribution safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. Ghana became the first country to receive COVID-19 vaccines through COVAX when 600,000 doses landed at the airport in Accra.  On hand to receive these doses was an old friend of mine, Owusu Akoto. He is the founder and CEO of a Ghanian cold chain logistics company called Freezelink.  It was an historic day for COVAX, a hopeful day for Ghana and an exciting moment for my friend who started this company just a couple years ago as a social enterprise to combat food waste in Ghana.  He explains the sometimes unheralded role that cold chain technologies and logistics play in a country's economic and social development. https://www.humanityinaction.org/ 

The conflict in Yemen is entering a new phase. The Houthi rebel group that controls much of the country is launching a new offensive in an oil rich region of the country. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has breathed new life into international diplomatic efforts to end the war by ending US support to the Saudi Arabia lead military campaign.  This episode examines how the Yemen conflict has evolved over the years and where it may be headed next.  Guest: Gregory D. Johnsen, Brookings Institute and former member of the UN Security Council's Panel of Experts on  Yemen.

We know that countries around the world sometimes favor coal because it is cheaper. But new research from my guest today Jan Steckel aims to pinpoint some of the political forces that drive investment in coal.  Steckel along with his research collaborator Michael Jakob are coordinating a series of global case studies to understand the non-economic factors associated with investment in coal-fired power. This episode, produced in partnership with the Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative (SETI) examines how politics drives new investments in coal in the developing world. Their framework is published online here, and a case study on Vietnam is published here.    

President Biden must soon make a key decision about American troop levels in Afghanistan. There are currently about 2,500 American troops in Afghanistan, but under a deal negotiated last year between the United States and the Taliban all American troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by May 2021.  This deal was negotiated by the Trump administration and it is unclear whether or not the new Biden administration will honor it. Guest: Jessica Donati of the Wall Street Journal, author of Eagle Down: The Last Special Forces Fighting the Forever War.      

2021 will be a consequential year for multilateral diplomacy on climate change. A number of key meetings are on the diplomatic calendar and they come just as the new Biden-Harris administration in the United states is seeking to leave its mark on international climate action. The geo-politics of this moment in climate diplomacy are complex and the new administration must skillfully navigate a path forward in order to make good on its promise to treat climate change like the priority it is.  Guest: Rachel Kyte, Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University.  Today’s episode is produced in partnership with the Better World Campaign as part of a series  examining the opportunities for strengthening multilateral engagement by the new Biden-Harris administration and the incoming 117th Congress. To learn more and access additional episodes in this series, please visit http://getusback.org/

Over the last several weeks farmers in India have staged mass demonstrations to protest new government agricultural policies. The farmers say these new laws would be financially ruinous and allow large corporations to dictate the price of agricultural goods.  Now, the apparently ever growing size of these farmer protests, particularly around New Delhi, have brought worldwide attention to these mass protests.  Guest: Michael Kugelman, the Senior Associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center.      

The United States Agency for international development, USAID, is the premier global development agency of the United States government and one of the largest global development organizations in the world. As USAID goes, so goes global development. As Samantha Power prepares to lead USAID, this episode examines the global development priorities the new administration may pursue.  Guest: Sarah Rose, policy fellow at Center for Global Development.