Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Today's episode was taped live in front a virtual audience as part of a series of a series of episodes examining the relationship between climate and security, produced in partnership with CGIAR, the world's largest global agricultural innovation network. The episode today, which is the seventh in our series, examines the relationship between climate security and inequality in Vietnam. The episode kicks off with Grazia Pacillo, senior economist CGIAR Climate Security, explaining the results of a report about the impact of climate variability on inequality in Vietnam. I then moderate a discussion with a diverse array of panelists who dive deeper into the ways in which climate variability impacts economic and social inequality in Vietnam and what can be done about it. 

In the short history of modern humanitarianism, great crises have often inspired reform in how the international community approaches emergency situations.   Jessica Alexander wrote a sweeping review of how big crises over the last thirty years have compelled the humanitarian aid sector to change how it operates. Her article culminates with a discussion of how the current COVID crisis is forcing a new kind of reckoning in the aid sector. Jessica Alexander is a longtime humanitarian worker and editor of The New Humanitarian's Rethinking Humanitarian Series, which is where her article appears. She is also the author of Chasing Chaos: My Decade in and Out of Humanitarian Aid We kick off our conversation discussing how the aftermath of the Rwanda genocide in the mid 1990s gave rise to a more formalized humanitarian aid sector. We then discuss how big crises like the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the 2010 Haiti Earthquake forced changes to how international humanitarian relief operates, before having a conversation about how COVID might force some fundamental changes in the aid sector. Rethinking Humanitarianism  Chasing Chaos, My Decade in and Out of Humanitarian Aid World Food Program podcast episodes   

Today's episode was taped live in front a virtual audience as part of a series of a series of episodes examining the relationship between climate and security, produced in partnership with CGIAR, the world's largest global agricultural innovation network. The episode today, which is the sixth in our series, examines how to achieve climate security through strengthening partnerships across sectors, disciplines and geographies. Panelists:  Robert Malley, President & CEO, International Crisis Group Claudia Sadoff, Executive Management Team Convener and Managing Director, Research Delivery and Impact, CGIAR Hans Olav Ibrekk, Policy Director - Section for Energy, Climate and Food Security, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Franck Bousquet, Senior Director, Fragility Conflict and Violence Group at the World Bank

 Cote d'Ivoire president Alassane Ouattara is seeking a constitutionally dubious third term in office in elections scheduled for October 31. Opposition supporters have taken to the streets, and several people have been killed in clashes. Cote d'Ivoire has a history of election-related violence and a chaotic situation in the run-up to these elections suggests that the country may erupt in violent conflict.  Mohammad Diatta, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, explains the high-risk political crisis unfolding in the Ivory Coast    

Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous region in the south caucuses that is claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Since 1994, the sides have been locked in stalemate, with periodic fighting. Now, the worst fighting in decades has erupted. In a matter of days, this has become a major international crisis with big geopolitical implications.  Olesya Vartanyan is a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, working in the South Caucuses. I caught up with her from Tblisi, Georgia.  We kick off discussing the history of conflict in this region, before she gives her analysis of why such intense conflict is erupting right now. We also discuss the broader regional and geopolitical implications of this fighting.        

In rural Ethiopia women are more likely than men to collect firewood and cook over stoves that emit harmful smoke. Meanwhile, men are more likely than women to control how household income is spent. Accordingly, men are less likely than women to purchase improved cooking stoves that emit fewer pollutants while cooking. This is the case in rural Ethiopia and also across rural communities throughout much of the developing world.    Dr. Sied Hassan, sought to dig deeper into this phenomenon.  He designed an inventive field experiment to uncover the willingness of men versus the willingness of women to pay for an improved cookstove. Dr. Sied Hassan is a research fellow at Ethiopian Policy Studies institute, a think tank in Ethiopia. He discusses his experiment and the very big policy implications of his findings. We also discuss a related experiment in which he tested various methods to increase the willingness of rural households to pay for solar lighting.  Today’s episode is part of series of episodes that showcase the research and work of the Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative. SETI is an interdisciplinary global collaborative that aims to foster research on energy access and energy transitions in low and middle-income countries. Currently, SETI is housed at Duke University, where it is led by Professors Subhrendu Pattanayak and Marc Jeuland. To learn more about SETI, follow them on Twitter @SETIenergy.  

This episode was taped live in front of a virtual audience and featured four panelists discussing the intersection of climate and security in Colombia.  The experts and policymakers featured in this conversation bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives on the links between climate variability and security in an historically conflict-prone country.  This episode is part of a series of episodes examining the relationship between climate and security, produced in partnership with CGIAR, the world's largest global agricultural innovation network.   Panelists include:  Governor Luis Fernando Suarez, is  acting governor of the Antioquia department, Former Secretary of Government during several periods and a key player in the efforts city and regional governments deployed since the 90’s to counter different waves of political and criminal violence in the Department.  Angelika Rettberg,  professor of Political Science at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. She was part of the government delegation that tried to negotiate with the ELN, which is  one of the older insurgent groups that has not signed a peace agreement with the government.  Frank Pearl, former Minister of Environment of Colombia, the High Presidential Commissioner for Reintegration,  and Senior Lead Peace negotiator during the peace talks between the Colombian Government and the FARC, which lead to the Peace agreement of 2016.  He was also chief negotiator with the ELN   Juan Lucas Restrepo,  Director General of the Alliance between Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture with CGIAR  

On Monday, September 21 the United Nations officially commemorated its 75th anniversary. The centerpiece of this commemoration is a declaration from all 193 member states of the United Nations that reaffirming their commitment to international cooperation to advance peace and security, human rights and development.  The 75th anniversary of the UN provides a good opportunity to reflect on the changing role of the United Nations and of multilateralism more broadly in international relations.  On the line with me to discuss these questions and more is Ambassador Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation. We kick off discussing the significance of the UN 75 Declaration before having a broader conversation about the role of the United Nations and multilateralism in international relations today.  The UN 75 Declaration        

It will be a United Nations General Assembly like no other. Typically this is the time of year where world leaders gather in New York to deliver speeches at the UN and participate in all manner of diplomatic events at the United Nations. But this year UNGA goes virtual.  UNGA Week is always a highlight of the diplomatic calendar, though of course it will look much different this year. A great number of heads of state and world leaders are delivering video-messages, with the exception of Donald Trump who has said he would like to deliver his address in person.    On the line with me to preview some of the storylines for this most unusual UNGA is Richard Gowan, the UN Director of the International Crisis Group.  Related Links: Crisis Group report on "Snap Back" Sanctions on Iran.   https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches Now on Amazon Music!   

On August 27th Paul Rusesabagina flew from his home in Texas to Dubai. Three days later, he mysteriously appeared in Kigali, Rwanda, where authorities proudly proclaimed his arrest. He would not be the first person whom the Rwandan government has targeted this way --  but he is arguably the highest profile.  Paul Rusesabagina was the manager of a high-end hotel in Kigali, Rwanda as the genocide unfolded. His heroism was dramatized in the film Hotel Rwanda.  On the line with me to discuss this situation is Lewis Mudge, the Central Africa Director of Human Rights Watch. We discuss how this government action against Rusesabagina's fits into larger patterns of how the regime of Paul Kagame has targeted dissidents abroad.  https://www.undispatch.com/category/podcast/ https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches