Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

A protest movement in Sudan is posing the biggest challenge to the genocidal regime of Omar al Bashir in decades. The protests began just before Christmas, ostensibly over an increase in the price of bread and they quickly spread. Predictably, the regime has responded with violence but nevertheless, these protests persist. On the line with me to discuss the origins of this protest movement, how it spread and whether or not it may take down the nearly thirty year reign of Omar al Bashir is Zachariah Cherian Mampilly.   He is a professor of political science and international studies at Vassar College and in this episode we discuss both what has made the regime of Omar al Bashir so enduring, and how this protest movement may evolve over the coming weeks and months.   Join our referral program!   Before we begin, I wanted to let you know about a way you can share this podcast with others who are similarly interested in global issues beyond the headlines. I'm launching a referral program in which for the simple act of telling people about the show, you can earn some freebies and rewards. If you tell just one person about the show, I'll send you my specially curated list of over 50 Twitter handles and Instagram accounts that every global affairs nerd should follow. The rewards get better from there, including a podcast mug and tote bag, and a free trial of my DAWNS Digest news clips service. To learn more and enter this limited time promo, you can go to Global Dispatches Podcast.com or click on the link in the description field of this podcast episode.

World Bank president Jim Yong Kim is stepping down at the end January. He made that announcement on January 7th, surprising most observers for the fact that he is resigning from his post with three years left in his second term.  This coming vacancy presents a key inflection point for the World Bank, according to my guest today, Scott Morris. Scott Morris is a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and longtime observer and analyst of the World Bank. In this conversation we discuss Jim Kim's legacy at the Bank and why his departure now sets the stage for a potential clash between the Trump administration and other governments over who will next lead the Bank.    An American has always headed the World Bank. This is owing to a deal struck between the United States and Europe in which the US backs the European nominee for head of the International Monetary Fund while Europe back the US nominee for head of the World Bank. But as Scott Morris explains, that longstanding tradition may now come to an end.

You would not really know it from the headlines, but more irregular migrants and refugees are arriving to Europe via Morocco than are arriving to Italy via Libya or to Greece via Turkey. In fact, as the numbers of migrants arriving to Europe declined overall in 2018, the migrant route from Morocco to Spain experienced a sharp increase.    On the line with me to explain why the Morocco-to-Spain route has become so popular, and what this change in migration routes says about Europe's shifting attitudes towards migrants and refugees is Joe Wallen.   Joe Wallen is a freelance foreign correspondent for the Telegraph newspaper, the Guardian and al Jazeera. He's reported extensively from sub-saharan migrant communities in Morocco who seek to make the journey across the straight of Gibraltar. In the process,  he has reported on human rights abuses that are being visited upon this community by both traffickers and Moroccan security forces backed by the European Union.    We kick off with a discussion of the evolving migrant routes from Africa and the middle east before having a longer discussion about the current situation in Morocco.

On December 1st, a business executive named Meng Wanzhou was arrested while transferring through the Vancouver airport at the request of US authorities. Ms Meng is the CFO of the Chinese telecom giant Huawei and now faces extradition to the United States.    About ten days later, a former Canadian diplomat and analyst with the International Crisis Group named Michael Kovrig was mysteriously arrested in China. His arrest was followed by the arrest of another Canadian, businessman Micheal Spavor, under similarly opaque circumstances.    These incidents have plunged Canada into a diplomatic crisis --  and this crisis has implications far beyond Canada, according to my guest today Stephanie Carvin. Stephanie Carvin is an assistant professor of International affairs at Carlton University in Ottawa. She is also the host of a Podcast called Intrepid.   In this episode we discuss both the details of this diplomatic crisis and why what is happening right now between China and Canada is something to which every observer of international affairs ought to be paying close attention.

One of the worst mass atrocities in recent times took place in Sri Lanka during the final days of that country’s long civil war. In May 2009, tens of thousands of people were killed by Sri Lankan armed forces over the course of just a few days as the military sought to deal a final blow to an insurgent group known as the Tamil Tigers. In the process, they killed as many as 40,000 civilians. No one was brought to justice for this crime against humanity. And the lack of accountability for those crimes is a key factor in that my guest, Kate Cronin- Furman, argues is contributing to political instability in Sri Lanka today. Kate Cronin-Furman is an assistant professor of Human Rights in the Department of Political Science, University College London. In this conversation, she explains what happened during the final days of that civil war when this massacre occurred. We then discuss how the forces that carried out that crime against humanity are posing a big challenge to the political life of Sri Lanka, which entered an extremely tumultuous period this fall in which two people claimed to be prime minister at the same time. We kick off discussing the Sri Lankan civil war and its brutal end days before having a longer discussion about the ways in which the lack of accountability for those events are undermining the political stability of Sri Lanka today. This massacre of 40,000 people was second only to the genocide in Darfur as the worst mass atrocity event of the first decade of the 21st century. As you will learn in this episode, Sri Lankan politics is still defined by this atrocity in ways harmful to a healthy democracy.    

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert is Donald Trump's nominee to serve as the next US Ambassador to the United Nations. If confirmed, she will replace of course Nikki Haley, who served in the role for nearly two years. Heather Nauert is a former journalist and Fox News personality before joining the State Department in April 2017.   As State Department spokesperson, Heather Nauert held regular briefings with the State Department press corps, so I thought it would be a good idea to invite a veteran member of that press corps on the show.   On the line with me is reporter Matt Lee of the Associated Press. Matt Lee has covered the State Department for nearly 20 years and has seen many State Department spokespeople come and go. In this conversation, we discuss what distinguished Heather Naurert from her predecessors and what her performance as sState Department spokesperson might suggest about how she would approach the job of UN Ambassador.   We also discuss the implications of a decision by the White House to downgrade the position of UN Ambassador from a cabinet level position, which is was during Nikki Haley's tenure. The UN ambassador will no longer serve on the National Security Council and we discuss what that means in terms of foreign policy decision making.   Support the show! 

Massive infrastructure projects like the building of ports, roads and railways are becoming more and more commonplace in the developing world. According to my guest today, the reason we are seeing more of these projects is a burgeoning global rivalry between China and the United States. Seth Schindler is a senior lecturer in urban development and transformation at the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester. He studies large scale infrastructure projects and as he explains were are on the cusp of an infrastructure "arms race" between the US and China for connecting the developing world. He predicts that geopolitical rivalry between China and the United States will be the key factor driving the development of these massive projects. In our conversation we talk through the implications of this trend, which has accelerated since China launched a massive global infrastructure-building strategy known as the Belt and Road Initiative. It was in response to this Chinese strategy that the US Congress passed a law known as the US BUILD ACT, which established a new International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC)  We kick off this conversation talking about both the Belt and Road Initiative and the new US International Development Finance Corporation, before having a broader discussion about the ways this rivalry will manifest itself around the world and its impact on global development.  This episode is part of a content partnership between the podcast and the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester. Experts from the Global Development Institute discuss their research and also the pressing news of the day as it relates to global inequalities and development.

A protest movement in France known as the Gilets Jaunes, or Yellow Vests, has become a political crisis for French President Emmanuel Macron. The protest movement began over a hike in a fuel tax, but has grown into something much more and is now threatening to further weaken Macron, who was already deeply unpopular in France. On the line with me to discuss the origins of this movement and its political significance both in France and throughout Europe is Arthur Goldhammer, a senior affiliate with the Center for European Studies at Harvard University. He is also a translator of French works into english. If you are one of the many people who read Thomas Picketty's book Capitalism in the 20th Century, you read Art Goldhammer's translation.   We kick off discussing the origins of this protest movement, then have a wider discussion about the roots of Macron's unpopularity in France and the implications of his unpopularity for Europe, the European Project and liberal democracy more broadly.    Become a premium subscriber! 

Over 180 countries are endorsing what is known as the Global Compact for Migration. The text of this non-binding agreement was finalized over the summer, and countries are meeting in Marrakech Morocco on December 10th and 11th to formally launch the Compact.  There is a great deal of misinformation being spread, mostly by right wing governments in Europe and here in the US, about what this agreement entails. This agreement is not a treaty. Rather, it is an agreed set of principles and creates a kind of platform for multilateral and bilateral cooperation around issues of international migration. On the line to explain the Global Compact for Migration, better known around the UN as the "GCM" is Alice Thomas of Refugees International.   I caught up with Alice Thomas from Marrakech where she was participating in civil society forums around the Compact. We discuss both the content of the Compact and its potential impact on destination countries, origin countries and migrants themselves. We also discuss the impact of the non-participation of a few countries in this compact, including the United States and some countries in Europe.   If you have 20 minutes and want to a primer on the Global Compact For Migration, then I think you will very much appreciate this conversation.   Access Your Rewards By Becoming a Premium Subscriber 

The Kingdom of Bahrain is the smallest country in the Middle East. It is an island in the Persian Gulf connected to Saudi Arabia by a causeway. And it is home to a very large US naval base, that houses the Navy's fifth fleet.    Bahrain is also in the midst of a years long crackdown in which political opposition figures, human rights defenders, journalists and bloggers have been languishing in jail. And it was in this context that last month Bahrain held elections that were a total sham, according to my guest today, Brian Dooley. Brian Dooley is a senior advisor at Human Rights First and as he explains, the politics and international relations of Bahrain can teach us a lot about broader trends in the Middle East. In our conversation, we discuss why these recent elections in Bahrain matter and what the international community can do to restore a semblance of representative democracy to Bahrain. Become a premium subscriber to the podcast and unlock a bucket of rewards! Click here