Carnegie Council Podcasts

Why is democracy under siege around the world? Economist Dambisa Moyo cites a host of reasons, such as short-term thinking, low voter turnout, the huge sums spent on lobbying, and growing economic challenges. To fix these problems, she has 10 proposals for countries to choose from. They include compulsory voting and paying politicians more in order to stop corruption while also forcing them to be accountable for their policies.

Nadine Strossen gives a rousing, detailed, and convincing defense of free speech as it is laid out in the First Amendment. "American law really is nuanced and makes a great deal of common sense," she says and while censorship of 'hate speech' in other countries is certainly well-intended, in practice the laws have proven to do more harm than good.

Next time on Global Ethics Forum, 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang makes the case for universal basic income in the United States. In this excerpt Yang tells journalist Stephanie Sy how he would pay for $1,000 a month for every American adult.

There is a global surge in "golden visas" for the super-rich, who often have "no connection to the country other than a wire transfer, the ability to press a button, and pass a significant sum of money across borders," says Ayelet Shachar. Countries offering these include the U.S., the UK, and Malta. Yet in the U.S. the "dreamers," who grew up in America, are being denied citizenship. Do we really believe these visas are fair?

"Mexico is very present in our daily lives, sometimes even in ways we don't realize," says Andrew Selee. Did you know, for example, that some of America's most famous baked goods, such as Sara Lee, are owned by a Mexican company and made in Pennsylvania? From manufacturing and trade to film, food, and sports, plus the large number of Americans with Mexican heritage, the economies and cultures of Mexico and the U.S. are woven tightly together.

Next time on Global Ethics Forum, Georgetown’s Melanne Verveer discusses the connections between women’s issues, politics, human rights, and economics. In this excerpt Verveer tells journalist Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson about her role in the Obama administration.

How can you ensure that ethics are a core component, not only of an international affairs education, but of graduates' performance once they go out in the field? In this event for students and alumni of the Elliott School of International Affairs, the School's Dean Brigety and Professors Nolan and Kojm, along with Carnegie Council President Rosenthal, discuss the thorny issues of ethics, leadership, and practice in international relations.

Rome-based journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau tells the horrifying story of the thousands of Nigerian women and girls duped into being trafficked to Italy, where they are forced to become sex slaves, drug mules, or weapons smugglers. How can this be stopped? The Nigerian government turns a blind eye, Libya, the transit point, is a failed state, and Italy is overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of migrants--plus prostitution is legal there.

Muhammad Musa is executive director of BRAC, which is working with the one million Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh. He describes the problems there, including growing tensions with the host community and the threat of the coming monsoon season, which may bring floods and landslides. He looks forward to the day when the Rohingya can go home to Myanmar, but this can only occur with the help of the international community.

In this panel Adrian Basora makes a strong case for democracy as not only promoting American values but also serving U.S. interests, while Maia Otarashvili gives a frightening overview of the rise of "illiberal values" (Viktor Orbán's phrase) in the Eurasia region. Basora and Otarashvili are co-editors of "Does Democracy Matter? The United States and Global Democracy Support" and Nikolas Gvosdev is one of the contributors.