The World Unpacked

In this episode of The World Unpacked, Isaac B. Kardon sits down with Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Andrew Yeo, Senior Fellow and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair at the Brookings Institution. They explore how the role of overseas bases has changed over time and how the U.S., China, and Russia—among other countries—use them to project power today. Despite advances in technology and long-range weapons, bases remain key to grand strategy, political influence, and sustained military reach.

In this episode of The World Unpacked, Isaac Kardon is joined by Darcie Draudt-Véjares to explore how the shipbuilding industry is reshaping global security and industrial policy. They discuss Washington's faltering commercial shipbuilding sector, China's rise through state-led integration, and South Korea and Japan’s dominance in high-tech ship production. Can the U.S. rebuild its maritime power—and what lessons can it learn from its global allies?

In President Donald Trump’s second term, Latin America has taken center stage in U.S. foreign policy—but not without controversy. From aggressive deportation flights to economic coercion and even veiled threats of military action, the Trump administration’s confrontational stance is straining relations across the region.In this episode, Oliver Stuenkel joins Sophia to unpack how these developments are reshaping regional politics and prompting Latin American leaders to reassess their relationship to the United States. Could China emerge as a more stable and attractive partner for countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico? And what would this mean for U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere?Notes: Oliver Stuenkel and Margot Treadwell, "Will Trump's Unpredictable Foreign Policy Boost BRICS?" Foreign Policy, March 24, 2025.

After over a year of devastating conflict, Israel and Hamas reached a three-phase ceasefire agreement in January 2025, brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. The deal allowed for significant increases in humanitarian aid deliveries, prisoner and hostage exchanges, and discussions for a potential permanent ceasefire.This episode was recorded on March 11, ten days after the scheduled completion of Phase 1. Since then, the ceasefire has remained in limbo—Israel is pushing to extend Phase 1, while Hamas wants to advance to Phase 2 negotiations, under which a permanent ceasefire would be established. With talks stalled and a spike in resumed violence on March 18, the road ahead remains uncertain, especially as U.S. policy under President Trump continues to shift.In this episode, Sophia Besch sits down with Zaha Hassan, a Fellow in Carnegie’s Middle East Program and a human rights lawyer. She previously served as the senior legal advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team during Palestine’s bid for UN membership and is a regular participant in track II peace efforts. Together, they explore the fragile ceasefire in Gaza—its implications, challenges and delays with implementation, and the evolving role of the United States in the region under President Donald Trump's administration.Notes:Zaha Hassan and H. A. Hellyer, Suppressing Dissent: Shrinking Civic Space, Transnational Repression and Palestine-Israel, (Oneworld, 2024).

In this insightful discussion, Dara Massicot, a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Program, delves into the shifting dynamics of U.S. military aid to Ukraine. She highlights the implications of the potential suspension of intelligence sharing and its effect on both Ukrainian and European security. The conversation also touches on Europe's urgent need for effective support amidst waning U.S. involvement, the complexities of modernizing Ukraine's military, and the risks surrounding easing sanctions on Russia's defense production.

What's going on in the Korean Peninsula following the impeachment of South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol? How will evolving politics shape Seoul's future relations with North Korea? How will domestic political shifts in the U.S. shape foreign policy and great power relations among Washington, Beijing, Seoul, and Pyongyang?Asia Program Fellow Darcie Draudt-Véjares and Senior Fellow Chung Min Lee discuss these questions and more in this special feature episode of The World Unpacked.

Rising sea levels and climate-driven flooding are reshaping the global economy, with major implications for the U.S. housing market and the global economy. As millions of homes face increased risk, mortgage defaults could surge, home values may plummet, and financial instability could spread worldwide. Governments will soon need large-scale strategies to relocate coastal populations and manage mounting disaster relief costs.In this episode, we explore how climate change threatens financial stability and whether the U.S. is facing another housing market bubble. Sophia Besch discusses these questions with Susan Crawford, a senior fellow for Carnegie's Climate, Sustainability, and Geopolitics Program.Notes:Susan Crawford, Charleston: Race, Water, and the Coming Storm, (Pegasus Books, 2023).Amitov Ghosh, The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, (University of Chicago Press, 2021).

China’s new AI model, DeepSeek, has rattled markets and raised questions about the global AI race. Meanwhile, just before leaving office, the Biden administration introduced the Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion—an ambitious new rule that could reshape how—and who—gets access to advanced AI technologies from the U.S. It is designed to regulate AI exports, strengthen partnerships with allies, and restrict adversaries’ access to advanced AI chips and models.But with the Trump administration now in power, will this framework survive? The stakes are high: AI chips fuel cutting-edge technologies, and whoever controls them holds the keys to the future of advanced AI systems.In this episode, Sophia Besch and Technology and International Affairs Fellow Sam Winter-Levy explore what Biden’s new AI framework aims to achieve, how DeepSeek might challenge U.S. AI dominance, and what we might expect from the Trump administration's with respect to AI exports. Will Washington double down on AI restrictions, or will Trump scrap Biden’s framework in favor of a new approach? And with China rapidly advancing, can the U.S. maintain its technological edge?Notes:Sam Winter-Levy, "The AI Export Dilemma: Three Competing Visions for U.S. Strategy," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 13, 2024.Sam Winter-Levy, "With Its Latest Rule, the U.S. Tries to Govern AI’s Global Spread,"  Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, January 13, 2025.Matt Sheehan and Sam Winter-Levy, "Chips, China, and a Lot of Money: The Factors Driving the DeepSeek AI Turmoil," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, January 28, 2025.Leopold Aschenbrenner, "Situational Awareness: The Decade Ahead," June 2024.Jeffrey Ding, Technology and the Rise of Great Powers: How Diffusion Shapes Economic Competition, Princeton University Press (2024).Benjamín Labatut, When We Cease to Understand the World, Pushkin Press and New York Review of Books (2021).

The Biden administration contends it has left the United States in a better geopolitical position than when it entered office four years ago. In a year-end foreign policy review from Carnegie’s American Statecraft Program, Director Chris Chivvis and Senior Fellow Stephen Wertheim critique Biden's foreign policy legacy and discuss what Trump might do next.Why has it been so difficult for Biden to restrain Israel and succeed in Ukraine? What might a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire deal look like? How can the U.S. navigate toward a more stable U.S.-China relationship, despite entrenched beliefs that we are living through a second Cold War?Join them for a wide-ranging conversation on the most pressing issues facing the United States and the world. Shownotes:The Economist, Chris Chivvis: Talks Between Russia and Ukraine would Save LivesFinancial Times, Stephen Wertheim: It's Time for Europe's Magical Thinking on Defence to End The Guardian, Chris Chivvis: Admitting Ukraine to NATO Would be a mistake for both Ukraine and NATO  Global Asia, Stephen Wertheim: Asia Should Encourage 'Trump the Peacemaker'Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, U.S. China Relations for the 2030s: Toward a Realistic Scenario for Coexistence

As we enter this new year of 2025, Sophia Besch sits down with President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Tino Cuéllar. They take a step back at the year and look at the big themes and trends that are likely going to determine and underlie the discussions of the year ahead, from technology to political economy, democratic governance, and global power dynamics.Notes:Ramachandra Guha, India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy, Ecco, 2008.James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed, Yale University Press, 1999.Álvaro Enrigue, You Dreamed of Empires, Riverhead Books, 2024.