Deep Dish On Global Affairs

With the return of national populism to global politics, multilateral organizations such as the United Nations have come under renewed scrutiny. Yet the UN is much more than just colorful speeches from leaders each September in New York and vetoed resolutions in the Security Council. The Council’s Catherine Bertini, a former executive director of the UN World Food Programme, and the Council’s global governance fellow, Thomas Weiss, join Deep Dish to discuss the future of the UN and why the United States should lead its renewal.

US sanctions on Iran are shifting the strategic calculus for Tehran to retaliate, creating a situation reminiscent of the sequence in 1941 that led Imperial Japan to attack the US naval base in Hawaii, argues Robert Pape of the University of Chicago. Ellen Laipson of George Mason University, too, warns about the White House neglecting the risks of economic coercion when it fails. Both join this week's Deep Dish to discuss what is at stake with Iran. 

More than a million people have demonstrated in Hong Kong over the last month, rallying against a proposed bill that would have allowed for the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China. Yet even now that the bill has been suspended, the protests show no sign of abating. Director of the Southeast Asia Project at the Lowy Institute Ben Bland joins Deep Dish to explain what is happening.

In a recent 90-minute interview with the Financial Times, President Vladimir Putin detailed his thoughts not only about Russia, but also about the United States, China, Europe, and the Middle East. Financial Times editor Lionel Barber, who conducted the interview, joins Council President Ivo Daalder and Deep Dish host Brian Hanson to discuss what the Russian president revealed about his worldview.

Sudan is careening towards a crisis. President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in April after three decades in power, yet heavily armed groups are now fighting in Sudan for control. At the same time, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, and the United States are each vying for influence. Andrew Natsios, director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at the Bush School at Texas A&M University and US envoy to Sudan during the George W. Bush administration, joins Deep Dish to explain what is going on and why it matters.

For each bold move abroad, from the Belt and Road Initiative to island building, China seems confronted with new vulnerabilities at home, including the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. Jessica Chen Weiss, author of an intriguing new essay in Foreign Affairs, and Ali Wyne of the Rand Corporation join Deep Dish to discuss what is intrinsic and what is incidental to Beijing’s ambitions.

This week President Donald Trump touted a new agreement with Mexico to stem the flow of migrants into the United States. But Mexican officials claimed both sides were still evaluating the situation. Earl Anthony Wayne, a former US ambassador to Mexico, joins Deep Dish to discuss what can realistically be done about migrant flows.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is facing "the most severe crisis in the security environment in Europe since the end of the Cold War and perhaps ever," warn Douglas Lute and Nicholas Burns. The two former US ambassadors to NATO recently joined Deep Dish to explain why. 

As cities grow in size and power, local governments are increasingly shaping their own diplomatic agendas independent from national governments. New York City's Commissioner for International Affairs Penny Abeywardena and Montréal's Director of International Relations Henri-Paul Normandin join Deep Dish to discuss the rise of city diplomacy.

The Trump administration raised tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum last year in the name of national security. Last week, President Trump ended the tariffs as a new trade agreement, the USMCA, moves forward. Bruce Heyman, a former US ambassador to Canada, and the Council’s Phil Levy join Deep Dish to discuss what happened and where the relationship goes now.

The White House escalated warnings about a threat from Iran this week, Tehran warned it may resume enriching uranium at higher levels, and more US warships were sent to the Middle East. Michael Singh of the Washington Institute and Ariane Tabatabai of the RAND Corporation join Deep Dish to explain what's going on.

The spread of internet-connected smartphones in India is upending everything from jobs and marriage to politics and education. In 2000, only 20 million Indians had internet access. By 2020, more than 700 million will. Ravi Agrawal, author of India Connected, joins Deep Dish to explain how the smartphone is transforming the world's largest democracy.

Washington Post contributing editor and Council expert Daniel Drezner joins Deep Dish to discuss how trade disputes could spark World War III and why US grand strategy is more or less dead. His views on both could pretty accurately be described as "apocalyptic."

Artificial Intelligence is changing what it means to be human. From jobs and the economy to security and geopolitics, AI is rewriting human society in big ways that we are only just beginning to understand. Data scientist JT Kostman joins this week's Deep Dish podcast to explain.

Warming ties between Baghdad and Iran and souring ties between Washington and both raise the question: Did Iran come out as the real winner of the Iraq war? Ryan Crocker, who served as the US ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon, joins Deep Dish to discuss. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s long-dominant political party lost elections in Ankara and Istanbul last week. At the same time, a dispute between Washington and Ankara over Turkey buying a Russian missile system has hurt ties between the NATO allies. Steven A. Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations and Mustafa Akyol of the Cato Institute join Deep Dish to explain.

President Trump has signed an executive order to formally recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Ambassador Dennis Ross, who led the Israeli-Palestinian peace process for 12 years and served in senior political positions under Presidents Carter, Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, and Obama, joined this week's Deep Dish podcast to explain what this means.

The world is in for a shock. Global population is expected to peak and then decline this century, reshaping everything from economic growth and immigration to government spending. Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson, authors of the provocative new book Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline, join the Council's Brian Hanson and Dina Smeltz to discuss why it's happening and how nations can prepare for this radical shift.

Comic actor Volodymyr Zelensky, who has no political experience but has played the Ukrainian president on TV, is leading in the polls ahead of Ukraine’s presidential election on March 31. Last weekend marked five years since Russia annexed Crimea, and fighting in eastern Ukraine, which has killed thousands, continues. Steven Pifer, former US ambassador to Ukraine, joins Deep Dish to explain what's going on.

In recent months, Somalia has seen a surge of airstrikes by the US military as part of an intensifying campaign against al Shabaab, an extremist group affiliated with al Qaeda. Bronwyn Bruton of the Atlantic Council and Paul D. Williams of George Washington University join Deep Dish this week to explain what the United States is doing in Somalia and why al Shabaab is a target.