Deep Dish On Global Affairs

At least 2,000 Middle Eastern migrants spent weeks trapped at checkpoints between Belarus and Poland—unable to legally enter the European Union and, until today, unable to return to Belarus or go home. Former US Ambassador to Poland Daniel Fried joins host Brian Hanson on Deep Dish to explain how Belarus’ strongman President Lukashenka weaponized these migrants as a tool of "hybrid war," and why Russia’s President Putin looms behind this crisis—and others—on Europe’s doorstep.

As countries finalize their commitments at the UN Climate Conference, COP26, soaring global energy prices and shortages around the world emphasize our world’s current dependence on fossil fuels. The Economist’s Vijay Vaitheeswaran and the Just Transition Initiative’s Sandeep Pai join Deep Dish to explain what the energy crisis tell us about the costs of a green energy transition and how to manage shocks in a way that ensures countries and communities with fewer resources are not left behind. 

Recent US intelligence and defense agency reports warn that a warming climate is a fundamental threat to US national security by raising geopolitical tensions, increasing instability, and driving mass migration. The Center for Climate and Security’s Erin Sikorsky and the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft’s Anatol Lieven join Deep Dish to examine what a climate-focused US national security and defense strategy might look like and how to balance other competing threats.

China’s rapid recent nuclear expansion—from a hypersonic missile test to hundreds of new nuclear missile silos—is a stark contrast to years of a minimum deterrence approach. To explain the shift, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Tong Zhao joins host Brian Hanson on Deep Dish to unpack China’s nuclear strategy, the need for nuclear stability, and how to avoid an arms race or worse.

2020 marked the most significant increase in US domestic terrorism in a quarter-century, data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies reveals. The University of Chicago’s Kathleen Belew and Robert Pape join Deep Dish to explain the trends they believe are driving the uptick and the role war and conflict play in shaping these groups. Further Reading The Capitol Rioters Aren’t Like Other Extremists, the Atlantic, by Robert Pape What an Analysis of 377 Americans Arrested or Charged in the Capitol Insurrection Tells Us, Washington Post, by Robert Pape Bring the War Home by Kathleen Belew The Right Way to Understand White Nationalist Terrorism,  New York Times, by Kathleen Belew

For decades, American foreign policy on Taiwan has been rooted in strategic ambiguity, but after China’s President Xi Jinping’s call for “reunification” with Taiwan and record military presence near the island, is it time to rethink this approach? Rand Corporation’s Michael Mazarr and the Commander Michele Lowe join Deep Dish to explore the options in a constructive debate on the benefits—and costs—of a shift in policy.

The 2021 Chicago Council Survey shows Americans are on board with the majority of the Biden administration’s foreign policy agenda, which is focused on decisions that benefit everyday Americans. But when it comes to trade, there are important differences between public opinion and this approach to foreign policy. Council President Ivo Daalder and the American Enterprise Institute’s Kori Schake join Deep Dish to explain what Americans think of a "Foreign Policy for the Middle Class” and why the administration should reassess some of their assumptions.   After the episode, explore the data. 

German voters prioritized stability in the first post-Merkel election—voting for the party who most emulated the former chancellor’s approach to government, the Social Democrats (SPD), instead of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU). What does the narrow SPD victory tell us about the German political landscape and important Western trends like populism? Ulrike Franke and Sheri Berman join Deep Dish to explain how potential coalition governments could shape German foreign policy and the relationship with the United States.  

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gambled on a snap election that left him in power, but without a majority in Parliament. With an election behind him, can he make progress on the critical foreign policy issues his government must tackle—from COVID-19 to multilateral engagement—during his third term? Canadian political scientists Roland Paris and Jennifer Welsh join Deep Dish to explain why it’s time for a reset on Canadian foreign policy.  

Years of underinvestment, politicization, and data on looming retention problems raise urgent questions about the need for change in the United States Department of State. Ambassador Marcie Ries and Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellow Constanza Castro Zúñiga join Deep Dish to explain why diplomacy is still critical for American foreign policy and offer solutions to reimagine the diplomatic service for a new generation.

The US military may have exited the conflict in Afghanistan, but thousands of those who helped during the war remain. What does the United States owe those we leave behind, and is there a better way to prevent chaos and loss of life after war? Virginia Tech’s Amanda Demmer and the Council’s Elizabeth Shackelford join Deep Dish to explore the lessons from past military evacuations in Vietnam and South Sudan and what they tell us about the coming days in Afghanistan.  

Globalization promised us collaboration, peace, and prosperity. But did the connectivity that linked our world together increase conflict and drive our geopolitical priorities farther apart? The European Council on Foreign Relation’s Mark Leonard joins Deep Dish to discuss his new book The Age of Unpeace and his proposal for policymakers navigating our connected future. 

After weeks of finger-pointing and accusations about the catastrophic US retreat from Afghanistan, we’re taking a step back to ask some big-picture questions. What if the problem isn’t the exit, but the strategy that started the intervention in the first place: counterinsurgency? US Naval War College author Jacqueline Hazelton joins Deep Dish to explain what went wrong and why we’re doomed to repeat our mistakes if we don’t shift strategies. 

What will the Taliban’s Afghanistan takeover mean for Pakistan—a US ally, a nuclear power, and a country beset by its own terrorism threats—and will the government’s decades-long support of the Taliban backfire? Brookings’ Madiha Afzal and the Financial Times’ Farhan Bokhari join Deep Dish to explain Pakistan’s priorities, foreign policy, and options for the future.

Cryptocurrencies have moved away from their anarchic origins to spark political conversations that could shift national currencies and redefine the global economy. Former Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission Tim Massad and the Financial Times’ Gillian Tett join Brian Hanson on Deep Dish to explore digital currencies and their effect on geopolitics. 

China’s massive investment in Africa through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has prompted concern over political influence—enough for the G-7 to form a rival initiative, the Build Back Better World (B3W). The Center for Global Development’s Gyude Moore and the US Navy’s Michele Lowe join Elizabeth Shackelford on Deep Dish to explore whether these programs are positive or negative and how African countries can take control of their futures. 

This week a bipartisan group of US senators introduced a bill to reform the 48-year-old War Powers Act—the law intended to check a president’s ability to declare war. Yale Law School’s Oona Hathaway joins Deep Dish to explain why it’s so important for Congress to revive its war powers and offer a potential solution. 

Haiti is in political turmoil after President Moïse’s assassination in his home last week. The Miami Herald’s Jacqueline Charles and the University of Virginia’s Robert Fatton Jr. join Deep Dish to assess the country’s stability, how international interference factored into the hollowing out of democratic institutions, and what could tip the scales towards disaster or hope for the future. 

Ten years after South Sudan’s independence, Ambassador Susan D. Page joins the Council’s Elizabeth Shackelford on Deep Dish to discuss their shared history in the country, what went wrong with statehood, and the lessons the international community must learn for the future.  

A century after the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, Bruce Dickson, author of The Party and the People: Chinese Politics in the 21st Century, joins Deep Dish to examine how the party maintains its power and what influences will shape its future—and geopolitics.