Deep Dish on Global Affairs

Yesterday, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Uzbekistan. While these nations are assumed to be America's chief geostrategic competitors, Russia's faltering invasion of Ukraine has isolated its economy, degraded its military, and undermined its international standing. Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and Wilson Center's Lucian Kim join  Deep Dish...

Last week power struggles between rival Shia groups erupted in deadly street battles that sparked fears of a renewed cycle of violence. Chatham House's Renad Mansour joins  Deep Dish  and argues that the conventional view that Iraq's political instability is driven by sectarian and ethnic divisions is wrong. Rather, the real cleavage is between a permanent political elite, across faith and ethnic...

Like Ukraine, the Western Balkans sit on a fault line between Russian and Western spheres of influence. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, political tensions have grown in the region, particularly in Bosnia and Kosovo. Many experts suspect Russia is exploiting ethnic divisions. The  Economist' s Tim Judah and the Atlantic Council's Ilva Tare join  Deep Dish  to examine Moscow's motives for fannin...

While a 20-year war has ended, the Afghan people continue to suffer, now under a collapsed economy. International Crisis Group's Laurel Miller and US Institute of Peace's Andrew Watkins join  Deep Dish  guest host Elizabeth Shackelford to discuss how the international community's isolation of the Taliban has helped precipitate suffering in Afghanistan, and what can and should be done to help.   Li...

William Ruto has been declared winner of Kenya's presidential election, after edging out longtime opposition leader Raila Odinga by a narrow margin. Odinga has refused to concede, will likely challenge the results in court, and his supporters took to the streets to protest in the election center. Uppsala University's Kathleen Klaus and International Crisis Group's Murithi Mutiga join Deep Dish gue...

Ukraine is home to millennia-old culture, including some of the holiest sites of the Orthodox faith. Now, facing a brutal artillery campaign and intentional cultural persecution by Russia, Ukraine's identity is under attack. But Ukraine is not alone in having its heritage threatened by war, despite this being a war crime. Kyiv-based museum director Olesia Ostrovska-Liuta and Jim Cuno, former Presi...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial Taiwan trip came amid increasingly harsh warnings of retaliations from Beijing and escalating US-China tensions. Nonresident Senior Fellow Paul Heer joins Deep Dish to argue the importance of engagement with China as a necessary component of US foreign policy. If we do not pursue it, he says, we are missing opportunities for a more peaceful coexistence be...

Two weeks ago, Sri Lankans stormed the residence of the President and Prime Minister, following months of protests against corruption and worsening economic conditions. Saddled with billions of dollars of foreign debt and facing the lingering economic effects of the pandemic and Russia's war on Ukraine, Sri Lankans face rampant inflation and dire shortages of fuel, foods, and medicines. Dialogue A...

In recent years, the United States has accounted for nearly three-quarters of the world's mass shootings and forty-six percent of all private gun ownership worldwide — more than 10 times its share of the global population. University of Sydney Professor Phillip Alpers joins a special live edition of Deep Dish to discuss how other nations have tried to prevent mass shootings and firearm homicides ,...

Joe Biden is currently on his first trip to the Middle East as President, which will include a controversial meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. On the campaign trail, Biden pledged to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah", but with gas prices punishing American consumers, and Russia and China court Riyadh, Biden's tone and policy toward the Kingdom has rapidly evolved. Council on Foreign...

Recent US Supreme Court rulings on abortion, religion in school, gun control, and climate regulation will have far-reaching implications for Americans. How does the role that the Supreme Court plays in US democracy compare to Supreme Courts in other democracies? Constitutional law experts Daniel Brinks and Tom Ginsburg join Deep Dish to explore the uniqueness of the US Supreme Court and what we ca...

As global institutions focused on research, innovation, and ideas, universities have historically been closely tied to geopolitical power. Today, America's world-leading universities face growing competition, particularly from China, with far-reaching implications. Chronicle of Higher Education senior writer Karin Fischer and Harvard Business School professor and author William Kirby join Deep Dis...

What does Russia's war in Ukraine reveal about competing theories of foreign policy thought? The Council's Elizabeth Shackelford is joined by Emma Ashford, senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, and James Goldgeier, visiting scholar at Stanford University, to debate the war, and what might happen next, from the perspectives of liberal internationalism, the predominant for...

Mercenaries from the Wagner Group have been in the headlines recently for their alleged role in war crimes in Ukraine. But the Kremlin-linked paramilitary group has been active in Africa for several years, where it provides a wide range of services to governments across the continent. For this week's Deep Dish , the Council's Elizabeth Shackelford is joined by Federica Saini Fasanotti of the Insti...

With richly fertile soil and easy access to international markets, Ukraine has been called the breadbasket of Europe. Following Russia's invasion, the country's grain exports have plummeted, leading to worldwide food price increases of 23 percent and hundreds of thousands facing starvation in the Middle East and Africa. As a global hunger crisis soars, food security experts Ertharin Cousin and Ter...

Last week, China's foreign minister Wang Yi met with ten Pacific nations to propose a sweeping trade and security agreement. China's intensifying diplomacy in the Pacific demonstrates the region's growing geostrategic importance. China experts Patrick Cronin and Bonnie Glaser join  Deep Dish  to discuss China's strategy in the Pacific, and how the US should respond.  We'd love to know your thought...

If the United States overturns Roe vs. Wade later this year, it would be a stark policy shift 50 years after the landmark Supreme Court decision on women's rights. The World Health Organization's Bela Ganatra and the Center for Reproductive Rights' Katherine Mayall join Deep Dish to look at global trends on reproductive rights and how the US compares.

This week Ukrainian forces pushed the Russians out of their second largest city, Kharkiv, a triumph that most military analysts would have considered unthinkable two months ago. With Putin's concerns about his legacy, experts believe we could be heading into a dangerous stalemate. Former National Security Council official Fiona Hill joins  Deep Dish  to analyze Putin's motivation for the war, his...

This week political dynasty heir and TikTok star Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. brought his corrupt family back to power in the Philippines 36 years after his father was ousted in a public revolution. The Washington Post's Regine Cabato joins Deep Dish to explain how Filipinos lost faith in democracy, why disinformation works so well in the Philippines, and whether the new administration will bri...

Russian state TV aired a chilling propaganda video showing nuclear destruction in the United Kingdom this week, echoing bluster from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on nuclear escalation over Ukraine. Former US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller, who negotiated the New START treaty with Russia, joins Deep Dish to explain how Russia's action...

China's latest economic data show the lowest GDP growth expectation in 30 years, rising unemployment, and slowing industrial production in part due to strict COVID-19 lockdowns. Victor Shih joins  Deep Dish to explain how inflation and the war in Ukraine will compound this decline, what it means for the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping's leadership, and whether Xi's demand for China to match...

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan falsely blamed a United States-led conspiracy for his removal from office last week, feeding anti-American sentiment among his supporters. Brookings' Madiha Afzal returns to  Deep Dish  to unpack the ways Pakistan's political instability interacts with geopolitical competition involving China, Russia, and the United States, and explains why it's time for...

In response to Russia's war on Ukraine, the European Union hopes to decrease its dependence on Russian energy by two-thirds within a year. The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies' James Henderson joins  Deep Dish  to look at Europe's options, how to achieve them, likely effects on energy markets and global politics, and implications for green energy and climate change. Like this episode? Leave us...

Shocking images and accounts emerged from Bucha over the weekend, providing more evidence of Russian atrocities in their war on Ukraine. Forty-one countries, including the United States, have now referred Russia to the International Criminal Court for prosecution. Karen Alter and Rebecca Hamilton join Deep Dish to look at the system for prosecuting war crimes, its record of success and limitations...

India's choice to remain neutral on the Ukraine war aligns with their historic foreign policy choices and current security interests, Tanvi Mandan and Srinath Raghavan argue. They join Deep Dish host Brian Hanson to explain the long-term relationship between Delhi and Moscow, why the United States shouldn't pressure India to choose sides, and where China fits in India's calculations.  Don't forget...