Global Insights (Video)

How do you find hope in a deeply fractured and polarized world? In this timely and powerful conversation, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Nicholas Kristof pulls from decades of reporting from global conflict zones and overlooked American communities to bring a deeply human perspective to today’s most urgent moral and civic challenges. In an era marked by division and misinformation, this program...

As voters prepare to head to the polls on Election Day, join the Goldman School of Public Policy and Cal Performances for a critical look at the moment we’re in, the issues that have shaped and led us to this year’s tumultuous election, and the future of American democracy. UC Berkeley experts from former presidential administrations—Janet Napolitano, former Secretary of Homeland Security under th...

Fareed Zakaria, host of the renowned CNN program “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” talks about how to maintain peace in the post-Cold War era. He examines what he calls the geopolitical revolution that's taking place today and compares it with the unusual state of peace that existed from 1989 until the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 - a time without constant and sustained geopolitical rivalry and tension. He loo...

Between 1918 and 1921, Ukrainian peasants, townsmen, and soldiers who blamed the Jews for the turmoil of the Russian Revolution murdered over a 100,000 Jews. Aid workers warned that six million Jews were in danger of extermination. Twenty years later, these dire predictions would come true. In his new book “In the Midst of Civilized Europe,” acclaimed historian Jeffrey Veidlinger shows for the fir...

A thought leader and former professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University, Francisco O. Mora serves as U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States. Ambassador Mora discusses the challenges and opportunities within the Americas. In prior positions, Ambassador Mora served as Director of the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center as Deput...

Ukrainian Member of Parliament Inna Sovsun joins Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley, and Janet Napolitano, Professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy and former Secretary of Homeland Security, for a firsthand perspective on the war in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in early 2022. They discuss the war's impact, and what comes next for the people of Ukraine. This ev...

The United States uses economic sanctions as a foreign policy tool for one of two reasons: either the latter is a perceived threat to the security of the first nation, or that country treats its citizens unfairly. The United States has imposed sanctions on several Latin American countries, specifically Venezuela, Cuba, and Peru. The leaders of those countries... Nicolás Maduro, Miguel Díaz-Canel a...

Despite the imposing of economic sanctions against the authoritarian regimes of Maduro, Diaz-Canel, Ortega, the grip these leaders continue to exert over their countries and its populations continues to remain steadfast. What else can be done? Are there other measures, other means of returning the countries of Venezuela, Cuba and Peru back to its citizens? Join Richard Feinberg as he hosts a panel...

The United States and other foreign countries have imposed crippling sanctions against the governments of Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and Cuba's Miguel Diaz-Canel due to the rule of their authoritarian leaders. Those countries are seeking support elsewhere including with some of the adversaries of the U.S. government. Nicaragua has re-established ties with China in an eff...

Authoritarianism is a form of government characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic voting. Latin America has seen the rise of authoritarian states in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Institute of the Americas President and CEO Richard Kiy moderate...

The relationship between the U.S. and China is complex. Kevin Rudd, former Australian Prime Minister and current president of Asia Society, has written extensively about that relationship, including his latest book, "The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping's China." Rudd discusses new developments in China’s political economy, including the impending...

The international community and the United States, under both Republican and Democratic Administrations, have failed, by almost any measure, to effectively address the re-emergence of authoritarianism in the Western Hemisphere. The forthcoming virtual forum is being organized in an effort to better understand the roots and resilience of these regimes (especially in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua) a...

Autocrat, dictator, and socialist. These are just some of the terms that could be used to describe three of Latin America's most controversial leaders - Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, and Cuba's Miguel Diaz-Canel. Despite several elections which in some cases have seen opponents win, they remain in power. This is a cause for concern as other countries such as El Salvador be...

The U.S. is blessed with stable neighbors to the south and north. Despite the polarization of immigration issues along the southern border, Mexico is the indispensable ally of the U.S., according to Rafael Fernandez de Castro, director of UC San Diego's Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. Mexico is the top U.S. trading partner with over 6 million American jobs dependent on trade in goods and services...