The World Unpacked

Since his inauguration, President Joe Biden has put a hold on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, sanctioned Saudi officials for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and pledged to end US support for Saudi-led offensive operations in Yemen. Taken together, these measures indicate that the administration is recalibrating the relationship between the US and its Gulf partners.   Frederic...

The coup in Myanmar on February 1 took the world by surprise as the military arrested civilian officials, including Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in November 2020. Many in the international community have condemned the coup, and thousands of protestors have taken to the streets this week. Sana Jaffrey, a nonresident schol...

On January 18, opposition leader Alexei Navalny returned to Russia following his near fatal poisoning. Immediately after his arrival, he was arrested, prompting massive protests over the following weeks.    Alexander Gabuev , senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow center, joins Laura to discuss who took to the streets, what the protests mean for Putin’s regime, and what the future of the opposition...

Makila James was the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Swaziland and later served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Africa and the Sudans until her retirement from the Foreign Service last year.   In this week’s episode, Makila and Laura discuss the Biden administration’s priorities in Africa, as well as recent elections in Uganda and upcoming elections in Somalia. The two take a close lo...

On December 17, 2010, a Tunisian street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest corruption and poor economic conditions. His death sparked mass popular protests in Tunisia that quickly carried over to other countries in the Middle East.    Tunisia is often hailed as the success story of the Arab Spring. The protests that shook the country led to the ousting of long-time presid...

In a special end of year episode, Laura examines the most significant developments of 2020 in three key regions: Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.   First, Evan Feigenbaum and Laura talk about the development of regional trade deals, the India-China border dispute, and the shaky way forward for US-China relations.   Next, Rosa Balfour joins Laura to discuss about European cooperation on coronavir...

Despite close proximity, Latin America is a historically overlooked area of U.S. foreign policy. Muni Jensen, who co-hosts the Altamar podcast, joins Laura to discuss the incoming Biden administration’s likely priorities in the region, such as economic reform, climate change, and the impact of U.S.-China competition on Latin America.   The two also talk about the unrelenting coronavirus pandemic,...

Tensions between the US and China have been escalating for years, with a downturn accelerating during the Trump administration. Given fundamental differences in worldviews and continued economic competition between the two countries, how likely are changes under President-elect Biden?   Today, Laura speaks with Paul Haenle , the director of Carnegie-Tsinghua Center . They talk about Beijing’s view...

Democrats and Republicans are more divided than ever when it comes to assessing threats facing the United States and how America should engage in the world, according to findings of the 2020 Chicago Council Survey .    Ivo Daalder , the president of the Chicago Council, joins Laura for a discussion about the survey’s findings . The two talk about how coronavirus impacts foreign policy attitudes, t...

On September 1, 2020, more than twenty journalists worldwide learned they had unwittingly joined a Russian influence operation. One of them was Laura Walters, a  journalist who had recently become a freelancer as she moved from New Zealand to London. Laura explains her interaction with Peace Data, the red flags she missed, and her reaction to learning that she had been involved in a Russian disinf...

Last month, Bahrain and the UAE moved to normalize relations with Israel, signing a peace deal dubbed “The Abraham Accords.” Veteran Middle East peace negotiator Aaron David Miller joins Laura to talk about what the newly signed deal really means for Middle East peace.   Aaron and Laura discuss the likelihood of future deals in the region, how Iran views the move, and where the deal leaves the Pal...

Rosa Balfour , the director of Carnegie Europe, joins Laura to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented to Europe by the coronavirus pandemic.   In this wide-ranging conversation, Rosa and Laura talk about regional challenges facing Europe, including Brexit, rising anti-EU sentiments, and the protests in Belarus, along with foreign policy challenges, like Europe’s role in the U.S.-China...

Author Kim Ghattas joins Laura as part of Carnegie’s new digital magazine , “The Day After: Navigating a Post-Pandemic World.”   Kim and Laura discuss how countries across the region are handling the coronavirus pandemic and its devastating economic and social impacts. As we look ahead to a post-pandemic world, they talk about what governments should ask themselves to help mitigate the damage, the...

Bishop Garrison , Director of National Security Outreach at Human Rights First , joins Laura for a wide-ranging discussion about how human rights issues impact policymaking at home and abroad.   They talk about the evolution of norms and values, how government leaders grapple with sometimes competing goals, and the role of nonprofit, corporate, and civil society actors in promoting human rights. B...

In late June 2020, Beijing passed a new national security law for Hong Kong. Among other things, the law carries harsh penalties for acts of secession, subversion of the government, and collusion with foreign powers. It also tightens government oversight of media outlets and NGOs. And it creates parallel law enforcement and judicial channels in the city that answer to Beijing. Shibani Mahtani , th...

In October 2019, millions of Lebanese demonstrators took to the streets to protest widespread corruption amid deteriorating economic conditions. Since then, the economy has plunged into free fall, with simultaneous banking, currency, and public finance crises.  Laura talks to Maha Yahya , director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, about what Lebanese citizens are experiencing, how the...

In the months since George Floyd’s murder by the police, protests have erupted across the US and spread around the world. Demonstrators are not only standing in solidarity with Black Americans but also confronting systemic racism and legacies of colonialism in their own societies.  This week, Laura speaks with Carnegie visiting scholar Ashley Quarcoo about how Western democracies must address the...

In January, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced sweeping reforms to the country's constitution, resulting in the surprise resignation of his entire cabinet. The 200+ amendments make a number of changes, including outlawing gay marriage, increasing the minimum wage, and removing term limits for the Russian presidency. The amendments were put to a referendum, with voting taking place June 25...

The coronavirus pandemic, coupled with a massive reduction in global demand for oil, has left Saudi Arabia in a dire economic state. MBS has been forced to sideline his ambitious Vision 2030 plan while implementing a series of austerity measures that could undermine the regime’s stability. Add in pressing foreign policy challenges, including the humanitarian disaster in Yemen and the complexities...

Managing the coronavirus has been a challenge for both democracies and authoritarian regimes. In particular, the pandemic has further exposed the inequities and lack of trust present in many democratic countries, including the United States, where protests against police brutality and systemic racism come amid the wreckage of COVID-19. This week, Laura sits down with Rachel Kleinfeld to talk about...

Jen talks to longtime diplomatic correspondent Paul Richter about his book, The Ambassadors: America's Diplomats on the Front Lines.    Paul talks about four diplomats - Ryan Crocker in Afghanistan, Anne Patterson in Pakistan and Egypt, Robert Ford in Iraq and Syria, and Chris Stevens in Libya - who “do the hardest things in the hardest places.” Paul talks about the role of America’s diplomats in...

During the past several years, large-scale protests by citizens against their governments have erupted all over the world. Jen talks to Kai Thaler about what drives protest movements, the methods they employ, and how governments respond.  As protests continue to evolve, what should we watch for?

In her recent book, Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East , Emmy-winning journalist and New York Times bestseller Kim Ghattas examines the unraveling of the modern Middle East and why it started with the pivotal year of 1979. Kim joins Jen to discuss how the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran ha...

Guest host Jarrett Blanc talks to  Carnegie President Bill Burns . They discuss how the coronavirus pandemic will impact foreign affairs and how to deploy disciplined American diplomacy to mitigate its impacts. They also discuss the new afterword in the paperback edition of Bill's memoir,  The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for Its Renewal .

In October 2018, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced she would not run again. Since then, her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has struggled to find a successor to lead the party and the country. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Merkel's preferred successor, won a party leadership election in 2018, but has since failed to establish her authority. In February 2020, Kramp-Karrenbauer  a...