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Yemen remains the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. More than 17 million are food insecure with over 150,000 people experiencing famine like conditions. In late March the heads of all the main UN humanitarian agencies said Yemen was "teetering on the edge of outright catastrophe."
But after nearly eight years of war, the United Nations brokered a truce to coincide with Ramadan and last two months. So far, over two weeks in, this truce is holding. Can it lead to a broader peace agreement?
On the line with me to explain how we got to this ceasefire agreement and what happens next is Annelle Sheline, a Research Fellow in the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute.
The economist Chris Blattman is well known in academic and policy circles for his research and writing on peace, conflict and economic development. Chris Blattman is a professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago and he is out with a brand new book, Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace.
The book boils down decades of social science around peace and conflict, using examples throughout history, to explain why groups resort to war. This book is a highly accessible way for the general public to understand what many academics know about war and peace.
On May 3rd, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation will host a book event with Chris Blattman both virtually and in person in New York City. If you are interested in attending this event, you can register here.
Emmanuel Macron and the far right wing politician Marine Le Pen will face off in the second round of the French presidential elections on April 24.
Macron and Le Pen last faced each in 2017, and back then Macron absolutely trounced her, defeating Le Pen by more than 30 points. But this time around the vote promises to be much closer, with many polls putting Le Pen within striking distance of Macron.
On the line with me to explain what happened in the first round of voting and what to expect ahead of the final vote on April 24 is Art Goldhammer. He is a writer and translator of over 125 books from French to English and a senior affiliate at the Center for European Studies at Harvard.
We kick off discussing the results of the first round before having a longer conversation about the implications of the fact that the far right wing candidate Le Pen is surging in the polls.
As Russian forces retreated from areas around Kyiv, the whole world became aware of the scope of atrocity crimes committed in areas under Russian control. Meanwhile, the brutal bombardment of cities like Mariupol in the south of Ukraine continues. And civilians are being targeted in deadly airstrikes, included a crowded train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, which was crammed with civilians seeking to flee that region ahead of a Russian military advance.
As my guest today, Dr. Liana Fix, explains, these apparent war crimes will meaningfully impact both the trajectory of the conflict and any progress towards some sort of partial truce or ceasefire. Liana Fix is the program director of the International Affairs department at Koerber Foundation, which is a Berlin based think tank. She discusses the latest developments in the conflict in Ukraine and how Russian war crimes are changing the contours of this war.
Every six to eight years the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, undertakes a massive review of the latest science around climate change. Right now, we are near the end of one of these cycles of scientific review.
My guest today, Ryan Hobert, is the managing director of the United Nations Foundations climate and environment team. We kick off discussing the process behind these IPCC reports before diving deep into some of the specific findings of the latest report, released Monday.
How do media narratives shape people's perception of the business environment in Africa?
This question is at the heart of an innovative research project by Africa No Filter called The Business in Africa Narrative Report.
The report identifies and defines several dominant frames that western and African media invoke when covering issues on the continent. It shows how these frames lead to narratives that are often distorted from reality and harmful to the business ecosystem across Africa.
Joining me from South Africa is one of the authors of the report, Moky Makura, executive director at Africa No Filter.
This February marked the third anniversary of the Algerian street protests and movement that lead to the ouster of president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Bouteflika was a fixture of Algerian politics and served as President since 1999. This was a huge turning point in modern Algerian history.
The movement that lead to his ouster is called The Hirak. Joining me to discuss the impact of the impact and legacy of this movement three years on are two scholars of Algeria's politics and economy.
Andrew Ferrand is a senior fellow with The Atlantic Council and author of the book The Algerian Dream.
Tinhinane El Kadi is the cofounder of the Institute for Social Science Research in Algeria and a doctoral student at the London School of Economics.
We kick off discussing the circumstances that lead to the ouster of Bouteflika three years ago before having a broader conversation about Algeria's politics and economy today.
As listeners to Global Dispatches know, in many parts of the world war is a growing threat – or a harsh reality. But who are the peacemakers working to change this?
This week, we are featuring an episode of The Mediator's Studio podcast, which offers a glimpse into the normally hidden world of peace diplomacy. In this episode, one of the world's most distinguished conflict mediators, Lakhdar Brahimi, reflects on the hopes and failures of peacemaking in Afghanistan and his search for a peaceful solution to the war in Syria.
If you are a regular listener to Global Dispatches you will no doubt benefit from subscribing to The Mediator's Studio on any major podcast platform. I've posted a link to the Mediator's Studio in the show notes of this episode. And this absolutely fascinating conversation with a legendary diplomat will no doubt inspire you to subscribe to that podcast. So here is an episode of the Mediator's Studio featuring Lakhdar Brahimi.
Link: The Mediator's Studio
The Paris Agreement set a target to limit global warming to "well below 2 degrees, but preferably to 1.5 degrees celsius compared to pre-industrial levels." However, if present trends continue the world is set to blow past those international targets.
This has lead scientists, the policy community and ethicists to consider strategies on climate change that assume the Paris Agreement targets will not be met in time. This includes the technological innovation called "Solar Radiation Modification," which can include the injection of aerosols into the atmosphere to essentially block heat from reaching the earth.
And to that end, my guest today, Janos Pasztor has done some important work on Solar Radiation Modification for global governance and climate justice. He is the executive director of Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative and we kick off discussing what me mean by a global warming overshoot scenario that may necessitate the use of this potentially controversial Solar Radiation Modification Technology.
Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, one major diplomatic variable has been the stance of China. So far, China has played its cards sort of close to its chest, neither firmly denouncing Russia's aggression, nor providing Russia with meaningful support.
My guest Kaiser Kuo calls China's stance thus far a kind of "pro-Russian neutrality." He is host of the Sinica Podcast in the SUP China Network and we have a long conversation about what is informing China's approach to this international crisis. We kick off discussing the history of China-Russia relations and then dive deep into China's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Sinica Podcast https://supchina.com/series/sinica/
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