International Development - Audio

Latest Episodes:

The Inter-American Development Bank’s Contributions to Small States in the Western Hemisphere Sep 25, 2019

Show notes

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is celebrating 60 years of existence. The IADB is the largest source of development financing for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. 19 of the 26 borrowing countries in the region are defined as “small states.” These small states rely on the IADB’s deep expertise and long-term partnership in ways that larger borrowing countries do not. Since the IADB’s Ninth General Capital Increase, the IADB has aimed to dedicate at least 35 percent of its annual lending approval volume to the small states of Latin America and the Caribbean. In conjunction with the 60 anniversary celebration of the IADB, CSIS is hosting this public event to explore the contributions, challenges, and opportunities of the IADB in small states.

Agenda:
3:30 PM-3:45 PM: Opening Remarks
3:45 PM-4:45 PM: Panel Discussion
4:45 PM-5:00 PM: Audience Q&A
5:00 PM-6:00 PM: Event Reception

Please join us for this timely discussion on Wednesday, September 25. Upon conclusion of the event, a reception from 5:00-6:00 PM will take place on the first floor.

This event was made possible through general support to CSIS.

Sustainable Development Goal #5: Gender Equality Sep 25, 2019

Show notes

This panel discussion looked at progress being made toward achieving gender equality in developing countries and the challenges women and girls still face. The conversation features moderator Beverly Kirk and guests Zoe Dean-Smith, Amb. Mathilde Mukantabana, Johanna Nesseth Tuttle, and Astri Kimball Van Dyke.

A Climate of Concern: What Climate Change Means for Food Security and Political Stability in Africa Sep 25, 2019

Show notes

Please join the CSIS Global Food Security Project for a discussion with a panel of experts on the relationship between climate change, political instability, and food security using current events on the African continent as a lens. The emerging consensus is that climate change poses significant national security threats. However, specific linkages between climate change and political instability are still opaque. As climate change reshapes the agricultural landscape across Africa, there is concern that higher food prices and falling yields will lead to widespread urban unrest and catalyze participation in armed extremist movements.
Preceded by a keynote from Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), the discussion will examine how climate change is interacting with demographic trends in Africa to both heighten risks associated with agriculture in rural areas and those associated with dependence on global markets in urban areas. Our panelists will explore several issues such as how averting crisis in the face of climate change and food insecurity will require:

Better incorporation of agricultural production and food prices—both global and local—into risk assessments.
Reinvestment in agricultural and transport infrastructure to reform global agricultural trade to make it more climate-resilient for consumers and producers in the developing world.
Opportunities to work with regional governments to develop more inclusive responses to manage political and economic instability.

This event was made possible through general support to CSIS.

Explaining the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act Sep 24, 2019

Show notes

Bob and Andrew bring in nonpartisan legal expert Bradley P. Moss, Esq., to explain the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989. Mr. Moss tells us how it works, the unique situation regarding the President with respect to the Act, and how the process may move forward.

Download the full transcript here.

Report Launch of Strategic Directions for the DFC: Supporting Development and National Security Sep 24, 2019

Show notes

The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which starts operations in October 2019, will modernize the U.S. development finance architecture. The DFC will expand the size and capabilities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and will seek to crowd-in vitally needed private sector investments in low- and lower-middle income countries through new tools such as local currency loans, first-loss guarantees, and equity investments. The DFC is expected to help solidify the work of different U.S. agencies that work on fostering the private sector abroad.
During this armchair conversation and panel discussion, the Project on Prosperity and Development will share its findings on how the DFC can work more effectively in the modern international development arena, improve coordination among U.S. allies and local businesses, and better support U.S. national security interests.
Please join us for this timely discussion and the launch of our report on September 24th.
This event is made possible by the Smith Richardson Foundation's generous support to CSIS.

The Future of Afghanistan - Maintaining Peace (If it Comes) Sep 20, 2019

Show notes

Peace talks with the Taliban have dominated recent headlines. If a peace agreement is ever reached, it is worth looking to the future to see how that peace can be maintained and strengthened.

What would come next from economic development and governance perspectives? How do we move beyond foreign aid and security cooperation driven paradigms to one that focuses on private sector growth and new investments in promising sectors? Robust policies accepted at the national and local levels, good governance, women’s empowerment, tangible demonstrations of continued security, and other changes would be critical to building upon any eventual peace agreement. And that peace agreement, if it ever comes, will only be worth the paper on which it was written should Afghanistan be unable to move into a new, more sustainable chapter in its history.

This event was made possible through general support to CSIS.

Washington Humanitarian Forum Sep 19, 2019

Show notes

The CSIS Humanitarian Agenda is hosting the first annual Washington Humanitarian Forum on September 19th, 2019. This full-day conference will focus on humanitarian challenges that sit at the intersection of United States national security and foreign policy priorities. This year’s theme is Unlocking Humanitarian Access – Opportunities for U.S. Leadership.
The Washington Humanitarian Forum will include the launch of a report produced by the CSIS Task Force on Humanitarian Access. The Task Force, co-chaired by Senator Todd Young (R-IN) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), looked at ways in which denial, delay, and diversion prevents humanitarian assistance from reaching the most vulnerable populations, and vice versa, in conflict-affected areas. The Task Force report analyzes challenges in priority countries for the United States and includes recommendations for how United States leadership can mitigate the most pressing access challenges.

Video Address: Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Senator Todd Young (R-IN)
Introductions: J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President and Director, Global Health Policy Center, CSIS
Opening Keynote: Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Moderator: Kimberly Flowers, Director, Humanitarian Agenda & Global Food Security Projects, CSIS

Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, former Executive Director, UN World Food Programme
Patricia McIlreavy, Vice President for Policy and Practice, InterAction
Dr. Paul B. Spiegel, Director, Center for Humanitarian Health, Johns Hopkins University
Anne Witkowsky, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability and Humanitarian Affairs, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, U.S. Department of Defense
Moderator: Kimberly Flowers, Director, Humanitarian Agenda and Global Food Security Project, CSIS

The Humanitarian Implications of Cyber Conflict

Colonel Gary Corn, Director and Adjunct Professor, Washington College of Law, American University
Shanthi Kalathil, Senior Director, International Forum for Democratic Studies, National Endowment for Democracy
Moderator: James Andrew Lewis, Senior Vice President and Director, Technology Policy Program, CSIS

Yemen’s Crisis

Dr. Aisha Jumaan, Founder and President, Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation
Peter Salisbury, Consulting Senior Analyst on Yemen, International Crisis Group
Sheba Crocker, Vice President for Humanitarian Policy and Practice, CARE
Moderator: Jon Alterman, Senior Vice President, Zbiegniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and Director, Middle East Program, CSIS

Access in the Hot Zone: Navigating the DRC Ebola Outbreak

Admiral Tim Ziemer, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, USAID
Ella Watson-Stryker, Humanitarian Representative, Médecins Sans Frontières
Jeremy Konyndyk, Senior Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development
Moderator: J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President and Director, Global Health Policy Center, CSIS

The Growing...

Report Launch: Investment Facilitation Revisited Sep 18, 2019

Show notes

On September 18, CSIS will be hosting a public launch event in partnership with the CrossBoundary Group for a new report, Investment Facilitation Revisited. Drawing on the experience of CrossBoundary's efforts to test and further develop ideas originally presented in the 2013 CSIS report on Investment Facilitation in Transitional and Fragile States, a team of experts at CSIS and CrossBoundary have revisited the issues and strategies identified in the original report and offer new learnings. The report will be released the day of the event.
The report updates the understanding of country and firm-level barriers to investment (macro-level constraints, lack of capital for risk/return profile, transaction costs, and information asymmetries), and nuances the suggested interventions to address them. With a particular focus on neglected firm-level barriers, the report describes how supporting pioneer investors and companies with expertise, surge bandwidth, geographic presence, and neutral intermediation can unlock stalled investment opportunities. Buttressing their findings with recent development literature, the report highlights that transaction costs in frontier markets remain high and typically put first movers at a disadvantage in new sectors or geographies. It also emphasizes how information gaps, which can be solved through diligence and analysis, and information asymmetries, which stem from underlying trust and incentive problems, are distinct investment challenges and should be approached as such.
Using case studies from CrossBoundary's work in Africa and Asia, the authors stress the need for investment facilitation led by highly skilled intermediaries with deep local knowledge. They also suggest potential improvements in the model to ensure further integration of local advisory actors into the investment process, and the development of intelligent metrics to evaluate progress and align incentives.
Please join us on Wednesday, September 18th for this timely event.
This event is made possible by the generous support of the CrossBoundary Group.

Progressive Players: Rising Democrats' View of Asia Grand Strategy with Kelly Magsamen and Mira Rapp-Hooper Sep 09, 2019

Show notes

In part one of a two-part discussion, Mike is joined by Kelly Magsamen, vice president for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress and a former pentagon and NSC official; and Mira Rapp-Hooper, senior fellow for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and Yale Law School China center. With the Democratic presidential primary in full swing, the three discuss the history of Democratic grand strategy in Asia, noting the prevalence of both realist and institutionalist tendencies in Democratic administrations. Stay tuned for a further discussion on the importance of trade strategy, defense issues, and democratic values in a future Democratic administration’s Asia grand strategy in part two

Download full transcript here.

Incentivizing Reform: the MCC's Approach to Reducing Poverty Sep 04, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Dan sits down with Sean Cairncross, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). As CEO, Mr. Cairncross leads the agency and provides strategic direction and vision as MCC fulfills its mission of reducing poverty through economic growth and advancing America’s interests around the globe. Dan and Mr. Cairncross discuss the recent MCC-Cote D’Ivoire compact, the addition of regional compacts, the MCC model, and beyond. They also analyze how the MCC integrates accountability and sustainability mechanisms into their agenda and how its threshold programs lead to successful country compacts.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

International Development – Audio

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected