The World Unpacked

Latest Episodes:

How China Is Reshaping International Security Cooperation May 22, 2025

Show notes

As U.S.-China tensions deepen, Beijing is carving out a new role for itself—not just as an economic powerhouse, but as a global security player. What does China’s vision of “comprehensive national security” mean for countries caught in the middle of great-power competition? And how are smaller states navigating the shifting landscape of global security partnerships? In this episode, Isaac Kardon sits down with Sheena Chestnut Greitens to explore how China is providing security assistance to governments around the world—and how Beijing is reshaping the current landscape of international security cooperation.

Notes:

Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Isaac B. Kardon, “Security without Exclusivity: Hybrid Alignment under U.S.-China Competition,” International Security (Winter 2024-25), https://doi.org/10.1162/isec_a_00504
Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Isaac B. Kardon, “Vietnam Wants U.S. Help at Sea and Chinese Help at Home,” Foreign Policy (Jan. 2025), https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/01/13/vietnam-us-strategic-partnership-china-great-power-rivalry/
Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Isaac B. Kardon, “Playing Both Sides of the US-China Rivalry: Why Countries Get External Security from the US—and Internal Security from Beijing,” Foreign Affairs (March 2024), https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/playing-both-sides-us-chinese-rivalry

Outposts of Influence: Great Power Competition and Overseas Military Bases May 08, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of The World Unpacked, Isaac B. Kardon sits down with Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Andrew Yeo, Senior Fellow and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair at the Brookings Institution. They explore how the role of overseas bases has changed over time and how the U.S., China, and Russia—among other countries—use them to project power today. Despite advances in technology and long-range weapons, bases remain key to grand strategy, political influence, and sustained military reach.

Can the U.S. Rebuild Its Maritime Power? Competing with China and Cooperating with Korea Apr 25, 2025

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In this episode of The World Unpacked, Isaac Kardon is joined by Darcie Draudt-Véjares to explore how the shipbuilding industry is reshaping global security and industrial policy. They discuss Washington's faltering commercial shipbuilding sector, China's rise through state-led integration, and South Korea and Japan’s dominance in high-tech ship production. Can the U.S. rebuild its maritime power—and what lessons can it learn from its global allies?

Latin America and Trump 2.0: Deportations, Trade Wars, and China's Rising Influence Apr 10, 2025

Show notes

In President Donald Trump’s second term, Latin America has taken center stage in U.S. foreign policy—but not without controversy. From aggressive deportation flights to economic coercion and even veiled threats of military action, the Trump administration’s confrontational stance is straining relations across the region.

In this episode, Oliver Stuenkel joins Sophia to unpack how these developments are reshaping regional politics and prompting Latin American leaders to reassess their relationship to the United States. Could China emerge as a more stable and attractive partner for countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico? And what would this mean for U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere?

Notes:

Oliver Stuenkel and Margot Treadwell, "Will Trump's Unpredictable Foreign Policy Boost BRICS?" Foreign Policy, March 24, 2025.

Gaza's Ceasefire in Limbo: U.S. Policy, Regional Plans, and What's Next Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

After over a year of devastating conflict, Israel and Hamas reached a three-phase ceasefire agreement in January 2025, brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. The deal allowed for significant increases in humanitarian aid deliveries, prisoner and hostage exchanges, and discussions for a potential permanent ceasefire.

This episode was recorded on March 11, ten days after the scheduled completion of Phase 1. Since then, the ceasefire has remained in limbo—Israel is pushing to extend Phase 1, while Hamas wants to advance to Phase 2 negotiations, under which a permanent ceasefire would be established. With talks stalled and a spike in resumed violence on March 18, the road ahead remains uncertain, especially as U.S. policy under President Trump continues to shift.

In this episode, Sophia Besch sits down with Zaha Hassan, a Fellow in Carnegie’s Middle East Program and a human rights lawyer. She previously served as the senior legal advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team during Palestine’s bid for UN membership and is a regular participant in track II peace efforts. Together, they explore the fragile ceasefire in Gaza—its implications, challenges and delays with implementation, and the evolving role of the United States in the region under President Donald Trump's administration.

Notes:

Zaha Hassan and H. A. Hellyer, Suppressing Dissent: Shrinking Civic Space, Transnational Repression and Palestine-Israel, (Oneworld, 2024).

Abandoning Ukraine? Trump's Policy and Europe's Challenge Mar 07, 2025

Show notes

Nearly a week after the tense Oval Office meeting between President Trump and President Zelensky, and just days after the Trump administration’s abrupt decision to pause military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, serious questions loom over America’s commitment to Kyiv’s security. At the same time, the White House appears to be exploring a thaw with Moscow—including potential sanctions relief with little in return.

In this episode, Sophia Besch and Dara Massicot unpack the implications of these moves: What message does this send to Ukraine and its European allies? How are European leaders responding? And what does this shift mean for U.S. foreign policy and great power competition?

Notes:

Dara Massicot, Russian Military Reconstitution: 2030 Pathways and Prospects, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, September 12, 2024.

Power Ball on the Korean Peninsula Feb 27, 2025

Show notes

What's going on in the Korean Peninsula following the impeachment of South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol? How will evolving politics shape Seoul's future relations with North Korea? How will domestic political shifts in the U.S. shape foreign policy and great power relations among Washington, Beijing, Seoul, and Pyongyang?

Asia Program Fellow Darcie Draudt-Véjares and Senior Fellow Chung Min Lee discuss these questions and more in this special feature episode of The World Unpacked.

A New Housing Bubble? How Climate Change Could Destabilize the Global Economy Feb 13, 2025

Show notes

Rising sea levels and climate-driven flooding are reshaping the global economy, with major implications for the U.S. housing market and the global economy. As millions of homes face increased risk, mortgage defaults could surge, home values may plummet, and financial instability could spread worldwide. Governments will soon need large-scale strategies to relocate coastal populations and manage mounting disaster relief costs.

In this episode, we explore how climate change threatens financial stability and whether the U.S. is facing another housing market bubble. Sophia Besch discusses these questions with Susan Crawford, a senior fellow for Carnegie's Climate, Sustainability, and Geopolitics Program.

Notes:

Susan Crawford, Charleston: Race, Water, and the Coming Storm, (Pegasus Books, 2023).
Amitov Ghosh, The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, (University of Chicago Press, 2021).

How Will AI Export Policies Redefine U.S. Global Influence? Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

China’s new AI model, DeepSeek, has rattled markets and raised questions about the global AI race. Meanwhile, just before leaving office, the Biden administration introduced the Framework for Artificial Intelligence Diffusion—an ambitious new rule that could reshape how—and who—gets access to advanced AI technologies from the U.S. It is designed to regulate AI exports, strengthen partnerships with allies, and restrict adversaries’ access to advanced AI chips and models.

But with the Trump administration now in power, will this framework survive? The stakes are high: AI chips fuel cutting-edge technologies, and whoever controls them holds the keys to the future of advanced AI systems.

In this episode, Sophia Besch and Technology and International Affairs Fellow Sam Winter-Levy explore what Biden’s new AI framework aims to achieve, how DeepSeek might challenge U.S. AI dominance, and what we might expect from the Trump administration's with respect to AI exports. Will Washington double down on AI restrictions, or will Trump scrap Biden’s framework in favor of a new approach? And with China rapidly advancing, can the U.S. maintain its technological edge?

Notes:

Sam Winter-Levy, "The AI Export Dilemma: Three Competing Visions for U.S. Strategy," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 13, 2024.
Sam Winter-Levy, "With Its Latest Rule, the U.S. Tries to Govern AI’s Global Spread," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, January 13, 2025.
Matt Sheehan and Sam Winter-Levy, "Chips, China, and a Lot of Money: The Factors Driving the DeepSeek AI Turmoil," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, January 28, 2025.
Leopold Aschenbrenner, "Situational Awareness: The Decade Ahead," June 2024.
Jeffrey Ding, Technology and the Rise of Great Powers: How Diffusion Shapes Economic Competition, Princeton University Press (2024).
Benjamín Labatut, When We Cease to Understand the World, Pushkin Press and New York Review of Books (2021).

Biden, Trump, and a Foreign Policy That’s Gone Off Course Jan 17, 2025

Show notes

The Biden administration contends it has left the United States in a better geopolitical position than when it entered office four years ago. In a year-end foreign policy review from Carnegie’s American Statecraft Program, Director Chris Chivvis and Senior Fellow Stephen Wertheim critique Biden's foreign policy legacy and discuss what Trump might do next.

Why has it been so difficult for Biden to restrain Israel and succeed in Ukraine? What might a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire deal look like? How can the U.S. navigate toward a more stable U.S.-China relationship, despite entrenched beliefs that we are living through a second Cold War?

Join them for a wide-ranging conversation on the most pressing issues facing the United States and the world.

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