Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

There are some frightening warning signs that a genocide may erupt in South Sudan. The country has been at war with itself for the better of three years, ever since a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his Vice Preisident Riek Machar turned into an armed conflict between those two men. The conflict took on ugly sectarian dimensions--these men hail from different ethnic groups--and peace has been elusive. In recent weeks, however, it seems that the government of Salva Kiir is readying itself to commit ethnic-based mass atrocities for reasons that my guest Cameron Hudson explains. Cameron is the director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. He's also a former CIA officer with extensive background in the region. And in this episode, he explains what conditions are ripe for genocide in South Sudan are ripe.

Mark Tokola is the vice president of the Korea Economic Institute of America. He's a long serving American diplomat with postings around the world and we discuss a few of them in this episode, including his first posting to Turkey where his main job was helping Americans sent to prison on drug trafficking charges. He also compares his work in the Balkans in the 1990s to Iraq after the fall of Saddam and I think makes an important point about the value of multilateralism to American interests. We spoke a day after the Security Council passed new a sanctions resolution on North Korea following a nuclear test in September and we kick off discussing the implications of those sanctions before pivoting to a longer conversation about his globe-spanning career. Mark's last posting was to South Korea and we end with some discussion about the political upheaval underway there and whether or not my man Ban Ki Moon may run for president next year. Mark is an alumnus of the Salzburg Global Seminar which is a podcast sponsor this month and at the top of the episode we also reference a seminar about North Korean human rights in which he participated

Donald Trump's foreign policy and national security team is still taking shape. He has appointed Nikki Haley as his UN ambassador and Mike Flynn as his National Security Advisor. But at the time of recording, he has not picked a Secretary of State or Secretary of Defense. So how are you best able to interpret and understand the implications of those selections to American foreign policy? Thankfully, there is some is some emerging political science that speaks to the role of advisors in shaping national security policy, and on the line with me to discuss this research is Professor Elizabeth Saunders of George Washington University. Saunders has conducted a number of studies that speak to the circumstances in which cabinet picks and top advisors can shape public opinion and decision making on key foreign policy issues. We discuss her research and its implications for the Trump transition in this episode. And after you listen to this episode, you should have a fairly decent grounding in how to interpret the significance of these picks, no matter who the end up being.

--- Support the podcast and join our premium subscribers club! ---> https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches President elect Donald Trump will nominate Nikki Haley to be his Ambassador to the United Nations. She is a rising star in Republican politics and currently serves as the governor of South Carolina. She was sharp critic of Trump during the primaries, yet he has picked her to represent him at the United Nations. On the line with me to discuss Nikki Haley, her political background, her personal story, and her place in South Carolina and national politics is Andy Shane the Colombia bureau chief of the Post and Courier newspaper in South Carolina. We have an in-depth conversation about the woman who will next lead the United States Mission to the UN and we discuss how some experiences she had as governor may suggest how she takes on her next role. Trump's cabinet is still taking shape and it's notable that he would pick his UN Ambassador position before his Secretary of State, but I think we have come to expect the unexpected from this president elect. One other political wrinkle that we did not discuss, but is on the minds of people who follow national politics is that there may be a senate seat in South Carolina opening up in 2019, and if so, political watchers speculate that she may vie for that position. So the thinking goes, this could be a good platform for which to run for president in 2024. Now this is a long way off, but it's what the chattering class is chattering about.

--- Support the podcast! Join the premium subscribers club! --- Tali Nates has a personal connection to Schindler's List. On it was the name of her father and uncle, whom Oskar Schindler saved from a Nazi extermination camp. She is now the director of the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Center in South Africa and we have a fascinating conversation about how the lessons of the Holocaust are applied and learned in post-Apartheid South Africa. Tali was born in Israel and moved to South Africa before the end of Apartheid. She candidly describes the moral compunction she experienced during that era and how teaching Holocaust history to white south africans became a method of resistance. This episode is part of a series that is being created in partnership with the Salzburg Global Seminar, which is a forum and meeting space that brings together a cross section of global leaders to take on some of the big global challenges of the day. We kick off discussing her participation on one of the Salzburg sessions before turning to her own family history and contemporary work.

--- Support the podcast and join our premium subscribers club! --- As Americans headed to the polls on election day, diplomats from around the world headed to Marrakech, Morocco for the first big global climate summit since the Paris Agreement last year. This was to be an important inflection point in the global effort to combat climate change. Just a week earlier the Paris Agreement officially entered into force after the requisite number of countries ratified it and this meeting in Marrakech would to fill in some key details and add some technical guidance to enable the implementation of the agreement. And then, Donald Trump was elected. During the campaign he pledged to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and defund UN programs to combat climate change. So I was interested to learn the implications of the election on the ongoing negotiations in Morocco and this episode is in two parts. First, I speak with Eliot Diringer of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, who I caught up the day after the election just as he was headed to Morocco. Eliot discusses the ways domestic politics here in the USA may affect climate negotiations and also recounts the history of American leadership (or lack thereof) in international climate diplomacy. Next, I speak with Hugh Sealy, a diplomat from Grenada who is a lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States, known as AOSIS in UN speak. I caught up with Hugh in Marrakech about a week after the election, and as you'll see he does not report that much has changed. He does though, also discuss the importance of American leadership and also offers some interesting insights into the role that small countries like his can play in these big negotiations. If you have not already done so, please check out the Patreon page I have created which is a way for you to support the show and also, if you are interested, take a deeper role in its production. Listeners who make a recurring monthly contribution through this platform can receive rewards for your support. So, for being a Global Dispatches premium subscriber you get a complimentary subscription to my DAWNS Digest global news clips service, sneak previews of upcoming episodes and the opportunity to have your questions posed to my guests, and also, if enough of you join the premium club I will launch a new podcast series, shaped by you, exclusively for. And stickers! Check it out.

--- Support the podcast and join our premium subscribers club! --- Maina Kiai has some profound insights into how governments abrogate the rights of people to freely assemble. He is a Kenyan human rights lawyer and activist who currently serves as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. His career was born in opposition to an oppressive government in Kenya and he discusses the kinds of tactics and strategies he used to advance human rights under an authoritarian government.He also recounts his role in helping to mediate during the disputed 2007 Kenya elections, which turned very violent and resulted in his life being in danger. We kick off discussing the impact of a Trump presidency on human and civic rights around the world and in the United States. This is a great conversation, which I did leave feeling inspired. --- I started a Patreon page! This is sort of like a KickStarter for internet content creators. If you make a recurring monthly contribution to the podcast I'll give you a complimentary subscription to my DAWNS Digest global news clips service; the chance to hear about upcoming shows and have your questions posed to my guests; access to a community forum; and if enough of you sign up, I will create a for-your-ears only podcast episode. Learn more: https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches

--- Click here to go to the Patreon Page to earn rewards and support the show! --- I'll get straight to the point. These are uncertain times. They are confusing times. We are entering the Trump era of American foreign policy. What does that mean for the world? For the ideals we care about? For the entire liberal international world order? I don't know. But I am going to make a pledge to you right now: I will dedicate this podcast to exploring and explaining the implications of President Trump to foreign policy, international relations and global affairs. These are uncharted waters into which we are all about to set sail. And in times like this community is more important than ever. I am going to open up Global Dispatches and offer you a chance to share your experiences, anxieties, hopes and ideas for what the future will hold. I'll give you expanded opportunities to interact with my guests, with me, and with each other. But I need help to make this work so here's my pitch: I need to spend more time putting together great shows, building community, and less time hustling to cover costs. That's where you come in. I've created this page to give you an easy way to support the podcast and earn awesome rewards in the process. Together, we can build this into a powerful community and keep the podcast going strong in these uncertain times. Patreon is a platform used by many podcasters and "content creators." It is a way for you, dear listener, to become a Patron of the show. Several listeners suggested I create one, so here goes. The Rewards Contributors at the $10/month level or above will receive: 1) A complimentary subscription to my DAWNS Digest global news clips service. Every morning you will receive in your inbox an easy-to-skim summary of the most interesting and relevant news and opinion from around the world. It's a news clips service that major global NGOs, think tanks and government agencies wake up to in the morning. And it can be yours! 2) Sneak previews of upcoming episodes and the chance to pose questions to my guests. I'll let you know ahead of time about the topics I'm covering and individuals I'm interviewing. If you have a specific question you'd like me to ask, I'll work it into my interview. 3) Bonus episodes! If 100 of you to become sustaining members of the podcast, I'll create a regular series for your-ears-only. It will be a looser kind of show than Global Dispatches and focus on the consequence of Trumpism inside the UN and global institutions more broadly. It will also cover the big events, ideas, politics and other happenings around the UN that may be off the radar. It should appeal to a general global affairs audience and UN-insiders alike. This is a special bonus for sustaining members, so we can tailor this special programming to your requests. 4) Access to a community platform. This will be a space where we can have discussions about world events, about our lives and careers, or reflect on previous episodes. It can serve as a safe, private outlet where you can share whatever is on your mind with your fellow listeners. 5) Swag! I'll mail you a sticker. Who doesn't love stickers? As more and more people sign up, the swag will get awesomer. (Tote Bags! Mugs! Flashdrives!) ----- Why this? Why now? I've been writing on the Internets for 13 years -- as a blogger, twitter person and beyond. In all my projects over the years, I've never felt a deeper connection with my audience than through this podcast. There is an intimacy to this medium. I really cherish that. And based on the feedback I receive everyday, you do too. If the podcast is part of your daily routine, become a patron. It cannot keep going without your support. Together we can turn this challenging election outcome into something positive--into an opportunity to learn and grow. Lots of Love, Mark PS If you have any questions or concerns, contact me.

Donald Trump will become president and commander-in-chief in January. I am pledging to you right now that I will dedicate myself and dedicate this podcast to helping you make sense of foreign policy and world affairs in the era of Trump. To that end, I caught up with Heather Hurlburt of the New America Foundation. Heather and I have a pretty wide ranging discussion about the implications of a Trump presidency for American alliances, for Syria, for the Iran nuclear deal and for the lives of some of the most vulnerable people on the planet. We kick off discussing the kinds of personnel choices that President Elect Trump must take in the coming weeks which will be a very early sign of what kind of foreign policy president he will be.

How the international community saves lives in conflict prone countries or insecure places is becoming increasingly relevant and important to global affairs. On the line to walk me through the nuts and bolts of one of these relief operations is Laurent Bukera, who runs the World Food Program's operations in Somalia. We have a pretty fascinating conversation about how a humanitarian agency like the World Food Program operates in profoundly difficult environments beset by insecurity and terrorism. Laurent walks me through some of WFP's operations in Somalia--that is how they deliver aid and some of the challenges of working in that country. And these challenges includes not only threats from terror groups like Al Shebaab, but more broadly extremely low levels of infrastructure development. To deal with some of these obstacles the WFP is rolling out some new technological innovations, which we discuss toward the end of this episode.