Today's discussions about immigrants and refugees are focused on the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy on the U.S.-Mexico border and the "migration crisis" in the Mediterranean. Carnegie Council Senior Fellow Kavitha Rajagopalan explores the history of these debates, what it means to be undocumented in Europe versus the United States, and why many still view immigration through the prisms of terrorism and crime.
Jul 19, 2018•39 min
"I think it's important to contrast what China is doing with what Russia is doing," says Asia Society's Isaac Stone Fish. "Russia influence operations and Russia influence is much more about sowing chaos, it's about destabilization, it's about making America weaker. China is much more about making China stronger. The United States is a vector and a way for China to become stronger." Elon Musk, Alibaba, and China's internal power structures are also discussed in this wide-ranging talk.
Jul 18, 2018•32 min
As China's middle class grows, Hollywood is making films with this audience in mind, says the Wilson Center's Robert Daly, previously a producer for the Chinese version of "Sesame Street." How is this different from filmmaking in the World War II and Cold War eras? And why did the Chinese government have a problem with Cookie Monster and Grover?
Jul 16, 2018•41 min
In this new podcast series, we'll be connecting current events to Carnegie Council resources through conversations with our Senior Fellows. This week, Devin Stewart discusses how his essay defending the Singapore Summit holds up a month later. Plus, he and host Alex Woodson speak about Mike Pompeo's strange and unproductive trip to Pyongyang, what a "peace regime" could look like, and the prospects for a unified Korean Peninsula.
Jul 12, 2018•28 min
As part of our new Information Warfare podcast series, University of Connecticut historian Alexis Dudden looks at the propaganda efforts coming out of Northeast Asia, with a focus on China's Confucius Institutes at American universities. Is China trying to spread its communist ideology through these centers or just teach its language to college students? Are the U.S. and Japan "guilty" of similar efforts?
Jul 11, 2018•37 min
Carnegie Council Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev looks at some basic questions Trump is asking about the post-Cold War alliance structures. Referencing a recent panel with George Mason's Colin Dueck and International Institute for Strategic Studies' Kori Schake, should Germany and other NATO allies spend more on defense? And what exactly are we defending when we say the "liberal international order"?
Jul 05, 2018•27 min
What are the challenges that will have the most impact on India's future? Award-winning author Mira Kamdar puts climate change and environmental degradion at the top of the list, including rising sea levels and scarcity of resources. Next is the problem of poverty and unemployment--India has to generate nearly a million new jobs a month for young people joining the workforce. Kamdar also discusses the rise of Hindu nationalism and much more.
Jul 02, 2018•23 min
As Viktor Orbán continues to enact illiberal policies in Hungary, some, including Harvard's Yascha Mounk, have called for the state to be expelled from the European Union. Carnegie Council Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev puts this idea in a geopolitical and historical context and discusses what it could mean for the future of the EU. Is it possible to have an alliance of nations without shared values?
Jun 28, 2018•26 min
The Vietnam War ended over 40 years ago, but the U.S. and Vietnam are still coming to terms with the legacy of the toxic herbicide Agent Orange. Yet there is some good news: The cleanup is continuing and the U.S. Congress is committed. Bailey, who led Agent Orange programs at the Ford Foundation and the Aspen Institute, shares the inspiring story of the cooperation between former enemies, across multiple U.S. presidential administrations.
Jun 27, 2018•38 min
On the Global Ethics Forum series finale, best-selling author Robert Kaplan discusses China's global ambitions in an increasingly connected world. In this excerpt Kaplan discusses some of the underreported aspects of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Thanks for watching!
Jun 21, 2018•4 min
It's important to understand that Russia and France have had a centuries-long relationship which is mostly positive, say French scholars Marlene Laruelle and Jean-Yves Camus. Today there are layers of close economic and cultural ties, as well as common geopolitical interests, and the French extreme right and Russia share many of the same conservative values. Thus the remarkable strength of Russian influence in France is not surprising.
Jun 20, 2018•51 min
Thomas Weiss, a leading expert on the history and politics of the United Nations, gives incontrovertible evidence of the UN's achievements, such as the eradication of smallpox, but also details where the organization has fallen short. This is a critical time for all multilateral organizations and treaties, he stresses, as Trump has no regard for international cooperation.
Jun 18, 2018•1 hr 4 min
In the wake of the countless Western media takes on Trump-Kim, Senior Fellow Devin Stewart defends the Singapore summit and the president's negotiating style and U.S. Air Force veteran Phil Caruso gives an inside perspective of what a freeze of military drills means. Did Trump give up too much? What are the next steps? And most importantly, are South Korea and Japan safer today than they were one week, six months, or a year ago?
Jun 15, 2018•35 min
Next time on Global Ethics Forum Yale Law School’s Amy Chua details the effects of tribalism and group identity on American society. In this excerpt Chua discusses why the United States, after the 2016 election, is acting more like a developing country than one of the richest nations in history.
Jun 14, 2018•4 min
There is a huge divide in the way Americans assess U.S. foreign policy. Take for example, the June G7 meeting, which ended in a clash between Trump and some of America's closest allies: Some say it was a disaster; others say Trump did the right thing. Where do we go from here to restore trust in expertise and government? Don't miss this fascinating conversation with two leading commentators, Colin Dueck and Kori Schake.
Jun 13, 2018•1 hr 3 min
Why is democracy under siege around the world? Economist Dambisa Moyo cites a host of reasons, such as short-term thinking, low voter turnout, the huge sums spent on lobbying, and growing economic challenges. To fix these problems, she has 10 proposals for countries to choose from. They include compulsory voting and paying politicians more in order to stop corruption while also forcing them to be accountable for their policies.
Jun 12, 2018•43 min
Nadine Strossen gives a rousing, detailed, and convincing defense of free speech as it is laid out in the First Amendment. "American law really is nuanced and makes a great deal of common sense," she says and while censorship of 'hate speech' in other countries is certainly well-intended, in practice the laws have proven to do more harm than good.
Jun 11, 2018•1 hr 1 min
Next time on Global Ethics Forum, 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang makes the case for universal basic income in the United States. In this excerpt Yang tells journalist Stephanie Sy how he would pay for $1,000 a month for every American adult.
Jun 07, 2018•4 min
There is a global surge in "golden visas" for the super-rich, who often have "no connection to the country other than a wire transfer, the ability to press a button, and pass a significant sum of money across borders," says Ayelet Shachar. Countries offering these include the U.S., the UK, and Malta. Yet in the U.S. the "dreamers," who grew up in America, are being denied citizenship. Do we really believe these visas are fair?
Jun 04, 2018•25 min
"Mexico is very present in our daily lives, sometimes even in ways we don't realize," says Andrew Selee. Did you know, for example, that some of America's most famous baked goods, such as Sara Lee, are owned by a Mexican company and made in Pennsylvania? From manufacturing and trade to film, food, and sports, plus the large number of Americans with Mexican heritage, the economies and cultures of Mexico and the U.S. are woven tightly together.
Jun 01, 2018•21 min
Next time on Global Ethics Forum, Georgetown’s Melanne Verveer discusses the connections between women’s issues, politics, human rights, and economics. In this excerpt Verveer tells journalist Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson about her role in the Obama administration.
May 31, 2018•4 min
How can you ensure that ethics are a core component, not only of an international affairs education, but of graduates' performance once they go out in the field? In this event for students and alumni of the Elliott School of International Affairs, the School's Dean Brigety and Professors Nolan and Kojm, along with Carnegie Council President Rosenthal, discuss the thorny issues of ethics, leadership, and practice in international relations.
May 31, 2018•58 min
Rome-based journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau tells the horrifying story of the thousands of Nigerian women and girls duped into being trafficked to Italy, where they are forced to become sex slaves, drug mules, or weapons smugglers. How can this be stopped? The Nigerian government turns a blind eye, Libya, the transit point, is a failed state, and Italy is overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of migrants--plus prostitution is legal there.
May 24, 2018•23 min
Muhammad Musa is executive director of BRAC, which is working with the one million Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh. He describes the problems there, including growing tensions with the host community and the threat of the coming monsoon season, which may bring floods and landslides. He looks forward to the day when the Rohingya can go home to Myanmar, but this can only occur with the help of the international community.
May 22, 2018•26 min
In this panel Adrian Basora makes a strong case for democracy as not only promoting American values but also serving U.S. interests, while Maia Otarashvili gives a frightening overview of the rise of "illiberal values" (Viktor Orbán's phrase) in the Eurasia region. Basora and Otarashvili are co-editors of "Does Democracy Matter? The United States and Global Democracy Support" and Nikolas Gvosdev is one of the contributors.
May 22, 2018•1 hr 27 min
The popular memory of WWI today was basically engineered through propaganda and censorship during the war itself, says Charles Sorrie. Those involved in any war need convincing reasons why they are fighting. "There needs to be almost some sort of slogan. The one that was developed at that time, that America was fighting mostly for democracy or for freedom, is one that is still used today in popular history and in popular culture."
May 22, 2018•46 min
We are already living with climate change; and although countries have pledged to limit global warming to 2 °C, success seems highly unlikely. This panel explores how to advance ethical leadership on climate justice globally, nationally, and locally in the years ahead. Topics include the Paris Agreement and commitments going forward, geoengineering governance, the problems in California, and the creative ways the Seychelles are coping.
May 17, 2018•1 hr
Every capitalist economy struggles with how to come to terms with greed, says John Paul Rollert, an expert on the intellectual history of capitalism. He describes how our perspective has changed from the Christian view of greed as an unalloyed sin, to the 18th century idea that it could bring positive benefits, to the unabashed "Greed is good" ethos in the movie "Wall Street." Where do we stand now? How can we rehabilitate capitalism?
May 17, 2018•35 min
Next time on Global Ethics Forum, University of Maryland Baltimore County's Professor Kate Brown details the ethical, social, and health costs of nuclear power since World War II. In this excerpt Brown, author of "Plutopia," and journalist Stephanie Sy discuss the little-known Cold War era nuclear production plants in the Soviet Union and Washington State.
May 17, 2018•4 min
"Unknown to the rest of America, we had one regiment of Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico which was totally integrated. The rest of the military was segregated, and the Puerto Rican regiment was integrated." Military historian Richard Millett discusses some surprising and neglected aspects of the Hispanic experience in World War I, along with the war's impact on the United States' relationship with its Latin American allies.
May 15, 2018•38 min
