Chatham House

As the new omicron variant spreads across the globe, and vaccine distribution continues to reveal inequities between the global North and South, Mariana catches up with Rob Yates (Director of the Global Health Programme at Chatham House) to find out where things stand going into 2022.  Then, Ben is joined by Leonard Schuette (a PhD candidate from the University of Maastricht), whose recent article in International Affairs highlights the role played by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in managing the challenge posed to the organisation by the presidency of Donald Trump. They discuss the history of US grievances with NATO, what the Trump episode reveals about the influence of the Secretary General, and the prospects for the organisation's engagement with the Biden administration. Read The World Today article: Read the International Affairs article:  Credits: Speakers: Leonard Schuette, Rob Yates Hosts: Ben Horton, Mariana Vieira Editor: Jamie Reed Sound Services Recorded and produced by Chatham House

Transatlantic Tech Talks is a three part mini-series on the Undercurrents podcast feed, produced with the support of Microsoft, which explores the state of international cooperation on digital governance between Europe, the UK and USA. As technological innovation accelerates, and new digital tools and business models arise, governments are working to develop a framework of regulations to safeguard the rights and interests of their citizens. Not all stakeholders agree, however, on the best way to achieve this. While some advocate a ‘digital cooperation’ approach based on transparency and data-sharing, others are more concerned with maintaining ‘digital sovereignty’. In this final episode, Ben is joined by three experts to discuss the prospects for transatlantic cooperation in the digital trade sector. His guests include Susan Aaronson (Director of the Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub at George Washington University), Euan MacMillan (Head of the Digital Trade Negotiations for the UK government's Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) and Marianne Schneider-Petsinger (Senior Research Fellow, US & Americas Programme at Chatham House). They discuss how international negotiations on digital trade have progressed, the pressure points that need to be resolved (including data flows and consumer privacy) and where the European Union, UK and USA can work together.  Credits: Speakers: Susan Aaronson, Euan MacMillan, Marianne Schneider-Petsinger Hosts: Ben Horton Editor: Jamie Reed Sound Services Music: Jamie Reed Sound Services Recorded and produced by Chatham House

Transatlantic Tech Talks is a three part mini-series on the Undercurrents podcast feed, produced with the support of Microsoft, which explores the state of international cooperation on digital governance between the United States, the UK and Europe. As technological innovation accelerates, and new digital tools and business models arise, governments are working to develop a framework of regulations to safeguard the rights and interests of their citizens. Not all stakeholders agree, however, on the best way to achieve this. While some advocate a ‘digital cooperation’ approach based on transparency and data-sharing, others are more concerned with maintaining ‘digital sovereignty’. In the first episode of this series, Ben is joined by Casper Klynge (Vice-President for European Government Affairs, Microsoft), Harriet Moynihan (Acting Director, International Law Programme, Chatham House) and Marianne Schneider-Petsinger (Senior Research Fellow, US & Americas Programme, Chatham House) who set out the broad context for these debates. They assess where the major government, private sector and civil society actors stand on the question of digital governance, and how they are approaching the international negotiations. Credits: Speakers: Casper Klynge, Harriet Moynihan, Marianne Schneider-Petsinger Host: Ben Horton Editor: Jamie Reed Sound Services  Music: Jamie Reed Sound Services Recorded and produced by Chatham House

Since its publication in 1944, many Americans have described Gunnar Myrdal’s An American Dilemma as a defining text on US race relations. Funded by the Carnegie Corporation, Myrdal's research explored the socio-economic conditions experienced by much of the black population in the United States, and proposed policies which would encourage assimilation of those communities into white America. But why did Carnegie commission such work? Maribel Morey, founding Executive Director of the Miami Institute for the Social Sciences, explores the origins of An American Dilemma in her new book, White Philanthropy: Carnegie Corporation's An American Dilemma and the Making of a White World Order. Through extensive archive research she reveals the racial politics underpinning Myrdal's work, and the concern of those involved for maintaining white domination of the United States.  In this episode, Ben speaks to Maribel about her findings, in conversation with Inderjeet Parmar, Professor of Internaitonal Politics at City, University of London.  Find the book: White Philanthropy: Carnegie Corporation's An American Dilemma and the Making of a White World Order - Credits: Speakers: Maribel Morey, Inderjeet Parmar Host: Ben Horton Editor: Jamie Reed Recorded and produced by Chatham House

Transatlantic Tech Talks is a three part mini-series on the Undercurrents podcast feed, produced with the support of Microsoft, which explores the state of international cooperation on digital governance between the United States, the UK and Europe. As technological innovation accelerates, and new digital tools and business models arise, governments are working to develop a framework of regulations to safeguard the rights and interests of their citizens. Not all stakeholders agree, however, on the best way to achieve this. While some advocate a ‘digital cooperation’ approach based on transparency and data-sharing, others are more concerned with maintaining ‘digital sovereignty’. In this second episode, we explore the issue of digital technical standards, the rules and parameters which govern the development of technologies and ensure interoperability between countries and businesses. Isabella Wilkinson speaks to Emily Taylor (CEO of Oxford Information Labs), Bilel Jamoussi (Chief of the Study Groups Department at the ITU) and Richard Wingfield (Head of Legal at GPD), who explain why digital technical standards are so vital to the digital economy, and why they are inreasingly coming under threat.  Credits: Speakers: Bilel Jamoussi, Emily Taylor, Richard Wingfield Hosts: Ben Horton, Isabella Wilkinson Editor: Jamie Reed Sound Services Music: Jamie Reed Sound Services Recorded and produced by Chatham House

In this episode of Africa Aware, we speak to Executive Director of EG Justice Tutu Alicante. Tutu outlines the current state of kleptocracy in Equatorial Guinea, the western actors that facilitate these corrupt practices, and the role of international partners in supporting efforts to bring about justice.

Quamrul Chowdhury has been involved in the climate negotiations for almost three decades. He currently serves as a lead negotiator for the G77 and the least developed countries group, and is a member of Bangladesh’s negotiating team. In this bonus episode of the Climate Briefing, Anna speaks to Mr. Chowdhury about the outcome of COP26. Find out more: COP26: What happened, what does this mean, and what happens next? >>  Undercurrents: COP26 analysis, and the politics of language survival >>  How to ensure the COP26 forest declaration is a success >>   Credits: Speakers: Quamrul Chowdhury Host: Anna Aberg Editor: Jamie Reed Sound Services Recorded and produced by Chatham House

What was achieved at COP26? And what do different parties make of the outcome? In this episode, Anna speaks to a range of negotiators, advisers and experts about the results of the Glasgow conference. Interviewees include Camilla Born (policy adviser to the COP26 president), Farhana Yamin (deputy-chair of the expert advisory group of the climate vulnerable forum), Jacob Werksman (head of the EU delegation), Isatou Camara (climate finance negotiator for the least developed countries group), and Aglaja Espelage (consultant at Perspectives Climate Group). Find out more: COP26: What happened, what does this mean, and what happens next? >> Undercurrents: COP26 analysis, and the politics of language survival >> How to ensure the COP26 forest declaration is a success >>   Credits: Speakers: Camilla Born, Isatou Camara, Aglaja Espelage, Jacob Werksman Farhana Yamin Host: Anna Aberg Editor: Jamie Reed Sound Services Recorded and produced by Chatham House

As the dust settles from COP26, the 2021 UN climate summit, Ben is joined by Anna Aberg to discuss the key outcomes and insights from the conference. They consider the progress made on mitigation, adaptation, climate finance and the so-called 'Paris rulebook', and look ahead to what the agenda could look like in a year's time at COP27.  Then Mariana interviews journalist and author James Griffiths about his investigations into the politics of minority language survival. As globalisation continues languages are disappearing faster than ever, leaving our planet's linguistic diversity leaping towards extinction. In Speak Not: Empire, Identity and the Politics of Language, Griffiths explores how communities across the world are fighting to preserve their linguistic heritage.  Read the Chatham House Expert Comment: Find the book:  Credits: Speakers: Anna Aberg, James Griffiths Hosts: Ben Horton, Mariana Vieira Editor: Jamie Reed Sound Services Recorded and produced by Chatham House

Smart Peace is a new podcast mini-series on the Undercurrents podcast feed. Over three episodes Ben explores new approaches to peacebuilding and conflict resolution with experts from the Smart Peace project.  Smart Peace is a global initiative led by Conciliation Resources, which combines the varied expertise of different consortium partners to address the challenges of building peace – focusing on the Central African Republic, Nigeria and Myanmar. This first episode focuses on conflict in Central African Republic. Ben is joined by Lisa Heinzel and Nyeko Caesar Poblicks from Conciliation Resources to discuss the latest political developments in the country, the drivers of unrest and efforts to build inclusive, locally-led peace processes.  Find out more about Smart Peace: Credits: Speaker: Lisa Heinzel, Nyeko Caesar Poblicks Host: Ben Horton Editor: Jamie Reed Sound Services Recorded and produced by Chatham House