Counterpoint

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America didn’t join the United States and Europe in jumping to Kyiv’s defense. Their leaders wondered why they should oppose Russia’s aggression after watching Washington get away with decades of military interventions from Iraq to Libya, raising the question of whether opposing the use of force somewhere necessitates opposing it everywhere.

FP deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky is joined by Vijay Prashad, the executive director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, and Martin Kimani, a former Kenyan ambassador to the United Nations and now executive director of New York University’s Center on International Cooperation.

For more listening, check out After America: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1983649/episodes/15330743

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Back in 2016, under a Conservative-led government, Britain shocked the world by voting narrowly to leave the European Union. Fast-forward to today, and the political sands have shifted dramatically. In July, for the first time in 14 years, British voters elected a Labour government. Two weeks later, the new British prime minister, Keir Starmer, signaled his desire for the country to once again grow closer to Europe. And polls now show that if given the choice again, more people would vote to rejoin the EU than stay out. FP deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky is joined by businesswoman, activist, and campaigner Gina Miller and former British Chancellor and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.

For more listening, check out After America: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1983649/episodes/15330743

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For many years, South Africa was seen as a poster child for peaceful reconciliation and the triumph of good over evil. The “Rainbow Nation” image brought tourism, international investment, and major global events such as the 2010 World Cup. But beneath the glitz, there was a darker side: grinding poverty, widespread corruption, violent xenophobia, and close ties with authoritarian regimes. These days, South Africa seems intent on restoring its international image as a moral superpower. FP deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky is joined by Sisonke Msimang, the author of Always Another Country and The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela, and Tony Leon, the former head of the Democratic Alliance and leader of South Africa’s official opposition in Parliament from 1999 to 2007.

For more listening, check out After America: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1983649/episodes/15330743

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In the past few months, the war in Ukraine has taken some dramatic turns. Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into Russian territory, seizing chunks of Kursk province and embarrassing President Vladimir Putin. Russia retaliated with a number of devastating attacks on Ukrainian cities and military facilities and continued to seize more territory in Donetsk. Rather than moving toward a negotiated settlement, the war seems to be escalating. FP deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky is joined by Emma Ashford, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center and an assistant professor at Georgetown University, and Rajan Menon, the director of the grand strategy program at Defense Priorities and a senior research scholar at Columbia University.

For more listening, check out After America: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1983649/episodes/15330743

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On the night of Oct. 1, Iran launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel. It was the latest in a deadly tit for tat between the two countries. The regionwide war that the Biden administration doesn’t want now seems to be happening. And for that reason, the idea of taking out Iran’s nuclear program with military strikes seems less theoretical and more like a real possibility.

Foreign Policy deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky is joined by Matt Kroenig, the vice president of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a professor of government at Georgetown University, and Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center and a lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University.

For more listening, check out After America: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1983649/episodes/15330743

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This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the start of a war in Gaza that has killed upwards of 40,000 people, many of them civilians. Throughout this conflict, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pursued his own political and military agenda at odds with Washington’s calls for negotiations and de-escalation. Yet the flow of U.S. arms has continued. FP deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky is joined by Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of DAWN, an organization working to reform U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and Dennis Ross, who was Washington’s point person in Middle East peace negotiations under two U.S. presidents.

For more listening, check out After America: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1983649/episodes/15330743

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Each week, FP deputy editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky and his guests will tackle one pressing question from two opposing points of view. 

Listen in as an international cast of diplomats, journalists, academics and activists from around the globe debate controversial issues that get to the heart of the world’s biggest dilemmas. 

This season’s debates include, “Should the United States withhold military aid from Israel?”; “Should the Global South Denounce Russia’s war in Ukraine?”; "Does Maximum Pressure on Iran Work?” and “Should the UK rejoin the EU?”

Counterpoint is a Foreign Policy Podcast, in partnership with the Doha Forum.

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Global cooperation can often seem broken. On our final episode of Global Reboot, we look at how to reboot international relations for a multipolar era. Multilateral institutions seem increasingly ineffective, and even outdated, as emerging economies demand more of a role and countries form alliances and blocs outside of these institutions. In such a scenario, what can be done to improve cooperation to meet global challenges?

Borge Brende joins Global Reboot to discuss this and much more. Brende is the president of the World Economic Forum. He previously served as Norway’s minister of foreign affairs from 2013 to 2017.

Global Reboot is produced in partnership with the Doha Forum.

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The “global south” encompasses countries with such varied interests and ideologies that the term may no longer be a useful tool. Yet, if the Western world hopes to counter Russia’s and China’s increasing aggression, rebuilding strong relationships with these countries is more important than ever.

C. Raja Mohan is a senior fellow with the Asia Society Policy Institute in New Delhi. He joins Ravi Agrawal to discuss how to reengage with the global south and whether the term is even still relevant today.

Global Reboot is produced in partnership with the Doha Forum.

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The global community has set a goal of preserving thirty percent of our oceans by 2030. How will we reach that goal? And what’s at stake for ocean biodiversity if that target is missed? 

Monica Medina is the president and CEO of Wildlife Conservation Society, and the former United States' Special Envoy for Biodiversity and Water Resources.

Global Reboot is produced in partnership with the Doha Forum.

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