Counterpoint

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 Multilateral institutions seem increasingly ineffective, and even outdated, as emerging economies demand more of a role and countries form alliances and blocs outside of these institutions.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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2023 is on track to be the worst year on record for refugees. And the figures for internally displaced people—communities forced to move within their own countries to escape conflict or natural disaster—are even worse. How do we fix this?

Kelly T. Clements, the deputy high commissioner at the U.N. agency tasked with responding to this crisis, joins Global Reboot to discuss solutions to this growing problem. This episode was recorded as a special live taping in September at the United Nations General Assembly. You can watch the video version of this live taping here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPt7kI5KI3E

Global Reboot is produced in partnership with the Doha Forum.

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The world’s first comprehensive piece of legislation regulating artificial intelligence could be on the cusp of being approved. The European Union’s AI Act would set guardrails for the technology without curbing innovation. Eva Maydell, a member of the European Parliament, is one of the act’s key drivers and joins host Ravi Agrawal to share her insights.

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The trajectory of the U.S.-China relationship has global implications, with most Democrats and Republicans in Congress calling for a more hawkish approach. Rep. Andy Kim disagrees, calling instead for a foreign policy focused more on coalition building. 

Kim sits on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. He’s one of the few members of Congress who has visited China. And when speaking with leaders and policymakers from the region, he says they tell him that “the [United States] cannot be the instigators of the tension. … You need to show that you are a responsible global power.”

The Democratic representative from New Jersey joins Ravi Agrawal for this special FP Live taping of Global Reboot. You can watch the video version of this interview here.

Global Reboot is produced in partnership with the Doha Forum.

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In her latest book, The Patriarchs: The Origins of Inequality, science journalist Angela Saini argues that it’s not biology alone that formed the basis for the patriarchy. The history of the patriarchal state is much more complex. For example, one of the most radical attempts to overhaul gender inequality came from an unlikely actor: the Soviet Union. 

Saini joins host Ravi Agrawal to discuss how to reset gender norms in our workplaces, homes, and communities.

Global Reboot is produced in partnership with the Doha Forum.

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Rory Stewart is a longtime administrator of foreign aid, from working as a diplomat in the field to the highest levels of government. He now heads GiveDirectly, one of the world’s fastest-growing nonprofits, which is popularizing direct cash transfers as an effective way to alleviate poverty. He joins Global Reboot host Ravi Agrawal to share his insights.

Rory Stewart previously served as a cabinet member in the British government and is the host of the popular podcast The Rest is Politics.

Global Reboot is produced in partnership with the Doha Forum.

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Global Reboot returns for a new season. Join host and Foreign Policy editor in chief Ravi Agrawal as he talks with top policymakers and thinkers focused on solving the world’s biggest problems. New episodes drop every week starting on Oct. 27.

Global Reboot is produced in partnership with the Doha Forum.

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