Democracies are in decline around the world. What can be done to strengthen democratic institutions? At the annual Aspen Ideas Festival, host Ravi Agrawal sat down with Nobel laureate Maria Ressa; Freedom House President Mike Abramowitz; and Shadi Hamid, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Suggested reading and listening:

Hélène Landemore: More Power to More People

Shadi Hamid: Lessons for the Next Arab Spring

Michael Hirsh: Trump’s Trials Are America’s Stress Test

Disinformation, Intimidation, and Other Threats to Press Freedom

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As a special summer edition of Foreign Policy Live, Ravi Agrawal shares the mic with his colleague Amelia Lester and answers audience questions on China’s economic slowdown, the state of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, and more.

This episode was recorded before the Wagner group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was reportedly killed in a plane crash in Russia.

And while you're here, listeners, we're offering a rare 50 percent discount on a subscription to Foreign Policy for a short time. Go to foreignpolicy.com/subscribe and enter promo code FPLIVE. If you sign up for the annual subscription, you’ll get 50 percent off the entire year. Our usual discounts are much much smaller, so if you've been thinking about subscribing, now is the time.

Suggested reading:

Howard W. French: Niger’s Coup Is a Turning Point for Africans

FP Live Debate: Has China Peaked?

Paul Scharre: AI’s Gatekeepers Aren’t Prepared for What’s Coming

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Home to just over 3 million people, the Indian state of Manipur is the site of intense conflict between its two largest ethnic groups. The violence, which broke out in May, has largely gone uncovered in the West. Why is it happening? What can be done to stop it? And how will it impact the broader region? Journalist Barkha Dutt and defense analyst Sushant Singh join Ravi Agrawal to discuss.

Suggested reading:

Sushant Singh: Manipur Crisis Tests Modi’s India

Michael Kugelman: India Steps Up Diplomacy With Myanmar

Sushant Singh: Modi Can’t Look Away From Manipur

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Inflation is slowing, unemployment remains low, and a recession is now considered unlikely. And the Biden administration is taking credit, citing its economic policies—Bidenomics—as the reason. But is that true? And have these policies followed through on their promise?

White House economist Heather Boushey debates Ravi Agrawal on the merits of Bidenomics and how to strengthen the American middle class. 

Suggested reading:

Adam Posen: America’s Zero-Sum Economics Doesn’t Add Up

James C. Capretta: The New Washington Consensus on Trade is Wrong

Ravi Agrawal: The White House’s Case for Industrial Policy

Adam Tooze: The Mixed Bag of Bidenomics

Ravi Agrawal: ‘De-Risking is Consulting Gibberish’

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The White House’s China policy needs a reset. So says Rep. Ro Khanna, who has a plan to rebalance trade ties with Beijing and reduce tensions. Host Ravi Agrawal quizzes Khanna on China, the war in Ukraine, India, and more. 

Foreign Policy Live will be holding an ask-me-anything later this summer. Send in your questions to [email protected] or by visiting foreignpolicy.com/live.

Suggested reading:

Melissa Morgan: Congressman Ro Khanna Addresses Intersection of America’s Economy and U.S.-China Geopolitical Challenges

Gregory W. Meeks: Anti-China Rhetoric Distracts Washington—and Boosts Beijings

A. Wess Mitchell: Why Biden’s China Reset Is a Bad Idea

Reid Smith: Why the U.S.-China ‘Cold War’ Framing Is So Dangerous

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Will China keep on rising? Or has it reached a peak? The answer to this question is crucial because it determines how countries should deal with Beijing. But there’s no clear consensus. Scholars Michael Beckley and Keyu Jin join FP’s Ravi Agrawal to debate opposite perspectives on China’s trajectory. 

Foreign Policy Live will be holding an ask-me-anything later this summer. Send in your questions to [email protected].

Suggested reading:

Hal Brands: The Dangers of China’s Decline

Hal Brands: China Is a Declining Power—and That’s the Problem

Robert A. Manning: The U.S. Doesn’t Need China’s Collapse to Win

Howard W. French: A Shrinking China Can’t Overtake America

Ravi Agrawal: Has China Peaked?

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It’s been a mixed summer for Ukraine. Kyiv’s counteroffensive is progressing slowly, and the country was stymied in its bid to join NATO. But Russia has suffered military setbacks, and the West continues to offer Ukraine important security guarantees. Andrea Kendall-Taylor joins FP Live host Ravi Agrawal to discuss the latest in the war and assess where things might head next. Kendall-Taylor is the director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for New American Security.

Suggested reading:

Simon Sebag Montefiore: Putin’s Fear of Strong Generals Is as Old as Russia Itself

Anastasia Edel: Inside Putin’s Surreal Television Empire

Jack Detsch: Wagner Mutiny Rattles the Kremlin’s War in Ukraine

Stephen M. Walt: Cluster Bombs and the Contradictions of Liberalism

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The world’s most powerful countries are racing to dominate artificial intelligence. Who will win? The answer might lie in who controls high-end chips—and the critical metals behind them. Paul Scharre, the author of Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, describes this competition in FP’s new Summer 2023 print issue and joins host Ravi Agrawal to discuss how AI will shape geopolitics for years to come. 

Suggested reading:

Paul Scharre: AI’s Gatekeepers Aren’t Prepared for What’s Coming

Stanley McChrystal: AI Has Entered the Situation Room

Sasha Polakow-Suransky: Can ChatGPT Explain Geopolitics?

Alondra Nelson: How to Regulate AI

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World leaders will gather in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week for NATO’s annual summit. Will Sweden be accepted into the security alliance? Will member states offer security guarantees for Ukraine? Former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen joins host Ravi Agrawal for insights.

Suggested reading:

FP Contributors: NATO’s Next Decade

Elisabeth Braw: Sweden Is Doing Fine in NATO’s Waiting Room

Poll: U.S. Elites Agree on NATO Enlargement

Sinan Ciddi: Will Erdogan Finally Ratify Sweden’s NATO Accession? No One Knows.

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Over the last few years, the United States has moved to limit China’s technological rise. U.S.-led sanctions have imposed unprecedented limits on Beijing’s access to advanced computing chips. In response, China has accelerated its own efforts to develop its technological industry and reduce its dependence on external imports.

Where is U.S.-China tech competition headed? How are other countries being impacted as a result? Technology expert Dan Wang, who was known for his yearly reflections on China when living in Shanghai, joins FP Live host Ravi Agrawal. 

Suggested reading:

Dan Wang: 2022 Letter

Dan Wang: 2021 Letter

Jon Bateman: Biden Is Now All-In on Taking Out China

Agathe Demarais: How the U.S.-Chinese Technology War Is Changing the World

Rishi Iyengar and Liam Scott: What the ChatGPT Moment Means for U.S.-China Tech Competition

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