In this episode, host Belle is joined by Professor Christopher Kam, a researcher on comparative politics, to explore the demographic challenge that advanced industrial democracies worldwide are currently experiencing: the problem of simultaneously aging societies and falling birth rates. Integrating topics such as tax regimes, cultural shifts, economic productivity, and immigration, we discuss what smaller labour cohorts mean for national policy planning in the future, as well as the medium- and long-term consequences of the new way we think about children and families.

In this episode, cohosts Gaurav and Thalin are joined by Dr. James Jay Carney to explore the intersection of religion and politics in Central Africa.

The Catholic Church has become an integral part of African national identity. It plays a significant role in the daily lives of communities at the grassroots level in post-colonial Africa. However, this position is not without conflicts and issues that revolve around society. With a focus on Uganda and Rwanda, we discuss the impact of Catholicism and the Church on national identity, social welfare, and political discourse in these countries and globally.

Dr. Jay Carney is an Associate Professor of Theology at Creighton University, a U.S. Fulbright Scholar, and Visiting Professor at Uganda Martyrs University in Nkosi, Uganda. His work specializes in the intersection of history and theology, focusing on the Catholic experience in eastern and central Africa.

Join us for a special episode with Jordan Hattar as we delve into his strategy to change how we should think about refugees globally and why he focuses mainly on educating children. We also hear about the unorthodox path Jordan took to get to where he is today and the many hurdles he encountered along the way - a valuable insight for anyone looking to make the sort of impact he has in the IR world. Other issues addressed are notions of physicality and the failure of current education practises in representing the refugee crisis, the present and future of the refugee camp (specifically Zaatari, where Jordan works) and what sort of foreign policies the world needs nation-states to adopt to help alleviate some of the plights felt by refugees daily - which the privileged can scarcely imagine.

Check out Jordan’s website below:

https://www.help4refugees.org/

Welcome to another episode of the Global Get Down podcast. We are your hosts, Johnny and Thalin. Today, we present the issue of Neo-Liberal expansion in the agriculture sector and the damages this model has caused against smallholder farmers of rural African communities through the lenses of economic, sociopolitical, and gender perspectives.

Since the 2008 global food crisis, African governments, with the help of foreign donors, have financed the agriculture sector. Initially, this was a programme centred on the efforts of smallholder farmers as they recognized that these farmers were pivotal to the economy. However, these programmes failed to bring much progress because their models have failed to assist smallholders, ultimately forcing them to leave their farmlands and causing mass displacement. As a result, this so-called “Green Revolution” has brought more harm than good.

With this being said, we would like to introduce Alex Park and Dr. Sierra Vercillo, who have co-written the opinion pieces “The new US nutrition aid strategy undermines Africa’s hungriest” and “African agriculture without African farmers” for Aljazeera.

Alex Park is an independent journalist specializing in foreign direct investment in Africa and a researcher investigating capital flows for a non-profit group representing small African farmers. He has authored pieces in Mother Jones, HuffPost, The Correspondent, The Washington Post, Africa is a Country and many other publications. He is also working on a book about the global fast-food industry.

Dr. Siera Vercillo is a Post Doctoral Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development at the University of Waterloo. She is currently working as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Instructor in Sustainable Food and Farming Futures at the University of Toronto, Scarborough. She also sits on the Board of Advisors for Initiative for Equality.

The fact that Western Corporations engage heedlessly in corrupt

activities in Africa and the rest of the Global South fail to get

enough mention in mainstream IR discourse. Cases such as the $10.35

million fine imposed upon Griffiths Energy International, an oil-and-gas

exploration firm (operating out of Calgary) in 2013 for their attempts

to win over foreign officials from Chad (courtesy of a "consulting fee."

paid to the Ambassador's wife) are largely unknown amongst scholars and

students alike.

In keeping with our new season theme of ‘Unconventional IR,’ hosts Belle

and Gaurav sit down with Dolapo Makinde, a Liu Scholar and current PhD

candidate at UBC focusing her research on fusing corporate governance

and CSR to tackle corruption by Canadian businesses in the Global South.

Dolapo has an interesting ‘silver bullet’ solution to propose: AI.

Listen in for a critique of the current global governance mechanism for

corporations and the inability of existing voluntary and non-enforceable

norms on anti-corruption. Issues such as human rights, worker

exploitation and undue profits are broken down, and Artificial

Intelligence is presented as something that can help govern these

societal ills. We also touch upon the negative potential of AI as being

used by corporations to promote illicit means, along with what an

AI-regulated corporate governance model might look like this in the real

world.

China, a massive country with a long and intricate history, has spent the last century engaging in a tumultuous process of modernization, finally making its way to the center of the international stage these past years. Living during this critical point in history raises interesting questions regarding China's position in the international system: How did the rise of China come about? What does it mean for the rest of the world? Join our cohosts, Jessica and Gaurav with special guest, Dr. Yves Tiberghien to Unlearn the Rise of China in this week's episode!

This episode, co-hosted by Shreya and Johnny, will explore the history of American hegemony and how it came to be. We will divulge into various topics such as the development of American hegemony, soft power, and competitors in the international system. Guest Dr. Jessica Wang, a professor and co-chair of International Relations at UBC, will be joining us to discuss this important topic that is vital to understanding International Relations.

Join Alex and Jessica as they have a conversation with the President of the International Relations Student Association about what it's like to be an IR student!

This episode, co-hosted by Shreya and Johnny, will focus on breaking down international issues to their roots. This first episode will be breaking down the discipline of international relations and exploring the different theories, philosophies, and institutions that created IR. Guest Dr. Jovian Radheshwar, a professor at Douglas College, will be joining us to discuss these fundamental ideas and investigate how the history of IR affects the discipline today.

On this episode of Global Get Down, co-hosts Theresa and Nanna will dive into the unrest in Myanmar following the coup in February of this year. Since mass protests began against the military junta, hundreds of civilians have been killed, alarming the international community and boding ill for the future of the country. Joined by Isabel Chew, a PhD candidate at UBC, and Calvin Yin, a student leader of the BC Myanmar Students Coalition, this episode will explore the country’s political history, its experience with military rule and struggle for democracy, and other relevant factors in the unfolding civil unrest.