International Horizons

A military coup in Myanmar in February 2021 and subsequent humanitarian crisis have largely fallen off the Western media’s news headlines, especially as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has captured attention in recent weeks. What is the current situation of the democratically elected government of Myanmar and the oppression of the Rohingya minority? What are the similarities between the military coup in Myanmar and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022? How can the world address the crises of these two would-be democracies? Marcus Brand, International IDEA’s Head of Programme for Myanmar and former UN Development Programme Ukraine Director, speaks with Ralph Bunche Institute Director John Torpey about the parallels between the military coup in Myanmar and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including unexpected resistance, humanitarian crises and massive refugee flows, and possible optimism about what it means for the future of democracy.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How might efforts to end previous conflicts inform the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine? Why was U.S intervention in Afghanistan a failure? What role can the UN play in conflict mediation? What is China’s stance on the Russian invasion? This week, RBI director John Torpey talks with Professor Daisaku Higashi of Tokyo’s Sophia University about his book Inclusivity in Mediation and Peacebuilding: The UN, Neighboring States and Global Powers and his extensive research on conflict to draw lessons for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What is Putin’s mental state? Is the invasion a legitimate response to NATO expansion? This week, RBI director John Torpey talks to Queens College Professor Julie George about the real motives behind the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the role of NATO and the U.S. in the invasion, the views of Russians and Ukrainians about the war, Putin’s miscalculations of the world’s reaction, and the prospects of nuclear weapons being deployed in the conflict.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ellen Chesler talks with former director of UNIFEM Noeleen Heyzer about what was to be a woman in leadership, the constraints of advancing an agenda for women, how bureaucracies can be converted into communities of mutual aid, the legacy of Beijing’s 1995 Conference on Women and how UN’s principles of peace and human rights are not enough in preventing violence, corruption and exclusion.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What do the patches in Tom Cruise’s jacket tell us about China? Are different features and problematiqués of movies being shaped by China? What do Chinese viewers’ preferences tell us about the role of the US in the world? How successful is the Chinese version of Hollywood in attracting people’s around the world? This week, RBI director John Torpey talks with Erich Schwartzel about the past, present and future of the Chinese film industry and markets and how it is all related to soft power. You can listen to it on iTunes here, on Spotify here, or on Soundcloud below. You will find a transcript of the episode here or below.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the United States and Europe we live today in what seems to be a sea of populism; some on the left, some on the right, some outside of that spectrum, seemingly. The term is certainly ambiguous. What is populism? What is driving the popularity of populism today? And why is it doing better in some places than others? This week, RBI director John Torpey interviewed Jan-Werner Müeller about the increasing (mis)framing of populism as a political program and how leaders of both left-wing and right-wing parties may be labeled as populists. Müeller also discusses the perils for democracy that our understanding of populism entails and the centrality of "cultural wars" for all populisms.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How is power linked to the way we eat? Has inequality boosted the amount of unhealthy food we consume? How have things changed since Diet for a Small Planet was first published in the early 1970s? This week on “International Horizons,” RBI Director John Torpey talks with Frances Moore Lappé about the politics of food and how the way we eat interacts with structures of power – and what we can do about changing that for the better.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How are Russia and Ukraine tied historically? What are the narratives around the national identity of Ukrainians in relation to Russia? How is contemporary Russian nationalism linked to the collapse of the Soviet Union and Putin’s perception of those events? Could the United States have prevented a revanchist Russia by adopting a less aggressive policy towards transition in the 90s? Susan Smith-Peter, Russia expert and Professor of History at the College of Staten Island, talks to RBI Director John Torpey about the intertwined histories of Russia and Ukraine on the current tensions between the two countries.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ibn Khaldun, the late 14th century statesman and historian, is regarded as one of the earliest social scientists on the strength of his classic, The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History. The book catalogues the political, social, and historical trends in Arab, Berber, Persian, and European civilizations in the Middle Ages and recalls Aristotle’s Politics in its encyclopedic treatment of social and political life. Yet regardless of its contributions to the humanities, it has been largely forgotten in modern times. Aziz Al-Azmeh, University Professor Emeritus at the Central European University, talks to RBI Director John Torpey about the life, ideas, and significance of Ibn Khaldun and the Muqaddimah.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How has the human rights movement developed into the international force that it is today? What ideological and material factors shaped its development? How successful are human rights activists and institutions in reducing human rights violations in sovereign countries? And, finally, where do we go from here? George Andreopoulos, Professor of Political Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and at the Graduate Center, CUNY, talks to RBI Director John Torpey about the division on human rights between the global North and global South, the complications around setting legal norms for such complex problems, and the discussion on whether human rights is a Western construct. Transcript: https://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2021/12/13/can-the-human-rights-regime-survive-a-new-world-order-the-past-future-of-the-human-rights-agenda/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.