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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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/

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Are we in the golden age of conspiracy theories? How can society respond to dangerous theories, such as COVID conspiracy theories and misinformation, that create wide-spread dangers to society? Can, or should, conspiracy theories be ‘deprogrammed’ from society, or would that create a potential for states to intervene in people’s thinking in a way that we would find overreaching? Joseph Uscinski, Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami, talks to RBI Director John Torpey about the psychological conditions underlying support for conspiracy theories, the existence of QAnon, and the role of the media in aggrandizing such theories. Transcript: https://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2021/12/06/you-wish-them-a-good-day-conspiracy-theories-in-the-age-of-information-with-joseph-uscinski/

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What is behind the current standoff over refugees trying to enter Poland from Belarus? Why is the EU supporting Poland’s position? Have asylum seekers become pawns of regional powers seeking political and economic advantage? Nick Micinski, assistant professor of political science and international affairs at the University of Maine, talks to RBI Director John Torpey about the situation at the Polish/Belarusian border and the politics of migration in and around the countries of the European Union. You can find a copy of the transcript on our website: https://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2021/11/22/the-crisis-on-the-poland-belarus-border-with-nick-micinski/

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Why would warring parties turn to the UN, even when they don't have an interest in guaranteeing peace? Have rebel groups learned to manipulate the UN peace process to further their military goals? How can peace keeping missions adapt their approaches to better accomplish their goals? Anjali Dayal, assistant professor of international politics at Fordham University, talks to RBI Fellow Jenna Russo about her new book Incredible Commitments: How UN Peacekeeping Failures Shape Peace Processes and how peacekeeping dynamics have evolved over time. You can find the book here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/incredible-commitments/42CBF9FB8770469896CA1F72E352D8AA You can find a transcript of the episode here: https://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2021/11/15/how-un-peacekeeping-failures-shape-peace-processes-with-anjali-dayal/

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What conditions led to the recent coup in Sudan? Has the international community’s response had a significant impact on the Sudanese regime? Will changing international and regional power dynamics affect domestic politics and international pressures on Sudan? Mohamed Osman, Researcher in Human Rights Watch's Africa division, talks to RBI Director John Torpey about the coup in Sudan, civil society’s response, and efforts to find a solution to the ongoing crisis.

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Is legally avoiding taxes a smart thing to do, or is it dodging one’s social responsibility? Does tax avoidance treat the law as a mere formality to circumvent, a tool to manipulate, or a shield of justification? How can we reform tax codes to prevent tax evasion while ensuring that those legal tools are still usable for legitimate purposes? Katharina Pistor, Edwin B. Parker Professor of Comparative Law at Columbia Law School, talks to RBI director John Torpey about the Pandora Papers, what they reveal about international tax evasion, and how much tax reform we can expect in the foreseeable future.

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