What can we expect for the future of transatlantic relations now that the Trump administration is gone? On January 27th, we spoke with Federica Mogherini, Former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (2014-2019) and Rector, College of Europe, during our annual Otto and Fran Walter Memorial Lecture. The interview addressed “Transatlantic Relations After the Trump Administration.” Listen in for a fascinating discussion regarding the direction the US-EU relationship is likely to go in after four turbulent years of the Trump administration. Transcript: http://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2021/01/28/transatlantic-relations-after-the-trump-administration/

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How will the global challenge of climate change be met and how will the new US administration respond? On January 25th, we host Michael Oppenheimer, the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs and Director of the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment at Princeton University, for a discussion on the state of international efforts to respond to global warming and the scientific background to the problem. Transcript: http://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2021/01/25/the-challenge-of-climate-change/

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Smaller states in the Global South are often overlooked by those that think global politics is entirely in the hands of the richest countries. But this ignores the reality that smaller states also have foreign policy objectives and multiple ways to advance them. On January 18th, we host Jacqueline Braveboy-Wagner, Professor of Political Science at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York as well as in the Colin Powell School of Civic and Global Leadership at the City College of New York, to talk about how the Global South engages in international affairs and works to advance its foreign policies interests. Transcript: http://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2021/01/18/the-past-and-future-of-the-global-south/

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The transformation of the Middle East and China and the corrosion in the United States of the Enlightenment values that historically bound together the US and Europe present major challenges to the incoming administration after four years of turbulence in Washington and the attendant deterioration of American standing in the world. On January 11th, we host Charles (“Chas”) Freeman, Visiting Scholar, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, and former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Assistant Secretary of Defense for National Security Affairs, who discusses the international landscape awaiting the Biden administration. You can also find a transcript of the interview here: http://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2021/01/11/the-international-landscape-awaiting-the-biden-administration/

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What success have the Dayton Accords had in resolving the problems created by the collapse of Yugoslavia in the mid-1990s, and what has the international community learned about intervention and peace agreements in the meantime? On December 14th, we host Susan Woodward, Professor of Political Science at the Graduate Center, CUNY, who discusses the outcomes of the Balkan peace process 25 years later, and the risks of outside powers dictating peace on their terms. You can also find a transcript of the interview here: http://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2020/12/14/the-dayton-agreement-at-25/

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What should we expect from the next chapter of the EU and US relationship? On December 11th, we host H. E. Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States, to talk about the EU’s current political issues, such as the EU’s Covid-19 strategy, finalizing the Brexit deal, and the expectations for overcoming the strained relationship with the US during the Trump presidency. You can also find a transcript of the interview here: http://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2020/12/11/the-future-of-the-eu-and-the-transatlantic-relationship/

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What can we learn from how civil society in Africa responds to armed conflict? On December 7th, we host Zachariah Mampilly, Marxe Endowed Chair and Professor of International Affairs at Baruch College, CUNY, who talks about how different civil society respond to threats such as conflict and COVID-19, often within systems designed to limit their agency. You can also find a transcript of the interview here: http://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2020/12/07/the-resilience-of-civil-society-in-african-conflict-zones/

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How has the trend towards illiberal democracy developed in the European Union in recent years and how has it affected the internal operations of the EU? On November 23, we host Bálint Magyar for a discussion about the decline of the rule of law in Hungary and Poland in recent years and how these illiberal states have resisted the EU’s push for democratic reforms. Magyar is a Hungarian political economist and scholar and author of the upcoming book, The Anatomy of Post-Communist Regimes: A Conceptual Framework. He was an anti-communist dissident activist, a founder of the Liberal Party of Hungary, a member of the Hungarian Parliament from 1990 to 2010, serving twice as his country’s Minister of Education. You can also find a transcript of the interview here: http://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2020/11/23/the-illiberal-threat-within-the-european-union/

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What is the level of cohesion in the European Union during a time of global uncertainty? On November 16, 2020, our guest, Teresa Pullano, Assistant Professor at the Institute for European Global Studies at the University of Basel, Switzerland, talks about problems affecting the EU’s internal cohesion, such as Covid and a rocky transatlantic relationship, and what we can expect for the future of the European Union. You can find a copy of the transcript here: http://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2020/11/16/the-pandemic-and-the-european-union/

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Why have we seen such a surge of strongman politics in recent years? For November 9, 2020, our guest, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University, looks at the tools and tactics authoritarian strongmen use to capture state power in a democracy, such as secretive banking laws and global PR firms. Transcript: http://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/2020/11/09/strongmen-against-democracy/

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