State of Play

The current Ebola outbreak comes after major cuts in humanitarian and health aid and is spreading in a deeply insecure environment. This week, Steve Morrison and Michaela Simoneau of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center join Will to discuss the degree to which politics have hampered the response. They assess the global response to date, the impact of the Trump administration’s policies, and the challenges of the local context.

The G7 Summit may have defied expectations. President Trump stayed until the end, there were no big bust-ups, and lots of joint policy statements. Victor Cha, Kristi Govella, Phil Luck, and Caitlin Welsh join Will to assess how meaningful the outcomes were, what the summit tells us about the United States’ relationship with its allies, and what the value of the G7 is in the evolving international order.

The United States and Iran announced a framework deal that includes a 60-day ceasefire and reopens the Strait of Hormuz. CSIS Middle East Program experts Mona Yacoubian, Michael Ratney, Paul Salem, and Susan Ziadeh assess the winners and losers of the deal, what challenges lie ahead, and what it means for the emerging order in the Middle East.

The recent Xi–Kim summit has further strengthened ties between China and North Korea, with potential implications for the broader dynamics among the CRINK countries and regional security.

Four years into the war, Ukraine may finally have the upper hand. Will speaks with Max Bergmann and Maria Snegovaya about their recent trip to Kyiv, Ukraine's key advantages, Russia's challenges, and if the shifting balance of power means the war may finally end soon.

A flurry of diplomatic activity and a reported visit of Xi Jinping to North Korea has heightened speculation that something is afoot. Victor Cha, Tom Christensen, and Edgard Kagan join Will to discuss what these signals indicate, how relations between North Korea and China are shifting, and what a Trump-Kim meeting could achieve.

Under U.S. pressure, Lebanon and Israel recently entered into direct negotiations for the first time in 30 years. This week, Mona Yacoubian and Paul Salem join Will to discuss what each side is hoping to get out of the negotiations, how the talks fit into the broader regional context, and what the prospects for success are.

The U.S.-China summit covered trade, investment, the war with Iran, and Taiwan. Edgard Kagan, Scott Kennedy, and Bonny Lin joined Will to discuss how successful the summit was, what it means for the future of U.S.-China relations, and what we should be watching going forward.

North Korea has resisted decades of international denuclearization efforts, including the world’s most crippling sanctions regime. Victor Cha and Sydney Seiler join Will to discuss why U.S. strategy has failed, how the strategic landscape has shifted and increased North Korea's leverage, and what a better strategy would look like.

The war with Iran has roiled the economies of the Middle East, shattered trust between Iran and Arab Gulf states, challenged security arrangements, and highlighted the region's geopolitical importance. But looking ahead, how much has the war really changed the region's future, and what is likely to remain more constant? Vali Nasr, Michael Ratney, Mona Yacoubian, and Susan Ziadeh joined Will to discuss how the war has reshaped the Middle East.