Talking Policy

In episode two of The State of the World, Talking Policy host Lindsay Morgan speaks with ⁠Neil Narang⁠ and ⁠Brandon Kinne⁠ about the evolving nature of war and peace in an era where great power competition exists alongside terrorism, non-state armed groups, rebel organizations, and transnational violence. Neil is associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Research Director at IGCC. Brandon is an associate professor of political science at the University of California, Davis.

The State of the World is a special series on IGCC’s Talking Policy podcast that explores the biggest global challenges that will shape our future. The series is part of a suite of activities celebrating IGCC’s 40th anniversary. Since 1983, ⁠IGCC⁠ scholars from across the University of California and the UC-managed National Labs have used rigorous research, training, and policy engagement to improve policies and practices in ways that help reduce conflict and build a more peaceful world. To celebrate our 40th anniversary, we’ve created The State of the World, a Talking Policy miniseries featuring faculty from across the University of California on the biggest global challenges that will shape our future.

Archival audio used in this series is from NPR; the University of California, Irvine, audio recordings collection; Freesound.org; the Internet Archive; the Library of Congress; and the United States Government. Used with permission, where applicable. Any unauthorized duplication is strictly prohibited.

China is the United States’ most complex relationship. Defined by both cooperation and competition, tensions have risen sharply in recent years. As China’s power grows—it seems—so does the potential for conflict.

Since 1983, IGCC scholars from across the University of California and the UC-managed National Labs have used rigorous research, training, and policy engagement to improve policies and practices in ways that help reduce conflict and build a more peaceful world. To celebrate our 40th anniversary, we’ve created The State of the World, a Talking Policy miniseries featuring faculty from across the University of California on the biggest global challenges that will shape our future.

In our first episode, Talking Policy host Lindsay Morgan speaks with Susan Shirk and Tai Ming Cheung to assess the state of U.S.-China relations, as a more assertive China and elections in the United States signal a transforming relationship. Susan is the founding chair of the 21st Century China Center, a research professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego, and director emeritus of IGCC. Tai is the current director of IGCC, and a professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego.

Archival audio used in this series is from NPR; the University of California, Irvine, audio recordings collection; Freesound.org; the Internet Archive; the Library of Congress; and the United States Government. Used with permission, where applicable. Any unauthorized duplication is strictly prohibited.

Taiwanese voters go to the polls on January 13 to elect their next president. The election will determine the next phase of Taiwan's foreign policy. Both Beijing and Washington will be watching closely. 

In his fourth Dispatch from Taiwan, James Lee, IGCC affiliate and assistant research fellow at the Institute of European and American Studies at Academia Sinica in Taipei, shares insights into the election and results from a recent survey of Taiwanese citizens. This interview was recorded on November 16, 2023, and December 6, 2023.

The world is changing rapidly. A grinding war of attrition is being fought in Europe. Democracy and liberalism are being challenged around the globe. China is rising as an economic and technological superpower and competitor to the United States. Arms control is breaking down. And the climate crisis is threatening to exacerbate conflict, displacement, and inequality.

Since 1983, IGCC scholars from across the University of California and the UC-managed National Labs have used rigorous research, training, and policy engagement to improve policies and practices in ways that help reduce conflict, foster global cooperation, and build a more peaceful world.

To celebrate our 40th anniversary, we are creating a Talking Policy miniseries that will give listeners access to expert analysis—without the jargon. Simple, punchy interviews will help unpack these daunting questions and put things happening locally—whether in Los Angeles, Lagos, or Lausanne—into a broader context of what’s happening globally.

The series will explore threats to democracy, as well as democratic resilience; the global implications of China’s rise; nuclear weapons proliferation and how to limit their spread and use; and the security implications of climate change.

How do international institutions foster economic cooperation? Explore the intricate world of trade agreements—and whether and how they are enforced—with Lauren Peritz, an esteemed associate professor of political science at UC Davis. Her book Delivering on Promises: The Domestic Politics of Compliance in International Courts unveils the pivotal role of international institutions in fostering economic cooperation. By analyzing global economic courts' decisions, Peritz suggests that compliance hinges on navigating domestic politics, especially when powerful industries influence adherence to international rules. This interview was conducted on November 7, 2023.

The United States has experienced striking changes in leadership in recent years. From Obama to Trump to Biden, Americans have elected presidents with vastly different political commitments and bases of support. Do such leadership changes lead to drastic changes in policy? A new book by Michaela Mattes and Ashley Leeds, Domestic Interests, Democracy, and Foreign Policy Change, suggests that democracies’ foreign policies are actually more stable than is generally assumed.

This interview was recorded on Sept. 29, 2023.

Is democracy as a system of government and a social principle under threat? Seventy percent of the global population now lives either in non-democratic countries, or in countries that are experiencing democratic backsliding. In this final episode in Talking Policy’s spring 2023 series on the future of democracy, host Lindsay Morgan talks with Sara Wallace Goodman about how ordinary people respond when their democracy is under threat. Sara, a professor of political science at UC Irvine and member of IGCC’s Future of Democracy Initiative, shares findings from her book Citizenship in Hard Times: How Ordinary People Respond to Democratic Threat. This interview was recorded on May 26, 2023.

For the first time in its nuclear history, the United States faces two major power adversaries armed with nuclear weapons. China is rapidly expanding its nuclear forces, and in Russia, Putin announced in February that the country would be suspending its participation in New START, the last remaining U.S.-Russia arms control pact. In the latest on Talking Policy, host Lindsay Morgan talks with Brad Roberts, director of the Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and former Obama administration deputy assistant secretary of defense for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy, about what this means for the U.S. and the world. This interview was conducted on May 5, 2023.

In this series, The Short Read, host Lindsay Morgan shares analysis from Political Violence At A Glance, an award-winning online magazine sponsored by the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, which also sponsors the Talking Policy podcast. In this episode, she reads a piece by IGCC affiliate and School of Global Policy's Lawrence and Sallye Krause Professor of Korea-Pacific Studies Stephan Haggard, and Rutgers University distinguished professor Robert R. Kaufman titled, "The Anatomy of Democratic Backsliding: Why Is Democracy Consuming Itself?"

India has faced a wide a range of internal security issues since independence, from complex insurgencies to terrorist attacks, communal violence, and electoral violence. In a new Talking Policy episode, Amit Ahuja and Devesh Kapur discuss their groundbreaking new volume, Internal Security in India: Violence, Order, and the State. Amit is an associate professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Devesh is the Starr Foundation Professor of South Asian Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. In the interview, they explain who does what, the successes of the security apparatus, and troubling challenges and what they might mean for the future of India’s democracy. This interview was recorded on April 24, 2023.