The 2023 U.N. General Assembly saw increased calls from countries of the "Global South" for a greater role in global governance and the major multilateral institutions. Bruce Jones explains how the U.S., China, and Russia are competing for the Global South's attention, why calls to reform of the U.N. Security Council may now have a chance, and highlights a new multilateral framework called the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/un-reform-and-the-global-south-at-the-2023-general-assembly 

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This past weekend, India hosted its first G-20 summit, the annual gathering of leaders from the world’s largest economies. To assess highlights from the summit and India’s global role moving forward, Tanvi Madan, senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings, joins the program. Madan is host of the new Global India podcast, debuting this month from the Brookings Podcast Network.

Show notes and transcript.

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On Wednesday night, eight contenders for the Republican Party presidential nomination appeared on a Milwaukee stage together for the first GOP debate. Donald Trump, currently leading in the polls, was not among them. On this episode, Elaine Kamarck, founding director of the Center for Effective Public Management and a senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, offers her analysis of what happened and what it portends moving toward the first primaries in January. 

Show notes and transcript.

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The coup that ousted Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum in a late July follows a string of similar military takeovers in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali. Landry Signé discusses how Niger and other democracies in the Sahel have struggled to build systems of accountability and deliver public services, and the need for international, regional, and local alignment to strengthen economic security.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-underlies-the-coup-in-niger 

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Israel's Knesset passed a bill that strips Israel's Supreme Court of the power to declare government decisions unreasonable. The so-called "reasonableness bill" passed with a 64 to 0 vote after all members of the Knesset's governing coalition voted for it and all members of the opposition left the chamber. Passage of the bill has sparked turmoil in the country. Natan Sachs, director of the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings and a senior fellow in Foreign Policy, discusses what's happening in Israel.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-will-the-supreme-courts-affirmative-action-ruling-affect-college-admissions 

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The Supreme Court's decision ending race-based admissions policies at colleges and universities leaves in place other forms of affirmative action like legacy preferences and early admissions — affirmative action policies that disproportionately benefit white students, says Katharine Meyer. Meyer looks at how underrepresented student enrollment dropped in states that previously banned race-based affirmative action, and how some have tried to increase student diversity through race-neutral methods.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-will-the-supreme-courts-affirmative-action-ruling-affect-college-admissions 

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This weekend's fast-moving but short-lived revolt by Wagner Group mercenaries led by Yevgeny Prigozhin leaves many unanswered questions about what this signals for Russian President Vladimir Putin's grip on power, what will happen to the Wagner Group after this, and the ramifications for Russia's war on Ukraine. In a discussion moderated by Susan Glasser, Angela Stent, Michael O'Hanlon, and Constanze Stelzenmüller try to make sense of what happened, how to interpret it, and the longer-term implications for Russian stability and European security. 

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/putin-imperiled-what-to-know-about-the-wagner-groups-russian-revolt/ 

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Aaron Klein explains the U.S. SEC's lawsuit against cryptocurrency companies Binance and Coinbase, the current state of crypto regulation, and the continuing debate over cryptocurrency's core purpose.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/what-do-the-secs-lawsuits-signal-for-the-future-of-cryptocurrency/ 

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The potential security implications of China's corporate control of TikTok's parent company ByteDance have scaled up in recent years as U.S.-China relations have soured and China has expanded its domestic social, political, and economic controls. But Congress' potential answer — the RESTRICT Act — has its flaws. Cam Kerry examines TikTok's challenges, other ways to address the security concerns beyond an outright ban, and the need for comprehensive privacy legislation.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/how-is-congress-handling-the-tiktok-conundrum/ 

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With former President Jimmy Carter in hospice care, Bill Galston looks back at Carter's administration and his "exemplary and influential" post-presidential dedication to good works, and reflects on the dynamics that shape how we think about presidents' successes and failures.

Show notes and transcript: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/how-will-we-remember-jimmy-carters-presidential-legacy 

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