Hosts James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon are joined by Paul B. Stares to forecast the coming year’s international challenges and developments.

The World Next Year: Looking Ahead to 2020

News

Politics

Concerns grow over the widening Middle East conflict after Iran launches three hundred ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones at Israel; European Union (EU) leaders discuss how to bolster aid to Ukraine amid an uptick in Russian attacks and the situation unfolding in the Middle East; India kicks off the world’s largest democratic election—spanning more than forty-four days—where the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to win again; and warming water temperatures cause a mass bleaching of coral reefs.
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
Steven A. Cook, “Iran Attack Means an Even Tougher Balancing Act for the U.S. in the Middle East,” CFR.org
 
“How India’s Imports of Russian Oil Have Lubricated Global Markets,” Economist
 
Andy Bounds, Laura Dubois, Christopher Miller, “Germany Urges Dozens of Allies to Send Air Defense Systems to Ukraine,” Financial Times
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/aftermath-irans-attack-israel-eu-talks-ukraine-indias-massive-election-and-more

Aftermath of Iran’s Attack on Israel, EU Talks Ukraine, India’s Massive Election, and More

Congress returns from recess and grapples with contentious agenda items, including reauthorization of a section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and a Ukraine aid package; Sudan enters a second year of civil war with more than half of the country’s population in need of aid and millions more displaced; and Ecuadorian police breach international law by raiding the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas.
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
Regina Garcia Cano and Gabriela Molina, “Mexico Severs Diplomatic Ties with Ecuador After Police Storm Its Embassy to Arrest Politician,” Associated Press
 
“Sudan Crisis Sends Shockwaves Around the Region as Displacement, Hunger, and Malnutrition Soar,” World Food Program
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/congresss-urgent-agenda-sudans-year-war-ecuador-mexico-embassy-fray-and-more

Congress’s Urgent Agenda, Sudan’s Year of War, Ecuador-Mexico Embassy Fray, and More

Rwanda marks thirty years since its genocide against the Tutsis; U.S. President Joe Biden hosts the first trilateral leaders’ summit with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.; music fans celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Swedish pop group ABBA’s Eurovision win; and Ekrem İmamoğlu is elected mayor of Istanbul, in a rebuke to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party.
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
Eurovision Winners, Eurovision World
 
Frontline: Ghosts of Rwanda, PBS
 
Mariel Ferragamo, “Thirty Years After Rwanda’s Genocide: Where the Country Stands Today,” CFR.org 
 
“Rwanda: Freedom in the World 2024,” Freedom House
 
“Three Decades After Rwanda’s Genocide, the Past is Ever-Present,” The Economist
 
When Abba Came to Britain, BBC 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/rwanda-30-years-after-genocide-us-japan-philippines-summit-abbas-eurovision-legacy-and

Rwanda 30 Years After Genocide, U.S.-Japan-Philippines Summit, ABBA’s Eurovision Legacy, and More

The fallout after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip ​​and release of all hostages further reveals a growing strain between the United States and Israel; Russia reels from the ISIS-K terrorist attack on concertgoers near Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin deliberating how to respond; the Cuban government cracks down on recent protests across the country over food shortages and power outages; and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is found to have stayed overnight at the Hungarian embassy in Brasília in February 2024.  
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
Barak Ravid, “Netanyahu Cancels Meetings with Biden Officials Over UN Ceasefire Vote,” Axios
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/biden-and-netanyahu-odds-putin-responds-isis-k-attack-cuba-food-and-electricity-shortages

Biden and Netanyahu at Odds, Putin Responds to ISIS-K Attack, Cuba Food and Electricity Shortages, and More

Senegal holds its postponed presidential election amid fears of democratic backsliding; Slovakia chooses a new president in voting that could bolster Prime Minister Robert Fico’s illiberal tilt; Pakistan and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan exchange blows after a string of terrorist attacks on Pakistani territory; nuclear energy gets a boost at a first-ever summit in Brussels, Belgium; and the European Union provides Egypt with $8 billion worth of aid. 
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/senegal-and-slovakia-elections-pakistan-and-afghan-taliban-clash-nuclear-energy-gains

The World Next Year: Looking Ahead to 2020

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