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Hungary, a self-described illiberal democracy. Neighboring Slovakia, with a snap election coming in September. Will Slovakia elect the next Orban? What does that mean for the Western alliance? What if Hungarians don't believe what we believe? Can we export American principles (what are they anyway?), should we resort...
The news fist broke weeks ago but now the human stakes have reached the front pages, with thousands of Israelis taken to the streets. Are Israel's judicial "reforms" simply a way for Netanyahu to skirt the law and consolidate power? Some had felt that the Israeli court had abused its power, but is it a coincidence that...
Ukraine: a nation fighting for its life. Russia's military: leaderless, feckless, inept, but well armed and with lots of conscripts willing to die. With Putin weakened (think, attempted Wagner coup), could Ukraine negotiate a peace? If not, will the war simply become a spectator sport? What are each side's options?...
Margaret Riccardelli, an airline employee in her 40s, stumbled into the foreign service thinking it would be great to serve in Italy. But where did she end up? Bangladesh, where nothing ever happens. What? Instead, she was met with revolution, poverty, an 8,000 person attack on the embassy, tornadoes, a cyclone...
The Central African Republic: a vulnerable democracy with a weak president, failed by the West. Wagner mercenaries arrive in flip flops offering military support and quickly set up lucrative mineral businesses that depend on control of public information, intimidation and sustained conflict, resulting in the highest...
Alan Eaton helps us appreciate exactly where high level policy meets the work of diplomats on the ground as he works from a Saudi military vessel to evacuate Americans from the war in Sudan.
Why don’t the Panamanians hate us? We sliced their country in two to build the Panama Canal, owned and controlled the Canal Zone, disallowed Panamanians from visiting the Canal Zone, and even attacked Panama in 1989, drawing condemnation from the UN and the Organization of American States. So how is it a good thing...
Pedro Castillo, recently ousted in Peru, is the latest of a succession of Peruvian presidents to be jailed or disgraced. Could this apparent chaos be in fact a sign that the judicial system is working? The devil's in the details.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, opened hot dog stands upon his release from Russian prison as a young man. Now he leads the rapidly growing Kremlin-affiliated private military contractor, the Wagner Group. Mercenaries? Yes. Lethal? Yes. Incredibly rich and working for dictators and unstable regimes on (so...
Who coined that term anyway? It's true, there have been insults and lots of them. Why? Secretary of State Tony Blinken will visit China this weekend and Susan Thornton, Senior Fellow at Yale University Law School's Paul Tsai China Center and former US diplomat, joins us with her perspective on the complexities...
All of us belong, even at State. In honor of Pride Month, we again offer the generously told story of Austin Richey-Allen, who recounts his story of gender transition while serving as a US diplomat. From his gender transition to his leadership of GLIFA, Austin shares his experience for the benefit not only of the...
24 hours news TV totally changed the State Department comms staple, the cable. Pete hopped on the “wireless” to save a democracy and Amb. John Feeley connected with Panamanians using ridiculous (but very sweet) Facebook videos. Disruptive technologies including AI will never replace human trust, but they create...
By listener request, Pete and Laura have binged the Netflix show The Diplomat. Pete answers: How real is it? Laura answers (even though no one actually asked): How good is it? But importantly, how easy is it to make a story that mirrors real-life complexity and still moves and rolls and satisfies purely from...
In last Sunday’s election, President Erdogan received almost half of the vote, but not enough to be the winner - yet. How does he hold onto power? Turkey’s economy is in great peril and journalists are in prison while Erdogan dismantles democratic institutions. Is Erdogan, like many other autocratic leaders, a...
Say what? "Reforms?" Or simply a way for Netanyahu to skirt the law and consolidate power? True, some felt that the Israeli court had abused its power, but is it a coincidence that Netanyahu faced charges of corruption and abuse of public trust, against which these new reforms would protect him? The Israeli...
Years ago, many wondered what had become the purpose of NATO. Not anymore! General Doug Lute, former US Permanent Representative to NATO (also former Deputy National Security Adviser) brings us up-to-date on the significance of the organization's acceptance of Finland, rejection of Sweden, relationship with Ukraine,...
Today we are reposting one of our most informative episodes on China, which Laura often thinks of when analyzing today's global news: Why does the West find China so confounding in matters of business and diplomacy? Phil Shull, retired Foreign Agricultural Service officer, explains: China’s culture and history may be...
Wait a sec! Diplomacy is between countries, right? So why does State have a whole office for City and State Diplomacy? Ambassador Nina Hachigian, head of this brand new office, introduces this innovation in diplomacy. Often transnational issues such as economic inequality, climate change, pandemic response, and threats...
On April 26, President Biden will host the second state dinner of his presidency, with President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea. Why is this only the second one of Biden's presidency? Why is South Korea so important for US interests? What are the economic and political pressures in Asia that impact South Korea that so...
Ambassador Kevin Whitaker is back to share his knowledge of the populist president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who has imprisoned thousands and violated human rights brazenly, all in the name of (rather effectively) curbing violence and bringing security to the people of his country. Pete asks, is Bukele an...