World Affairs

World Affairs

episodes

Interviews with scholars of World Affairs about their new books.

Andrew J. Kirkendall, "Hemispheric Alliances: Liberal Democrats and Cold War Latin America" (UNC Press, 2022)

March 16, 2024

Hemispheric Alliances

Andrew J. Kirkendall
Hosted by Ethan Fredrick

Hemispheric foreign policy has waxed and waned since the Mexican War, and the Cold War presented both extraordinary promises and dangerous threats to …

Ruth A. Morgan, "Climate Change and International History: Climate Diplomacy in the Global North and South Since 1950" (Bloomsbury, 2024)

March 16, 2024

Climate Change and International History

Ruth A. Morgan
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Exploring how climate change has configured the international arena since the 1950s, Climate Change and International History: Negotiating Science, Gl…

Alina Nychyk, "Ukraine Vis-à-Vis Russia and the EU: Misperceptions of Foreign Challenges in Times of War, 2014-2015" (Ibidem Press, 2023)

March 16, 2024

Ukraine Vis-à-Vis Russia and the EU

Alina Nychyk
Hosted by John Vsetecka

Ukraine Vis-à-Vis Russia and the EU: Misperceptions of Foreign Challenges in Times of War, 2014-2015 (Ibidem Press, 2023) investigates the making of U…

On America’s Blind Spot Towards the Palestinians: A Discussion with author Khaled Elgindy

March 9, 2024

On America’s Blind Spot Towards the Palestinians

Khaled Elgindy
Hosted by Paul Starobin

In their handling of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process over the decades, U.S. officials have displayed a “systemic blind spot” by alleviating pres…

Alan Bollard, "Economists at War: How a Handful of Economists Helped Win and Lose the World Wars" (Oxford UP, 2020)

March 6, 2024

Economists at War

Alan Bollard

Wartime is not just about military success. Economists at War: How a Handful of Economists Helped Win and Lose the World Wars (Oxford UP, 2020) tells …

Michael Poulshock, "Power Structures in International Politics" (Low 8, 2023)

March 5, 2024

Power Structures in International Politics

Michael Poulshock
Hosted by Vincent Yang

Power Structures in International Politics (Low 8, 2023) presents an original perspective on the dynamics underlying world events, approaching interna…

Freedom in the Academy: A Conversation with Niall Ferguson

March 5, 2024

Freedom in the Academy

Niall Ferguson
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Finishing off our series on freedom of speech, renowned historian Niall Ferguson discusses ideological conflict both between America and China and wit…

Adam Dean, "Opening Up by Cracking Down: Labor Repression and Trade Liberalization in Democratic Developing Countries" (Cambridge UP, 2022)

March 4, 2024

Opening Up by Cracking Down

Adam Dean

How did democratic developing countries open their economies during the late-twentieth century? Since labor unions opposed free trade, democratic gove…

Alvita Akiboh, "Imperial Material: National Symbols in the US Colonial Empire" (U Chicago Press, 2023)

March 3, 2024

Imperial Material

Alvita Akiboh
Hosted by Lachlan McNamee

This is an ambitious history of flags, stamps, and currency—and the role they played in US imperialism over the 20th century. In Imperial Material: Na…

Eline van Ommen, "Nicaragua Must Survive: Sandinista Revolutionary Diplomacy in the Global Cold War" (U California Press, 2024)

March 2, 2024

Nicaragua Must Survive

Eline van Ommen
Hosted by Katie Coldiron

Nicaragua Must Survive: Sandinista Revolutionary Diplomacy in the Global Cold War (University of California Press, 2023) tells the story of the Sandin…

Thomas J. Barfield, "Shadow Empires: An Alternative Imperial History" (Princeton UP, 2023)

March 1, 2024

Shadow Empires

Thomas J. Barfield
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Empires are one of the most common forms of political structure in history—yet no empire is alike. We have our “standard” view of empire: perhaps the …

Philip Giurlando and Daniel F. Wajner, "Populist Foreign Policy: Regional Perspectives of Populism in the International Scene" (Palgrave MacMillan, 2023)

March 1, 2024

Populist Foreign Policy

Philip Giurlando and Daniel F. Wajner
Hosted by Keith Krueger

The focus of the research on populism as a category of political analysis has mostly been on domestic politics and can be traced back to the 1960s. On…

Leadership in Business, Leadership Abroad: A Conversation with Dave McCormick *96

February 28, 2024

Leadership in Business, Leadership Abroad

David McCormick
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

Dave McCormick *96 has enjoyed incredible success in a wide variety of arenas: after graduating from West Point, where he competed as a varsity wrestl…

How Democracies Die . . . and How They May Survive with Daniel Ziblatt

February 27, 2024

How Democracies Die . . . and How They May Survive

Daniel Ziblatt

In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Daniel Ziblatt, Eaton Professor of the Science of Government at Harvard…

Ned Richardson-Little, "The Human Rights Dictatorship: Socialism, Global Solidarity and Revolution in East Germany" (Cambridge UP, 2020)

February 26, 2024

The Human Rights Dictatorship

Ned Richardson-Little
Hosted by Jill Massino

In The Human Rights Dictatorship: Socialism, Global Solidarity and Revolution in East Germany (Cambridge UP, 2020), Ned Richardson-Little exposes the …

Paul Scharre, "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" (Norton, 2023)

February 24, 2024

Four Battlegrounds

Paul Scharre
Hosted by Renee Garfinkel

An award-winning defense expert tells the story of today’s great power rivalry―the struggle to control artificial intelligence. A new industrial re…

Michael Kimmage, "Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability" (Oxford UP, 2024)

February 23, 2024

Collisions

Michael Kimmage
Hosted by Tim Jones

One war, three collisions: Russia with Ukraine, Europe, and the US. On the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Michael Kimmage analyses the…

The Future of the Chinese Military

February 23, 2024

The Future of the Chinese Military

James A. Siebens

For all the talk of China being a peaceful country with no aggressive intentions, it has behaved like most other rising powers – spending lots of mone…

Vytautas Jankauskas and Steffen Eckhard, "The Politics of Evaluation in International Organizations" (Oxford UP, 2023)

February 19, 2024

The Politics of Evaluation in International Organizations

Vytautas Jankauskas and Steffen Eckhard
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Evaluation has become a key tool in assessing the performance of international organisations, in fostering learning, and in demonstrating accountabili…

Jane Burbank and Frederick Cooper, "Post-Imperial Possibilities: Eurasia, Eurafrica, Afroasia" (Princeton UP, 2023)

February 18, 2024

Post-Imperial Possibilities

Jane Burbank and Frederick Cooper
Hosted by Erika Monahan

How can territory and peoples be organized? After the dissolution of empires, was the nation-state the only way to unite people politically, culturall…