Two State Solution - Is the Perfect the Enemy of the Good?
Release Date: 05/16/2024
Global Fragility Act
American Diplomat
Finally, a home at State for what we have learned about global conflicts. Will it make us smarter? Will we demand deeper buy in from Allies and friends? Or do we continue to treat each conflict as a “one-off”? Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mark Iozzi joins us from State's Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations to share his story from concept to implementation of the innovative Global Fragility Act.
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Geopolitics Thrills!
American Diplomat
We talk about cultural diplomacy, but what about diplomacy in culture? Laura (MFA, Film and Television, NYU) loves movies and TV, and best of all, Laura loves movies and TV about geopolitics. What do the last fifty years of diplomacy in media tell us about diplomacy in society? About society more broadly? And why do so many movies about diplomats turn into spy movies before the second act? Funny you should ask! Here's a for superfans like us, and once you listen to our episode, you may love movies as much as Laura does. Get thee to the cinema!
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From Harlem Hellfighters to the Jazz Ambassadors, A Leap of Faith
American Diplomat
State Department lawyer Mike Peay traces how, during a time of deep racial conflict, black American jazz artists went overseas to promote the American experiment, winning the hearts of millions with their music and personas, but would it improve race relations at home?
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Will Mexico Dodge the Bullet?
American Diplomat
“Hugs, not bullets”, that is AMLO’s mantra for the cartels. This, while homicides have risen to historic highs. Our man in Mexico, retired Ambassador Tony Wayne, is back to discuss the good fight. Will democracy or autocracy win in the June 2 elections?
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Two State Solution - Is the Perfect the Enemy of the Good?
American Diplomat
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Fred Rudesheim unpacks the complexities of Gaza. Much is said of the very real moral outrages committed by Israel and Hamas. But what now? In the near term, how viable is a two-state solution? First let's look at what is and how we got here. Hint: what exactly does Biden mean when he speaks of a "revitalized Palestinian Authority"?
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Russian Mercenaries' Regime Survival Kit
American Diplomat
Out with Wagner, in with the Africa Corps. What will happen as mercenaries continue to offer attractive alternatives to vulnerable democracies like Niger, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso and Mali? Ambassador Hank Cohen, whose new book "Africa, You Have a Friend in Washington", offers a vision of hope via economic self-determination. For added context, we append our earlier episode on the Wagner Group's activities in the Central African Republic.
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100 Years old and Still Kicking It: The US Foreign Service
American Diplomat
Tom Yazdgerdi, President of the American Foreign Service Association reaches back to illustrate how far the Foreign Service has come in the last 100 years and charts how it will meet the complex challenges of the next decades.
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Shakespearean Tragedy: Cuba
American Diplomat
Ambassador Vicki Huddleston, author of “Our Woman in Havana”, unpacks the dire circumstances in Cuba driving hundreds of thousands to flee the island and parses the impacts of South Florida exile politics on US diplomacy: the hammer is the only tool left in the box.
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Data Saves Lives
American Diplomat
What does it mean when open-source data show that huge populations have moved? Natural disaster? An attack? Relocation of children, forced passportization? Non-classified satellite imagery, cell phone photos, video, GPS and other puiblicly available information is critical to modern diplomacy and democracy. Susan Wolfinbarger, geographer, data scientist and the vision behind the Conflict Observatory at State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, walks us through her dream: big data saves lives. Welcome to 21st Century diplomacy's newest tool.
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Professional Peacemaker
American Diplomat
Meghan Stewart, head of the Negotiations Support Unit in State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, knows the peace process – its structures, its history, the perspectives of combatants. Her team uses its specialized knowledge to help diplomats get peace agreements over the line, saving thousands and thousands of lives each time. Who knew you could devote your legal career exclusively to ending global conflict?
info_outlineLieutenant General (Ret.) Fred Rudesheim unpacks the complexities of Gaza. Much is said of the very real moral outrages committed by Israel and Hamas. But what now? In the near term, how viable is a two-state solution? First let's look at what is and how we got here. Hint: what exactly does Biden mean when he speaks of a "revitalized Palestinian Authority"?