Observing Democracy at the Organization of America States with Gerardo de Icaza
Release Date: 01/25/2023
Diplomatic Immunity
13:10 - Interview with Chris Tuttle This week, Kelly and Freddie talk through Secretary of State Blinken's recent visit to China, U.S. troops leaving Niger, and an election in Maldives that saw the country move closer to China. Kelly then talks with Chris Tuttle, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, about recent Congressional action on Ukraine and TikTok. Chris Tuttle is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who focuses on the politics and process behind U.S. foreign policy. He previously directed CFR’s Renewing America Initiative and served from 2015 to 2019 as...
info_outline Yuki Tatsumi on the US-Japan Summit; Iran's strike on Israel, Ecuador's Embassy Raid, and Turkish Municipal ElectionsDiplomatic Immunity
10:40 - Interview with Yuki Tatsumi. This week, Kelly and Freddie talk through Iran's Strike on Israel, Ecudaro's raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito, and the losses for President Erdogan's party in recent Turkish municipal elections. Kelly then talks with the Stimson Center's Yuki Tatsumi about the recent summit between the US, Japan, and the Philippines held in Washington last week. Yuki Tatsumi is a senior fellow and co-director of the East Asia Program at the Stimson Center and the director of Stimson's Japan program. Prior to her current role, Tatsumi worked as a research associate...
info_outline Military Strategy & The War in Ukraine with Lt Gen Ben HodgesDiplomatic Immunity
Kelly speaks with Lt. Gen (ret.) Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe, about the effect of the Ukraine War on military tactics and strategy. Prior to retiring from the armed forces in 2018, Lieutenant General (ret.) Ben Hodges served as Commanding General of the U.S. Army in Europe. He consults for several companies on Europe, NATO, and the European Union, and he is co-author of the book Future War and the Defence of Europe, published by Oxford University Press. General Hodges was most recently Senior Advisor to Human Rights First, a non-profit, and was also the...
info_outline Dr. Ken Opalo on Sudan's Civil War; Updates on Gaza and HaitiDiplomatic Immunity
10:25 - Interview with Dr. Ken Opalo This week, Kelly and Freddie provide updates on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the evolving crisis in Haiti, and Kelly talks with Georgetown Professor Ken Opalo for a deep dive into Sudan's civil war. Dr. Opalo is an associate professor at the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he focuses his research and teaching on political economy in Africa. He is also the author of the blog An Africanist Perspective, where he writes on African politics, economics, and history. The opinions expressed in this...
info_outline The Russo-Chinese Alliance and Great Power Competition with Dr. Tom LynchDiplomatic Immunity
Season 6 Episode 6. This week, Kelly talks with retired army officer and National Defense University research fellow Dr. Tom Lynch about the impact of Ukraine's war on great power conflict and US-China competition. Dr. Thomas Lynch is an adjunct professor of Security Studies at Georgetown University and distinguished research fellow for South Asia and the Near East at National Defense University. Dr. Lynch is also a retired U.S. Army officer who served for 28 years in a variety of command and staff positions including as a Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and...
info_outline Jacqueline Charles on the crisis in Haiti; EU's Net-Zero Industry Act, Russia's Space NukesDiplomatic Immunity
10:40 - Interview with Jacqueline Charles In our seventh episode of Headlines and History, we discuss the recent political crisis in Haiti with Miami Herald report Jacqueline Charles, and Kelly covers the EU's Net-Zero Industry Act and reports of Russia's new space-based nuclear capabilities. Jacqueline Charles is the Haiti and Caribbean correspondent for the Miami Herald, where she has been covering the region for over a decade. She has won numerous awards for her reporting and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti....
info_outline Beverly Ochieng on Senegal's Constitutional Crisis; El Salvador Election, Sweden's NATO accession, World Cup DiplomacyDiplomatic Immunity
11:50 - Interview with Beverly Ocheing on Senegal In our sixth episode of Headlines and History, we discuss the recent crisis in Senegal and its implications for West Africa with Beverly Ochieng, and Kelly covers recent news out of El Salvador, Sweden & NATO, and the 2026 Soccer World Cup. Beverly Ochieng is a senior digital journalist and Africa specialist at BBC Monitoring and an expert on African power politics, security, and governance. She’s also a non-resident senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Africa Program. She has a background in...
info_outline Christine Michienzi on The Ukraine War and the Defense-Industrial BaseDiplomatic Immunity
Season 6, Episode 5. Today, we’ll be covering the effects of the War in Ukraine on supply chains, the defense-industrial base, and the private sector. Kelly McFarland talks to Christine Micheinzi, a former senior executive at the U.S. Department of Defense, about how the global economy and defense industry are trying to deal with the knock-on effects of Putin’s War. Dr. Christine Micheinzi is the Founder and CEO of the consultancy group MMR Defense Solutions. She is also a non-resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Defense-Industrial...
info_outline Joanna Lewis on COP28, Taiwan Election Fallout, Ukraine-Congress Update, Somaliland DealDiplomatic Immunity
In our fifth episode of Headlines and History, we discuss the outcome of the COP28 conference in Dubai with Joanna Lewis, the fallout from Taiwan's Presidential election, the new deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland, and give an update on the status of military aid to Ukraine currently stalled in Congress. Joanna Lewis is a distinguished associate professor at Georgetown University and director of the Science, Technology and International Affairs Program at the School of Foreign Service. At Georgetown, she also runs the Clean Energy and Climate Research Group and leads several dialogues...
info_outline Holiday Bonus: UN World Basketball Day & Sports Diplomacy with Lindsay KrasnoffDiplomatic Immunity
Season 6 Bonus Episode. Today, we’ll be talking about basketball and the power of sports diplomacy as we celebrate World Basketball Day – the first sport ever to receive the honor from the United Nations – which now takes place every year on December 21st. Today, Kelly talks with Lindsay Krasnoff about basketball and the history of sports diplomacy. Just in time for World Basketball Day, Lindsay has published a case study with ISD on the fascinating history of basketball diplomacy between France and China during the cold war, which we encourage listeners to check out via our case...
info_outlineSeason 5, Episode 3: Multilateralism is so often thought of as a means and method for groups of states to tackle common issues or resolve disputes. But what happens when a multilateral institution is called on to help support sub-national issues within states? That's precisely what we wanted to know when we chatted with Gerardo de Icaza, the director of of the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation at the OAS. Gerardo chats with Dr. Kelly McFarland about the issues that the OAS and his department handle, the challenges and opportunities of election support from a multilateral institution, partnerships with other organizations and civil society, and the future of multilateralism in the Americas.
Gerardo has been the director of the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation since March 1, 2014. In his years as director, he has led more than 80 electoral observation missions in more than 27 countries. In 2018, he served as acting secretary for strengthening democracy from February to July. Previously, at the National Electoral Institute of Mexico (INE) he served as deputy legal director for overseas voting and as coordinator of the technical committee of specialists on overseas voting. He was a law clerk, and then head of the International Affairs Unit in the Electoral Tribunal of Mexico. His most recent publication "International Law of Democracy" coordinated with Luis Almagro, is one of his numerous publications on democracy and electoral systems.
If you enjoy this podcast, check out the recently released working group report from the institute for the study of diplomacy. Working group members analyzed the threat corruption and kleptocracy pose to democracy around the world and provide recommendations for the United States to begin cleansing this dark and festering underbelly of global politics. Read the report here.
Episode recorded: December 19, 2022
Produced by Daniel Henderson
Episode Image: The front facade of the Organization of American States in Washington, DC. Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash
Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs
Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.
Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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