The Fletcher Forum Podcast
Founded in 1975 and published biannually, The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs is the student-managed foreign policy journal at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. The publication provides a broad, interdisciplinary platform for analysis of legal, political, economic, environmental, and diplomatic issues in international affairs. The Fletcher Forum podcast will serve as another avenue for The Fletcher Forum and will feature interviews, roundtable discussions, and debates centered around the latest in international affairs.
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Self Help Groups- History and Relevance
04/26/2024
Self Help Groups- History and Relevance
The Self-Help Group movement that began in South Asia has now proliferated across developing countries of the world. Seen as a means of women’s financial and social empowerment, SHGs have been a popular development intervention. In this conversation with Dr. Michael Woolcock, Lead Social Scientist at the World Bank and Adjunct Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, we delve into the history of SHGs, their desired and sometimes undesired outcomes and their relevance today.
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Intersections of Linguistic Interplay and Exchange in Taiwan
04/09/2024
Intersections of Linguistic Interplay and Exchange in Taiwan
This podcast features Jordan Strouse, a 3rd year Fulbright grantee in Taiwan who joins the forum to comment on the intersections of linguistic interplay and exchange in Taiwan. The conversation also includes his commentary on Taiwan’s bilingual 2030 policy and the challenges of teaching English in an environment where students might speak any of 5 languages natively
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Replacing the Helsinki Act
12/12/2023
Replacing the Helsinki Act
A podcast with Ian Lesser, Vice President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States discussing the future of European Security from an American perspective. If the Helsinki Accords have been abandoned with the war in Ukraine, can Europe replace them with something new? Throughout European history, the neutral countries have played a large role in this, by tying great powers together or holding them accountable. What could this new role for neutral European states look like, and which European states can be counted upon to take up the mantle of neutrality in the future? All this and more on this episode of the Fletcher Forum Podcast!
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Fifa World Cup 2022- International Relations Narratives
11/29/2023
Fifa World Cup 2022- International Relations Narratives
The 2022 Fifa World Cup was significant in many ways. As Lionel Messi lifted the long elusive trophy, controversy was not far. One of the many discussions around the Cup was on the role of Qatar as the host. We try to go deeper into the many international relations controversies from the view of those in the Global South.
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Colonization in US Universities
05/30/2023
Colonization in US Universities
We explore the question of whether the United States is colonizing knowledge through international students. We are joined by two experts on the topic: Maria Carolina Sintura () is a teacher and Ph.D. student in the English Department at UCSB. Her research brings together the Legal Humanities, Critical University Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Women of Color Feminisms as she studies the discourses constructed around the figure of international students and scholars at the U.S American University, and is a 2023 MALD candidate at the Fletcher School with a focus on gender and intersectional analysis and human security. Currently, Rohini’s research focuses on developing queer methods for social research. We discuss how the US has historically dominated the production and dissemination of knowledge and how this has had a disproportionate impact on people from developing countries. We also explore the ways in which international students are often forced to assimilate into US academic norms, which can lead to the loss of their own cultural and intellectual traditions. Resources on the topic Resources shared by Rohini Roy: "The Racism of Being Tolerated: The Experience of Being Brown Women in ‘International Relations.’" Tufts Observer, 12 Dec. 2022, tuftsobserver.org/the-racism-of-being-tolerated-the-experience-of-being-brown-women-in-international-relations/. Tracking Epistemic Violence: Tracking Practices of Silencing. By Moya Bailey. Hypatia, vol. 35, no. 4, 2020, pp. 878–899. doi:10.1111/hypa.12813. Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others. Duke University Press, 2006. Resources shared by Maria Carolina Sintura: “The University and Its Pedagogies of Minority Difference.” Chapter 6 in The Reorder of Things: The University and Its Pedagogies of Minority Difference, by Roderick A. Ferguson. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2012. . 2012. The Reorder of Things: The University and Its Pedagogies of Minority Difference. Difference Incorporated. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota Press. Chapter 5: Immigration and the Drama of Affirmation. Christian, Barbara. “Diminishing Returns: Can Black Feminism(s) Survive the Academy?” New Black Feminist Criticism, 1985-2000, edited by Gloria Bowles et al., University of Illinois Press, 2007, pp. 204–15. Hong, Grace Kyungwon. “The Future of Our Worlds: Black Feminism and the Politics of Post-Diaspora.” Social Text, no. 26, 2008, pp. 1–24. doi:10.1215/01642472-2008-004.
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Why is the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda so Important?
05/30/2023
Why is the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda so Important?
The Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda is a UN framework that promotes women's participation in all aspects of peace and security efforts. It is based on four pillars: participation, protection, prevention, and relief and recovery. Despite significant progress, there are still several challenges to its effective implementation, including a lack of political will, inadequate funding, limited participation of women, insufficient data, and gender-based violence. The WPS agenda is being implemented in various ways around the world, such as women's participation in peace negotiations, women's role in peacekeeping, gender-responsive peacebuilding, protection of women and girls, and the development of National Action Plans. In this episode, Maria Paola Silva dive into a conversation with * about the four pillars of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda. How does is look today? What is happening in Ukraine? Why is it so necessary? Listen to the episode and find the answer to many of these questions. *Maria Luisa Moreira is an Advisor and Programme Manager at PCS, a Lisbon-based think tank, and the Secretary General of WIIS Portugal. She has an MSc in Women, Peace, and Security from the LSE and a BA in International Relations from the University of Essex. Maria Luisa won the first edition of the DGPDN Award in 2021 with an original policy position paper on the implementation of the WPS Agenda in the Portuguese MFA and MoD mandates. In 2022, she was a presenter at the NATO Committee on Gender Perspective Annual Conference and a guest speaker at the NATO Youth Summit. Maria Luisa was previously selected for the OSCE-UNODA Peace and Security Fellowship and has worked at the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security, the Council of the European Union in Brussels, and the British Embassy in Lisbon. Her current research projects address the future of the WPS Agenda within foreign policy and international diplomacy, and she was a guest speaker at the Portuguese Navy's International Women's Day conference in 2023, where she presented perspectives and guidelines for a feminist national defense policy.
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Demystifying Digital Public Infrastructures
03/27/2023
Demystifying Digital Public Infrastructures
In this first episode, Sarthak talks to David about the concept of digital public infrastructures, its role in the digital economy, and how is it different from the traditional digital development approaches. Our guest for the episode is David Eaves, who’s a thought leader in the DPI and DPG space. David Eaves is an Associate Professor and Deputy Co-Director of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at University College London. At UCL he teaches and writes on the intersection of digital transformation, digital public infrastructure, and the opportunities technology presents to re-imagine public value. David also serves as the Senior Vice President of investments for Co-Develop Fund. He previously served as a Lecturer of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Was co-founder and CEO of ReCollect - a successful civic tech start up that grew to serve over 400 governments across North America. He advises numerous governments on their digital transformation and open data strategies and open source projects like Mozilla and OpenMRS on governance. David has also had the privilege of working with public interest technologists worldwide, doing seminars with many of the Code for America fellows, White House Presidential Innovation Fellows, and Code for Canada fellows. Reading Recommendations -
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Lessons in Leadership from BRAC
03/27/2023
Lessons in Leadership from BRAC
How to End Global Poverty? In this engaging fireside chat, Scott MacMillan, author of Hope Over Fate: Sire Fazle Hasan Abed and the Science of Ending Global Poverty, and Dr Alnoor Ebrahim, Professor of Management at the Fletcher School, talk about the story of BRAC, the world’s largest NGO, and its founder Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. Through a detailed discussion on his journey, motivations and leadership style they share insights on the how the quality of leadership directly shaped the success of BRAC, and the critical role leadership can play in solving complex problems like poverty.
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Media and Climate Change Narratives
03/27/2023
Media and Climate Change Narratives
The podcast covers the role media plays in raising public awareness of key issues while also discussing the risks of conspiracy theories and misinformation. It tries to understand the different ways media can be used as a platform in climate change discussion. Thereby, we look at the need for understanding the criticality and methods of engaging in climate communication, especially in the global south, which is necessary for equitable response. About the Author- Prof. Deepti Ganapathy, is an author, educator, and a former award-winning journalist. Prof. Ganapathy is currently Chair, Centre of Management Communication, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and was formerly my professor for a course on journalism, during my undergraduate education. Her book, Media and Climate Change- Making Sense of Press Narratives covers the triggers of a debate about development over biodiversity loss and environmental risks in India.
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An Introduction to AI and Gender
01/30/2023
An Introduction to AI and Gender
In this episode, we explore Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what gender has to do with it. Our staff editor, Paola talks to Kelly Chen, who shares her work and perspectives with us and gives us a complete introduction to Gender and AI. Kelly Chen is an interdisciplinary artist working and living in Boston, Massachusetts. She works in moving images, sonic installations, and software to reveal the intersecting histories of computation and early cinema as they relate to authority and resistance in social, political, and economic systems. Her work critically addresses invisibility and traceability in processing physical and digital artifacts, the authority given to archives, and biases in history-making with critical code. She is a student in Media Arts and Data Science at Northeastern University.
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Feminist Foreign Policy: why is it feminist?
01/30/2023
Feminist Foreign Policy: why is it feminist?
Feminist Foreign Policy seeks to incorporate a gender and human rights perspective into international foreign affairs and policy. This episode discusses what feminist foreign policy looks like in different countries, its challenges, and how it may look in the future. Our staff editor, Paola interviews Daniela Philipson, Peace and Security Ph.D. Scholar at Monash University. She has authored several Op-Eds and articles for international outlets, such as the Yale Journal of International Affairs and Chatham House. In 2022, Daniela co-founded Internacional Feminista, a multilingual platform to advance critical dialogues on foreign policy, international relations, and feminism in Latin America. Resources cited during the episode: · CFFP: https://centreforfeministforeignpolicy.org/feminist-foreign-policy · Mamacash: https://www.mamacash.org/es/el-activismo-feminista-funciona · ICRW: https://www.icrw.org/ · IWDA: https://iwda.org.au/resource/feminist-foreign-policy-anoverview/#:~:text=WHAT%20IS%20FEMINIST%20FOREIGN%20POLICY,of%20peaceful%20and%20flourishing%20societies. · Kubernein initiative, Inclusive Foreign Policy: https://kuberneininitiative.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Opportunities-for-a-more-Inclusive-Indian-Foreign-Policy.pdf · Internacional Feminista: https://www.internacionalfeminista.com/#publicaciones-publications · Chatham House, Feminist Foreign Policy Needs Upgrade: https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2022-10/feminist-foreign-policy-needs-upgrade
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Maritime Security (armed conflict at Sea) in the Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region
12/07/2022
Maritime Security (armed conflict at Sea) in the Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region
In this Fletcher Forum podcast episode our staff editor, Hasan Towhid interviews Rear Admiral Md. Khurshid Alam (Retd) has served as the President of the International Seabed Authority Council and represented many other illustrious offices. They talk about peace and maritime security issues in the Indo-Pacific while exploring the broader universe of armed conflict at sea.
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Did Gender Matter at COP27?
11/22/2022
Did Gender Matter at COP27?
The 27th session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - COP27 - is the world's most important conference on climate. The episode explores how diversity and inclusion look at COP. What challenges exist? What has been done? And what can be better for making it a space with diverse voices and representation? The speakers for this episode were: Eda Kosma. She is the Public Authorities, States, and Regions Fellow at the CDP, a global non-profit that runs the world's environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states, and regions. Lily Hartzel. Editor and Chief of The Fletcher Forum, today's sponsor for this episode. Additionally, she interned for the US Department of Treasury Office of International Affairs Office Climate & Environment during the summer. Vanessa Daza. She has vast experience in Environmental Justice in Latin America and Feminist Sustainable Development. Currently, she is pursuing her SJD at Harvard Law school.
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Why women in Latin America should care about what is happening in Iran? (in Spanish)
11/17/2022
Why women in Latin America should care about what is happening in Iran? (in Spanish)
In today's episode, I talk about "Why women in Latin America should care about what is happening in Iran?" I interview Belen Torchiaro, an Argentinian political science major, Muslim, feminist, and women's rights activist. The episode is hosted in Spanish. You can follow Belen on social media as This episode of The Gendering International Relations Podcast was sponsored by at The Fletcher School at Tufts University. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram as .
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Fireside Chat: India's Micro-enterprises and Bigtech Platforms Monopoly
09/12/2022
Fireside Chat: India's Micro-enterprises and Bigtech Platforms Monopoly
In this first Fletcher Forum Fireside Chat, Dr. Jonathan Donner and Dr. Pramod Varma talk about an open protocol approach to counter bigtech monopoly in digital commerce towards making it more inclusive for micro-enterprises. Dr. Varma elaborates on India’s journey so far in democratizing access to public services through open technology, and the more recent efforts to demonopolize digital commerce. Dr. Jonathan Donner is a Visiting Faculty Fellow at The Hitachi Center for Technology and International Affairs at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and also, Senior Director for Research, Caribou Digital, a research consultancy focused on building inclusive digital economies Dr. Pramod Varma was the Chief Architect of Aadhar (India's population scale unique biometric identity program), and many things India Stack. He’s currently the Chief Technical Officer at Ekstep Foundation and the Co-Creator of the Beckn Protocol.
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Disobedience Podcast Part 3: Somos Un Rostro Colectivo
07/06/2022
Disobedience Podcast Part 3: Somos Un Rostro Colectivo
In this episode, Princess Anene-Maidoh speaks with two Colombian feminist activists Laura Vasquez and Valeria Surc who are part of a feminist network in Bogota called Somos Un Rostro Colectivo (We are a collective face). They discuss the causes the group advocates for, their organizing tactics, and the methods they use in dealing with opposition. This week’s interviewees: Laura Vasquez and Valeria Surc Laura Vasquez is an anthropologist with a master's degree in Migration. As an activist, she is part of the national campaign for legal abortion and also participates in the feminist collective La creciente feminista. She's been involved in Somos un rostro colectivo (We are a collective face) a network for feminist activists in Bogotá, since its creation in 2019. You can find Somos Un Rostro Colective on Instagram @somosunrostrocolectivo This episode was produced, presented, and edited by Princess Anene-Maidoh with cover art by Jomely Breton. Opening music: Paradise Island by Muzaproduction Link:
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Disobedience Podcast: Part 2 - Invasion Day
05/04/2022
Disobedience Podcast: Part 2 - Invasion Day
In this episode, the Disobedience podcast dives into the Invasion Day protests in Australia. We discuss the role that indigenous women play in the fight for liberation and the power of representation in the media. This episode's interviewee: Chelsea Watego Chelsea Watego (formerly Bond) is a Munanjahli and South Sea Islander woman with over 20 years of experience working within Indigenous health as a health worker and researcher. Chelsea’s work has drawn attention to the role of race in the production of health inequalities. Her forthcoming book , was published by UQ Press in November 2021 and has been shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award (in two categories) and longlisted for The Stella Prize. This episode was produced, presented, and edited by Princess Anene-Maidoh with cover art by Jomely Breton.
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Disobedience Podcast: Part 1 - The Egba Women's Revolt
04/02/2022
Disobedience Podcast: Part 1 - The Egba Women's Revolt
In this episode, the Disobedience podcast in collaboration with the Fletcher Forum podcast explores the Egba women’s revolt - a feminist anti-colonial movement that took place in the late 1940s in Abeokuta, a town in southwest Nigeria. We discuss the various tactics used by the women in protesting the British colonial government as well as the erasure of women’s liberation movements in Nigeria. This week’s interviewee: Lanaire Aderemi Lanaire Aderemi is a poet, playwright and PhD researcher committed to amplifying and archiving untold stories. Her work on memory has appeared in the Republic, Warwick Arts Centre, Tate Modern, BBC and Lolwe. She can be found on This episode was produced, presented, and edited by Princess Anene-Maidoh with cover art by Jomely Breton. Opening music: The rhythm of Africa by Zakhar Valaha
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Understanding Russia's Attack on Ukraine
03/21/2022
Understanding Russia's Attack on Ukraine
As the war in Ukraine approaches its fourth week, many Western commentators are still wondering why Russian President Vladimir Putin chose a full-scale invasion, and why now. In this podcast, Kiana Nedele sits down with Professor Christopher Miller, head of the Fletcher School’s Russia/Eurasia Program, to work through these questions and more. Professor Miller brings his years of experience working with Russians on Russian issues to share critical insights about the role of the U.S. and NATO, Putin's headspace, and the uses and limits of political theory.
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Addressing the Rohingya Crisis in Bangladesh
03/16/2022
Addressing the Rohingya Crisis in Bangladesh
Bangladesh currently hosts around 1.1 million Rohingya Muslim Minorities from Myanmar. The Rohingya people have faced decades of systematic discrimination, statelessness, and targeted violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar. Such persecution forced them to come to Bangladesh for many years, particularly in August 2017. In this episode, H. E. Ambassador Ms. Rabab Fatima, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York is interviewed by our Staff Editor, Md. Hasan Abdullah Towhid about the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh. Ambassador Fatima discusses the history of the Rohingya Crisis, the current situation of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh camps and a potential security threat to the region, relocation of Rohingya Refugees to ‘Bhasan Chor’ island, and possible solutions to their repatriation. The ongoing case against Myanmar at ICJ and UNGA & UNSC resolutions; and deliberations of the International community for a sustainable solution of Rohingya crisis are also discussed.
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PublicTech and the Pandemic: Part 1 - Contact Tracing Apps
03/06/2022
PublicTech and the Pandemic: Part 1 - Contact Tracing Apps
COVID19 was a crisis that blurred the boundaries between state control and civil liberties. Technology solutions played a vital role in curbing the spread like contact tracing apps, telemedicine, vaccine scheduling and digital vaccination certificates. But it came with a lot of potential caveats like privacy invasions, state surveillance, and digital divide. In this first episode, our host Sarthak Satapathy talks about contact tracing apps from the lens of privacy, equity, and efficacy with cybersecurity expert, Dr. Susan Landau.
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Hydropower for Whom
04/20/2021
Hydropower for Whom
Zubair Torwali is a community activist, linguist and educator based in Bahrain, Pakistan who has sought to preserve and promote Pakistan's Dardic cultures and languages. He has authored and supervised a number of books in and about Torwali. In this episode, he speaks with Elizabeth Dykstra-McCarthy about hydropower development in the Swat valley, its impact on the indigenous Torwali people and how the local community have responded to it.
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Integrating Social Norms into Anti-Corruption Strategy
11/13/2020
Integrating Social Norms into Anti-Corruption Strategy
Jonathan Regnier interviews Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church and Diana Chigas, the co-directors of (CJL) to discuss why anti-corruption programming needs to engage with social norms and what CJL is currently doing to shift social norms from the periphery to a central component of corruption analysis and anti-corruption strategy.
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Dr. Courtney Fung on China's Interventions in the UN Security Council
02/26/2020
Dr. Courtney Fung on China's Interventions in the UN Security Council
Dr. Courtney J. Fung is an assistant professor of International Relations in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong, and holds a PhD in International Relations from the Fletcher School where she was awarded the Peter Ackerman Dissertation Prize for her doctoral thesis. In this podcast, we discuss her latest book, China and Intervention at the UN Security Council: Reconciling Status, where she explains the effects of status on China's varied response to intervention and foreign-imposed regime change at the United Nations.
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Deloitte's Paul Magill on Firms' Preparedness for Organic Growth
02/06/2020
Deloitte's Paul Magill on Firms' Preparedness for Organic Growth
As a Managing Director at Deloitte Consulting, Paul Magill is an expert in growth strategy, marketing, and digital transformation. He recently came by Fletcher to discuss their latest research on organic growth and discuss the implications -- for companies, as well as for individuals planning their future careers. Listen to learn about these findings!
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Interview with Sam Dagher, Author of "Assad or We Burn the Country"
12/14/2019
Interview with Sam Dagher, Author of "Assad or We Burn the Country"
Following his talk at Fletcher, Sam Dagher spoke with Elizabeth Dykstra McCarthy to dive deeper into his book, "Assad or We Burn the Country: How One Family's Lust for Power Destroyed Syria." The discussion covers the makings of the Assad family as well as their intrigues and their inner workings. Dagher was a senior correspondent focused on Syria, Iraq, and Iran, and has worked in the Middle East for more than 12 years.
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The Future of Fletcher: An Interview with Dean Rachel Kyte
12/02/2019
The Future of Fletcher: An Interview with Dean Rachel Kyte
Want to know what Fletcher’s new Dean thinks about the school’s future? Well, listen to her in-depth and wide-ranging conversation with Shawn Ghuman exploring her vision for this important institution. In this podcast, you’ll hear why she decided to make Fletcher a part of her career story and what changes she hopes to bring to the school in the coming years.
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SNEAK PEEK: Democracy in the Age of Disinformation Conference
11/20/2019
SNEAK PEEK: Democracy in the Age of Disinformation Conference
The Fletcher Forum's Shawn Ghuman sat down with Carla Martinez and Ellysse Dick to discuss the Edward R. Murrow Center’s first annual conference on new media and democracy, "The Future of Democracy in the Age of Disinformation: Innovating Policy Solutions for a Networked World." The upcoming event will explore the shifting landscape of public diplomacy, cybersecurity and civic engagement in the digital age, from potential private sector solutions to disinformation to online threats overshadowing democracies around the world.
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Rocking with Kaiser Kuo: A Conversation on Podcasts, Media Control, and U.S.-Chinese Relations
05/17/2019
Rocking with Kaiser Kuo: A Conversation on Podcasts, Media Control, and U.S.-Chinese Relations
Shawn Ghuman sat down with Kaiser Kuo, Co-Founder of the Sinica Podcast, Editor-at-Large of SupChina, and was a founder of China’s first heavy metal band, Tang Dynasty, during his time in town for a panel on “The Digital Silk Road: Spreading the Chinese Internet Control Model.” In this podcast, we discuss with Kaiser how he went from being a rock musician to being a preeminent pundit on U.S.-China relations and his thoughts on key issues related to China as a hegemonic power in the 21stcentury.
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An Interview with Mr. Brett Bruen
05/06/2019
An Interview with Mr. Brett Bruen
On March 13, 2019, Mr. Brett Bruen spoke at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy on his theory of “counter-crisis management,” which he uses in his work as President of the Global Situation Room to identify vulnerabilities and develop reputational countermeasures for organizations operating in crisis-affected parts of the world. His interview was conducted by Samantha Chen, Web Staff Editor of The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs. FF: You served as the Director of Global Engagement at the White House under President Obama. Could you tell us about that experience, and some of the most impactful moments or lessons that informed your decision to found the Global Situation Room? BB: It was a more hopeful time. We were looking for ways to deepen our engagement with the world, whether it was engaging with the next generation of young leaders, sparking entrepreneurial opportunities, or looking to expand international education. We believe that it was an investment in a future that would pay dividends for American influence and prosperity. Interestingly, many of those programs continue. Ivanka Trump went to India for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, and Secretary Pompeo was hosting an event at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kansas. It’s encouraging to see those programs continue, even if they may have been reduced and the policy of the current administration has redirected to a more isolationist focus. These programs will allow us to keep, and perhaps even to cultivate, ties that will be important in a post-Trump world. Founding the Global Situation Room came about because I was spending so much time with entrepreneurs that I think I got infected with the entrepreneurial spirit. I think that applying the tactics and tradecraft of diplomacy to helping companies and organizations navigate the complexity of today’s world is a comparative advantage, because there aren’t enough firms that provide a global skillset that can help companies seamlessly move around the world and navigate any ensuing risks. You see a lot of companies that focus on different countries, but they don’t connect that work and provide a comparative offering that can help companies to really understand how these pieces fit together. We are especially focusing on the risk and crisis management work. I don’t think that the tools of crisis management have kept up: they are designed for an era where we had more time, when we had the luxury of working on one problem at a time. Today, companies have to be able to get out and engage, rather than hide under the desk and wait for the storm to pass. We’re focused on helping them do that. FF: Can you talk a little bit more about what counter-crisis management theory is and what was the impetus behind developing this theory? How did it impact your work at the White House? BB: When I got to the White House, we faced a series of crises around the world, and I had just come from working in the field. I spent the first decade-plus of my career working in countries in crisis and conflict. To come into the White House and not see the kind of capabilities to respond to these crises surprised me, and I began thinking about how we could develop better tools to be more prepared. When I transitioned to the private sector, I was surprised to see that it was even further behind than the government. I worked to take the skills and strategies that we were refining at the White House and apply them to the kinds of risks that companies were facing. In a number of cases, it has been remarkable to see the results that we’ve been able to deliver by helping companies more clearly identify issues, and earlier. Thinking about the tools they need, we can divide them into two groups. One is infrastructure, or the kinds of materials and capabilities can you prepare ahead of time. These could range from creating partnerships with key organizations, to developing the story of your organization and the importance of the work and the people that contribute to it, all the way to thinking about how you generate reservoirs of goodwill with strategic groups that are going to allow you to have the forgivability not only to survive, but to thrive in crisis. The other is the idea that you could build a countermeasure—a program that would be deployed around a crisis to not only allow your company to survive that tough time, but to seize the next opportunity into which you’re looking to transition. FF: Adding onto your idea about forgivability, do you think there’s a limit to the amount of forgivability that an organization or country can have? BB: Forgivability is very easy to talk about, but it can be very hard to develop. It requires companies or countries to be willing to confront not only what is positive, but also what could be problematic. But, we’ve seen numerous cases, whether it’s Apple or Airbnb, where companies have managed to stockpile so much forgivability that they have been able to survive threats that would have debilitated, if not destroyed, other companies. It’s not something that you can have too much of. Just like some companies try to figure out how to gain more market share, companies should also consider how to conquer more of the forgiveness market in a way that will give them a comparative advantage. FF: Do you think there are differences in responding to longer-term crises, such as the one in Yemen, versus responding to immediate crises, such as the one in Venezuela? BB: In both cases, there is a need to respond earlier, which opens up more options. For crises that have dragged on for an extended period of time, it becomes more difficult to engage in the process of evolution because things have become so deeply entrenched. What I would say is that it is never too late. Even in a situation like Yemen, it becomes more important for us to find a way to reframe this issue and to find the future, because people are so focused on the problems of the moment. You’re ideally looking to introduce a new frame that allows people to see the possibilities of the future. If we stay stuck on this dynamic of what has been the lens of looking at this problem that’s existed for so long, we’re never going to resolve this crisis or get countries to the stage where they’ve moved beyond the danger zone. Often, an international solution is imposed or comes in, and it is really just putting a Band-Aid on a much deeper problem. If we can focus not just on conflict resolution but also on the creation of real progress, prosperity, and new possibilities, that’s much more sustainable. FF: How do you think the United States can more effectively respond to the threat from information campaigns, such as those coming from Russia and other countries? And how can the United States better take advantage of strategic communications to compete? BB: First, I would say that the U.S. government is not doing nearly enough to track threats. We do not have any centralized capability to follow them, whether it’s Russia, Iran, China, or non-state actors, and what they’re doing in this space. We need to develop that capability. We need to encourage other countries to develop that capability and then centralize the monitoring. We know that the Russians will start a pilot project in the Balkans or in other parts of Eastern Europe, such as the Baltics, and then they migrate across Western Europe and then come here to the United States. The second thing we ought to do is create more defensive capabilities. We’re entering the 2020 elections—if a congressional campaign or a presidential campaign notices a concerning series of social media posts or activist activities on the ground, who are they supposed to call? They can call the FBI, but the FBI is not going to be able to go to Moscow and break up that cell. We have to create resources within the government to support both candidates, as well as companies and other organizations. The last, and I think the most controversial, of my ideas, is that we create offensive capabilities that would serve as deterrents to tell Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran that, if you engage in this kind of information warfare, we will respond in kind. Not necessarily with propaganda, but perhaps with transparency initiations or public information campaigns that make clearer to their people the nature of their regime and the kinds of illicit activities with which they’re involved. A lot of these governments that are engaged in this kind of behaviors are actually pretty vulnerable to public exposure and it’s a tool that we should use more often. FF: What advice would you give to Fletcher students who are interested in pursuing careers in crisis response or strategic communications? BB: Sadly, this is an industry that will continue to grow, and students should be thinking about how they can help companies, organizations, and governments to be better prepared for the regularity of risk. One of the recommendations I had for students earlier was to develop a solution, a counter-measure, for one of the problems that a future employer is likely to face. So, when you go in for an interview, you can propose a solution to a problem about which they are worried. It will demonstrate the kind of thinking that a lot of companies and organizations are looking for these days. There are many people who are able to talk about what worked in the past. There are fewer who are coming in with new ideas and with capabilities that enable companies to be much more proactive and agile with these risks. Image: Courtesy of Sylvain Szewczyk / Flickr Brett Bruen is the founder and president of the Global Situation Room, a consulting firm built on the experience of former American ambassadors and senior government officials that provides a range of international public affairs services. A specialist in using strategic communications to influence the course of crisis and conflict, Mr. Bruen created some of the government’s most innovative international programs for reaching new audiences around the world. Mr. Bruen is a former U.S. Diplomat who served as Director of Global Engagement at the White House. As a diplomat, he served in the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Guinea, Iraq, Venezuela, Argentina, Zambia, and Eritrea. He serves as an adjunct faculty member of the Federal Executive Institute, where he trains senior U.S. Government leaders on strategy and world affairs.
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