Show Notes
The Iran war is spilling over into Yemen. And now, the country is on the verge of a full-blown civil war that could drag in Saudi Arabia, Iran — and potentially the United States. Over the last several weeks, the Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government have been clashing at a pace and with a fury not seen since a 2022 ceasefire brought a halt to a devastating eight-year civil war. The war in Iran has changed the dynamics of the region in ways that have left Yemen poised to become the next place where the conflict spreads. My guest today, Alexandra Stark, is a political scientist at RAND who studies the region. She is the author of the book The Yemen Model and recently wrote a New York Times op-ed about the prospect of Yemen becoming a new front in a widening Middle East conflict. We kick off by discussing recent events on the ground in Yemen, their connection to the U.S.-Iran war, and the mechanisms through which Yemen could once again become engulfed in a devastating civil war — one fueled by Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.
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Trump appears to have swung decisively in favor of Russia. Trump has waived sanctions on Russia, from which the United States is now purchasing diesel. Ukraine's defense has been undermined by restrictions on Elon Musk's Starshield, a critical communications platform upon which the Ukrainian military relies. Trump has invited Putin to the upcoming G20 meeting at his club in Florida, and has stymied intelligence sharing to warn about incoming missile attacks from Russia. My guest today is journalist Luke Johnson, proprietor of the Public Sphere Substack. Based in Europe, Luke covers the war in Ukraine, European politics, and the impact of American foreign policy on Europe. We kick off our conversation with the news that an American prisoner held in Russia has been released by Putin in what is being billed as a "humanitarian" gesture, but which, in effect, further solidifies the growing alignment between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Over the last several months, the use of fully autonomous, artificial intelligence-powered weapons has been escalating. These weapons are capable of selecting and killing targets without a human in the loop. But as this technology advances, momentum is building around an international agreement that would establish guardrails for how these weapons can be used and deployed in warfare. At a recent meeting in Geneva, most countries agreed on the broad outlines of such an agreement, though the United States and Russia raised objections. So, can the pace of diplomacy keep up with the rapid development of AI-powered lethal autonomous weapons systems? Joining me to discuss this question is Magnus Løvold of Lex International.
The Rockefeller Foundation recently released the results of a massive international survey examining how people view the state of the world and the role of international cooperation in addressing global challenges. Some 35,000 people across 34 countries were polled, revealing widespread pessimism about the direction the world is heading, but also a strong desire for greater international cooperation to tackle shared problems. Eric Pelofsky, Vice President for International Policy at the Rockefeller Foundation, joins me to discuss the survey's findings, what they reveal about public attitudes toward global challenges, and what they suggest about the future of multilateralism at a time of growing international uncertainty. You can examine the poll here.
Get full episode: https://www.globaldispatches.org/50PercentOffAnnual The former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and chair of the UN body that concluded Israel committed genocide in Gaza has won the Nobel Peace Prize. In the first segment of this episode of To Save Us From Hell, Anjali and Mark break down the implications of Navi Pillay's Nobel Peace Prize — and why it was significant that the Nobel Committee chose to honor the South African jurist when it did. As it happens, Navi Pillay also spent nearly a decade as a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC). On the same day she was awarded the Nobel, the Trump administration announced new plans to impose sweeping sanctions on the entire court. We have an extended discussion about the implications of this move for the ICC and how the court's defenders might respond. Finally, we unpack the latest developments in the race for UN Secretary-General, which has come down to just two candidates.
It did not receive much attention at the time, but one of the more consequential gatherings at the United Nations during UNGA was a high-level meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response. The meeting was intended to build momentum toward a global Pandemic Agreement that was negotiated at the WHO last year, but which left a few key issues unresolved. Chief among them is the creation of a so-called Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System, or PABS. The basic idea is that countries that share viral samples with pharmaceutical companies and researchers should, in turn, have access to the vaccines, medicines, and other products developed from those samples. All of this was up for discussion at the UN meeting, but the United States ultimately blocked the adoption of a consensus outcome document. Joining me to discuss what happened at this meeting, why it matters, and what comes next for a global agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response is Courtney Carson, Senior Director of Programs at RANI, an NGO.