Ronald Deibert is a professor of political science at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto and the Director of the Citizen Lab. He recently gave the 18th annual Seymour Martin Lipset Lecture at the National Endowment for Democracy. Its title was “Digital Subversion: The Threat to Democracy.” His article, “Subversion Inc:... Continue Reading →
Craig Whitlock on the Lessons Learned in Afghanistan
Craig Whitlock is an investigative reporter at The Washington Post and the author of The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War. Become a Patron! It's still shocking to me to read a lot of these documents and interviews in, The Afghanistan Papers, things that most people would think are obvious. What's the plan... Continue Reading →
How Will Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine End?
How Will Russia's Invasion of Ukraine End? Let me start with a simple admission. Nobody really knows how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will end. However, careful observers can make some measured predictions based on geopolitical interests, past behaviors, and historical lessons. It’s always possible Putin will defy conventional wisdom and logic to chart his own... Continue Reading →
Between Russia and China: Anja Mihr on Central Asia
Anja Mihr is an associate professor of Political Science at the OSCE Academy at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and the founder and program director of the Center on Governance through Human Rights at the HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA Governance Platform (gGmbH) in Berlin. Recently, she edited the volume Between Peace and Conflict in the East and the West Studies on Transformation... Continue Reading →
Between Peace and Conflict
Become a Patron! War is Deceptively Simple “War is a deceptively simple event,” writes Frederic Oberson. In recent weeks, a handful of politicians and scholars have deflected blame from Russia through complex geopolitical arguments. John Mearsheimer is perhaps the most well-known who’s provocative 2014 article in Foreign Affairs was titled, “Why the Ukraine Crisis Is... Continue Reading →
Sarah Repucci from Freedom House with an Update on Freedom in the World
Sarah Repucci is the Vice President of Research and Analysis at Freedom House. She coauthored (along with Amy Slipowitz) Freedom in the World 2022: The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule. Become a Patron! You can't protect basic human rights if you don't have democracy. If you're going to protect basic human rights, you need to... Continue Reading →
Tom Ginsburg Shares his Thoughts on Democracy and International Law
Tom Ginsburg is a professor of international law and political science at the University of Chicago. He is the coauthor of How to Save a Constitutional Democracy with Aziz Huq and the author of Democracies and International Law. At the end of the day, I am optimistic despite all the evidence. First of all, I think... Continue Reading →
International Law: Why Do Democracies Embrace it?
International Law and Democracies International is a riddle for the political theorist. It exists despite the absence of any formal state or government. So, not only is there no international body to enforce its edicts, but it lacks any formal institution to promulgate its laws. It bypasses the notion of sovereignty traditional democratic theory depended... Continue Reading →
Rana Siu Inboden on China and the International Human Rights Regime
Rana Siu Inboden joins the podcast to discuss China's participation in the international human rights regime. Rana is a senior fellow with the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas–Austin. Her new book is China and the International Human Rights Regime: 1982-2017. Chinese participation in the human rights regime... Continue Reading →
The Human Rights Regime: A Podcast Primer
The Human Rights Regime This week’s podcast focuses on China and the international human rights regime with Rana Siu Inboden. The poor state of human rights in China is widely known. The tragedy at Tiananmen is just one of many chapters in a long story of disrespect for human rights. When I was younger, people... Continue Reading →