In this edition of UN Plaza, I speak with Michael Cohen, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation. In the first half of the diavlog we chat about a new report on democracy building and U.S. foreign assistance, co-authored by Cohen and Maria Figueroa Kupcu. Then, we switch gears and talk about Michael's beef with the growing affinity for counter-insurgency among American national security policymakers. Have a watch! And for those in the DC area, Michael will be discussing the report in an event at the New America Foundation on Wednesday.
With the G20 outcome document hot off the presses, Anita Sharma dissects what it means for the "bottom billion" and for reacing the millennium development goals. Have a watch!
I talk drugs, guns and violence with Susan Ginsburg of the Migration Policy Institute.
Ambassador Thomas Pickering discusses the desperate need for a more robust State Department budget and a greater civilian role in foreign policy planning. Alas, we did not get into l'affair Chas Freeman, as the interview was taped a few days prior to the publication of a letter in support of Freeman, signed by Ambassador Pickering and other former diplomats and foreign policy luminaries, in the Wall Street Journal.
I always enjoy my conversations with Ambassador Pickering--who has served at the UN, the State Department, and in posts all around the world. Thanks again to the Ambassador for making the time.
In this edition of UN Plaza I interview Kevin Jon Heller of Opinio Juris. In addition to being an excellent blogger and a professor of international law Kevin serves as a defense adviser to Radovan Karadzic. In the segment below Kevin talks about some of the ethical considerations at stake in defending someone accused of the worst of times.
In this edition of UN Plaza I speak with Nicolas de Torrente of Medecins sans Frontieres. We survey some of the globe's most overlooked humanitarian crises. Here's the clip in full.
In this edition of UN Plaza, I interview the social entrepreneurship pioneer William Drayton. We talk about his theory of social change and how his non-profit, Ashoka, empowers individuals to change their world.
In this week's edition, I talk with Don Kraus of Citizens for Global Solutions about how the new congress and new administration might approach multi-lateral treaties, international institutions and international law. In the segment below, Don prognosticates on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Later in the diavlog, he predicts ratification within the year.
In this week's edition of UN Plaza (taped before I left for Ethiopia) I interview the filmaker Karim Chrobog about his new film War Child, which chronicles the incredible life of Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier turned global hip-hop star.