The international system appears to be entering a period of profound uncertainty. Geopolitical rivalry is intensifying, confidence in global institutions is weakening and rules that once appeared relatively settled are now being questioned with increasing frequency. In such an environment, the conversation about the role of so-called “middle powers” becomes more important than it might…
Some positive signs… After years of poor performance bordering on irrelevance vis-à-vis many of the challenges facing the world, especially in the peace and security field, the United Nations has recently been getting a boost to its standing, from expected and unexpected places. No surprise that small and middle powers of the South and the…
Qatar is a tiny state with a population of around three million, in which foreign nationals make up approximately 76 percent of the population, while migrant workers account for nearly 90 percent of the labour force. And yet it plays an outsized role in global and regional politics, ranging from major investments in Africa and…
The international system today carries the feel of an era that has outlived its own assumptions. Institutions built with the optimism of 1945 continue to stand, yet their foundations no longer align with the world taking shape around them. The gravitational pull that once held the system together, its shared purpose, its post-war coherence, has…
For the first time in history, a nuclear power plant has become a military objective during a war. While previous military operations at the Iraqi Osirak reactor (1981), the Iranian Bushehr plant (1987) and the Slovenian Krško plant (1991) were somewhat ad hoc, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant continues to be contested between the parties…
Lithium is flowing from the Global South to the Global North, powering a massive electrification effort in high-income countries, particularly due to its criticality in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. However, this silvery metal is not a silver bullet. Lithium mining comes with high environmental and social costs to the land and local population, disproportionately harms…
The end of the second world war ushered in a new era of change for humanity. Having tested out all of their new, shiny weapons on each other, the nation-states of Europe decided to tone things down for a while and to focus on rebuilding their war-ravaged continent. A key factor for the success of…
To introduce myself and express who I am worldwide is complicated because the world has many realities. To present mine, I have to tell a story that came before me that I inherited from my parents and my teachers. I come from one of the biggest favelas in Brazil, and you may have seen this…
To help me cope with my existential dread (and also provide incredible value to you, our listeners), Kerstin Leitner joined me on the podcast. Kerstin has 30 years of experience as a UN official, and she has lived in numerous places around the world, like Africa, China, and the United States. Today she lives in…
September 2023 is forecast to be heavy in summiteering, as already two summits and a ministerial meeting are scheduled to take place in the space of a few days, around the high-level “UN Week”, namely: an SDG Summit, another Climate Summit, and a Ministerial Meeting in preparation of the September 2024 Summit of the Future….
