Today we explore Kim Yo Jung, Kim Jong Un’s sister, and her official role in North Korea. She first made her international debut in 2018 and has continued to dominate North Korean politics alongside her brother, with many scholars considering her to be a potential successor to Kim Jong Un. We are joined today by Dr. Sung-Yoon Lee to discuss why he considers her the most dangerous woman in the world. 

Sung-Yoon Lee is an Assistant Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and Faculty Associate at the Program on U.S.–Japan Relations, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University.

The Sister: Kim Yung

Hosts: Lauren Zou and Seth Choi

Editor: Leo Kamer

Music: Zee Yuen

Realism has been the dominant theory of international relations since its conception, and within the realist school, the balance of power theory is a core tenet and posits that in order to survive as independent entities in an anarchic system, states are compelled to increase their power and balance against a potential hegemon. This theory was modified by Stephen Walt in 1985, who emphasized the role played by threat perception, rather than power itself to explain why states do not always balance against rising powers. In this episode, Professor Walt discusses the key tenets of his balance of threat, including how its implications are distinct from balance of power theory. We also discuss the application of the theory to the war in Ukraine, from the events and key decisions leading up to the conflict to how a lasting peace can eventually be negotiated.

Realism and Balance of Threat with Dr. Stephen Walt

Episode Credits:

Host: Julia An

Editor: Leo Kamer

Music: Zee Yuen

The 2023 Guatemalan elections were closely watched this past summer, especially following the anti-democratic efforts that led to Bernardo Arévalo’s Semilla party being suspended after unexpectedly emerging as one of the two victors of the first round of elections in late June. Arévalo eventually beat out former first lady Sandra Torres in the August 20 run-off election. Manuel Meléndez-Sánchez, a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Harvard University and a USIP-Minerva Peace and Security Scholar at the United States Institute of Peace, joins us today to discuss the Semilla Party’s platform and its success and the questions that loom about the future of democracy in the country.

2023 Guatemalan Elections: Democratic Spring or Winter?

Episode Credits:

Hosts: Nicole Rivas and Leo Kamer

Editor: Leo Kamer

Music: Zee Yuen

As some countries, including  India, China, the UAE, and Turkey, have started to move away from the U.S. Dollar as the standard for international trade, the government is faced with many questions regarding the importance of Dollar Dominance. In this episode, Saleha Mohsin, senior Washington correspondent for Bloomberg News, joins us to overview the historical influence of the U.S. Dollar as a pillar of international trade as well as how the U.S. government might take action in response to countries’ movement away from the Dollar.

U.S. Dollar Dominance

Episode Credits:

Hosts: Zack Stone and Ben Elhadad

Editor: Leo Kamer

Music: Zee Yuen

In this episode, we discuss Argentina’s worsening economic crisis and ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Argentina is facing historic annual rates of inflation that have reached over 100% this past June. How did Argentina’s situation become this dire? How is Economic Minister Sergio Massa, who is set to be the ruling Peronist coalition’s candidate for the October presidential elections, dealing with this? Dr. Benjamin Gedan, director of Wilson Center’s Latin America Program and its Argentina Project, and adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University, joins us today to discuss these questions.

Argentina’s IMF Crisis

Episode Credits:

Host: Nicole Rivas

Editor: Leo Kamer

Music: Zee Yuen

The Wagner Group, a private military company, was fighting in Ukraine on behalf of the Russian government until late June, when the group’s commander Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a mutiny and began marching toward Moscow. Before the Wagner Group reached the city, Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko negotiated a deal between Prigozhin and the Russian government. In this episode, we’ll explore the tensions between Wagner and the Ministry of Defense, what will become of the Wagner Group after the mutiny, and what the rebellion spells for the conflict in Ukraine. Dr. Christopher Faulkner joins us to discuss the Wagner Group Mutiny.

The views Chris expresses in this episode are his own and do not represent his institution’s.

The Wagner Group Mutiny

Episode Credits:

Editor: Leo Kamer

Hosts: Leo Kamer and Ben Elhadad

Music: Zee Yuen

Israel, once touted as a thriving democracy in the Middle East, now finds itself in a very unstable political climate. After a 5th election in 4 years which restored the country’s longest running prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israelis are in the streets again protesting against a controversial bill introduced in the Israeli parliament. The bill, commonly known as the “reform”, promises to weaken the powers of the Israeli Supreme Court, which critics have said possesses broad and unspecified powers. In this episode, we discuss Israel’s political climate and the attempt at reforming its Supreme Court with Dr. Guy Laron, senior lecturer at the international relations department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Israel’s Judicial Branch Reform

Episode Credits:

Editor: Leo Kamer

Hosts: Ben Elhadad and Leo Kamer

Music: Zee Yuen

Russia and India have enjoyed a long history of friendly and mutually beneficial relations. The rise of China, U.S.-China  tensions, the war in Ukraine, and the Russian-Chinese partnership, have had profound effects on Russian-Indian relations. Dr. Constantino Xavier,  fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress and a nonresident fellow at the India Project at the Brookings Institution, joins us today to discuss India’s foreign policy and its relationship with Russia.

India’s Strategic Shift?

Episode Credits:

Editor: Leo Kamer

Hosts: Nicole Rivas and Alexis Holewinski

Music: Zee Yuen

Of the thirteen countries that currently maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, seven of those are in Latin America. This episode explores how Honduras’ recent diplomatic split with Taiwan in favor of China affects Taiwan’s diplomatic strategy in the region. To discuss Taiwan’s relations with Latin America, joining us today is Margaret Myers, the director of the Asia & Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue.

Taiwan Loses Its Friends

Episode Credits:

Editor: Leo Kamer

Host: Nicole Rivas

Music: Zee Yuen

Last year, North Korea conducted a record number of ballistic missile test and appears to soon conduct another nuclear test. These developments have aggravated South Korea’s concern about U.S. extended deterrence commitments. Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, joins us today to discuss the North Korea challenge in 2023 and strengthening U.S. extended deterrence.

Extended Deterrence

Episode Credits:

Editor: Leo Kamer

Hosts: Chris H. Park and Julia An

Music: Zee Yuen

Recently, French president Emmanuel Macron used his emergency powers to pass a law that raises the retirement age, and the age at which French people can access their state funded pension. This recent – very unpopular – change alongside a whole host of other issues, has led to massive, and intense protests across France, a vote of no confidence in the government that only failed by a minute margin, and a general strike. Tara Varma, a visiting fellow in the Center of the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, joins us to discuss the ongoing protests in France.

France Takes to the Streets

Episode Credits:

Editor: Leo Kamer

Host: Leo Kamer

Music: Zee Yuen