The coronavirus has paralyzed trade, caused stock markets to plunge and global economic activity to shrink. The pandemic has reached Latin America: Venezuela is under quarantine and Chile has declared “estado de catástrofe“ (state of catastrophy), sending in the military, while Mexico’s president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador continues to gather large crowds and hug his supporters. In this episode, Joel Sandhu from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) sits down with Yaotzin Botello to talk about the reaction to COVID-19 in Latin American countries, situation in Europe and Germany and what it means to work for the global media outlet in the time of pandemic. Yaotzin Botello is the head of talk-shows and own productions at Deutsche Welle Latin America. Before joining Deutsche Welle in 2011, Yoatzin worked as a Germany correspondent and writer for prestigious Mexican newspaper group “Reforma” for 15 years.

Global Futures

Yaotzin Botello: Coronavirus in Latin America and in the News

Climate change is disrupting weather patterns and leading to extreme weather events, such as wild fires, all around the world. Climate-related natural disasters also cause unpredictable water availability, exacerbate existing water scarcities and contaminate established water supplies. In some situations, scarce and valuable fresh water has contributed to conflicts by being a causal factor, target, tool, or weapon. In this episode, we explore what the effects of climate change means for water security around the world and talk to four guests about the weaponization of water, water scarcity, international conflicts over water, and more. Guests: Scott Moore (Director, Penn Global China Program), Jasdeep Randhawa (International lawyer and policy specialist, currently working in the adaptation team at the United Nations Climate Change agency), Susanne Schmeier (Associate professor, IHE Delft), Michelle Toxopeus (Legal researcher, Helen Suzman Foundation).

What Does Climate Change Mean for Water Security?

Three months after the novel Coronavirus outbreak, companies across China are re-opening their doors for business. On March 19, Beijing announced that there were no new local infections. In fact, the country where the COVID-19 outbreak originated is now supporting other countries to fight the pandemic with material and medical staff. In this episode Joel Sandhu from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) sits down with Kun Tang to discuss how the Chinese government has been managing the Coronavirus pandemic and its potentially lasting impact on the lives of Chinese citizens. Kun Tang was a fellow with the Global Governance Futures 2027 program. He is an assistant professor at Tsinghua University’s Public Health Research Center. He also serves as the global health adviser of the Chinese Delegation to the World Health Assembly.

Kun Tang: China's Response to COVID-19

International cooperation and multilateral approaches are being strained by rising populism and nationalism. The unabated march of the novel coronavirus (COVID19) across the globe threatens to further entrench unilateral approaches and nationalistic attitudes at a time when a global response is needed to combat this pandemic. Yet, we see travel bans being introduced, countries closing their boarders, schools and offices closing their doors, and shortages of medical and household supplies on the rise. COVID19 is the most recent example of how seemingly unpolitical and unideological issues can be politicized, becoming a potentially decisive matter such as this year’s US presidential elections. In this episode, Joel Sandhu from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) talks with Mara Pillinger about what makes COVID19 so different from other epidemics and pandemics. Mara explains the difference between an epidemic and pandemic; whether travel bans could work to tackle COVID19; whether she thinks the US is doing enough to prepare itself for the pandemic; and now that its 2020, what impact is this pandemic going to have on the upcoming US elections. Mara is an Associate at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law School in Washington, DC where she is part of the Global Health Policy and Governance Initiative. Her research focuses on the political, organizational and power dynamics at work behind the scenes of the World Health Organization and major multisectoral global health partnerships.

Mara Pillinger: The Coronavirus Pandemonium

This episode marks the start of season two of the Global Futures podcast. Over the course of the next few months, we will tackle the future(s) of climate-related conflict, media and information and the politics of inequality with our fellows and other leading experts from around the world. How should we navigate the media landscape in a world where information is available at the touch of a button? In this podcast, Sonya Sugrobova sits down with Allister Fa Chang to learn about media literacy, the importance of critically analyzing what you see online, and how to approach teaching this skill. Allister is a Robert Bosch Stiftung Fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin, where he researches on media literacy and disinformation. Previously, Allister was the executive director of Libraries Without Borders, a non-profit organization that has innovated library partnerships in over 25 countries.

Allister Fa Chang: Can Media Literacy Save Us?

As Beijing marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China with an enormous military parade, protests have erupted again in Hong Kong where the national day was marked by bursts of violence as riot police deployed to major street corners, locked down the city, and clashed with protesters. Hong Kongers have been fighting to preserve the autonomy and freedoms they are granted by the “one country, two systems” policy – freedoms that do not apply to Chinese citizens on the mainland. Since Hong Kong was handed over to China by the United Kingdom in 1997, Hong Kongers have felt Beijing’s increasing encroachment on their civil liberties. Many of them, especially from the younger generation, now fear that the city will lose its unique character and feel the need to fight back to protect their identity and way of life. In this episode, Katharina Nachbar from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) talks with Joel Sandhu about his recent visit to Hong Kong and the impressions he took away from speaking to academics, business leaders and locals in a city that has seen over three consecutive months of protests and riots. He also reflects on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and what it means for Hong Kong. Joel is a project manager at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin, where he heads the Global Governance Futures – Robert Bosch Foundation Multilateral Dialogues (GGF) program and leads GPPi’s work on global order. Katharina manages communications at GPPi.

Joel Sandhu: What's Next for Hong Kong?

Indonesia, an archipelago comprising of approximately 17,000 islands, holds just one percent of the Earth’s land area, but that one percent contains contain 10 percent of the world’s known plant species, 12 percent of mammal species, and 17 percent of all known bird species, making Indonesia biodiversity hotspot. The greatest threats to this biodiversity are habitat degradation and fragmentation, landscape changes, overexploitation, pollution, climate change, alien species, forest and land fires, and the economic and political crises occurring in the country. There’s a lot at stake. Indonesia’s future environmental policy is of critical importance. In this episode, Joel Sandhu from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) sits down with Aidy Halimanjaya to talk about environmental issues in Indonesia, public opinion and how the President, Joko Widodo, will address these issues. Aidy is a researcher, consultant and affiliate at the Padjadjaran University Center for Sustainable Development Goals Studies in Indonesia. She is currently working as an advisor on climate finance for Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry. She was also a GGF 2030 fellow.

Aidy Halimanjaya: Tackling Environmental Threats in Indonesia

Cities are often described as sites of democracy at its deepest level – places where state actors are closest to citizens and their needs and the opportunities to plan and implement policies together are the greatest. Protest and frustration are also frequently the most intense when local governments are the target: Civil society advocacy groups and activist movements often assume that government will respond in a particular way, believing that if they clearly articulate a need, the authorities will deliver what they are asking. They are more often than not disappointed. But those citizens who are better equipped with an understanding of the "logics" of government are better able to use the levers available to them in their democracy to influence it. Gaining this understanding requires getting inside the "corridors of power.” In this episode, Joel Sandhu from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) discusses citizen-led change at the city level with Jodi Allemeier. Jodi is a Global Governance Futures 2030 Fellow and a program lead at the Economic Development Partnership in Cape Town, South Africa, where she focuses on adaptive and collaborative approaches to urban development, and delivers partnering solutions to public sector-led processes. Joel and Jodi talk about the tactics of activists in Cape Town, and how ordinary citizens could use them to better understand the logics of the state and develop strategies that recognize that democracy is not a dialogue, but a tussle.

Jodi Allemeier: South African Lessons for City Activism

From the yellow vests movement to critiques on his political acumen throughout the “Great National Debate”, Emmanuel Macron has faced many public challenges to his presidency over this past year. The people of France had high hopes for their new centrist leader post-election, but through his term we have seen his approval rating fall. In this episode of the Global Futures podcast, Joel Sandhu from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) sits down with Sophie Pedder to discuss the Macron presidency and contemporary France-EU politics. Sophie Pedder is The Economist’s Paris Bureau Chief responsible for the paper’s political and economic coverage of France. The paperback of her latest book, “Revolution Française: Emmanuel Macron and the Quest to Reinvent a Nation” (Bloomsbury, 2018) is out now. Here she is to talk about Macron’s plan and action for a more unified and global France, his pro-EU vision, the upcoming EU Parliament Elections, and Macron’s persona outside of the public eye.

Sophie Pedder: Who is Emmanuel Macron?

In May 2019, American and Taliban negotiators began a new round of peace talks in Doha, Qatar, hoping to settle the nearly two-decade long conflict in Afghanistan. The talks are aimed at securing a lasting peace agreement that includes Taliban guarantees regarding terrorism and a phased withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. Like many others with an interest in resolving the conflict, India and Germany will be paying close attention. In this episode, Joel Sandhu from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) talks to Aryaman Bhatnagar about Afghanistan’s recent peace talks, their relevance to Indian and German Afghan policy, and where the two can collaborate. Aryaman is a former project manager and advisor for Friedrich Ebert Stiftung India’s Peace and Security program, a Global Governance Futures 2027 Alumni, and a German Chancellor Fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), where he focuses on Germany’s foreign policy and its engagement with Afghanistan.

Aryaman Bhatnagar: What Are the Prospects for Indian-German Cooperation on Afghanistan?

In this episode, Thorsten Benner from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) talks to Maria Laura Canineu about police violence, the prison system and human rights in Brazil under the government of President Jair Bolsonaro. Maria Laura Canineu is the Brazil Director in the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch. She directs a team of public lawyers handling human rights issues. She has focused her efforts on protecting and promoting the rights of children, women, workers, members of the LGBT community, and indigenous people. Before that, Maria spent several years building the capacity of human rights NGOs in São Paulo, focusing on issues ranging from poverty reduction to corporate social responsibility.

Maria Laura Canineu: The State of Human Rights in Brazil

In this episode of the Global Futures podcast, Joel Sandhu from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) sits down with Andres Schipani in Sao Paulo, Brazil. They talk about the role that cities can have in national and international politics and how cities could be more active on the global arena. Andres Schipani is the Brazil correspondent for the Financial Times. Before moving to São Paulo, he was the newspaper's Andes correspondent, covering Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, as well as parts of the Caribbean. Before that, he worked in the Financial Times' New York bureau as a markets and emerging markets reporter.

Andres Schipani: Cities as the Last Line of Defense

Hong Kong has recently returned to the spotlight, as China cracks down on critics and pro-democracy activists in the city. Many Hong Kong observers see the erosion of the city’s civil liberties and democratic freedoms as a sign of China breaching the “one country, two systems” framework – established at the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China – which allows the region to retain an economic and administrative system separate from that of China. In this episode of the Global Futures podcast Joel Sandhu from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) is joined by Tze-wei Ng to talk about Hong Kong’s current status and its future. Tze-wei is a lecturer teaching media law, as well as a project and legal consultant in Hong Kong. She is also a GGF 2030 fellow.

Tze-wei Ng: Where is Hong Kong’s Lion Rock Spirit?

Cyril Ramaphosa took over as South Africa’s president when Jacob Zuma resigned in February 2018 following years of corruption scandals and what many consider gross economic mismanagement. Ramaphosa’s victory sparked optimism in a country tied down by recession, rising fuel prices and high levels of unemployment. But his party, the African National Congress (ANC), is still struggling to hold on to power ahead of the upcoming national elections in mid-2019. Cyril Prinsloo, a Global Governance Futures 2030 fellow and researcher in the Economic Diplomacy Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs, joins GPPi’s Joel Sandhu to talk about the achievements and shortcomings of President Ramaphosa during this first year in office as well as his hopes for South Africa.

Cyril Prinsloo: South Africa. Taking Stock of Ramaphosa's First Year in Office

Since the beginning of January 2019, Brazil has new president - Jair Bolsonaro - a right-wing, conservative, nationalist whose beliefs in country, God, and anti-corruption swayed many to vote him into Brazil’s highest office. In this episode Joel Sandhu from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) sits down with Matias Spektor exactly a year after their first conversation. Matias Spektor is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Fundação Getulio Vargas’s School of International Relations. He is also one of Brazil’s leading lights on matters of Brazilian foreign and domestic policies.

Matias Spektor: Brazil. Breaking an Addiction to Bad Governance

Global Futures is a podcast about global politics and how rising powers like China and India are changing it. We discuss foreign policy, economics, war and peace, and how the world is changing with experts from across the world.

Yaotzin Botello: Coronavirus in Latin America and in the New...