'Now' Podcast Series

It is my pleasure to sit with an old colleague who is currently the Executive Director of the Institute for International Trade in the Faculty of the Professions, University of Adelaide, Peter Draper. Much change is afoot in the trade world. First a new Director General has been seated at the WTO, Ngozi Okonjo - Iweala. The DG has much to tackle in the WTO that has been crippled by member actions, especially the Trump Administration. In the Asia - Pacific a new 15 member RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership)
has been signed and China has signed an investment agreement with the EU, the CAI. And then there are the growing tensions between China and Australia. It was at this crucial moment, I was able to ‘grab’ my colleague for an in - depth discussion of global trade with a particular Asia - Pacific focus. Besides being the Executive Director of the Institute for International Trade in the Faculty of the Professions, University of Adelaide, Australia. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Research Foundation; non-resident senior fellow of the Brussels-based Euro
pean Centre for International Political Economy; Associated Researcher at the German Development Institute (DIE); and a Board member of the Australian Services Roundtable.

'Now', Ep 24: An Interview with Peter Draper on reforms to the WTO & new trade construction

This podcast interview with Danny Bradlow is the accompanying podcast to Danny's article, "Lessons from the Frontlines: What I Learned from My Participation in the G20". This article is the first in a series of examinations of former officials and others who have been directly involved in the workings of global summitry. The 'Summit Dialogue' series is intended to give us insights into how current global summitry actually makes, or fails to make, policy at the global governance level. Danny was the first head of the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) International Economic Relations and Policy Department. In this capacity, Danny represented the SARB in G20 and BRICS meetings during approximately two years ending in October 2014.  Enjoy both the article and the podcast.

Shaking the Global Order, Ep. 2: Danny Bradlow on South Africa's Participation in the G20

In this ‘Now’ podcast we explore the state of politics in South Africa and the continuing role of South Africa in international relations.  

South Africa has just gone through dramatic political change. First, Cyril Ramaphosa, long a member of the African National Congress (ANC), and a close colleague to Nelson Mandela, gained the presidency of the ANC. And then Ramaphosa and his colleagues were able to ‘ease out’ Jacob Zuma from the post of President of South Africa that Zuma has held for the last 9 years. The ANC will face national elections in 2019 with Cyril Ramaphosa likely as the President.

In the face of these changes I invited two colleagues and friends from South Africa to explore the impact of these changes and assess the prospects for Ramaphosa and his Party. Chris Alden is a professor of international relations at the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science.  My other colleague is Maxi Schoeman. She was a professor and head of the political sciences department at the University of Pretoria and is currently the deputy director of postgraduate studies and ethics at the faculty of humanities at the University of Pretoria.  Both have been deeply involved in researching and writing on the domestic and foreign policy of South Africa over the years. 

South Africa remains a critical actor on the African continent and is a member of the BRICS and the G20. Come listen to this ‘Now’ podcast.

‘Now’, Ep. 5: Chris Alden and Maxi Schoeman on South Africa in International Relations

The spread of Covid-19 across the globe dominates policy making everywhere. States have responded in a variety of ways; the consequences for these states are varying population spread and death tolls.  Though the virus began in China some of the most serious consequences have been felt in Europe particularly in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. 

It was my pleasure to invite into the virtual studio Torrey Taussig. I was particularly keen to discuss with her the efforts of the EU 27 and the European Commission to adopt collective European efforts to combat the virus. Torrey was with us at our virtual conference at Boston University in March hosted by the Global Development Policy Center (#GDP). There we launched the China-West Dialogue to discuss the future of global governance in the context of Covid-19 and other challenges, such as climate change. The virtual workshop was well attended and featured a keynote introduction by The Right Honourable Paul Martin. The former Canadian Prime Minister called on the #G20 to tackle climate change and the pandemic, noting that now is not the time to forsake multilateralism.

Torrey is currently a non-resident fellow in the Foreign Policy Program’s Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings. She is also a research director of the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School. Torrey focuses her research attention on U.S. foreign policy as well as European and Asian security issues.

Join us in our discussion on the European response to Covid-19.

‘Now', Ep.19: Torrey Taussig on Europe’s Response to Covid-19

It was a pleasure to sit down again with Oliver Della Costa Stuenkel to discuss Brazil and indeed the region. This session with Oliver was designed to focus on Brazil’s response to the pandemic. It has become clear that Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has remained highly skeptical over ‘lock down’ measures to safeguard Brazilians. He has fired the Minister of Health and, more recently, the politically influential Justice Minister Sergio Moro has resigned and accused the President of criminal conduct. We were eager to understand how Brazilians viewed the President’s actions and the consequences for his government, especially the economic reforms from these various controversies. We also wanted to survey the effect of the pandemic on the major economies in the region. So, join us. 

Oliver is an associate professor of international relations at Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) in Sao Paulo. There, with several colleagues, he launched a new School of International Relations. Oliver has written extensively on the politics of the rising powers, including The BRICS and the Future of the Global Order and his most recent book from Polity, Post-Western World: How Emerging Powers are Remaking the Global Order. He is a frequent commentator on the Hemisphere in journals and in the media across the region.

'Now', Ep.20: Oliver Della Costa Stuenkel on Brazil’s Response to Covid-19

It is a pleasure to welcome back Tom Wright to the ‘Now’ Series to review the United Kingdom and Ireland’s responses to the pandemic.  Tom remains the director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution and a senior fellow there on the Project on International Order and Strategy. Tom has been very busy on examining Europe’s responses to Covid-19 as well as the Trump Administration’s response. He has also been closely following U.S.-China relations and the Trump efforts to ‘call-out’ China’s pandemic responses.

This podcast is one in a series in the ‘Now’ series on various responses to the pandemic including: Matthew Goodman from CSIS on the G20 response, Torrey Taussig from the Belfer Center at Harvard on Europe, and Oliver Della Costa Stuenkel from FGV on Brazil and Latin America.

Tom has been very active writing on contemporary politics and the impact of Trump on American foreign policy.  He continues his writing in The Atlantic magazine on what Democratic Party foreign policy might be for the upcoming Presidential 2020 contest. Tom’s most recent book is on U.S. foreign policy, titled, “All Measures Short of War: The Contest For the 21st Century and the Future of American Power” published by Yale University Press in May 2017.

‘Now’, Ep. 21: Brooking’s Thomas Wright on the United Kingdom and Ireland’s Responses to Covid-19

Lim Wonhyuk has long been involved in global governance issues and the role of Korea in in the regional and international system. I first got to know Lim Wonhyuk when we were both involved in Korea’s year of G20 hosting in 2010. It was a great pleasure to invite Lim Wonhyuk into the virtual studio to explore Korea’s seemingly successful effort to control the pandemic there. It is a fascinating story of earlier failure in public health leading to the current success of the government efforts and being able to hold an election on April 15th.

Lim Wonhyuk is currently teaching at SAIS in Washington D.C. as an Adjunct Lecturer. He is a professor at the KDI School of Public Policy and Management in South Korea. In 2010, Lim Wonhyuk helped to formulate the G20 Seoul Development Consensus for Shared Growth. In 2013, he became Vice President and Director of Department of Competition Policy at KDI. Most recently, he served as Associate Dean, Office of Development Research and International Cooperation, at KDI School. His recent publications include Understanding the Drivers of Trust in Government Institutions in Korea (OECD, 2018, co-edited), Improving Regulatory Governance (OECD, 2017, co -authored) and The Korean Economy: From a Miraculous Past to a Sustainable Future (Harvard, 2015, co-authored). He holds a PhD in Economics from Stanford University.

‘Now,' Ep. 22: Lim Wonhyuk on South Korea’s Response to Covid-19

It is a pleasure to welcome back Nick Bisley, an international relations expert from La Trobe University in Melbourne. We were keen to sit down with him in the virtual studio to examine Australia’s response to the global pandemic. We were most interested to understand the relative success of the Australian effort to flatten the curve of infections of the virus when it was clear that Australia had suffered a crisis of competence in dealing with the bush fires that had ravaged Australia in its summer. (Please listen to the ‘Now’ Series Ep. 18: an interview with Steven Slaughter ‘Australia Burning’: The politics of Climate Change in Australia”). The answers Nick provides are quite revealing of how Australia is well and badly governed. 

Nick is currently Head of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University in Melbourne and Professor of International Relations. Previously Nick served as the Executive Director of La Trobe Asia at La Trobe University. Nick is the author of many works on international relations, including Issues in 21st Century World Politics, 3rd Edition (Palgrave, 2017).

‘Now,’ Ep. 23: Nick Bisley on Australia’s Response to Covid-19

Join Professor Alan Alexandroff as he interviews fellow academics, policymakers, and former officials about global governance and the contemporary global order.

‘Now’, Ep. 5: Chris Alden and Maxi Schoeman on South Africa in International Relations

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