Global Connections Television Podcast Bill Miller

Laura Hagg, Director for Capacity Building and Governance with the International City County Management Association (ICMA), has a career of more than 30 years of experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors in the United States and internationally in the fields of local governance, economic development, public outreach, communications, and strategic policy efforts. Technical assistance programs are mutually beneficial to the US and the host country. Previously she worked in 16 cities in Ukraine to develop investment videos and encourage foreign investments. Given the massive amount of misinformation and disinformation, one of the greatest challenges is the anti-democratic phenomenon and the attacks on the Rule of Law, free speech and democratic elections, as opposed to an autocratic state that represses these freedoms. The media and educational systems have a responsibility to inform the public as to the opportunities of technical assistance programs, as well as beneficial organizations such as the United Nations.

Norman Solomon, American journalist, media critic, author and activist, discusses his latest book, “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine.”  Mr. Solomon was actively involved in launching RootsAction and the Institute for Public Accuracy. His main contention is that the governments and media inundate the public with unrealistic and false propaganda regarding the horrific nature and devastation of wars. Examples include President Bush’s illegal invasion of Iraq, as well as the terrible situations in Ukraine and the Israeli-Hamas war. Often, news media encourage the public to choose up sides, blindly accept the misinformation and ignore the diplomatic option to promote peace.  To end these conflicts, the US should re-prioritize its support of Ukraine and Israel and abide by the Leahy Amendment. If the public learns about the horrors of war, we will exert more influence upon the media and policymakers, as well as have a better-informed public.

Dr. Dale C. Copeland is a professor of international relations with a focus on trade, war and economic interdependence. His recent book is “A World Safe for Commerce: American Foreign Policy from the Revolution to the Rise of China.”  He discusses how trade dynamics have influenced America's approach to peace and conflict throughout history. By focusing on the current geopolitical landscape, particularly with regards to China, he reflects the historical tensions and opportunities of centuries of international trade and commerce. A major challenge is the delicate balance between expanding influence for resource access and avoiding trade disruptions that could lead to armed conflict.  One suggestion is to improve the overall trade expectations as a means to foster long-term peace and stability between nations, as well as comprehending interactions of globalization. Throughout history, many countries have shifted from peaceful policies to coercion and force in the pursuit of trade interests.

 Dr Peter Layton is a Visiting Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane Australia; a Royal United Services Institute Associate Fellow; London and a Fellow of the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group Canberra. He has extensive aviation and defense experience. His research interests include grand strategy, national security policies particularly relating to middle powers, defence force structure concepts and the impacts of emerging technology. He is the author of the book “Grand Strategy” and co-author of “Warfare in the Robotic Age.”   Advances in robotics are profoundly reshaping the world but so are any other things and not all of them are technological.   The character of warfare will be different in the robotic age but the nature of warfare remains Clausewitzian, that is war is waged for political objectives.   Robots may be considered as machines able to perform four basic tasks: sense, think, act and communicate.

Jonathan Granoff, president of the Global Security Institute, highlights the need to focus on the Rule of Law rather than Rule of War. The United Nations, although it is not perfect, is the only international organization that brings together countries of the world to deal with nuclear proliferation, climate change, human trafficking, poverty, hunger, empowering women, and scores of other challenges. Currently, there are about 13,000 nukes controlled by 9-nuclar power states.  Many countries are moving to expend trillions of dollars to modernize their nuclear stockpiles, which will add to the proliferation. Given that the US and Russia have withdrawn from several major international treaties, this creates an even more dangerous world.  The danger is even more severe when the Russian president denies the sovereignty of Ukraine and the former U.S. president basically ignores or violates international laws and treaties.  There is a lack of trust among the nations.

John Feffer, author of Splinterlands and current director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, summarizes how Donald Trump pursued illiberal internationalism versus liberal internationalism of Joe Biden.  Trump was semi-isolationist, cavorted with authoritarian leaders, and wanted to militarize the border between the US and Mexico.  Biden’s emphasis was to engage the US in the world through involvement in the UN, WTO and other multilateral institutions. The Israeli-Hamas War has resulted in over 30,000 deaths and reduced most of Gaza to rubble.  Biden has pushed for a two-state solution, working with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. It was alleged that 13 of the 13,000 employees of UNRWA collaborated with Hamas, which has prompted an automatic reaction of the US and some other funders to withdraw their financial support.  On another front, Republican Speaker of the House Johnson has refused to bring up a bill funding assistance to Ukraine.