ABROADcast Journal of International Affairs (SIPA)

This week on ABROADcast, we explore the work of agencies such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the wider UN system in refugee and migration crises. Alyssa Horvat, a humanitarian peace and security unit Coordination and Liaison Officer with the IOM, joins us to share her stories delivering humanitarian aid in Turkey, Bangladesh, and Yemen. Listen in to learn what challenges she faces working in mass crises, including the Rohingya refugee crisis, and what motivates her to conduct this work with the IOM in this week's episode.

For more on this topic, visit:

https://www.iom.int/

https://reliefweb.int/

For more from ABROADcast and the Columbia University Journal of International Affairs, visit our website at https://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/.

Over the course of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a new player has emerged on the battlefield: private tech giants such as SpaceX, Microsoft, Google, and more. These companies have supplied potentially game-changing technology and services to the Ukrainian government in the latest demonstration of private technology firms' power to influence the course of war. With this paradigm emerging, it has become necessary for us to grapple with a number of questions: what are these companies doing in Ukraine, and why? Is this phenomenon unique to the war in Ukraine, or has it occurred in other conflicts? What are the potential consequences of these companies' involvement in Ukraine and elsewhere? Join our conversation with Emelia Probasco, a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology, as we explore these questions and more.

For more on this topic, visit:

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/big-tech-goes-war 

https://cset.georgetown.edu/

@EmmyProbasco

For more from ABROADcast and the Columbia University Journal of International Affairs, visit our website at https://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/.

ABROADcast is back for its third season with a brand new set of themes, ideas, and voices! In this introductory episode, the team recaps Season 2 and introduces our theme for Season 3: Thinking Outside the State. In this season, we center the voices and explore the roles of non-state actors in our state-centric world. Be sure to tune in every Tuesday for a new episode exploring how non-state actors are shaping every facet of contemporary foreign affairs.

Tune in for a recap of Season 2 and some listener feedback. See you in Season 3!

In 2016, one of the world's longest running conflicts came to an end after a five decade struggle. Colombia's re-elected President, Juan Manuel Santos, after directing the war as the country's Minister of Defense decided that it was time for his country to heal and began negotiations between his government and the FARC. What he soon realized is that he would not only have to convince the FARC that it was time to end the conflict but those who had been affected their entire lives because of the fighting between the two factions. Join us as President Santos shares his experience becoming a peacemaker and shares the lessons he learned that could help end other conflicts around the world.

Over the past several years you have probably heard the term "misinformation" or "Fake News" thrown around a lot. What is misinformation? Is it disinformation? What about this term mal-information? To help clear up a few of these questions we are joined by Captain Margaret Smith, Ph.D. from the Modern War Institute at West Point. In our discussion, we talk about the role of social media plays in the spread of misinformation, our natural cognitive biases that make us susceptible to misinformation, and discuss ways in which you can counter the spread of false information.   



Articles mentioned in the interview: 

1. https://warontherocks.com/2021/05/more-than-a-buzzword-diversity-can-help-defeat-disinformation/

2. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/12/the-things-we-cant-face/600769/

3. https://www.nature.com/articles/2041118a0

4. https://www.sixthandi.org/event/how-to-stop-a-civil-war/