Global Insights

Network 20/20

Network 20/20’s Global Insights is a series of moderated conversations that brings together a curious global audience to dig deeper into macro-level and region-specific trends shaping our world.

  1. Recap: What's Next for the Global Order?

    3D AGO

    Recap: What's Next for the Global Order?

    Visit us at Network2020.org.  Three weeks into 2026, the United States removed a foreign head of state by force, threatened to take territory from a NATO ally, and backed a crackdown in Iran. Since this conversation was recorded in late January, the Supreme Court has struck down the president's sweeping tariffs, U.S. and Israeli strikes have killed Iran's supreme leader, and Europe has begun the largest military buildup since the Cold War. How dead is the U.S.-led rules-based order? What, if anything, might replace it? Will the emerging international system be shaped by cooperation or by competition and conflict? What roles will major powers — including China, the EU, and the BRICS — play in what comes next? And will the United States continue to act as a global enforcer, or has it become something else entirely? Join us for a discussion featuring Professor Amitav Acharya, UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance, and Distinguished Professor at the School of International Service at American University, and author of The Once and Future World Order: Why Global Civilization Will Survive the Decline of the West; Professor Daniel Drezner, Academic Dean and Distinguished Professor of International Politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University; and Professor Stacie Goddard, the Betty Freyhof Johnson ’44 Professor of Political Science and Associate Provost for Wellesley in the World at Wellesley College. Together. Music by StudioKolomna from Pixabay.

    28 min
  2. U.S. Strategy in the Western Hemisphere

    MAR 24

    U.S. Strategy in the Western Hemisphere

    Visit us at Network2020.org.  With the 2025 National Security Strategy placing renewed emphasis on the Western Hemisphere, Washington appears poised to engage more actively in Latin America than at any time in the past three decades, prioritizing challenges such as migration, transnational crime, and growing geopolitical competition with China. At the same time, several nations, including Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Haiti, and Peru, are preparing for presidential elections in 2026, with analysts anticipating continued political polarization. What are the political and economic implications of this strategic shift for Latin American countries during a new electoral cycle? How are governments across the region responding to Washington’s evolving policy approach? Could a renewed U.S. focus on the hemisphere generate new flows of investment and economic engagement? And what are the implications of Washington getting distracted by other foreign policy priorities? Join us for an insightful virtual discussion that will examine how the Trump administration may seek to reassert U.S. influence in the region, and how heightened political and economic volatility, as well as an upcoming Latin American electoral cycle may impact this strategy. This conversation features Mr. Jason Marczak, Vice President and Senior Director at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center and Dr. Monica de Bolle, Macroeconomist and Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Music by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay

    39 min
  3. Crude Power: The U.S. Pivot to Oil and the Future Energy Mix

    MAR 3

    Crude Power: The U.S. Pivot to Oil and the Future Energy Mix

    Visit us at Network2020.org.  The year 2026 kicked off with a massive shake-up in U.S. foreign and energy policy. Through bold action, the Trump administration is signaling its conviction that global power lies in controlling physical energy reserves, such as those in Venezuela, rather than adhering to international climate treaties. By planning to invest billions into fixing Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, the U.S. aims to flood the market with cheap crude oil and push prices down to $50 a barrel. This strategy is designed to weaken foreign oil monopolies in the Western Hemisphere, starve rival world powers of export revenues, and collapse the energy lifelines that have sustained ideologically aligned neighbors of Venezuela. What will be the strategic impact of this situation on countries like China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba? What are the costs and benefits for private oil companies investing in a market defined by a history of expropriation? How will cheap crude impact the global energy transition and the growing power demands of the AI revolution? Join us for a discussion on the vision for the U.S. energy strategy and how that fits into the future global energy mix, featuring Dr. Caroyln Kissane, Associate Dean of the graduate programs in Global Affairs and Global Security, Conflict, and Cybercrime at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs, Robert McNally, Founder and President of Rapidan Energy Group and White House energy advisor to President George W. Bush and Dr. Francisco Monaldi, Director of the Latin America Energy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute. Music by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay.

    35 min
  4. The Future of the United Nations

    FEB 17

    The Future of the United Nations

    Visit us at Network2020.org.  Geopolitical tensions, combined with shifting priorities in Washington, are pushing the United Nations into a moment of severe institutional uncertainty. A serious financial crisis has led to hiring freezes, staff cuts, and reductions in core functions, with the Secretary-General warning that the liquidity crisis could undermine essential operations and lead to a breakdown in the organization’s regular functioning if delays persist. At the same time, debates over Security Council reform are resurfacing, and there are growing demands for an adjustment to the Council’s structure and decision-making process. What reforms are realistic in a fractured international system? And what happens when global problems outpace the institutions designed to manage them? Join us for a discussion with Ambassador Aglaia Balta, permanent Representative of Greece to the UN, Ambassador Christopher Lu, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN for Management and Reform, and Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana to the United Nations in New York. This discussion will be moderated by Dr. Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu, Clinical Professor and director of the United Nations (UN) Specialization at the Center for Global Affairs, School of Professional Studies (SPS), New York University. This event is co-hosted with the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC CUNY). Music by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay.

    37 min

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Network 20/20’s Global Insights is a series of moderated conversations that brings together a curious global audience to dig deeper into macro-level and region-specific trends shaping our world.

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