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- A Savage Order, with Rachel Kleinfeld
11/09/2018
Can violent societies get better? Rachel Kleinfeld discusses her latest book, "A Savage Order: How the World's Deadliest Countries Can Forge a Path to Security." Her conclusion is ultimately optimistic: Though it's never easy, real democracy (not autocracy in disguise) and a vibrant middle class can provide a path out of violence.
11/09/18 - The Ethics of Personal Data Collection: A Spectrum of Experiences from Kenya, India, and The Gambia
11/05/2018
Many advocates now depend on mobile apps and crowdsourced data to address violations of human rights, such as physical assaults on women in India. In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, it is imperative to ask how inappropriate and illegal use of personal data by companies is likely to intersect with civil society movements and digital humanitarianism, particularly in areas of limited statehood.
11/05/18 - "Modern Slavery" with Siddharth Kara
01/30/2018
In his third book on slavery, which took 16 years of research, Siddharth Kara calculates that there are roughly 31 million slaves worldwide, at least half of them in South Asia. We need to apply much more resources and compassion to end "this horrible indignity."
01/30/18 - Let’s Be Frank: The Impact of Dodd-Frank and International Legislation on Congolese Extractive Industry
10/11/2017
President Trump proposes killing off elements of the Dodd-Frank Act that require energy and mineral resource companies to hold U.S. companies accountable for their use of conflict minerals. Bandi Mbubi explains the damage this will do to the Democratic Republic of Congo and lays out the complex situation in his native land, which suffers from poverty, autocracy, corruption, and a series of endless, bloody conflicts.
10/11/17 - Measuring Positive and Negative Peace with the Global Peace Index
09/21/2016
If you're running a business you need metrics to succeed, and it's the same with peace, says Steve Killelea, founder of the Global Peace Index. The Index provides empirical ways to measure both "negative peace"--the absence of violence and fear of violence--and "positive peace"-- attitudes, institutions, and structures which create and sustain peace.
09/21/16 - Can Wars Ever be Just or Are Wars Merely Justifiable?: The Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo
02/05/2016
From the standpoint of ethics of war, the conflict in the eastern region of the DRC would be deemed to be justifiable because it fills the criteria of war for a just reason and of legitimate war. On the other hand, in this ethical context as well we find ourselves not able to attribute any just qualities to the act of war, because war needs to preserve its independent identity.
02/05/16 - Tourism, Farmers, & Technology in Africa: Eddie Mandhry from NYU Africa House
03/04/2015
"What's been amazing is that across Africa there is a movement where people are adopting technologies and leapfrogging some of the developmental stages that you'd have to go through," says Eddie Mandhry.
03/04/15 - Ebola and Other Viral Outbreaks: Providing Health Care to the Global Poor in Times of Crisis
02/18/2015
Why were initial responses to the Ebola outbreak so disastrously inadequate? How can dysfunctional health systems--at all levels--be improved, so that this doesn't happen again? Dr. Klitzman of Columbia University and Dr. Karunakara, former international president of MSF, discuss these issues and more, including why doctors treating Ebola should not be called heroes.
02/18/15 - Do Celebrity Humanitarians Matter?
12/11/2014
Celebrity humanitarianism is alternately lauded for drawing media attention and fostering popular engagement and criticized on a number of ethical grounds. What can actor Ben Affleck's Eastern Congo Initiative teach us about the pros and cons of celebrity involvement?
12/11/14 - Security Threats in Africa: A Critical Perspective
10/10/2014
The U.S. is still seeing Africa from a Cold War perspective rooted in political realist thought, writes Africa security expert Metelits. But characterizing non-Western institutions as having a lack of governance and generalizing about political violence can lead to grave errors in assessing the threat environment.
10/10/14 - Peaceland: Conflict Resolution and the Everyday Politics of International Intervention
10/06/2014
Why do international peace interventions often fail to reach their full potential? Based on 15 years of research in conflict zones around the world, Autesserre shows that everyday behavior, such as the expatriates' social habits and actions caused by lack of local knowledge, strongly influence the effectiveness of many peacekeeping operations.
10/06/14 - A Conversation with Lieutenant-General Roméo A. Dallaire
10/02/2014
In this inspiring conversation, Dallaire talks about his faith in the principle of R2P--"one of the great innovations of our time"--and how to go about actually implementing it; the tragedy of Rwanda; and most of all, his work to prevent the use of child soldiers.
10/02/14 - The UN's Unprecedented Gamble in the Democratic Republic of Congo
10/28/2013
Laurie Mincieli: The Forward Intervention Brigade represents an unprecedented use of the Security Council's Chapter VII peacekeeping mandate, and risks undermining peacekeeping's core tenets of impartiality, consent of parties, and restrictions in the use of force.
10/28/13 - Using SMART Technology to Stop Wildlife Poachers
05/17/2013
Several major wildlife organizations collaborated on a free, open-source Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool to help park rangers improve their anti-poaching patrols.
05/17/13 - Of Africa
01/14/2013
In this masterful talk, Nobel-Prize winner Wole Soyinka focuses on Nigeria and Mali. Mali must be taken back, he declares. "To permit an enclave of extreme, violent fundamentalism [in Mali] is letting the door wide open to fundamentalist violence, not merely in Nigeria, but throughout West Africa."
01/14/13 - Fair Ideas for Saving the Planet
07/20/2012
There were some glimpses of a sustainable future at IIED's Fair Ideas conference in Rio, but local innovations still need to scale up and penetrate the mainstream.
07/20/12 - Dealing with "Enablers" in Mass Atrocities: A New Human Rights Concept Takes Shape
06/26/2012
Because mass atrocities are organized crimes, crippling the means to organize and sustain them--money, communications networks, and other resources--can disrupt their execution, writes George Lopez.
06/26/12 - What Does It Mean to Prevent Genocide?
06/20/2012
It's essential to understand that genocide is a process, not an event, says Tibi Galis from the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. It doesn't just happen out of the blue. So there are chances to step in and change the course of this process.
06/20/12 - Antonio Franceschet on the International Criminal Court
06/08/2012
What is the role of the International Criminal Court today? What are its strengths and limitations? In this informative interview, Professor Antonio Franceschet discusses the evolution of the ICC; its basic structure and function; and its current and future challenges.
06/08/12 - Blind to Reality: Invisible Children and the LRA
03/09/2012
The Kony 2012 documentary is over a decade too late, says Steven Costello. Promoting a "save the children" storyline (complete with a Joseph Kony awareness bracelet for just $30) to whip up less-than-nuanced public awareness is not only unhelpful; it is dangerous.
03/09/12