Deep Dish on Global Affairs – Details, episodes & analysis

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is in his third five-year term as the nation's president, putting him on track to stay in power for life at a time of severe economic challenges and rising tensions with the US. Nonresident senior fellow Paul Heer joins Deep Dish to argue the importance of engagement with China as a necessary component of US foreign policy. If we do not pursue it, he says, we are missing opportunities for a more peaceful coexistence between both countries and the world.  

This episode originally aired on August 4, 2022. 

Reading List: 

• The Next Taiwan Strait Crisis Has Arrived, Paul Heer, The National Interest, August 2, 2022  

• Engagement With China Has Not Failed, Paul Heer, The National Interest, July 14, 2022  

• Understanding U.S.-China Strategic Competition, Paul Heer, The National Interest, October 20, 2020 

Dive into the world of lasting change with Deep Dish! Join host Brian Hanson and author Sascha Haselmayer in a captivating exploration of 'The Slow Lane.' We’ll uncover the secrets behind why instant solutions often miss the mark, and how embracing patience and strategic thinking can pave the way for sustainable transformation to address global challenges.

Reading List 

• The Slow Lane: Why Quick Fixes Fail and How to Achieve Real Change, Sascha Haselmayer & Anne-Marie Slaughter, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, July 18, 2023 

The expulsion of Muslim schoolgirls for refusing to remove their abayas serves as a stark reminder of France's ongoing struggle to balance its historical commitment to laïcité with its growing religious and cultural diversity. The Council’s Ariel Schwartz joins host Brian Hanson to explore laïcité’s historical roots, modern challenges, and global implications in contemporary society.

At least 2,000 Middle Eastern migrants spent weeks trapped at checkpoints between Belarus and Poland—unable to legally enter the European Union and, until today, unable to return to Belarus or go home. Former US Ambassador to Poland Daniel Fried joins host Brian Hanson on Deep Dish to explain how Belarus’ strongman President Lukashenka weaponized these migrants as a tool of "hybrid war," and why Russia’s President Putin looms behind this crisis—and others—on Europe’s doorstep.

As countries finalize their commitments at the UN Climate Conference, COP26, soaring global energy prices and shortages around the world emphasize our world’s current dependence on fossil fuels. The Economist’s Vijay Vaitheeswaran and the Just Transition Initiative’s Sandeep Pai join Deep Dish to explain what the energy crisis tell us about the costs of a green energy transition and how to manage shocks in a way that ensures countries and communities with fewer resources are not left behind. 

Recent US intelligence and defense agency reports warn that a warming climate is a fundamental threat to US national security by raising geopolitical tensions, increasing instability, and driving mass migration. The Center for Climate and Security’s Erin Sikorsky and the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft’s Anatol Lieven join Deep Dish to examine what a climate-focused US national security and defense strategy might look like and how to balance other competing threats.

China’s rapid recent nuclear expansion—from a hypersonic missile test to hundreds of new nuclear missile silos—is a stark contrast to years of a minimum deterrence approach. To explain the shift, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Tong Zhao joins host Brian Hanson on Deep Dish to unpack China’s nuclear strategy, the need for nuclear stability, and how to avoid an arms race or worse.

2020 marked the most significant increase in US domestic terrorism in a quarter-century, data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies reveals. The University of Chicago’s Kathleen Belew and Robert Pape join Deep Dish to explain the trends they believe are driving the uptick and the role war and conflict play in shaping these groups.

Further Reading

• The Capitol Rioters Aren’t Like Other Extremists, the Atlantic, by Robert Pape

• What an Analysis of 377 Americans Arrested or Charged in the Capitol Insurrection Tells Us, Washington Post, by Robert Pape

• Bring the War Home by Kathleen Belew

• The Right Way to Understand White Nationalist Terrorism,  New York Times, by Kathleen Belew

For decades, American foreign policy on Taiwan has been rooted in strategic ambiguity, but after China’s President Xi Jinping’s call for “reunification” with Taiwan and record military presence near the island, is it time to rethink this approach? Rand Corporation’s Michael Mazarr and the Commander Michele Lowe join Deep Dish to explore the options in a constructive debate on the benefits—and costs—of a shift in policy.

The 2021 Chicago Council Survey shows Americans are on board with the majority of the Biden administration’s foreign policy agenda, which is focused on decisions that benefit everyday Americans. But when it comes to trade, there are important differences between public opinion and this approach to foreign policy. Council President Ivo Daalder and the American Enterprise Institute’s Kori Schake join Deep Dish to explain what Americans think of a "Foreign Policy for the Middle Class” and why the administration should reassess some of their assumptions.  

After the episode, explore the data.