The Looking Glass is the premiere international relations podcast by The SAIS Review of International Affairs with support from the Foreign Policy Institute. Listen in on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or directly on this website.
Unpacking Digital Authoritarianism: Definitions and Considerations
Guest: Erol Yayboke, Director, Project on Fragility and Mobility and Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
March 27, 2023 – Digital Authoritarianism is a wide-ranging and, at times, difficult to define area of international security analysis. To help us tease out some key terms and analytical frameworks in this ever-evolving domain, we brought on international security expert and analyst Mr. Erol Yayboke, Director of the Project on Fragility and Mobility and Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
In 2020, Mr. Yayboke and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Plans and Posture Samuel Brannen jointly published a CSIS brief, “Promote and Build: A Strategic Approach to Digital Authoritarianism.” The publication puts forth a useful set of analytical concepts to develop a deeper understanding of the modern landscape of digital authoritarianism as a threat to global democracies and a force for the subversion of human rights, while also highlighting some specific key actors, models, and methods of the practice, and other overlapping challenges in our rapidly digitizing world. You can read Mr. Yayboke and Deputy Assistant Brannen’s full CSIS brief here.
This episode was hosted and produced by Noelle Boyd.
Obi or Not Obi: The 2023 Nigerian Elections
Guest: Ebenezer Obadare, Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
At the posting of this episode, Nigeria’s tightest presidential election in a generation has yet to be decided. However, Nigeria’s political map will never be the same after this election. This phenomenon has been years in the making. Joining us to discuss these dynamics is Ebenezer Obadare, Douglass Dillon senior fellow for Africa at the Council on Foreign Relations. Before joining CFR, Obadare was a political lecturer in international relations at the Obafemi Awolowo University from 1995 to 2001. His primary areas of interest are civil society and the state, and religion and politics in Africa.
This episode was produced by Abena Oduro and hosted by Kosi Ogbuli.
International Law and the Global South
Guest: Obiora Okafor, Edward B. Burling Chair in International Law and Institutions at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Perhaps the most important critique of modern international law has been the charge that it is a Eurocentric regime, which has helped to erect and defend a world of deep injustice characterized by violence, exploitation, and inequality. To reorient the discussion on international law, this episode of The Looking Glass explores International Law and the Global South with Professor Obiora Chinedu Okafor. Professor Okafor is the Edward B. Burling Chair in International Law and Institutions at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Professor Okafor has served, since August 2017, as the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and International Solidarity (one of the principal groups of human rights experts who advise and report annually to the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly) and a former Chairperson of the United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee (a Geneva-based committee of experts elected by the Human Rights Council to serve as its think tank and principal subsidiary organ).This episode was produced by Kosi Ogbuli.Articles/ Reports referenced: Re-defining legitimate statehood: international law and state fragmentation in Africa The third world and international order.
This episode was produced by Abena Oduro and hosted by Kosi Ogbuli.
Surveillance.com: Authoritarianism in a Digital Age
Guest: Maya Wang, Associate Director in the Asia Division, Human Rights Watch
February 6, 2023— This episode of The Looking Glass follows the rise of digital authoritarianism through China’s use of technology for mass surveillance, including the use of biometrics, artificial intelligence, and big data.
We discuss the export of digital authoritarianism to other parts of the world, the role of democracies in providing a better use case of technology, and technology’s relationship with human rights.
Joining us in this episode is Maya Wang. Maya Wang is the Associate Director in the Asia Division at Human Rights Watch. Wang has researched and written extensively on the use of torture, arbitrary detention, human rights defenders, civil society, disability rights, and women’s rights in China. In recent years, her original research on China’s use of technology for mass surveillance has helped galvanize international attention on these developments in China and globally.
This episode was produced by Abena Oduro and hosted by Kosi Ogbuli.
S4E4: Law & Justice: The Face of Polish Authoritarianism
July 11, 2022— This episode of The Looking Glass follows the rise of authoritarianism in Poland over the past forty years and considers the varied consequences; from rising tensions with the European Union, to the weaponization of conspiracy and revisionist history, to violations of human rights and threats to democracy. It considers the state of things, as well as the stakes–what it all means for Poles today and in the future.
Joining us in this episode are Professor Charles Gati of Johns Hopkins SAIS and American University Master’s candidate Abigail Steinsieck, whose testimonies shed light on how, when, and why Poland transitioned from a paragon of a post-Soviet democracy to a semi-authoritarian state–and what may be coming next.
This episode was produced by Mary Hopkins and Jen Roberts.
S4E3: Helping Hands: International Institutions in the War in Ukraine
June 30, 2022— This episode of The Looking Glass tackles the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and asks the question: what can international institutions do to intervene in this conflict? It explores challenges faced by these organizations and what policies they can put in place to solve these problems.
Join us as guests Nele Ewers-Peters, Jason Blessing, and Obiora Okafor as they discuss the historical role of NATO, the EU, and the UN and explore what options these institutions have in resolving this war, as well as further recommendations they have for what steps can be taken in the future.
This episode was produced by Derek Chuah and Jen Roberts.
S4E2: Gender Disinformation
March 25, 2022— This episode of The Looking Glass dives into the understudied field of Gender Disinformation. It explores how disinformation operations conducted against women are inherently different than their male counterparts. This episode combines the subjects of the last two SAIS Review issues, “Who Runs the World: A Look at Gender in International Affairs” and “Conflict in the Fifth Domain”, which focuses on cybersecurity.
Join us as guests Lucina Di Meco and Kristina Wilfore from #she-persisted, the only global initiative dedicated to tackling gender disinformation against women in politics, discuss what gender disinformation is, examine case studies, and reflect on the role social media companies play in perpetuating this issue.
This episode was produced by Jen Roberts.
S4E1: Choose Your Weapon: A Survey of Cybersecurity
January 10, 2022— Join hosts Jen Roberts and Derek Chuah as The Looking Glass enters its fourth season! This episode features a roundtable of cybersecurity professionals who discuss a variety of topics, ranging from how malware is implemented in cyberattacks to a review of the Biden Administration’s cybersecurity policies. Join us as we discuss choosing our weapon with Will Loomis, an Assistant Director at the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative, Ross Luo, a Software Engineer at Nvidia and a Cyber Officer in the Air Force Reserves, Justin Marinelli, an Analyst at the Department of Defense, and Alexandra Seymour, the Chief of Staff at CalypsoAI. This episode was produced by Jen Roberts and Derek Chuah.
S3E2: Happy Wife, Happy Life: China’s Commitment to Gender Equality in Africa
November 18, 2021— This episode of The Looking Glass examines recent changes in China’s posture regarding China-Africa relations, complimenting the SAIS Review’s latest print issue Who Runs the World: A Look at Gender in International Affairs. Join our guests Professor Zongyuan Zoe Liu, from Texas A&M University and Professor Maria Carrai from New York University Shanghai as they discuss the successes and struggles in promoting gender equality in Africa and motivations for pursuing gender equality on the continent.
S3E1: End of An Era: A Review of Chancellor Angela Merkel
September 20, 2021— “Who Runs the World: A Look at Gender in International Affairs,” The Looking Glass is kicking off our new season. Over the next few installments, we will be exploring different facets of gender and its role in policy. In this episode, we explore Chancellor Angela Merkel’s tenure. First, we examine some of her key policy successes and failures. Then, we look to the future, discussing what the upcoming German elections mean for the European Union and Germany. Join us as we talk with the President of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, Jeff Rathke, and Senior Fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations and SAIS Professor, Matthias Matthijs.