Council of Councils
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Introduction
Over the last several decades, governments have collectively pledged to slow global warming. But despite intensified diplomacy, the world is already facing the consequences of climate…
Show Notes
The Munich Security Conference is the stage for crisis diplomacy amid high tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border, the world marks the fiftieth anniversary of former U.S. President Richard Nixon’s historic trip to China, and the UN Environment Programme issues its annual Frontiers report.
Books Mentioned on the Podcast
Margaret MacMillian, Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World (2007)
Reports and Statements Mentioned
Frontiers 2022: Noise, Blazes and Mismatches, UN Environment Programme, February 17, 2022
Joint Statement of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on the International Relations Entering a New Era and the Global Sustainable Development, The Kremlin, February 4, 2022
2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, February 15, 2022
Zelenskyy’s Diplomatic Drive, Japan’s New Leader, U.S. and Canadian Tariffs on China’s EVs, and More
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy intensifies efforts to galvanize greater political and financial support; Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will elect a new leader to become the next prime minister; the United States and Canada each impose a 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs); and Sri Lanka’s new president, Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayake, calls for national elections.
Diplomacy and International Institutions
The UN General Assembly begins its seventy-ninth high-level debate amid questions about its limited role in resolving major conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East; fears of a wider regional war grow as Hezbollah vows retaliation against Israel after thousands of pagers exploded across Lebanon; U.S. President Joe Biden hosts the leaders of the Quad in Wilmington, Delaware, to strengthen coordination in the Indo-Pacific region; and Russia seeks to add 180,000 troops to its army.
The U.S. Congress returns from its summer recess to try to pass a budget for federal discretionary programs before the fiscal year ends and avoid a government shutdown; the United States and other Western allies accuse Iran of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia, raising concerns over intensified strikes on Ukraine; Hungary faces a second deadline to pay a $221 million fine for breaking European Union asylum law, which President Viktor Orbán remains unwilling to follow; and China gifts Cambodia two newly built Type 056 corvette warships, raising questions about Beijing’s naval ambitions.