The World Next Year: Transitioning Into 2021

Hosts James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon are joined by Shannon K. O’Neil to unpack the extraordinary year of 2020, and forecast international challenges and developments in 2021.

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Hosts
  • James M. Lindsay
    Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
  • Robert McMahon
    Managing Editor
Episode Guests
  • Shannon K. O'Neil
    Vice President, Deputy Director of Studies, and Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies

Show Notes

In this special year-end episode of The World Next Week, James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon are joined by Shannon K. O’Neil, CFR’s vice president, deputy director of studies, and Nelson and David Rockefeller senior fellow for Latin America Studies. Lindsay, McMahon, and O’Neil break down the supply chain challenges that come with distributing COVID-19 vaccines, what’s on President-Elect Joe Biden’s foreign policy agenda, and the impacts of disinformation in the United States and beyond.

Russia

Russia holds its presidential election with the Kremlin aiming to orchestrate a sweeping endorsement of President Vladimir Putin; the U.S. Congress continues its partisan battles over the 2024 budget as concerns of shutdown and aid to allies mount; the U.S. Library of Congress flexes its soft power by awarding Elton John and Bernie Taupin with the Gershwin Prize; and the crisis in Haiti worsens.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Negotiators attempt to establish a six-week cease-fire and hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas before the start of the sacred Islamic month of Ramadan; Portugal holds a snap parliamentary election with a far-right party gaining traction; international films gain prominence at the ninety-sixth Academy Awards; and Chinese President Xi Jinping breaks with the thirty-year tradition of the premier’s press conference after the National People’s Congress.

United States

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers his last State of the Union address before elections to a polarized Congress; Iran holds its first parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections since the 2022 protests sparked by the death of activist Mahsa Amini; Bosnia and Herzegovina marks independence as ethnic divisions fester; and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) welcomes Sweden as its newest member state.

Top Stories on CFR

Immigration and Migration

Dara Lind, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the record surge in migrants and asylum seekers crossing the U.S. southern border.

Center for Preventive Action

Every January, CFR’s annual Preventive Priorities Survey analyzes the conflicts most likely to occur in the year ahead and measures their potential impact. For the first time, the survey anticipates that this year, 2024, the United States will contend not only with a slew of global threats, but also a high risk of upheaval within its own borders. Is the country prepared for the eruption of election-related instability at home while wars continue to rage abroad?

Central America