Global Insights

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Episodes

134

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Network 20/20’s Global Insights is a series of moderated conversations that brings together a curious global audience to dig deeper into macro-level and region-specific trends shaping our world.

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60 recent

June 9, 202630 min

The Kurdish Crossroads: Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria

Visit us at Network2020.org. Recent hostilities with Iran have once again highlighted the role of the Kurds as a key player in regional conflicts. While seen as a threat by governments in Ankara, Tehran, Damascus, and Baghdad, the world’s largest stateless group of people continues to be considered by Washington as potential allies when convenient. As the region faces new waves of destabilization, particularly with the war with Iran and the new Syrian government consolidating its territory, what will the role of the Kurds be across the region? How will the disparate views of 30-40 million people spread over four countries impact dynamics in this volatile region as well as for their own quest for independence? .Join us for a discussion with Bill Park, Visiting Research Fellow in the Defence Studies Department, King’s College, London, where we will examine how today’s rapidly shifting regional dynamics are creating both new opportunities and new vulnerabilities for Kurdish communities and whether potential support from the U.S. will be strong and sustainable or easily abandoned.Music by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay

May 26, 202636 min

Rising Proliferation: Nuclear Risks in a Post-Treaty World

Visit us at Network2020.org. The recent expiration of the New START treaty between the U.S. and Russia marks a structural shift in the global nuclear order, removing the last legally binding constraints on the world’s two largest arsenals. With no successor framework in place, the bilateral arms control architecture that has underpinned stability for decades is effectively suspended. In its absence, risks of vertical and horizontal proliferation are intensifying. According to the UN assessment, for the first time in decades, the number of nuclear warheads and nuclear testing is rising, and global military spending climbed to $2.7 trillion in 2025, an increase of 2.9% from the previous year. New records show that China is the fastest-growing nuclear power globally and is significantly expanding its nuclear weapons infrastructure, raising concerns about a potential new global arms race as major arms control agreements weaken.At the same time, emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, advanced sensors, and precision-strike capabilities, are reshaping the foundations of deterrence, complicating traditional approaches to verification and monitoring. This discussion will examine how the erosion of arms control is accelerating proliferation pressures, how technological change is altering the strategic landscape, and whether a new, credible system of nuclear restraint can still be constructed.Join us for an insightful virtual discussion on the new risks of global proliferation featuring David Albright, a Physicist and Founder of the non-profit Institute for Science and International Security, Alexandra Bell, President and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn, Senior Fellow and Director of Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security.Music by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay.

May 12, 202632 min

Cuba’s Future and U.S. Interests

Visit us at Network2020.org. Cuba is at a strategic crossroads as the near collapse of its national energy system reshapes the island’s political landscape. Intense U.S. sanctions and the loss of energy support from traditional partners like Venezuela have left the Cuban government in its most vulnerable state in decades. While Havana seeks diplomatic paths forward, the current U.S. administration sees an opportunity for changing a government that Washington has declared “an unusual and extraordinary security threat.” This crisis moment carries profound implications for U.S. foreign policy and for broader geopolitics.. What is the current situation in Cuba, and how is Washington’s geopolitical pressure impacting its governance? What role might other countries, like Russia, play in this situation? And what are most likely future scenarios for Cuba?Join us for an insightful discussion that explores the current state of affairs in Cuba and its future trajectory. Our speaker for this briefing will be Emily Mendrala, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.Music by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay.

April 28, 202636 min

Beyond Tariffs: The New Multipolar Trade Web

Visit us at Network2020.org. It has been just over a year since President Trump’s “Liberation Day” global tariff announcement. Since then, the global trade landscape has shifted as countries hedged against their traditional dependence on the U.S. market. Driven by the increasing use of trade as a political weapon and constant tariff disputes, long-time allies like Canada, the UK, and the EU are now diversifying their trade partnerships as evidenced by landmark moves like the new EU-India trade deal and recent diplomatic pivots toward China. How is the web of trade alliances being re-woven and what are the implications for Washington? How is the U.S. private sector adapting to this complex new reality? And will this move toward strategic autonomy lead to a more stable global equilibrium or simply spark more conflict between competing regional blocs?Join us for a discussion on the changing landscape of global trade, featuring Edward Alden, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Alice Slayton Clark, Senior Vice President of Trade, Investment and Digital Policy at the United States Council for International Business, and Dr. Adam Posen, President of the Peterson Institute for International EconomicsMusic by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay

April 14, 202635 min

How Russia Weaponized a Thousand Ships

Visit us at Network2020.org. In response to the unprecedented economic sanctions put on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow spent over $10 billion on building a “shadow fleet,” accelerating a practice that countries such as Venezuela and Iran have used to circumvent sanctions. In addition to sanctions evasion, shadow fleets often operate under false flags, lack proper insurance, and pose serious risks of spills, collisions, and abusive labor conditions. Furthermore, the EU has linked the shadow fleet directly to Russia’s hybrid warfare operations, including recent damage to power and telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea. As global shipping comes under new scrutiny with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the ability of the shadow fleet to undermine Washington’s strategy raises new concerns. What does the web of shadow fleet shipping look like? What impact has the war with Iran had on the fleet? And what strategies can be used to counter this practice?Join us for a discussion on how Russia’s shadow fleet is challenging the global maritime order, featuring Michelle Wiese Bockmann, Maritime Intelligence Analyst and Writer specializing in sanctioned oil flows and Elisabeth Braw, Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.

April 7, 202627 min

Recap: What's Next for the Global Order?

Visit us at Network2020.org. Three weeks into 2026, the United States removed a foreign head of state by force, threatened to take territory from a NATO ally, and backed a crackdown in Iran. Since this conversation was recorded in late January, the Supreme Court has struck down the president's sweeping tariffs, U.S. and Israeli strikes have killed Iran's supreme leader, and Europe has begun the largest military buildup since the Cold War.How dead is the U.S.-led rules-based order? What, if anything, might replace it? Will the emerging international system be shaped by cooperation or by competition and conflict? What roles will major powers — including China, the EU, and the BRICS — play in what comes next? And will the United States continue to act as a global enforcer, or has it become something else entirely?Join us for a discussion featuring Professor Amitav Acharya, UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance, and Distinguished Professor at the School of International Service at American University, and author of The Once and Future World Order: Why Global Civilization Will Survive the Decline of the West; Professor Daniel Drezner, Academic Dean and Distinguished Professor of International Politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University; and Professor Stacie Goddard, the Betty Freyhof Johnson ’44 Professor of Political Science and Associate Provost for Wellesley in the World at Wellesley College. Together.Music by StudioKolomna from Pixabay.

March 31, 20261 min

Global Insights Goes Biweekly (For Now)

Visit us at Network2020.org. Over the past several months, Global Insights has covered some of the biggest stories shaping the world, from the war in Iran to U.S. action in Venezuela to the shifting global energy landscape. Starting now, we're moving to a biweekly release schedule through the summer, with new episodes dropping every other week. We'll be back to weekly in September. In the meantime, catch up on any episodes you may have missed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, and find more from Network 20/20 on our website.Music by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay.

March 24, 202638 min

U.S. Strategy in the Western Hemisphere

Visit us at Network2020.org. With the 2025 National Security Strategy placing renewed emphasis on the Western Hemisphere, Washington appears poised to engage more actively in Latin America than at any time in the past three decades, prioritizing challenges such as migration, transnational crime, and growing geopolitical competition with China. At the same time, several nations, including Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Haiti, and Peru, are preparing for presidential elections in 2026, with analysts anticipating continued political polarization.What are the political and economic implications of this strategic shift for Latin American countries during a new electoral cycle? How are governments across the region responding to Washington’s evolving policy approach? Could a renewed U.S. focus on the hemisphere generate new flows of investment and economic engagement? And what are the implications of Washington getting distracted by other foreign policy priorities?Join us for an insightful virtual discussion that will examine how the Trump administration may seek to reassert U.S. influence in the region, and how heightened political and economic volatility, as well as an upcoming Latin American electoral cycle may impact this strategy. This conversation features Mr. Jason Marczak, Vice President and Senior Director at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center and Dr. Monica de Bolle, Macroeconomist and Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.Music by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay

March 17, 202630 min

Transatlantic Relations Under Trump: Challenges and Options

Visit us at Network2020.org. The alarm bells have been ringing in Europe over the past few years, signaling that Europe’s traditional reliance on the American security umbrella has passed its expiration date. With Washington dramatically rewriting its relationship with Brussels, from European security to climate change, while still requiring Europe’s cooperation on China policy and beyond, the need to rethink the foundations of this multigenerational alliance is urgent. At the same time, the 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy contains unusually direct language about Europe’s strategic trajectory, including urging Europe to “regain its civilizational self-confidence” and move away from what the document calls a “failed focus on regulatory suffocation.” What do such characterizations mean for transatlantic relations? Where do the gaps between Washington’s and Brussels’ goals truly lie, and where might a renewed basis for cooperation emerge?Join us for a discussion that explores the future of transatlantic relations under the Trump administration, featuring Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director at the European Council on Foreign Relations.Music by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay.

March 10, 202624 min

Recap: Iran After Khamenei, a Conversation with Dr. Arash Azizi

Visit us at Network2020.org. The killing of Ali Khamenei in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes has thrust Iran into uncharted territory. With its supreme leader gone, dozens of senior officials dead, and a war now spreading across the region, the Islamic Republic faces the most serious crisis in its history. A new supreme leader has been named, Khamenei's own son, but the regime's fractured power centers, a devastated military, and a population that overwhelmingly rejected the system long before the bombs fell raise urgent questions about what comes next. Can the Islamic Republic survive in any recognizable form? Will the competing factions inside the regime hold together or tear the country apart? And what does a post-Khamenei Iran mean for the region and for the United States?In this special edition of Global Insights, we revisit a conversation recorded a few weeks before the strikes and now reads as a roadmap to the current crisis. Our speaker is Dr. Arash Azizi, Postdoctoral Associate and Lecturer at Yale University, Contributing Writer at the Atlantic, and a leading expert on Iranian history and political movements.Music by Sergii Pavkin from Pixabay.