World Politics Review: Audio

Reforming Pakistan's Madrassas: Part II

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:18:05 GMT

In recent years there have been increasing attempts to reform Pakistan’s much maligned religious schools, known as madrassas. At a conference in Islamabad, WPR contributor Mustafa Qadri spoke to religious scholars and teachers about their attempts to broaden the pedagogical scope of Pakistan’s seminaries. The program, funded by the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, based in Washington, seeks to promote scientific and social disciplines, critical thinking among students, and foster dialogue among the different Muslim sects in Pakistan. Part II of a two-part report.

Reforming Pakistan's Madrassas: Part I

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:15:55 GMT

In recent years there have been increasing attempts to reform Pakistan’s much maligned religious schools, known as madrassas. At a conference in Islamabad, WPR contributor Mustafa Qadri spoke to religious scholars and teachers about their attempts to broaden the pedagogical scope of Pakistan’s seminaries. The program, funded by the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy based in Washington, seeks to promote scientific and social disciplines, critical thinking among students, and foster dialogue among the different Muslim sects in Pakistan. Part I of a two-part report.

Interview with Andrew Exum on Afghanistan

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:10:43 GMT

Andrew Exum is a fellow at the Center for a New American Security and author of the influential blog Abu Muqawama. He just returned from a month in Afghanistan, where he took part a 60-day review of strategy and operations convened by recently appointed U.S. and Coalition commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Exum graciously agreed to talk with WPR Managing Editor Judah Grunstein about his impressions from his trip. The views expressed here are his own, and do not reflect any U.S. government or military position, nor the views of the Center for a New American Security.

Australian Foreign Policy

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:43:48 GMT

PR contributor Luke Hunt speaks to former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser about Australia's new defense white paper, the war in Afghanistan and other matters.

Reporter's Notebook: Bhutan's Refugees

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:08:12 GMT

Don Duncan talks about his visit to refugee camps in eastern Nepal that house ethnic Nepalese that were expelled from Bhutan in the 1990s. The refugees in the camps are becoming increasingly radicalized, even as resettlement prospects brighten.

Nepal's Maoists

Fri, 23 May 2008 18:50:04 GMT

World Politics Review contributor Liam Cochrane talks to C.P. Gajurel, a high-level member of the central committee secretariat of Nepal's Maoists. Gajurel, who specializes in foreign affairs, is a long-time member of the Maoist movement that, due to a surprise April 2008 election victory, is now faced with governing the country.

Human Rights in Zimbabwe

Fri, 23 May 2008 17:15:19 GMT

World Politics contributor Vera Haller talks with Georgette Gagnon, executive director of the Africa division of Human Rights Watch, about the situation in Zimbabwe in the wake of March 29 elections and in the runup to a scheduled Jun 27 runoff.

Another North Korean Famine?

Fri, 09 May 2008 14:01:59 GMT

Humanitarian groups are urging donor countries to send food aid to North Korea immediately. They say the impoverished state is in danger of falling into famine once again. Jason Strother talks to Erica Kang of the Seoul-based NGO Good Friends about the situation.

The Other Side of NATO

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:33:51 GMT

Blake Lambert interviews Tamila Karpyk, a doctoral student who represented Canada at a "Young Atlantists" forum at the recent NATO Summit in Bucharest, Romania, about what she learned at the summit.

Italian Politics

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:07:14 GMT

WPR contributor Vera Haller interviews Alexander Stille about current Italian politics and Italy's upcoming election. Stille is a professor at Columbia university and the author of several books about contemporary Italy.

Kenya's Politics Crisis

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:53:39 GMT

As the Kenyan opposition and government appear to have reached an agreement to rewrite the country's constitution, World Politics Review Contributing Editor Blake Lambert interviews Dr. Tobias Karakach, a Kenyan research scientist living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, about the situation in his home country.

North Korea Nuclear Talks

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:36:12 GMT

As the new year dawned on Jan. 1, the North Korean government missed a deadline for dismantling a nuclear facility and for declaring nuclear materials. The deadline had been agreed as part of the six-party talks that include the United States, China, Japan, Russia, and North and South Korea. WPR contributor Jason Strother recently speaks to Daniel Pinkston of the International Crisis Group about the significance of the latest setback in the process.

Sudan's Coalition Government Falls Apart

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:27:07 GMT

Sudan's coalition government lies in ruin. The former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement yanked its ministers out of the government on Oct. 11. It originally joined its former foes in Khartoum after the two sides signed a comprehensive peace agreement in 2005. The Sudanese diaspora is worried about this turn of events. Asha Arabi's mother is from the south and her father is from the north. She's now a graduate student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and she spoke to WPR Contributor Blake Lambert about her country's crisis.

China's Investment in Latin America

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:38:17 GMT

WPR Contributor Kelly Hearn Talks to Evan Ellis, an expert on Chinese investment and trade in Latin America. Ellis is an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton and an adjunct professor at the University of Miami. What are China's interests in Latin America, and should the United States be worried about increasing Chinese influence in its back yard? Ellis analyzes all the issues at stake in detail, and gives a comprehensive view in particular of Chinese investment in Latin American energy.

Indian Democracy

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:07:50 GMT

In cooperation with the Hudson Institute, we look at Indian democracy. On Sept. 5, 2007, Aftab Seth, former Indian ambassador to Japan, Vietnam and Greece, spoke at the Hudson Institute in Washington. Seth discussed the role India's democratic example can play in Asia.

Interview with Wang Juntao

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:52:44 GMT

Chinese dissident Wang Juntao, one of the figures charged by the Chinese government with helping to orchestrate the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, talks with WPR contributor Kelly Hearn about China.

China's 'Charm Offensive'

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 19:39:35 GMT

A conversation with Joshua Kurlantzick, author of "Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power is Transforming the World." Kurlantzick is a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a correspondent for the New Republic and the American Prospect.

Prospects for Peace in Ivory Coast

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:05:16 GMT

Blake Lambert interviews Appia Kabran, vice president of Ivory Coast's National Congress of Resistance for Democracy. Appia's group is supportive of Ivory Coast's current president, Laurent Gbagbo, but Kabran expresses hope that elections next year will peacefully resolve divisions between the government and the rebel New Forces led by Guillaume Soro.

Jose Padilla Allegedly Talks Jihad

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:45:07 GMT

The trial of terror suspect Jose Padilla in Miami is ongoing, and is expected to conclude at the end of August. In this podcast, WPR contributor Carmen Gentile, who has been covering the trial for the Washington Times newspaper, provides a window into the prosecution's case against Padilla with an audio excerpt of a phone conversation prosecutor's allege is laced with code words about jihad.

Ghana Discovers Oil

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:37:51 GMT

Contributor Blake Lambert interviews John Boadu, an official with Ghana's governing New Patriotic Party, about the recent discovery of oil in the country, and how Ghana can avoid the pitfalls encountered by many other African states with oil wealth.

Cyberwar: An Interview With John Arquilla

Wed, 30 May 2007 18:57:50 GMT

In this podcast, we look at the phenomenon of cyberwar in a conversation with one of the world’s foremost experts on the subject. John Arquilla is a professor of defense analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and the author, with David Ronfeldt, of "Networks and Netwar: The Future of Terror, Crime and Militancy," a 2002 book that is a modern classic on the subject of next-generation warfare.

Mugged by Reality in Iraq: Part III

Fri, 18 May 2007 22:21:07 GMT

In cooperation with the Hudson Institute, we feature Part III of a speech by John Agresto, former senior advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority for Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq. Agresto, who was formerly president of St. John’s College, is the author of “Mugged by Reality: The Liberation of Iraq and the Failure of Good Intentions.” On May 7, Agresto gave a speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington in which he talked about his experience in Iraq, and the causes of the United States’ failures there. Due to its length, the speech is in three installments.

Mugged by Reality in Iraq: Part II

Fri, 18 May 2007 22:06:26 GMT

In cooperation with the Hudson Institute, we feature Part II of a speech by John Agresto, former senior advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority for Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq. Agresto, who was formerly president of St. John’s College, is the author of “Mugged by Reality: The Liberation of Iraq and the Failure of Good Intentions.” On May 7, Agresto gave a speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington in which he talked about his experience in Iraq, and the causes of the United States’ failures there. Due to its length, the speech is in three installments.

Mugged by Reality in Iraq: Part I

Fri, 18 May 2007 21:52:48 GMT

In cooperation with the Hudson Institute, we feature Part I of a speech by John Agresto, former senior adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority for Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq. Agresto, who was also formerly president of St. John’s College, is the author of “Mugged by Reality: The Liberation of Iraq and the Failure of Good Intentions.” On May 7, Agresto gave a speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington in which he talked about his experience in Iraq, and the causes of the United States’ failures there. Due to its length, the speech is in three installments.

Tibet Activists Detained by Chinese

Mon, 07 May 2007 21:16:13 GMT

Liam Cochrane interviews Tenzin Dorjee, deputy director of Students for a Free Tibet, after Dorjee and four compatriots were detained by Chinese officials last month. The activists were arrested after staging a protest of Chinese occupation of Tibet at Mount Everest Base Camp. Chinese officials were preparing to test carrying the 2008 Olympic torch to the mountain's summit.