Podcasts about pearson institute

In this episode, Professor Benjamin Lessing unpacks the dynamics of organized crime and informal governance in Brazil. He discusses how extra-legal organizations operate as alternative authority structures—stepping into the vacuum left by weak state presence. Traditional law enforcement often fails to dismantle them, requiring innovations in policymaking aimed at reducing violence in the country. Lessing highlights what works—and what doesn't—when the state seeks to reassert its authority. Professor Benjamin Lessing is a political scientist at the University of Chicago, specializing in criminal governance, state capacity, and Brazilian politics. This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org.  Podcast Production Credits: Interviewing: Isabella Nascimento, Fernanda Garcia, Gil do Vigor Editing: Megha Viswanath Production: Isabella Nascimento 

We first became aware of the story at the heart of this episode over three years ago. Details were scarce at the time, but we knew that heat casualties had been a major issue for units at Defener Pacific... except for one company that was completely unaffected. And as it turned out, that company had been doing afternoon physical training to deliberately prepare for the heat (plus leveraging H2F experts to optimize the training). Our guest for this episode was the commander of that company at the time, and he provides a ton of insight into how good training management left his company with zero heat casualties while the battalion experienced 45. MAJ Christian Wardynski is an Instructor of Economics in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy at West Point, which he also graduated from in 2014. After graduating Engineer BOLC, Chris served in the 54th BEB, 173rd IBCT in Vicenza, Italy as a Light Equipment PL, Sapper PL, and BN Air Officer. Most recently, he served as the Company Commander for Bravo Company, 37th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from West Point, a Master of Science in Engineering Management from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago where he also served as a fellow at the Pearson Institute. Chris and his wife, Jackie, have four daughters.He also provided a bunch of clarifying notes that we'll share here:He said the DoD vs. VA alignment is a Principal-Agent Problem, but as he described it, it would probably fit the definition of a negative externality better - the DoD's decisions to "overuse"/ or under-rehabilitate soldiers impose uncompensated long-term healthcare costs on the VA (and thus the taxpayer); same for the current commander not considering the cost savings of proper rehabilitation/physical resiliency of soldiers for the next commander. Regardless, both principal-agent issue and externality issue apply. You can tell by this correction that he's a true econ instructor...For additional context on the heat acclimation they started in May 2021, they had Company STX the second week of June and he initially started reverse cycle PT to see if it'd help soldiers with performance during the STX event. They executed 9x ESB-style lanes focused on individual soldier and engineer tasks, and covered over 30 miles under load in 24 hours. As a bit of risk management for the event, he mandated that all soldiers had to eat at least the main meal of the MRE and a side, or three sides total if not eating the main meal, as well as the entire salt/electrolyte packet every four hours during the event. If they found any soldier who ate less than the required amount, it would result in a summarized article 15 (if there were no extenuating circumstances). It was on the TLs to decide if they needed to eat more frequently and if they wanted to eat on the move or not. Team leaders led their own teams movement through all the lanes and to each station. This provided a great opportunity for them to exercise some initiative and leadership. Surprisingly, zero heat casualties during this crucible event for the ~80 soldiers that completed it, despite a peak ~95 degree heat index in that timeframe. Regarding Defender Pacific, when he arrived to his company assembly area after the jump, his soldiers looked utterly unphased and appeared completely fresh. The BN TF, however, had about 45 heat casualties by that time. After the BN TF mission was complete, they had a 7 mi ruck to the training area where they'd rest overnight, and his soldiers handled the movement without any issue whatsoever. He did note that they did not have a very hard follow on mission, whereas most other companies in the BN TF had some pretty physically arduous movements/follow-on missions.

This episode explores the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo through the lens of historical legacies, regional dynamics, and international interests. Our guest, Professor Eduardo Montero, introduces the current crisis and its deep roots in colonial exploitation, institutional fragility, and unresolved tensions from past conflicts. By the end of the episode, you will also understand the role of external actors and the broader geopolitical and economic stakes shaping the conflict today.  This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org.   Podcast Production Credits: Interviewing: Isabella Nascimento, Julia Mansur, Manda Bwerevu Editing: Megha Viswanath Production: Isabella Nascimento 

This episode features Professor Roger Myerson, Nobel Laureate (2007) and Professor at the University of Chicago. We discuss the war in Ukraine through his on-the-ground experience and academic expertise. Professor Myerson reflects on the political, social, and technological shifts he has witnessed since the war began. The conversation examines how Ukraine is adapting to the change in U.S. foreign policy under President Trump, the prospects for peace, the role of NATO and other security guarantees, and the gap between Europe's economic power and military response.  This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org.  Podcast Production Credits: Interviewing: Isabella Nascimento, Viktoriia Shcherba Editing: Megha Viswanath Production: Isabella Nascimento 

This episode features Professor Rebecca J. Wolfe, senior lecturer and Executive Director of International Policy & Development at the Harris School of Public Policy. Drawing on her extensive experience designing conflict prevention and violence reduction programs worldwide, Dr. Wolfe explores how behavioral science can be leveraged to mitigate conflict. She discusses the role of trusted authorities in shifting norms, the effectiveness of contact-based interventions in fostering peace, and the challenges of applying these strategies across different contexts. Tune in for an insightful conversation on the intersection of behavioral science and peacebuilding.  This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org.  Podcast Production Credits: Interviewing: Isabella Nascimento, Clarice Tee Editing: Megha Viswanath Production: Isabella Nascimento 

This episode explores strategies for finding consensus between the government and rebel insurgencies. We spoke with Sergio Jaramillo Caro, former High Commissioner for Peace in Colombia, who led the secret negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas, culminating in the Final Agreement in 2016. He discusses strategies for peace negotiations, potential challenges, and how to overcome obstacles in the long term.  This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org.  Podcast Production Credits: Interviewing: Isabella Nascimento, Sol Rivas Lopes, Lina Gonzalez Editing: Nishita Karun Production: Isabella Nascimento 

How can social entrepreneurship help end violent conflict? In this episode, John Marks, founder of “Search for Common Ground”, an international NGO dedicated to resolving global conflicts, shares insights from over 40 years of experience in peacebuilding. Marks discusses key lessons from his extensive career, highlights core concepts from his latest book, “From Vision to Action”, and offers practical advice for young policymakers striving to implement effective conflict-resolution strategies.  This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org.  Podcast Production Credits: Interviewing: Isabella Nascimento, Sol Rivas Lopes, Mithila Iyer Editing: Nishita Karun Production: Isabella Nascimento 

Karl Popper once said, “Open societies are their own worst enemies.” In this episode, Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, former prime minister of Haiti and president of the Knowledge and Freedom Foundation, reflects on this idea. She shares her perspective on Haiti's development challenges and paths to peace. Michèle emphasizes the importance of negotiating with opponents to advance the public good and building institutions through compromise. Tune in for her insights on fostering collaboration and creating a brighter future for Haiti.  This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org.  Podcast Production Credits: Interviewing: Isabella Nascimento and Ralph Valiere Editing: Nishita Karun Production: Isabella Nascimento 

Defining successful antiterrorism strategies is challenging. With groundbreaking research in the history of political violence, terrorism, and nationalism, Professor Richard English guides us through the main concepts and structures to understand valid approaches for countering terror. Richard English is a Professor of Politics at Queen's University Belfast, where he is also Director of the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website a www.thepearsoninstitute.org. Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Isabella Nascimento, Raul Leon, and Natalia ZorillaEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Isabella Nascimento

Professor James Robinson, The Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies; Institute Director, The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, joins John Williams to talk about winning the prestigious Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences. Professor Robinson tells John that he hadn’t really thought about winning the Nobel Prize, […]

Professor James Robinson, The Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies; Institute Director, The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, joins John Williams to talk about winning the prestigious Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences. Professor Robinson tells John that he hadn’t really thought about winning the Nobel Prize, […]

Professor James Robinson, The Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies; Institute Director, The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, joins John Williams to talk about winning the prestigious Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences. Professor Robinson tells John that he hadn’t really thought about winning the Nobel Prize, […]

How can the West learn from Africa? Professor James Robinson, director of The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, highlights the richness of development in the African region. Robinson has conducted extensive fieldwork in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, and is a Fellow at the Institute for African Studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. In today's episode, he discusses what inspires his work in the region, common misconceptions about development, the complexities of working on the ground, and the concept of "Wealth in People."  This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org.  Podcast Production Credits: Interviewing: Isabella Nascimento and Mario Venegas Editing: Nishita Karun Production: Isabella Nascimento 

What are the key legal principles that govern the conduct of war and protect human rights? In this episode, we speak with Professor Kathleen Cavanaugh, the Executive Director of the Pozen Family Center for Human Rights, and Senior Instructional Professor in the College at UChicago. Professor Cavanaugh's scholarship, like her academic training, is interdisciplinary and seeks to interrogate questions of law in its social context. She has published on international human rights and humanitarian law; theoretical as well as applied research on the use of political violence; ethno-nationalism; and more recently, militant democracy and the politics of memory. As a consultant, she has undertaken numerous missions on behalf of Amnesty International including to Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine, and Iraq and she will be speaking at the 2024 Pearson Global Forum in October. We discuss, among other topics, the framework of international humanitarian law, storytelling in meta conflicts, and the difficulties of accountability for human rights violations within the international system.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org You can access the transcript here. Podcast Production Credits:Editing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah Balikci

How is law understood and used by different actors during political transitions to achieve peace? In this episode, we speak with Professor Louise Mallinder, a Professor in the School of Law at Queen's University Belfast and Faculty Affiliate of the Pearson Institute. She has a longstanding and internationally recognized expertise in amnesty laws through extensive writing and the creation of the Amnesties, Conflict and Peace Database. She works as part of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform, led by the University of Edinburgh, and funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Professor Mallinder's teaching focuses on international human rights law, human rights practice, constitutional law, and transitional justice. We discuss how amnesties can be granted without compromising justice, the intersection of law with other disciplines in academia, and Professor Mallinder's perspectives at large on the field of transitional justice.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Should you encounter any challenges with the audio quality, we invite you to follow along with the transcript provided for a seamless experience. You can access the transcript here. Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Isabella Pestana de Andrade do Nascimento, Natalia Zorrilla Ramos, and Hannah BalikciEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah Balikci

How does the United States coordinate with regional partners to promote human rights in North Korea? In this episode, we speak with Ambassador Julie Turner, the U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights at the Department of State. Ambassador Turner is globally recognized as an expert in human rights and democracy and has worked over the past 20 years to strengthen democratic institutions and promote human rights throughout the East Asia and Pacific Region. As a career civil service employee and former Presidential Management Fellow, Ambassador Turner has dedicated her career to advancing human rights around the world. We discuss how the United States and its allies in the region play a role in protecting and promoting human rights in North Korea, how the United States balances Human Rights with some of its hardline measures – like economic sanctions and military deterrence, and how Ambassador Turner engages with the broader Korean American community.A note that the acronym DPRK refers to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the country's official title, which is also commonly referred to as North Korea. This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Should you encounter any challenges with the audio quality, we invite you to follow along with the transcript provided for a seamless experience. You can access the transcript here. Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Levi Latoz, Myong Kun (Chris) Shin, and Hannah BalikciEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah BalikciResources:Memoirs written by North Korean Refugees

How do stories give new perspectives to conflict and peace? In this episode, we speak with Juanita Vélez, a journalist and political scientist. She was the editor of La Silla Sur, a regional subsidiary of Colombian news website La Silla Vacía, focused on covering the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement in southern Colombia. She researches and writes journalistic stories on illegal armed groups, deforestation, and organized crime. She is also the author of A War Later, (Spanish: Una Guerra Después) a journalistic book that tells the stories of five Colombians impacted by the Peace Agreement made between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (the FARC). The book focuses not just on the former FARC combatants but also tells the stories of victims, military personnel, and government officials that weren't covered in the broader news at the time. We discuss the framework of the peace agreement, the impacts of implementation, and the how Vélez built trust within communities to facilitate her journalism.Watch the Pearson Institute's talk featuring Juanita Vélez on YouTube here.You can find more information on A War Later here.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.orgAccess the transcript here.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Paula Cadena Moreno and Hannah BalikciEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah Balikci

What is the role of narratives within the political economy of development? In this episode, we speak with Professor Raul Sanchez de la Sierra, an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy and Faculty Affiliate of the Pearson Institute. His research tackles problems in the economics of development, political economy, and conflict. He conducts most of his research in areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); where he looks at the organization of society, the economics and psychology of armed groups, the emergence of state functions, and the economics of organized corruption, working closely with these actors, while also gathering detailed data for statistical analysis. We discuss Professor Sanchez de la Sierra's path to working in the DRC and later involvement in Congo Calling, a documentary film that follows him and two other Europeans who work in various roles within the international development aid sector in the DRC. Later, we discuss his goals and objectives for his class Power and “Development,” which he teaches at Harris. Finally, we explore Professor Sanchez de la Sierra's perspectives on the state of the world at-large, including his insights into the #FreeCongo movement.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Access the transcript here.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Raphael Rony Anthony, Manda Bwerevu, and Hannah BalikciEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah Balikci

On this episode, we'll hear a book panel discussion on Timur Kuran's book, Freedoms Delayed: Political Legacies of Islamic Law in the Middle East (Cambridge University Press, 2023). In his comments, Timur provides an overview of his book, highlighting the Middle East's struggle with repressiveness, the challenges of fostering a liberal civil society, and the historical role of Islamic legal institutions. The panel is moderated by Peter J. Boettke, and they are joined on the panel by:Mark Koyama,* Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University, Senior Fellow with the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center, and co-author of How the World Became Rich (2022) and Persecution and Toleration (2019).James Robinson, Professor of Political Science at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, The Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies, Institute Director at the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, and he has numerous books including The Narrow Corridor (2019) and Why Nations Fail (2013).Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, Founding Director of the Center for Governance and Market and Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and co-author of Land, the State, and War: Property Institutions and Political Order in Afghanistan (2021).Timur Kuran is a Turkish-American economist and political scientist. He is a Professor of Economics and Political Science and the Gorter Family Professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University. He has published multiple books including The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East (2011) and Private Truths, Public Lies: The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification (1997).*Mark Koyama's comments were recorded separatelyIf you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Virtual Sentiments, our new podcast series from the Hayek Program is now streaming! Subscribe today and listen to season two, now releasing!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

What factors hindered Tunisia's democratic transition after the Arab Spring? In this episode, we speak with Professor Daniel Brumberg, a Professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University and co-founder of its Democracy and Governance Master's program. We discuss Tunisia's political landscape and how polarization impacted its own democratic journey. We also discuss different theories of political transition, Middle Eastern development politics, and Dr. Brumberg's perspectives on Iran.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Access the transcript here.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Joshilyn Binkley and Hannah BalikciEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah Balikci

What is the history of Kashmir's path to self-determination? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Hafsa Kanjwal, an assistant professor of South Asian History at Lafayette College. We talk about Dr. Kanjwal's new book Colonizing Kashmir: State-building Under Indian Occupation. The book interrogates how Kashmir was made "integral" to India through a study of the decade long rule of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the second Prime Minister of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. We discuss the historical context of the conflict in Kashmir through the book's chapters.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Access the transcript here.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Nishita Karun and Julia HigginsEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah Balikci

What kind of ethical concerns should researchers think about when deciding to take on a project? In this episode, we speak with Professor Austin Wright, an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at The University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy and a faculty affiliate of the Pearson Institute and Empirical Studies of Conflict Project. We speak about his past and current research projects in Afghanistan, dual-use infrastructure, and broad U.S. policy interventions. We also talk about his work teaching as a professor, his advice for students, and how his life journey has influenced his understanding of conflict and ripple effects.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Access the transcript here.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Jose Macias and Hannah BalikciEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah Balikci

How do war and conflict give rise to gender-based violence? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Maliha Chishti, an assistant instructional professor at the Divinity School and an associate of The Pearson Institute. Her core research interests are international peacebuilding, security, and development, as well as gender and human rights in post-conflict contexts. We talk about gender-based violence in the context of war, Dr. Chishti's work in passing Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, and the complexities of humanitarian aid implementation today.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Access the transcript here.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Julia Higgins, Rabail Sofi, and Hannah BalikciEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah Balikci

What is the role of mothers in counterterrorism efforts? Within conflict, women have traditionally been viewed as victims that need protecting; however, their involvement is much more nuanced than that. In this episode, we speak with Professor Amal Hamada, a professor of political science and gender studies at Cairo University. We talk about the role of gender when discussing conflict, the women's movement in Iran, and Palestinian mothers today.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Access the transcript here.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Jordan Enos, Raphael Rony Antony, and Isabella Pestana de Andrade do NascimentoEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah Balikci

How are authoritarian elites and their collaborators handled in the aftermath of democratic transitions? The modern discipline of documenting transitional justice began with the Nuremberg trials for Nazi perpetrators. The trials shifted the way the international community thinks about accountability for human rights violations committed by authoritarian regimes and are generally the most well-known example of transitional justice. Yet, there exist different procedures of extra-judicial transitional justice—including lustration, truth commissions, and purges—that hold human rights violators accountable and remove them from positions of power without formally sentencing them.In this episode, we speak with Professor Monika Nalepa, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, about her new book After Authoritarianism and her monumental work building the Global Transitional Justice Dataset at the Transitional Justice and Democratic Stability Lab. We talk about the different implications of transitional justice for both leaders and rank-and-file members of authoritarian regimes and the more recent global phenomenon of democratic backsliding.Learn more about After Authoritarianism and read it here.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Access the transcript here.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Olga Bednarek and Isabella Pestana de Andrade do NascimentoEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah Balikci

The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour (Original Air Date: October 26, 2022) — This week on the program, a forum with election law expert Richard Hasen on his new book “Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics and How to Cure It.” According to a survey performed by the Pearson Institute and AP-NORC, 91 percent of…

The Maroon's Gregory Caesar interviews Harris School of Public Policy Professor, leading political economist, and Pearson Institute director James Robinson about the 2023 Pearson Global Forum. This forum, entitled “Disparity: A thin line divides human realities,” will gather global policymakers, scholars, and subject-matter experts to explore existing disparity throughout the world. It will address various topics of global significance, including refugees of war and climate, despotic governments, and both new and protracted global conflicts. Highlights of the 2023 Forum include: Addresses by Ernesto Zedillo, Former President of Mexico (1994–2000), and Shirin Ebadi, the first female Judge in Iran and a recipient of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. Panel discussions on inequity and social mobility, the Iranian future, and the struggle for Afghan freedom. The release of a Pearson/AP-NORC poll on Americans' attitudes on foreign policy, especially regarding issues around Mexico and Afghanistan. The event will be held at the University on Friday, October 20, and is free to attend. Register here. Hosted by: Gregory Caesar Featuring: James Alan Robinson

What role did Kurdish women play in Iran's protests last year? The death of Jina Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iranian authorities sparked mass demonstrations for women's rights under the rallying cry of "Women, Life, Freedom." But the Kurdish minorities behind this resistance have largely been erased—and their movements co-opted before the international community. In this episode, we speak with Rez Gardi, a Kurdish New Zealander lawyer and human rights activist, about how, despite becoming the symbol of a revolution, non-Kurdish activists and news coverage have continually denied Jina her true name and identity. We talk about the long-lived Kurdish resistance against state oppression in Iran, Syria, and Turkey and the broader history of the Kurdish struggle for autonomy and self-determination in the Middle East.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Access the transcript here.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Hannah Balikci and Zareen HussainEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Reema Saleh

What mental models underpin international development? And how do they hold back actors working in conflict-affected countries? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Mareike Schomerus, author of Lives Amid Violence and Vice President of the Busara Center, one of the first behavioral science research labs in the Global South. Drawing from ten years of research by the Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium, she argues that the international development sector, in its current form, often fails to take into account the experiences and perspectives of people living in contexts of violence and conflict and offers a new language for transforming development in the wake of conflict. We talk about the colonialist thinking underpins international development, how the sector's unflinching faith in causality creates blind spots for practitioners, and what it means to envision this space anew.Learn more about Lives Amid Violence and read it here.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Access the transcript here.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Julia Higgins, Reema Saleh, and Umama ZillurEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Reema Saleh

What does an interrupted democratic transition look like? In this episode, we speak to Dr. Ibrahim Elbadawi, managing director of the Economic Research Forum and former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning in the Republic of Sudan. In May of 2023, Dr. Elbadawi joined us in Chicago at the sixth annual Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Lecture to discuss Sudan's political transition and economic policymaking. The lecture took place just weeks after violent conflict erupted in Sudan. Fighting between two military factions has forced millions of Sudanese to flee the violence and cast a shadow of uncertainty over Sudan's ambitions to transition to a civilian-led democracy.Watch the Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Lecture featuring Dr. Elbadawi here.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at ThePearsonInstitute.org Access the transcript here.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Hisham Yousif and Kirgit AmlaiEditing: Nishita KarunProduction: Hannah Balikci

The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour (Original Air Date: October 26, 2022) — This week on the program, a forum with election law expert Richard Hasen on his new book “Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics and How to Cure It.”  According to a survey performed by the Pearson Institute and AP-NORC, 91 percent of U.S. adults say…

What is the human toll of the U.S. immigration bureaucracy? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Chiara Galli, a sociologist at the University of Chicago. Her latest book, “Precarious Protections,” chronicles the experiences and perspectives of Central American unaccompanied minors and their immigration attorneys as they navigate the asylum process and pursue refugee status in the United States.Spanning six years of research between the Obama and Trump administrations, her ethnographic research examines the paradoxical and precarious criteria that decide who is deserving and whom we should protect—and how U.S. asylum laws fail to protect children escaping life-threatening violence. We talk about her work, how recent immigration changes are impacting unaccompanied minors, and how Chicago will grapple with an unanticipated migration influx.Learn more about “Precarious Protections:” https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520391918/precarious-protectionsThis podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastPodcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Natalie Reyes, Gabriela Rivera, and Reema Saleh Editing: Ricardo SandeProduction: Reema Saleh

The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour (Original Air Date: October 26, 2022) — This week on the program, a forum with election law expert Richard Hasen on his new book “Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics and How to Cure It.”  According to a survey performed by the Pearson Institute and AP-NORC, 91 percent of U.S. adults say…

Join British economist and political scientist, James Robinson, to talk about the six biggest challenges of this century: 1) democratic recession, 2) the corrosive effect of social media, 3) growth vs. green, 4) asymmetry between talent and power, 5) deepening inequality, and 6) lurking danger behind AI. James Robinson is a Professor of Global Conflict Studies at the University of Chicago and the Director of The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. He is also the co-author (with Daron Acemoglu) of some influential books and articles, including “Why Nations Fail” (2012), “The Narrow Corridor” (2019), “Non-Modernization: Power-Culture Trajectories and the Dynamics of Political Institutions*”* (2021), and “Culture, Institutions and Social Equilibria: A Framework” (2021). About the Host: Gita Wirjawan is an Indonesian educator, entrepreneur, and currently a visiting scholar at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) at Stanford University. #Endgame #GitaWirjawan #JamesRobinson ----------------- This Episode's Notes ----------------- SGPP Indonesia Master of Public Policy: admissions@sgpp.ac.id admissions.sgpp.ac.id wa.me/628111522504 Other "Endgame" episode playlists: Global Thinkers Wandering Scientists The Take Visit and subscribe: Indonesian Students at University of Chicago SGPP Indonesia Visinema Pictures

How can geography explain Brexit and Britain's changing relationship with the rest of the world? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Ian Morris, a historian and archeologist at Stanford University. His latest book, “Geography is Destiny,” chronicles the ten-thousand-year history of Britain's relationship with Europe and how it has adapted in a globalizing world. We talk about maps, how the British Isles went from a relativelyunimportant country on the edge of other empires to a globe-spanning power from its periphery, and what geography has to tell us about the future of Britain's place in the world.Learn more about “Geography is Destiny:”https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374157272/geographyisdestinyThis podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastPodcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Hannah Balikci, Zareen Hussein, and Reema SalehEditing: Ricardo SandeProduction: Reema Saleh

Dr. Chris Blattman is a faculty member in The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, Chris Blattman focuses on why some people and societies are poor, unequal and violent, and how to tackle these issues. His book, "Why We Fight", was released by Viking Press in April 2022. Most people think war is easy and peace is hard. Blattman synthesizes decades of social science and policymakers' practical experiences to argue the opposite: War is hard and finding peace is easier than you think. In his day-to-day research, Blattman works with governments and civil society to design and test approaches to reduce violence and poverty.

Katlego is a 27 year-old Public Prosecutor, stationed at the Soshanguve Magistrate's Court. Katlego obtained a BCom Law degree from Eduvos, (formerly known as Pearson Institute of Higher Education) in 2017. She further obtained her LLB degree from the University of South Africa in 2020, following which she was admitted to the National Prosecuting Authority Aspirant Prosecutor programme. Upon completion of the programme in January 2022, she was permanently appointed as a District Court Prosecutor and placed in Soshanguve where she has been working to date. Having grown up witnessing crime and injustice, Katlego has grown passionate about criminal law and restoring faith in the criminal justice system, and this has driven the tireless work towards ensuring that the fight against the miscarriage of justice is one that will be won.  • A reminder to please rate wherever you listen and review the podcast if you're listening on Apple podcast, your ratings go a long way in creating awareness of the show. Tag us on Instagram @sister_in_law_ @_katleg0_ • For guest suggestions, collaborations or general feedback please email advice@sisterinlaw.co.za --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tebello-motshwane/message

How can we imagine liberation under colonial rule? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Somdeep Sen, a post-colonial studies professor at Roskilde University. His book, "Decolonizing Palestine," draws on his ethnographic research in the region to study how Israeli occupation shapes life and politics in the Palestinian territories. He documents how liberation is not a single moment in history but instead a complicated process that begins before and continues long after the colonizer loses power. We talk about how settler-colonialism is embedded at heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict and what the struggle for liberation can look like around the world.Learn more about “Decolonizing Palestine:” https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501752742/decolonizing-palestine/This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcast

The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour (Original Air Date: October 26, 2022) — This week on the program, a forum with election law expert Richard Hasen on his new book “Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics and How to Cure It.”  According to a survey performed by the Pearson Institute and AP-NORC, 91 percent of U.S. adults say…

When does the force of argument become stronger than the argument of force? In this episode, we speak with Jon McCourt, a community peace activist for over forty years in the City of Derry, North of Ireland. As a young man, he marched on the first civil rights demonstration in Derry in 1968. Witnessing the murder of friends and neighbors on Bloody Sunday, he joined the Irish Republican Army to resist British occupation. He left the IRA in 1976, and since then, he's worked to build bridges between Catholic and Protestant communities in the North of Ireland and foster peace and reconciliation. For the first fifteen minutes, we talk about the history of the troubles and the Irish resistance before going on to discuss his work, personal experiences, and how victims and survivors move forward after conflict. This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org Access the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcast Podcast Production Credits: Interviewing: Hisham Yousif and Reema Saleh Editing: Ricardo Sande Production: Reema Saleh

How do civilians cope while living in a country at war? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Greta Uehling, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Michigan. Her forthcoming book, “Everyday War,” draws on her ethnographic research in Ukraine after Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea. She documents how the conflict disrupted lives and reshaped people's social worlds outside of our conventional understandings of war. We talk about the ordinary, everyday actions that people took to contribute to fighting and how civilians came together to deliver comfort and care.Learn more about “Everyday War,” coming out this February: https://gretauehling.com/This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcast

The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour (Original Air Date: October 26, 2022) — This week on the program, a forum with election law expert Richard Hasen on his new book “Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics and How to Cure It.”  According to a survey performed by the Pearson Institute and AP-NORC, 91 percent of U.S. adults say…

The Republic of Somaliland is a de facto sovereign state in the Horn of Africa. Declaring independence from Somalia in 1991, Somaliland is a self-governing country, with democratic elections and a distinct history, but it's still considered part of Somalia by the international community. In this episode, we speak with Bashir Goth, the Head of the Somaliland Mission in the United States. We talk about how Somaliland has navigated state-building without international recognition, democracy and development, and what Somaliland has to offer the world in the coming decades. This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org Access the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcast Podcast Production Credits: Interviewing: Deqa Aden and Joshua Charles Editing: Ricardo Sande Production: Reema Saleh

The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour (Original Air Date: October 26, 2022) — This week on the program, a forum with election law expert Richard Hasen on his new book “Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics and How to Cure It.”  According to a survey performed by the Pearson Institute and AP-NORC, 91 percent of U.S. adults say…

How do ex-combatants transition back into society after conflict? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Erin McFee, a political anthropologist and UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at the London School of Economics. Focusing on Colombia and the reintegration of the FARC, her team studies reconciliation in post-conflict societies—the interventions that create interpersonal trust between former perpetrators of violence and former victims of violence as they build their everyday lives together.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastPodcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Connor Christensen and Andrea Mariño VarelaEditing: Ricardo SandeProduction: Reema Saleh

How do war and displacement disproportionately impact women? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Lina Haddad Kreidie, a political psychologist and Academic Director of Gender Studies at the Lebanese American University. Her research centers marginalized communities, mainly displaced and refugee women in the Middle East. We discuss her work with the Intisar Foundation—studying drama therapy as a mental health intervention for refugee women and how it's impacted communities within the camps.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcast

The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour — This week on the program, a forum with election law expert Richard Hasen on his new book “Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics and How to Cure It.”  According to a survey performed by the Pearson Institute and AP-NORC, 91 percent of U.S. adults say the spread of…

The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour — This week on the program, a forum with election law expert Richard Hasen on his new book “Cheap Speech: How Disinformation Poisons Our Politics and How to Cure It.”  According to a survey performed by the Pearson Institute and AP-NORC, 91 percent of U.S. adults say the spread of…

Lead podcast editors Jake Zucker and Miki Yang interviewed Professor Blattman, faculty member in The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, to discuss his work and the 2022 Pearson Global Form held on October 14.

Hosts: Scott Simpson and Leah Murray  According to a new poll from the Pearson Institute and The Associated Press-NORC, more than half of American adults with different political viewpoints believe that misinformation is leading to more extreme political behaviors. Scott and Leah review the results. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does African philosophy shape African political institutions? And how have they evolved separately from European models of statehood and development? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Francis Njoku, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a visiting scholar at the Harris School. We talk about his research and how homegrown solutions to African problems can come from within.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastThe Pearson Global Forum is our annual in-person and virtual convening on discrimination and marginalization. Join us to hear from global experts as they discuss various topics including the social cost of discrimination, the crisis in Lebanon, and bias in media coverage of conflict. The event is free and open to all on October 14. More information at www.thepearsonglobalforum.org.Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Christelle InemaEditing: Ricardo SandeProduction: Reema Saleh

What should we learn from the aftermath of the US War in Afghanistan? And what decisions could've brought a better outcome? The fall of Kabul to the Taliban last year marked the end of America's longest war in history, with former Afghan government unable to retain control of the country. In this episode, we speak with Carter Malkasian, a historian and author of “The American War in Afghanistan: A History” – a comprehensive history of the US intervention, conflict, and withdrawal in the country. A former advisor to American military commanders in Afghanistan, Malkasian has extensive experience working in conflict zones and has published several books in his career.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastThe Pearson Global Forum is our annual in-person and virtual convening on discrimination and marginalization. Join us to hear from global experts as they discuss various topics including the social cost of discrimination, the crisis in Lebanon, and bias in media coverage of conflict. The event is free and open to all on October 14. More information at www.thepearsonglobalforum.org.

How has the Myanmar military coup fostered human rights abuse in the country? In February 2021, the Myanmar military initiated a coup – throwing the country back into its long history of authoritarian rule. As the military has taken control, public resistance has become unprecedented. In this episode, we speak with Jason Gelbort, an international lawyer and legal advisor to ethnic nationality organizations in Myanmar. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Upland Advisors, a not-for-profit organization supporting sustainable peacebuilding initiatives and human rights advocacy.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastPodcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Sahara Chen and Anupriya NagEditing: Ricardo SandeProduction: Reema Saleh

What are African solutions to African challenges? And how can African agency act as a counterpoint to the divisions and legacy of colonialism? In this episode, we speak with Ambassador Martin Kimani, the Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations, about his recent speech criticizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the failures of Western intervention, and what worldbuilding after colonialism can look like.Listen to Ambassador Kimani's speech to the United Nations on Russia and Ukraine: https://www.npr.org/2022/02/22/1082334172/kenya-security-council-russiaThis podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastPodcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Deqa Aden, Josephine Lando, and Nancy SmithEditing: Aishwarya Kumar and Ricardo SandeProduction: Reema Saleh

How do non-profits navigate changes in humanitarian aid policy? And how is the philanthropic sector evolving? In this episode, we speak with Liz Drew, a Chicago-based strategist with nearly two decades of leadership in advancing human rights, gender equity, and social justice. From working as a U.S. State Department and White House advisor in the Obama administration to leading international programming at Heartland Alliance, she shares insights from her work on human rights, HIV/AIDS, and refugee protection programming.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastPodcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Deqa AdenEditing: Aishwarya KumarProduction: Reema Saleh

"War is hard and finding peace is easier than you think." Are you surprised by this statement? I know I was. I thought that we humans are inherently war-prone and that our inclination is to solve our intractable problems through violence. This is where Professor Christopher Blattman's timely book Why We Fight (just published in April) is instructive. In it, he describes five reasons why conflict triumphs over compromise. He provides examples of how war can be avoided and why it is waged - from the war in Ukraine to drug wars in Colombia and gang violence in Chicago. He also articulates the Game Theory as it is related to decisions about war. Professor Blattman is a faculty member in The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts at the University of Chicago, and focuses on why some people and societies are poor, unequal and violent, and how to tackle these issues. I hope you enjoy this episode. Adel Host of ThePeel.news podcast Russian Revolutions, Prof. Steinberg Wars in Ukraine, Prof. Stone Who are Ukrainians?, Prof. Wanner Poland's History In Ukraine, Prof. Frost Finland's Winter War, Prof. Lavery SUPPORT: please click here and join our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.

What makes conflict win out over compromise? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Chris Blattman, an acclaimed expert on violence and conflict. His recent book, “Why We Fight,” draws on economics, political science, and psychology to examine the root causes of war and the paths to peace.In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the other ongoing conflicts our world faces today, many of us are wondering, is resorting to violence the norm? Are the paths to war easier than the paths to peace? Examining real-world interventions, “Why We Fight” explores why violent conflict is rare in reality and how successful societies interrupt and end violence through peacebuilding.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastPodcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Deqa Aden and Ana Camila VasquezEditing: Aishwarya KumarProduction: Reema Saleh

How does disinformation fuel modern conflict? In this episode, we speak with Nina Jankowicz, an expert on disinformation and a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center. We talk about her debut book, "How to Lose the Information War," which takes the reader through several case studies of how Western governments are impacted by Russian disinformation tactics and how to navigate the future of conflict. We also talk about her upcoming book, "How to Be a Woman Online," coming out April 21, on how to deal with gendered harassment and abuse in online spaces.Note: this episode was recorded in November of 2021, before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, so keep that in mind as you're listening. In the past month, we've seen misinformation and disinformation efforts ramp up, so it's important to understand how these strategies work and what threats they pose.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastPodcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Annie Henderson and Reema SalehEditing: Aishwarya KumarProduction: Reema Saleh

How we can build more peaceful, resilient societies? In this episode, we speak with Steve Killelea, a global philanthropist focused on peace and sustainable development and author of “Peace in the Age of Chaos.” He is the founder of the Institute for Economics and Peace and the Global Peace Index, which measures and ranks the peacefulness of 163 different countries around the world.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastPodcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Deqa Aden and Reema SalehEditing: Aishwarya KumarProduction: Reema Saleh

What are the prospects for peace in Yemen and how do we hold international actors accountable? In this episode, we speak with Afrah Nasser, a researcher with Human Rights Watch investigating humanitarian law violations and human rights abuses in Yemen. A former activist and independent journalist in Sana'a, Nasser has been advocating for human rights and justice in Yemen for over a decade.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastPodcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Reema SalehEditing: Aishwarya KumarProduction: Reema Saleh

In this episode I visit the Aurum Institute Pop Inn Clinic at Loftus Shopping Center in Pretoria and have a chat to Mmakgabo Seopa about mental health challenges and options within the LGBTQ+ community. I was happy to hear that just like me when she favours CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) when counselling. Mmakgabo Seopa is a 29year old mother of one, who is ambitious, committed and a hardworking female. She has recently obtained her Bachelor of psychology degree from the Pearson Institute of Higher Education (now Known as Eduvos). She is a qualified Registered Counsellor through the Health Profession Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and currently employed at Youth Health Africa (YHA) as a psychosocial counsellor. YHA is an organization that is partnered with The Aurum Institute and is focused on empowering differently-able youth with employment opportunities in the healthcare sector.

Can intergroup contact build social cohesion after conflict? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Salma Mousa, a political scientist studying social cohesion after conflict and what policies can build trust between groups. She talks about her latest study on building social cohesion between Christian and Muslim youth soccer players in post-ISIS Iraq and the challenges to achieving peace between groups.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the study here: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abb3153Access the transcript here: https://thepearsoninstitute.org/news-and-media/podcastPodcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Aishwarya Raje and Wafa Eben BeriEditing: Aishwarya KumarProduction: Reema Saleh

Our guest is James Robinson. He is the University Professor and institute director of The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts at the University of Chicago. We talked about "Why Nations Fail", the current state of development economics, why economists started writing books, modernization theory, coauthorship with Daron Acemoglu, why British universities are lagging behind American ones, and whether Milton Friedman is overrated.

Refugee populations face unique challenges to mental health and overcoming trauma in resettlement. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Aimee Hilado, a clinical social worker and researcher specializing in immigrant and refugee mental health and Associate Professor of Social Work at Northeastern Illinois University. Dr. Hilado is the founder and director of the RefugeeOne Wellness Program, a mental health program established in 2011 for refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants in Illinois.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgRefugeeOne is the largest refugee resettlement agency in Illinois and serves over 2,500 immigrants and refugees each year. Learn more about them on their website at www.refugeeone.orgPodcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Aishwarya Raje and Marina MilaszewskaEditing: Aishwarya KumarProduction: Reema Saleh

How do researchers assess the impact of peacebuilding interventions? And what can we learn from examining existing literature as a whole? In this episode, we speak with Ada Sonnenfeld, a former Evaluation Specialist with the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie). She talks about her work managing systematic reviews and evidence gap map projects, which can help policymakers make more informed decisions about how to use evidence – to make sense of what we know and learn from what has been done before. We discuss her recent review, where she and her colleagues synthesize evidence on programs that promote intergroup social cohesion in fragile contexts.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.orgAccess the study here: http://bit.ly/SocialCohesionSR46 Podcast Production Credits:Interviewing: Reema Saleh and Mwangi ThuitaEditing: Aishwarya KumarProduction: Reema Saleh

Negar Mortazavi joins a panel discussion at the University of Chicago's Pearson Institute, about Iran's foreign and domestic policies under the new hardline administration of Ebrahim Raisi, with Mahsa Rouhi, Vali Nasr, Pouya Alimagham and Ali Vaez. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theiranpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theiranpodcast/support

Topping today's episode: A new poll from the Pearson Institute and The Associated Press says that 9 out of 10 Americans have 'serious' concerns about cyber-attacks and that they view China and Russia as major threats.  

Let's Go Brandon and more on today's CrossPolitic Daily Newsbrief. I'm Toby Sumpter and today is October 12, 2021. What do you do when you're a Christian University -- say Liberty University -- and you really want to join in the trend, but you're a Christian University? Play during opening music: 0:00-0:06 FEMA Failed to Investigate Half of the Sexual Misconduct Allegations https://justthenews.com/accountability/watchdogs/federal-sexcapades-fema-failed-properly-investigate-half-its-sexual Turns out FEMA is like the worst youth group missions trip on steroids. The U.S. government's disaster recovery agency received more than 300 allegations of workplace sexual misconduct and harassment from 2012 to 2018 and failed to properly investigate more than half of them, according to an internal watchdog report. This article says that the report “exposes the limits [of] the #MeToo movement has met inside the federal bureaucracy.” The limits of the #metoo movement… The article continues: The Federal Emergency Management Agency's problems extend beyond proper handling of complaints, as a survey of its workforce exposed a potentially pervasive hostile work environment, according to a report issued this month by the Homeland Security Department's inspector general. "One-third (255 of 765) of the employees who responded to our questionnaire indicated they had experienced sexual harassment or sexual misconduct, but they did not report it because they did not believe the allegations would be investigated," the inspector general reported. "Unaddressed sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in the workplace can have negative effects on employees, including decreased performance, low morale, and increased turnover," the report added [stating the screaming obvious.] They also noted that if you can't breathe it is not conducive to a long life. Also from the report: "The agency mustered a poor response to the flood of allegations," investigators said. These people are hilarious. Get it? Flood of allegations? FEMA? Hurricanes and floods and... "We were unable to determine whether FEMA properly handled 153 of these allegations, because it could not provide complete investigative and disciplinary files," the report said. "For allegations that had complete files available, at times we were unable to determine whether FEMA conducted an investigation. Finally, we found FEMA did not document whether it reviewed some sexual harassment-related Equal Employment Opportunity complaints to determine whether potential employee misconduct occurred." Look, I don't really trust the report -- since I have little confidence that biblical standards for evidence, testimony, and witnesses were follwed , but I do know that we live in a debauched culture, where public school sex education courses encourage pagan kids to do whatever feels good, and then we are somehow shocked when they grow up and do just that. I mean is Darwin right or not? Are we just highly evolved animals or not? 1:11-1:18 But of course rather than completely defunding FEMA as we ought to and letting the states and counties take care of themselves, we will no doubt create another government agency that is tasked with studying the sex habits of government employees. I actually do think this is tied to youth group mission trip culture. While I don't object to very carefully crafted mission trips, I'm generally against the whole lot because I think there's a high degree of likelihood that a bunch of hormonal teenagers can actually do a lot more harm than good. And I also think that those who are most invested in a community are in the best position to help their own communities. They have to live with the results of all their help. I mean I really do feel for Haiti-- for example. But we should all be looking at Haiti as a cautionary tale. How many millions were poured into that country after the earthquakes? And how's it doing? A complete mess? Right. Ditto for FEMA. Guitar AD Have you always wanted to play guitar but didn't know where to start? Learning to play the guitar can be a lonely, confusing and expensive experience. But it doesn't have to be that way. Fight Laugh Feast member David Harsh has created a unique, online monthly membership, that has community, a clear success path, and it's super affordable. David has spent decades of touring, leading worship, and teaching guitar. He's helped thousands of guitar players discover their potential. You may have heard us talk about GuitarSuccess4U. Here's an update. Several of our listeners have joined this membership, and they are having a blast! Maybe it's time for you to hop on board! When you join this membership, you can learn at your own pace, from home, alongside a community of guitarists including worship leaders, hobbyists, retirees, stay-at-home moms and more. Through video lessons, worksheets, and weekly Zoom calls, David will take you step-by-step towards becoming the musician you were made to be. GuitarSuccess4U is only $29 a month – that's less than a dollar a day, and a fraction of the cost of guitar lessons. Learn more and join now at GuitarSuccess4U.com. That's “Guitar Success,” the number “4” and the letter “U,” dot com. Join today and get 5 instant bonuses to help accelerate your progress! Head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com to start your guitar journey. That's Guitar Success, the number “4” and the letter “U,” dot com. Doug Wilson Responds to the Maricopa County Audit https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/maricopa-pudding.html “So I will look sideways—squinty-eyed and scowling—at this particular election to my dying day. And I will do so with sunshine in my conscience. Anomalies do require explanation. As Thoreau once put it, “Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk.” You know, like a turtle on top of a fence post. When you are driving down a country road, and you happen to see a turtle on top of a fence post, the situation is clear, and the first thing that comes to mind is President Biden. You understand he didn't get there by himself, he really doesn't belong there, he doesn't know what to do as long as he's up there, and all you want to do is help the poor little guy get down. This election in Maricopa is like that. Not everything in this mess goes together. It is like you went to dig into your vanilla Maricopa pudding, made fresh just this morning, and you discover that it is resting on a bed of cole slaw.” Pastor Wilson also linked to this doozy of a conversation that happened in Maricopa County regarding the deleted/archived files from the voting machines that audit did not have access to. Play Audio: 0:00-1:54 When the voting machine records were subpoenaed, they just deleted/archived certain files and figured that the subpoena didn't apply to those records. Bring back my laugh track: HAHAHAHA! Former Pentagon Softwar Chief Says China Has Won the Tech War https://nypost.com/2021/10/11/pentagon-software-chief-nicolas-chaillan-resigns/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow From the New York Post: The Pentagon's former software chief said he quit because China has already won the tech war guaranteeing global dominance — with some US government systems mere “kindergarten level” in comparison. Nicolas Chaillan, 37, told the Financial Times on Sunday that there is “good reason to be angry” at the US failing to rise to China's cyber threat, even fearing that it puts his children's future at risk. “We have no competing fighting chance against China in 15 to 20 years. Right now, it's already a done deal; it is already over, in my opinion,” Nicolas Chaillan, 37, told the paper. Chaillan — who was the Pentagon's first chief software officer — said China will dominate the future of the world by controlling everything from media narratives to geopolitics. He claimed that the US, like Beijing, should have prioritized artificial intelligence, machine learning and cyber capabilities over traditional military spending like building new fighter jets. “Whether it takes a war or not is kind of anecdotal,” he told the paper of his prediction of China's route to future world dominance. He attacked Google for not working on AI with the US Defense Department, while Chinese companies are obliged to work with Beijing. The US is also wasting time debating the ethics of AI while China makes “massive investment” and eschews such concerns, he said. Some US government cyber-defense systems are so dated, they are merely at “kindergarten level,” he insisted. “While we wasted time in bureaucracy, our adversaries moved further ahead,” Chaillan wrote in a scathing letter on LinkedIn last month when first announcing his resignation. “At this point, I am just tired of continuously chasing support and money to do my job,” he said of the pioneering Pentagon job that was “probably the most challenging and infuriating of my entire career.” Chaillan told the Financial Times that he plans in the coming weeks to testify to Congress about the Chinese cyber threat to US supremacy, including in classified briefings. [This] comes as a new poll shows that about 9 in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned about hacking, while about two-thirds say they are very or extremely concerned. The poll by the Pearson Institute and the Associated Press shows that roughly three-quarters also eye the Chinese and Russian governments as major threats to the cybersecurity of the US government. I mean, if we put this together with what we've already covered on today's newsbrief, there are troubling trends. Maricopa county voting officials have no concerns about deleting (I mean archiving) files before turning them over to an audit. And our Federal Emergency Management Agency cannot even manage the emergency of sexual misconduct in its own ranks. Put that together, and how likely does it seem that some of our governmental tech programs are kindergarten level compared to China? I would say the chances are pretty high. Remember Solomon: when he went in for all the sex, he had to build altars and shrines for all the gods of his wives and concubines. Instead of using his strength to continue to build productive and useful things, his strength was used to destroy his family and nation. Is America strong? Sure. But we are pouring our strength down the tubes. But let's not end on a sour note. Remember God is God, and this is His world. China's so-called strength isn't real strength either. As it happens, pure coercive power will crush LGBT flower power every day of the week, but both are false versions of power. Neither will ultimately work. Both are parasitic on Christian virtues. Both have to assume certain creational realities are real and true. They have to deny Darwin and believe that there is order and goodness in the universe in order to maintain a semblance of coherence. Psalm of the Day: Psalm 20 0:00-0:57 Remember you can always find the links to our news stories and these psalms at crosspolitic dot com – just click on the daily news brief and follow the links. This is Toby Sumpter with Crosspolitic News. A reminder: if you see news stories and links that you think we should cover on the daily news brief, please send them to news @ crosspolitic.com and don't forget to check deft wire dot com where we are constantly posting all our stories. Support Rowdy Christian media, and share this show or become a Fight Laugh Feast Club Member. You always get a free Fight Laugh Feast t-shirt with a membership and remember if you didn't make it to the Fight Laugh Feast Conferences, club members have access to all the talks and lots more. Join today and have a great day.

Chris Blattman is the Ramalee E. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at The University of Chicago's Pearson Institute and Harris Public Policy. He is an economist and political scientist who studies poverty, violence and crime in developing countries. He has designed and evaluated strategies for tackling poverty, including cash transfers to the poorest. Much of his work is with the victims and perpetrators of crime and violence, testing the link between poverty and violence. His recent work looks at other sources of and solutions to violence. These solutions range from behavioral therapy to social norm change and local-level state building. He has worked mainly in Colombia, Liberia, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Chicago's South Side. Dr. Blattman was previously faculty at Columbia and Yale Universities, and holds a PhD in Economics from UC Berkeley and a Master's in Public Administration and International Development (MPA/ID) from the Harvard Kennedy School.

I am an aspiring rapper/musician from South Africa, Soweto. Ever since I was a youngster, I had been in love with music. I started writing poetry when I was in primary school, and my poem got featured in a literature book. It was in the 5th grade if my memory serves me well. My genre of choice is Hip-Hop, which was inspired by other genres of music ofcorse. My dream is to bring together my passion for music and business. Creating jingles (soundtracks) for well established companies/individuals is where I hope to be one day. One step at a time. Further to being an aspiring musician, I have a love for business and education. I completed my Bcom Marketing Management degree at the Pearson Institute of Higher Education the end of 2014. I then also completed my Honours in Business Sciences (Marketing) at the University of the Witwatersrand, of which I am excited about. Through my internship at the UK Trade & Investment company, I have gained office administration experience in activities such as; conducting research, capturing client information on a database called the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, making telephone calls to clients, and providing assistance in the process of planning events. The internship has enhanced my communication skills, through interacting with clients, as well as colleagues in the workplace. I participated in boardroom meetings, which has given me an overview of what to expect in the workplace. I've also worked at other high profile companies as well. My interests are; meeting new business partners, interacting with my supporters/fans on Facebook, and making quality music. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The War in Afghanistan following the US invasion in 2001 is almost two decades old. In recent years there’s been a growing appetite for a non-military resolution to the conflict. We speak with Laurel Miller — the Asia Program Director at International Crisis Group and a former state department official working on Afghanistan and Pakistan — about the ongoing negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan government in Doha and how the US’s goals in Afghanistan has evolved over the course of the war. We discuss the best case scenario for the peace talks, the implications of the 2020 US election, and whether the US has learned the right lessons about counterinsurgency, This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website atwww.thepearsoninstitute.orgWatch Laurel Miller on the Afghanistan panel at the 2020 Pearson Global Forum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Scz4JTGoagA&list=PLjioxPKLA82KySaS8BOADulND4ZMj4BQC&index=14&ab_channel=ThePearsonInstitute

Climate change will affect rich and poor countries — but poorer countries are predicted to pay the greatest human and economic cost. In this episode we interview Amir Jina, an Assistant Professor at University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, researching how economic and social development is shaped by the environment. He uses economics, climate science, and remote sensing to understand the impacts of climate in both rich and poor countries.In our conversation with Prof. Jina, we discuss how shocks to the water system could impact conflict patterns — and whether it’s even possible to identify a causal relationship between conflict and climate change. We also talk about his work at the Climate Impact Lab using state of the art empirical methods to study the effects of climate change.This podcast is produced in partnership with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org . Links to articles discussed in the episode:Watch Amir Jina on a panel at the 2020 Pearson Global Forum on the theme of Climate Conflict: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QO6nAAK4rw&list=PLjioxPKLA82KySaS8BOADulND4ZMj4BQC&index=6&ab_channel=ThePearsonInstitutePodcast Production Credit: Interviewing: Aishwarya Raje and Mwangi ThuitaEditing: Aishwarya Raje and Mwangi ThuitaProduction: Aishwarya Raje and Mwangi Thuita

El 29 de octubre de 2020, la Fundación Rafael del Pino organizó la conferencia “¿Por qué en algunos países florece la libertad y en otros el autoritarismo?”, impartida por James E. Robinson, Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies, University Professor y director del Pearson Institute de la Universidad de Chicago, con motivo de la presentación de su libro “El pasillo estrecho”. Según el profesor Robinson, los seres humanos quieren vivir en libertad. John Locke entiende que la liberad es un estado en el que las personas pueden actuar y disponer de sus posesiones sin tener para ello que depender de otras personas o pedirles permiso. Vivir en libertad es una aspiración del ser humano. La libertad, sin embargo, se define de una forma u otra dependiendo del lugar del mundo en el que viva una persona. Si todo el mundo aspira a vivir en libertad, ¿por qué falta tanta libertad en el mundo? La libertad escasea cuando un estado muy poderoso domina a la sociedad, por ejemplo, China en la actualidad. Allí, el gobierno ha colocado miles de cámaras por las calles, en un sistema tremendo de control de la sociedad que nos recuerda al Gran Hermano de Orwell que nos está observando. El estado chino es un estado que no tiene que rendir cuentas ante la sociedad con la capacidad tecnológica que tiene para erradicar la libertad. En otras partes del mundo, el estado no tiene ese tipo de presencia mayúscula. Su presencia es mínima, pero eso no garantiza la libertad. Es el caso de Yemen. El estado casi no existe allí, ni domina a la sociedad, que está organizada en sus tribus, clanes y redes. El estado no controla Yemen, pero allí tampoco hay libertad. El sociólogo Max Weber define al estado como la comunidad humana que se hace con el monopolio de la violencia en un territorio concreto. En China tiene ese monopolio y lo ejerce, pero en Yemen el monopolio de la violencia está en manos de la sociedad. Esa situación yemení tampoco da lugar a la existencia de libertad, por dos razones. La primera tiene que ver con lo que dice Hobbes en ‘Leviatán’, esto es, que una sociedad sin un estado quiebra porque se producirá una situación de guerra. La guerra es un temor continuo, un peligro de perder la vida, una vida que resulta solitaria, desagradable y corta. Esto no permite que la libertad florezca. En este contexto, en Yemen y en otras sociedades parecidas, surgen normas para impedir que haya guerras, pero esas normas también obstaculizan la libertad, constituyen la segunda razón que impide su surgimiento. Lo que permite que aparezca la libertad y que florezca es la existencia de un equilibrio entre estado y sociedad. En Yemen hay una sociedad fuerte y un estado débil, con lo que no hay libertad. En China hay un estado fuerte y una sociedad débil, con lo que tampoco hay libertad. En medio de este pasillo estrecho emerge un equilibrio entre estado y sociedad, que compiten entre sí y, al hacerlo, esa competencia impulsa a ambos para que sean fuertes y estén en equilibrio. La libertad surge en ese pasillo gracias al equilibrio entre estado y sociedad. Fuera de él se restringe la libertad. Cuando hay equilibrio entre estado y sociedad emerge el Leviatán encadenado con grilletes. Desde esta perspectiva, ¿por qué hay más libertad en Europa del norte y en Norteamérica? Para responder a esta cuestión hay que acudir a la historia y remontarse mucho tiempo atrás hasta el imperio romano. El historiador romano Tácito intentó comprender por qué los romanos nunca consiguieron conquistar a los pueblos germanos, y la respuesta la halló en las instituciones germanas. Entre ellos, los asuntos menos importantes los debatían sus jefes y los resolvían ellos mismos, pero los asuntos importantes se debatían en la asamblea de la tribu. Este es un modelo muy participativo de gobernanza. Cuando se produce la caída del imperio romano, los germanos y los francos fusionan este sistema con las instituciones romanas, es decir, el derecho, la iglesia, etc., pero sigue siendo un modelo de gobernanza muy participativo. La fusión fue promovida por Clodoveo, el rey de los merovingios. Clodoveo también promulgó la ley sálica. Él, probablemente, no sabía leer ni escribir, así es que para redactarla se hizo con los servicios de cuatro abogados romanos que venían de la otra parte del Rin. Los abogados se reunieron con las asambleas, hablaron de los casos y sus soluciones y redactaron la ley. Esto no es una imposición autocrática, sino un proceso de codificación ascendente que se remite a las tradiciones de los merovingios. La diferencia entre Europa occidental y del norte con el resto de países son esas asambleas, que vuelven a resurgir en su historia. En el siglo XIII se firma en Inglaterra la Carta Magna, un documento constitucional que intenta definir los derechos del rey y su responsabilidad. La Carta Magna se firma en Runnymeade, un prado cerca de Londres que es un lugar muy simbólico porque era el lugar en el que se celebraban los wheatons, esto es, la versión inglesa de las asambleas germánicas. La Carta Magna no trae la libertad en sí misma, pero el proceso acaba cuajando en el parlamentarismo y la democracia. El rey Juan firma porque le obligan los barones. La Carta Magna, sin embargo, no solo les da derechos a ellos, sino también a los villanos, a los siervos. Con ello se sentaron los cimientos de algo muy distinto. A principios del siglo XVIII se construye el estado fiscal moderno en Inglaterra, a partir de una administración que funciona desde 1690. El estado intenta hacer un seguimiento de las cosas como nunca antes lo había hecho, generando así la reacción de la sociedad. Charles Tilly explica el nacimiento de la democracia a partir de ahí. La expansión del estado traslada la lucha popular de lo local a lo nacional, es lo que Robinson denomina el efecto de la reina roja. Se intenta conseguir la libertad y para ello hay que domeñar a la reina roja. ¿Qué pasa con China? Entre el gigante asiático y Europa hay grandes diferencias estructurales, pero, en términos históricos, ¿por qué acaba siendo tan diferente de Europa Occidental? Al remontarse hacia atrás en la historia se observa que las cosas no son tan distintas. Según el Xunzi, un texto chino antiguo de filosofía, el rey es un barco y el pueblo es el agua que puede hacer que flote o que se hunda. Esto es lo que implica la rendición de cuentas. Lo que sucede en China es que el auge de la primera dinastía, la dinastía Shing, suprime este modelo de gobernanza. Shang Yang dice que cuando el pueblo es débil, el estado es fuerte. Por tanto, el estado, que conoce el camino, el tao, intenta debilitar al pueblo para fortalecerse a sí mismo. Así se crea un estado déspota, que es lo que es China desde hace 2.000 años. China cayó en este equilibrio despótico y esa situación se ha consolidado allí. Eso es muy distinto a lo que sucede en otras partes del mundo, como Yemen o el África subsahariana. En Nigeria, el pueblo Tiv era una sociedad sin estado porque temían a la hegemonía del estado. Ese temor domina tanto a la sociedad Tiv que hace que sea casi imposible construir cualquier jerarquía política. Los contratiempos se atribuyen a la brujería y esas acusaciones se utilizan para mantener el carácter igualitario de la sociedad Tiv. Cualquiera que se creyese demasiado importante y tratase de ejercer el poder corría el riesgo de que se le acusara de brujería. Los tiv desconfiaban del poder, lo que dio lugar a un sistema en el que las instituciones se basan en un principio de herencia e igualitarismo. Se puede crear una jerarquía, pero ¿cómo controlarla? Lo difícil es encontrar el equilibrio entre la falta de confianza y las ventajas que garantizan los estados. Muchas sociedades no lo han conseguido porque penetrar en ese pasillo estrecho es muy difícil. Hay tres constelaciones de relaciones estado-sociedad que tienen consecuencias muy distintas para la libertad. El estado puede dominar la sociedad, pero la sociedad también puede dominar al estado. Cuando cayó el muro de Berlín, se pensó que todo el mundo se iba a pasar a la democracia liberal, pero la pauta histórica no es la convergencia sino mantener la divergencia, como se aprecia en Yemen. Shang estaba equivocado. Sus ideas valen para explicar la deriva China, pero los estados más fuertes son los que tienen las sociedades más fuertes, porque esas sociedades pueden obligar a los estados a rendir cuentas, a que defiendan los intereses colectivos. Esto no puede pasar en China. Conseguir el Leviatán encadenado no tiene que ver con el diseño constitucional o de contrapesos. Es un proceso. EE. UU. no es como es por un documento que pudiera redactar Madison en Filadelfia. Su contenido hay que implementarlo, hay que creer en él. América hizo lo que hizo porque el poder estaba en manos de la sociedad. La libertad exige un cambio social. La libertad positiva tiene que ver con animar a las personas a hacer cosas, permitir que tomen decisiones. En las sociedades que no cuentan con un estado central, proliferan las normas sociales para conseguir imponer el orden, pero eso es la jaula de las normas, que impide conseguir la libertad, por ejemplo, el sistema de castas en la India o la servidumbre en Europa. La idea de la libertad no tiene nada de occidental. A los Tiv les interesa mucho la libertad. Este anhelo de libertad es inherente al ser humano. Hay muchos tipos de sociedades en el pasillo entre las que hay grandes diferencias, ricas y pobres, el pasillo es muy heterogéneo porque las sociedades han tenido que resolver muchos tipos distintos de problemas históricos.

El 29 de octubre de 2020, la Fundación Rafael del Pino organizó la conferencia “¿Por qué en algunos países florece la libertad y en otros el autoritarismo?”, impartida por James E. Robinson, Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies, University Professor y director del Pearson Institute de la Universidad de Chicago, con motivo de la presentación de su libro “El pasillo estrecho”. Según el profesor Robinson, los seres humanos quieren vivir en libertad. John Locke entiende que la liberad es un estado en el que las personas pueden actuar y disponer de sus posesiones sin tener para ello que depender de otras personas o pedirles permiso. Vivir en libertad es una aspiración del ser humano. La libertad, sin embargo, se define de una forma u otra dependiendo del lugar del mundo en el que viva una persona. Si todo el mundo aspira a vivir en libertad, ¿por qué falta tanta libertad en el mundo? La libertad escasea cuando un estado muy poderoso domina a la sociedad, por ejemplo, China en la actualidad. Allí, el gobierno ha colocado miles de cámaras por las calles, en un sistema tremendo de control de la sociedad que nos recuerda al Gran Hermano de Orwell que nos está observando. El estado chino es un estado que no tiene que rendir cuentas ante la sociedad con la capacidad tecnológica que tiene para erradicar la libertad. En otras partes del mundo, el estado no tiene ese tipo de presencia mayúscula. Su presencia es mínima, pero eso no garantiza la libertad. Es el caso de Yemen. El estado casi no existe allí, ni domina a la sociedad, que está organizada en sus tribus, clanes y redes. El estado no controla Yemen, pero allí tampoco hay libertad. El sociólogo Max Weber define al estado como la comunidad humana que se hace con el monopolio de la violencia en un territorio concreto. En China tiene ese monopolio y lo ejerce, pero en Yemen el monopolio de la violencia está en manos de la sociedad. Esa situación yemení tampoco da lugar a la existencia de libertad, por dos razones. La primera tiene que ver con lo que dice Hobbes en ‘Leviatán’, esto es, que una sociedad sin un estado quiebra porque se producirá una situación de guerra. La guerra es un temor continuo, un peligro de perder la vida, una vida que resulta solitaria, desagradable y corta. Esto no permite que la libertad florezca. En este contexto, en Yemen y en otras sociedades parecidas, surgen normas para impedir que haya guerras, pero esas normas también obstaculizan la libertad, constituyen la segunda razón que impide su surgimiento. Lo que permite que aparezca la libertad y que florezca es la existencia de un equilibrio entre estado y sociedad. En Yemen hay una sociedad fuerte y un estado débil, con lo que no hay libertad. En China hay un estado fuerte y una sociedad débil, con lo que tampoco hay libertad. En medio de este pasillo estrecho emerge un equilibrio entre estado y sociedad, que compiten entre sí y, al hacerlo, esa competencia impulsa a ambos para que sean fuertes y estén en equilibrio. La libertad surge en ese pasillo gracias al equilibrio entre estado y sociedad. Fuera de él se restringe la libertad. Cuando hay equilibrio entre estado y sociedad emerge el Leviatán encadenado con grilletes. Desde esta perspectiva, ¿por qué hay más libertad en Europa del norte y en Norteamérica? Para responder a esta cuestión hay que acudir a la historia y remontarse mucho tiempo atrás hasta el imperio romano. El historiador romano Tácito intentó comprender por qué los romanos nunca consiguieron conquistar a los pueblos germanos, y la respuesta la halló en las instituciones germanas. Entre ellos, los asuntos menos importantes los debatían sus jefes y los resolvían ellos mismos, pero los asuntos importantes se debatían en la asamblea de la tribu. Este es un modelo muy participativo de gobernanza. Cuando se produce la caída del imperio romano, los germanos y los francos fusionan este sistema con las instituciones romanas, es decir, el derecho, la iglesia, etc., pero sigue siendo un modelo de gobernanza muy participativo. La fusión fue promovida por Clodoveo, el rey de los merovingios. Clodoveo también promulgó la ley sálica. Él, probablemente, no sabía leer ni escribir, así es que para redactarla se hizo con los servicios de cuatro abogados romanos que venían de la otra parte del Rin. Los abogados se reunieron con las asambleas, hablaron de los casos y sus soluciones y redactaron la ley. Esto no es una imposición autocrática, sino un proceso de codificación ascendente que se remite a las tradiciones de los merovingios. La diferencia entre Europa occidental y del norte con el resto de países son esas asambleas, que vuelven a resurgir en su historia. En el siglo XIII se firma en Inglaterra la Carta Magna, un documento constitucional que intenta definir los derechos del rey y su responsabilidad. La Carta Magna se firma en Runnymeade, un prado cerca de Londres que es un lugar muy simbólico porque era el lugar en el que se celebraban los wheatons, esto es, la versión inglesa de las asambleas germánicas. La Carta Magna no trae la libertad en sí misma, pero el proceso acaba cuajando en el parlamentarismo y la democracia. El rey Juan firma porque le obligan los barones. La Carta Magna, sin embargo, no solo les da derechos a ellos, sino también a los villanos, a los siervos. Con ello se sentaron los cimientos de algo muy distinto. A principios del siglo XVIII se construye el estado fiscal moderno en Inglaterra, a partir de una administración que funciona desde 1690. El estado intenta hacer un seguimiento de las cosas como nunca antes lo había hecho, generando así la reacción de la sociedad. Charles Tilly explica el nacimiento de la democracia a partir de ahí. La expansión del estado traslada la lucha popular de lo local a lo nacional, es lo que Robinson denomina el efecto de la reina roja. Se intenta conseguir la libertad y para ello hay que domeñar a la reina roja. ¿Qué pasa con China? Entre el gigante asiático y Europa hay grandes diferencias estructurales, pero, en términos históricos, ¿por qué acaba siendo tan diferente de Europa Occidental? Al remontarse hacia atrás en la historia se observa que las cosas no son tan distintas. Según el Xunzi, un texto chino antiguo de filosofía, el rey es un barco y el pueblo es el agua que puede hacer que flote o que se hunda. Esto es lo que implica la rendición de cuentas. Lo que sucede en China es que el auge de la primera dinastía, la dinastía Shing, suprime este modelo de gobernanza. Shang Yang dice que cuando el pueblo es débil, el estado es fuerte. Por tanto, el estado, que conoce el camino, el tao, intenta debilitar al pueblo para fortalecerse a sí mismo. Así se crea un estado déspota, que es lo que es China desde hace 2.000 años. China cayó en este equilibrio despótico y esa situación se ha consolidado allí. Eso es muy distinto a lo que sucede en otras partes del mundo, como Yemen o el África subsahariana. En Nigeria, el pueblo Tiv era una sociedad sin estado porque temían a la hegemonía del estado. Ese temor domina tanto a la sociedad Tiv que hace que sea casi imposible construir cualquier jerarquía política. Los contratiempos se atribuyen a la brujería y esas acusaciones se utilizan para mantener el carácter igualitario de la sociedad Tiv. Cualquiera que se creyese demasiado importante y tratase de ejercer el poder corría el riesgo de que se le acusara de brujería. Los tiv desconfiaban del poder, lo que dio lugar a un sistema en el que las instituciones se basan en un principio de herencia e igualitarismo. Se puede crear una jerarquía, pero ¿cómo controlarla? Lo difícil es encontrar el equilibrio entre la falta de confianza y las ventajas que garantizan los estados. Muchas sociedades no lo han conseguido porque penetrar en ese pasillo estrecho es muy difícil. Hay tres constelaciones de relaciones estado-sociedad que tienen consecuencias muy distintas para la libertad. El estado puede dominar la sociedad, pero la sociedad también puede dominar al estado. Cuando cayó el muro de Berlín, se pensó que todo el mundo se iba a pasar a la democracia liberal, pero la pauta histórica no es la convergencia sino mantener la divergencia, como se aprecia en Yemen. Shang estaba equivocado. Sus ideas valen para explicar la deriva China, pero los estados más fuertes son los que tienen las sociedades más fuertes, porque esas sociedades pueden obligar a los estados a rendir cuentas, a que defiendan los intereses colectivos. Esto no puede pasar en China. Conseguir el Leviatán encadenado no tiene que ver con el diseño constitucional o de contrapesos. Es un proceso. EE. UU. no es como es por un documento que pudiera redactar Madison en Filadelfia. Su contenido hay que implementarlo, hay que creer en él. América hizo lo que hizo porque el poder estaba en manos de la sociedad. La libertad exige un cambio social. La libertad positiva tiene que ver con animar a las personas a hacer cosas, permitir que tomen decisiones. En las sociedades que no cuentan con un estado central, proliferan las normas sociales para conseguir imponer el orden, pero eso es la jaula de las normas, que impide conseguir la libertad, por ejemplo, el sistema de castas en la India o la servidumbre en Europa. La idea de la libertad no tiene nada de occidental. A los Tiv les interesa mucho la libertad. Este anhelo de libertad es inherente al ser humano. Hay muchos tipos de sociedades en el pasillo entre las que hay grandes diferencias, ricas y pobres, el pasillo es muy heterogéneo porque las sociedades han tenido que resolver muchos tipos distintos de problemas históricos.

El 29 de octubre de 2020, la Fundación Rafael del Pino organizó la conferencia “¿Por qué en algunos países florece la libertad y en otros el autoritarismo?”, impartida por James E. Robinson, Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies, University Professor y director del Pearson Institute de la Universidad de Chicago, con motivo de la presentación de su libro “El pasillo estrecho”. Según el profesor Robinson, los seres humanos quieren vivir en libertad. John Locke entiende que la liberad es un estado en el que las personas pueden actuar y disponer de sus posesiones sin tener para ello que depender de otras personas o pedirles permiso. Vivir en libertad es una aspiración del ser humano. La libertad, sin embargo, se define de una forma u otra dependiendo del lugar del mundo en el que viva una persona. Si todo el mundo aspira a vivir en libertad, ¿por qué falta tanta libertad en el mundo? La libertad escasea cuando un estado muy poderoso domina a la sociedad, por ejemplo, China en la actualidad. Allí, el gobierno ha colocado miles de cámaras por las calles, en un sistema tremendo de control de la sociedad que nos recuerda al Gran Hermano de Orwell que nos está observando. El estado chino es un estado que no tiene que rendir cuentas ante la sociedad con la capacidad tecnológica que tiene para erradicar la libertad. En otras partes del mundo, el estado no tiene ese tipo de presencia mayúscula. Su presencia es mínima, pero eso no garantiza la libertad. Es el caso de Yemen. El estado casi no existe allí, ni domina a la sociedad, que está organizada en sus tribus, clanes y redes. El estado no controla Yemen, pero allí tampoco hay libertad. El sociólogo Max Weber define al estado como la comunidad humana que se hace con el monopolio de la violencia en un territorio concreto. En China tiene ese monopolio y lo ejerce, pero en Yemen el monopolio de la violencia está en manos de la sociedad. Esa situación yemení tampoco da lugar a la existencia de libertad, por dos razones. La primera tiene que ver con lo que dice Hobbes en ‘Leviatán’, esto es, que una sociedad sin un estado quiebra porque se producirá una situación de guerra. La guerra es un temor continuo, un peligro de perder la vida, una vida que resulta solitaria, desagradable y corta. Esto no permite que la libertad florezca. En este contexto, en Yemen y en otras sociedades parecidas, surgen normas para impedir que haya guerras, pero esas normas también obstaculizan la libertad, constituyen la segunda razón que impide su surgimiento. Lo que permite que aparezca la libertad y que florezca es la existencia de un equilibrio entre estado y sociedad. En Yemen hay una sociedad fuerte y un estado débil, con lo que no hay libertad. En China hay un estado fuerte y una sociedad débil, con lo que tampoco hay libertad. En medio de este pasillo estrecho emerge un equilibrio entre estado y sociedad, que compiten entre sí y, al hacerlo, esa competencia impulsa a ambos para que sean fuertes y estén en equilibrio. La libertad surge en ese pasillo gracias al equilibrio entre estado y sociedad. Fuera de él se restringe la libertad. Cuando hay equilibrio entre estado y sociedad emerge el Leviatán encadenado con grilletes. Desde esta perspectiva, ¿por qué hay más libertad en Europa del norte y en Norteamérica? Para responder a esta cuestión hay que acudir a la historia y remontarse mucho tiempo atrás hasta el imperio romano. El historiador romano Tácito intentó comprender por qué los romanos nunca consiguieron conquistar a los pueblos germanos, y la respuesta la halló en las instituciones germanas. Entre ellos, los asuntos menos importantes los debatían sus jefes y los resolvían ellos mismos, pero los asuntos importantes se debatían en la asamblea de la tribu. Este es un modelo muy participativo de gobernanza. Cuando se produce la caída del imperio romano, los germanos y los francos fusionan este sistema con las instituciones romanas, es decir, el derecho, la iglesia, etc., pero sigue siendo un modelo de gobernanza muy participativo. La fusión fue promovida por Clodoveo, el rey de los merovingios. Clodoveo también promulgó la ley sálica. Él, probablemente, no sabía leer ni escribir, así es que para redactarla se hizo con los servicios de cuatro abogados romanos que venían de la otra parte del Rin. Los abogados se reunieron con las asambleas, hablaron de los casos y sus soluciones y redactaron la ley. Esto no es una imposición autocrática, sino un proceso de codificación ascendente que se remite a las tradiciones de los merovingios. La diferencia entre Europa occidental y del norte con el resto de países son esas asambleas, que vuelven a resurgir en su historia. En el siglo XIII se firma en Inglaterra la Carta Magna, un documento constitucional que intenta definir los derechos del rey y su responsabilidad. La Carta Magna se firma en Runnymeade, un prado cerca de Londres que es un lugar muy simbólico porque era el lugar en el que se celebraban los wheatons, esto es, la versión inglesa de las asambleas germánicas. La Carta Magna no trae la libertad en sí misma, pero el proceso acaba cuajando en el parlamentarismo y la democracia. El rey Juan firma porque le obligan los barones. La Carta Magna, sin embargo, no solo les da derechos a ellos, sino también a los villanos, a los siervos. Con ello se sentaron los cimientos de algo muy distinto. A principios del siglo XVIII se construye el estado fiscal moderno en Inglaterra, a partir de una administración que funciona desde 1690. El estado intenta hacer un seguimiento de las cosas como nunca antes lo había hecho, generando así la reacción de la sociedad. Charles Tilly explica el nacimiento de la democracia a partir de ahí. La expansión del estado traslada la lucha popular de lo local a lo nacional, es lo que Robinson denomina el efecto de la reina roja. Se intenta conseguir la libertad y para ello hay que domeñar a la reina roja. ¿Qué pasa con China? Entre el gigante asiático y Europa hay grandes diferencias estructurales, pero, en términos históricos, ¿por qué acaba siendo tan diferente de Europa Occidental? Al remontarse hacia atrás en la historia se observa que las cosas no son tan distintas. Según el Xunzi, un texto chino antiguo de filosofía, el rey es un barco y el pueblo es el agua que puede hacer que flote o que se hunda. Esto es lo que implica la rendición de cuentas. Lo que sucede en China es que el auge de la primera dinastía, la dinastía Shing, suprime este modelo de gobernanza. Shang Yang dice que cuando el pueblo es débil, el estado es fuerte. Por tanto, el estado, que conoce el camino, el tao, intenta debilitar al pueblo para fortalecerse a sí mismo. Así se crea un estado déspota, que es lo que es China desde hace 2.000 años. China cayó en este equilibrio despótico y esa situación se ha consolidado allí. Eso es muy distinto a lo que sucede en otras partes del mundo, como Yemen o el África subsahariana. En Nigeria, el pueblo Tiv era una sociedad sin estado porque temían a la hegemonía del estado. Ese temor domina tanto a la sociedad Tiv que hace que sea casi imposible construir cualquier jerarquía política. Los contratiempos se atribuyen a la brujería y esas acusaciones se utilizan para mantener el carácter igualitario de la sociedad Tiv. Cualquiera que se creyese demasiado importante y tratase de ejercer el poder corría el riesgo de que se le acusara de brujería. Los tiv desconfiaban del poder, lo que dio lugar a un sistema en el que las instituciones se basan en un principio de herencia e igualitarismo. Se puede crear una jerarquía, pero ¿cómo controlarla? Lo difícil es encontrar el equilibrio entre la falta de confianza y las ventajas que garantizan los estados. Muchas sociedades no lo han conseguido porque penetrar en ese pasillo estrecho es muy difícil. Hay tres constelaciones de relaciones estado-sociedad que tienen consecuencias muy distintas para la libertad. El estado puede dominar la sociedad, pero la sociedad también puede dominar al estado. Cuando cayó el muro de Berlín, se pensó que todo el mundo se iba a pasar a la democracia liberal, pero la pauta histórica no es la convergencia sino mantener la divergencia, como se aprecia en Yemen. Shang estaba equivocado. Sus ideas valen para explicar la deriva China, pero los estados más fuertes son los que tienen las sociedades más fuertes, porque esas sociedades pueden obligar a los estados a rendir cuentas, a que defiendan los intereses colectivos. Esto no puede pasar en China. Conseguir el Leviatán encadenado no tiene que ver con el diseño constitucional o de contrapesos. Es un proceso. EE. UU. no es como es por un documento que pudiera redactar Madison en Filadelfia. Su contenido hay que implementarlo, hay que creer en él. América hizo lo que hizo porque el poder estaba en manos de la sociedad. La libertad exige un cambio social. La libertad positiva tiene que ver con animar a las personas a hacer cosas, permitir que tomen decisiones. En las sociedades que no cuentan con un estado central, proliferan las normas sociales para conseguir imponer el orden, pero eso es la jaula de las normas, que impide conseguir la libertad, por ejemplo, el sistema de castas en la India o la servidumbre en Europa. La idea de la libertad no tiene nada de occidental. A los Tiv les interesa mucho la libertad. Este anhelo de libertad es inherente al ser humano. Hay muchos tipos de sociedades en el pasillo entre las que hay grandes diferencias, ricas y pobres, el pasillo es muy heterogéneo porque las sociedades han tenido que resolver muchos tipos distintos de problemas históricos.

El 29 de octubre de 2020, la Fundación Rafael del Pino organizó la conferencia “¿Por qué en algunos países florece la libertad y en otros el autoritarismo?”, impartida por James E. Robinson, Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies, University Professor y director del Pearson Institute de la Universidad de Chicago, con motivo de la presentación de su libro “El pasillo estrecho”. Según el profesor Robinson, los seres humanos quieren vivir en libertad. John Locke entiende que la liberad es un estado en el que las personas pueden actuar y disponer de sus posesiones sin tener para ello que depender de otras personas o pedirles permiso. Vivir en libertad es una aspiración del ser humano. La libertad, sin embargo, se define de una forma u otra dependiendo del lugar del mundo en el que viva una persona. Si todo el mundo aspira a vivir en libertad, ¿por qué falta tanta libertad en el mundo? La libertad escasea cuando un estado muy poderoso domina a la sociedad, por ejemplo, China en la actualidad. Allí, el gobierno ha colocado miles de cámaras por las calles, en un sistema tremendo de control de la sociedad que nos recuerda al Gran Hermano de Orwell que nos está observando. El estado chino es un estado que no tiene que rendir cuentas ante la sociedad con la capacidad tecnológica que tiene para erradicar la libertad. En otras partes del mundo, el estado no tiene ese tipo de presencia mayúscula. Su presencia es mínima, pero eso no garantiza la libertad. Es el caso de Yemen. El estado casi no existe allí, ni domina a la sociedad, que está organizada en sus tribus, clanes y redes. El estado no controla Yemen, pero allí tampoco hay libertad. El sociólogo Max Weber define al estado como la comunidad humana que se hace con el monopolio de la violencia en un territorio concreto. En China tiene ese monopolio y lo ejerce, pero en Yemen el monopolio de la violencia está en manos de la sociedad. Esa situación yemení tampoco da lugar a la existencia de libertad, por dos razones. La primera tiene que ver con lo que dice Hobbes en ‘Leviatán’, esto es, que una sociedad sin un estado quiebra porque se producirá una situación de guerra. La guerra es un temor continuo, un peligro de perder la vida, una vida que resulta solitaria, desagradable y corta. Esto no permite que la libertad florezca. En este contexto, en Yemen y en otras sociedades parecidas, surgen normas para impedir que haya guerras, pero esas normas también obstaculizan la libertad, constituyen la segunda razón que impide su surgimiento. Lo que permite que aparezca la libertad y que florezca es la existencia de un equilibrio entre estado y sociedad. En Yemen hay una sociedad fuerte y un estado débil, con lo que no hay libertad. En China hay un estado fuerte y una sociedad débil, con lo que tampoco hay libertad. En medio de este pasillo estrecho emerge un equilibrio entre estado y sociedad, que compiten entre sí y, al hacerlo, esa competencia impulsa a ambos para que sean fuertes y estén en equilibrio. La libertad surge en ese pasillo gracias al equilibrio entre estado y sociedad. Fuera de él se restringe la libertad. Cuando hay equilibrio entre estado y sociedad emerge el Leviatán encadenado con grilletes. Desde esta perspectiva, ¿por qué hay más libertad en Europa del norte y en Norteamérica? Para responder a esta cuestión hay que acudir a la historia y remontarse mucho tiempo atrás hasta el imperio romano. El historiador romano Tácito intentó comprender por qué los romanos nunca consiguieron conquistar a los pueblos germanos, y la respuesta la halló en las instituciones germanas. Entre ellos, los asuntos menos importantes los debatían sus jefes y los resolvían ellos mismos, pero los asuntos importantes se debatían en la asamblea de la tribu. Este es un modelo muy participativo de gobernanza. Cuando se produce la caída del imperio romano, los germanos y los francos fusionan este sistema con las instituciones romanas, es decir, el derecho, la iglesia, etc., pero sigue siendo un modelo de gobernanza muy participativo. La fusión fue promovida por Clodoveo, el rey de los merovingios. Clodoveo también promulgó la ley sálica. Él, probablemente, no sabía leer ni escribir, así es que para redactarla se hizo con los servicios de cuatro abogados romanos que venían de la otra parte del Rin. Los abogados se reunieron con las asambleas, hablaron de los casos y sus soluciones y redactaron la ley. Esto no es una imposición autocrática, sino un proceso de codificación ascendente que se remite a las tradiciones de los merovingios. La diferencia entre Europa occidental y del norte con el resto de países son esas asambleas, que vuelven a resurgir en su historia. En el siglo XIII se firma en Inglaterra la Carta Magna, un documento constitucional que intenta definir los derechos del rey y su responsabilidad. La Carta Magna se firma en Runnymeade, un prado cerca de Londres que es un lugar muy simbólico porque era el lugar en el que se celebraban los wheatons, esto es, la versión inglesa de las asambleas germánicas. La Carta Magna no trae la libertad en sí misma, pero el proceso acaba cuajando en el parlamentarismo y la democracia. El rey Juan firma porque le obligan los barones. La Carta Magna, sin embargo, no solo les da derechos a ellos, sino también a los villanos, a los siervos. Con ello se sentaron los cimientos de algo muy distinto. A principios del siglo XVIII se construye el estado fiscal moderno en Inglaterra, a partir de una administración que funciona desde 1690. El estado intenta hacer un seguimiento de las cosas como nunca antes lo había hecho, generando así la reacción de la sociedad. Charles Tilly explica el nacimiento de la democracia a partir de ahí. La expansión del estado traslada la lucha popular de lo local a lo nacional, es lo que Robinson denomina el efecto de la reina roja. Se intenta conseguir la libertad y para ello hay que domeñar a la reina roja. ¿Qué pasa con China? Entre el gigante asiático y Europa hay grandes diferencias estructurales, pero, en términos históricos, ¿por qué acaba siendo tan diferente de Europa Occidental? Al remontarse hacia atrás en la historia se observa que las cosas no son tan distintas. Según el Xunzi, un texto chino antiguo de filosofía, el rey es un barco y el pueblo es el agua que puede hacer que flote o que se hunda. Esto es lo que implica la rendición de cuentas. Lo que sucede en China es que el auge de la primera dinastía, la dinastía Shing, suprime este modelo de gobernanza. Shang Yang dice que cuando el pueblo es débil, el estado es fuerte. Por tanto, el estado, que conoce el camino, el tao, intenta debilitar al pueblo para fortalecerse a sí mismo. Así se crea un estado déspota, que es lo que es China desde hace 2.000 años. China cayó en este equilibrio despótico y esa situación se ha consolidado allí. Eso es muy distinto a lo que sucede en otras partes del mundo, como Yemen o el África subsahariana. En Nigeria, el pueblo Tiv era una sociedad sin estado porque temían a la hegemonía del estado. Ese temor domina tanto a la sociedad Tiv que hace que sea casi imposible construir cualquier jerarquía política. Los contratiempos se atribuyen a la brujería y esas acusaciones se utilizan para mantener el carácter igualitario de la sociedad Tiv. Cualquiera que se creyese demasiado importante y tratase de ejercer el poder corría el riesgo de que se le acusara de brujería. Los tiv desconfiaban del poder, lo que dio lugar a un sistema en el que las instituciones se basan en un principio de herencia e igualitarismo. Se puede crear una jerarquía, pero ¿cómo controlarla? Lo difícil es encontrar el equilibrio entre la falta de confianza y las ventajas que garantizan los estados. Muchas sociedades no lo han conseguido porque penetrar en ese pasillo estrecho es muy difícil. Hay tres constelaciones de relaciones estado-sociedad que tienen consecuencias muy distintas para la libertad. El estado puede dominar la sociedad, pero la sociedad también puede dominar al estado. Cuando cayó el muro de Berlín, se pensó que todo el mundo se iba a pasar a la democracia liberal, pero la pauta histórica no es la convergencia sino mantener la divergencia, como se aprecia en Yemen. Shang estaba equivocado. Sus ideas valen para explicar la deriva China, pero los estados más fuertes son los que tienen las sociedades más fuertes, porque esas sociedades pueden obligar a los estados a rendir cuentas, a que defiendan los intereses colectivos. Esto no puede pasar en China. Conseguir el Leviatán encadenado no tiene que ver con el diseño constitucional o de contrapesos. Es un proceso. EE. UU. no es como es por un documento que pudiera redactar Madison en Filadelfia. Su contenido hay que implementarlo, hay que creer en él. América hizo lo que hizo porque el poder estaba en manos de la sociedad. La libertad exige un cambio social. La libertad positiva tiene que ver con animar a las personas a hacer cosas, permitir que tomen decisiones. En las sociedades que no cuentan con un estado central, proliferan las normas sociales para conseguir imponer el orden, pero eso es la jaula de las normas, que impide conseguir la libertad, por ejemplo, el sistema de castas en la India o la servidumbre en Europa. La idea de la libertad no tiene nada de occidental. A los Tiv les interesa mucho la libertad. Este anhelo de libertad es inherente al ser humano. Hay muchos tipos de sociedades en el pasillo entre las que hay grandes diferencias, ricas y pobres, el pasillo es muy heterogéneo porque las sociedades han tenido que resolver muchos tipos distintos de problemas históricos.

Kundi Ramashia is the only black female and youngest Family Advocate in the Office of The Family Advocate, Johannesburg. Having begun her career at one of the top rated international Law Firms in the country (Hogan Lovells), Kundi has not only practiced as an attorney in private practice; but also spread her wings as a Supervising Attorney at a National legal NGO (ProBono.Org) as well as working as a National Course Coordinator for a private tertiary institution (Pearson Institute), lecturing first and second year law students.  She has furthermore lectured for The Law Society of South Africa's Legal Education and Development programme (LEAD). Kundi holds a Bcom Law and an LLB degree, both obtained from the University Of Johannesburg. Kundi is more than a straitjacketed lawyer however. Her love for food and its beautiful presentation lead to the creation of her food blog (Kundi's Kitchen) in 2016. She is also the owner of a catering and catering equipment hire business, which has serviced private and corporate clients alike. Kundi has made numerous live television appearances as well as radio and print magazine interviews in her capacity as a foodie, and partnered with well-known food brands in her capacity as a content creator. She is passionate about Family Law and food and firmly believes that “direction is so much more important than speed”.   Tag us on Instagram @sister_in_law_ and @kundzzgp Don't forget to rate and review the show. Happy Women's Month!! In the spirit of Women's Month and being true to the objectives of this platform (empowering women) I will be providing all services and selling all merchandise at a 15% discount for the month of August. All consultations and services booked during August are valid until 30 September and are transferable meaning you're more than welcome to book a consultation or other service for another woman you would like to empower. Services include, but are not limited to: drafting of Wills, drafting of parenting plans, drafting of ante-nuptial contracts, drafting and reviewing various contracts for women owned businesses, divorce consultations and maintenance advice. Book your consultation by emailing advice@sisterinlaw.co.za Sister In Law merchandise is available on the website shop: www.sisterinlaw.co.za --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tebello-motshwane/message

In this episode of Root of Conflict, Pearson Fellows Daniella Choi (MPP ‘20) and Daniel Vallejo (MPP ‘21) speak with Dr. Rebecca Wolfe and Maurice Amollo. Dr. Wolfe is a Lecturer at the Harris School of Public Policy and is an expert on political violence, conflict, and humanitarian policy, and Maurice Amollo is the Chief of Party for Mercy Corps in Nigeria. The two of them have worked together on the USAID-funded “Community Initiatives to Promote Peace”, a multifaceted program aimed to bring together pastoralists and farmers by engaging community and faith-based leaders to promote peace in Nigeria. Rebecca and Maurice discuss the roots of conflict in Nigeria, how the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a disruption in their programs, and the importance of building trust between people and institutions.This podcast is partnered with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org.Podcast credits:Daniella Choi (MPP'20) - CohostDaniel Vallejo (MPP'21) - CohostYi Ning Wong (MPP'21) - Producer/Editor

What is the role of big data in modern-day conflict? How prepared are defense leaders ininterpreting data and effectively leveraging its use on the battlefield? How has cyber warfareevolved over the past decade, and what lessons can we draw from the Russian example inCrimea?We attempt to address these questions in this episode of Root of Conflict, where Pearson FellowsSonnet Frisbie (MPP ‘21) and Haz Yano (MPP ‘20) interview Colonel (ret.) Liam Collins, theExecutive Director of the Madison Policy Forum and the Viola Foundation. COL (ret.) Collins isa retired Army Special Forces Officer who previously served as the former Director of theCombating Terrorism Center and the Modern War Institute at West Point.Drawing on his vast professional experience (to include a stint as the executive officer forGeneral (ret.) John Abizaid when he was the Senior Defense advisor to Ukraine), COL Collinsshared his thoughts on how the defense community can adapt to take advantage of themeasurement revolution, and what to make of Russia’s innovative use of cyber and hybridwarfare in Ukraine.This podcast is partnered with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of GlobalConflicts. For more information, please visit their website at www.thepearsoninstitute.org.Links to articles discussed in the episode:“The Pitfalls and Possibilities of the Measurement Revolution for National Security,” War on theRocks - https://warontherocks.com/2020/01/the-pitfalls-and-possibilities-of-the-measurement-revolution-for-national-security/“A New Eastern Front: What the US Army Must Learn from the War in Ukraine,” Associationof the US Army - https://www.ausa.org/articles/new-eastern-front-what-us-army-must-learn-war-ukraine

On November 6th, EPIC and The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts convened a conversation about energy geopolitics and their economic implications, with a specific focus on the lessons learned from the Abqaiq attack. The event featured Robert McNally, the president of The Rapidan Group and a former senior director for international energy at the White House National Security Council; Suzanne Maloney, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director for Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution; and Harris Public Policy Professor Ryan Kellogg, an EPIC affiliated scholar who studies the economics of oil markets. The event was moderated by Robinson Meyer, EPIC’s Visiting Fellow in Journalism and a reporter for The Atlantic.

For over 35 years, John Prendergast has worked as a human rights and anti-corruption activist to create and sustain peace in Africa. He served as the Director of African Affairs on the National Security Council under the Clinton Administration, and has founded and worked for a variety of humanitarian organizations.Prendergast is the founding director of the Enough Project, an organization aimed at countering genocide and crimes against humanity, and co-founder of The Sentry, an investigative initiative chasing the assets of African war criminals and their international collaborators.John Prendergast was recently at the University of Chicago to speak with Obama Scholars in the Harris School’s Masters of Arts in International Development and Policy (MAIDP). Lauren Manning (Harris MPP ’20), a Fellow with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflict, sat down with John Prendergast to discuss his work as a human rights activist, recent trends in Africa, and advice for future aspiring humanitarian activists. Credits:Lauren Manning (MPP '20), interviewerHaz Yano (MPP '20), producer, engineer, and editorSpecial thanks to the Obama Scholars program for bringing Mr. Prendergast to the University of Chicago.

For over 35 years, John Prendergast has worked as a human rights and anti-corruption activist to create and sustain peace in Africa. He served as the Director of African Affairs on the National Security Council under the Clinton Administration, and has founded and worked for a variety of humanitarian organizations.Prendergast is the founding director of the Enough Project, an organization aimed at countering genocide and crimes against humanity, and co-founder of The Sentry, an investigative initiative chasing the assets of African war criminals and their international collaborators.John Prendergast was recently at the University of Chicago to speak with Obama Scholars in the Harris School’s Masters of Arts in International Development and Policy (MAIDP). Lauren Manning (Harris MPP ’20), a Fellow with the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflict, sat down with John Prendergast to discuss his work as a human rights activist, recent trends in Africa, and advice for future aspiring humanitarian activists. Credits:Lauren Manning (MPP '20), interviewerHaz Yano (MPP '20), producer, engineer, and editorSpecial thanks to the Obama Scholars program for bringing Mr. Prendergast to the University of Chicago.

Prabhat Singh (MPP '20) interviews Pascal Brice, General Director of France's Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA). Director Brice shared some of his thoughts on policies for the protection and acceptance of refugees in France and across the world.Credits:Prabhat Singh, for interviewing and editingSushmita Singha, for engineeringLauren Li, for producingSpecial thanks to the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts for inviting Pascal Brice to Chicago from Paris.

Prabhat Singh (MPP '20) interviews Pascal Brice, General Director of France's Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA). Director Brice shared some of his thoughts on policies for the protection and acceptance of refugees in France and across the world.Credits:Prabhat Singh, for interviewing and editingSushmita Singha, for engineeringLauren Li, for producingSpecial thanks to the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts for inviting Pascal Brice to Chicago from Paris.

In these episodes, Thomas Krasnican and Sarah Claudy (from the Pearson Institute) interview Dr. Ron Krebs, a professor at the University of Minnesota, and Robert Ralston, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, about their research recently published in Foreign Policy Magazine. Part One covers different theories of that seek to answer the fundamental question of civil-military relations in a democracy: “who guards the guardians?” Part One also covers Dr. Krebs and Mr. Ralston’s research regarding public perceptions of the military—to what extent the general populace thinks that the civilian-controlled government should defer to military leadership with regard to national security issues—and some of the surprising insights their data revealed. Link to their original article: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/03/americans-blind-faith-in-the-military-is-dangerous-civilian-oversight-deference-mcraven-trump/ Credits: Thomas Krasnican, host Sarah Claudy, host Haz Yano, producer Nick Paraiso, producer Alec MacMillen, engineer and producer Aishwarya Kumar, production support Mary Martha Maclay, production support Note: This podcast is in no way intended to reflect the official positions of the Department of Defense or any other military entity.

In these episodes, Thomas Krasnican and Sarah Claudy (from the Pearson Institute) interview Dr. Ron Krebs, a professor at the University of Minnesota, and Robert Ralston, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, about their research recently published in Foreign Policy Magazine. Part Two addresses the potential implications of the American ‘ritualistic hero worship’ of the military, and how the rhetoric and narratives associated with this practice shape national security policy through their impact on people in governmental positions. Is civilian oversight even a ‘good’ thing? By what standards? Part Two further addresses what civilians can do to stay informed in order to uphold the American democracy. Link to their original article: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/03/americans-blind-faith-in-the-military-is-dangerous-civilian-oversight-deference-mcraven-trump/ Credits: Thomas Krasnican, host Sarah Claudy, host Haz Yano, producer Nick Paraiso, producer Alec MacMillen, engineer and producer Sarah Claudy, creative consultant Aishwarya Kumar, production support Mary Martha Maclay, production support Note: This podcast is in no way intended to reflect the official positions of the Department of Defense or any other military entity.