Stopping Ebola Requires Multilateralism. America’s Retreat Is Making That Harder
The blog argues that stopping Ebola hinges on multilateral institutions such as Gavi, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, and the World Health Organization, which together develop vaccines, track disease spread, and coordinate responses. It cites the rapid containment of a recent DRC outbreak as proof that coordinated action works. However, the author warns that the Trump administration’s pullback from these global health systems threatens future outbreak control. Continued support for these platforms is essential to replicate past successes.
How Ted Turner Changed the World
Ted Turner, the media mogul who launched CNN, died at 87. In 1997 he pledged $1 billion to the United Nations, sparking the creation of the United Nations Foundation. Despite a massive loss of wealth after the AOL‑Time Warner merger, he...
Why a New UN Security Council Resolution on Hormuz Is Probably Doomed
The United States is drafting a new UN Security Council resolution demanding Iran stop tolls, disclose mines, cease attacks on ships, and restore the pre‑war status of the Strait of Hormuz. The move follows Tehran’s recent restrictions that threaten a...
The High Stakes of a Major UN Meeting on Nuclear Weapons
In this episode, Kelsey Davenport of the Arms Control Association explains the three pillars of the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and assesses its mixed record: it has largely prevented new nuclear states but is now under strain as nuclear‑armed powers...
The UN Has a Plan to Open Hormuz (Two of Them, Actually.)
The UN Secretary‑General announced a new task force to design technical mechanisms that would allow fertilizer and humanitarian goods to flow through the Strait of Hormuz amid the third Persian Gulf war. Oil shortages are already rattling South Asian economies,...
How To Prevent Weapons of Mass Destruction in a Changing Geopolitical and Military Landscape
The Global Dispatches podcast, in partnership with the Global Challenges Foundation, examines rising threats from weapons of mass destruction amid a fragmented geopolitical climate and evolving military domains. Guests Wilfred Wan of SIPRI and Michael Wernstedt of the Foundation highlight...
How the US Is Justifying the Iran War to the UN
The Trump administration presented a self‑defence argument at the United Nations to justify its bombing campaign against Iran, a justification many member states deem retroactive and legally tenuous. The episode also explores a proposed UN‑led diplomatic intervention in the Strait...
The United Nations Has a Blueprint for Opening the Strait of Hormuz
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been halted, driving oil prices above $100 per barrel and threatening global food security. The United Nations, recalling its 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative that enabled safe Ukrainian grain shipments, could apply a...
The War in Iran Comes to the United Nations
The latest Global Dispatches episode examines how the unfolding war in Iran is reshaping diplomatic activity at the United Nations. It also notes two fresh contenders entering the race to replace António Guterres as UN Secretary‑General. Cindy McCain’s departure from the...
Ethiopia Is Sliding Fast Toward Major War
In this episode of Global Dispatches, host Mark Leon Goldberg talks with Ethiopian‑Canadian journalist Zacharias Zelalem about Ethiopia’s rapid slide toward a new, potentially regional war. Zelalem outlines recent flashpoints: mass troop deployments northward, the Ethiopian government’s revocation of Tigray’s...