New Frontiers

Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs

New Frontiers brings together scholars, experts, and practitioners to discuss issues of international and global importance. Produced by the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs at Middlebury College, the podcast tackles a wide range of topics— from big tech, environmental conservation, global security, and political economy to culture, literature, religion, and changing work patterns—that, when examined as a whole, offers a comprehensive survey of the world's most pressing issues. read less

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India Today: One Question, Three Perspectives

India Today: One Question, Three Perspectives

“What’s the one thing about India, that isn’t getting enough attention?” That’s the question we put to three India experts; and not surprisingly, we got three different responses. In August 2023, India celebrated its first successful moon landing. However, while this achievement made headlines around the world, other developments of equal or greater significance may be going unnoticed. One is India’s drift toward illiberal democracy—or perhaps even autocracy. Could this impede its budding strategic relationship with the United States? Another is the Modi government’s apparent efforts to erase important aspects of India’s multicultural past from the national consciousness, and the repercussions of these pursuits. And finally, how has India harnessed technology to realize remarkable success in combating poverty? In this episode of “New Frontiers”, host Mark Williams and co-host Arjun Kumar ‘25.5, explore these topics with guests Jeff Lunstead, Cynthia Packert, and Sunder Ramaswamy. Jeffrey Lunstead is a Diplomat in Residence at Middlebury College, and former U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka. He teaches courses on international diplomacy, conflict in South Asia, and the rise of Asia in U.S. policy. Cynthia Packert is the Christian A. Johnson Professor in the History of Art and Architecture at Middlebury College. She teaches courses on all aspects of Asian and Islamic art, with a particular focus on India. Read more here. Sunder Ramaswamy is the Distinguished College Professor of International Economics at Middlebury College. He teaches classes on economic development, international trade, and the political economy of India. Read more here. For more information on the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs at Middlebury College and the New Frontiers podcast series, visit our website. New Frontiers” is a higher education podcast series bringing scholarly research and expertise to bear on national, international, and global affairs.Show Notes:Produced and edited by Margaret DeFoor and Mark Williams. Intro by Charlotte Tate, associate director of the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs. Co-hosted by Mark Williams and Arjun Kumar 25.5. A special thanks to Mehr Sohal.Music Credits Forte by Kestra - Summer with Sound Album Soul Zone by Kestra - Light Rising Album

Episodes

India Today: One Question, Three Perspectives

India Today: One Question, Three Perspectives

“What’s the one thing about India, that isn’t getting enough attention?” That’s the question we put to three India experts; and not surprisingly, we got three different responses. In August 2023, India celebrated its first successful moon landing. However, while this achievement made headlines around the world, other developments of equal or greater significance may be going unnoticed. One is India’s drift toward illiberal democracy—or perhaps even autocracy. Could this impede its budding strategic relationship with the United States? Another is the Modi government’s apparent efforts to erase important aspects of India’s multicultural past from the national consciousness, and the repercussions of these pursuits. And finally, how has India harnessed technology to realize remarkable success in combating poverty? In this episode of “New Frontiers”, host Mark Williams and co-host Arjun Kumar ‘25.5, explore these topics with guests Jeff Lunstead, Cynthia Packert, and Sunder Ramaswamy. Jeffrey Lunstead is a Diplomat in Residence at Middlebury College, and former U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka. He teaches courses on international diplomacy, conflict in South Asia, and the rise of Asia in U.S. policy. Cynthia Packert is the Christian A. Johnson Professor in the History of Art and Architecture at Middlebury College. She teaches courses on all aspects of Asian and Islamic art, with a particular focus on India. Read more here. Sunder Ramaswamy is the Distinguished College Professor of International Economics at Middlebury College. He teaches classes on economic development, international trade, and the political economy of India. Read more here. For more information on the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs at Middlebury College and the New Frontiers podcast series, visit our website. New Frontiers” is a higher education podcast series bringing scholarly research and expertise to bear on national, international, and global affairs.Show Notes:Produced and edited by Margaret DeFoor and Mark Williams. Intro by Charlotte Tate, associate director of the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs. Co-hosted by Mark Williams and Arjun Kumar 25.5. A special thanks to Mehr Sohal.Music Credits Forte by Kestra - Summer with Sound Album Soul Zone by Kestra - Light Rising Album

Race, Empire, and Policing in Paris

Race, Empire, and Policing in Paris

In June 2023, French police killed 17-year-old Nahal Merzouk during a traffic stop outside of Paris. The killing led to days of street protests, widespread condemnation of racialized police practices, and over 1,300 arrests. This was particularly significant in a country like France, where discussions about race are often avoided or rejected. To gain a deeper understanding of French police practices, Mark Williams sits down with historian Amit Prakash, whose new book—Empire on the Seine—explores how France’s colonial history helped shape how French law enforcement policed North Africans living in Paris from 1925 to 1975. Prakash also details how discrimination and racialized policing persist in a country where officialdom avoids employing race as a demographic category.Amit Prakash, Visiting Professor of International and Global Studies at Middlebury College, teaches classes on policing, borders and identification, and anti-colonialism. He is a historian specializing in the history of policing, modern imperialism, and decolonization. He has most recently published Empire on the Seine (Oxford University Press, 2022) which is the first history of the Parisian police and North Africans that covers the period from the 1920s to the 1970s. Beyond Middlebury, Prakash has been featured in the documentary The Price of Safety and is the cohost of the history and current events podcast No Politics at the Dinner Table. He holds a B.A. in English from Oberlin College and an M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in History from Columbia University.For more information on the New Frontiers academic podcast series visit the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs website. SHOW NOTES: Produced and edited by Margaret DeFoor and Mark Williams. Intro by Charlotte Tate, associate director of the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs. Outro by Chris Martucci ‘25.Music Credits Forte by Kestra - Summer with Sound Album Soul Zone by Kestra - Light Rising Album

After the Insurrection: Assessing American Democracy

After the Insurrection: Assessing American Democracy

On January 6, 2021, supporters of US President Donald Trump—spurred on and energized by the defeated president himself—launched a violent attack on the US capital to stop the peaceful transfer of power to president-elect Joe Biden. What are we to make of the January 6 insurrection? What does it tell us about ourselves as Americans and the state of our democracy? And with another presidential election approaching—and an indicted Donald Trump the likely Republican candidate—how might our parties, courts, and Justice Department act in ways that could safeguard democracy, or threaten it even more? In this episode, political scientist Bert Johnson reflects on the state of American democracy, the dangers it faces, and some of the ways Americans might preserve their democratic political system. Bert Johnson (B.A. Carleton College, 1994; Ph.D. Harvard University, 2003), professor of political science, has taught American politics at Middlebury College since 2004. His research and teaching interests include campaign finance, federalism, and state and local politics. Johnson is author of Political Giving: Making Sense of Individual Campaign Contributions (Boulder: FirstForum Press, 2013), and coauthor (with Morris Fiorina, Paul E. Peterson, and William Mayer) of The New American Democracy (Longman, 2011). His articles have appeared in Social Science History, Urban Affairs Review, and American Politics Research. He is owner and author of Basicsplainer.com. For more information on the New Frontiers podcast visit the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs website. SHOW NOTES:Music CreditsForte by Kestra - Summer with Sound AlbumSoul Zone by Kestra - Light Rising AlbumThis episode was produced by Margaret DeFoor and Mark Williams.Intro by Charlotte Tate, associate director of the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs.Outro by Srivats Ramaswamy ‘25.5

INTL' NGOs: What You Need to Know

INTL' NGOs: What You Need to Know

International nongovernmental organizations (INGO’s) like Amnesty International, Care, Oxfam, or World Vision operate independently of governments around the world. But what do we really know about these organizations and their operations, behavior, effectiveness or limitations? What might they be doing or be unable to do, in a country like Ukraine, where many people are suffering and there are dire needs, and yet the war that Russia unleashed impedes their work? In this episode, political scientist and INGO specialist Sarah Stroup lifts the curtain on international nongovernmental organizations to illuminate their function, efficacy, and constraints. SHOW NOTES:Music CreditsForte by Kestra - Summer with Sound AlbumSoul Zone by Kestra - Light Rising AlbumOutro by Arjun Kumar '25For information on Sarah Stroup's book , Borders Among Activists: International NGOs in the United States, Britain, and France (Borders Among Activists: International NGOs in the United States, Britain, and France (Cornell University Press, 2012), visit here.For more information on Middlebury College and the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs, visit here.

Israel in Crisis

Israel in Crisis

For months, hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens have taken to the streets to protest government plans to overhaul the judiciary—including plans that would vitiate checks on executive power, allow a simple majority of 61 in the 120-seat Knesset to override almost any ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court, and permit politicians to appoint most of the Court’s justices. Both the protests and proposed reforms take place against the backdrop of significant demographic changes which, in turn, have enhanced the power and parliamentary representation of Israel’s religious parties. Given the Knesset’s current makeup therefore, the reforms will—at least indirectly—grant the religious parties extensive influence over Israeli society. In this episode, Middlebury College political geographer and Professor of Geosciences Tamar Mayer explains why these plans for judicial reform have pitted the government against many of its citizens, what is at stake in this crisis, and why the roots of this crisis stretch far back into Israel’s past.SHOW NOTES:Podcast produced by Margaret DeFoor and Mark Williams.Outro by Middlebury student Vee Syengo ‘25 Music CreditsForte by Kestra - Summer with Sound AlbumSoul Zone by Kestra - Light Rising AlbumFor more information on New Frontiers podcast episodes and guests visit the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs website.

Why We Need Environmental Justice Part 2 of 2

Why We Need Environmental Justice Part 2 of 2

Part 2 of 2What is meant by such terms as environmental injustice or environmental racism? What is the environmental justice movement and how is it manifest—in the United States and beyond? In this episode of New Frontiers, political scientist Kemi Fuentes-George discusses these topics and what achieving environmental justice for marginalized populations might actually entail.SHOW NOTESFor more information on this and other podcasts go to the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs at Middlebury College website https://www.middlebury.edu/office/rohatyn Between Preservation and Exploitation by Kemi Fuentes-George (MIT Press) Music CreditsForte by Ketsa - Summer with Sound AlbumSoul Zone by Ketsa - Light Rising AlbumProduced and recorded by Mark Williams and Margaret DeFoor. Edited by Jonah Roberts (Middlebury ’23).

Why We Need Environmental Justice Part 1 of 2

Why We Need Environmental Justice Part 1 of 2

Part 1 of 2What is meant by such terms as environmental injustice or environmental racism? What is the environmental justice movement and how is it manifest—in the United States and beyond? In this episode of New Frontiers, political scientist Kemi Fuentes-George discusses these topics and what achieving environmental justice for marginalized populations might actually entail.SHOW NOTESFor more information on this and other podcasts go to the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs at Middlebury College website https://www.middlebury.edu/office/rohatyn Between Preservation and Exploitation by Kemi Fuentes-George (MIT Press) Music CreditsForte by Ketsa - Summer with Sound AlbumSoul Zone by Ketsa - Light Rising AlbumProduced and recorded by Mark Williams and Margaret DeFoor. Edited by Jonah Roberts (Middlebury ’23).

Whatever Happened To "Essential" Workers

Whatever Happened To "Essential" Workers

How did the COVID pandemic affect America’s workers—especially those deemed “essential” who often were poorly paid, nonunionized, lacked meaningful benefits, and were required to continue working while most other workers stayed home? How did these workers respond to the health risks they encountered on the job, and how did their struggle for labor justice transform—at least for a while—political discourse and consciousness in America? Jamie McCallum and Mark Williams explore these and other issues in this episode of New Frontiers. SHOW NOTES: For more information on this and other podcasts go to the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs at Middlebury College website https://www.middlebury.edu/office/rohatyn Essential by Jamie K. McCallum (Basic Books Nov 2022) Music CreditsForte by Ketsa - Summer with Sound AlbumSoul Zone by Ketsa - Light Rising AlbumProduced by Mark Williams and Margaret DeFoor. Edited by Jonah Roberts (Middlebury ’23) and Margaret DeFoor.

Understanding Slavery in Medieval China

Understanding Slavery in Medieval China

Slavery lasted for centuries in China, and yet its particulars are not well known. In this episode of New Frontiers, historian Don Wyatt takes us back to help us understand how the institution thrived during imperial times and the roles it played in Chinese culture. Despite its long pedigree, Chinese slavery during medieval times has failed to attract wide scholarly attention. Hence, questions about it abound. What was slavery like in medieval China? How was it similar to—or different from—the institution of slavery found in other societies and at other times? Who were the enslaved in the Chinese context, why were they enslaved, and what function did slavery serve in Chinese society? In this episode of New Frontiers, historian Don Wyatt sits down with Mark Williams to discuss these and other issues. SHOW NOTES: For more information: Cambridge Element Slavery in East Asia Music CreditsForte by Kestra - Summer with Sound AlbumSoul Zone by Kestra - Light Rising AlbumProduced by Margaret DeFoor and Mark Williams.

Why Did Turkish Democracy Collapse

Why Did Turkish Democracy Collapse

After six decades of multiparty politics, Turkish democracy has collapsed. Yes, the trappings of democracy are still visible. Elections are held, parliament sits in session, the courts rule, and the elected executive leads. Yet, the substance of democracy moves ever further into the past. How did this happen? Why? And what implications does the unraveling of democracy in Turkey hold for political systems in other countries? In this episode, Mark Williams explores these topics with political scientist Sebnem Gumuscu, whose recent scholarship highlights the reality of democratic backsliding. Sebnem Gumuscu is an associate professor of political science and a faculty fellow at the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs here at Middlebury College. In her capacity as a faculty fellow, Professor Gumuscu co-directs the Rohatyn Center’s program on Global Trends in Autocracy and Democracy which is supported by the Cangiano Family, in memory of Leon M. Cangiano Jr. Class of 1963. Much of her research has focused on political Islam, middle Eastern and north African politics, democratization, and democratic backsliding. Her first book, Democracy, Identity and Foreign Policy in Turkey, was published in 2014. Her second book, which is forthcoming from Cambridge University Press is titled Democracy or Authoritarianism: Islamist Governments in Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia. Her recent article which appeared in the journal Party Politics—“Why Did Turkish Democracy Collapse? A Political Economy Account of AKP’s Authoritarianism”— was co-authored with Berk Esen.SHOW NOTES:Presented by the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs at Middlebury College.Music CreditsForte by Ketsa - Summer with Sound AlbumSoul Zone by Ketsa - Light Rising AlbumProduced by Margaret A. DeFoor and Mark Williams.

What to do about Cosmic Garbage.

What to do about Cosmic Garbage.

According to the US Space Force, only 2,000 of the 22,000 objects that have been tracked circling the Earth are fully operational, functioning satellites. Put differently, roughly 90 percent of the objects that can be tracked circling the globe is junk—space junk, or cosmic garbage. How did it get there, why does it keep accumulating, and how best might we address this global problem are all topics that Akhil Rao, Assistant Professor of Economics at Middlebury College, writes about in a co-authored article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In this episode of New Frontiers, Professor Rao speaks with Mark Williams about these issues and explains why adopting “orbital use fees” could be the best way to address the problem of cosmic garbage.Show Notes:Presented by the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs at Middlebury College.Music CreditsForte by Ketsa - Summer with Sound AlbumSoul Zone by Ketsa - Light Rising AlbumProduced by Margaret A. DeFoor and Mark Williams.

What Made Russians Skeptics About Democratic Capitalism?

What Made Russians Skeptics About Democratic Capitalism?

In this episode, Mark Williams talks with Will Pyle, the Frederick C. Dirks Professor of International Economics at Middlebury College, about recent findings he published in the journal Post-Soviet Affairs. Their discussion explores why Russians of a certain cohort—although liberated from the economic and political constraints of Soviet Communism—are not the strong enthusiasts of democracy and capitalism which many westerners believed they would become after the USSR collapsed. Show Notes:Presented by the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs at Middlebury College.Music CreditsForte by Ketsa - Summer with Sound AlbumSoul Zone by Ketsa - Light Rising AlbumProduced by Margaret A. DeFoor and Mark Williams.

China and the American Right

China and the American Right

“Asia First was an insistence that Pacific affairs receive as much, if not more attention than European Atlantic relations in the cold war. Its proponents, its supporters, many of whom were very powerful, conservative voices in the Senate and in Congress felt like U.S. foreign policy after World War II was neglecting mainland Asia and therefore imperiling the whole cold war.” — Joyce MaoIn this episode (2), Mark Williams, director of the Rohatyn Center, talks with Joyce Mao, Middlebury College associate professor of history, about the Asia First initiative and, in particular, the effects that US-China-Taiwan relations had on American domestic politics. Why were American conservatives so interested in Asia after WWII and in China particularly? In what ways, if any, did conservative concerns over China influence US foreign policy, and how did conservatives’ interest in China help shape the development of the political right in the United States? These are some of the issues examined in this New Frontiers episode "China and the American Right."Joyce Mao’s book, Asia First: China and the Making of Modern American Conservatism, was published in 2015 by the University of Chicago Press.Show Notes:Presented by the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs at Middlebury College.Music CreditsForte by Ketsa - Summer with Sound AlbumSoul Zone by Ketsa - Light Rising AlbumProduced by Margaret A. DeFoor and Mark Williams.

Should Corporations Govern Global Food Systems?

Should Corporations Govern Global Food Systems?

In this episode, Molly Anderson, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Food Studies at Middlebury College, joins Mark Williams, director of the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs, to discuss her recent article titled “UN Food Systems Summit 2021: Dismantling Democracy and Resetting Corporate Control of Food Systems”. At issue is whether multinational corporations (MNC's) should have more influence and say in controlling/governing food systems than does civil society and its constituent parts most plagued by problems of food insecurity. Anderson believes MNC's should not enjoy such a privileged position over so vital a basic necessity, and offers a forceful critique of 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), which in her view helped ensure such corporate control.SHOW NOTESPresented by the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs at Middlebury College.Music CreditsForte by Ketsa - Summer with Sound AlbumSoul Zone by Ketsa - Light Rising AlbumProduced by Margaret A. DeFoor and Mark Williams.