Diplomatic Immunity (Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University)

For our third episode of "History and our Current World," Kelly welcomes journalist Katie Stallard to explore how historical mythmaking shapes foreign policy. We examine how Russia, China & North Korea have manipulated national narratives to legitimize their global ambitions and create powerful collective identities.

Katie is a senior editor for China & global affairs at the News Statesman magazine, and was previously a foreign correspondent for Sky News, reporting from Ukraine, Russia, and China. She published Dancing on Bones in 2022, which was awarded best political book of the year by the Financial Times, the Sunday Times, and the BBC history magazine.

Link to Dancing on Bones: https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Bones-History-Power-Russia/dp/0197575358

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Theo Malhotra and Freddie Mallinson. 

Recorded on February 19, 2025. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Libya: A conversation about the Arab Spring and its aftermath between Ambassador Gene Cretz and Libyan civil society activist Mohamed Almenfi. Presented by Kelly McFarland and Alistair Somerville. Additional commentary from Rita Stephan.

Part 4 of a Diplomatic Immunity mini-series, Diplomacy and the Arab Spring at 10 - Origins and Legacies of Revolution

Listen to Part 3, Yemen: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-3-revolution-transition-and-collapse-in-yemen-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Listen to Part 2, Egypt: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-2-tahrir-square-and-beyond

Listen to Part 1, Tunisia: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-1-the-tunisian-people-have-spoken-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision makers around the world.  

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland

Production assistance by Jonas Heering

Design by Rebecca McFarland, Jonas Heering, and Alistair Somerville

Additional audio from Julius H on Pixabay, the Free Music Archive, and Surhofi

Rita Stephan's new co-edited volume, Women Rising: In and Beyond the Arab Spring, is available here: https://nyupress.org/9781479846641/women-rising/

Interview with Liana Fix on Germany - 16:00

NOTE: This episode was recorded before the ceasefire in the DRC began to break down.

This week, Kelly sits down with Council on Foreign Relations fellow Liana Fix for an update on Germany's political crisis just weeks ahead of the federal elections. Before that, Kelly and Freddie break down the release of DeepSeek, discuss the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and give an update on South Korea's presidential crisis.

Liana Fix is a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a historian and political scientist, with expertise in German and European foreign and security policy, European security, transatlantic relations, Russia, Eastern Europe, and European China policy. Dr. Fix is also the author of A New German Power? Germany’s Role in European Russia Policy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021). She is an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University in the Center for German and European Studies and the Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies.

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Theo Malhotra and Freddie Mallinson. 

Recorded on February 5, 2025. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Season 6 Bonus Episode. Today, we’ll be talking about basketball and the power of sports diplomacy as we celebrate World Basketball Day – the first sport ever to receive the honor from the United Nations – which now takes place every year on December 21st.

Today, Kelly talks with Lindsay Krasnoff about basketball and the history of sports diplomacy. Just in time for World Basketball Day, Lindsay has published a case study with ISD on the fascinating history of basketball diplomacy between France and China during the cold war, which we encourage listeners to check out via our case studies library. Find the store on our website, isd.georgetown.edu. Professors can also access all case studies for free via our faculty lounge. 

Dr. Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff is a historian, writer, and consultant working at the intersection of global sports, communications, and diplomacy. Author of Basketball Empire: France and the Making of a Global NBA and WNBA published by Bloomsbury in 2023, her work on French and global sports appears with CNN International, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and more. A veteran of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Historian, Krasnoff co-directed the Basketball Diplomacy in Africa Oral History Project for the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy (SOAS University of London) as a Research Associate, and lectures on sports diplomacy and global sports at the NYU Tisch Institute for Global Sports.

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Jarrett Dang.

Recorded on December 13, 2023. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy.

This week, Kelly talks with the French Ambassador for Sports, Samuel Ducroquet, about the growing role of sports in diplomatic efforts.

Samuel Ducroquet was appointed French ambassador for sport in February 2023. He joined the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in 2007 as an International Civilian Volunteer at the French Permanent Mission to the EU in Brussels, and has since worked as a political advisor at the French Embassy in Qatar. His experience as an Olympic attaché at the French Embassy in Tokyo allowed him to develop a real expertise on sports diplomacy, reinforced by his position as senior manager in charge of the dignitaries programme in the International Relations Department of the Paris 2024 Games organizing committee, from 2022 to 2023.

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Theo Malhotra.

Recorded on December 2, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Bonus Episode: 2022 has proven to be a year of incredible foreign policy stories. To help us look back at the year of surprises, joy, and disappointment in international affairs, Kelly sat down with Amy Mackinnon of Foreign Policy Magazine. They discussed the war in Ukraine, U.S. competition with China, the long-awaited National Security Strategy, events in Afghanistan, the stories lost in the shuffle, and look ahead to what's in store in 2023. 

Amy's book recommendation, Chip War by Chris Miller can be found here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Chip-War/Chris-Miller/9781982172008

Amy Mackinnon is an award-winning national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy. She has reported from across Eastern Europe and was previously based in Moscow and in Tbilisi, Georgia, as senior editor for the crisis reporting site Coda Story. Mackinnon is a recipient of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia award for her reporting on homophobic vigilantes in Russia. She speaks Russian and has a master’s degree in journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and a dual master’s in Russian, Central, and East European studies from the University of Glasgow and Corvinus University of Budapest.

This episode was recorded Tuesday, December 6.

This episode was produced by Daniel Henderson and Kelly McFarland

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

The book tells the story of U.S. diplomacy in the 1930s through a historical examination of 4 U.S. ambassadors to European countries during the 1930s, and their respective experiences, perspectives, reports to Washington, and relationships with President Roosevelt: William Dodd, U.S. Ambassador to Adolf Hitler’s Germany from 1933 to 1937; William Bullitt, ambassador to the Soviet Union and France during this period; Breckinridge Long, ambassador to Italy from 33 to 36; and Joseph Kennedy, ambassador to  the United Kingdom) from 1938 to 1940. 

David has been an author, attorney, political advisor and diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg from 2016 to 2017. He was previously Director of Policy Planning at the State Department from 2013 to 2016 under Secretary of State John Kerry, and before that as the Director of Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review under Secretary Hillary Clinton.  He is a recipient of multiple high level awards from the Department of State, and spent many years working in the U.S. Senate. 

Episode recorded: December 10, 2021. 

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Editing support by Optimum Audio.

Episode image: Watching Darkness Fall cover [MacMillan Publishers]

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 3, Episode 7: Jen Psaki, the White House Press Secretary, joins ISD Director of Programs and Research Kelly McFarland and Council of Foreign Relations Fellow Jennifer Davis for the final episode of season 3. They discuss a specific problem that the press secretary faces every day: disinformation from foreign adversaries who seek to undermine American democracy. Psaki was well-placed to speak to this issue, due to her experience of a highly personalized disinformation campaign from Russian-backed actors during her time as State Department spokesperson from 2013 to 2015. In addition to the particular impact of disinformation on women in the public eye, she discusses positive strategies to counter disinformation, the role of productive partnerships, and how to build trust from the podium. 

Featured articles: 

The New Weapon of Choice: Technology and Information Operations Today, ISD New Global Commons Working Group Report (October 2020)

Democracy under Siege, Freedom House (February 2021)

Episode recorded: November 17, 2021. 

Produced by Alistair Somerville, Kelly McFarland, and Jennifer Davis. Thanks to Amanda Finney at the White House for her help with this episode. 

Episode image: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks to reporters during a daily briefing on Wednesday, August 27, 2021 in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. [White House/Yash Mori/Flickr]

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 4, Episode 2: In the second episode of a new series, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next. 

He is joined by Ambassador (ret.) John Heffern to discuss U.S. policy toward Europe, including the Ukraine-Russia crisis. Ambassador Heffern is a former senior Foreign Service Officer who served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, and was U.S. Ambassador to Armenia from 2011-2014. He is now the Distinguished Resident Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship and Diplomacy, whose work includes connecting U.S.-based organizations and their fellows with partners overseas in the governmental and non-governmental sectors. 

Episode recorded: February 3, 2022

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken meets with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Brussels, Belgium, on April 13, 2021. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain].

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes. 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a new podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision makers around the world.  

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland

Production assistance by Jonas Heering

Design by Rebecca McFarland and Alistair Somerville

Season 5, Episode 2: This season we are talking about multilateralism. What it is, what it's good for, and also what it's not. After looking at the big picture through the lens of the United Nations in episode one, this episode takes us to the regional level. U.S. Ambassador to the African Union Jessica Lapenn joined Dr. Kelly McFarland to explain how the African Union (AU) functions, why the U.S. was the first non-African nation to establish a permanent mission to the AU, how the AU tackles issues of peace and security differently than the UN, and where regional institutions and the United Nations can best work together. 

Ambassador Lapenn was sworn-in as the U.S. Ambassador to the African Union and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa on August 27, 2019. She most recently served as the Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Mission in South Africa. Prior to this, she served as the Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. She was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali from 2012-2014. Ambassador Lapenn entered the U.S. Foreign Service in October 1994. Her overseas tours have included Jeddah, Riyadh, Paris, Tbilisi, Baghdad, and Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, she was the Chief of the Political Section at the U.S. Consulate General, and at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, she was responsible for regional refugee assistance and policy in the South Caucuses and Central Asia.

Episode recorded: November 16, 2022

Produced by Daniel Henderson and Kelly McFarland. 

Episode Image: African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Bahrain, Libya, and regional dynamics: A conversation about the Arab Spring and its aftermath across the region with Stephanie Williams, former U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Bahrain and Libya, and latterly the UN's chief mediator on the ground in Libya. Presented by Kelly McFarland, Hammad Hammad, and Alistair Somerville.

Part 6 of a Diplomatic Immunity mini-series, Diplomacy and the Arab Spring at 10 - Origins and Legacies of Revolution

Listen to Part 5, Syria: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-5-the-tinder-is-dry-uprisings-and-repression-in-syria-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Listen to Part 4, Libya: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-4-uprisings-civil-war-and-hope-in-libya-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Listen to Part 3, Yemen: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-3-revolution-transition-and-collapse-in-yemen-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Listen to Part 2, Egypt: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-2-tahrir-square-and-beyond

Listen to Part 1, Tunisia: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-1-the-tunisian-people-have-spoken-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision makers around the world.  

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland

Design by Rebecca McFarland, Jonas Heering, and Alistair Somerville

Music by Gabe Swarts

Episode recorded: Friday, March 26th, 2021

Season 5, episode 5. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has posed an existential crisis for numerous multilateral institutions, worsening several ongoing global issues such as food insecurity while also upending the architecture of European Security. Few organizations understand that or deal with that more than the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. For this week's episode, we chatted with Allison Hart, Senior Advisor and Chief of Staff to the OSCE Secretary General, Helga Maria Schmid. She shared how the organization operates, the unique challenge of having one of its member states upend the issue they are most focused on, how they worked to ease tensions between Russia and Ukraine before the invasion, and how they can be part of the solution to the current crisis. 

Allison Hart is the Senior Advisor and Chief of Staff to the OSCE Secretary General, Helga Maria Schmid. She took up this role in Vienna in February 2022. Prior to joining the OSCE, Allison served in a number of roles at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, including as Special Advisor to the Deputy Secretary General, Executive Officer of NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division, and most recently as Head of the Human Security Unit. Allison began her career as an entrepreneur in Chicago where she launched and managed two successful businesses before pursuing international relations. In Washington, she coordinated a foreign policy team for a major political campaign and spent several years at The Brookings Institution on projects related to national security and transatlantic relations. 

Allison holds a Bachelor of Arts in Middle East Language & Civilization from Northwestern University and a Master of Arts in European Studies & International Economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

NOTE: Any views expressed are strictly her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OSCE or any member state.

And as a special treat for this episode, the interview was conducted by ISD Dean and Virginia Rusk Fellow Nathanial Haft. Nate Haft is a career Foreign Service Officer. He most recently served as a senior policy advisor on the U.S. delegation to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague. Nate's prior overseas assignments include covering rule of law and counternarcotics issues in Pakistan, human rights in Albania, and consular affairs in Taiwan. In Washington, he served as a multilateral affairs officer in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs. Nate is a recipient of the Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship in Foreign Affairs. Prior to joining the State Department, he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru as well as a research assistant at the Brookings Institution. Mr. Haft graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and earned an MPP from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

NOTE: While Nate is a career U.S. diplomat, his views are also his own and do not reflect the view of the U.S. State Department or the U.S. government.

Episode recorded: March 3, 2023

Produced by Daniel Henderson

Episode Image: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sits among his counterparts on December 8, 2016, as he attends a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. U.S. State Department on Wikimedia Commons

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

In our fifth episode of Headlines and History, we discuss the outcome of the COP28 conference in Dubai with Joanna Lewis, the fallout from Taiwan's Presidential election, the new deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland, and give an update on the status of military aid to Ukraine currently stalled in Congress.

Joanna Lewis is a distinguished associate professor at Georgetown University and director of the Science, Technology and International Affairs Program at the School of Foreign Service. At Georgetown, she also runs the Clean Energy and Climate Research Group and leads several dialogues facilitating U.S.-China climate change engagement. She was also the lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report. 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Episode recorded: January 23, 2024.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson.

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 4, Episode 8: In the current series of Diplomatic Immunity, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next. 

In the final episode of the season, Kelly is joined by Ambassador Maria L. Yovanovitch, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (2016-2019), to discuss her recent book Lessons from the Edge: A Memoir as well as the threat corruption poses to national security and the importance of history. Additionally, Ambassador Yovanovitch explains her motivation to describe and extol the work of foreign and civil service officers when she testified during President Trump's first impeachment trial, and shares her insights into the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine. 

Ambassador (ret.) Marie L. Yovanovitch is a Senior Fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She first joined ISD as a Senior State Department Fellow in the spring of 2019 after three years as the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (2016-2019). She previously served as Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia (2008-2011) and the Kyrgyz Republic (2005-2008). From 2012-2013, Ambassador Yovanovitch was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, where she was responsible for policy on European and global security issues. She also served as the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2004-2005. She retired from the Department of State as a Career Minister in January 2020.

Ambassador Yovanovitch served as the Dean of the Language School at the Foreign Service Institute, as well as International Advisor and Deputy Commandant at the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at the National Defense University, where she also taught national security strategy. She began her career in Ottawa, followed by overseas assignments in Moscow, London and Mogadishu, and at the Department of State as Deputy Director of the Russian Desk.

A graduate of Princeton University with a master’s degree from the National Defense University, Ambassador Yovanovitch received numerous Presidential and State Department awards, including the Secretary’s Diplomacy in Human Rights Award.

Episode recorded: April 19, 2022

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III visit Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 24, 2022. [Public Domain]

Hosted and produced by Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans. 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 4, Episode 6: In the current series of Diplomatic Immunity, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next. 

He is joined by Joel Hellman to discuss the Biden administration's approach to the world of development and humanitarian aid, and how scholars and practitioners of diplomacy can approach the compounding challenges of COVID-19, conflict, and climate change. 

Joel Hellman is the Dean of the School of Foreign Service. As dean, he leads the research, teaching, and outreach efforts of the School. Throughout his career, he has worked on issues of governance, conflict, and the political economy of development around the world both in academia and in international organizations. Before coming to Georgetown, he spent 15 years at the World Bank, where he most recently served as Chief Institutional Economist and previously led its engagement with fragile and conflict-affected states as Director of the Center on Conflict, Security and Development in Nairobi, Kenya.

Episode recorded: February 2, 2022

Image: USAID Administrator Samantha Power recognizes Dulles Operation Allies Welcome staff, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on October 13, 2021. [State Department photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain]

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes. 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

This week, Kelly talks with former British Ambassador Leigh Turner about a wide range of topics, from crisis and safety issues facing embassies around the world to how technology is transforming the role of the diplomat, and how he sees European, Russian, and British foreign policy developing in the next few years.

Leigh Turner is a writer based in London. He was the UK ambassador to Austria and UK permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna from September 2016 to September 2021. Leigh's previous roles were as Her Majesty’s consul general in Istanbul and director general for trade and investment for Turkey, Central Asia and the South Caucasus; Her Majesty’s ambassador in Kyiv, Ukraine, and director of Overseas Territories in London, responsible for territories including St Helena, the Falklands and Bermuda. 

https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Diplomacy-Politics-Power-Parties/dp/1447373928 

https://rleighturner.com/ 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Theo Malhotra.

Recorded on December 9, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

To kick off 2025, Kelly talks with Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for New American Security, about his new report with the Council on Foreign Relations: No Limits? The China-Russia Relationship and U.S. Foreign Policy. 

Richard is the chief executive officer of the Center for a New American Security. Prior to CNAS, Richard was a foreign policy advisor to Senator John McCain and served in the State Department and on the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He also served as associate director for Near Eastern affairs at the National Security Council and worked on Southeast Asian issues in the NSC’s Asian Affairs directorate. In 2024, Richard co-authored the Lost Decade: The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power, with Ambassador Robert Blackwill. Please find the book in our show notes, as well as a link to Robert and Richard’s recent report.

CFR | No Limits? The China-Russia Relationship and U.S. Foreign Policy: https://www.cfr.org/report/no-limits-china-russia-relationship-and-us-foreign-policy 

The Lost Decade: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Decade-Pivot-Chinese-Power/dp/0197677940

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Theo Malhotra.

Recorded on January 10, 2025. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Season 5, Episode 4: How does one tell the story of multilateralism in times rife with conflict, misinformation, and mistrust? How does one communicate with a world as vast and diverse as our own? What's it like to advocate for the United Nations on the global stage?

We here at Diplomatic Immunity don't have the answers to those important questions, so for this episode, we sat down with the man who does. The chief spokesperson for the Secretary General of the United Nations Stéphane Dujarric joined Dr. Kelly McFarland to discuss these questions as well as the secretary-general's priorities for 2023 and his personal outlook for multilateralism in a world defined by great power rivalry. 

Mr. Dujarric became Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on March 10, 2014. Prior to his appointment, he served as Spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan from 2005 to 2006 and then as Deputy Communications Director for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon from 2006 to 2007.  Immediately prior to his current appointment, Mr. Dujarric was the Director of News and Media for the United Nations Department of Public Information and he also served as Director of Communications for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Episode recorded: February 8, 2023

Produced by Daniel Henderson

Episode Image: Stéphane Dujarric (left), Spokesperson of the Secretary-General, opens the floor to questions from journalists during a press conference by Secretary-General António Guterres on the occasion of World Refugee Day. United Nations Photo on Flickr

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

For our seventh season of Diplomatic Immunity, we’ll be taking a look at the role of foreign policy in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. We’ll be taking you through the key things to know about where the candidates stand on international issues, how a win for either will affect U.S. foreign policy, and how the rest of the world is watching with bated breath. Today, Kelly talks with Elizabeth Saunders about how Americans do and don’t consider foreign policy in their election decision-making. 

Elizabeth is Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, where she specializes in issues of U.S. foreign policy and international security. She is also a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution and previously taught at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. Her first book, Leaders at War: How Presidents Shape Military Interventions, was published in 2011 and won the 2012 Jervis-Schroeder Best Book Award from the American Political Science Association’s International History and Politics section. Her most recent book, The Insiders’ Game: How Elites Make War and Peace, was published in 2024 by Princeton University Press:

https://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Game-Princeton-International-Politics/dp/0691215804

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Jarrett Dang.

Recorded on September 24, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

In Diplomatic Immunity's new format, Headlines and History, we take listeners through a roundup of the most important headlines you may have missed in foreign policy and diplomacy, and take a deep dive into our most pressing topic with an expert conversation. Each week, we will alternate between Headlines and History and our regular Diplomatic Immunity format.

In our third episode, we discuss the COP28 conference in Dubai, alleged assassinations by the Indian government on US soil, and we talk with historian and author Jeremi Suri on the history and legacy of Henry Kissinger.

Jeremi Suri holds the Mack Brown distinguished chair for leadership in global affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of 11 books on foreign policy, including Henry Kissinger and the American Century, published in 2009, and his writings appear regularly in foreign affairs, the new york times, and on CNN. Listeners should check out his Podcast, This is Democracy, co-hosted with his son, Zachary; and his latest book, Civil War by Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy, published in 2022. 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Episode recorded: December 5, 2023.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson.

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

https://www.amazon.com/Henry-Kissinger-American-Century-Jeremi/dp/0674032527

https://www.amazon.com/Civil-War-Other-Means-Unfinished/dp/1541758544#customerReviews 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/30/opinions/henry-kissinger-vietnam-american-power-suri/index.html 

A bonus episode on U.S.-Russia relations from The Ambassadorial Series at the Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Ambassador Tom Pickering, Chair of the ISD Board of Advisers and a seven-time U.S. ambassador, discusses his experiences as ambassador to the Russian Federation from 1993 to 1996 with Georgetown University's Jill Dougherty. 

Watch all eight video conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiPyUMZMRG090RRIITQCS4gBdaVOH_p99

Learn more about the series: https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/centers-initiatives/monterey-initiative-russian-studies/ambassadorial-series

Image: U.S. Embassy Moscow

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 6, Episode 2. For this season’s theme, we’ll be covering the litany of unintended consequences and strategic surprises emanating from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. From energy to technology to intelligence to geopolitical alignment, Russia’s invasion marks a sea change in numerous areas of diplomacy and foreign policy. We’ll be getting together with the best professionals in these fields to take stock and analyze where these trends may be headed.

For our second episode, Kelly talks with oil markets expert Gregory Brew. In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion, energy prices skyrocketed worldwide. Reminiscent of previous energy shocks, it caused political consternation around the world and especially in Russian energy-dependent Europe. Greg and Kelly discuss Europe’s effort to wean itself away from Russian gas, and the larger geopolitical consequences of energy shocks.

Gregory is an analyst with the Eurasia Group's Energy, Climate & Resources team focusing on the geopolitics of oil and gas, and he serves as Eurasia Group's country analyst for Iran. Greg is a historian of modern Iran, oil, and US foreign policy, and has authored multiple books on the history of modern Iran and the international oil market and has published analysis and commentary in Foreign Affairs, Time Magazine, and the Washington Post. Greg holds both Doctorate and Masters degrees in history from Georgetown University. We encourage listeners to check out his latest book, The Struggle for Iran: Oil, Autocracy, and the Cold War, published in January 2023.

This week, Kelly looks back on the major events of 2024 with Amy Mackinnon and Ellen Laipson.

Amy Mackinnon is an award-winning national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy. She has reported from across Eastern Europe and was previously based in Moscow and in Tbilisi, Georgia, as senior editor for the crisis reporting site Coda Story. Mackinnon is a recipient of the duPont-Columbia award for her reporting on homophobic vigilantes in Russia. She is a regular commentator for BBC World Service radio and television and her work has been published and broadcast by Coda Story, Slate Magazine, Vice News, and CNN among others.

Ellen Laipson is the Director of the International Security Program at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. She joined GMU after a distinguished 25-year career in government and as President of the Stimson Center (2002-2015). Her last post in the US government was Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council (1997-2002). She also served on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, the National Security Council staff, and the Congressional Research Service. She was a member of the CIA External Advisory Panel from 2006 to 2009, President Obama’s Intelligence Advisory Board from 2009 to 2013, and the Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board from 2011 to 2014. Ellen currently serves on the ISD board of advisers.

Amy and Ellen's recommended books for the holidays:

The Ecology of Nations by John M. Owen IV

The Achilles Trap by Steve Coll

The Cure of Troy by Seamus Heaney

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Theo Malhotra.

Recorded on December 16, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

13:10 - Interview with Chris Tuttle

This week, Kelly and Freddie talk through Secretary of State Blinken's recent visit to China, U.S. troops leaving Niger, and an election in Maldives that saw the country move closer to China. Kelly then talks with Chris Tuttle, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, about recent Congressional action on Ukraine and TikTok.

Chris Tuttle is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who focuses on the politics and process behind U.S. foreign policy. He previously directed CFR’s Renewing America Initiative and served from 2015 to 2019 as policy director on the majority staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations under Chairman Bob Corker. 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson. 

Recorded on April 30, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

In Diplomatic Immunity's new format, Headlines and History, we take listeners through a roundup of the most important headlines you may have missed in foreign policy and diplomacy, and take a deep dive into our most pressing topic with an expert conversation. Each week, we will alternate between Headlines and History and our regular Diplomatic Immunity format.

In our third episode, we discuss the recent Biden-Xi meeting in San Francisco, elections in Liberia and Argentina, increasing violence in Sudan, and we talk with Georgetown's Rita Konaev for an update on Ukraine's counteroffensive

Dr. Margarita Konaev is deputy director of analysis and a research fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, where she focuses on military applications of AI and Russian military innovation. She is also an adjunct senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security. RITA previously served as a non-resident fellow with the Modern War Institute at West Point and has held post-doctoral fellowships at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts, and at the University of Pennsylvania.

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Episode recorded: November 21, 2023.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson.

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Tunisia: A conversation between Ambassador Gordon Gray and Youssef Cherif. Presented by Kelly McFarland and Alistair Somerville. Additional commentary from Tamara Cofman Wittes. 

Part 1 of a Diplomatic Immunity mini-series, Diplomacy and the Arab Spring at 10 - Origins and Legacies of Revolution

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision makers around the world.  

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland

Production assistance by Jonas Heering

Design by Rebecca McFarland, Jonas Heering, and Alistair Somerville

Additional audio from Voice of America, the Obama White House, Julius H on Pixabay, the Free Music Archive, and Soft and Furious

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy or send us an email to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 2, Episode 5: Mirembe Nantongo, who recently retired from the Foreign Service as a deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Global Talent Management, spoke with ISD Rusk Fellow Heera Kamboj, as part of ISD's Diverse Diplomacy Series, to discuss her Foreign Service career and her perspective on diversity and inclusion at the State Department. 

Episode recorded: March 4th, 2020. Watch the full event video and learn more about the series: https://www.diversediplomacy.com/

In Diplomatic Immunity's new format, Headlines and History, we take listeners through a roundup of the most important headlines you may have missed in foreign policy and diplomacy, and take a deep dive into our most pressing topic with an expert conversation. Each week, we will alternate between Headlines and History and our regular Diplomatic Immunity format.

In our first episode, we discuss the recent elections in Liberia and Poland as well as Russia's failed attempt to reclaim its spot on the UN's Human Rights Council, and talk with Professor Daniel Byman for an update on the situation in Gaza.

Daniel Byman is a senior fellow with the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a professor at Georgetown University, where he serves as director of the Security Studies Program. He serves part-time as an advisor to the State Department on its International Security Advisory Board.

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Episode recorded: October 23, 2023.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson.

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

In Diplomatic Immunity's new format, Headlines and History, we take listeners through a roundup of the most important headlines you may have missed in foreign policy and diplomacy, and take a deep dive into our most pressing topic with an expert conversation. Each week, we will alternate between Headlines and History and our regular Diplomatic Immunity format.

In our second episode, we discuss Gavin Newson's subnational diplomacy in China, the US-China nuclear talks, the Biden administration's efforts to court island nations in the South Pacific, and talk with Professor Andrew Imbrie for an update on recent AI policy developments.

Andrew Imbrie is an associate professor of the practice and the Gracias Chair in security and emerging technology at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology. He previously served as senior advisor on cyber policy to the US ambassador to the UN, and as Secretary of State John Kerry’s speechwriter. We strongly recommend listeners check out his latest book, The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI, co-authored with Ben Buchanan.

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Episode recorded: November 6, 2023.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson.

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

In case you missed it, here's one of our favorite conversations from season 2. 

Part 1 of a Diplomatic Immunity mini-series, Diplomacy and the Arab Spring at 10 - Origins and Legacies of Revolution

Tunisia: A conversation between Ambassador Gordon Gray and Youssef Cherif. Presented by Kelly McFarland and Alistair Somerville. Additional commentary from Tamara Cofman Wittes. 

Listen to Part 6, A Conversation with Stephanie Williams: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-6-a-conversation-with-stephanie-williams-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Listen to Part 5, Syria: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-5-the-tinder-is-dry-uprisings-and-repression-in-syria-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Listen to Part 4, Libya: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-4-uprisings-civil-war-and-hope-in-libya-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Listen to Part 3, Yemen: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-3-revolution-transition-and-collapse-in-yemen-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Listen to Part 2, Egypt: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-2-tahrir-square-and-beyond

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision makers around the world.  

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland

Production assistance by Jonas Heering

Design by Rebecca McFarland, Jonas Heering, and Alistair Somerville

Additional audio from Voice of America, the Obama White House, Julius H on Pixabay, the Free Music Archive, and Soft and Furious

Supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York 

https://isd.georgetown.edu/news/diplomatic-immunity/

Originally released: April 21, 2021

Season 3, Episode 2: ISD Director of Programs and Research Kelly McFarland talks to scholars of U.S. foreign policy Emma Ashford from the Atlantic Council and Charles Edel from the Wilson Center. Emma and Charlie debate some of the key questions in U.S. foreign policy on relations with China, Russia, and climate change, and the role of historical analogies in that process. 

Featured articles and books:

Charles Edel, Lessons of Tragedy: Statecraft and World Order (Yale University Press, 2019)

Ernest May, "Lessons" of the Past: The Use and Misuse of History in American Foreign Policy (Oxford University Press, 1973)

Emma Ashford, "Strategies of Restraint," Foreign Affairs, September/October 2021

Joshua Shifrinson and Stephen Wertheim, "Biden the Realist," Foreign Affairs, September 9, 2021

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel Collins, "Competition With China Can Save the Planet," Foreign Affairs, May/June 2021

David Kang and Xinru Ma, "Power Transitions: Thucydides Didn’t Live in East Asia," The Washington Quarterly, Volume 41, 2018 - Issue 1

Episode recorded: Friday, September 10th, 2021. 

Episode image: Deputy Secretary Sherman Meets with People’s Republic of China Appointed Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on August 12, 2021 [State Department photo/Public Domain].

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

10:40 - Interview with Jacqueline Charles

In our seventh episode of Headlines and History, we discuss the recent political crisis in Haiti with Miami Herald report Jacqueline Charles, and Kelly covers the EU's Net-Zero Industry Act and reports of Russia's new space-based nuclear capabilities.

Jacqueline Charles is the Haiti and Caribbean correspondent for the Miami Herald, where she has been covering the region for over a decade. She has won numerous awards for her reporting and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Correction: Scotland did NOT lose to England at Rugby this weekend!

Episode recorded: February 27, 2024.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson.

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 4, Episode 7--Part 2: In the current series of Diplomatic Immunity, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next. 

In the second episode of a three-part series, Kelly continues his conversation with Wendy Cutler, Carolyn Brehm, and Francine Lamoriello to discuss how the Biden administration has approached trade with allies including the European Union, and the administration's engagement with the business community.

Wendy Cutler joined the Asia Society Policy Institute as Vice President and Managing Director of the Washington DC Office in November 2015. She focuses on building ASPI’s presence in Washington — strengthening its outreach as a think/do tank — and on leading initiatives that address challenges related to trade and women’s empowerment in Asia. She served for nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Most recently she served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, working on a range of U.S. trade negotiations and initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region. In that capacity, she was responsible for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, including the bilateral negotiations with Japan. She is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service.

Carolyn Brehm retired from The Procter & Gamble Company as Vice President for Global Government Relations and Public Policy where she created and led P&G’s team of sixty government relations practitioners based in key markets across the globe. She was responsible for public policy and legislative advocacy to protect and grow P&G’s business, advising three Company CEOs over her seventeen years at P&G. She also oversaw a $24 million P&G Fund supporting initiatives in the communities where P&G operates. During a 13-year stint with General Motors Corporation, Ms. Brehm served as Director of International Trade and Investment Policy, supporting GM’s international operations. During two overseas assignments with GM, she established an office in Shanghai in 1984 to conduct countertrade deals and returned to the region in 1996 as Director of Asia-Pacific Trade Policies and Strategy, supporting joint venture projects. She too is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service.

Francine Lamoriello is Executive Vice President of Global Strategies for the Personal Care Products Council and directs all international activities and issues. Prior, Francine served as Senior International and Business Strategy Advisor at Baker, Donelson, PC, where she counseled clients on international business strategy and regulatory affairs, and international trade policy. Previously, she served for seven years as Director of International Trade and Investment Services at KPMG Peat Marwick where she led international strategy and marketing studies for a wide variety of U.S. companies. Lamoriello has also held positions at the U.S. Department of Commerce as Director of the European Community Single Market Program and specialized in US-EU trade policy affecting technology companies. And she too, is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service. 

Episode recorded: February 10, 2022

Image: USTR Ambassador Tai gives keynote in Geneva on the future role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the global economy and how it can deliver broad-based inclusive growth with the U.S. Mission in Geneva on October 14th, 2021. [U.S. Mission photo/ Eric Bridiers]

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes. 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 5, episode 7. The United Nations Security Council tends to capture the headlines, but throughout the United Nations system are dozens of organizations and agencies that make a substantial difference in our everyday lives. From standardizing rules around flight to providing data that shape global policy, these institutions are often the unsung heroes of the UN. Given ISD's work on food security, we wanted to highlight the work of one such organization - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). So, for this episode, we chatted with Deputy Director General of the FAO Beth Bechdol. Beth talked about the role the FAO plays in collecting crucial data and providing programmatic expertise, how innovation and partnerships enhance their work, and how Russia's invasion of Ukraine affects their efforts to end hunger.

Beth is responsible for FAO’s partnership and outreach work, including UN collaboration, resource mobilization, private sector engagement, and South-South and triangular cooperation. She oversees plant production and protection programs, FAO’s technical advisory committee on agriculture and the International Plant Protection Convention Secretariat. Before joining FAO, Beth was President and CEO of AgriNovus Indiana. Prior to this, she served as a Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and as an Economist on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

For more on global food security and policy recommendations to enhance it, check out ISD's working group and related publications and research on the topic here. (https://isd.georgetown.edu/2021/08/24/peace-through-food-ending-the-hunger-instability-nexus/)

Episode recorded: May 17, 2023

Produced by Daniel Henderson

Episode Image: A view of the FAO office taken from the Circus Maximus. Photo Beto on iStock

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 5, Episode 3: Multilateralism is so often thought of as a means and method for groups of states to tackle common issues or resolve disputes. But what happens when a multilateral institution is called on to help support sub-national issues within states? That's precisely what we wanted to know when we chatted with Gerardo de Icaza, the director of of the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation at the OAS. Gerardo chats with Dr. Kelly McFarland about the issues that the OAS and his department handle, the challenges and opportunities of election support from a multilateral institution, partnerships with other organizations and civil society, and the future of multilateralism in the Americas.

Gerardo has been the director of the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation since March 1, 2014. In his years as director, he has led more than 80 electoral observation missions in more than 27 countries. In 2018, he served as acting secretary for strengthening democracy from February to July. Previously, at the National Electoral Institute of Mexico (INE) he served as deputy legal director for overseas voting and as coordinator of the technical committee of specialists on overseas voting. He was a law clerk, and then head of the International Affairs Unit in the Electoral Tribunal of Mexico. His most recent publication "International Law of Democracy" coordinated with Luis Almagro, is one of his numerous publications on democracy and electoral systems.

If you enjoy this podcast, check out the recently released working group report from the institute for the study of diplomacy. Working group members analyzed the threat corruption and kleptocracy pose to democracy around the world and provide recommendations for the United States to begin cleansing this dark and festering underbelly of global politics. Read the report here.

Episode recorded: December 19, 2022

Produced by Daniel Henderson

Episode Image: The front facade of the Organization of American States in Washington, DC. Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 2, Episode 1: Kelly McFarland talks to Arsalan Suleman, ISD non-resident fellow, international lawyer at Foley Hoag, and former acting U.S. special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation during the Obama administration. They discuss prospects for State Department reform, the role of political appointees at the State Department, U.S. abdication of global leadership under President Trump, and Arsalan's human rights work representing the Gambia in the International Court of Justice. 

Read Arsalan's piece in the SAIS Review of International Affairs, "Empty Seat Diplomacy: How America Surrendered Its Diplomatic Advantage, and How It Can Bounce Back": https://muse.jhu.edu/article/763652/summary

Also featured: A recent Council on Foreign Relations report, "Revitalizing the State Department and American Diplomacy": https://www.cfr.org/report/revitalizing-state-department-and-american-diplomacy 

Episode recorded: December 18th, 2020. 

Season 5, episode 6: Blue helmets have become one of the most visible signs of the UN in the world. These peacekeepers are sent where often nobody else wants to go and asked to accomplish what nobody else often will. After 70 years of service, UN peacekeeping has seen its successes and its well-publicized failures. So in this episode, we took a more thematic approach to multilateralism to look at the role that peacekeeping plays. When did it begin and why? How has it evolved over the years and how effective has it been? How might it change still to meet today's challenges? We discussed these questions and more with peacekeeping expert and Georgetown colleague, Dr. Lise Howard.

Lise Morjé Howard is Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University and President of the Academic Council on the United Nations System. Her research and teaching interests span the fields of international relations, comparative politics, and conflict resolution. She has published articles and book chapters about civil wars, peacekeeping, and American foreign policy in many leading journals such as International Organization, International Security, International Studies Quarterly, International Peacekeeping, Global Governance, Foreign Affairs, and Oxford University Press. Her book UN Peacekeeping in Civil Wars (Cambridge University Press 2008), about organizational learning, won the 2010 book award from the Academic Council on the UN System. Her recent book, Power in Peacekeeping (Cambridge University Press 2019) is based on field research in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, and Namibia. It won the 2021 book award from the International Security Studies Section of the International Studies Association. 

Dr. Howard earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from UC, Berkeley, and her A.B. in Soviet Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University. She has held yearlong fellowships at Stanford University, Harvard University, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. Dr. Howard is fluent in French and Russian, and speaks some Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Spanish, and German. Prior to her career in academia, she served as Acting Director of UN Affairs for the New York City Commission for the United Nations.

More of Dr. Howard's recent Work:

Power in Peacekeeping (Cambridge University Press 2019)

"The Extraordinary Relationship between Peacekeeping and Peace," Cambridge University Press, November 2020

"The Astonishing Success of Peacekeeping," Foreign Affairs, November 2021.

"The Case for a Security Guarantee for Ukraine," Foreign Affairs, March 2023

Episode recorded: December 12, 2022

Produced by Daniel Henderson

Episode Image: Simulation exercise of a team of Egyptian blue helmets entirely composed of women in Douentza, in the Mopti region. UN Mission in Mali on Flickr

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 2, Episode 13: For the final episode in season 2, ISD Director of Programs and Research Kelly McFarland talks to former Deputy Secretary of State Steve Biegun. Biegun, who served in this role and as special representative for North Korea during the Trump administration, discusses the deputy's day-to-day role, the challenges the State Department faced bringing American citizens home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and domestic polarization under the Trump administration. 

Additional insights from ISD Rusk Fellow and FSO Hammad Hammad. 

Episode recorded: Friday, April 20th, 2021. 

11:40 - Interview with Stéphanie Fillion

This week, Kelly and Freddie discuss recent updates in Israel and the South China Sea. Kelly then talks with Stephanie Fillion, a UN correspondent, about high-level week at the UN General Assembly.

Stephanie Fillion is an international reporter who covers the UN from its headquarters in New York City. Her work has been featured in Forbes Magazine, Foreign Policy Magazine, and CNN among others. Her coverage received two UN Correspondent Association awards as well as a Gracie award from the Alliance for Women in Media.

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson. 

Recorded on September 30, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

For our final summer bonus episode, Kelly McFarland spoke to Happymon Jacob and Rick Moss, authors of two new cases on back-channel diplomacy for ISD's case studies library. Happymon is an associate professor in the Centre for International Politics, Organisation & Disarmament in the School of International Studies at Nehru University in New Delhi. Rick is an associate professor in the Russian Maritime Studies Institute at the U.S. Naval War College's Center for Naval Warfare Studies.

They discuss their respective case studies on the 2004-2007 India-Pakistan back channel and U.S.-Soviet back channels during the Cold War; the role of personalities in back-channel diplomacy; secrecy in diplomatic negotiations; compartmentalization of issues; and some of the broader pros and cons of back channels. 

Instructors can register for an account with ISD's Faculty Lounge to access all our case studies free of charge. 

Visit our website: casestudies.isd.georgetown.edu

Episode recorded: August 3, 2021. 

Featured books and articles:

Happymon Jacob, Case 356: The Kashmir Back Channel: India-Pakistan Negotiations on Kashmir from 2004 to 2007 (Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, August 2021)

Rick Moss, Case 353: Circumventing the Foreign Policy Bureaucracy: Henry Kissinger, Anatoly Dobrynin, and Back-Channel Diplomacy (Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, April 2021)

Rick Moss, Nixon's Back Channel to Moscow: Confidential Diplomacy and Détente (University Press of Kentucky, 2017)

Happymon Jacob, "India must directly engage with Taliban 2.0," The Hindu (paywalled), July 22, 2021

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 2, Episode 12: Kelly McFarland talks to Chet Crocker, Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and a member of the ISD Board of Advisers. Chet combines the academic and practitioner perspective, having previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. Alongside Fen Osler Hampson and Pamela Aall, he is the co-editor of a new collection of essays, Diplomacy and the Future of World Order, published in May by our friends at Georgetown University Press. 

We were also joined by two of the book’s chapter authors: former Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ana Palacio, and Georgetown international affairs professor and ISD Board member Lise Howard.

They discuss the scenarios the authors present in their book, as well as the concept of “peace and conflict diplomacy” as a tool for states to manage others' conflicts, cope with great power competition, and deal with threats to the state system overall.

Purchase Diplomacy and the Future of World Order on the Georgetown University Press website: http://press.georgetown.edu/book/georgetown/diplomacy-and-future-world-order

Discussants also referenced Richard Haass and Charles Kupchan's recent article in Foreign Affairs, "The New Concert of Powers
How to Prevent Catastrophe and Promote Stability in a Multipolar World."

Episode recorded: Friday, April 23rd, 2021. 

This episode was sponsored by UN-Scripted, a podcast from PassBlue, an independent media organization covering the UN. Listen here: https://www.passblue.com/podcasts-about-the-united-nations/

Interview with Mona Yacoubian on Syria — 10:57

This week, Kelly interviews Mona Yacoubian from the U.S. Institute of Peace to provide insights into Syria's future, focusing on the rise of HTS, reconstruction challenges, and the role of international actors. Before that, Kelly and Freddie cover the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and reflect on the legacy of Jimmy Carter's foreign policy.

Mona is the vice president of the Middle East and North Africa center at USIP. Prior to joining USIP, Mona was deputy assistant administrator in the Middle East Bureau at USAID from 2014 to 2017, where she had responsibility for Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Mona also previously served as the North Africa analyst in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research.

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Theo Malhotra and Freddie Mallinson. 

Recorded on January 21, 2025. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Season 3, Episode 1: For the first episode of season 3, ISD Director of Programs and Research Kelly McFarland talks to Axios politics editor Glen Johnson. Glen guides listeners through the main challenges facing the Biden administration and global leaders today, from climate change to China, and helps set up our new season looking at challenges in the Global Commons. In addition to his career as a journalist, Glen served as a deputy assistant secretary of state for strategic communications under Secretary of State John Kerry from 2013 to 2017. He is also the author of a book, Window Seat on the World, about his experiences traveling with the secretary of state: https://www.glenjohnson.com/

Episode recorded: Tuesday, August 20th, 2021. 

Episode image: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry steps aboard an Air Force jet as he prepares to depart from Andrews Air Force Base for a trip to Egypt, the Middle East, and Europe for consultations on Iraq and other regional matters on June 21, 2014. [State Department photo/Public Domain]

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Episode 1: Kelly McFarland talks to Bob Zoellick, former deputy secretary of state and president of the World Bank. Zoellick discusses diplomatic history, the role of the North American base of Mexico and Canada in American foreign policy, and the future of U.S. alliances in Asia.

America in the World: A History of U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy: https://www.twelvebooks.com/titles/robert-b-zoellick/america-in-the-world/9781538712368/

"Biden's Domestic Priorities Should Guide His Foreign Policy," Foreign Affairs, September 8, 2020: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/north-america/2020-09-08/bidens-domestic-priorities-should-guide-his-foreign-policy

Watch Bob Zoellick's recent book talk at ISD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJbGXwJab94

Episode recorded: September 16th, 2020. 

Season 3, Episode 5: For our next installment on global commons issues, ISD Director of Programs and Research Kelly McFarland talks to Beth Ferris, research professor in the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown and non-resident senior fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, about the impact of environmental change on migration. They discuss the ways in which climate change is driving internal displacement and international migration, the need for new vocabulary to describe this phenomenon and the people who experience it, and recent events in Afghanistan and other migration hot spots. Beth also provides a forecast on what she's hoping for from the forthcoming COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. 

We also hear from Jeremy Mathis, professor the Science, Technology, and International Affairs program and the Center for Security Studies in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, and Bibi La Luz Gonzalez of Eat Better Wa'ik—an anti-hunger NGO in Guatemala.

Listen to previous episodes with Bibi and Jeremy on our website, or by searching for Diplomatic Immunity in your podcast app.  

New Challenges to Human Security: Environmental Change and Human Mobility, ISD New Global Commons Working Group (April 2017)

The New Arctic: Navigating the Realities, Possibilities, and Problems, ISD New Global Commons Working Group Report (July 2018)

Peace Through Food: Ending the Hunger-Instability Nexus, ISD New Global Commons Working Group Report (August 2021)

Groundswell: Preparing for Internal Climate Migration, The World Bank (March 2018) 

Report on the Impact of Climate Change on Migration, The White House (October 2021)

Episode recorded: Interview with Beth Ferris: Friday, October 22, 2021; Interview with Bibi La Luz Gonzalez: Friday, September 24th, 2021; Interview with Jeremy Mathis: Monday, September 20th, 2021. 

Episode image: Peace Through Food (Institute for the Study of Diplomacy) 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Production Assistance by Emily Linn. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

A new mini-series from Diplomatic Immunity: Diplomacy and the Arab Spring at 10 - Origins and Legacies of Revolution, launching April 21st. 

Diplomatic Immunity, a new podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision makers around the world.  

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland

Production assistance by Jonas Heering

Design by Rebecca McFarland, Jonas Heering, and Alistair Somerville

Music by Julius H/Pixabay

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 2, Episode 4: Kelly McFarland talks to Dr. Susie Colbourn and Dr. Simon Miles about applied history and lessons from diplomacy past. A husband and wife diplomatic historian duo from Canada, Simon and Susie are both astute observers of Cold War history. They also have an eye toward the present in their work, and the lessons citizens and policymakers can draw from history. 

Simon is an assistant professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, and the Departments of History and Slavic & Eurasian Studies at Duke University and author of Engaging the Evil Empire: Washington, Moscow, and the Beginning of the End of the Cold War. Susie is a DAAD post-doctoral fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She is co-editor with Timothy Andrews Sayle of The Nuclear North: Histories of Canada in the Atomic Age and author of the forthcoming Euromissiles: A Transatlantic History. 

In the episode, among other topics, we discussed about the overlooked history of the early Reagan administration, cycles of NATO history, and Simon's concept of "time, space, plus," which he uses to to engage his students to help them think historically. We also talked about Susie's current research and her work as editor of the "Lessons of History" section in International Journal.

Featured books and articles:

Margaret MacMillan, The Uses and Abuses of History

Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August

Alexandra Evans, "Thinking in Napoleonic Times: Historical Warnings for an Era of Great-Power Competition," War on the Rocks

Episode recorded: Friday, January 29th, 2021.

Bonus Episode: Kelly Shannon, associate professor of history and executive director of the Center for Peace, Justice, and Human Rights at Florida Atlantic University, joins Kelly McFarland to discuss the ongoing protests in Iran.

They discuss the catalyst for these regime-shaking protests, the response from ruling elites and international actors, and ultimately look forward to what this movement may accomplish. 

Kelly J. Shannon, Ph.D. specializes in the twentieth century history of U.S. foreign relations, with a particular focus on the Islamic world, Iran, and women’s human rights. She is the author of the book U.S. Foreign Policy and Muslim Women’s Human Rights.

Her other publications include book chapters and journal articles on President Harry Truman and the Middle East, the international movement to end female genital mutilation (FGM), U.S. encounters with Saudi gender relations during the first Gulf War, U.S. relations with Iran, and state of the field essays. She has spoken in many academic and public settings, authored op-eds in venues like the Washington Post, and has been interviewed by NPR and other media outlets.

Episode recorded: October 26, 2022

Produced by Daniel Henderson and Kelly McFarland. 

Episode image: Protestors in Canada march in solidarity with the Iranian protestors calling for change [Image from Taymaz Valley on Flickr]

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Interview with Omar Mahmood on Somaliland - 16:40

This week, Kelly sits down with International Crisis Group Senior Analyst Omar Mahmood for an in-depth look at Somaliland's history and quest for international recognition. Before that, he and Freddie discuss Trump's USAID cuts, political turmoil in the Philippines, and Ecuador's presidential election results.

As the senior analyst for Eastern Africa at the International Crisis Group, Omar conducts field research, provides written analysis, proposes policy recommendations and engages in advocacy efforts. Omar has previously worked as a senior researcher focusing on the Horn of Africa for the Institute for Security Studies in Addis Ababa, and as an international consultant covering Boko Haram and the Lake Chad Basin. Prior to that, he obtained his Master’s degree from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso.

Ambassador (ret.) Gordon Gray's article on the impact of USAID in Tunisia: USAID Expertise is a Critical Foreign Policy Tool — https://medium.com/the-diplomatic-pouch/analysis-usaid-expertise-is-a-critical-foreign-policy-tool-bab558a27fb8 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Theo Malhotra and Freddie Mallinson. 

Recorded on February 13, 2025. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Interview with Dan Byman on Israel — 14:36

This week, Kelly speaks with Georgetown Professor Dan Byman for an update on Israel and Lebanon, days before a ceasefire was announced in the year-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Before that, Kelly and Freddie talk through the recent elections in Georgia and Venezuela, and the negotiations at the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan. 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Theo Malhotra and Freddie Mallinson. 

Recorded on November 22, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Episode 6: Kelly McFarland and Alistair Somerville talk to Alicia Wanless, director of the Partnership for Countering Influence Operations (PCIO) at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, on how to understand and tackle problems in the information environment.  

Learn more about PCIO's work: https://carnegieendowment.org/specialprojects/counteringinfluenceoperations

Watch our December 1 event with PCIO: https://isd.georgetown.edu/2020/12/01/disinformation-in-the-digital-age-are-citizens-prepared/

Read our report, "The New Weapon of Choice: Technology and Information Operations Today," and listen to our discussion of the report with Nina Jankowicz: https://isd.georgetown.edu/2020/10/21/isd-launches-new-report-on-information-operations/

Alistair Somerville and Jonas Heering also have a new article on disinformation in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs: https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2020/11/28/the-disinformation-shift-from-foreign-to-domestic/

Episode recorded: November 24th and December 1st, 2020. 

Kelly speaks with Richard Horsey, Myanmar expert and advisor to the International Crisis Group, for a deep dive into the history of Myanmar's ongoing civil war. 

Richard is a political analyst and has been a close observer of Myanmar for over 25 years. He specializes in the politics and political economy of the country, as well as armed conflict and the illicit economy. Since 2009, he has been Myanmar adviser to the International Crisis Group, and also advises a number of other organizations on political and conflict risk issues. He was formerly the Myanmar representative of the International Labour Organization working to end the practice of forced labor imposed by the previous military regime. He was subsequently a senior adviser and spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs following Cyclone Nargis. He is the author of more than a hundred reports on the country, as well as numerous articles and opinion pieces. He is a fluent Burmese speaker and holds a PhD in psychology from University College London. 

Read Richard's recent article on Myanmar in Foreign Affairs here: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/burma-myanmar/myanmar-fragmenting-not-falling-apart 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Nicole Butler.

Recorded on July 9, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Egypt: A conversation about the Arab Spring and its aftermath between Ambassador Anne Patterson and Mohammed Soliman. Presented by Kelly McFarland and Alistair Somerville. Additional commentary from Tamara Cofman Wittes and Rita Stephan. 

Part 2 of a Diplomatic Immunity mini-series, Diplomacy and the Arab Spring at 10 - Origins and Legacies of Revolution

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision makers around the world. 

Listen to Part 1, Tunisia: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-1-the-tunisian-people-have-spoken-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland

Production assistance by Jonas Heering

Design by Rebecca McFarland, Jonas Heering, and Alistair Somerville

Additional audio from Voice of America, Julius H on Pixabay, the Free Music Archive, and Surhofi

Rita Stephan's new co-edited volume, Women Rising: In and Beyond the Arab Spring, is available here: https://nyupress.org/9781479846641/women-rising/

Season 6, Episode 1. For this season’s theme, we’ll be covering the litany of unintended consequences and strategic surprises emanating from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. From energy to technology to intelligence to geopolitical alignment, Russia’s invasion marks a sea change in numerous areas of diplomacy and foreign policy. We’ll be getting together with the best professionals in these fields to take stock and analyze where these trends may be headed. 

In our first episode, we speak to former Deputy and Acting CIA Director Michael Morell on the impact of intelligence as a tool of diplomacy and foreign policy. President Biden and his national security team were warning us about Putin’s intentions all the way up to the day of the invasion of Ukraine, using selective intelligence releases to showcase Putin’s malign intentions and lay bare the falsehoods he used to justify his attack. Host Kelly McFarland discusses this phenomenon and its impact on foreign policy with Morell, who hosts his own podcast, Intelligence Matters - The Relaunch.

Morell is the chairman of the risk analysis firm Beacon Global Strategies and a professor at George Mason University. He previously served for 33 years in the CIA, including as George W. Bush’s daily intelligence briefer on September 11. He went on to become deputy CIA director in the Obama administration and served twice as acting director in 2011 and from 2012 to 2013. He now also hosts his own podcast – Intelligence Matters – which we encourage listeners to check out. 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Episode recorded: October 24, 2023.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson.

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 3, Episode 4: ISD Director of Programs and Research Kelly McFarland talks to Bibi La Luz Gonzalez of Eat Better Wa'ik—an anti-hunger NGO in Guatemala—and Johanna Mendelson Forman of the Stimson Center, a think tank based in Washington, DC. They discuss food security and hunger in the context of worsening conflict, climate change, and the effects of the pandemic around the world. Johanna participated in ISD's spring 2021 working group on the nexus between food insecurity, instability, and conflict. Bibi is an activist and organizer focused on hunger and human rights. Their insights help us to understand better the links between local solutions and global food systems in the quest for food security. 

Featured articles:

Peace Through Food: Ending the Hunger-Instability Nexus, ISD New Global Commons Working Group Report (August 2021)

Event video: Covid, Conflict, and Climate: Food Insecurity Today and the Way Forward (ISD and the Stimson Center, September 14, 2021)

Johanna Mendelson Forman, "Can food build peace? Challenges for life in the Anthropocene," The Diplomatic Pouch, September 13, 2021. 

Episode recorded: Friday, September 24th, 2021. 

Episode image: Peace Through Food (Institute for the Study of Diplomacy) 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

This week, Kelly talks with Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky about the history of Presidential transitions, and how the Biden-Trump transition is shaping up.

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky is a presidential historian and Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library. Her research focuses on the development of political institutions and political culture in the Early Republic. Her first book, The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution, was published in April 2020. Her latest book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic, was published in September of this year. Her work has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The Daily Beast, Time Magazine, and the Washington Post.

https://www.amazon.com/Making-Presidency-Precedents-Forged-Republic/dp/0197653847 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Theo Malhotra.

Recorded on November 12, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Season 6, Episode 4. For this season’s theme, we’ll be covering the litany of unintended consequences and strategic surprises emanating from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. From energy to technology to intelligence to geopolitical alignment, Russia’s invasion marks a sea change in numerous areas of diplomacy and foreign policy. We’ll be getting together with the best professionals in these fields to take stock and analyze where these trends may be headed.

For our fourth episode, Kelly talks with National Defense University Professor Erica Marat about how Russia's power over its near-abroad has evolved since the start of its war with Ukraine.

Dr. Erica Marat is a professor at the National Defense University and adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Her research focuses on violence, mobilization, and security institutions in Europe, Central Asia, India, and Mexico. Her book Transformative Violence: When Routine Cruelty Sparks Historic Mobilization will be published by the Oxford University Press in 2024.

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Jarrett Dang.

Recorded on December 12, 2023. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Episode 2: Kelly McFarland and Alistair Somerville talk to Nina Jankowicz, who studies disinformation at the Wilson Center. Jankowicz looks at the Estonia case and early Russian disinformation, considers possible responses to the problem of information operations, and talks about her new book. 

How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/how-to-lose-the-information-war-9781838607685/

Nina's essays for the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/nina-jankowicz/

ISD's latest report, "The New Weapon of Choice: Technology and Information Operations Today": https://isd.georgetown.edu/2020/10/21/isd-launches-new-report-on-information-operations/

Episode recorded: October 8th, 2020. 

10:40 - Interview with Yuki Tatsumi.

This week, Kelly and Freddie talk through Iran's Strike on Israel, Ecudaro's raid on the Mexican embassy in Quito, and the losses for President Erdogan's party in recent Turkish municipal elections. Kelly then talks with the Stimson Center's Yuki Tatsumi about the recent summit between the US, Japan, and the Philippines held in Washington last week. 

Yuki Tatsumi is a senior fellow and co-director of the East Asia Program at the Stimson Center and the director of Stimson's Japan program. Prior to her current role, Tatsumi worked as a research associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and as the special assistant for political affairs at the Embassy of Japan in Washington.

Tatsumi’s most recent publications include Balancing Between Nuclear Deterrence and Disarmament: Views from the Next Generation (ed.; Stimson Center, 2018) Lost in Translation? U.S. Defense Innovation and Northeast Asia (Stimson Center, 2017).

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson. 

Recorded on April 15, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Season 5, Episode 8: Our tour through the many fora of multilateral diplomacy is coming to an end. To help us wrap up season five, ISD's own Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis and Tressa Finerty join Dr. Kelly McFarland to explore key themes, re-examine the tough questions, and look forward to the future of consensus-driven multilateral diplomacy.

Ambassador (ret.) Jeffrey DeLaurentis is currently Acting Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations. During his 28-year career in the Foreign Service,  he worked almost exclusively on Western Hemisphere issues and served as a multilateral diplomat at the United Nations. He served as the first Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Havana following the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. Prior to taking up his Cuba post in August 2014, he was Ambassador/Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Previously, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and as Minister Counselor for Political Affairs and Security Council Coordinator at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Columbia University Graduate School of International and Public Affairs.

Tressa Rae Finerty is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with more than twenty years of experience at the Department of State, most recently serving as Deputy Executive Secretary. A specialist in multilateral diplomatic engagement and negotiation, Tressa led teams at U.S. Missions to the United Nations in New York and Geneva.  An expert in humanitarian and refugee policy, she taught courses on international refugee practices at NYU, led emergency humanitarian operations to welcome freed politician prisoners from Nicaragua in 2023, and created the Dulles Afghan Refugee Transit Center, which rapidly brought nearly fifty thousand Afghans to safety in 2021.  She built the first-ever in-country refugee processing center, for Iraqis fleeing the war there (2008-9). Tressa has also served at U.S. embassies in Malaysia, Iraq, Armenia, and Thailand, in Washington in the office for North Korea Policy, and as a board member of Executive Women @ State, supporting women for senior leadership positions.  

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Tressa was a business strategy and change management consultant.  She holds a BA and MBA from The George Washington University and is a member of the Board of Directors of Up With People, an international youth leadership organization.  

As a disclaimer that our listeners know well - The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of Jeff and Tressa and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or the U.S. Government.

Episode recorded: May 2, 2023

Produced by Daniel Henderson

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Episode 7: Kelly McFarland talks to Andrew Imbrie, senior fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University, about his new book, Power on the Precipice: The Six Choices America Faces in a Turbulent World and the future of U.S. grand strategy in historical perspective.

Power on the Precipice: The Six Choices America Faces in a Turbulent World: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300243505/power-precipice

Episode recorded: December 4th, 2020. 

Season 4, Episode 4: In the current series of Diplomatic Immunity, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next. 

He is joined by Ambassador Roya Rahmani to discuss America and the West's military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Their conversation covered humanitarian aid, corruption, and ways forward for Afghan women. 

Roya Rahmani is a former Afghan diplomat who served as Afghanistan’s first female ambassador to the United States and non-resident ambassador to Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic from December 2018 to July 2021. She is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security. Before entering government, she worked for several nonprofits that primarily focused on women’s rights and education. 

Episode recorded: February 8, 2022

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a meet and greet with U.S. Mission Afghanistan personnel in Kabul, Afghanistan on April 15, 2021. [Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain]

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes. 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

For our first full episode of Season 8, Kelly is joined by Margaret MacMillan to discuss the importance of history in shaping the behavior of individuals, politicians, and entire societies. 

Margaret MacMillan is an emeritus professor of History at the University of Toronto and an emeritus professor of International History at Oxford University. She was provost of Trinity College, Toronto from 2002 to 2007 and warden of St Antony’s College, Oxford from 2007 to 2017. She is a trustee of the Imperial War Museum and sits on a number of non-profit advisory boards. Her research specializes in British imperial history and the international history of the 19th and 20th centuries. Her publications have been translated into 26 languages and include Paris, 1919, Nixon and Mao, and The War that Ended Peace. Her latest book, published in 2020, is War: How Conflict Shaped Us:

https://www.amazon.com/War-How-Conflict-Shaped-Us/dp/1984856138

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Theo Malhotra and Freddie Mallinson. 

Recorded on February 10, 2025. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

The book takes a deep dive into how the Web has changed what type of history we view online, and how we view it as users. He also takes a look at what might lie ahead.  What does all of this mean for historians and historical studies? Is it creating a world full of students and citizens with a greater historical knowledge? What possible connection does it have to future foreign policy making? 

In addition to his work at the Wilson Center and the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Jason is a contributor to TIME and CNN; a past editorial board member of the Washington Post's "Made By History" section; and a presidential counselor of the National WWII Museum. 
​
In 2020, he founded the History Club on Clubhouse, which he hosts regularly. The club has more than 100,000 members and averages 2,500 participants per week. 

Episode recorded: January 19, 2022. 

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. 

Episode image: Watching Darkness Fall cover [MacMillan Publishers]

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

This week, Kelly talks with Dr. Tristen Naylor, Founder and Managing Director of the geopolitical risk consultancy Diplomatic Solutions, about the outlooks for relationships with leaders in Europe, China, Iran, and other nations, as well as how America’s relationship with multilateral institutions like the United Nations might be impacted by either candidate’s victory. 

Tristen Naylor is the Founder and Managing Director of Diplomatic Solutions, a geopolitical risk consultancy based in London. He was previously also an Assistant Professor and Lecturer in History and Politics at Cambridge University. His first book, "Social Closure and International Society: Status Groups from the Family of Civilised Nations to the G20," examines how actors compete for a seat at the table in the management of international society:

https://www.amazon.com/Social-Closure-International-Society-Governance-ebook/dp/B07KY42HBK

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Jarrett Dang.

Recorded on October 15, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Bonus: What, exactly, is AI? What are its applications? Why does it matter for national security and geopolitics? Will machines rise up and destroy us all?! Fellow Hoya Andrew Imbrie discussed these questions and more in a fascinating conversation on his new book, co-authored with Ben Buchannon, titled The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI. Come for the Terminator and Matthew Broderick references, but stay for the essential information Imbrie provides on the future of AI and national security! 

Andrew Imbrie is an Associate Professor of the Practice and the Gracias Chair in Security and Emerging Technology at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is also an Affiliate at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET). Prior to his current role, he served as a senior advisor on cyber and emerging technology policy at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. He worked previously as a Senior Fellow at CSET, where he focused on issues at the intersection of artificial intelligence and international security and served as an advisor to the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. From 2013 to 2017, he served as a member of the policy planning staff and speechwriter to Secretary John Kerry at the U.S. Department of State. He has also worked as a professional staff member on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

He received his B.A. in the humanities from Connecticut College and his M.A. from the Walsh School of Foreign Service. He holds a Ph.D. in international relations from Georgetown University. His writings have appeared in such outlets as Foreign Affairs, War on the Rocks, Lawfare, Survival, Defense One, and On Being. His first book is Power on the Precipice: The Six Choices America Faces in a Turbulent World (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020). Andrew grew up as the son of a U.S. Foreign Service officer and now resides in Maryland with his wife Teresa Eder, a foreign policy analyst, journalist, and producer.

Buy The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI here. (https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262046541/the-new-fire/)

Episode recorded: December 2, 2022

Produced by Daniel Henderson

Episode Image: The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI cover [MIT Press]

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy or send us an email to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Episode 3: Kelly McFarland and ISD graduate fellow Jonas Heering talk to Ambassador Peter Wittig, German Ambassador to the United States from 2014 to 2018, and now a fellow at the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School. They discussed Wittig's recollections from serving in the United States during the 2016 elections, European preparations for the next administration, and paths forward for cooperation on issues such as China and U.S. leadership. 

Peter Wittig, "Hope for the Future of American Leadership Dies Hard," Foreign Affairs, October 16, 2020: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2020-10-16/hope-future-american-leadership-dies-hard

ISD's latest report, "The New Weapon of Choice: Technology and Information Operations Today": https://isd.georgetown.edu/2020/10/21/isd-launches-new-report-on-information-operations/

Episode recorded: October 12th, 2020, in partnership with The Europe Desk, the podcast of the BMW Center for German and European Studies at Georgetown. Follow them on social media @TheEuropeDesk. 

Season 4, Episode 5: In the current series of Diplomatic Immunity, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next.

He is joined by Jodi Vittori to discuss corruption and democratic erosion around the world, and the Biden Administration's response. 

Jodi Vitorri is Professor of Practice and co-chair of the Global Politics and Security (GPS) concentration in the Master of Science in Foreign Service Program at Georgetown. She is an expert on the linkages of corruption, state fragility, illicit finance, and U.S. national security. Previously, she was a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force, and an Assistant Professor and military faculty at the US Air Force Academy and the National Defense University.

Correction: Jodi referred to frequent protests for better governance and against highly corrupt individuals who had led a coup in South Sudan. These events took place in Sudan. 

Episode recorded: January 28, 2022

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in a virtual discussion with young democratic leaders from around the world as part of the Summit for Democracy, from the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on December 8, 2021. [State Department photo by Freddie Everett/ Public Domain].

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes. 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Interview with Sara Moller - 13:00

This week, Kelly and Freddie talk through the UK's deal with Mauritius on the Chagos Islands, the Tunisian presidential election, and Kenya's police mission in Haiti. Kelly then talks with Professor Sara Moller about NATO's new Secretary General Mark Rutte. 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson. 

Recorded on October 14, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

11:50 - Interview with Beverly Ocheing on Senegal

In our sixth episode of Headlines and History, we discuss the recent crisis in Senegal and its implications for West Africa with Beverly Ochieng, and Kelly covers recent news out of El Salvador, Sweden & NATO, and the 2026 Soccer World Cup.

Beverly Ochieng is a senior digital journalist and Africa specialist at BBC Monitoring and an expert on African power politics, security, and governance. She’s also a non-resident senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Africa Program. She has a background in literature and cohosted the pioneering Africa-focused literary podcast "2 Girls and a Pod" from 2015 to 2018. 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Episode recorded: February 13, 2024.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson.

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 6 Episode 6.

This week, Kelly talks with retired army officer and National Defense University research fellow Dr. Tom Lynch about the impact of Ukraine's war on great power conflict and US-China competition.

Dr. Thomas Lynch is an adjunct professor of Security Studies at Georgetown University and distinguished research fellow for South Asia and the Near East at National Defense University. Dr. Lynch is also a retired U.S. Army officer who served for 28 years in a variety of command and staff positions including as a Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Deputy Director of the Chairman’s Advisory & Initiatives Group, Commander of the U.S. Army War Theater Support Group in Doha Qatar, and Military Special Assistant to the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan.

He is the lead editor for the National Defense University's Strategic Assessment, authored every five years: https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Publications/Books/Strategic-Assessments-2020/ 

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Jarrett Dang.

Recorded on February 28, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Season 3 of Diplomatic Immunity begins September 1.

Learn more about ISD's New Global Commons research.

Read ISD's latest working group report.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 4, Episode 7--Part 1: In the current series of Diplomatic Immunity, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next. 

In the first episode of a three-part series, Kelly is joined by Wendy Cutler, Carolyn Brehm, and Francine Lamoriello to discuss how the Biden administration has approached international trade in the broader framework of its foreign policy for the middle class, technology, and China.

Wendy Cutler joined the Asia Society Policy Institute as Vice President and Managing Director of the Washington DC Office in November 2015. She focuses on building ASPI’s presence in Washington—strengthening its outreach as a think/do tank—and on leading initiatives that address challenges related to trade and women’s empowerment in Asia. She served for nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Most recently she served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, working on a range of U.S. trade negotiations and initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region. In that capacity, she was responsible for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, including the bilateral negotiations with Japan. She is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service.

Carolyn Brehm retired from The Procter & Gamble Company as Vice President for Global Government Relations and Public Policy where she created and led P&G’s team of sixty government relations practitioners based in key markets across the globe. She was responsible for public policy and legislative advocacy to protect and grow P&G’s business, advising three Company CEOs over her seventeen years at P&G. She also oversaw a $24 million P&G Fund supporting initiatives in the communities where P&G operates. During a 13-year stint with General Motors Corporation, Ms. Brehm served as Director of International Trade and Investment Policy, supporting GM’s international operations. During two overseas assignments with GM, she established an office in Shanghai in 1984 to conduct countertrade deals and returned to the region in 1996 as Director of Asia-Pacific Trade Policies and Strategy, supporting joint venture projects. She too is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service.

Francine Lamoriello is Executive Vice President of Global Strategies for the Personal Care Products Council and directs all international activities and issues. Prior, Francine served as Senior International and Business Strategy Advisor at Baker, Donelson, PC, where she counseled clients on international business strategy and regulatory affairs, and international trade policy. Previously, she served for seven years as Director of International Trade and Investment Services at KPMG Peat Marwick where she led international strategy and marketing studies for a wide variety of U.S. companies. Lamoriello has also held positions at the U.S. Department of Commerce as Director of the European Community Single Market Program and specialized in US-EU trade policy affecting technology companies. And she too, is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service. 

Episode recorded: February 10, 2022

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, along with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and EU officials, participates in the inaugural U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Ministerial in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 29, 2021. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain] [State Department photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain]

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes. 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

10:25 - Interview with Dr. Ken Opalo

This week, Kelly and Freddie provide updates on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the evolving crisis in Haiti, and Kelly talks with Georgetown Professor Ken Opalo for a deep dive into Sudan's civil war. 

Dr. Opalo is an associate professor at the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he focuses his research and teaching on political economy in Africa. He is also the author of the blog An Africanist Perspective, where he writes on African politics, economics, and history. 

https://www.africanistperspective.com/

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Episode recorded: March 19, 2024.

Produced by Jarrett Dang and Freddie Mallinson.

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 4, Episode 7–Part 3: In the current series of Diplomatic Immunity, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next. 

In the final episode of this three-part series, Kelly continues his conversation with Carolyn Brehm and Francine Lamoriello to discuss how the recent escalation of Russia's occupation of Ukraine to a full-scale military invasion has affected global trade, including how it has slowed down the COVID-19 economic recovery, accelerated decoupling of trade, and the long-term impact on globalization. 

Carolyn Brehm retired from The Procter & Gamble Company as Vice President for Global Government Relations and Public Policy where she created and led P&G’s team of sixty government relations practitioners based in key markets across the globe. She was responsible for public policy and legislative advocacy to protect and grow P&G’s business, advising three Company CEOs over her seventeen years at P&G. She also oversaw a $24 million P&G Fund supporting initiatives in the communities where P&G operates. During a 13-year stint with General Motors Corporation, Ms. Brehm served as Director of International Trade and Investment Policy, supporting GM’s international operations. During two overseas assignments with GM, she established an office in Shanghai in 1984 to conduct countertrade deals and returned to the region in 1996 as Director of Asia-Pacific Trade Policies and Strategy, supporting joint venture projects. She too is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service.

Francine Lamoriello is Executive Vice President of Global Strategies for the Personal Care Products Council and directs all international activities and issues. Prior, Francine served as Senior International and Business Strategy Advisor at Baker, Donelson, PC, where she counseled clients on international business strategy and regulatory affairs, and international trade policy. Previously, she served for seven years as Director of International Trade and Investment Services at KPMG Peat Marwick where she led international strategy and marketing studies for a wide variety of U.S. companies. Lamoriello has also held positions at the U.S. Department of Commerce as Director of the European Community Single Market Program and specialized in US-EU trade policy affecting technology companies. And she too, is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service. 

Episode recorded: April 15 & 20, 2022

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, along with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and EU officials, participates in a virtual stakeholder roundtable, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before the start of the inaugural U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Ministerial on September 29, 2021. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain].

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes. 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 3, Episode 3: ISD Director of Programs and Research Kelly McFarland talks about the Arctic with Sherri Goodman of the Wilson Center and Jeremy Mathis of the Science, Technology, and International Affairs program in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown. Sherri and Jeremy discuss the deteriorating climate situation in the Arctic, security challenges, defense capabilities, geopolitical competition between the United States, Russia, and China, and the recent death of a Russian official on an exercise in the region.

Featured articles:

The New Arctic: Navigating the Realities, Possibilities, and Problems, ISD New Global Commons Working Group Report (July 2018)

Sarah Kaplan and Andrew Ba Tran, "Nearly 1 in 3 Americans experienced a weather disaster this summer," The Washington Post, September 4, 2021

Episode recorded: Monday, September 20th, 2021. 

Episode image: U.S.-Canada Fourth Joint Mission To Map the Continental Shelf in the Arctic Ocean. Views of the U.S.-Canada fourth joint mission to map the continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean in August and September 2011. The 2011 joint mission employed the flagship icebreaker from each country, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy and the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent (LSSL), with each ship performing different functions and one ship breaking ice for the other [State Department photo/Public Domain].

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Episode 5: Alistair Somerville talks to Catherine Grace Katz, author of The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts and Harrimans – A Story of Love and War, about the Yalta conference, the Churchill archives, the historical writing process, and the role of the diplomatic confidante.

The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts and Harrimans – A Story of Love and War: https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/The-Daughters-of-Yalta/9780358117827

Watch ISD's joint event with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Disinformation in the Digital Age: Are Citizens Prepared? https://tinyurl.com/y4pjrf8m

Episode recorded: October 29th, 2020. 

Yemen: A conversation about the Arab Spring and its aftermath between Ambassador Jerry Feierstein and Yemeni scholar Ibrahim Jalal. Presented by Kelly McFarland and Alistair Somerville. Additional commentary from Ambassador Barbara Bodine, Tamara Cofman Wittes, and Rita Stephan.

Part 3 of a Diplomatic Immunity mini-series, Diplomacy and the Arab Spring at 10 - Origins and Legacies of Revolution

Listen to Part 2, Egypt: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-2-tahrir-square-and-beyond

Listen to Part 1, Tunisia: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-1-the-tunisian-people-have-spoken-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision makers around the world.  

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland

Production assistance by Jonas Heering

Design by Rebecca McFarland, Jonas Heering, and Alistair Somerville

Additional audio from Julius H on Pixabay, the Free Music Archive, and Surhofi

Rita Stephan's new co-edited volume, Women Rising: In and Beyond the Arab Spring, is available here: https://nyupress.org/9781479846641/women-rising/

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy or send us an email to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Episode 4: Ambassador Dereck Hogan, U.S. ambassador to Moldova, spoke with ISD Rusk Fellow Hammad Hammad as part of ISD's Diverse Diplomacy Series, to discuss his Foreign Service career and the power of mentorship. 

Episode recorded: October 8th, 2020. Watch the full event video and learn more about the series: https://www.diversediplomacy.com/

Season 6, Episode 3. For this season’s theme, we’ll be covering the litany of unintended consequences and strategic surprises emanating from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. From energy to technology to intelligence to geopolitical alignment, Russia’s invasion marks a sea change in numerous areas of diplomacy and foreign policy. We’ll be getting together with the best professionals in these fields to take stock and analyze where these trends may be headed.

For our third episode, Kelly talks with John Heffern and Alper Coşkun, both former ambassadors serving in the U.S. and Turkish governments, respectively. 

John Heffern is a former State Department official who retired in 2018 after 36 years in the foreign service, including as deputy chief of mission at the United States mission to NATO in Brussels, and as acting assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs after postings in Japan, Malaysia, China, and the Ivory Coast, and as US ambassador to Armenia. He joined ISD as a senior state department fellow in 2017.

Alper Coşkun leads the Türkiye and the World project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where his research focuses on Turkish foreign policy. He retired from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs after 32 years, culminating in an appointment as director general for international security affairs from 2016-2019 after postings in Athens, Moscow, the United States, as Deputy permanent representative to NATO, and as ambassador to Azerbaijan. We encourage listeners to check out his regular analyses for CEIP's Türkiye and the World program.

For our seventh season of Diplomatic Immunity, we’ll be taking a look at the role of foreign policy in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. We’ll be taking you through the key things to know about where the candidates stand on international issues, how a win for either will affect US foreign policy, and how the rest of the world is watching with bated breath. Today, Kelly talks with Emma Ashford about the relative foreign policy platforms of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. 

Emma Ashford is a senior fellow with the Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program at the Stimson Center, where she works on a variety of issues related to the future of US foreign policy, international security, and the politics of global energy markets. Her first book, Oil, the State, and War: The Foreign Policies of Petrostates, was published by Georgetown University Press in 2022, and explored the international security ramifications of oil production and export in states such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela. Dr. Ashford also writes a bi-weekly column, “It’s Debatable,” for Foreign Policy Magazine.

Find her recent report exploring the future of US-European defense relations here: https://www.stimson.org/2024/american-roulette-scenarios-for-us-retrenchment-and-the-future-of-european-defense/ 

Find her regular column in Foreign Policy Magazine here: https://foreignpolicy.com/category/its-debatable/

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Jarrett Dang.

Recorded on October 7, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 2, Episode 3: Kelly McFarland and Alistair Somerville talk to Dr. Claire Standley, Assistant Research Professor at Georgetown's Center for Global Health Science and Security and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, about the need building local and international health systems, lessons from Ebola, and the nexus between theory and practice in global health security and diplomacy. Claire also reflects on her experience as a Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the State Department.

Claire's ISD case study, The 2014-2015 West Africa Ebola Outbreak: The Diplomacy of Response and Recovery in Guinea. 

More from the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security: https://ghss.georgetown.edu/covid19/

Episode recorded: February 4th, 2021. Update recorded: February 18th, 2021. 

Kelly speaks with Lt. Gen (ret.) Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe, about the effect of the Ukraine War on military tactics and strategy. 

Prior to retiring from the armed forces in 2018, Lieutenant General (ret.) Ben Hodges served as Commanding General of the U.S. Army in Europe. He consults for several companies on Europe, NATO, and the European Union, and he is co-author of the book Future War and the Defence of Europe, published by Oxford University Press. General Hodges was most recently Senior Advisor to Human Rights First, a non-profit, and was also the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Jarrett Dang.

Recorded on April 9, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Season 6, Episode 5. Today, we’ll be covering the effects of the War in Ukraine on supply chains, the defense-industrial base, and the private sector. Kelly McFarland talks to Christine Micheinzi, a former senior executive at the U.S. Department of Defense, about how the global economy and defense industry are trying to deal with the knock-on effects of Putin’s War. 

Dr. Christine Micheinzi is the Founder and CEO of the consultancy group MMR Defense Solutions. She is also a non-resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group. Chris was formerly a longtime senior official in the U.S. Department of Defense, most recently holding positions as Senior Technology Advisor and Chief Technology Officer to the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment. Throughout her career, she has focused on issues related to supply chains, acquisition, and technology.

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Jarrett Dang.

Recorded on January 24, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

He is joined by Ambassador Lino Gutierrez to discuss U.S. policy toward Latin America. Ambassador Gutierrez is a former senior Foreign Service Officer whose final assignment was as U.S. ambassador to Argentina. During his tenure in Argentina, Ambassador Gutiérrez signed agreements on container security, narcotics cooperation, counter-terrorism, money laundering, proliferation security, and environmental cooperation. He is now a member of the ISD Board of Advisers, and until recently was the Executive Director of the Una Chapman Cox Foundation, which funds one of our flagship programs, the Diverse Diplomacy Leaders Speaker Series. 

Episode recorded: January 25, 2022

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in an Embassy Meet and Greet at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, on October 8, 2021. [Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain]

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes. 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 3, Episode 6: ISD Director of Programs and Research Kelly McFarland talks to Rebecca Katz, professor and director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security, who holds joint appointments in Georgetown University Medical Center and the School of Foreign Service, and Matt Boyce, PhD student in the Global Infectious Diseases program at Georgetown, about the COVID-19 pandemic and cities' responses. They discuss the public health and medical responses to COVID-19, vaccine development, the HIV and Malaria pandemics, and the ways in which city, state, and local governments have responded. Rebecca also draws on over 15 years experience working on infectious disease at the State Department. 

The Rise of Metropolitanism: The International Order and Sub-National Actors, ISD New Global Commons Working Group Report (September 2019)

The New Weapon of Choice: Technology and Information Operations Today, ISD New Global Commons Working Group Report (October 2020)

Matt Boyce and Rebecca Katz (eds.), Inoculating Cities: Case Studies of Urban Pandemic Preparedness (Elsevier, 2021) 

Rebecca Katz, "Case 342 - Global Governance of Disease," ISD Case Studies Library (2017)

Episode recorded: October 28, 2021. 

Episode image: Train guard [Liam Burnett-Blue/Unsplash].

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 2, Episode 2: Kelly McFarland and ISD Rusk Fellow Heera Kamboj talk to Ambassador Stephen Mull, Vice Provost for Global Affairs at the University of Virginia, who served as Coordinator for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) at the State Department from 2015 to 2017. He was also a career Foreign Service Officer. They discuss next steps for U.S.-Iran policy, State Department reform, and the bridge between the academic and policy worlds. 

Featured articles:

James Jeffrey, "Biden Doesn't Need a New Middle East Policy," Foreign Affairs, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2021-01-15/biden-doesnt-need-new-middle-east-policy

William J. Burns and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, "The Transformation of Diplomacy," Foreign Affairs, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-09-23/diplomacy-transformation

Episode recorded: January 21st, 2021. 

Syria: A conversation about the Arab Spring and its aftermath between Ambassador Robert Ford and Syria activist Maya Haddad. Presented by Kelly McFarland and Alistair Somerville. Additional commentary from Ambassador Mark Storella, former deputy assistant secretary of state for population, refugees, and migration. 

Part 5 of a Diplomatic Immunity mini-series, Diplomacy and the Arab Spring at 10 - Origins and Legacies of Revolution

Listen to Part 4, Libya: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-4-uprisings-civil-war-and-hope-in-libya-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Listen to Part 3, Yemen: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-3-revolution-transition-and-collapse-in-yemen-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Listen to Part 2, Egypt: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-2-tahrir-square-and-beyond

Listen to Part 1, Tunisia: https://diplomaticimmunity.libsyn.com/part-1-the-tunisian-people-have-spoken-diplomacy-and-the-arab-spring-at-10

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision makers around the world.  

Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland

Production assistance by Jonas Heering

Design by Rebecca McFarland, Jonas Heering, and Alistair Somerville

Additional audio from Julius H on Pixabay, Soft and Furious, the Free Music Archive, and Surhofi

This week, Kelly teases the upcoming season of Diplomatic Immunity, titled "History and our Current World." The new series explores how history shapes foreign affairs—from the lessons of the Treaty of Versailles to the myths fueling conflicts in Ukraine and the South China Sea. Don’t miss our next episode on February 13th, when Kelly interviews renowned historian Margaret MacMillan to uncover how history is used, misused, and interpreted in global politics.

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Theo Malhotra and Freddie Mallinson. 

Recorded on January 27, 2025. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

On November 13, ISD Director Ambassador (ret.) Barbara Bodine awarded New York Times correspondent Edward Wong with the Edward Weintal Prize for diplomatic reporting. 

Ed's lecture, "Empires in Extremis," covers his family's story as it intertwines with the rise of the CCP and Xi Jinping, leading into his own career as a diplomatic correspondent and NYT Beijing Bureau Chief for nine years. He concludes by comparing and contrasting the Chinese and U.S. models of empire, and the dangers they face as the two countries become more adversarial. Q&A with Ambassador Bodine covers US-China relations, the incoming Trump administration, and the journalistic profession.

Find his new book, "At the Edge of Empire A Family's Reckoning with China," here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/602734/at-the-edge-of-empire-by-edward-wong/

The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity.

Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Theo Malhotra.

Recorded on November 13, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

Season 4, Episode 3: In the current series of Diplomatic Immunity, ISD Director of Programs and Research Dr. Kelly McFarland looks back at the first year of the Biden administration's foreign policy and looks forward to the next. 

He is joined by Ambassador Eunice Reddick to talk about U.S. policy towards Africa. They discuss the important role the continent plays in global affairs, the impact of COVID-19 and vaccine rollout across Africa, political instability and the opportunities presented by a rapidly growing population of young people across the continent.

During her more than 35 years of diplomatic service, Ambassador Reddick held ambassadorial assignments representing the U.S. in Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, and Gabon. She also served as Charge d’Affaires -- the acting chief of mission -- at the U.S. Embassies in Mauritania and Burundi. At the State Department, she served as director of the offices responsible for U.S. relations with countries in East and West Africa and Southeast Asia. Ambassador Reddick also held positions covering U.S. cooperation with development-focused international organizations and U.S. assistance for refugees in Africa. In addition to Africa diplomatic assignments, Ambassador Reddick covered political issues at the American Institute in Taiwan and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. 

Ambassador Reddick was previously a Dean and Virginia Rusk Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and Diplomat-in-Residence at Howard University, advising students and career-seekers in Washington, DC, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia on State Department careers and foreign policy issues.

Episode recorded: February 10, 2022.

Image: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken participates in the U.S.-Kenya Strategic Dialogue with Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Raychelle Omamo, in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 17, 2021. [State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public] 

Hosted by Kelly McFarland. Produced by Alistair Somerville and Kelly McFarland. Audio editing by Aaron Jones. Production assistance by Kit Evans and Eleanor Shiori Hughes. 

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.

Season 5, Episode 1: This season, Diplomatic Immunity is exploring the depths of multilateralism to learn how consensus-driven diplomacy survives in an era of renewed great power competition. For the first episode, ISD Director of Research and Programs Kelly McFarland talked to two experts with experience at the United Nations. First, Kelly chatted with ISD alumni Alistair Somerville to walk through the history of the 77-year-old institution. 

Alistair Somerville is a staff assistant at the UN Secretariat's office in Washington, the UN Information Centre, where he coordinates the Secretariat's work with academic institutions, think tanks, and the media in Washington and around the United States. 

To dig deeper into the issues affecting the United Nations today, Kelly talked to Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman who has served as a high-ranking diplomat with both the United States and the United Nations. Ambassador Feltman explains why he has been pleasantly surprised by the UN's efforts in light of the war in Ukraine and is cautiously optimistic about the future of the institution. 

Jeffrey Feltman is the John C. Whitehead Visiting Fellow in International Diplomacy in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings and a Senior Fellow at the UN Foundation, both based in Washington, D.C.   Ambassador Feltman was appointed as the first U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, a position he held from April 2021 until January 2022.  From July 2012 until his April 2018 retirement, he served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs.  From 2009 until 2012, Ambassador Feltman was the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.  Prior to his 2004-2008 tenure as U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, he served as a U.S. diplomat in Erbil, Baghdad, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Tunis, Amman, Budapest, and Port-au-Prince.

Episode recorded: October 10, 2022 (interview with Alistair Somerville) and November 30, 2022 (Interview with Ambassador Feltman)

Produced by Daniel Henderson and Kelly McFarland. 

Episode Image: Flags at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Mathias Reding on Unspalsh

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. 

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

For more, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter @GUDiplomacy. Send any feedback to diplomacy@georgetown.edu.