On October 26, the Republic of Georgia held parliamentary elections with immense geopolitical stakes. The former Soviet republic was once staunchly pro-Western and pro-European. But over the last several years, the country has drifted closer to Russia's orbit, largely due to one man: the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. His Georgia Dream party has dominated Georgian politics for nearly a decade, and this rule has brought some democratic backsliding, including a new NGO law, modeled after a similar law in Russia, aimed at undermining civil society.

However, the people of Georgia remain overwhelmingly pro-West and pro-European. So, this election was seen as a reckoning: would the ruling Georgian Dream Party be voted out, halting the country’s drift towards Russia?

Despite some reports of election irregularities, Georgia Dream declared victory, claiming 54% of the vote. The opposition rejects this outcome, leaving the country in an uneasy post-election period.

Joining me from Tbilisi, Georgia, is Andres Ilves, Regional Director for the Near East and Eastern Europe for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. We discuss what happened in these elections, what accounts for Georgia's drift towards Russia, and some of the key geopolitical implications of these results.

Sign up for our new show about the UN: https://www.globaldispatches.org/s/to-save-us-from-hell

Today’s episode is produced in partnership with the CGIAR Research Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration for a series that examines what works to improve the well-being of people in Fragile and Conflict Affected Settings. CGIAR is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security.

We are calling this series “From Fragility to Stability” and in today’s episode I host a roundtable discussion with three experts about how social assistance can improve mental health in fragile settings.

You will hear from:

Michael Mulford, World Vision International

Adiam Hailemichael, World Bank economist

Melissa Hidrobo, Senior research fellow, IFRPRI

The escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has sparked a rapidly unfolding displacement crisis in Lebanon. Over the past few weeks, as Israel intensified its strikes and launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, around 700,000 people have fled their homes. This is in addition to the 100,000 people who fled the region shortly after the October 7 attacks, which saw some exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah. In the last two to three weeks, what began as a limited conflict has sharply escalated, leading to this new displacement crisis.

Joining me to discuss the contours of this crisis and its potential impact on Lebanese society, politics, and security is Juan Gabriel Wells, the country director for Lebanon at the International Rescue Committee. As he explains, this new wave of displacement is layered on top of several other crises affecting Lebanon today, including a deep and ongoing economic catastrophe.

Today’s episode is produced in partnership with the CGIAR Research Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration for a series that examines what works to improve the well-being of people in Fragile and Conflict Affected Settings. CGIAR is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security.

We are calling this series “From Fragility to Stability” and in today’s episode I host a roundtable discussion with three experts about how to better deliver humanitarian and social assistance in fragile settings

You will hear from:

• Kibrom Abay (IFPRI Senior Research Fellow - Development Strategies and Governance)

• Mitchell McTough (IWMI Postdoctoral Fellow – Water, Conflict & Resilience)

• Susanna Sandstrom (Senior Economist, Head of Economic and Markets Unit, World Food Program)

You can find this episode and other episodes that are part of this series on GlobalDispatches.org

My guest today, Marietje Schaake, is the author of a brilliant new book, The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley. The book explains how the tech industry has effectively captured government, assuming many of the functions traditionally held by governments, but without the oversight inherent in democratic governance. This includes areas like national security, domestic functions, and even the maintenance of democracy itself.

Marietje Schaake is an old friend of mine and a former member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands. We begin our conversation by discussing her experience leading the EU's election observation mission in Kenya in 2017, when a faulty French voting technology company disrupted the election with serious political consequences. We then move on to examine the tech industry's role in supplanting government in the national security realm, and why Elon Musk's alliance with Donald Trump is so potentially dangerous for democracy.

The Tech Coup is easily one of the best books I've read this year. It presents a compelling argument for why democracies should push back against the growing influence of the tech industry—and how they can do so.

Here is my conversation with Marietje Schaake, a non-resident Fellow at Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center and the Institute for Human-Centered AI, and the author of The Tech Coup.

Today’s episode is produced in partnership with the CGIAR Research Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration for a new series that examines what works to improve the well-being of people in Fragile and Conflict Affected Settings. CGIAR is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security.

We are calling this series “From Fragility to Stability”

In today's episode, I host a roundtable discussion with three experts on the topic of Anticipatory Action— that is, how acting before a crisis hits can reduce impacts on the most vulnerable. You will hear from:

• Ms. Catalina Jaime, Head of Climate and Conflict | Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, Colombia
• Dr Emmanuel Attoh, Researcher in Climate Adaptation | International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Sri Lanka
• Esraa Elgadi, Project Officer, Resurgence (TBC)

To learn more visit: https://www.globaldispatches.org/

When Sudan's civil war erupted in April 2023, something extraordinary happened. Neighborhoods, mostly in and around Khartoum, began setting up what they called "Emergency Response Rooms." This name is somewhat of a misnomer because, while some Emergency Response Rooms do provide medical assistance, others serve as communal kitchens, day care centers, or offer maternal health services. In each case, they were created by the community in response to its own needs. This so-called mutual aid happens across cultures and around the world.

What is profoundly unique about mutual aid in Sudan is that these Emergency Response Rooms have organized themselves into a coherent network that connects very local, neighborhood-level humanitarian responses to international donors. They have done this through a homegrown system of oversight and governance, providing a revolutionary new model for humanitarianism.

Joining me to discuss Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms, how they work, and why they represent such a departure from more conventional approaches to humanitarian relief, is Alsanosi Adam. He is the external communications coordinator for the national umbrella group that supports the work of over 700 Emergency Response Rooms throughout Sudan.

You can support their work, like I did, here: https://mutualaidsudan.org/

Today's episode is the launch of a new series called "From Fragility to Stability" in which we examine what works to improve the well-being of people in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings who often struggle to sustain resilient food, land, and water systems in the face of the climate crisis. The series is produced with CGIAR, a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security, to help deepen understanding of fragility, conflict, and migration dynamics. Episodes in this series will convene experts, practitioners, policymakers, and stakeholders to foster a collaborative dialogue, share insights, and co-create actionable strategies to address the multifaceted challenges of conflict, crises, and fragility.

-Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director–CGIAR

-Andrew Harper, Special Advisor to the High Commissioner on Climate Action, the UN Refugee Agency

-Arif Husain (Chief Economist and Director of Analysis, Planning and Performance United Nations World Food Program

-Katrina Kosec, Senior Research Fellow–IFPRI; Lead–CGIAR Research Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration; Lecturer, Johns Hopkins Universit


To learn more and access other episodes in this series, please visit https://www.globaldispatches.org/t/fragilitytostability