Interview with Dr. Sophal Ear: 25:30

This week, Kelly and Tristan examine the backsliding of democracy in El Salvador and analyze the regional implications for President Bukele's political crackdown. They then explore Trump's escalating tariff war with India, which threatens to undermine the partnership between the world's two largest democracies. Next, they explore Japan's landmark $6.5 billion naval deal with Australia and what this historic sale signals for the efforts to counter China's presence in the Indo-Pacific. The episode concludes with Arizona State University Professor Dr. Sophal Ear joining Kelly to discuss the recent ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia and how the centuries-old dispute led to a five-day armed conflict.

Dr. Sophal Ear is a tenured Associate Professor at Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management, where he teaches global political economy, international organizations, and regional management in Asia. His global experience includes consulting for the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, serving with the UNDP in East Timor, and holding leadership roles with Leopard Capital, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, SEARAC, and the Southeast Asia Development Program. He is the author of Viral Sovereignty and the Political Economy of Pandemics and Aid Dependence in Cambodia, and co-author of The Hungry Dragon. A graduate of Princeton and Berkeley, Dr. Ear came to the U.S. as a Cambodian refugee from France at age 10.

Link to Viral Sovereignty and the Political Economy of Pandemics and Aid Dependence in Cambodia: https://www.routledge.com/Viral-Sovereignty-and-the-Political-Economy-of-Pandemics-What-Explains-How-Countries-Handle-Outbreaks/Ear/p/book/9781032133904?srsltid=AfmBOopGvH8ntwZwymgLaBYkSEo4M3bBDao9D0Z689sUYeHiutYZxC85

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 August 12, 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

This week, Kelly talks with Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Ebenezer Obadare about Nigeria's growing security and economic challenges under President Bola Tinubu. Ebenezer discusses how the country is facing escalating violence from Boko Haram, growing political instability, and widespread economic hardship. Obadare also highlights Nigeria's tremendous diplomatic potential and why it could become the U.S.'s most important ally in Africa.

Ebenezer Obadare is the Douglas Dillon senior fellow for Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Before joining CFR, he was professor of sociology at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. He is also a senior fellow at the New York University School of Professional Studies Center for Global Affairs, and a fellow at the University of South Africa’s Institute of Theology. Author of numerous works on civil society and the state, and religion and politics in Africa, his most recent book, published by the University of Notre Dame Press, is titled Pastoral Power, Clerical State: Pentecostalism, Gender, and Sexuality in Nigeria. His next book, The Nigerian Century, will be published by Oxford University Press.

Link to Pastoral Power, Clerical State: https://undpress.nd.edu/9780268203146/pastoral-power-clerical-state/

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 July 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

This week, Kelly talks with International Crisis Group Analyst Elizabeth Dickinson about the surge in cartel-driven violence in Colombia and how USAID cuts have impacted the country. Elizabeth discusses how criminal groups have filled the vacuum left by FARC's demobilization in 2016, leading to the highest coca cultivation levels in Colombia's history and a surge in political instability that is testing the country's democratic institutions.

Elizabeth Dickinson has been Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Colombia since 2019, based in Bogotá. Her work centers around armed conflict dynamics in the country, organised crime, military strategy, and the implementation of the 2016 peace accord between the Colombian government and militant guerrillas. She leads ongoing work around defence strategy reform and regional drug trafficking. Prior to joining International Crisis Group, Elizabeth worked for a decade as a journalist, including roles at Foreign Policy magazine, The National and The Economist.

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 July 9, 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