Is Israel Heading Over a Cliff?
New Thinking for a New World - a Tallberg Foundation Podcast
03/16/23
•31m
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Israel seems to be on the verge of exploding. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s pursuit of radical judicial reform has been met with massive and growing street demonstrations. The country’s President, Isaac Herzog, has publicly warned of a political "point of no return" with potentially disastrous consequences for Israeli society. Meanwhile, violence between Israelis and Palestinians is soaring, raising the possibility of another intifada and adding to the sense of looming disaster.
Indeed, a recent poll suggested that one-third of Israelis believe the country is heading towards civil war, including 80% of the protesters who oppose Netanyahu’s reforms.
Neri Zilber is a journalist and analyst who focus on Israel's - and more generally Middle Eastern - politics and culture. He is deeply knowledgeable, widely published and moves regularly between Tel Aviv and Washington. Listen as he joins host Alan Stoga for a New Thinking for a New World conversation on a situation that seems destined to go from bad to worse.
What do you think?
Previous Episode
Worth Repeating: Can a Broken Democracy Fix Itself?
February 16, 2023
•37m
After the tragedy of the Pinochet years, Chile had evolved into one of the most successful countries in the Americas in economic terms, but perhaps more importantly, in terms of the health of its democracy. Right and left-wing parties and presidents alternated power, the judicial system worked, corruption was low, Chilean political leaders were respected at home and abroad. All of that came to a screeching halt in 2019 when protests escalated into widespread violence.
Chile was suddenly at, what in almost any other country, would have been a revolutionary moment. However, instead of a civil war, the Chileans launched an inclusive political process to write a new constitution. They wanted a fundamental rethink of political rights, obligations, institutions and processes. Fast forward to September of this year, and the new constitution that was three years in the making was overwhelmingly rejected in a national referendum.
What happened and what happens next? What lessons can others learn from Chile's efforts to reimagine its democracy?
Isabel Aninat, Dean of the Law School of the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, in Chile has been a keen observer of the constitution-writing process and, more generally, of Chilean politics. She is fundamentally optimistic that Chilean democracy is headed in a good direction.
What do you think?
This episode was originally published on October 27, 2022
Next Episode
Needed: New Thinking about Africa’s Debt Burden
March 23, 2023
•32m
Africa might finally be on the verge of realizing its enormous potential. A booming, young, optimistic population. Vast reserves of the metals needed to power the clean energy transition worldwide. Widespread popular demands to end corruption. A growing middle class. Taken together, these assets could produce the prosperity and peace Africans deserve.
What stands in the way?
One of the most important blockages is too much debt, compounded by too much history of mismanaging past borrowings. Of the 54 countries identified by the United Nations as having severe debt problems, 24 are located in Sub-Saharan Africa today. Many are heading towards default, restructuring or cancellation. Unfortunately, growth and development are likely to suffer as a result.
Bright Simons, a researcher and policy activist in Ghana, thinks it's time to do something different. **He recently published an article in The Financial Times arguing that debt cancellation is not the solution Africa needs now. **Some critics responded that cancellation is as urgent today as it was 20 years ago. But, is rinse and repeat any more likely to work this time?
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