Network 20/20

We were pleased to welcome Professor Ian Johnstone, Professor of International Law at The Fletcher School at Tufts University ‪@TheFletcherSchool‬ and former legal and policy official at the United Nations, for our in-person, members-only discussion, Do Rules Matter? Power, Institutions, and Norms in a Disordered World, held in partnership with The Fletcher School.

Drawing on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Davos address, Professor Johnstone examined the breakdown of the old rules-based order, how middle powers can gain leverage, and what it would take to build a more just international order.

Johnstone warned that when powerful states openly dismiss #InternationalLaw, other governments may follow suit. He used the 2003 invasion of Iraq to explain why legal justifications still matter. Even when widely disputed, they give other governments a basis to challenge a powerful state’s actions. He also argued that middle powers such as Canada can strengthen their bargaining position by coordinating their responses to pressure from larger states.

Turning to international cooperation, he distinguished short-term deals from agreements that build trust over time. Smaller coalitions can act quickly on specific issues, he noted, though he argued that the trend toward mini-literalism can often leave smaller countries without the institutionalized leverage they have in larger, established organizations. Lasting #MultilateralCooperation depends on institutions that help countries follow through on commitments and work across political divides.

We are grateful to Professor Johnstone for sharing his expertise, to The Fletcher School for its partnership, and to our members and Fletcher alumni for contributing to a thoughtful and engaging discussion.

Network 20/20's members-only briefings provide exclusive access to candid conversations with leading experts on today's most pressing foreign policy and international affairs issues.

Learn more about the Network 20/20 membership:

network2020.org/benefits/

#Network2020 #InternationalLaw #GlobalGovernance #ForeignPolicy #TheFletcherSchool

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Network 20/20

Thank you to Darrell Duffie of ‪@stanfordgsb‬, Barry Eichengreen of ‪@UCBerkeley‬, and Rebecca Patterson of the ‪@cfr‬ for joining us for “The bond market strikes back: New limits on sovereign power?”

In this Network 20/20 Virtual Briefing, the panel explored why government bond yields rise, how higher interest payments can limit spending on priorities such as defense and infrastructure, and why changes in U.S. Treasury yields can ripple through markets around the world.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed questions. Subscribe for more conversations from Network 20/20’s Virtual Briefing Series.

#BondMarkets #GlobalEconomy #Network2020

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Network 20/20

How China’s Overcapacity Is Reshaping the World’s Industrial Policy 🌎🏭

RSVP and learn more: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8017931181808/WN_…

From electric vehicles and batteries to solar panels and semiconductors, China’s industrial expansion is fueling a global industrial policy race, as governments turn to subsidies, tariffs, and technology investment to compete. Critics point to China’s state support and weak domestic demand, while Beijing argues that its manufacturing strength is lowering costs and accelerating the energy transition.

What really drives China’s overcapacity? Can the United States and Europe compete without triggering a costly subsidy race? And how will advanced technology and AI shape the next phase of industrial competition?

Join Network 20/20 on Tuesday, November 10, from 12–1 PM ET for “How China’s Overcapacity Is Reshaping the World’s Industrial Policy,” featuring:

🎙 Dr. Kyle Chan, Fellow at the Brookings Institution's John L. Thornton China Center.

🎙 Dr. Alicia García-Herrero, Senior Fellow at Bruegel and Chief Economist for Asia Pacific and the Middle East at Natixis CIB.

🎙 Jennifer Harris, Director of the Economy and Society Initiative at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economics on the National Security Council and National Economic Council.

This virtual session is free and open to the public.

#VirualBriefingSeries #China #IndustrialPolicy #GlobalTrade #Geoeconomics #Network2020 #Europe #theUS #AI #technology

4 days ago | [YT] | 2

Network 20/20

No one in Brazil’s modern democracy had ever lost the first round and gone on to win. Then Lula did. 🇧🇷

Two days after Brazil’s runoff, Network 20/20 President Courtney Doggart sat down in London with Dr. Christopher Sabatini, Director of the Latin America Programme at Chatham House. They discussed a result that surprised even seasoned observers. No candidate in Brazil’s modern democracy had ever lost the first round and gone on to win, until Lula did.

In this 22-minute conversation, they discuss:
🔹 How Lula’s campaign turned things around: a new campaign manager, a WhatsApp-driven “Lula Army,” and roughly 10 million more voters in the second round
🔹 What the result means for Washington and the “Donroe Doctrine,” and why some Latin American leaders may start putting distance between themselves and the Trump administration
🔹 The obstacles facing a fourth term: an opposition-aligned Congress, about 90% of the budget locked into mandatory spending, and growth near 1%
🔹 Brazil’s rare earth reserves, the world’s second-largest after China’s, and the role U.S. development finance could play
🔹 China’s “maritime lawfare” against Panama, and the races to watch next in Venezuela, Argentina, and Peru

#Brazil #LatinAmerica #ForeignPolicy #Geopolitics #GlobalInsights

1 week ago | [YT] | 0

Network 20/20

YOUTUBE

Can bond markets set the limits on sovereign power? 🌎📈

From defense budgets and NATO spending commitments to industrial policy, governments depend on borrowing to fund their priorities. As borrowing costs rise, investors are putting renewed pressure on what governments can afford—and how they project power.

Is this a new constraint on heavily indebted governments, or a return to familiar market discipline? Does the dollar give Washington more room to maneuver than London, Tokyo, and Paris?

Join us on Wednesday, November 4, from 11 AM–12 PM ET for “The Bond Market Strikes Back: New Limits on Sovereign Power?” featuring:

🎙 Professor Darrell Duffie, Adams Distinguished Professor of Management and Professor of Finance, Emeritus, at Stanford Graduate School of Business

🎙 Professor Barry Eichengreen, Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley

🎙 Rebecca Patterson, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations

This virtual session is free and open to the public.

RSVP and learn more: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/4217926983592/WN_…

#BondMarkets #SovereignDebt #Geoeconomics #GlobalAffairs #Network2020 #GlobalEconomy #EconomicPolicy #FiscalPolicy #GovernmentDebt #FinancialMarkets #InternationalFinance #ForeignPolicy

1 week ago | [YT] | 2

Network 20/20

BYPASSING HORMUZ: THE NEW GEOPOLITICS OF ENERGY

We were pleased to welcome Dr. Carolyn Kissane, Associate Dean and Clinical Professor at > and Founding Director of NYU’s Global Energy, Climate, and Sustainability Lab, for our members-only conversation on the changing geopolitics of energy.

Below are some key takeaways from today’s discussion:

🚢 Recovering energy flows do not necessarily mean a return to stability. Dr. Kissane explained how alternative routes and shipping workarounds have helped sustain Gulf exports, while continued attacks and constraints on diesel, gasoline, and fertilizer leave businesses and consumers facing high costs and uncertainty.

⚡ Energy security is increasingly about reducing exposure to disruption. Dr. Kissane highlighted how China’s investments in strategic reserves, electric vehicles, and electrified transportation have helped reduce its reliance on imported oil. Other countries are reassessing their energy choices, with some accelerating renewables while others turn to coal for affordability and domestic supply.

🛡️ The distinction between disruption and destruction matters. Relatively inexpensive drones can threaten costly energy infrastructure, but Dr. Kissane emphasized that attacks disrupting operations differ sharply from those that permanently eliminate production capacity. Crossing that threshold could bring far more severe consequences for global supply.

📉 Today’s crisis could reshape oil demand long after the fighting ends. While replenishing strategic reserves could temporarily lift demand, Dr. Kissane argued that sustained investment in electrification and alternatives to oil could produce more lasting changes in consumption.

Thank you to Dr. Kissane and everyone who joined our members-only conversation.

🎥 The full conversation is coming soon. Subscribe: [youtube.com/@Network2020](youtube.com/@Network2020)

Network 20/20's Virtual Salons give members exclusive access to candid conversations with leading experts on today's most pressing foreign policy and national security issues.

🌍 Want to join our next members-only Virtual Salon? Explore membership: [network2020.org/benefits/](network2020.org/benefits/)

\#Network2020 #StraitOfHormuz #EnergySecurity #GlobalEnergy

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 2

Network 20/20

We were pleased to welcome Mitchell A. Silk, former Assistant Secretary for International Markets at the U.S. Department of the Treasury during the first Trump administration, one of the primary architects of the U.S.-China Phase One trade agreement, and author of A Seat at the Table: An Inside Account of Trump’s Global Economic Revolution, for our in-person, members-only discussion, Trade Policy in Trump’s First Treasury.

Drawing on his experience in Chinese law and finance and as a senior Treasury negotiator, Mitchell offered an inside look at the pressures that shape major economic decisions.

The wide-ranging conversation explored U.S. economic policy and relations with China, offering an insider’s perspective on the challenges, decisions, and negotiations that shaped the first Trump administration. Mitchell reflected on the economic landscape the administration inherited, its approach to addressing longstanding challenges, and what those experiences can tell us about U.S.-China relations today.

We are grateful to Mitchell for sharing his expertise and to our members for contributing to a thoughtful and engaging discussion.

Network 20/20’s members-only briefings provide exclusive access to candid conversations with leading experts on today’s most pressing foreign policy and national security issues.

Learn more about membership: network2020.org/benefits/

#TradePolicy #USChina #EconomicDiplomacy #GlobalAffairs #Network2020

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Network 20/20

We were pleased to welcome Karim Haggag, Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute @SIPRIorg, former Egyptian diplomat, and member of the United Nations Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, for our in-person, members-only discussion, Searching for Stability in a Rearranged Middle East.

Karim reflected on the ripple effects of ongoing conflicts across the Middle East and the changing security landscape in the region. The discussion explored the evolving role of the United States—traditionally viewed as both a source of regional security as well as an actor that contributes to instability—and the continued importance of U.S. involvement in shaping a future regional security structure.

He also discussed the growing influence of other regional and global actors, Middle Eastern countries’ search for alternative security partnerships beyond the United States, and the implications of an expanding regional arms race.

We are grateful to Karim for sharing his expertise and to our members for contributing to a thoughtful and engaging discussion.

Learn more about Network 20/20 membership: network2020.org/benefits/

#MiddleEast #RegionalSecurity #ForeignPolicy #GlobalAffairs #Network2020

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Network 20/20

Thank you to Taufiq Rahim, Senior Fellow at NewAmerica; Ambassador Chris Lu, former U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform and distinguished professor at the Miller Center of Public Affairs; moderator Rekha Shanmugam of AJ+; and Subhah Agarwal for joining Network 20/20 and UNMUTED for United We Fall: Should the U.S. Leave the UN?

The debate examined competing perspectives on whether the United States should leave the United Nations, including U.S. financial contributions, the effectiveness of UN institutions, efforts toward reform, and the potential consequences of withdrawing.

Taufiq Rahim presented the case for investing U.S. resources elsewhere, while Ambassador Lu drew on his experience negotiating UN budgets and pursuing reform from within the organization.

We are grateful to our speakers, moderator, partners at UNMUTED, and everyone who joined us for a lively and thoughtful exchange on the future of U.S. engagement with the United Nations.

#UNMUTED #UnitedNations #ForeignPolicy #GlobalAffairs #Network2020

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1 month ago | [YT] | 2

Network 20/20

How is U.S. diplomacy being used today—and where is it headed? 🇺🇸🌎

Thank you to John Dinkelman, President of @AFSAtube; Dr. Jessica Tuchman Mathews, Distinguished Fellow and former President of @CarnegieEndow; and Professor Jay Sexton, Director of @mudemocracy, for joining us for *The State of Diplomacy at America 250.*

Below are some key takeaways from the discussion:

🌎 Career diplomats are being sidelined from key negotiations. Special envoys are operating without the regional expertise, cultural context, or even American translators that the Foreign Service provides—over 1,300 diplomatic professionals were dismissed last year alone, gutting the institutional knowledge the U.S. relies on.

🤝 The current approach to diplomacy lacks a discernible strategy. Dr. Mathews warned that the administration has “torched” long-standing bipartisan fundamentals—from alliances as a source of strength to the rule of law—replacing them with day-to-day chaos rather than a coherent alternative.

💡 Today’s diplomatic landscape echoes the 19th century more than the mid-20th-century norm. Professor Sexton drew parallels between current tariff policies, hemispheric expansion, and bare-knuckle politics—cautioning that the last era of spheres of influence ultimately led to the World Wars.

🇺🇸 The popular legitimacy that once sustained American internationalism has eroded. Rebuilding public support for U.S. engagement abroad requires addressing democratic legitimacy problems at home—from the concentration of political and economic power among the ultra-rich to the disconnect between voters and foreign policy.

➡️ Subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications to be notified when the full recording is available.

#America250 #AmericanDiplomacy #ForeignPolicy #GlobalAffairs #Network2020

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