International Horizons is a podcast of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies that brings scholarly expertise to bear on our understanding of international issues.   The International Horizons podcast is our latest effort to bring our research and scholarship to a broader public. We are part of the New Books Network.

John Torpey, the host of the podcast and director of the Ralph Bunche Institute, holds conversations with prominent scholars and figures in state-of-the-art international issues in our weekly episodes.

You can subscribe to International Horizons on iTunes, Spotify, or Soundcloud.

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  Walls, Warnings, and the War on Fentanyl
  In this episode of International Horizons, Peter Andreas, John Hay Professor of International Studies at Brown University and author of Border Games: The Politics of Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide, 3rd edition (Cornell UP, 2022) and The Illicit Global Economy (Oxford UP, 2025), joins
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  Human Rights in the Trump Era
  In this episode of International Horizons, Kenneth Roth, former longtime executive director of Human Rights Watch, joins RBI director John Torpey to discuss Roth’s recent book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abuse of
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  Fractured Alliances: Trump, Ukraine, and Europe’s Security Dilemma
  In this episode, RBI director John Torpey speaks with Estonian parliamentarian and defense expert Kalev Stoicescu about the recent tensions between the United States and Ukraine following a contentious meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky. Stoicescu
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  Coup Attempts and Democratic Resistance: Lessons from Brazil
  As Brazil moves toward trying former president Jair Bolsonaro for plotting a coup against democracy, the United States grapples with constitutional challenges from the new administration as well. Are these two cases of democratic backsliding comparable? 
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  The Internet, Power, and the Deep State
  As the second Trump administration reshapes the U.S. government and its role in the world, how do technology, media, and political power intersect? In this episode of International Horizons, host John Torpey speaks with Zeynep Tufekci—New York
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  TrumpWorld: Canada, South Africa, Germany, and the Global Far-Right
  In this episode of International Horizons, John Torpey talks with Heribert Adam, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, to unpack the global ripple effects of Donald Trump’s return to power. From his
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  American Higher Education Under the Second Trump Administration
  In this episode of International Horizons, RBI Director John Torpey speaks with Steven Brint, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Public Policy at UC Riverside, about the early days of the second Trump administration and its impact on
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  Trump’s Second Term and Europe
  In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews Nathalie Tocci, director of the Institute of International Affairs in Rome, about the implications of Donald Trump’s second administration for Europe. The discussion explores how Trump’s
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  Transatlantic Tensions: Trump’s Return and Europe’s Far-Right Resurgence
  In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey interviews journalist Mattia Ferraresi about the implications of a potential second Trump presidency for European politics. Ferraresi discusses how Trump’s rhetoric and policies, including his stance on
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  Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan: Can He Really Do It?
  Kitty Calavita, Chancellor’s Professor Emerita of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine, discuss the historical context and implications of Operation Wetback, a 1954 U.S. mass deportation of Mexican immigrants, and its relevance to President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed mass deportation plans. Calavita explains that Operation Wetback aimed to address the economic utility of undocumented workers and political backlash against them, particularly during a recession and Cold War rhetoric. She highlights the logistical challenges of such operations, including the integration of immigrants into various industries and the legal protections against random stops. Calavita suggests that while high-profile roundups may occur, a massive deportation campaign is unlikely due to economic and logistical obstacles.
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  Middle East on the Brink: Escalation, Diplomacy, and the Search for Stability
  The current conflict in the Middle East has raised pressing concerns about the potential for a wider regional war. What do escalating tensions in Gaza, Lebanon, and beyond mean for the future? Join John Torpey on International Horizons as he discusses the complexities of the Middle East with Win Dayton, a retired senior member of the U.S. Foreign Service. Dayton shares insights from his decades of diplomatic experience, exploring the shifting dynamics of U.S. foreign policy, the challenges of intervention, and the prospects for stability amidst growing regional and global pressures.
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  Shared Paths: Exploring Jewish and Muslim Experiences in America
  This week on International Horizons, John Torpey, Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute, speaks with sociologists Mucahit Bilici and Samuel Heilman about their book, Following Similar Paths: What Jews and Muslims Can Learn From One Another (University of California
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  The UN and its discrete diplomacy in peacemaking
  This week on International Horizons, RBI Director John Torpey interviews Bertrand Ramcharan, former top UN diplomat and author of the recent book, The UN Security Council and Its Protective Function (Melrose Legal Publishers, 2024). Ramcharan describes the many
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  The Far-Right Threat in German Politics
  The recent elections in eastern Germany, where the Alternative for Germany (AfD) became the first far-right party to win a parliamentary election at the state level in postwar Germany, raised significant concern internationally about what’s happening
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  International Horizons: Are we experiencing a crisis of culture?
  In this episode of International Horizons, RBI director John Torpey spoke with Olivier Roy, professor of social and political sciences at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and author of The Crisis of Culture: Identity Politics
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  Notes from the Field: A Personal View of the War on Gaza
  We start this season of International Horizons with an interview with Dr. Eli Karetny, an American political scientist and administrative director of the Ralph Bunche Institute who spent the last academic year in Israel with his
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  The Social Acceptance of Inequality
  On this episode of International Horizons, Francesco Duina, Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology at Bates College and Luca Storti, Associate Professor of Economic Sociology at the University of Turin in Italy and a Research Fellow
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  The Climate Crisis as a Problem of Collective Action
  In this episode of International Horizons, Professor Dana Fisher, Director of the Center for Environment, Community, & Equity (CECE) and Professor in the School of International Service at American University, discusses with RBI Director John Torpey
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  What does Biden’s temporary suspension of offensive arms transfers mean for US-Israeli relations?
  Charles Blaha, a former State Department expert on the vetting of U.S. weapons transfers to other countries, helps us understand this important moment in the Israel-Hamas conflict. After an extended period of tension between U.S President
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  The Rhetoric of Crisis in Israel-Palestine
  This week, RBI Director John Torpey speaks with Amos Goldberg, Professor of Holocaust History at the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.