We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
Russia's tragic brutality and the humbling of the West
After two years, we returned to Davos, braving the Swiss mountain cold for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.
The 2023 WEF is all about "polycrisis," which in WEF-speak means many crises all at once, which compound each other, like tangled knots. But how do you untangle those knots?
That's a question that the world's business and political elite is struggling with at a time when the globalization they adore is being questioned by the developing world.
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to former Finnish PM Alexander Stubb in Davos. Stubb analyzes why Crimea is crucial for Ukraine to win the war against Russia and why Finland views its eastern neighbor with suspicion.
Ian also interviews Volker Türk, the UN's high commissioner for human rights, who (for a UN official) is surprisingly candid about the Security Council's track record so far on Ukraine.
No place worse for women than Taliban's Afghanistan, says UN human rights chief
When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, there was some hope that they would reformed. Now it's clear they have not changed a bit.
And nowhere is that more obvious than in the Taliban's abominable treatment of women.
“There is no country in the world that treats women in the way that Afghanistan does and the Taliban do,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, on the ground in Davos.
So, what can we do about it? Türk calls for "a unified stance that this is not part of the international order."
Watch the GZERO World episode: Russia's tragic brutality and the humbling of the West
Connecting the world: the power of digital trade
In their work around the globe, Catherine Shimony and her partner, Joan Shifrin, saw many women artisans in need. “We saw beautiful products women were making but they often didn’t have a market to sell them in, even locally. Beautiful products languished,” Shifrin explains.
So they founded Global Goods Partners to help female artisans reach a global audience. Since launching back in 2005, GGP has partnered with more than 60 artisan groups in countries throughout Africa, the Americas, and Asia.
“What we brought to the partnership was market access. Global Goods Partners is all about poverty alleviation, and social justice … bringing the global economy to the most vulnerable of populations. Most vulnerable being women and children,” Shimony says.
One example of their work? Kandahar Treasure in Afghanistan, with whom GGP has collaborated for a decade. Many of the Afghan women involved in the Kandahar Treasure group are widows. Gathering and embroidering beautiful fabrics gives them a chance to earn money for their families.
Watch the video above to see how digital trade works as a game-changer for women around the world.
Watch our recent livestream discussion on remittances and other tools for economic empowerment.
- Hard Numbers: Global packaging boom, livestreamed peaches, the ... ›
- The Graphic Truth: The digital payment boom - GZERO Media ›
- What We're Watching: Digital payment lifelines for cash-strapped ... ›
- Why regulating cross-border digital trade is tricky - GZERO Media ›
- Will Nepal cash out? - GZERO Media ›
- Adapting to a digital economy around the world - GZERO Media ›
The Taliban surprise & ongoing Afghan agony
On Aug. 15, 2021, the Taliban swept back to power in Afghanistan. By the end of the month, US forces had departed after two decades of war.
President Joe Biden made good on his promise to bring the troops home before the 20th anniversary of 9/11. But the withdrawal was very messy, and Afghan institutions and army were not ready to resist the Taliban.
A year on, the country remains in shambles, Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World.
For the Taliban, winning the war was easier than running Afghanistan under sanctions and with no friends. They've focused on wiping out women's rights.
Meanwhile, Afghans who risked their lives to help US forces are either stranded inside the country or in legal limbo waiting to resettle stateside.
Still, most Americans believe the president made the right call. And the Biden administration felt vindicated last month when al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in Kabul.
Watch the GZERO World episode:The fallout from US Afghanistan withdrawal: a Marine's perspective
The fallout from US Afghanistan withdrawal: a Marine's perspective
Almost one year ago, US forces departed Afghanistan after two decades of war. Their enemy was the Taliban, who didn't wait for all American soldiers to leave before taking over the country.
One year later, Afghanistan is in shambles. The country's economy has tanked, food shortages abound and women and girls face new restrictions on their freedoms. Still, most Americans believe President Joe Biden made the right call by ending this "forever war."
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to former US marine and CIA officer Elliot Ackerman, whose new book "The Fifth Act," details the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Ackerman believes the US military could have done a much better job at leaving the country, not to mention leaving so many Afghan allies behind.
Then, GZERO World speaks to Fawzia Koofi, who served as a member of Afghan Parliament from 2005 until 2021, about the grim new reality for women and girls in her country. A country she had to flee after the Taliban takeover.
Taliban regime has been “death in slow motion” for Afghan women
Fawzia Koofi was a member of Afghan Parliament from 2005 until last year, when the Taliban swept back to power.
On GZERO World, Koofi describes her experience working as one of the only female voices at the table during the negotiations with the Taliban.
In the room, they promised Koofi that women would play an active role in Afghan society. They even hinted at an inclusive government.
But after one year in power, the militant group has yet to make good on any of their promises.
Girls must now end their education by 6th grade. The last remaining female university students must learn separately from their male counterparts before women are fazed out of higher education all together. The Taliban has also broken up women's rights protests with gunfire.
Still, Koofi, who fled the country shortly after the takeover, says she remains hopeful that Afghanistan will one day have better leadership.
The Graphic Truth: What Afghan women lost
For years, Afghanistan has ranked as one of the world’s worst places to be a woman. But over the past two decades — with the Taliban out of power and a US-backed government calling the shots — things had started to improve. Literacy rates for girls went up, and women were allowed to pursue higher education and more career opportunities — including serving in parliament. In many parts of the country, they also had greater autonomy to travel independently. But that’s all changed since the Taliban returned to power one year ago amid the US’ chaotic withdrawal. Afghan women and girls, many of whom weren’t alive when the Taliban last ruled, are now watching their hard-fought freedoms disappear.
What We're Watching: Filipinos vote, Taliban vs Afghan women
Is the Philippines ready for Marcos 2.0?
Filipinos go to the polls Monday to vote in perhaps the most consequential and polarizing presidential election in recent memory. The clear frontrunner is Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the late dictator. Marcos is leading the polls by a 30-point margin over Vice President Leni Robredo, who has campaigned on a message of good governance to contrast with the kleptocracy associated with the 21-year rule of the senior Marcos. Despite her long odds, Robredo supporters hope that their candidate's late surge in popularity and possibly lower-than-expected turnout could turn the tide in their favor. Marcos, meanwhile, is confident of a victory that'll return his family to Malacañang Palace 36 years after his dad and shoe-loving mom Imelda were chased out of power and into exile in Hawaii. His election would be yet another triumph for political dynasties, which have tightened their long-held grip on Philippine politics in recent years (Marcos' running mate for VP is none other than the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte). Though his victory seems inevitable, will Marcos' many critics accept the result?
Another ban by the Taliban
On Saturday, the Taliban issued yet another decree in contravention of their promise to protect women’s rights in Afghanistan. The detailed order told women they should only leave their homes when necessary and be fully veiled in a hijab in public (they recommend the Afghan burqa as the "best hijab"). Failure to comply will result in male relatives being prosecuted, fined, imprisoned, or sacked from their jobs. The decree is consistent with the Taliban’s rollback of women's rights since they swept back to power in August 2021. So far, they've banned women from attending secondary school, protesting, traveling alone, and working in any sectors other than health and education. While those familiar with life under the previous Taliban regime (1996-2001) will not find these measures out of line with the Taliban's worldview, such policies will only further isolate the regime internationally. Not a single country — not even longtime supporter Pakistan — recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, a country that's failing to contain a humanitarian crisis, battling an economic free-fall, and struggling with attacks from the even more radical ISIS-K.