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Political violence is on the rise again, at home and abroad
In a small town out in coal country, a lone assassin shoots a controversial populous leader. The leader miraculously survives, and his supporters blame the press and his political opponents for fomenting violence. Does that sound familiar? Months before Donald Trump was shot in Pennsylvania in the first assassination attempt of its kind in America in 40 years, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico took a bullet to the stomach during a visit to Central Slovakia. But Fico is just one of many leaders or high-level candidates who have been attacked in democracies around the world in recent years.
Across the democratic world, political violence and violent political language are becoming more common again as polarization deepens, viewpoints harden, and political differences start to feel like existential battles. Here in the US last year, there were more than 8,000 threats of violence against federal lawmakers alone, a tenfold increase since 2016. And as we head into the most contentious and high-stakes election in America's modern history, people are bracing for more. A poll taken just after the attempt on Trump's life showed that two-thirds of Americans think the current environment makes political violence more likely. Who is responsible for stopping this slide into violence? Is it our leaders, our media outlets, or our social media platforms? Is it ourselves? Unless things change, we will be lucky if it's another 40 years before this happens again in the US.
Watch full episode: Trump, Biden & the US election: What could be next?
Season 7 of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, launches nationwide on public television stations (check local listings).
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UNRWA funding cuts threaten Lebanon's Palestinian refugees
GZERO went inside the Shatila Camp in Beirut, one of Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camps, to better understand what the loss of UNRWA funding would mean for the people who call it home—the teachers, doctors, and local government workers who rely on UNRWA to provide basic services, like education, healthcare, and clean water to residents. The agency says it has enough funds to last through June, but it will need to make some tough choices after that.
“The reason UNRWA still exists after 75 years is because there is no political solution,” says Dorothee Klaus, URWA’s Lebanon director, “It is time to find a solution for Palestinian refugees to live in dignity like everybody else.
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week on US public television (check local listings) and online.
"Patriots" on Broadway: The story of Putin's rise to power
“Putin was my mistake. Getting rid of him is my responsibility.”
It’s clear by the time the character Boris Berezovsky utters that chilling line in the new Broadway play “Patriots” that any attempt to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rise would be futile, perhaps even fatal.
The show, which opened for a limited run in New York on April 22, stars Tony and Emmy-nominated actor Michael Stuhlbarg as Berezovsky, a larger-than-life oligarch whose billions buy him into the highest ranks of Russian power after the fall of the Soviet Union. When asked by President Boris Yeltsin to find a successor to lead the fledgling nation, Berezovsky taps Putin, a former KGB agent and ex-mayor of St. Petersburg who few knew well.
The play’s director, Rupert Goold, said while the play is set in a specific moment in modern Russian history, the script has needed changes along the way as major developments colored Putin’s story.
“It does feel like the filter on it changes every day because something else happens every day,” actor Will Keen, who originated the role of Putin in London two years ago, told GZERO’s Tony Maciulis. “It feels like the play has, overall, become darker and darker. It seems to become more and more perturbing.”
“Patriots'' was written by Peter Morgan, creator of Netflix’s “The Crown” and the play puts a similarly-styled lens on Russian history. It’s Shakespearean, more melodrama than history lesson, but the characters are very real. The Broadway audience will also likely receive the show differently than the West End crowd in London, in part because of America’s long and contentious relationship with Russia, and the current polarization in US politics and discourse.
“Patriots” is playing a 12-week run at Broadway’s Barrymore theater.
Catch this full episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on public television beginning this Friday, April 26. Check local listings.
The New York migrant crisis up close
Since 2022, New York City has absorbed more than 170,000 migrants, mostly sent on buses by Texas officials from the US-Mexico border. Many of them are asylum-seekers who hail from South American countries facing political and economic upheaval, like Venezuela and El Salvador. But increasingly, people from Asia, western Africa, and the Caribbean have been making the difficult journey to the US via the southern border as well.
Unlike other so-called “sanctuary cities,” New York has a legal mandate, known as a consent decree, that requires the city to provide shelter to anyone who asks for it. But the already under-funded, under-resourced system is struggling to deal with the influx of so many people. Adding to the chaos, in October, the city changed its policy to require everyone in the shelter system to reapply for a bed every 30-60 days. For asylum seekers already trying to navigate byzantine legal and healthcare systems, the instability can have devastating consequences.
That’s why grassroots organizers like Power Malu of Artists Athletes Activists, Adama Bah of Afrikana, and Ilze Thielmann of TeamTLC have been stepping up to fill a major gap in the city’s immigration system: greeting arrivals, pointing them towards resources, providing food and clothing. Most crucially, they're help people understand their rights and apply for asylum, so they can get work permits and find permanent housing.
Speaking from the front lines of this crisis, the organizers say the city isn't fully meeting the needs of the migrants coming here, despite spending $1.45 billion on migrant costs alone in 2023. "The illusion is that they're in these beautiful hotels and they're getting all of these services and it's not true," Malu says, "That's why you have organizations like ours that have stepped up and had to change from welcoming to now doing case management, social services, helping them with mental health therapy."
GZERO’s Alex Kliment spent time on the ground with newly-arrived asylum-seekers and the volunteers to better understand the reality on the ground, how this current crisis getting so much national attention is functioning day to day, and if the city could be doing more to help.
GZERO has reached out to City Hall for comment and will update with any response.
Learn more about the organizations mentioned in this report:
Catch this full episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on public television beginning this Friday, March 15. Check local listings.
- Ian Explains: Why Congress can't fix the US border problem ›
- The US border crisis at a tipping point ›
- NYC Mayor takes on Texas migrant buses ›
- “This will destroy New York City”: What the Big Apple’s immigration crisis tells us about the 2024 elections ›
- Will Biden's immigration order help border control...and his campaign? - GZERO Media ›
Understanding Navalny’s legacy inside Russia
Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was a uniquely charismatic, fearless, and media-savvy critic of Putin’s regime who will be extremely hard to replace, says GZERO’s Alex Kliment. But as beloved as he was internationally for his fearless stance against the country’s strongman leader within Russia, his appeal was somewhat limited to educated elites.
“There was a poll last year that only about 10% of Russians saw Navalny as someone whose activities they approved of about 40 or 50% said they disapproved him Navalny” Kliment says. “And a quarter of Russians had never even heard of him.”In 2020, recall, he was poisoned with a nerve agent in an attack that he blamed on the Kremlin. He later, on camera, tricked a Russian security official into appearing to admit responsibility for the hit.
That may be hard to believe for Western observers who have grown accustomed to grainy videos of Navalny defiantly smiling from behind bars. But it’s a function, Kliment says, of the fact that the Kremlin controls the media. The Kremlin has cracked down on opposition movements like Navalny’s, and many Russians who would be most likely to support him have left Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
- Navalny's death is a huge loss for democracy - NATO's Mircea Geona ›
- What happens if Alexei Navalny dies? ›
- Navalny’s death: Five things to know ›
- Putin's gulag gamble with Navalny ›
- “A film is a weapon on time delay” — an interview with “Navalny” director Daniel Roher ›
- Putin critic Alexei Navalny dies in prison ›
- Tracking anti-Navalny bot armies - GZERO Media ›
Israel-Hamas war is a mixed blessing for Putin
Over the past few weeks, the conflict in Gaza has drawn attention away from what used to be the most covered war in the world: Russia's invasion of Ukraine. You know who's not mad about that? Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Even before the Hamas attacks, Western support for Ukraine was starting to waver, GZERO's Alex Kliment explains. Now, Putin is perfectly happy to see Western governments and media distracted by the Middle East. What's more, a little unrest in the region always bumps up prices for Russian oil.
But there are a few reasons why this latest conflict in the Holy Land might not be a blessing for Putin. For one thing, it forces him to choose sides in a way that he doesn't relish. It took Putin 10 entire days to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with condolences after the October 7th attacks. And while Russia condemned the Hamas rampage, Putin has also welcomed Hamas officials in Moscow and called for a ceasefire, something both the US and Israel oppose.
On the one hand, bending towards the Palestinians puts Putin firmly in line with mainstream opinion in the Arab world and the broader global south, where sympathy for the Palestinian cause is strong. On the other hand, antagonizing Israel could lead the government there to change its mind about giving advanced weapons to Ukraine, something that Prime Minister Netanyahu has so far chosen not to do.
And then there's the risk of this conflict spiraling out of control entirely. A wider regional war between Israel and Iran could turn into a nightmare for Putin. But don't forget, Russian forces are currently propping up the Assad regime in Syria, an ally of Iran that could easily be drawn into a wider war with Israel.
In short, Vladimir Putin is fine with Middle Eastern instability that puts the heat on his Western adversaries. Unfortunately for him, he can't count on staying out of the fire himself.
Watch more about the situation in the Middle East on the upcoming episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer.
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld and on US public television. Check local listings.
- Is war in Gaza good for Russia? ›
- Biden seeks urgent aid package for Israel, Ukraine ›
- Putin's endgame in Ukraine ›
- Ian Explains: Putin's partners and allies ›
- What We’re Watching: Ukraine latest, Israel blocks arms to Kyiv ›
- Will Israel be forced to choose between Russia and Ukraine? ›
- Israel, Iran, and the metastasizing war in Ukraine ›
- Putin wins another classic Soviet election - GZERO Media ›
Israel-Hamas war: "Just bring them back," says brother of 9-year-old Israeli hostage
Few people can grasp the horror that is Roy Zichri's daily life. Ever since his nine-year-old brother was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th, along with his mother, Keren, and his grandparents, Roy and his family have been doing everything possible to bring the hostages home. But as Ohad Munder-Zichri experienced his ninth birthday somewhere in Gaza under Hamas captors this week, Roy has felt as powerless as the families of the 20 or so other children currently being held hostage (not to mention the 200+ total captives).
In the latest episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the show's executive producer, Tony Maciulis, asks Roy what message he has for Ohad's Hamas captors. "No message," Roy responds, after an emotional pause. "No message. Just bring them back as soon as possible."
With Hamas' release of a few hostages in the past few days, there is renewed hope for those still being held captive. But as Israel's military continues to bomb Gaza in anticipation of a bloody ground invasion, the future of those hostages remains very much in doubt. In the meantime, Roy wants the world to know how special his young brother is. "Him and I, we have a very strong connection. We have our own jokes and our own games, and he's very lovable and adorable."
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld and on US public television. Check local listings.
- The Israel-Hamas war: Where we are, two weeks in ›
- Will Hezbollah enter the Israel-Hamas conflict or not? ›
- Saving US hostages in Gaza: Use Egypt as intermediary, urges Rep. Mike Waltz ›
- America's tightrope walk with the Israel-Hamas war ›
- Ian Bremmer: Understanding the Israel-Hamas war ›
- Israel-Hamas war: Hostage release doesn't mean the end is near - GZERO Media ›
Will Israel's war with Hamas spread north to Lebanon?
In Beirut, a little over 50 miles from the Israeli border, there are few signs of the violent conflict capturing the world's attention. At least for now. Further south, there have been almost daily exchanges of rocket fire between the Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group that dominates southern Lebanon and is a regional power in its own right.
Fear is growing, even in the north, that the war between Israel and Hamas could spill over into a broader regional conflict, GZERO's Fin DePoncier reports from Beirut. But Lebanon is reeling from its own internal struggles–It suffered a devastating economic collapse in 2019 that was exacerbated by the 2020 pandemic and a deadly explosion at the Port of Beirut that caused billions in damage. It's also politically paralyzed; its divided parliament hasn't been able to elect a president since Michel Aoun left office in 2022.
DePoncier is in Beirut to hear from its diverse population about what they think about their country's precarious position and what it would mean if Lebanon gets dragged into Israel's war with Hamas. Some people see themselves as entirely removed from the conflict, others would pick up arms to fight, but everyone is bracing for the worst. For now, all eyes are on Hezbollah and the southern border.
Watch more about the situation in the Middle East on the upcoming episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer.
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld and on US public television. Check local listings.
- Can this election save Lebanon? ›
- Is Hezbollah losing influence in Lebanon? Kim Ghattas on Lebanese divisions & unity ›
- Ian Bremmer: Understanding the Israel-Hamas war ›
- Hamas attacks in Israel ignite war ›
- Skirmishes with Hezbollah threaten escalation ›
- Podcast: What's the US role in the Israel-Hamas war? Views from Sen. Chris Murphy & Rep. Mike Waltz - GZERO Media ›