Worlds Apart

Leading in balancing? Pankaj Saran, India’s former ambassador to Russia

‘You’re either with us or against us’: For decades, this has been the chief principle of Western foreign policy, taken to its highest pitch at the start of fighting in Ukraine. Due to its size and influence, India was among the most sought-after players courted to join the proverbial right side of history, but New Delhi chose to chart its own course. Has it paid off? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Pankaj Saran, India’s former Deputy National Security Adviser and its former ambassador to Russia.

Fight, flight, freeze? Geoffrey Roberts, Emeritus Professor of History at University College Cork

The Ukraine conflict has already made military history as this century’s most intense kinetic encounter between two large regular armies, upending previously held truisms about the nature of war and peace. Is it still cheaper, or more profitable, to keep it going than to try and settle the disagreements that sparked it in the first place? To discuss this, Oksana is discussed by Geoffrey Roberts, Emeritus Professor of History at University College Cork.

Forever aggrieved? Yakov Rabkin, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Montreal

The wars fought by Israel and Ukraine seem to share little in common beyond American military support. Yet, at their core, they may be driven by the same collective ethos of victimhood and entitlement rooted in the horrors of World War II. In both cases, national identity has been derived from and fostered by the sense of an existential threat. Is reconciliation with neighbors even possible within such a worldview? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Yakov Rabkin, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Montreal.

Resistance & persistence ? Ramzy Baroud, non-resident senior research fellow, CIGA, Istanbul Zaim University

In all Abrahamic religions the proportionality of violence is a major tenet and Judaism is no exception. According to the Talmudic interpretation, the Second Temple was destroyed as a punishment for gratuitous hatred, something which seems, once again, to be driving events in the Middle East. Can religious teachings offer any respite from the bloodshed and retaliation engulfing the Holy Land? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Ramzy Baroud, a non-resident senior research fellow at the Centre for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Zaim University.

Unhealthy attitudes? Ishwar Gilada, Infectious diseases expert

The Covid scare may be out of sight but it’s certainly not out of mind for many medical professionals. My guest today argues that, while in terms of pandemic preparedness, we are in a better position than ever, global health security remains weak, if not chronically ill. How to make it fitter and livelier? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Ishwar Gilada, an Indian infectious disease expert and the person who opened India’s first HIV clinic.

Rules for fools? John Dugard, emeritus professor of international law, Leiden University

Apart from the many security and political disagreements between Russia and the West, the two sides also differ on existential concepts such as justice and equality. Given the disagreements over the ways in which those concepts should be codified and practiced within the international system, can a lasting peace between the two ever be negotiated? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by John Dugard, an emeritus professor of international law at Leiden University who also served on the UN’s International Law Commission.