The World Next Year: What to Watch in 2023

In this special year-end episode, CFR Senior Fellow Carla Anne Robbins joins James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon to review the biggest events of 2022 and the stories to keep an eye on next year. They discuss precarious U.S.-China relations, climate change, Russia’s war in Ukraine, Iran’s protests, the state of democracy globally, and more.

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Hosts
  • James M. Lindsay
    Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
  • Robert McMahon
    Managing Editor
Credits

Ester Fang - Associate Podcast Producer

Gabrielle Sierra - Editorial Director and Producer

Episode Guests
  • Carla Anne Robbins
    Senior Fellow

Show Notes

Mentioned on the Podcast

 

Alice C. Hill, “COP27 Didn’t Make Enough Progress to Prevent Climate Catastrophe,” CFR.org

 

Joshua Kurlantzick, Beijing's Global Media Offensive: China’s Uneven Campaign to Influence Asia and the World

 

Beza Tesfaye, Climate Change and Conflict in the Sahel

 

National Security Strategy [PDF],” The White House

 

Renewables 2022 [PDF],” International Energy Agency

 

Nuclear Energy

Senegal holds its postponed presidential election amid fears of democratic backsliding; Slovakia chooses a new president in voting that could bolster Prime Minister Robert Fico’s illiberal tilt; Pakistan and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan exchange blows after a string of terrorist attacks on Pakistani territory; nuclear energy gets a boost at a first-ever summit in Brussels, Belgium; and the European Union provides Egypt with $8 billion worth of aid. 

Russia

Russia holds its presidential election with the Kremlin aiming to orchestrate a sweeping endorsement of President Vladimir Putin; the U.S. Congress continues its partisan battles over the 2024 budget as concerns of shutdown and aid to allies mount; the U.S. Library of Congress flexes its soft power by awarding Elton John and Bernie Taupin with the Gershwin Prize; and the crisis in Haiti worsens.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Negotiators attempt to establish a six-week cease-fire and hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas before the start of the sacred Islamic month of Ramadan; Portugal holds a snap parliamentary election with a far-right party gaining traction; international films gain prominence at the ninety-sixth Academy Awards; and Chinese President Xi Jinping breaks with the thirty-year tradition of the premier’s press conference after the National People’s Congress.

Top Stories on CFR

Russia

The mass casualty theater attack in Moscow was a reminder that affiliates of the Islamic State have reorganized and infiltrated even powerful states.

India

With India's development continuing to gain steam, one of the biggest challenges will be to avoid the mistake that others have made when they failed to recognize their newly acquired global systemic influence and adapt accordingly. Both China and Big Tech show that it is never too early to start managing one's own rise.

United States

Atmospheric rivers are gaining in intensity across California and the western United States. Communities need to adapt to the havoc wrought by this weather phenomenon.