JGI Policy Pulse

Written by: JGI Podcast
  • Summary

  • Welcome to Policy Pulse, presented by the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy at Florida International University's esteemed Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. Join our host, Leland Lazarus, as we explore a wide range of international challenges and opportunities that will shape the 21st century. In each episode you’ll meet foreign policy experts, hear insightful discussions and be a part of thought-provoking conversations driving global change. Stay informed and engaged with JGI Policy Pulse, where policy is at the heart of all our discussions.
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Episodes
  • How Russian Surveillance Tech is Reshaping Latin America
    Feb 20 2025

    Over the past decade, Russian-based companies have been providing sophisticated surveillance technology to several Latin American countries. These technologies are critical to the survival of the repressive regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, and possibly criminal nonstate actors that weaken democracy and threaten U.S. national security. The transfer of surveillance technologies and other cyber activities, often run by Russian intelligence officials directly tied to Russia’s state cyber structures, goes beyond traditionally understood gray zone activities. In this episode of the JGI Policy Pulse, host Leland Lazarus speaks with Doug Farah from the International Coalition Against Illicit Economies to uncover how Russia-backed surveillance technology is fueling authoritarian regimes in the region.

    Douglas Farah is a senior adviser to the International Coalition Against Illicit Economies (ICAIE) and founder and president of IBI Consultants, LLC (www.ibiconsultants.net), a consulting firm that specializes in field research studying security challenges and transnational organized crime in Latin America. Its clients include the U.S. government (DOD, State Department), leading think tanks (CSIS, Atlantic Council), and the private sector.

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    32 mins
  • The New Silk Road in Science: China's Science Diplomacy in the Americas
    Dec 12 2024

    As China continues to increase its influence in the Americas, one area that deserves particular attention is science and technology. While it is sometimes considered outside the scope of traditional diplomacy, science and technology are increasingly important for economic development and encompass a large range of sectors that are critical to the region's growth. These include defense, the green energy transition, and healthcare. Join Leland Lazarus as he sits down with Adam Ratzlaff about China's New Silk Road of Science in the Americas.


    Adam Ratzlaff is a PhD candidate in International Relations at Florida International University and the Deputy Director of Global Americans, a DC-based think tank on Hemispheric affairs. Prior to coming to FIU, Ratzlaff conducted political and economic analysis for organizations including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Southern Pulse Correspondents.

    His research interests include U.S.-Latin American foreign policy, Sino-Latin American foreign policy, Pan-American cooperation, the defense of democracy in the Americas, fiscal policy, and economic and social development in Latin America. He has published extensively on these topics in popular venues including Diplomatic Courier, The National Interest, and Charged Affairs among others. Ratzlaff’s dissertation examines how the Organization of American States (OAS) responds to and shapes the evolving threats to democracy in the Americas.

    He holds a MA from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies (University of Denver) as well as a BA from Tulane University where he triple-majored in International Relations, Economics, and Latin American Studies.

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    36 mins
  • Space, Speed, and Sovereignty: China’s Growing Space Footprint in Latin America
    Nov 5 2024

    The U.S.-China competition is reaching up into the stars. In the past decade, the PRC has quickly developed its space capabilities, including space-enabling infrastructure across Latin America. National security researchers have raised alarms about how the PRC could leverage its space infrastructure in the Western Hemisphere to monitor U.S. and other country satellites, intercept sensitive information, and even potentially help guide its hypersonic missiles. What is the true extent of the PRC’s space capabilities in the Western Hemisphere, and how does the PRC threaten U.S. and partner nations’ security in the region? This week, Leland sits down with Guido Torres, Executive Director of the Irregular Warfare Initiative, and Laura Lopez Delgado, former Visiting Fellow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Americas Program, to discuss China’s long march into the final frontier.


    Check out their full report: https://www.csis.org/analysis/space-speed-and-sovereignty-hypersonic-tensions-southern-hemisphere


    Guido Torres is the Executive Director of IWI and a national security professional with over two decades of experience working on sensitive special operations, supporting military and interagency campaigns. He is a Department of Defense Civilian and was a National Security Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center (2022-2023), where he worked with the Defense, Emerging Technology, and Strategy Project. Guido is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Forward Defense program of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.


    Laura Delgado López was a Visiting Fellow with the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she wrote on international space cooperation in Latin America. During her tenure, she was funded by a 2023-2024 Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship.


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    37 mins

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