The World Next Week: Debt and Diplomacy

The World Next Week podcast is up. Bob McMahon is taking a well-deserved vacation this week. So I sat down with my colleague Stewart Patrick to discuss the continuing debt ceiling debate; Secretary Hillary Clinton’s trip to Asia; the inauguration of Peruvian President-elect Ollanta Humala; and the UN Security Council’s debates on Sudan and Libya.

[audio: http://www.cfr.org/content/publications/media/podcast/2011/20110721_TWN…]

The highlights:

• So far foreign financial officials have been upbeat that Washington will resolve the debt ceiling debate without a default. But many people overseas, like many Americans here at home, have to be dismayed by the bickering in Washington.
• Secretary Clinton wraps up her eleven-day overseas trip with stops in Indonesia, Hong Kong, and China. Her diplomatic skills are likely to be tested. She can expect lectures from Chinese officials about U.S. debt, Washington’s efforts to help broker a deal over conflicting claims to the South China sea, and the Dalai Lama’s recent visit to the White House.
• Incoming Peruvian president Ollanta Humala seems to have quieted initial fears that he would nationalize the country’s industries and rapidly redistribute wealth to the poor. His recent visit to the White House looks to have paid dividends for smooth U.S.-Peruvian relations.
• The Security Council has been seeking to stave off fighting over Abyei in Sudan while the military operation it sanctioned in Libya drags on. CFR released an independent task force report this week urging that Brazil be made a permanent member of the Security Council, but the odds of the Security Council expanding anytime soon remain small.
• Stewart’s Figure of the Week is Nelson Mandela. Mine is 847. As always, check out the podcast to find out why.

Reuters has updates on the latest developments in debt ceiling negotiations, the Christian Science Monitor describes the ‘Gang of Six’ proposal, and Time’s “Swampland” explains why it may be too late to pass it. The State Department gives Secretary Clinton’s travel schedule, Reuters covers the South China Sea dispute, and the Economist outlines Chinese-American relations with regard to Tibet. BBC News provides a short profile of Peruvian President-elect Ollanta Humala, Reuters reports on Humala’s poll numbers, and the Wall Street Journal covers Humala’s decision to keep Peru’s current central bank chief in office. Reuters covers the most recent events in Libya, the Center for Strategic and International Studies publishes a report on Sudan’s risks to stability, and the UN News Centre reports on the UN General Assembly President’s views on reforming the Security Council.