U.S. Institute of Peace experts discuss the latest foreign policy issues from around the world in On Peace, a brief weekly collaboration with SiriusXM's POTUS Channel 124.

Transcript

Laura Coates: Joining me now, Mike Bruhn, the USIP, United States Institute of Peace, Executive Vice President, and COO. Good morning to you Mike, how are you?

Michael Bruhn: Good morning, Laura, how are you today?

Laura Coates: I’m doing great this Monday morning as well. I know that there is the “Passing of the Baton” event that's happening. What is “Passing the Baton” and why does it matter?

Michael Bruhn: So, Laura, “Passing the Baton” is a pre-inaugural national security event that we host that commemorates the peaceful transition of power from one administration to the next. It's an event we've hosted now since 2001. And it's there to really show how well the United States can peacefully transition responsibilities and national security issues between one administration to the next one.

Laura Coates: So what is the state of conflict in the world today that as you see it, given all the different things that are happening across the globe and how will this impact U.S. national security? Because obviously, it's not just the president United States, it's the Commander-in-Chief.

Michael Bruhn: Yeah absolutely. It's important to understand that the world, you know, the world's instability, is continuing to grow. There have been more conflicts happening at this moment than there have been in the last 30 years at any one time, everywhere, from Cameroon to Ukraine. Strategic rivalry is really on the rise. We have China and Russia presenting challenges economically, harnessing new technologies and the sovereignty of nations is at risk. For an example, Ukraine and Taiwan. And that's just here on Earth. We're going to see continuous competition expanding into space as this decade concludes, and in the decades that we will have to come. On top of that, we have regional wars that are intensifying, everything from Sudan to the Middle East and Myanmar to South Asia. The risk of new conflicts continues to keep growing, day by day, and then finally, we have non state actors like ISIS in Africa, who also have ambitions to destabilize regions. We have transnational crime groups that are operating in different regions of the world, and they are scamming and preying on Americans, Europeans and others. So overall, you can just see that instability has become somewhat of a new norm for what we're dealing with today.

Laura Coates: You look at all just as you've addressed it, and obviously there are still others to discuss. And as you talk about the peaceful transition of power, politically, we've meant something different at times when it comes from, Biden and Trump campaigning, but also from one administration to the next to have other foreign policy and national security leaders from across the globe, be able to have confidence that there will be some level of consistency between what is being promised by one administration to the next that helps to stabilize the world. And yet we do have, when you have two people, Biden and Trump, who do have different philosophies as it relates to some of the diplomatic relations that we are facing across the globe, how will this conference help to address the real candor of, the possibility, that it could be a very different approach in some of these places?

Michael Bruhn: So you really have to take into account that, you know the United States, since its beginning, has found, has set the standard on how we transition. What we need to remember is, is that things don't stop just because the United States is transitioning its administration. So it's so important that these  two administrations continue to transition peacefully and in a great way that the new administration, the Trump administration, receives everything that they need in order to be successful as they kind of take charge here, coming up on the 20th. At the same time, the Biden administration being able to make sure that the Trump administration has all the information as they depart, so that they step into the role, there's no slips, there's going to be a learning curve. Obviously, there's going to be adjustments, but the goal during this transition period is to make sure that they are prepared and that the rest of the world understands that the United States doesn't really skip a beat as we move into a new administration.

Laura Coates: And of course, how does USIP factor into national security?

Michael Bruhn: So USIP really is a national security actor charged by Congress to help our government and our frontline peace builders around the world manage and mitigate conflicts before they lead to costly military entanglements. The institute's mission is pretty straightforward. It's, strengthen American capacity to prevent, mitigate and resolve violent conflict around the world. USIP operates in over 20 different conflict zones and within over 90 countries throughout the world, deploying innovative, cost-effective tools that we have created in order to prevent violence, foster some reconciliation and support stable transitions away from conflict within regions. Success for USIP in the country means that our combat forces have not had to deploy to new areas, in new regions where conflict erupts and can escalate.

Laura Coates: When is this “Passing the Baton” conference, and how can the public be involved?

Michael Bruhn: Sure, so the “Passing the Baton” event will take place tomorrow, January 14th, from noon until approximately 7pm. The American public can watch the keynote and tune in to all the panels and the passing of the symbolic and you know, actual passing of the baton from outgoing National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. In order to watch the event, you can go to www.usip.org/events for all the details on the panels and speakers and click on “Passing the Baton” for the live stream that you can then watch tomorrow. Obviously, you can also tune in here to Sirius XM POTUS 124 from noon to 2pm during the briefing with Steve Scully to hear part of the event on site and from experts and principals participating in the day's events, since Sirius XM is one of our media partners for “Passing the Baton”, and I just want to thank Sirius XM for supporting us on this.

Laura Coates: Absolutely, thank you so much. And again, Steve Scully will be live from USIP for POTUS for the “Passing the Baton” event, noon to 2pm tomorrow during the briefing. Mike Bruhn thank you so much for joining us today.

Michael Bruhn: Thank you, Laura, appreciate it, you have a great day.