Talking Foreign Policy

Case Western Reserve University School of Law's "Talking Foreign Policy" radio show/podcast discusses the future of the NATO alliance with leading experts including:  Host Michael Scharf, former co-dean of CWRU School of Law and president of the American Branch of the International Law Association; John Bellinger, who served as the Legal Adviser of the National Security Council and the Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State during the Administration of George W. Bush;      US Navy Captain (retired) Sandy Hodgkinson, who held senior positions at the State Department, National Security Council, and Pentagon, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Bush and Obama Administrations;     Dr. Paul Williams, President of the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated Public International Law & Policy Group.  Paul served as Attorney Adviser for European Affairs at the State Department during the Clinton Administration; and    Milena Sterio, Distinguished University Professor of Cleveland State University College of Law and Managing Director of the Public International Law & Policy Group. 

March 24, 2026   Talking Foreign Policy - Board of Peace and its prospects for success and potential risks

January 20, 2026   Talking Foreign Policy - Age of Atrocity: A Fire-Side Chat with Ambassador Beth Van Schaack   Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Talking Foreign Policy - U.S. Attacks on Venezuelan and Colombian Narco Vessels December 1, 2025 Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Every so often there is a tectonic shift in American foreign policy -- a fundamental turning point marked by new ways of approaching the world.  The post-World War II era of institution-building, the Cold War period of competition and militarization, and the 9/11 global war on terrorism are examples. Has the return of President Trump ushered in one of these historic turning points? What are the radical foreign policy changes he has pursued so far?  Are they likely to be temporary or enduring?  And what are the consequences for the United States and the world community? In this broadcast of "Talking Foreign Policy," host Michael Scharf has assembled a group of leading international law and policy experts to answer these questions

In its war with Ukraine, Russia has targeted the environment as its most insidious means of warfare.  It has blown up dams, flooded coal mines, burned down national forests, and even targeted the black sea dolphins that inhabit the waters off Ukraine's coast. With an effort to obtain a peace agreement now underway, will the perpetrators of these attacks be brought to justice?  Where will they be tried?  And what law will apply? 

Talking Foreign Policy - Is Taiwan at Risk?   Dec. 2, 2024

Conventional wisdom says that foreign policy doesn't matter in U.S. Presidential elections. Quote "It's the economy, stupid," was long thought to be political gospel.  But this election might be different. According to polls, a divided America cares deeply about the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, about the influx of migrants from south of the border, about the looming trade war with China, and about the escalating climate crisis.   With the election just two months away, "Talking Foreign Policy" takes a look at where the Presidential Candidates and the electorate stand on the major foreign policy challenges facing the United States.

This August, the world will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions on the Law of War.  These seminal treaties were negotiated following the horrors of the Second World War.  Their object was to lay down rules to limit the savagery of armed conflict.  Every country in the world has signed them, making the Geneva Conventions the most ratified of all treaties.    But are the 75-year-old Geneva Conventions sufficient in a world where the technology portrayed in the Terminator, the Matrix and Star Wars is quickly becoming science fact.  Do we need to update the Geneva Conventions to add rules about autonomous weapons, cyber warfare, space warfare, and combating modern-day terrorists?   I'm Michael Scharf, Dean of Case Western Reserve University School of Law.  In this broadcast of "Talking Foreign Policy," I've assembled a group of military, diplomatic and legal experts who will address these questions.  … Right after the news.