World Review: Biden Pressures Putin, Protecting Democracy, and Olympic Boycott

VIDEO SERIES World Review with Ivo Daalder

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Stefan Kornelius, and Giles Whittell join Council President Ivo Daalder to review the news of the week.

December 10, 2021

President Biden meets with Vladimir Putin over video screen

About This Episode

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Stefan Kornelius, and Giles Whittell join Council President Ivo Daalder to discuss the Biden-Putin meeting to deescalate Ukraine tensions and what to watch. Then, they reflect on this week’s Summit for Democracy and its potential impact, the US diplomatic boycott of the next Olympics in Beijing, and how the new German government will face its first foreign policy tests.

Key Moments

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About the Panelists

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian

China Reporter, Axios

Before joining Axios, Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian served as the lead reporter for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists' China Cables project, a major leak of classified Chinese government documents revealing the inner workings of mass internment camps in Xinjiang. Previously, she worked at Foreign Policy magazine and the Daily Beast.

Stefan Kornelius

Head of Foreign Policy Department, Süddeutsche Zeitung

Stefan Kornelius has spent over 20 years at Süddeutsche Zeitung. Throughout his career, he has covered Germany's Christian Democratic Party, the chancellorship of Helmut Kohl, and defense issues in Europe. His biography of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, entitled “Angela Merkel, the Chancellor and her World,” has been translated into 13 languages.

Giles Whittell

World Affairs Editor, Tortoise Media

Giles Whittell is an English author and journalist who has worked for the London Times as a correspondent in LA, Moscow, and Washington. He was the Times' chief leader-writer for three years before joining Tortoise Media in 2018.

Ivo H. Daalder

President Emeritus, Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Ivo H. Daalder served as the US ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. He joined the Council as president in 2013, took on the new role of CEO in 2023, and now serves as president emeritus. Previously, he was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution and served as director for European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council.