00:00Well, for some reaction and analysis, we can bring in Christopher Featherstone, an associate lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of York.
00:09Good morning, and thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us.
00:12Good morning.
00:14Just first, what do you make of this board of peace?
00:18Well, I'd say this is a typical Trump show, right?
00:22This is something where the attention is all on Donald Trump, and actually we're all scrambling to try and understand what the implications of this are.
00:30This is something that is a developing picture.
00:33It's one of these things where traditionally in international politics, we wouldn't really be having a conversation around what precisely does this new international body do?
00:42It would be typically something that is worked out in advance and then proposed to the rest of the world.
00:48I think this is something that has a lot of attention on it.
00:54I think it's something where there is the potential for some quite interesting collaboration and international cooperation.
01:02However, I would say ultimately this is an opportunity to flatter Donald Trump's ego.
01:09Yeah, as you mentioned, it's hard to sort of analyze something.
01:12We're not even entirely sure what it's going to do or look like yet.
01:16But you did express some optimism.
01:19So could you perhaps elaborate on that?
01:20I mean, what are some of the possibilities, the positive things that could come out of this initiative?
01:26Well, I think Donald Trump traditionally, he typically does this.
01:30And it's quite interesting that he will identify issues that a lot of us will see, a lot of experts, a lot of voters will identify in domestic politics or international politics.
01:42And the idea that the UN isn't doing all it could do or isn't achieving what we would maybe all want it to do is quite right.
01:51And it is correct that we are not necessarily satisfied with the peace efforts that the UN can achieve,
01:58either through international partners not being willing to collaborate there,
02:03not being willing to get involved in negotiations through that avenue or through active attempts to undermine the UN by other significant actors.
02:16So he's not wrong to have identified the issue.
02:19I would just argue that maybe the way in which he's trying to address it is problematic.
02:25I would say opportunities here are that the Board of Peace is whatever Donald Trump wants to make it to be.
02:32So there is maybe a lack of that legacy, a lack of that weight behind it that maybe the UN carries.
02:41And this is also something where Donald Trump has made an active choice to try and include everybody he possibly can.
02:46So, you know, he has extended invitations to Russia.
02:50He has also had an invitation accepted by the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko.
02:56So he is trying to incorporate everybody and listen to everybody, which has some benefits.
03:03However, as we've seen, that is a key reason as to why many traditional US allies who would typically help the US drive these kind of efforts ahead are not willing to join.
03:13Also, kind of on the positive, more optimistic side for this body, might it have leverage that the UN tends to lack?
03:24I think it might have leverage in terms of being essentially shock value, right?
03:30That no one really understands what this is supposed to do.
03:32So it can arguably make up its role as it's going along.
03:35I think that there's potential for it to be able to carry out some quite interesting things and actually maybe not have some of the legacy that the UN does.
03:46However, I would also say that the UN has decades of experience and some of the most experienced people in terms of international humanitarian aid,
03:57in terms of peace building and negotiation and all these kind of things.
04:01And so it is entirely possible that the Board of Peace is able to get involved in a way that maybe the UN wouldn't.
04:11However, that doesn't mean it's better.
04:13It simply means it's different.
04:16Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, acknowledged at Davos, you know, peace is a different deal than a business deal.
04:21But do we think Donald Trump really understands that?
04:23I mean, his approach to creating peace seems to really always sort of come from economic interests.
04:28Yes, you're absolutely right.
04:31It's fascinating to see how money focused Donald Trump is when it comes to peace.
04:37He cannot understand why someone would go to war if it's not around something financial, something monetary.
04:45And it's one of the things that's come through in his conversations around Russia and Ukraine.
04:50So I think you're right to highlight this, that actually, I think this might be the biggest challenge that the Board of Peace faces,
04:58is that actually it is seeking to address conflict in a region where money is way, way down the list of why this conflict is occurring, right?
05:09That, of course, it is a factor.
05:10It would be ridiculous to say it's not.
05:12But it is in no way the top factor here in terms of the Middle East conflict.
05:18So I think it's interesting to see how Donald Trump tries to bring the kind of business language to his peace building efforts, right?
05:26This is a Board of Peace.
05:28There's an executive board.
05:30It feels very business focused, whilst actually this isn't necessarily how we do these things, right?
05:36Peace negotiations need to be done in a much more kind of conflict resolution focused kind of way,
05:41rather than a financial business deal where one side is grading off something for the other.
05:49This board is supposed to be infinitely chaired by Donald Trump.
05:53So, you know, even when he's no longer in office, does that, I mean, do you believe that it will be able to survive him leaving office?
06:02Or do you think that this is sort of a vanity project that's doomed to fail?
06:08Well, I think I would argue yes, you're absolutely right.
06:13I'm sceptical as to whether this is something that can survive him leaving office.
06:18It is not unheard of to have a political body created and then chaired by someone who is a former world leader.
06:26That is fairly typical, in fact.
06:28What is not typical is to see a leader set this up quite overtly in front of the world press, in front of other world leaders,
06:37and make it very clear that this is him ensuring he has relevance post his time in office.
06:44I think it's also quite worrying that a 79-year-old is seeking to have this kind of longevity in terms of his planning,
06:53with no real planning for what happens next.
06:56And I think this is entirely possible, that this is the pin in this, where actually this can burst the entire idea.
07:06This is something where actually this could be the reason why we see the Board of Peace as a flash in the pan,
07:11rather than a genuine, long-lasting international body.
07:15All right. Well, as you point out, it's still early, so hard to know how to judge it.
07:18But it's good to express at least some optimism.
07:21We'll have to see how it goes.
07:22Christopher Featherstone, thank you again so much for your analysis.
07:25That was Christopher Featherstone, an associate lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of York.
