Podcast / Global 10 February 2023 Mark Malloch-Brown on the Ukraine War and Challenges to Open Societies This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood speaks with Mark Malloch-Brown, president of Open Society Foundations and former UN Deputy Secretary-General, about the war in Ukraine and protecting open societies in a more dangerous world. Share Facebook Twitter Email Linkedin Whatsapp Save Print This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood speaks with Mark Malloch-Brown, president of Open Society Foundations (OSF), Crisis Group trustee, and former UN Deputy Secretary-General and UN Development Programme administrator, about challenges facing open societies today. They talk about the erosion of democracy around the world, including in the West, authoritarians’ increasing global influence and the challenge some of the more competent autocrats’ governance poses. They discuss the war in Ukraine, Western support to Kyiv, risks of escalation as new weaponry pours in, and whether trying to hold the Kremlin accountable for the crime of aggression could close avenues to a settlement. They also talk about what Western powers and international financial institutions can do to help poor countries suffering from rising inflation, debt burdens and, often, stress related to climate change. They also discuss how organisations like OSF and Crisis Group, which in some ways reflect the heady assumptions of the post-Cold War years, should adapt to a world very different to the one many people back then expected to emerge. Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For more on the situation in Ukraine, check out Crisis Group’s extensive analysis on our Ukraine country page, and for more analysis on global issues, see our Multilateral Diplomacy page. Related Tags Multilateral Diplomacy Contributors Richard Atwood Executive Vice President atwoodr Mark Malloch-Brown Ppresident of the Open Society Foundations More for you Podcast / Europe & Central Asia War & Peace (Season 4) Podcast / Horn of Africa The Horn (Season 4)