Protesters have flooded downtown Hong Kong over the last six months, winning concessions and even adding to their demands. Experts say protests like these have proliferated around the world in recent years. But can they lead to lasting change? On this week’s episode of WorldAffairs, Richard Youngs, senior fellow at Carnegie Europe and and the author of “Civic Activism Unleashed: New Hope or False Dawn for Democracy?,” discusses what the explosion of civic activism says about the state of citizen discontent with Co-Host Ray Suarez.

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Africa is home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world. By 2050, it will have a population greater than China and up to a quarter of the world’s workforce. More than half of its population will be under 25 – presenting tremendous growth potential with the right opportunities in place and posing significant risks without them. Governments and businesses from all over the world are scrambling to have a strong footing in Africa by strengthening ties and making investments. In this week’s episode, we’ll consider what countries – from within and outside Africa – stand to gain the most and more critically, how Africans might actually benefit from this investment. Amaka Anku, head of the Africa practice at Eurasia Group, Alex Vines, head of the Africa Program and research director for Risk, Ethics, and Resilience at Chatham House, and Jonathan Ledgard, founder of Droneport and Linnaeus, make the case for the promise of Africa's future with WorldAffairs co-host Ray Suarez.

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Susan Rice worked for the US State Department during some of the most challenging periods this country has ever faced, from Black Hawk Down in Somalia to the Iran Nuclear Deal. In her new book, “Tough Love, My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For,” she describes the family struggles, ancestral legacies, and personal experiences that led her to the White House and the United Nations. Susan Rice joins Jane Wales, Vice President at The Aspen Institute, to share her experiences, and offer her perspectives on today’s foreign policy challenges.

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The withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria has had grave repercussions for the security and stability of the entire region. The Turkish military has invaded northern Syria, killing dozens of Kurdish civilians and forcing over 200,000 Kurds to flee. In the absence of US troops, Russian and Syrian troops have rushed in to fill the power vacuum. Meanwhile, hundreds of ISIS fighters have escaped detention. Brett McGurk, distinguished lecturer at Stanford University and former special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and David Phillips, director of peace-building and rights at Columbia University and former senior advisor to the US Department of State, make sense of the cascading impacts with WorldAffairs co-host Ray Suarez.

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