In the latest episode of Providence’s Foreign Policy ProvCast, Drew Griffin speaks with Faysal Itani about Saudi Arabia, Jamal Khashoggi, and Syria.

Brazilians head to the polls this Sunday to elect their next president, and the frontrunner is Jair Bolsonaro. He has been variously described as a far-right, uncouth, law-and-order populist, and he appears to hold views that can charitably be described as anti-democratic.

Pastor Brunson is free, but many others are not. The U.S. should not push Turkey away, but continue the hard work of diplomatic engagement around core human rights issues. It should also continue to engage broad range of challenges these partner countries are facing in the region. 

President Trump has said the “military option” is available for Venezuela, and that “all options are on the table.” At the same time, he has said that he is willing to meet with President Maduro.

Bolivian President Evo Morales has been following the same destructive pattern as Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.

In Right Here, Right Now, Stephen Harper, Canada’s former prime minister, explains how his Canadian conservatism bridges the gap between populism and the establishment.

Joshua Walker of the Eurasia Group sits down with Providence’s managing editor Drew Griffin to discuss Japan, China and North Korea, as well as the precarious state of US relations with Turkey.

The Jamal Khashoggi affair presents the perfect opportunity for the United States to press Saudi Arabia for more progress on its horrendous human rights record. 

Many Venezuelan refugees have settled in the Brazilian state Roraima. While the government has been supportive of the refugees, xenophobic incidents have occurred in recent weeks. As Brazil’s general elections are less than a month away, the question of what to do with these “others” has also become an electoral tool.