Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes: Recent Episodes
ECFR
Weekly podcast on the events, policies and ideas that will shape the world.
World in 30 minutes is curated by Mark Leonard, Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), and features top-level speakers from across the EU and beyond to debate and discuss Europe’s role in the world. It was awarded “Best podcasts on EU politics” by PolicyLab in 2019.
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Taiwan has come to represent a strategic flashpoint in US-China relations. As Beijing ramps up its political and military pressure on Taipei, any escalation could trigger a major conflict between the two powers. Unlike Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China may have to reckon with direct US intervention if it chose to invade Taiwan. Alongside this, the US-China strategic competition is rising, with the United States’ strategic approach involving aggressive export controls, maintaining tariffs, and creation of alliances in the Indo-Pacific.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder and chairman of national security think-tank Silverado Policy Accelerator, to discuss US-China competition and the likelihood of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. What would the consequences of an invasion be? What can the US do about it? And what role should Europeans play in all of this?
This episode was recorded on 25 April 2024
Bookshelf:
To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power by Sergey Radchenko
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As the world awaits Israel’s response to Iran’s Saturday attack, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza persists and the territory remains on the brink of famine. While Israel’s attention is momentarily diverted towards Iran and its proxies, prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu insists he is still planning an offensive on Rafah, discussions around a ceasefire and hostage exchange remain in deadlock, and a possible two state-solution recedes further into the distance.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes senior policy fellow Hugh Lovatt and chief of programmes and communications at the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Muhammad Shehada from Gaza, to discuss the war in Gaza and the prospects for Palestinian statehood. What pathways for a solution to the conflict remain? Should the emphasis continue to be on Palestinian statehood, or on self-determination in a broader sense? Can Europeans play a constructive role in finding a peaceful solution?
This episode was recorded on 17 April 2024
Bookshelf:
Crossing the Divide: Intergroup Leadership in a World of Difference by Todd Pittinsky
The Bank Manager and the Holy Grail: Travels to the Weirder Reaches of Wales by Byron Rogers
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On Saturday evening, Iran launched a major attack on Israeli territory, with a combination of 300 drones and missiles. Israel’s air defense seems to have intercepted most of these and the airspace over Israel and Jordan has since been reopened.
In this special episode, Mark Leonard welcomes Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa programme, and Hamidreza Azizi, visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin, where he focuses on Iranian foreign policy and regional issues. But the attack remains historically unprecedented and leaves the Middle East sliding to the edge of a regional war. What motivated Iran to attack? How will Israel respond? And what role is the us playing?
The podcast was recorded on 14 April 2024
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Amid growing geopolitical fragmentation and the rise of middle powers, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia stand out for their successful attempts to reinvent themselves as regional linchpins. Despite having to operate within an increasingly difficult economic environment, the Gulf states have simultaneously expanded their ties with China, Europa, Russia, and the United States and reaped remarkable economic rewards in the process.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes senior policy fellow Agathe Demarais, visiting fellow Cinzia Bianco, and policy fellow and Deputy Head of ECFR’s Paris office, Camille Lons, to discuss the geoeconomics of the Gulf. How have the UAE and Saudi Arabia managed to juggle different competing powers? What lessons do their strategies hold for other middle powers? And what should the European Union be doing to pursue its own interests in the region?
This episode was recorded on 11 April 2024
Bookshelf:
3 Body Problem – a Netflix TV Series by David Benioff, Daniel Weiss, and Alexander Woo
Blind Man’s Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew, with Annette Lawrence Drew
The Power of Currencies and Currencies of Power by Alan Wheatley
There’s Still Tomorrow – a film by Paolo Cortellesi
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With the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the war in Gaza, US president Joe Biden has been forced to deal with some major foreign policy crises. Guiding him through these, a team of seasoned foreign policy professionals, among which Antony Blinken, Bill Burns, Avril Haines, and Jake Sullivan, were brought on to “restore” America’s foreign policy after four years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
In this week’s episode, following the launch of ECFR’s Washington office, Mark Leonard welcomes national security reporter at Politico, Alexander Ward, and research director and director of ECFR’s new US programme, Jeremy Shapiro, to discuss Biden’s foreign policy performance. Has it been a success? Where has it fallen short of the goals Biden set? And has his team of foreign policy experts lived up to the promise of restoring America’s foreign policy?
This episode was recorded on 27 March 2024
Bookshelf:
The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy after Trump by Alexander Ward
20 Days in Mariupol - an AP News and Frontline documentary film by Mstyslav Chernov
Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability by Michael Kimmage
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The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have led questions of international law and justice to filter into everyday discourse. Both conflicts are deeply rooted in complicated and at times controversial discussions concerning the validity of territorial claims, the permissibility of use of force, the role of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice in prosecuting wrongdoers, and the complexities of international humanitarian law.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes ECFR senior policy fellow Anthony Dworkin to discuss the role of international law and justice in an increasingly fragmented world. What are the limits of international law? Is there any merit in accusations of Western double standards? And what role can international law play when it comes to justice in Ukraine, Gaza, and other places around the world?
This episode was recorded on 13 March 2024
Bookshelf
Equality: The History of an Elusive Idea by Darrin M. McMahon
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It has been a rocky month for German defence policy. With a naval frigate almost shooting down a US drone in the Red Sea by mistake, discussions of military officers on the deployment of Taurus missiles leaking, and Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron openly arguing about military aid to Ukraine, Germany’s policy on European defence is embroiled in internal and external intrigue.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes senior policy fellow Ulrike Franke and senior policy fellow and head of ECFR’s Berlin Office, Jana Puglierin, to discuss the current state of Germany’s policy on the war in Ukraine and European defence. What does the recent turmoil say about Germany’s strategic culture and its so-called Zeitenwende? What are the sources of tension for Franco-German defence relations? And how much potential does the attempted revival of the Weimar triangle between Berlin, Paris, and Warsaw have for agreeing on a common path forward?
This episode was recorded on 18 March 2024
Bookshelf:
Zeitenwende: The Bundeswehr’s Paradigm Shift by Léo Péria-Peigné and Elie Tenenbaum
Breaking Bad – an AMC television series
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A few years ago decoupling was all the rage, but Western economies are now moving towards de-risking as they strive to reduce their economic reliance on China. A United States keen to preserve its technological superiority leads the way – and aims to bring its allies along for the ride.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes ECFR senior policy fellow, Agathe Demarais,and senior director at risk advisory firm Global Counsel, Stephen Adams, to discuss de-risking and its impact on European countries and the global economy. Where did the phrase originate? What does de-risking mean in practice? And what does an economic landscape conditioned by de-risking look like?
Bookshelf:
Underground Empire, by Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman
State of Emergency: Britain, 1970-1974, by Dominic Sandbrook
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The death toll in Gaza now exceeds 30,000. Five months into the war, much of the sympathy the international community had for Israel following the 7 October attacks has evaporated amid such violence and destruction.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes senior policy fellow Hugh Lovatt, director of ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa programme Julien Barnes-Dacey, and research director and director of ECFR’s new US programme Jeremy Shapiro. Together, they discuss the current situation in Gaza and how the war could create the opportunity for a “grand bargain” which could unblock the previously stuck status quo and solve the decades-long Arab-Israeli conflict. How likely is it that there will be a ceasefire in time for Ramadan? How are US and European governments responding to the war? And what are the odds that we could end up with a grand bargain that results in a two-state solution?
This episode was recorded on 7 March 2024.
Bookshelf:
The Gaza Crisis: Mapping the Middle East's Shifting Battle Lines by Hugh Lovatt, Julien Barnes-Dacey and Cinzia Bianco
The Secret World: A History of Intelligence by Christopher Andrew
Crash Landing on You – a tvN television series
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
Gaza: A History by Jean-Pierre Filiu
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The conflict in Ukraine has crystallised into a war of attrition. As military losses pile up on both sides, Russia could take advantage of this year’s electoral uncertainty in the West to strike a settlement deal on its terms. To ensure a durable peace, Europeans must make clear what red lines Moscow is not allowed to cross. And the history of the cold war may provide Europeans with some valuable lessons on how to do that.
In this episode, Mark Leonard welcomes ECFR’s board member Ivan Krastev, who is the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia and a permanent fellow at Vienna’s Institute for Human Sciences. Together they discuss how NATO accession could strengthen Kyiv’s negotiating position vis-à-vis Russia and if it could enforce the West’s red lines in Ukraine in the same way as it did in West Germany almost 70 years ago. How should the West approach negotiations with Moscow? What is the de-escalation potential of Ukraine’s NATO membership? How can Europeans ensure a durable peace on the continent?
This podcast was recorded on 23 February 2024.
Bookshelf:
How Civil Wars Start by Barbara F. Walter
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Tomorrow the war in Ukraine will enter its third year. Kyiv’s counteroffensive has proved much less successful than the Ukrainian government had hoped. And as Western support threatens to dry up, Ukraine’s setbacks are mounting. Last weekend, while speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was forced to admit that the town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region had fallen to the Russians, which he blamed on a lack of ammunition and, by implication, on a lack of Western support.
In this episode, Mark Leonard welcomes senior policy fellow Gustav Gressel and ECFR’s research director Jeremy Shapiro, who also heads our new US programme, to understand which factors will determine the course of the war in the coming year. Who does the current status quo most benefit? Could Ukraine’s recent setbacks and Navalny’s death encourage more Western support for Kyiv? And what impact will elections in Europe and the US have?
This podcast was recorded on 21 February 2024.
Bookshelf:
The Secret World: A History of Intelligence by Christopher Andrew
Wars and elections: How European leaders can maintain public support for Ukraine by Mark Leonard and Ivan Krastev
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In the past weeks, Donald Trump caused alarm bells to go off in the European capitals, stating that he would “encourage” Russia to punish his European NATO allies that do not reach the spending requirements, were he elected US president for the second time. Shortly after, Estonian intelligence revealed Russia has plans to beef up its military presence near Finland and the Baltic states.
In this episode, recorded live from the Munich Security Conference, Mark Leonard welcomes ECFR board member Arancha González Laya, former Spanish foreign minister and current dean of the Paris School of International Affairs, along with distinguished policy fellow Camille Grand, who leads ECFR’s brand new defence initiative. Together, they discuss how Europeans can prepare for a second Trump presidency. What dangers does a second Trump term hold for Europe? How should it respond if Trump abandons Ukraine on his first day in office? What consequences will America’s gradual disengagement have for Europe’s role in the world?
This podcast was recorded during the Munich Security Conference (16-18 February 2024)
Bookshelf:
The Divider, Trump in the White House, 2017-2021 by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser
Les Aveuglés, comment Berlin et Paris ont laissé la voie libre à la Russie by Sylvie Kauffmann
Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity by Sander van der Linden
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With the United States’ presidential election just a few months away, the stakes go far beyond domestic politics. The results will decide the future of American foreign policy, at least for the next four years. In the corridors of power in Washington, US policymakers will need to adapt to a new leadership and navigate the complexities of today’s international system accordingly.
In this episode, Mark Leonard welcomes political scientist Joseph Nye, who served as the former assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs and chair of the national intelligence council during Bill Clinton’s first presidency. He is also the former Dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and co-founder to the international relations theory of neoliberalism. Together, they discuss Nye’s new book “A Life in the American Century”. Are there similarities between today’s great power competition and the days of the cold war? Should we be optimistic about America’s (and by extension, the West’s) long-term prospects? Where is China headed?
This podcast was recorded on 7 February 2024.
Bookshelf:
A Life in the American Century | Joseph Nye
Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology | Chris Miller
Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise | Susan L. Shirk
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Facing a major war in Europe, as well as an expanding conflict in the Middle East, it is increasingly important for European leaders to meet the security challenges of tomorrow. This week, the inaugural event of ECFR’s new defence initiative brought together a strategic community of leaders and practitioners to think creatively and practically about how Europe can strengthen its role as a geopolitical actor and global power
From the event in Brussels, Mark Leonard welcomes distinguished policy fellow Camille Grand, who is the former assistant secretary general for defence investment at NATO and is now leading ECFR’s work on defence and disruptive technologies in European security. Together, they discuss where Europe’s defence sector is headed. What is the current state of play? How can NATO and the EU work together while avoiding duplication? What should Europeans be doing to plan for the day when they can no longer depend on US security guarantees?
This podcast was recorded on 1 February 2024.
Bookshelf:
Les Aveuglés, comment Berlin et Paris ont laissé la voie libre à la Russie | Sylvie Kauffmann
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Two weeks ago, the United States and the United Kingdom launched airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the group’s continued attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. While the intervention degraded some of the Houthis’ military capabilities, the airstrikes were insufficient to sustainably secure the Red Sea and encourage a return of international shipping. Meanwhile, the Houthis have vowed to continue with their attacks, claiming to act in solidarity with Gaza.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes visiting fellow Cinzia Bianco, an expert in the Gulf region, and Theodore Murphy, director of ECFR’s Africa programme. Together, they discuss the crisis in the Red Sea and its escalation potential. What are the Houthis’s motivations? How have countries on the Red Sea reacted to the crisis? What makes the Red Sea such a geopolitical tinderbox, and what should Europe’s role be?
This podcast was recorded on 25 January 2024.
Bookshelf:
Yemen in Crisis: The Road to War | Helen Lackner
To Rule the Waves: How Control of the World's Oceans Shapes the Fate of the Superpowers | Bruce Jones
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Every year, the International Rescue Committee publishes an emergency watchlist, an assessment of the 20 countries at greatest risk of humanitarian emergency. According to the IRC’s report for 2024, the scope of this year’s challenges is broad: Gaza and the West Bank rank only second on the watchlist, behind Sudan. And Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan don’t even make the top ten. In this week’s podcast, recorded at the World Economic Forum in snowy Davos, Mark Leonard welcomes David Miliband, former British foreign secretary, now president and CEO of the IRC and an ECFR council member, to discuss the organisation’s priorities for 2024. How can Europe address this year’s crises? What will happen if we do not act?This podcast was recorded on 18 January 2024. Bookshelf:Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things | Adam GrantWavewalker: Breaking Free | Suzanne Heywood
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Change is inevitable, and so is our beloved predictions episode. As always, Mark Leonard and ECFR’s research director Jeremy Shapiro start the year off by revisiting the ten predictions they made last year and then look into their crystal ball at the forces that will shape the upcoming one. Their predictions for 2023 left them with a score of 7/10. Will they do better this year? Let us know if you think they missed something! You can write your own predictions to mark.leonard@ecfr.eu. This podcast was recorded on 9 January 2024
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This month, ECFR’s Africa Forum brought together African and European policymakers and thinkers for discussions on the two continents’ strategic partnerships in the changing global order. In this new episode, Jeremy Shapiro welcomes the head of ECFR’s Africa programme, Theo Murphy. They are joined by ECFR visiting fellow, Adebayo Olukoshi, who is a distinguished research professor at the Witts School of Governance in South Africa; and Brian Kagoro, managing director of programmes at the Open Society Foundations. How do Africans view Europe and the EU’s role in the world? What steps can Europeans take to improve their relationships in Africa? Which powers are competing with Europeans for attention in Africa? And what is the EU’s unique selling proposition?This episode was recorded on 12 December, 2023.Bookshelf:Keepers of the Flame: Understanding Amnesty InternationalThe First Black Slave Society: Britain’s “Barbarity Time” in Barbados, 1636-1876 | Hilary McD. Beckles
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Going into the holiday season, the mood among Ukraine’s supporters far from festive. It is difficult to escape a sense that general war fatigue is kicking in, as Europeans bicker over military aid, dysfunction paralyses the US Congress, and the war in Gaza continues to hog the world’s attention. What is more, the frontiers of the Ukraine war have barely budged since last year.In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro welcomes Michael Kofman, senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment’s Russia and Eurasia programme, and Gustav Gressel, senior policy fellow at ECFR. What is the current state of the war? Whatever happened to Ukraine’s much-heralded counteroffensive? And what steps can the West take to help Ukraine prepare for what 2024 might have in store?This episode was recorded on 4 December, 2023Bookshelf:The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan KarunatilakaBefore the West. The Rise and Fall of Eastern World Orders by Ayşe Zarakol
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Second only to the United States, the Gulf countries have emerged as key players in the Israel-Hamas war. Qatar has been a crucial go-between in negotiating the recent hostage return and seven-day ceasefire, but has also come under fire for its chummy relationship with Hamas. The United Arab Emirates, for its part, has maintained a studious neutrality and appears more keen on preserving economic ties with Israel than getting pulled into the conflict. And as the region’s biggest player, Saudi Arabia could still play a decisive role in bringing Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table after the war ends (at least the Biden administration hopes so). What is at stake for the Gulf? And is there a constructive role for the region’s countries to play as Israel continues its fight against Hamas amid mounting international criticism?In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro welcomes ECFR visiting fellow, Cinzia Bianco, and senior policy fellow, Hugh Lovatt to discuss the role of the Persian Gulf in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.This podcast was recorded during the Doha Forum on 8 December 2023.Bookshelf:Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World | Mary Beard Seeking Stability Amidst Disorder: The Foreign Policies of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, 2010-20 | Tobias Borck
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“Digital empires” – the geopolitical entities that wield their influence and control in the digital landscape – shape much of how we interact with the online world. Currently, the United States, China, and the European Union are taking the lead, with their substantial investments in technology, innovation, and digital infrastructure, and their efforts to shape and regulate the digital economy. In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro welcomes Anu Bradford, author and Henry L. Moses professor of law and international organization at Columbia University, to discuss her new book “Digital Empires: The Global Battle to Regulate Technology”. In it, she argues that the global regulatory battle between the US, China, and the EU is intensifying, as they try to rein in powerful tech companies while attempting to expand their influence in the digital world. What role do the companies being regulated have to play? Do they have any agency in this great regulatory game? What about the rest of the world’s digital influence? Bookshelf: Digital Empires: The Global Battle to Regulate Technology | Anu BradfordSlow horses - Apple TV
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The West perceives Russians as either indifferent or supportive of the war being waged on their doorstep. But a sharp decrease in on-the-ground reporting since February 2022 means that the country has become poorly understood.In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro welcomes senior policy fellow Kadri Liik and Valerie Hopkins, an international correspondent for The New York Times covering the war in Ukraine as well as Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Together, they discuss how Russian society really sees the war in Ukraine. How long will Putin be able to sustain the war effort while keeping public dissent to a minimum? And three months after disposing of Prigozhin, how solid is Putin’s grip on power?Bookshelf:War and Punishment | Mikhail Zygar In Different Years | Anatoly Adamishin
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Since the war in Gaza, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has raised eyebrows among his Western allies for his strident criticism of Israel and refusal to condemn Hamas. Likewise, the atmosphere in Turkey has been heated, with attempts to storm an airbase hosting US troops as well as the Israeli consulate in Istanbul.In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro welcomes senior policy fellow Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institute, and Dimitar Bechev, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and the director of the European Policy Institute in Sofia. Together, they look beyond the heated rhetoric and street politics and discuss what the war means for Turkey’s foreign policy. Where do Israel-Turkey relations stand now? Could Turkey play a role similar to Qatar’s? How are US officials reacting to Turkey’s response?This podcast was recorded on 21 November 2023. Bookshelf: Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams | Charles KingAmerican Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer | Kai Bird, Martin J. SherwinVirtual Politics: Faking Democracy in the Post-Soviet World | Andrew Wilson
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ECFR’s new global opinion poll reveals that many people outside the West want Europe and the US in their lives for all they have to offer – but that does not translate into full political alignment. In this week’s episode, ECFR’s research director Jeremy Shapiro welcomes council member Timothy Garton Ash, who is a bestselling author and professor of European studies at Oxford University; Ivan Krastev, who is a founding board member of ECFR and chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia; and ECFR’s director Mark Leonard to discuss how public sentiment can guide Europe in building partnerships for the world of tomorrow. What is the basis for the West’s soft power? What sort of offer is China making the world? And whom do countries in the ‘global south’ prefer when faced with a choice between the West and China?This podcast was recorded on 7 November 2023.Bookshelf:Places of Mind: A Life of Edward Said | Timothy BrennanEnvironmental Political Theory | Steve VanderheidenLes Aveuglés, comment Berlin et Paris ont laissé la voie libre à la Russie | Sylvie KauffmannLiberalism against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times | Samuel MoynYou Report to Me: Accountability for the Failing Administrative State | David Bernhardt
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For Kyiv, the war in Gaza couldn’t have come at a worse time. It has taken the global spotlight just as the fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has reached a stalemate (as top Ukrainian general Valery Zaluzhny wrote in The Economist last week) and division in the US Congress threatens to sever its military aid lifeline.In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR’s research director, seizing control from Mark Leonard over the next few weeks, welcomes Gustav Gressel, senior policy fellow with the Wider Europe Programme focusing on Russia, and Kirill Shamiev, visiting fellow and expert in Russia’s civil-military relations, domestic politics, and policymaking.Together, they discuss the consequences of the war in Gaza for the war effort in Ukraine. How has the Ukrainian government responded to this new crisis? What consequences will it have for the Ukraine war? And what can Europe do to manage an ever-growing list of crises in its neighbourhood?This podcast was recorded on 6 November 2023.
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On 5 November 2024, America will elect its next president. As of now, the race for the White House is shaping up to be a replay of the 2020 presidential election – with Joe Biden and Donald Trump standing out as the likely candidates for their opposing parties. This time around, however, the United States’ engagement in the Middle East and in Ukraine, coupled with its global competition with China, could play a significant role in defining the outcome of the election. In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes ECFR’s research director Jeremy Shapiro, who is also the director of ECFR’s brand new US programme, and senior policy fellow Majda Ruge, who has worked extensively on US politics. Together, they discuss what America’s foreign policy could look like after the 2024 election and how Europe could engage proactively with the next US president. What should we expect from a second Biden presidency? Or from a second Trump presidency? What should Europeans do to plan ahead? And how can ECFR’s new US programme help them do so?This podcast was recorded on 1 November 2023.Bookshelf:The Wizard of the Kremlin: A Novel | Giuliano da Empoli
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On 24 February 2022, Russia blindsided most of Europe with its all-out invasion of Ukraine. This forced an overdue reckoning for Europeans on the failures of their Russia policy and the realities of Vladimir Putin’s agenda. In particular, France and Germany had been hoodwinked by promises of cheap Russian energy supplies, as well as the pipe dream of a common European security architecture with Moscow. In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes ECFR board and council member, Sylvie Kauffmann, who is editorial director, lead writer, and columnist at Le Monde; and ECFR council member, Timothy Garton Ash, who is a bestselling author and professor of European studies at Oxford University, to discuss Kauffmann’s new book “Les Aveuglés, comment Berlin et Paris ont laissé la voie libre à la Russie” (“The Blindsided: How Berlin and Paris Cleared the Way for Russia”). How and when could France and Germany have acted differently and changed the path of history? At what point was it clear that Putin was heading down this path? And why did Europeans, again and again, ignore the warning signs?Bookshelf: Les Aveuglés, comment Berlin et Paris ont laissé la voie libre à la Russie | Sylvie KauffmannHomelands: A Personal History of Europe | Timothy Garton Ash
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Poland is returning to European politics as a constructive player. The country’s National Electoral Commission confirmed on Tuesday morning that the Polish opposition has gathered enough votes to form a government and end the Law and Justice party’s eight-year rule of illiberalism and Eurosceptism. The results also hold two key lessons for Europe: a country’s illiberal turn can be reversed, and polarisation is an insufficient tool to mobilise progressive voters.In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes senior policy fellows Piotr Buras, head of ECFR Warsaw, and Jana Puglierin, head of ECFR Berlin, to understand what we can expect from Poland’s new government and what Poland’s return to the EU’s centrist fold means for its neighbours and for Brussels. What options do Law and Justice have in opposition? What immediate consequences will the election results have for how Poland relates to the EU, to Germany, and to Ukraine? What effect will they have on the enlargement debate and on European elections next year?This podcast was recorded on 17 October 2023.Bookshelf:A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos OzDie Möglichkeit von Glück by Anne Rabe
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On Saturday morning, Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel, firing thousands of rockets, but also infiltrating cities, towns, and kibbutzim in the south of the country. It is the first time a hostile power has taken Israeli territory since the Yom Kippur war in 1973. This surprise offensive – which has already killed more than 800 Israelis and left over 400 Palestinians dead in Gaza after initial Israeli military reprisals – marks a significant turning point in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.In this special episode, Mark Leonard welcomes Israeli diplomat and strategist, Eran Etzion, who is a former head of policy planning at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former deputy head of the country’s National Security Council. They are joined by Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa programme, and ECFR senior policy fellow Hugh Lovatt to discuss what is behind Israel’s intelligence failure and consider possible future scenarios. How did Hamas militants manage to infiltrate Israeli territory? What does this mean for the future of Abraham accords as well as prospects for Saudi-Israel normalisation? And for Netanyahu, and his hold on power? Finally, is there any role at all that Europeans can play in preventing a regional conflagration? This podcast was recorded on 9 October 2023. Bookshelf: How Europeans should respond to the Hamas offensive against Israel | Julien Barnes-Dacey, Hugh Lovatt
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Last week, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of Spain’s People’s Party, lost his second bid at leading the country’s government. All eyes are now on Pedro Sánchez, acting prime minister and leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, as he tries to gather enough support to hold his office for another term.Across the continent, Poland is preparing for the next parliamentary election on 15 October – and the rising far-right party Confederation is set to swing the balance between right-wing incumbents Law and Justice, and the liberal opposition.In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes senior policy fellows José Ignacio Torreblanca, head of ECFR Madrid, and Piotr Buras, head of ECFR Warsaw, to discuss how Spanish and Polish politics will affect Europe’s political map, the bloc’s support for Ukraine, the growing debate on enlargement, and next summer’s European elections. Are mainstream parties in Poland willing to form a government with Confederation?Whose support will Pedro Sánchez need to form a new government, and what happens if he too fails? What is causing voters to flock to right-wing parties in Poland but punish them in Spain? How are Poland’s pre-election debates on refugees and grain affecting European support for Ukraine?This podcast was recorded on 29 September 2023.Bookshelf: Free: Coming of Age at the End of History | Lea YpiChip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology | Chris MillerSpołeczeństwo populistów | Przemysław Sadura, Sławomir Sierakowski
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For the past few months, the United States has been trying to broker a groundbreaking bilateral deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Iran, meanwhile, is forging an ever closer and ever more dangerous partnership with Russia. Finally, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt were invited to join the BRICS this summer – and are turning more and more towards the east. In short, the Middle Eastern order has shifted towards multipolarity. In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes Ellie Geranmayeh, senior policy fellow and deputy director of ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa programme, and Alistair Burt, pro-chancellor of Lancaster University and former UK minister of state for the Middle East and North Africa. Together, they discuss the power dynamics that are shaping the Middle East’s embrace of multipolarity. Who are the winners and losers in these power shifts? How are China and Russia exploiting them? And what can Europe do to pursue its own interests in a region that has become much more comfortable with hedging? This podcast was recorded on 12 September 2023. Bookshelf: A Year on from the Mahsa Amini Protests: Where Iran is headed and the Implications for Western Policy | Ellie Geranmayeh And then what?: inside stories of 21st-century diplomacy | Catherine Ashton Assad | Con Coughlin 1923 | Ned Boulting
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In her state of the union address, European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric cars. This summer, the German government released its first comprehensive China strategy, noting that “China has changed, and therefore we must change our approach.” These events mark a turning point in EU-China relations.In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes Janka Oertel, director of ECFR’s Asia programme, to discuss her new book “End of the China illusion: How we must deal with Beijing’s claim to power”, published by Piper Verlag (in German). What threats do today’s China pose to Europe and to Germany? What are the West’s biggest misconceptions about China? And what, really, does China want?This podcast was recorded on 20 September 2023.Bookshelf:Ende der China-Illusion: Wie wir mit Pekings Machtanspruch umgehen müssen | Janka OertelFive Times Faster: Rethinking the Science, Economics, and Diplomacy of Climate Change | Simon SharpeLenin: The Man, the Dictator, and the Master of Terror | Victor Sebestyen
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Global freedom has been declining for 17 years. Authoritarian turns are increasing, and current events – such as the rise of populism and Russia’s war on Ukraine – are shaping the future of democracy across the globe. In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes the president of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), Mark Malloch-Brown – who previously served as UN deputy secretary-general under Kofi Annan – to discuss open societies and OSF’s role in promoting justice, democratic governance, and human rights worldwide. What are OSF’s next steps in the new global reality? How could changes in the organisation’s presence in Europe affect civil society on the continent, especially in places like Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine? And how crucial is 2024, a year of big elections in Europe and the United States, for defending the open society model?This podcast was recorded on 13 September 2023. Bookshelf:Open Society BarometerThe Wide World | Pierre Lemaitre
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War has returned to the European continent, putting many previous divisions into perspective. This has caused European leaders to think afresh about their politics – and raised the question of the United Kingdom’s role in European foreign policy. Seven years after the Brexit referendum, the EU and the UK have finally resolved some of their differences through the Windsor Framework. The possibility of a reset between the UK and the EU on foreign policy could be on the horizon. In this year’s mini-series, Mark Leonard and Susi Dennison examine what a reimagined EU-UK relationship might look like. In this seventh episode, Mark and Susi welcome ECFR senior policy fellow, Nick Witney, who previously served as the first chief executive of the European Defence Agency, and ECFR distinguished policy fellow, Camille Grand, who is a former NATO assistant secretary general. How have Brexit and then the war in Ukraine affected UK-EU defence cooperation? What potential is there for future collaboration in defence, especially in the areas of industry, technology, and energy? And could NATO act as a vehicle for a different kind of defence relationship between the UK and EU member state s?This podcast was recorded on 20 July 2023. Bookshelf:What Just Happened?! by Marina HydeLeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay, by Warren KozakThe Bomber Mafia, by Malcolm Gladwell (Podcast)
War has returned to the European continent, putting many previous divisions into perspective. This has caused European leaders to think afresh about their politics – and raised the question of the United Kingdom’s role in European foreign policy. Seven years after the Brexit referendum, the EU and the UK have finally resolved some of their differences through the Windsor Framework. The possibility of a reset between the UK and the EU on foreign policy could be on the horizon. In this year’s mini-series, Mark Leonard and Susi Dennison examine what a reimagined EU-UK relationship might look like. In this sixth episode, Mark and Susi welcome former permanent secretary in the UK’s Department for Exiting the European Union, Philip Rycroft, who prior to that held several roles in Westminster and Brussels, including in Leon Brittan’s cabinet. How is post-Brexit Britan approaching trade deals and regulatory alignment with third countries? How has Brexit affected the movement of people and labour across borders? What are the implications of the Northern Ireland Protocol for the UK’s relationship with the EU? And what challenges and opportunities does the UK face in the evolving global economy, particularly considering China’s influence?This podcast was recorded on 20 June 2023. Bookshelf:North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell
On 23 August, Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private jet crashed, leading Russian state media to declare his death. The enigmatic circumstances surrounding the event raise crucial questions about the incident itself, but also about its potential ramifications, which could extend well beyond Russia. In this special episode, Mark Leonard welcomes the head of ECFR’s Africa programme, Theodore Murphy, senior policy fellow, Kadri Liik, and visiting fellows Pavel Slunkin and Kirill Shamiev to dissect the aftermath of the development. To what extent will the Wagner group be able to maintain its autonomy from the Kremlin following Prigozhin’s death? How might Prigozhin’s death affect the power dynamics within Russia’s security apparatus and intelligence agencies? And what could the implications be for the future of Wagner, both in Ukraine and in Africa?
The podcast was recorded on Thursday 24 August 2023.
Bookshelf: The Redline podcast – episode 95: The Death of the US Dollar? Russian archive about the Revolution and the Civil War
On 23 August, Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private jet crashed, leading Russian state media to declare his death. The enigmatic circumstances surrounding the event raise crucial questions about the incident itself, but also about its potential ramifications, which could extend well beyond Russia. In this special episode, Mark Leonard welcomes the head of ECFR’s Africa programme, Theodore Murphy, senior policy fellow, Kadri Liik, and visiting fellows Pavel Slunkin and Kirill Shamiev to dissect the aftermath of the development. To what extent will the Wagner group be able to maintain its autonomy from the Kremlin following Prigozhin’s death? How might Prigozhin’s death affect the power dynamics within Russia’s security apparatus and intelligence agencies? And what could the implications be for the future of Wagner, both in Ukraine and in Africa?
The podcast was recorded on Thursday 24 August 2023.
Bookshelf: The Redline podcast – episode 95: The Death of the US Dollar? Russian archive about the Revolution and the Civil War
On 23 August, Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private jet crashed, leading Russian state media to declare his death. The enigmatic circumstances surrounding the event raise crucial questions about the incident itself, but also about its potential ramifications, which could extend well beyond Russia. In this special episode, Mark Leonard welcomes the head of ECFR’s Africa programme, Theodore Murphy, senior policy fellow, Kadri Liik, and visiting fellows Pavel Slunkin and Kirill Shamiev to dissect the aftermath of the development.
To what extent will the Wagner group be able to maintain its autonomy from the Kremlin following Prigozhin’s death? How might Prigozhin’s death affect the power dynamics within Russia’s security apparatus and intelligence agencies? And what could the implications be for the future of Wagner, both in Ukraine and in Africa?
The podcast was recorded on Thursday 24 August 2023.
Bookshelf: The Redline podcast – episode 95: The Death of the US Dollar? Russian archive about the Revolution and the Civil War
War has returned to the European continent, putting many previous divisions into perspective. This has caused European leaders to think afresh about their politics – and raised the question of the United Kingdom’s role in European foreign policy. Seven years after the Brexit referendum, the EU and the UK have finally resolved some of their differences through the Windsor Framework. The possibility of a reset between the UK and the EU on foreign policy could be on the horizon. In this year’s mini-series, Mark Leonard and Susi Dennison examine what a reimagined EU-UK relationship might look like. In this fifth episode, Mark and Susi welcome Britain’s former permanent representative to the EU, Ivan Rogers, who also served as David Cameron’s advisor for Europe and as principal private secretary to Tony Blair.
How could the evolving geopolitical landscape, particularly the US-China relationship, influence security dynamics in the EU and the UK? What challenges and opportunities might a new UK government face when rethinking the country’s economic and financial relationship with the EU? In what areas is the UK and the EU’s cooperation on rule-making asymmetrical, and how does that affect their ability to collaborate on various policy matters?
This podcast was recorded on 19 July 2023.
Bookshelf: Revolutionary Spring: Fighting for a New World 1848-1849, by Christopher Clark The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, by Christopher Clark
War has returned to the European continent, putting many previous divisions into perspective. This has caused European leaders to think afresh about their politics – and raised the question of the United Kingdom’s role in European foreign policy. Seven years after the Brexit referendum, the EU and the UK have finally resolved some of their differences through the Windsor Framework. The possibility of a reset between the UK and the EU on foreign policy could be on the horizon. In this year’s mini-series, Mark Leonard and Susi Dennison examine what a reimagined EU-UK relationship might look like.
In this fifth episode, Mark and Susi welcome Britain’s former permanent representative to the EU, Ivan Rogers, who also served as David Cameron’s advisor for Europe and as principal private secretary to Tony Blair. How could the evolving geopolitical landscape, particularly the US-China relationship, influence security dynamics in the EU and the UK? What challenges and opportunities might a new UK government face when rethinking the country’s economic and financial relationship with the EU? In what areas is the UK and the EU’s cooperation on rule-making asymmetrical, and how does that affect their ability to collaborate on various policy matters?
This podcast was recorded on 19 July 2023.
Bookshelf: Revolutionary Spring: Fighting for a New World 1848-1849, by Christopher Clark The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, by Christopher Clark
War has returned to the European continent, putting many previous divisions into perspective. This has caused European leaders to think afresh about their politics – and raised the question of the United Kingdom’s role in European foreign policy. Seven years after the Brexit referendum, the EU and the UK have finally resolved some of their differences through the Windsor Framework. The possibility of a reset between the UK and the EU on foreign policy could be on the horizon. In this year’s mini-series, Mark Leonard and Susi Dennison examine what a reimagined EU-UK relationship might look like. In this fourth episode, Mark and Susi welcome Nick Butler, energy policy adviser at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, and the Faraday Institution, and previously senior policy advisor to former prime minister Gordon Brown and co-founder of the Centre for European Reform think tank.
How does the EU-UK relationship sit in the context of global energy challenges and climate change? What areas of common interest exist between the UK and the EU in terms of energy storage, renewable energy development, and technological advancements? How can cooperation be strengthened on creating a more integrated and resilient energy market?
This podcast was recorded on 19 July 2023.
Bookshelf: The Long Journey of English: A Geographical History of the Language, Peter Trudgill
War has returned to the European continent, putting many previous divisions into perspective. This has caused European leaders to think afresh about their politics – and raised the question of the United Kingdom’s role in European foreign policy. Seven years after the Brexit referendum, the EU and the UK have finally resolved some of their differences through the Windsor Framework. The possibility of a reset between the UK and the EU on foreign policy could be on the horizon. In this year’s mini-series, Mark Leonard and Susi Dennison examine what a reimagined EU-UK relationship might look like.
In this third episode, Mark and Susi welcome the Eurasia Group’s managing director for Europe, Mujtaba Rahman, who previously served at the UK Treasury and the European Commission’s directorate general for economic and financial affairs, to discuss what this renewal of relations might look like. How has Brexit affected the UK’s economy? How can the UK negotiate a new agreement with the EU that avoids political difficulties around freedom of movement while still being attractive to the bloc? What areas of cooperation could the UK and the EU explore beyond the existing trade agreement?
This podcast was recorded on 12 July 2023. Bookshelf: Johnson at 10: The Inside Story, by Anthony Seldon and Raymond Newell
This is Europe: The Way We Live Now, by Ben Judah
War has returned to the European continent, putting many previous divisions into perspective. This has caused European leaders to think afresh about their politics – and raised the question of the United Kingdom’s role in European foreign policy. Seven years after the Brexit referendum, the EU and the UK have finally resolved some of their differences through the Windsor Framework. The possibility of a reset between the UK and the EU on foreign policy could be on the horizon. In this year’s mini-series, Mark Leonard and Susi Dennison examine what a reimagined EU-UK relationship might look like. In this second episode, Mark and Susi welcome David Lidington, who was the United Kingdom’s longest serving minister for European affairs between 2010 and 2016, to discuss what this renewal of relations might look like. How can the Conservative and Labour parties ensure a constructive and forward-looking approach to the UK’s relationship with the EU? Can bilateral relationships complement engagement with Brussels in navigating the UK’s position in Europe?
This podcast was recorded on 23 June 2023.
Bookshelf:
The Conservative Party After Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation, by Tim Bale What went wrong with Brexit: and what we can do about it, by Peter Foster Aubrey & Maturin series, by Patrick O'Brian
July has seen extreme weather events ravage all of the world’s continents, reinforcing – yet again – the urgency of collective action on climate change. In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes Kate Hampton, CEO of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and former head of policy at Climate Change Capital to delve into the complexities of that action within a competitive global landscape – marked by inequalities between the global north and south.
Together, they consider possible pathways towards compromises and how to empower sustainable transitions on the way to a resilient future. How can civil society and NGOs drive global climate action? What strategies can Europeans employ to navigate a fractured multilateral landscape in the face of climate change? And how can the West and the global south work together towards sustainable energy solutions? This podcast was recorded on 14 June 2023. Bookshelf: The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens Our Businesses, Infantilizes Our Governments, and Warps Our Economies, by Mariana Mazzucato
How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between, by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner
This week, the leaders of NATO member countries gathered in Vilnius for the organisation’s annual summit. The summit addressed crucial issues and implications for international security. From Sweden’s accession to NATO and Ukraine’s aspirations for membership to new defence plans and security guarantees, this week’s episode explores the summit’s highlights and potential impact on the global security landscape.
Mark Leonard welcomes Alex Stubb, former prime minister of Finland, Lykke Friis, former Danish climate minister and ECFR co-chair – all on ECFR’s board of trustees – and Camille Grand, former assistant secretary general for defense investment at NATO and distinguished policy fellow at ECFR, to discuss the outcomes of the NATO summit in Vilnius.
What were the main takeaways from the summit? What led to Erdogan’s decision to greenlight Sweden’s accession to NATO? What did the alliance offer Ukraine? And what are the key points of NATO’s new defence plans?
This podcast was recorded on 13 June 2023.
Bookshelf:
The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History, by Serhii Plokhy
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Guerre en Ukraine et nouvel ordre du monde by Michel Duclos
What does it mean to be patriotic in 2023? Following the significant population movements of recent years, leaders in European states are increasingly trying to foster a sense of identity that can hold together their diverse societies. In his recent book, “How to be a patriot: Why love of country can end our very British culture war”, Sunder Katwala draws on many years of research and scholarship in the UK to consider what collective identity without division, fear of immigration, and racism might look like.
In this episode, he joins Mark Leonard to explore some identity-related dilemmas in post-Brexit Britain. How did immigration and European interact in the run-up to the 2016 referendum? And can the rest of Europe draw any lessons from the UK’s experience?
This podcast was recorded on 19 June 2023.
Bookshelf: How to Be a Patriot: Why love of country can end our very British culture war? by Sunder Katwala Windrush: 75 Years of Modern Britain, by Trevor Phillips and Mike Phillips Black and British: a forgotten History, by David Olusoga
The past two days will surely go down in Russian history. What started on Saturday as an armed rebellion within Russia by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenaries ended in something of a whimper, with Vladimir Putin’s former caterer-turned-warlord agreeing to leave for Belarus in exchange for some ambiguous concessions from the Kremlin. Was this a coup, a mutiny, a rebellion, or something else? What were Prigozhin’s goals? What does this mean for Putin’s domestic reputation and his political survival ? How will it affect Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive? And how have Europeans responded?
In this special episode, Mark Leonard welcomes head of ECFR’s Wider Europe programme and senior policy fellow, Marie Dumoulin, senior policy fellow, Kadri Liik, and visiting fellows Pavel Slunkin and Kirill Shamiev to shed light on the weekend’s events and discuss the new reality that has opened up in Russia.
War has returned to the European continent, putting many previous divisions into perspective. This has caused European leaders to think afresh about their politics – and raised the question of the UK’s role in European foreign policy. Seven years after the Brexit referendum, the EU and the UK have finally resolved some of their differences through the Windsor Framework. The possibility of a reset between the UK and the EU on foreign policy could be on the horizon. In this year’s mini-series, Mark Leonard and Susi Dennison examine what a reimagined EU-UK relationship might look like.
In this first episode, Mark and Susi welcome Anand Menon, professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King’s College London and director of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative to discuss what this renewal of relations might look like. Which areas offer the most potential for fruitful collaboration? What challenges and opportunities might the reset bring for energy security, trade, and freedom of movement? Can bilateral relationships, like that between the UK and France, play a role in the reset?
This podcast was recorded on 9 June 2023.
Bookshelf :
Brexit Land by Maria Sobolewska and Robert Ford
Brexit and British Politics by Anand Menon and Geoffrey Evans
Where next? The future of the UK-EU relationship by Anand Menon
European citizens are adapting slowly to the new geopolitical landscape. But leaders have an opportunity to build public consensus on the EU’s approach to China, the US, and Russia. ECFR’s latest polling report – based on data from 11 EU member states – analyses what European citizens think about Europe’s place in the world and its relationship to these other powers.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes the two authors of the report: Jana Puglierin, senior policy fellow and head of ECFR’s Berlin office, and Pawel Zerka, senior policy fellow at ECFR, to discuss and analyse their results. What kind of relationship do Europeans want with Russia? How do they understand China’s growing influence? And what do they expect from the future of transatlantic relations?
This podcast was recorded on 14 June 2023.
Bookshelf:
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Andrew Small, No Limits: The Inside Story of China´s War with the West
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Timothy Garton Ash, Homelands: A Personal History of Europe
-Georgi Gospodinov, Time Shelter
This week, European decision-makers and opinion-shapers gathered in Stockholm for ECFR´s annual council meeting. There, they discussed how democracy might survive the complex interaction of multiple overlapping crises: from covid-19 to climate change and Russia´s war on Ukraine. In this week´s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes ECFR trustee and director of the European Institute and professor of history at Columbia University, Adam Tooze, to examine the notion of polycrisis.
What exactly does the term polycrisis mean, and what does it tell us about the present realities affecting Europe? Can we talk about “an age of polycrisis”? And how will the polycrisis shape global dynamics and the future of the European continent?
This podcast was recorded on 8 June 2023. Bookshelf :
• Phenomenal World, a blog by Kate Mackenzie and Tim Sahay https://www.phenomenalworld.org/series/the-polycrisis/ • Leçons d'un siècle de vie, Edgar Morin
Earlier this month, Israel marked its 75th birthday amid one of the biggest crises of democracy the country has ever experienced. Since returning to power in December last year, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has introduced a set of controversial judicial reforms, resulting in mass protests on the streets of Tel Aviv and beyond.This week, Mark Leonard welcomes member of the Knesset and leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Merav Michaeli, to discuss what is at stake with these reforms and how they could affect the country’s global standing. What is behind the waning influence of the left in Israel over the past 20 years? What can be done to reinvigorate the peace process with the Palestinians? And what might the next 75 years have in store for the Israel?
This podcast was recorded on 23 May 2023.
Bookshelf:
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The crisis in Sudan is now in its sixth week, with no end in sight. Neither the Sudanese Armed Forces nor the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been able to gain decisive victories in the capital, Khartoum. On 22 May, the two sides signed a seven-day ceasefire, sponsored by the United States and Saudi Arabia. So, what are the current scenarios for negotiation, and what role should the West play in this process? This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Theodore Murphy, Julien Barnes-Dacey, and Marie Dumoulin, the heads of ECFR’s Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and Wider Europe programmes. They discuss why stability in Sudan is critical to the Middle East and North Africa, and what is at stake for other politically unsteady countries, such as South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Chad. Is there a risk of regional spillover, and where are the Sudanese refugees going? This podcast was recorded on 22 May 2023. Bookshelf: Putin’s Wars: From Chechnya to Ukraine by Mark Galeotti A Stranger in your own City: Travels in the Middle East’s Long War by Ghaid Abdul-Ahad The Nonaligned World by Foreign Affairs A conversation with Henry Kissinger in The Economist
Even if China’s priorities might be different from those of the West, it embraces many of the ontological assumptions of the current world order. In her recent book “Before the West: The Rise and Fall of Eastern World Order”, Ayse Zarakol conceptualises world order as a non-Western concept and puts forward an alternative model of sovereignty. In this week’s episode of the World in 30 Minutes, Mark Leonard is joined by Ayse Zarakol, author and professor of international relations at the University of Cambridge. They talk about how to define world order, what sort of order we are in today, and what factors eventually cause orders to decline. What could be done to strengthen our current world order? And can we even imagine what would replace it? This podcast was recorded on 16 May 2023. Bookshelf: Before the West: The Rise and Fall of Eastern World Order by Ayse Zarakol Sacred Kingship in World History: Between Immanence and Transcendence by A. Azfar Moin and Alan Strathern
A year ahead of the EU elections, commentators are already feverishly speculating about whether Ursula von der Leyen will stay on as president of the European Commission. Meanwhile, others lament the ongoing lethargy of the Franco-German motor. But focusing too much on these questions risks ignoring key players outside the traditional halls of European power, some of whom have been growing in influence. What can these countries and their domestic politics tell us about the future of the EU? In this episode – live from ECFR’s staff retreat in Porto – Mark Leonard welcomes the heads of ECFR’s national offices: Nacho Torreblanca, Arturo Varvelli, Vessela Tcherneva, and Piotr Buras. Has it become harder for the Polish government to attack the EU, given its pro-Ukraine policies? What is the status of coalition talks in Bulgaria? And how will Spain’s EU presidency shape the political agenda from July to December?This podcast was recorded on 10 May 2023.Bookshelf:And then what?: Inside Stories of 21st Century Diplomacy by Catherine Ashton Turkey: The Insane and the Melancholy by Ece Temelkuran Putin’s People: How the KGB took back Russia and then took on the West by Catherine Belton I am Giorgia Meloni: my rules, my ideas by Giorgia Meloni
In recent weeks, the conversation on military aid for Ukraine has shifted from battle tanks to fighter jets. Poland and Slovakia have already delivered Soviet-era MiG-29s, and Ukraine's leaders have repeately called for the West also to supply modern jets. As with tanks, a decision from the US to supply its own fighters to Kyiv could be highly influential for European governments. This week, Mark Leonard welcomes ECFR senior policy fellow, Gustav Gressel, whose recent commentary argues that Ukraine’s allies should supply fighter jets to Ukraine as quickly as possible. But would they arrive in time for the anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive? How would Putin respond? And what are the risks of escalation? This podcast was recorded on 3 May 2023. Bookshelf: Faustian Bargain. The Soviet-German Partnership and the Origins of the Second World War by Ian Ona Johnson The case for sending fighter jets to Ukraine by Gustav Gressel
Despite being a NATO member, Turkey has stayed neutral in the war in Ukraine and continues to block Sweden’s accession to the alliance. Yet, Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is better known domestically for his economic mismanagement and shoddy response to the earthquake that killed 60,000 people in February than his government's increasingly aggressive international strategy. Presidential and parliamentary elections on 14 May could even raise the prospect of a Turkey without Erdogan. In this episode, Mark Leonard welcomes ECFR’s research director Jeremy Shapiro and associate senior policy fellow Asli Aydintasbas who have just published a commentary on how the West should prepare for the Turkish elections. Can the opposition unity candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu pull off a victory? What would a post-Erdogan EU-Turkey relationship look like? And could Turkey's EU accession negotiations restart? This podcast was recorded on 27 April 2023. Bookshelf: The Keys to Democracy: Sortition as a New Model for Citizen Power by Maurice Pope Memoirs, 1925-1950 by George F. Kennan The Diplomat – A Netflix Series
Last week, France’s president Emmanuel Macron threw the EU bubble into turmoil by suggesting that Europe should not become the United States’ “vassal” over Taiwan. But is the controversy overshadowing the possibility that he could be right? This week, Mark Leonard welcomes two ECFR colleagues: director of the Wider Europe programme and former French diplomat, Marie Dumoulin, and head of the Paris office and expert in French and US foreign policy, Célia Belin. . What explains Macron’s way of thinking and is there a domestic context to his comments? And what do the strong reactions say about how Europeans view strategic autonomy in the context of the war in Ukraine? This podcast was recorded on 17 April 2023. Bookshelf: The Cat and the General by Nino Haratischwili Living with our Dead by Delphine Horvilleur
Although European leaders have stepped up in many ways to support Ukraine, the war has also laid bare Europe’s profound dependence on the United States. This reality was at the heart of French president Emmanuel Macron’s recent call for more “strategic autonomy”, which stirred a new debate over the transatlantic power imbalance. It was also the topic of a new publication, “The Art of Vassalisation”, from ECFR’s research director, Jeremy Shapiro, and senior policy fellow and head of the Berlin office, Jana Puglierin, who join week Mark Leonard for this week’s episode. What factors influence “vassalisation”, and is it really more beneficial for the Americans? And how seriously are Europeans taking the risk of a Republican victory in 2024? This podcast was recorded on 3 April 2023. Please note that we adapted the introduction to Macron’s interview on 9 April, but some views of our experts might be outdated. An in-depth analysis of the current events will soon follow in an extra episode. Bookshelf:-Revanche: Wie Putin das bedrohlichste Regime der Welt geschaffen hat by Michael Thumann-Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen & Roy Schwartz-Slow Horses with Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas & Gary Oldman
From the rise of China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to more independent middle and regional powers – our global political order is rapidly changing. But what is Hungary’s position in this increasingly multipolar world?In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard is joined by Balazs Orban, the political director of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban. (They are not related.) Balazs is also the chair of the board at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium and in 2021 wrote a book called “The Hungarian Way of Strategy”, in which he describes the country’s “strategy of connectivity”. How does the European Union fit into this vision? And what kind of relationship does Hungary expect to have with Russia when the war eventuallycomes to an end? This podcast was recorded on 20 March 2023. Bookshelf: The Hungarian Way of Strategy by Balázs Orbán Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy by Henry Kissinger Nationale Interessen: Orientierung für deutsche und europäische Politik in Zeiten globaler Umbrüche by Klaus von Dohnanyi
Last week, the Chinese leader Xi Jinping completed a three-day visit to Moscow, his first since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Before the war, Xi and Vladimir Putin had famously announced a “friendship without limits”. But it is unclear whether that relationship is purely transactional, a marriage of convenience, or based on more fundamental, ideological factors. In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard is joined by the director of ECFR's Asia programme, Janka Oertel, and ECFR policy fellow, Alicja Bachulska, to discuss China-Russia relations. How best to explain the “friendship without limits”? What are the key takeaways from Xi's Russia trip? And how has Xi's embrace of Putin been perceived in central and eastern Europe? This podcast was recorded on 28 March 2023. Bookshelf: Our Share of Night: a novel by Mariana Enriquez Economists at War: how a handful of Economists helped win and lose the World Wars by Allan Bollard
Last week, China helped broker an agreement between long-feuding Saudi Arabia and Iran to begin the process of normalising their relations. Both the deal and China’s role surprised many observers – especially in the West. So, how significant is the agreement, and what consequences will it have for the Middle East? To address this and other questions, Mark Leonard welcomes Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa programme; Cinzia Bianco, ECFR visiting fellow and Gulf expert; and Andrew Small, China expert and senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund. Does this deal mean Beijing could play a constructive role in ending the war in Ukraine? Or should the United States be alarmed that China is encroaching on its traditional sphere of influence? This podcast was recorded on 22 March 2023. Bookshelf: Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945-1955 by Harald Jähner Berlin: The Story of a City by Barney White-Spunner Economists at War: How a Handful of Economists Helped Win and Lose the World Wars by Allan Bollard
This week, Mark Leonard welcomes Christoph Heusgen, longstanding foreign policy chief during the Merkel years and now chair of the Munich Security Conference. They discuss Western and non-Western reactions to the war in Ukraine – and, in particular, the role of Germany. Should Berlin have taken a harder line against Russia after 2014? How can Scholz realise his vision for the Zeitenwende? And what is stopping Germany from engaging more in developing countries? This podcast was recorded on 13 March 2023. Bookshelf: The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict by Mark Leonard Führung und Verantwortung: Angela Merkels Außenpolitik und Deutschlands künftige Rolle in der Welt by Christoph Heusgen
A year into the war in Ukraine, economic sanctions remain the West’s strongest instrument against Russia. But the Russian economy has proven surprisingly resilient: Russia still sells oil to Turkey and China, and – according to a recent investigation by The Economist and SourceMaterial – the Kremlin’s sanctions-dodging is becoming increasingly advanced. This week, Mark Leonard is joined by James O’Brien, head of the office of sanctions coordination at the US State Department, to discuss the efficacy of economic sanctions. What ripple effects have sanctions had for Western and third countries? Is the United States currently mulling sanctions against China? And what alternatives are there, if sanctions no longer work as intended?This podcast was recorded on 6 March 2023.Bookshelf-Backfire by Agathe Demarais-Russia’s sanctions-dodging is getting ever more sophisticated by The Economist and SourceMaterial -Talking to Terrorists by Jonathan Powell-We Don’t Know Ourselves by Fintan O’Toole-The Baseball 100 by Joe PosnanskiPicture (c) picture alliance / Consolidated News Photos | Rod Lamkey - CNP
Some analysts argue that capitalism would work better without democracy, while others believe that democracy would be better off without capitalism – so what’s the solution? In his new book “The crisis of democratic capitalism”, Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator at the Financial Times, sets out how they actually need one another if either is to thrive. In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard welcomes Wolf to discuss what democratic capitalism is all about and how it is threatened by two distinct authoritarian versions of capitalism. What does all this mean for the development of democracy and capitalism in developing and emerging economies? And what are the chances that democratic capitalism will remain the model to which countries around the world aspire?This podcast was recorded on 10 February 2023. Bookshelf - The crisis of democratic capitalism by Martin Wolf - Slouching towards utopia by J. Bradford DeLong
A major new public opinion poll from ECFR indicates that, a year into Russia's war on Ukraine, the Western alliance is consolidating – but that there are divisions between the West and other global powers. These divergences range from their views of the conflict to their interpretations of democracy and their ambitions on the world stage. In this week's episode, the authors of the research – Mark Leonard, Timothy Garton Ash, and Ivan Krastev – discuss its main findings and the future of the world order. Does Europe have a strong role to play in a multipolar world, or will it forever live in the United States’ shadow? How can the West use the desire in emerging powers to act on their own terms to its advantage? And what principles should drive Europe’s engagement with those countries?This podcast was recorded on 18 February 2023.Further reading- United West, divided from the rest: Global public opinion one year into Russia’s war on Ukraine by Timothy Garton Ash, Ivan Krastev & Mark Leonard https://ecfr.eu/publication/united-west-divided-from-the-rest-global-public-opinion-one-year-into-russias-war-on-ukraine/ Bookshelf- Homelands: A Personal History of Europe by Timothy Garton Ash - The Frontline by Serhii Plokhy- The Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended many Western leaders’ previous assumptions about security policy, warfare, and the international order. Mark Leonard and his ECFR colleagues Camille Grand, Jana Puglierin, and Ulrike Franke got together at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) last weekend to discuss the dramatic changes – such as Germany's Zeitenwende – that have taken place as a result of these revisions. They analyse MSC speeches from Volodymir Zelensky, Olaf Scholz, and Emmanuel Macron, as well as the announcement of a plan for peace talks by China's top diplomat Wang Yi. What is on the transatlantic to-do list? And how can the West forge more and better alliances with countries in the global south? Further reading: - The Munich Security Report 2023 Bookshelf: - Au café de la ville perdue [FR] by Anaïs Llobet - Les Loups [FR] by Benoît Vitkine
This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Michael Thumann, foreign affairs correspondent for the German weekly newspaper Die ZEIT, longtime expert on Russia, and one of the only German correspondents still reporting from Moscow. Following the publication of Thumann’s new book, “Revanche. Wie Putin das bedrohlichste Regime der Welt geschaffen hat” (“Revenge: How Putin created the most threatening regime in the world”, currently only available in German), he and Leonard discuss the roots of the Russian regime’s imperialistic behaviour. What is the relevance of Vladimir Putin’s interpretation of Russian history? Could Russia become a ‘normal country’ in the future? And how have Germans’ views of Russia changed since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine?This podcast was recorded on 1 February 2023.Further reading:- Revanche by Michael Thumann [available only in GER]: https://buff.ly/3lppnPn - The old is dying and the new cannot be born: A power audit of EU-Russia relations by Kadri Liik: https://t.co/W42ylXEfDp Bookshelf:- Geschichten aus der Heimat by Dmitry Glukhovsky [available only in GER]- Day of the Oprichnik by Vladimir Sorokin- The Frontline Essays on Ukraine’s Past and Present by Serhii Plokhy
Over the last decades, sanctions have become the West’s diplomatic tool par excellence. Faced with wars, humanitarian crises, and human rights violations, the West’s response has often been to impose sanctions to avoid resorting to military force. This week, Mark Leonard invited Agathe Demarais, global forecasting director of the Economist Intelligence Unit and author of “Backfire - How Sanctions Reshape the World Against US Interests”, to talk about how sanctions work and how they can be truly effective. Have the sanctions on Russia been successful? Is there a danger of the West becoming over-reliant on them? And will they eventually be replaced by other economic weapons?This podcast was recorded on 24 January 2023.Further reading-ECFR’s work on geo-economics: https://ecfr.eu/category/europeanpower/economic-sovereignty/ - Backfire: How Sanctions Reshape the World Against U.S. Interests by Agathe Demarais- The global race for semiconductor hegemony with Janka Oertel, Chris Miller and Andrew SmallBookshelf- What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance by Carolyn Forché - Kochland by Christopher Leonard- Say Nothing by Patrick Radden KeefePicture © Agathe Demarais
On 25 January, after months of deliberation, Germany's chancellor Olaf Scholz announced he would send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine – and permit other countries to do the same. What led to this turnaround? Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR heavyweights on security and defence policy – Camille Grand, Gustav Gressel, Jana Puglierin, and Jeremy Shapiro – to discuss what this decision means for the war in Ukraine, for German diplomacy, and for transatlantic relations. Will the unity on show at last week's Ramstein meeting continue in the long term? And what is the future of military aid for Ukraine? This podcast was recorded on 25 January 2023. Further reading - The Leopard plan: How European tanks can help Ukraine take back its territory by Gustav Gressel, Rafael Loss and Jana Puglierin: https://t.co/2798lmtF1x - Send in the Leopards: Why Western allies should deliver tanks to Ukraine by Margaryta Khvostova & Dmytro Kryvosheiev: https://t.co/BV7Hs0TvYx Bookshelf:- Les Ambitions Inavouées by Thomas Gomart- Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West by Catherine Belton - Maybe Esther by Katja Petrowskaja - Peace Talks Between Russia and Ukraine: Mission Impossible by Sabine Fischer - The Bernie Gunther series by Philip Kerr
This week’s episode comes to you all the way from the snowy peaks of Davos, Switzerland. Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR board member Alexander Stubb – who is director of the school of transnational governance at the European University Institute in Florence and a former prime minister of Finland – to give us their take on this year's World Economic Forum. What does cooperation in a fragmented world look like? Does the war in Ukraine still top the bill in every WEF session, and how do leaders discuss the energy crisis? Leonard and Stubb share their thoughts on all this and more, including the US Inflation Reduction Act, India’s role in the multipolar world, and Olaf Scholz’s speech. This podcast was recorded on 18 January 2023. Bookshelf:• Personality and Power: Builders and Destroyers of Modern Europe by Ian Kershaw• Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy by Henry Kissinger
In this episode, Mark Leonard welcomes Catherine Ashton – the European Union’s first high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and the first female EU commissioner for trade – to talk about her new book “And Then What? Inside Stories of 21st Century Diplomacy”. As a seasoned mediator, Ashton played a crucial role in negotiating the ‘Brussels agreement’ between Serbia and Kosovo in 2013 and the Joint Plan of Action with Iran the same year. But what is her outlook on diplomacy today? How can diplomats lay the groundwork for success? Concerning Ukraine, what are the chances for diplomacy under such difficult global conditions? And what role should the United Kingdom play in future European and international relations? This podcast was recorded on 1o January 2023.Bookshelf:- And Then What? Inside Stories of 21st Century Diplomacy by Catherine Ashton - Never by Ken Follett - Leadership: Lessons from a Life in Diplomacy by Simon McDonald
Our beloved predictions episode is back! As they do every year, Mark Leonard and ECFR research director Jeremy Shapiro forecast the foreign policy trends and events for the year ahead.If other analysts saw it coming, Mark and Jeremy certainly didn’t. Their 2022 prediction of “no large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine” really threw last year’s scoring off leaving them with only 6/10 points. Will they do better this time? And what are your foreign policy predictions for 2023? Send us an email or tweet them to us using #Worldin30Minutes! This podcast was recorded on 4 January 2023.Further reading:2023: The year we learn to stop worrying by Mark Leonard & Jeremy ShapiroBookshelf:•Vladimir by Julia May Jonas•Anéantir by Michel Houellebecq•Exhalation by Ted Chiang
After the EU finally came to an agreement with Hungary over financial aid for Ukraine, all eyes are now on Poland and its own protracted conflict with Brussels over its rule-of-law inadequacies. Meanwhile, a series of public spats between Warsaw and Berlin has drawn attention to the rifts within the EU and a new East-West divide. In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard is joined by Piotr Buras and Jana Puglierin, heads of ECFR’s Warsaw and Berlin offices respectively and senior policy fellows. Together they talk about Poland’s standing within the EU and Polish-German relations. What is the state of the rule of law in Poland? How has the war in Ukraine affected Polish politics and Poland’s relationship to its neighbours and the EU? And finally, why does Poland have it out for Germany? This podcast was recorded on 16 December 2022. Further reading - “The final countdown: The EU, Poland, and the rule of law” by Piotr Buras: https://buff.ly/3WjF7k6 Bookshelf - “Spat Over Patriot Missiles Reveals Deepening Rifts in Europe Over Ukraine” by Steven Erlanger in the New York Times - “Barcelona” by Robert Hughes - “Youth: Scenes from Provincial Life II” by J. M. Coetzee
New mini-series! Subscribe here: https://soundcloud.com/ecfrclips China is becoming ever more important to global affairs. But the covid-19 pandemic, as well as political and geopolitical challenges, mean that Europeans’ ability to engage with Chinese thinkers and understand their views and ideas about the world has diminished. In this mini-series, Mark Leonard and Janka Oertel will try to change that by engaging in conversations with some of the best Chinese academics, researchers, writers, and journalists on diverse topics in Chinese internal debates that matter most to Europeans.In the first episode, the hosts are joined by Wang Jisi, the founding president of the Institute of International and Strategic Studies at Peking University and one of the world’s most prominent scholars on US-China relations. Together, we will learn about China’s understanding of global order and the recent developments in the geopolitical landscape with a focus on US-China. What can we take away from China’s stance at the G20 summit? What is to come for US-China relations going forward? And finally, what do the outcomes of the 20th Party Congress mean for Europe and the world?This podcast was recorded on 23 November 2022, one day before the Urumqi apartment fire, which was followed by nationwide protests against the zero-covid policy in China.
The European Council is considering freezing €7.5 billion in funds allocated to Hungary due to concerns about rule of law violations. Meanwhile, prime minister Viktor Orban has embarked on a controversial “national consultation” concerning EU sanctions against Russia, increasingly isolating Hungary among member states. In this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard is joined by Zsuzsanna Szelenyi, a Hungarian politician and foreign policy specialist, to discuss the situation in the country. What would the freezing of EU-funds mean for Hungary-EU relations and Hungary’s role in the union? What new alliances is Orban trying to foster among other illiberal governments in Europe? And finally, how could Hungary’s confrontational approach to Brussels shape European foreign policy when it comes to Russia, and even China?This podcast was recorded on 7 December 2022.Bookshelf:• “Tainted Democracy: Victor Orbán and the Subversion of Hungary” by Zsuzsanna Szelényi• “Mind the gaps: The pending suspension of Hungary’s EU funds” by Zsuzsanna Végh•“How to Stand Up to a Dictator” by Maria Ressa
From search engines to social media, from navigation systems to medical gear, our everyday lives are already intertwined with artificial intelligence. But as AI becomes ever more powerful, questions around security risks, ethical use and disinformation arise. In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard is joined by Stuart Russell, professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences and holder of the Smith-Zadeh Chair in Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. They discuss artificial intelligence’s capabilities to solve global problems and humans’ ability to control its dark side. What benefits can AI bring to health and education? How do algorithms foster extremism and the polarisation of public debates? And finally, could lethal autonomous weapons be ethically used? This podcast was recorded on 3 November 2022. Bookshelf: -“Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies” by Nick Bostrom - “Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” by Max Tegmark - “The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity” by Toby Ord - “The Culture series” by Iain M. Banks
The semiconductor industry has become the cornerstone of the structure of the global economy and the balance of geopolitical power. And Europe has now joined the United States and China in a ‘chip war’ for global semiconductor domination.
In this week’s episode, Janka Oertel, head of ECFR´s Asia programme and senior policy fellow, is joined by Chris Miller, assistant professor of international history at Tufts University, and Andrew Small, senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund and ECFR alumnus. They discuss how chips decide power in today’s geopolitical competition. What role does Taiwan’s leadership in semiconductor production play in tensions with China? And to what extent will Europe align and integrate with the United States’ China policy in the upcoming years?
This podcast was recorded on 16 November 2022.
Bookshelf: •“Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology” by Chris Miller • “The Rupture: China and the Global Race for the Future” by Andrew Small - One of the FT Best Books on Politics 2022 • “Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion: Elite Power Struggles in the Soviet Union and China after Stalin and Mao” by Joseph Torigian • “The Cashless Revolution: China's Reinvention of Money and the End of America's Domination of Finance and Technology” by Martin Chorzempa
Many Europeans see the war in Ukraine as an attack on the ‘rules-based order’. But to many people in other parts of the world, there is no consensus on a set of rules to govern global affairs – and no sense of order. In this mini-series, Mark Leonard will go on an intellectual tour of the world, talking to key thinkers about how order is being defined by different powers. He explores how the clash between these different notions plays into the big shocks facing the world – from climate change and future pandemics to geopolitical struggles and technological disasters – and what this means for national and global politics.
In this sixth instalment, Leonard is joined by Comfort Ero – president and CEO of the International Crisis Group – to learn more about the Nigerian perspective on global order. How can oil and gas output help Nigeria position itself advantageously in the context of the war in Ukraine? What role do African regionalism and Pax Africana play in building the continent’s capacity to respond to crises? And finally, to what extent do the recent crisis in Libya and the hypermilitarisation of the Sahel shape understandings about ‘order’ in Nigeria today?
Further reading: • “Principles for global order: How Europeans and the global south can shape the international order together” by Theodore Murphy Bookshelf: • “Africa and the International System: The Politics of State Survival” by Christopher Clapham • Africa Confidential newsletter • “Why is the US role in Africa Shrinking?” by Zainab Usman • “Imagine Nigeria: Exploring the Future of Nigeria” by the Government of Nigeria and UNDP
9 November is a day of low and high points in history – moments of both loss and of joy. Some important examples include the Pogromnacht in 1938 or the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which marked the end of the cold war. But 9 November 2007 was also the day that brought ECFR’s 50 founding members together, united by a sense that the EU member states could combine their values and resources to become a prototype for a global open society.
In this special episode, ECFR council member Mabel van Oranje hosts director Mark Leonard, as well as ECFR founding members Timothy Garton Ash, professor of European studies at the University of Oxford, and Ivan Krastev, chair of the board at the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia. They explore how the momentous historical events of 9 November can help Europeans make sense of the current moment of disorder. Is a reversal happening of the world order brought about by 9 November 1989? What has ECFR’s role been in helping Europe find a strong, united voice and what will it be in the critical times ahead? And finally, can we expect a rebalancing of power in Europe after the war in Ukraine?
This podcast was recorded on 9 November 2022.
Many Europeans see the war in Ukraine as an attack on the ‘rules-based order’. But to many people in other parts of the world, there is no consensus on a set of rules to govern global affairs – and no sense of order. In this mini-series, Mark Leonard will go on an intellectual tour of the world, talking to key thinkers about how order is being defined by different powers. He explores how the clash between these different notions plays into the big shocks facing the world – from climate change and future pandemics to geopolitical struggles and technological disasters – and what this means for national and global politics.
In this fifth episode, Leonard is joined by Vali Nasr – Majid Khadduri professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins -SAIS, and a non-resident senior fellow at Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center – to learn more about the Iranian perspective on global order. What role does anti-Americanism play in advancing Iran’s interest in the Middle East? How are notions of power, freedom, and justice between Iranian leaders and the population different? And finally, to what extent do the Iran-Iraq War and Western sanctions shape understandings about “order” today in Iran?
Bookshelf: •“The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in Retreat” by Vali Nasr • “Forces of Fortune: The Rise of a New Muslim Middle Class and How it Will Change Our World” by Vali Nasr • “The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam will Shape the Future” by Vali Nasr • “Persians: The Age of the Great Kings” by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Many Europeans see the war in Ukraine as an attack on the ‘rules-based order’. But to many people in other parts of the world, there is no consensus on a set of rules to govern global affairs – and no sense of order. In this mini-series, Mark Leonard will go on an intellectual tour of the world, talking to key thinkers about how order is being defined by different powers. He explores how the clash between these different notions plays into the big shocks facing the world – from climate change and future pandemics to geopolitical struggles and technological disasters – and what this means for national and global politics.
In this fourth instalment, Leonard is joined by Fyodor Lukyanov – chair of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy and editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal – to learn more about the Russian perspective on global order. Why is the Kremlin so keen on regional integration? How can power guarantee freedom and achieve justice in a rules-based order? And finally, what role do the Soviet Union and notions of imperial greatness play in Vladimir Putin’s ideal of Russia?
Bookshelf: • Russia in Global Affairs journal, Issue 3 2022 July/September and Issue 4 2022 October/November • “Europe, Russia and the Liberal World Order: International Relations after the Cold War” by Timofei Bordachev • Complete works of Nikolai Gogol
Many Europeans see the war in Ukraine as an attack on the ‘rules-based order’. But to many people in other parts of the world, there is no consensus on a set of rules to govern global affairs – and no sense of order. In this mini-series, Mark Leonard will go on an intellectual tour of the world, talking to key thinkers about how order is being defined by different powers. He explores how the clash between these different notions plays into the big shocks facing the world – from climate change and future pandemics to geopolitical struggles and technological disasters – and what this means for national and global politics.
In this third episode, Leonard is joined by Pratap Bhanu Mehta – Laurance S Rockefeller visiting professor at Princeton University and former president of the Centre for Policy Research, a New Delhi-based think tank – to discuss the Indian perspective on order. What is the link between civilisational power and Hindu nationalism? Why is the concept of development so important for a just international order? And finally, how does the deep memory of independence and partition shape contemporary Indian politics?
Bookshelf • “The Burden of Democracy” by Pratap Bhanu Mehta • “Public Institutions in India: Performance and Design” by Devesh Kapur & Pratap Bhanu Mehta • “Non-Alignment 2.0: A Foreign and Strategic Policy for India in the 21st Century” by Sunil Khilnani et al. • PM Modi's speech at foundation stone laying ceremony of development projects in Chennai • “The Mirror & The Light” by Hilary Mantel
Many Europeans see the war in Ukraine as an attack on the ‘rules-based order’. But to many people in other parts of the world, there is no consensus on a set of rules to govern global affairs – and no sense of order. In this mini-series, Mark Leonard will go on an intellectual tour of the world, talking to key thinkers about how order is being defined by different powers. He explores how the clash between these different notions plays into the big shocks facing the world – from climate change and future pandemics to geopolitical struggles and technological disasters – and what this means for national and global politics.
In this second instalment, Leonard is joined by Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, associate senior policy fellow and in-house Turkey expert at ECFR, to talk about the country’s understanding of order. Does Russia’s control and presence in Turkey's backyard pose a strategic problem? How can the Pax Ottomana push back against a Western-dominated world order? And finally, what role do narratives about the Battle of Independence and the Conquest of Istanbul play in repositioning Turkey’s greatness?
Bookshelf: • “The Balance Game” by Selim Deringil • “The Dangerous Decade: A Foreign Policy for a World in Crisis” by Richard Haas • “The Ministry for the Future” by Kim Stanley Robinson
Many Europeans see the war in Ukraine as an attack on the ‘rules-based order’. But to many people in other parts of the world, there is no consensus on a set of rules to govern global affairs – and no sense of order.
In this mini-series, Mark Leonard will go on an intellectual tour of the world talking to key thinkers about how order is being defined by different powers. He explores how the clash between these different notions plays into the big shocks facing the world – from climate change and future pandemics to geopolitical struggles and technological disasters – and what this means for national and global politics. -- In this first episode, Leonard is joined by Rana Mitter, vice-president of the British Academy and professor of the history and politics of modern China at the University of Oxford, to talk about the Chinese understanding of order. How are economic inequalities and covid-19 challenging Chinese stability? What is the role of multilateralism in the international system? And finally, how do narratives of the past shape understandings of ‘order’ today?
Bookshelf •“China’s Good War: How World War II Is Shaping a New Nationalism” by Rana Mitter • “Is the Growing Pessimism About China Warranted?” (2016) ChinaFile Conversation • “In the Name of the People” (2017) TV series
The success of Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy in the recent Italian general election has sent shudders around Europe. With Meloni set to form a coalition of right-wingers and Eurosceptics, her foreign policy agenda could call into question the very foundations of the European project. Alongside Poland and Hungary, Italy could join calls for greater national sovereignty, aiming to shift the balance of power away from Brussels technocracy.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR council members Nathalie Tocci, who is the director of Italy's Istituto Affari Internazionali, and Marta Dassu, senior advisor for Europe at the Aspen Institute, as well as Arturo Varvelli, head of ECFR´s Rome Office and senior policy fellow. They discuss the implications of the new government in Rome and whether it does indeed point to a shift to the right. What will be the new government's stance be on Russia and its war in Ukraine? And how could constraints such as debt and the coherence of the coalition challenge Meloni’s government?
This podcast was recorded on 27 September 2022.
Further reading: The Draghi effect: Italy’s new-old national interest by Arturo Varvelli https://buff.ly/3SpBirt
Bookshelf - “Italy Transformed: Politics, Society and Institutions at the End of the Great Recession” by Martin J. Bull & Gianfranco Pasquino - “Bloodlands” by Timothy D. Snyder - “A Green and Global Europe” by Nathalie Tocci - “Il mago del Cremlino” by Giuliano da Empoli
Image by picture alliance / EPA | CLAUDIO PERI ©
Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a partial military mobilisation in Russia reinforces the idea that the Ukraine war will not end quickly and that Ukraine and its partners need to prepare for a long war. The Kremlin is sending a clear signal to the West that it will do whatever it takes to succeed—or at least not to fail. For Ukraine to survive and thrive in the long-war, the EU and its member states should formulate a comprehensive mechanism to support their eastern neighbour. In doing so, Europeans can lay the foundations for a functioning Ukraine, deter Russia from further aggression, and perhaps even point the way toward a settlement of the conflict.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR's Piotr Buras, Gustav Gressel, Kadri Liik, and Jeremy Shapiro to describe and debate the potential military, security, and economic aspects of the long-war plan. Why is investment in industrial warfare supply chains so crucial? How can security assurances for Ukraine enhance deterrence and reduce the potential for escalation? And finally, why should the EU provide medium-term access for Ukraine to the European single market?
This podcast was recorded on 20 September 2022.
Further reading: Survive and thrive: A European plan to support Ukraine in the long war against Russia, by Piotr Buras, Marie Dumoulin, Gustav Gressel & Jeremy Shapiro https://ecfr.eu/publication/survive-and-thrive-a-european-plan-to-support-ukraine-in-the-long-war-against-russia/
Bookshelf - “Essays” by George Orwell - “Jerusalem: The Biography” by Simon Sebag Montefiore - “The Habsburg Empire: A New History” by Pieter M. Judson - “The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin” by Ursula K. Le Guin
This week's Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit makes tangible the existence of an alternative international community. Featuring leaders from Russia, China, and India it is the organisation's first face-to-face meeting since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There is a clear goal at the core of the discussions: power politics and the race to multipolarism as an alternative to Western liberalism. In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro joins an all-star ECFR panel of experts to discuss the summit's geopolitical implications. How is SCO “dialogue partner” Turkey using the Ukraine war to get the best of both worlds? How much will Iran's imminent membership advance its security? And finally, what would be the implications for Beijing if Putin were to lose power, and how can China support the Kremlin?
This podcast was recorded on 16 September 2022.
Further reading: Rogue NATO: The new face of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, by Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, Marie Dumoulin, Ellie Geranmayeh & Janka Oertel: https://buff.ly/3xuLMOa
Bookshelf - “Jamais Frères? Ukraine Et Russie: Une Tragédie Postsoviétique" by Anna Coulin Lebdevev - “The Rest Is Politics” podcast by Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. - “Die beste aller möglichen Welten” by Michael Kempe - “The Ministry for the Future” by Kim Stanley Robinson - “The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin” by Ursula K. Le Guin
As fundamental freedoms are being challenged worldwide, the very idea of open societies is being questioned. The crisis of liberalism and the decline of the West, together with increased disinformation and polarisation, have revealed inequality and the need for critical public debate as a central issue for the advancement of open societies.
In this week’s podcast, Leonard Benardo, executive vice president for the Open Society Foundations, joins Mark Leonard to discuss the great challenges open societies are currently experiencing. What role do identity politics play when thinking about solidarity and social cohesion? How can the digital revolution impact electoral democracy? And finally, how can we ensure that Ukraine as an open society is retained?
This podcast was recorded on 6 September 2022.
Bookshelf: - "Against Decolonisation. Taking African Agency Seriously" by Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò - "Know Your Enemy" podcast hosted by Matthew Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell - Follow @samagreene and @rochowanski for food for thought and debates on the Eurasian space
Global crises – from the covid-19 pandemic and climate change to Russia's war on Ukraine have challenged the core tenets of the globalised world. Europe has been at the centre of this upheaval. And the continent now faces tough decisions on its energy markets, trade partnerships, and supply chains. In this special episode, recorded in front of a live audience at the European Forum Alpbach in Austria, Mark Leonard is joined by co-chair of ECFR, Carl Bildt, Austrian federal minister for the EU and constitution, Karoline Edtstadler, and non-resident fellow at Bruegel, Thomas Wieser. Together, they discuss how to strike the right balance between the need for sovereignty and the benefits of globalisation. What are the biggest threats to the European market economies and what are the opportunities? Will Europeans learn from Russia’s weaponisation of energy when it comes to its dependencies on China? And is there a way to ‘disarm’ connectivity?
This podcast was recorded live at the European Forum Alpbach on 1 September 2022.
Bookshelf: - The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig - Dunkelblum by Eva Menasse - History of the Adriatic: A Sea and Its Civilization by Egidio Ivetic
picture (c) Hans Hofer
In his recent book “Another World Is Possible”, Geoff Mulgan – professor of collective intelligence, public policy, and social innovation at University College London – identifies a crisis that does not usually feature prominently in threat assessments: an absence of political imagination. This deficit has not only distorted policymakers’ sense of the past and present but also weakened their ability to make future-proofed decisions in various areas. In this week’s episode, Mulgan joins Mark Leonard to explore the causes and consequences of this crisis. They discuss how to restore imagination and harness creativity to solve current and future problems. Why does the idea of utopia matter? How can we harmonise competing narratives about the future? And where do China and India come in to all this?
This podcast was recorded on 6 July 2022.
Further reading Another World Is Possible: How to Reignite Social and Political Imagination by Geoff Mulgan: https://buff.ly/3A1xUgd The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
Bookshelf: The Trial by Sergei Loznitsa Babi Yar. Context by Sergei Loznitsa
Germany's ‘traffic light’ coalition has ushered in a new age of German politics – and a new generation of political figures. Last year, in a departure from the staid Merkel era, German citizens elected a parliament that is less ‘pale, male, and stale’ than ever before. The new cabinet reflects this change – in terms of youth and gender at least. In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard, interviews the German author and journalist, Anna Sauerbrey. They discuss her latest book, “Machtwechsel” (Change of Power), in which she analyses how this diverse intake is challenging the status quo of German politics. But how does Chancellor Olaf Scholz fit in? What is a ‘Zeitgenosse’? And what do white sneakers have to do with anything?
This podcast was recorded on 6 July 2022.
Further reading - Machtwechsel by Anna Sauerbrey: https://buff.ly/3Spm5au - War and Indignation by Jürgen Habermas in Süddeutsche Zeitung: https://buff.ly/3BCQKvb - A Millennial considers the new German Problem after 30 Years of Peace by Ulrike Franke in War on the Rocks: https://buff.ly/3xhFCz3
Bookshelf: - East West Street by Philipp Sands - The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War by Nicholas Mulder
picture (c) picture alliance / EPA | SASCHA STEINBACH / POOL
As blistering heatwaves and raging forest fires sweep across Europe, climate change is once again back on the agenda. But Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the consequent reduction in energy supplies to Europe has greatly complicated Europe’s green transition. Some observers argue that a cold-turkey withdrawal from Russian fossil fuels will speed up the transition to renewable energy, but others predict that climate goals will fall by the wayside as European leaders turn to coal and whatever else is available to make up for the lack of Russian oil and gas. In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR’s research director seizes the reins of power as host from a vacationing Mark Leonard and talks to Susi Dennison, director of ECFR’s European Power programme, and Simone Tagliapietra, senior fellow at Bruegel about these competing narratives. Will Europe manage to maintain unity as winter approaches? What does this mean for its efforts in climate diplomacy?
This podcast was recorded on 19 July 2022.
Further reading - Green peace: How Europe’s climate policy can survive the war in Ukraine by Susi Dennison: https://buff.ly/3NqrHxw - Own coal: Why Europe could lose its green transition by Susi Dennison: https://buff.ly/3R2QuL7 - Circuit breakers: Securing Europe’s green energy supply chains by Agatha Kratz, Charlie Vest, and Janka Oertel: https://buff.ly/3w67gAB
Bookshelf: - How the World Really Works: A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future by Vaclav Smil - Violetta by Isabel Allende - The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante
Ian Bremmer wrote his latest book before Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine. Yet, ‘The Power of Crisis’, which went into press on 26 February 2022, identifies three transformational global challenges besides the war: public health emergencies, the technological revolution, and climate change. In today's podcast, Bremmer joins Mark Leonard to discuss the concept of a “goldilocks” crisis, the effects of the covid-19 pandemic, and Europe’s role in global upheavals. How can Europeans learn to survive and even thrive during current and forthcoming crises? And how can countries cooperate effectively in an age of great power competition?
This podcast was recorded on 13 June 2022.
Further reading - The Power of Crisis by Ian Bremmer https://buff.ly/3uKRbzd
Bookshelf - The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel
In July, Mark Leonard launched the newly released paperback edition of his book - "The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict" (Penguin) - with a brand-new essay on the war in Ukraine and its geopolitical impact. Together with Fiona Hill, senior fellow at Brookings, and Jason Cowley, editor-in-chief of the New Statesman, he discusses a new way of looking at the origins of the war in Ukraine, the way it is being conducted and the implications for global (geo-)politics. Is the “Age of Unpeace” just another term for a cold war? And will global challenges – like climate change – in the end still bind us together? Or does the “Unpeace” era make us even less able to tackle those?
The material for this podcast was recorded on 8 July 2022.
Available here: https://buff.ly/3RAyiZC
Learn more about “The Age of Unpeace”: - https://soundcloud.com/ecfr/age-of-unpeace - https://www.politico.eu/article/welcome-to-the-age-of-unpeace-geopolitics-conflict/
Bookshelf - There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century by Fiona Hill - Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin by Jason Cowley
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s visit to Teheran in June was meant to revitalise negotiations around the Iran nuclear deal. But the talks, which recently resumed in Doha, remain mired in mistrust and intransigence from both sides. For this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard has assembled a team of Iran experts to take stock of the negotiations in Qatar: ECFR senior policy fellow, Ellie Geranmayeh; former Iranian diplomat and security and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University, Hossein Mousavian; professor of Middle East studies and international affairs, Vali Nasr; and the director of International Crisis Group's Iran project, Ali Vaez discuss the latest developments and evaluate different possible outcomes and their consequences. Is there any chance of breaking the stalemate without escalation? And what will be the impact of the upcoming midterm elections in the US?
This podcast was recorded on 1 July 2022.
Further reading: - Borrell in Tehran: How to overcome three obstacles to the Iran nuclear deal By Ellie Geranmayeh
Bookshelf: - Iron net: Digital repression in the Middle East and North Africa by James Lynch - Born in Blackness by Howard W French - Master of the Game by Martin Indyk - Republics of Myth by Hussein Banai, Malcolm Byrne, And John Tirman
Cover image: EU High Representative Josep Borrell visits Iran · Image by European Union, 2022
NATO members emerged from their summit in Madrid this week having reached consensus on a new Strategic Concept, Sweden’s and Finland’s accession, and increased readiness capabilities on the eastern flank. This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Nick Witney, senior policy fellow at ECFR and former chief executive of the European Defence Agency; Jana Puglierin, head of ECFR’s Berlin office; and Tara Varma, head of ECFR’s Paris office, to evaluate the summit’s outcomes, especially regarding European defence. How can Europeans coordinate increased military expenditure? What is the European Defence Union? And was Nick Witney right to describe the summit as “the most promising conjunction of planets”?
This podcast was recorded on 1 July 2022.
Further reading: - NATO’s new Strategic Concept - The EU’s Strategic Compass
Bookshelf: - The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope - Au café de la ville perdue by Anaïs Llobet - The NATO summit is chance to wean Europe off US military might - Machtwechsel by Anna Sauerbrey
Cover image: Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, takes part in the NATO summit last Wednesday in Spain · Image by European Union, 2022
In his recently published book, Fareed Zakaria, television host, columnist, and chair of the recently established International Strategy Forum, outlines the main pillars, trends and fault lines of a post-pandemic world. He joins Mark Leonard to discuss the political, geopolitical, and geo-economic changes to the world order. How did the world react to the war on Ukraine? What are the reactions to these reactions? Will globalisation be replaced by fragmentation?
This podcast was recorded on 21 June 2022.
Further reading: - Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria: https://buff.ly/3tZQBgO - ECFR’s and Schmidt Futures’ International Strategy Forum: https://buff.ly/3nfeU6C
Bookshelf: - The Avoidable War — averting a conflict between the US and China by Kevin Rudd - Middlemarch by George Eliot - Dominion by Tom Holland
New ECFR research captures European public opinion on Russia's war against Ukraine. It reveals that Europe's remarkable unity in the early days of the war is under threat from an emerging split – between those who want peace as soon as possible and those who favour justice for Ukraine.
This week, senior policy fellow and head of ECFR's European Power programme, Susi Dennison, turns the tables on one of the report's authors, Mark Leonard, as he becomes a guest on his own podcast. They are joined by Leonard's co-author, ECFR founding board member and chair of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, Ivan Krastev to discuss the results of the poll and examine what this means for the European response to the war. What should European leaders do to bridge the fault lines and maintain unity? And how important is Ukraine’s EU membership application?
This week, ECFR launched its European Sovereignty Index. The index scores the EU and its member states on their contribution to European sovereignty, highlighting strengths and weaknesses, and uncovering regional divisions. Hosting this week's episode, ECFR's research director, Jeremy Shapiro, is joined by two researchers of the index – ECFR policy fellow, Pawel Zerka, and senior policy fellow and head of ECFR's European Power programme, Susi Dennison. They discuss their main findings – as well as some surprising results, trends, and developments. How will the European sovereignty effort progress and which areas need the most work? How can the EU and member states close the gap between ambition and capability in their quest for European sovereignty?
This podcast was recorded on 9 June 2022
Further reading : European Sovereignty Index https://t.co/xepxnkA16L
Bookshelf: - Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov - This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends by Nicole Perlroth - The hundred-year war for American conservatism by Matt Continetti
Chandran Nair, CEO and founder of the Global Institute for Tomorrow (GIFT) argues in his latest book that dismantling white privilege will require deconstructing the entire superstructure of international relations. So, what is white privilege and how deeply is the idea of the superiority of white people and Western culture interwoven into international relations? How does white privilege manifest itself in current international relations issues like the Ukraine war? Together with Mark Leonard, Nair talks about the origins, realities and futures of white privilege.
This podcast was recorded on 2 June 2022.
Further reading - Dismantling global white privilege: Equity for a post-Western world by Chandran Nair - Chandran Nair on white privilege in international relations by Shannon Tiezzi in The Diplomat - A new imperial alliance threatens peace in Asia in by Chandran Nair in Noema Mag
Bookshelf:
- Last night I dreamed of peace: The diary of Dang Thuy Tram by Đặng Thùy Trâm
Three months into Russia’s war on Ukraine, social, economic, and political leaders from across the globe retreated to Davos in the Swiss alps to discuss how to set about creating a brighter future for the world. Recording from the heart of the World Economic Forum, Mark Leonard is joined this week by Yara Bayoumy, world and national security editor at the New York Times opinion section, to dissect the impulses that weaved in and out of this weekend’s discussions. What were this forum’s biggest themes? Which discussions on the Ukraine crisis were the most convincing? And what balance was there between the West and the rest?
This podcast was recorded on 26 May 2022
Bookshelf: - "Our Country Friends" by Gary Shteyngart
Picture (c) World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell
Russia’s war on Ukraine has led to an unprecedented display of European unity. But the European Union now faces a daunting combination of migration, food, military, and energy crises. Assembling an all-star cast at ECFR’s annual staff retreat in Malaga, host Mark Leonard is joined by senior policy fellows Marie Dumoulin, director of the Wider Europe programme, Piotr Buras, head of the Warsaw office, and Arturo Varvelli, head of the Rome office, to discuss Europe’s solidarity on the war in Ukraine. How sustainable is European unity? What scenarios of solidarity or division can be expected in the next few months? And what factors matter most to different EU member states? This podcast was recorded on 19 May 2022
German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is facing criticism for not meeting the expectations he created with his Zeitenwende speech. But how fair is this criticism? Mark Leonard ponders this question and others with some of his German colleagues: ECFR senior policy fellows Janka Oertel and Jana Puglierin, and policy fellow and head of ECFR’s Task Force for Strengthening Europe against Economic Coercion, Jonathan Hackenbroich. How is Germany actually doing in turning round its security and defence policies? And what kind of change is afoot in Germany’s most beloved field, economic policy?
This podcast was recorded on 11 May 2022.
Further reading: - How Germany can sustain its policy revolution by Rafael Loss, Angela Mehrer: https://buff.ly/3hE5PBv - Zeitenwende: Germany as a pioneer in foreign and security policy? https://buff.ly/3sAo7K7 - The birth of a geopolitical Germany by Jonathan Hackenbroich, Mark Leonard: https://buff.ly/3soxQmJ
Bookshelf: - BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs with Fiona hill - China’s Ukraine Conundrum. Why the war necessitates a balancing act by Yan Xuetong in Foreign Affairs - SupChina podcast: Chinese international relations scholar Dingding Chen on Beijing’s position in the Russo-Ukrainian War - The deluge: The Great War, America and the remaking of the global order, 1916-1931 by Adam Tooze - Ist der Tod kein Meister aus Deutschland mehr? by Andreas Wirsching in Die Zeit
The world is currently focused on one strongman: Putin. Yet strongmen are threatening democracies across the globe. Mark Leonard is joined this week by chief foreign policy commentator at the Financial Times, Gideon Rachman, to dissect the latter's recently published book “The Age of the Strongman”. They discuss such questions as what defines a strongman, and what varieties of this curious species exist? Are there any strongwomen? And when did the age of strongmen really begin?
This podcast was recorded on 28 April 2022.
Further reading: The Age of the Strongman by Gideon Rachman The rise and risks of “The Age of the Strongman” “The Age of The Strongman by Gideon Rachman review – a rogues gallery of autocrats” by Simon Tisdall
Bookshelf Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present by Ruth Ben-Ghiat America Second by Isaac Stone Fish
As Russia undermines democracies and reduces Ukrainian territory to a mere power play, European ideology is flourishing more than ever before. In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard hosts Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy and current President of the Jacque Delors Institute, to discuss his solution to the EU’s problems: a European Confederation. Nations such as Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova want the security of EU membership, but how likely are they to be accepted into the union? How could a European Confederation aid greater cross-European integration? And is it a realistic alternative to the EU?
This podcast was recorded on 28 April 2022.
Further reading: - “A European Confederation: a common political platform for peace” by Enrico Letta - “The EU moves together on the total embargo on Moscow, says Enrico Letta” by the Observatorial - “Letta for a federal Europe” by Roberto Castaldi
Bookshelf: - The Man Inside: A European Journey Through Two Crises by Marco Buti
As Russia shifts the focus of its military offensive to southern and eastern Ukraine, Finland and Sweden are moving closer to NATO membership. In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard speaks to Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and current ECFR co-chair, and Alexander Stubb, former prime minister of Finland and current ECFR council member. Beyond both countries’ expressions of intent, where do they stand on NATO membership? What can Sweden and Finland offer NATO? And are they worried about the Kremlin’s threats to attack their countries?
This podcast was recorded on 21 April 2022.
Further reading: - Between Russia, Sweden, and NATO: Finland’s defence of “sovereignty equality” by Hanna Ojanen - How the Russia-Ukraine crisis could change Sweden’s security policy by Mats Engström - “Whoever shows weakness, will be attacked” by Francesco Collini
Bookshelf: - The Unknown Soldier by Väinö Linna - Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe by Judith Herrin - The New Age of Empire by Kehinde Andrews
Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen will face off against each other in the second round of the French presidential election on April 24. We have a good idea of what a second Macron presidency would look like, but Marine Le Pen is another story all together. How would her presidency affect Europe and the world? Jeremy Shapiro – seizing the reins of the podcast this week from a complaisant Mark Leonard – will explore this question with Agneska Bloch, a senior research assistant at a DC-based think tank, where she works on European affairs.
This podcast was recorded on 14 April 2022.
Further reading: All ECFR analysis on the French election: https://ecfr.eu/topic/france-2022/
Bookshelf: - East West Street by Philippe Sands - My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
Russia’s war in Ukraine has turned European defence and security policy upside down. The German Zeitenwende, the Versailles Summit in March, and the recently published Strategic Compass for Security and Defence are all testament to this rediscovered priority on European leaders’ agenda. Jana Puglierin takes over the podcast to talk with ECFR senior policy fellows Nick Witney – who served as the first chief executive of the European Defence Agency – and Gustav Gressel about the state of European defence and its future. Will it be different this time? What are the biggest challenges in building greater European sovereignty in defence? And how will this effort be funded?
This podcast was recorded on 5 April 2022.
Further reading: - The EU’s Strategic Compass: Brand new, already obsolete by Nick Witney https://buff.ly/3wZEKkW - Out of the dark: Reinventing European defence cooperation by Gustav Gressel & Nick Witney https://buff.ly/3qidU3v
Bookshelf: - East West Street by Philippe Sands - Rochan Consulting - Top 10 books about tumultuous times
Mark Leonard is joined by the head of ECFR's Middle East and North Africa programme Julien Barnes-Dacey, ECFR visiting fellow Cinzia Bianco, professor of political science at the University of Tehran Nasser Hadian, and founder and chair of the Gulf Research Center Abdulaziz Sager to analyse current developments in Gulf energy security and the Iran nuclear deal. On location at the Doha Forum 2022, they discuss questions like: following Western energy sanctions on Russia, why is there a reluctance in the Gulf states and the West to cooperate on energy supplies? Is the resurrection of the Iran nuclear deal tangible? And what role do sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and regional security threats such as conflict in Yemen play in such decisions?
This podcast was recorded on 27 March 2022.
Further reading on ecfr.eu: •Europe’s Russian energy dilemma by Cinzia Bianco, Jonathan Hackenbroich, Filip Medunic, & Pawel Zerka •Order of engagement: Assad’s visit to Abu Dhabi by Julien Barney-Dacey & Cinzia Bianco •Agreement and uncertainty: The Iran nuclear deal in a new global order by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj •Balance of power: Gulf states, Russia, and European energy security by Cinzia Bianco
Bookshelf: •“Midday event: trace of blood” film by Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian •“Establish geographic inclusivity in the Security Council” by Abdulaziz Sager •“The thick of it” TV series •“A certain idea of France” by Julian Jackson
Mark Leonard is joined by Andrew Wilson, senior policy fellow at ECFR and Ukraine expert, and Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and editor of the blog Ukraine World, to dissect Russia's war against Ukraine from a Ukrainian intellectual perspective. What concepts define Ukrainian history and identity, and how is this important in understanding Ukraine’s response to the Russian invasion? What role does Westsplaining play for Ukraine in the current context? And what do Russia’s zoopolitics mean for Ukrainian futures? This podcast was recorded on 22 March 2022.
Further reading: • All ECFR Ukraine analysis: https://ecfr.eu/topic/russia-ukraine-crisis/ • Ukraine world https://ukraineworld.org/
Bookshelf: • “The last empire” by Serhii Plokhy • "Explaining Ukraine" podcast: https://buff.ly/3uwd9W2 • Ukraine in Histories and Stories, essays by Ukrainian intellectuals: https://buff.ly/3DbTEGa
If you want to support Ukraine World, you can become a patron and donate via patreon.com/ukraineworld!
Mark Leonard is joined by Marie Dumoulin, head of our Wider Europe programme, and ECFR’s research director, Jeremy Shapiro, to talk yet again about the ongoing war in Ukraine and some possible different scenarios for its resolution. Does this war actually mean – as per one US strategist – a complete collapse of NATO member states’ policy? How should Europe react to Russian loss or indeed victory in this war? And what are the possible ramifications for the West?
This podcast was recorded on 15 March 2022.
Further reading: All ECFR Ukraine analysis https://ecfr.eu/topic/russia-ukraine-crisis/
Bookshelf:
“The end of diplomacy? Seven glimpses of the new normal by Andrey Kortunov https://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/analytics/the-end-of-diplomacy-seven-glimpses-of-the-new-normal/
“Death and the penguin” by Andrey Kurkov https://www.npr.org/2012/04/24/150972348/death-and-the-penguin-captures-post-soviet-reality?t=1647353925557
Mark Leonard and senior policy fellow and head of ECFR´s Paris Office, Tara Varma, sat down in Paris to talk about how Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine is affecting France and the French presidential race. In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and facing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they discussed such questions as: what kind of role did foreign policy play in the election campaigns before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and what role is it playing now? Have we seen candidates change their positions on Russia and Putin? And will Emmanuel Macron’s approach to European politics and defence policy help him win another term as president?
This podcast was recorded on 9 March 2022.
Further reading: • EU defence facing Russia: Eastern European security after the invasion of Ukraine by Kristi Raik: https://buff.ly/3pxKLB8 • How Russia’s war on Ukraine is shaping the French presidential race by Mathilde Ciulla and Amandine Drouet: https://buff.ly/3suVZZ0 • A certain idea of Europe: How the next French president can lead by Susi Dennison and Tara Varma: https://buff.ly/3sSqybg
Bookshelf: • “Anéantir“ by Michel Houellebecq
In this week’s early podcast, Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR senior policy fellow Kadri Liik and the head of ECFR’s Asia programme Janka Oertel to talk about how the Ukraine war is affecting Sino-Russian relations. How is Russia's attack on Ukraine perceived in China? Will Russia and China be joining forces in an ‘alliance of autocracies’? What does Russian and Chinese policymakers planning look like now - and what should Europeans do?
This podcast was recorded on 1 March 2022.
Further reading:
Russia’s escalation in Ukraine: Views from Asia by Frédéric Grare, Janka Oertel & Elli-Katharina Pohlkamp
Games changer: How China is rewriting global rules and Russia is playing along by Janka Oertel
All other ECFR Ukraine analysis: https://ecfr.eu/topic/russia-ukraine-crisis/
War in Ukraine As the situation at the Ukrainian border escalates, Mark Leonard sat down with Marie Dumoulin, director of ECFR’s Wider Europe programme, and senior policy fellows Gustav Gressel and Kadri Liik – as well as Jonathan Hackenbroich, head of ECFR’s Task Force for Strengthening Europe against Economic Coercion – to talk about the recent developments and the state of play at the ground: What does the situation look like militarily? And what reactions from the West have we seen so far? Are economic sanctions enough to react to Putin’s war? This podcast was recorded on 23 February 2022.
Live from the Munich Security Conference (MSC)! Mark Leonard huddled together with editorial director for Le Monde and ECFR board and Council Member Sylvie Kauffmann and Jana Puglierin, head of ECFR’s Berlin office in one of the many rooms of the Bayerischer Hof to talk about the West’s thinking and reaction to the geopolitical challenges and battles of today: In the spotlight is of course the question about Ukraine. Has the West really started to “unlearn helplessness” that defined the Western countries’ policy responses? Did the MSC mark the revival of a forceful and united transatlantic alliance, ready to move away from affirmative words to assertive actions?
This podcast was recorded on 20 February 2022.
Further reading:
Munich Security Conference Report https://securityconference.org/publikationen/munich-security-report-2022/
This week, ECFR senior policy fellow, Susi Dennison, takes over the podcast to talk about international cooperation on global health. As many European countries are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel after yet another hard winter struggling with covid-19, attention is refocusing on global inequity around tackling the pandemic. What does effective multilateral cooperation on global health and pandemic preparedness look like in a growing geopolitically competitive world? And what needs to change in Europe’s approach to cooperation in this area with the African Union and African states? ECFR Council Member Gunilla Carlsson – vice-chair of the Global Fund Strategy Committee, former deputy director of UNAIDS, and former Swedish minister for international development cooperation – and ECFR senior policy fellow Anthony Dworkin share their insights and recommendations from ECFR's latest report on this topic.
This podcast was recorded on 10 February 2022.
Further reading: The Power Atlas, Health chapter by Anthony Dworkin: https://buff.ly/3lSfyXp Health of Nations: How Europe can fight future pandemics by Anthony Dworkin: https://buff.ly/3LyS3xI
Bookshelf: “Beloved” by Toni Morrison “The Global Fund Report” “Oxford Guide to Plain English” “The uncounted” by Sara L.M. Davis
In this episode, we reverse the usual roles: today’s host is ECFR’s Research Director Jeremy Shapiro and Mark Leonard tries out the role of guest. They discuss the surprising findings of ECFR’s latest public opinion poll on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In recent weeks, many commentators, including this podcast’s interim host, have focused on Europe’s divisions and lack of agency in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. But Mark Leonard and Ivan Krastev demonstrate that there exists a surprising consensus and even resolve within the European public when it comes to the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Together, Jeremy and Mark discuss the report’s key conclusions and how European policymakers might adjust their policies to reflect the public mood it reveals.
This podcast was recorded on 10 February 2022.
Further Reading:
The crisis of European security: What Europeans think about the war in Ukraine by Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard: https://buff.ly/3uHq60V Why Europe has no say in the Russia-Ukraine crisis by Jeremy Shapiro: https://t.co/o7vYzXo2sq
Bookshelf: After Life by Ricky Gervais (TV Series) Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson
© Image byVolodymyr Tarasov / Avalon / Photoshot / Picture Alliance
Humanitarian crises in places like Afghanistan, Yemen or Ethiopia are not only a reflection of internal turmoil – but mirror a much grander development: system failure. In today’s episode, Mark Leonard is joined by David Miliband, president and chief executive officer of the International Rescue Committee and a former UK Foreign Secretary. Together, they discuss his model describing the four levels of system failure: what are the drivers behind it and what must be done in order to confront and counter the current developments? A solution to the system failure, they argue, should be conceptualised as a cross-sectorial endeavour beyond the humanitarian subdivision.
This podcast was recorded on 1 February 2022. Further reading: David A. Morse Lecture at the Council on Foreign Relations by President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee David Miliband: https://buff.ly/34yc9ap
Bookshelf: Cricketing Lives: A Characterful History from Pitch to Page by Richard H. Thomas Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism by Mariana Mazzucato Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera
Since the holiday season, we have brought to you a special mini-series looking at how the things that keep us connected – like trade, tech, the internet, and migration – can also tear us apart. But rather than despairing at the state of the world, the geopolitics, and ongoing superpower battles, Mark Leonard is joined by a number of high-level thinkers in this mini-series in order to find strategies for shaping and surviving our new reality. We call it The Age of Unpeace: Therapy for internationalists.
Join us on this journey to a more therapeutic approach to international relations. The mini-series brings you five special episodes with guests including today’s guests: Anu Bradford, Thomas Wright, and Feng Zhang. We hope you find some healing! For past episodes in this series, check them out here: buff.ly/3ecRbiO _____________ On today’s couch, we gathered Anu Bradford, Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organizations at Columbia Law School; Thomas Wright, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on the US and Europe at Brookings; and Feng Zhang, professor of international relations and executive dean of the Institute of Public Policy at the South China University of Technology. Together with Mark Leonard, they discuss the three empires of connectivity – the US as a gate-keeping power, the EU as rule-making power, and China as a relational power. The big question in this group therapy session is: How can those three powers have a peaceful and constructive relationship with each other?
Further reading:
• “Brussel effect” by Anu Bradford • “ Aftershocks: Pandemic Politics and the End of the Old International Order”by Thomas Wright • “The rise of Chinese exceptionalism in international relations” by Feng Zhang
Diplomatic talks about the Russia – Ukraine crisis are increasingly icy. While Europeans continue to gnash their teeth over a patchy security architecture, US president Biden and the Russian president Putin are struggling to come to a peaceful conclusion in their bilateral negotiations. It seems Europeans are caught between the prospect of a “new Yalta” or a full-scale war on the European continent that could easily escalate out of control. To discuss these happenings, Mark Leonard welcomes Marie Dumoulin, director of ECFR’s Wider Europe programme, Kadri Liik, ECFR senior policy fellow at ECFR and Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR's research director and in-house US expert.
This podcast was recorded on 19 January 2022.
Bookshelf La France dans le bouleversement du monde by Michel Duclos Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson Хельсинкский процесс (The Helsinki Process) by Andrei Zagorski
Since the holiday season we have brought to you a special mini-series looking at how the things that keep us connected – like trade, tech, the internet, and migration – can also tear us apart. But rather than despairing at the state of the world, the geopolitics and ongoing superpower battles, Mark Leonard is joined by a number of high-level thinkers in this mini-series in order to find strategies for shaping and surviving our new reality. We call it The Age of Unpeace: Therapy for internationalists. Join us on this journey to a more therapeutic approach to international relations. The mini-series brings you five special episodes with guests including today’s Anne-Marie Slaughter, Marietje Schaake, and Anne Marie Slaughter. We hope you find some healing! For past episodes in this series, check them out here: buff.ly/3ecRbiO _____________ Today Mark is joined by Anne-Marie Slaughter, chief executive of the think-tank New America. Previously, she was dean of Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and director of policy planning in the US State Department. Together, Mark and Anne-Marie go through the five steps of self-help for internationalists and discuss the reconceptualisation of globalisation while focusing on different players that form the hidden wiring of much of our everyday lives: Why are our societies are increasingly divided over identity, equality, and history? What effect does connectivity have on societies?
Further Reading: - Renewal: From Crisis to Transformation in Our Lives, Work, and Politics by Anne-Marie Slaughter - The Chessboard and the Web: Strategies of Connection in a Networked World by Anne-Marie Slaughter
Traditions die hard, or so they say. And thus, we are especially excited to continue one of our most popular traditions: Predicting ten foreign policy trends for 2022. This week, host Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director at ECFR, are looking into their crystal balls to foretell the forces and events that will shape the upcoming year. They also convened an impartial jury consisting entirely of themselves to rate last year’s predictions. It concluded that Mark and Jeremy set a new high score of 8/10 points in 2021. Can they outdo themselves with their 2022 projections? Or do you think you have better predictions? Send us an email or tweet them at us!
This podcast was recorded on 4 January 2022.
Further reading: https://ecfr.eu/article/2022-the-road-to-recovery-again/
Bookshelf: “The Lincoln Highway” by Amor Towles “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles “Born in Blackness” by Howard W. French
Over the holiday season, we are bringing you a special mini-series looking at how the things that keep us connected – like trade, tech, the internet, and migration – can also tear us apart. But rather than despairing at the state of the world, the geopolitics and ongoing superpower battles, Mark Leonard is joined by a number of high-level thinkers in this mini-series in order to find strategies for shaping and surviving our new reality. We call it The Age of Unpeace: Therapy for internationalists. Join us on this journey to a more therapeutic approach to international relations. The mini-series brings you five special episodes with guests including today’s Dan Drezner, Marietje Schaake, and Anne Marie Slaughter. We hope you find some healing! For past episodes in this series, check them out here: https://buff.ly/3ecRbiO _____________ Today on the couch is Dan Drezner, professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and non-resident fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Together with Mark Leonard, they go through the five steps of self-help for internationalists and discuss how trade and financial relations are increasingly weaponised by some countries in order to enhance their geopolitical power and economic gain.
Further reading: •“The United States of Sanctions. The Use and Abuse of Economic Coercion” by Daniel W. Drezner in Foreign Affairs, September/October 2021 • “All Politics Is Global: Explaining International Regulatory Regimes” by Daniel W. Drezner • “The System Worked: How the World Stopped Another Great Depression” by Daniel W. Drezner
Over the holiday season we are bringing you a special mini-series looking at how the things that keep us connected – like trade, tech, the internet and migration – can also tear us apart. But rather than despairing at the state of the world, the geopolitics and ongoing superpower battles, Mark Leonard is joined by a number of high-level thinkers in this mini-series in order to find strategies for shaping and surviving our new reality. We call it The Age of Unpeace: Therapy for internationalists. Join us on this journey to a more therapeutic approach to international relations. The mini-series brings you five episodes with guests including today’s Parag Khanna, Thomas Wright, and Anne Marie Slaughter. We hope you find some healing! _____________
Next up on the couch is Parag Khanna, founder and managing partner of FutureMap, a data and scenario-based strategic advisory firm and best-selling author. He has recently published the book ”Move: the forces uprooting us” in which he looks at how mass migration will reshape the world. Together with Mark Leonard, they go through the five steps of self-help for internationalists and discuss the weaponisation of migration which we see in today’s world more and more.
Over the holiday season, we are bringing you a special mini-series looking at how the things that keep us connected – like trade, tech, the internet and migration – can also tear us apart. But rather than despairing at the state of the world, the geopolitics and ongoing superpower battles, Mark Leonard is joined by a number of high-level thinkers in this mini-series in order to find strategies for shaping and surviving our new reality. We call it The Age of Unpeace: Therapy for internationalists. Join us on this journey to a more therapeutic approach to international relations. The mini-series brings you five episodes with guests including today’s Marietje Schaake, Thomas Wright, and Anne Marie Slaughter. We hope you find some healing! _____________ First up on the couch is Marietje Schaake, International Policy Fellow at Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. Together with Mark Leonard, they go through the five steps of self-help for internationalists and discuss how the internet has gone from being seen as the ultimate unifier of a global village to being ‘the perfect weapon’.
In this episode, host Mark Leonard is joined by POLITICO Europe's Editor-in-Chief Jamil Anderlini to discuss his plans for POLITICO. They talk about life in Brussels, breaking news in Asia, how to find a good story and what makes good reporting. Also, many of the big impetuses that have changed Europe in the past came from the outside, and likely in the future, mainly from Asia: what does Anderlini think about China's rise and security issues coming from Asia think?
This podcast was recorded on 10 December 2021.
Further reading • “Measured response: How to design a European instrument against economic coercion” by Jonathan Hackenbroich & Pawel Zerka: https://buff.ly/3zTgkZo
Bookshelf • “The guns of August” by Barbara W. Tuchman • “Red Roulette: An insider's story of wealth, power, corruption, and vengeance in today's China” by Desmond Shum
After more than a decade of death and destruction – and despite a string of international efforts to end his regime - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remains in power. Meanwhile, the country faces deteriorating economic and humanitarian crises, with over 90% of its population currently living below the poverty line. In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR Council Member Bassma Kodmani who is also a member of the opposition delegation for peace negotiations and a member of the Constitutional Committee for Syria, Ralph Haddad Coordinator of Advocacy & Research at the Syrian NGO Basmeh & Zeitooneh for Relief and Development, and Julien Barnes-Dacey, head of ECFR’s MENA programme. Together, they analyse the changing dynamics in the ‘struggle for Syria’: What does the re-engagement of regional actors mean for the future of the country? And what role can Europe play to create breathing space in Syria?
This podcast was recorded on 29 November 2021.
Further reading: -" A decade of death and ruin: How Europe can create breathing space in Syria" by Julien Barnes-Dacey https://buff.ly/3ePDHLI
Bookshelf: - "How the Assad Regime Systematically Diverts Tens of Millions in Aid" by Natasha Hall, Senior Fellow, Middle East Program, CSIS - "Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture" by Sudhir Hazareesingh - "Without" by Younis Alakhzami
On Wednesday afternoon, the German Social Democrats, the FDP and the Greens presented their coalition agreement. The long-awaited deal sets out the roadmap for the “traffic light” government for the upcoming four years led by Olaf Scholz (SPD). In this episode, Mark Leonard and ECFR senior policy fellows Janka Oertel and Jana Puglierin take a deep dive into the 170+ page-long document: what does it say about foreign policy issues, China, defence and security? What is in there about the future of Europe? And how do we see the transatlantic relationship developing in the new coalition?
This podcast was recorded on 24 November 2021
Further reading: Coalition treaty [in DE]: https://buff.ly/2ZpvyIt
Germany announces coalition agreement | DW News Live: https://buff.ly/3cOmBeC
What’s in the German coalition deal for Europe (and the UK) | Politico: https://buff.ly/3cQX6te
picture (c) Paul Lovis Wagner | Campact
At the beginning of this week, NATO warned about an ‘unusual’ concentration of Russian forces close to the Ukraine border. So far, the Kremlin has dismissed the warning as “alarmist” while the US alerted allies about the possibility of Moscow preparing for a possible invasion of Ukraine. Mark Leonard is joined by Marie Dumoulin the new director of our Wider Europe programme, in her first week on the job, and ECFR Senior policy fellows Gustav Gressel and Kadri Liik to talk about the Russian military built up on Ukraine´s borders: how serious is the situation? And what should - and should not NATO do about it?
This podcast has been recorded 17 November 2021.
Further reading: Russia’s military movements: What they could mean for Ukraine, Europe, and NATO by Gustav Gressel https://ecfr.eu/article/russias-military-movements-what-they-could-mean-for-ukraine-europe-and-nato/
Bookshelf: • “Ukraine: Putin’s unfinished business” by Eugen Rumer & Andrew Weiss • “Russia in Global Affairs“, Volume 19, No. 3, Jul-Sept 2021 • “Practical political science. A guide to getting in touch with reality” by Ekaterina Schulmann [in RU]
Picture © picture alliance / AA | Ukrainian Presidency / Handout
In the recent months, the EU and especially Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, have all seen an increasing number of people trying to enter their countries from Belarus. An estimated 2,000 migrants are said to be stranded at the Belarus border with Poland at the moment. But how did we get here? Host Mark Leonard talks to ECFR policy fellow Pawel Zerka and visiting fellow Pavel Slunkin about the situation on the ground. Moreover, we asked Kelly Greenhill, 2020-21 Leverhulme Trust visiting professor at SOAS, to explain what coercive engineered migration is and how successful it is. Is Belarus’s president Alexander Lukashenka’s act of revenge for EU sanctions and criticism working? What would be the best way for the EU to respond to Minsk’s tactics?
This podcast was recorded on 10 November 2021.
Further reading: • "No quiet on the eastern front: The migration crisis engineered by Belarus" by Gustav Gressel, Joanna Hosa & Pavel Slunkin: https://buff.ly/3EYVidF • "How half-hearted sanctions put the future of Belarus at risk" by Pawel Zerka: https://buff.ly/3imsSBH
Bookshelf: • "Madam Secretary" by Madeleine Albright • "Belarusians’ views on the political crisis" by Chatham House • "EU sanctions on Belarus as an effective policy tool" by Anders Åslund & Jan Hagemeier in Belarus Insight 02/2021 • "On consolation: finding solace in dark times" by Michael Ignatieff
Photo © picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Leonid Shcheglov
Negotiations of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) are underway in Glasgow. This week, host Mark Leonard speaks with Lykke Friis, ECFR board member and director of the Danish Think Tank Europa and former minister for climate and energy of Denmark; Susi Dennison, head of ECFR’s European power programme; and Alex Clark, researcher at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford and ECFR visiting fellow. Together, they analyse the prospects of success at COP26 and particularly what role the European Union can and should play. Is the EU in a position to deliver a green grand bargain, or is its role as peripheral now as it was at COP15?
This podcast was recorded on 3 November 2021.
Further reading; Climate of cooperation: How the EU can help deliver a green grand bargain by Alex Clark, Susi Dennison, and Mats Engström: https://buff.ly/3BrI9HP
Last chance for Global Climate Leadership in Glasgow? Event with Lykke Friis, Susi Dennison, Dan Joergensen, and Lars Aagaard: https://buff.ly/3bOmRd5
This week, Mark Leonard answers your most burning questions about his newly released book, “The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity causes Conflict”. Hosted by ECFR’s head of communications, Ana Ramic, the special Ask Me Anything episode features Mark responding to loyal podcast listeners Zebulon Carlander, Robert Cooper, Teresa Gouveia, Antonio Notario, Jonas Parello-Plesner, Timi Okoya, and Patrycja Sasnal.
This episode was recorded on 22 October 2021 and contains spoilers! Thanks to everybody who submitted questions!
Listen to a sneak-peak: https://soundcloud.com/ecfr/sneak-peek-age-of-unpeace-mark-leonard
Learn more about “The Age of Unpeace”: • Podcast with Mark Leonard & Janka Oertel: https://soundcloud.com/ecfr/age-of-unpeace • "Welcome to the age of unpeace" by Mark Leonard in Politico https://www.politico.eu/article/welcome-to-the-age-of-unpeace-geopolitics-conflict/
Get the book here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/144/1443237/the-age-of-unpeace/9781787634657.html#:~:text=The%20%22age%20of%20unpeace%22%20%5B,his%20own%20beliefs%20have%20evolved.
Last week, French president Emmanuel Marcon presented a massive investment plan – “France 2030”. The roadmap sketches out France’s digital and green transformation and is meant to set up the country – as well as Europe – for growth and success ahead of the French EU Council presidency. But is this strategy only part of electoral campaigning, as critics say? Or does “France 2030” echo bigger plans which the EU has already set out for the bloc? Host Mark Leonard is in our Paris office talking to office head and ECFR policy fellow Tara Varma: What are Macron’s plans for the EU Council presidency in 2022 and beyond? Can France fill the void that Germany leaves post-Merkel while forming a new government, and how?
This podcast was recorded on 19 October 2021.
Further reading: - The lonely leader: The origins of France’s strategy for EU foreign policy” by Tara Varma and Mathilde Ciulla: https://ecfr.eu/article/the-lonely-leader-the-origins-of-frances-strategy-for-eu-foreign-policy/
Bookshelf: - Peut-on changer de logique?, Philosophe Magazine No. 153 - October 2021
A major ruling of Poland’s Constitutional Court challenging the primacy of EU law has escalated Warsaw’s legal and political dispute with Brussels and unleashed serious concerns of a ‘Polexit.’ In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard speaks with Piotr Buras, head of ECFR’s Warsaw office, and Jana Puglierin, head of ECFR’s Berlin office, about the implications of the ruling for Poland as well as for the European Union. Should the EU fear ‘Polexit’? What steps can the EU take to defend its legal order and protect the authority of the Court of Justice of the European Union?
This podcast was recorded on 14 October 2021.
Further reading: Forget Polexit – the EU must defend the CJEU by Piotr Buras on Balkan Insight: https://buff.ly/3FA2Ftj
Bookshelf: - Aftershocks: Pandemic politics and the end of the old international order by Colin Kahl and Thomas Wright - Angela Merkel: Die Kanzlerin und ihre Zeit by Ralph Bollmann - The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity causes Conflict by Mark Leonard
As the US looks to disentangle itself from various conflicts globally, it leaves behind power vacuums. In the MENA region, various regional – and global - powers are vying to fill the void. In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard is joined by three guests directly from ECFR’s MENA Forum in Rome: Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, professor of political science in the UAE; Alia Moubayed, MENA chief economist for Jefferies; and Julien Barnes-Dacey, head of ECFR’s MENA programme. Together, they analyse the changing geopolitical and regional dynamics in the MENA region: Who is filling the vacuum which the US is increasingly leaving behind? How are regional actors reacting to US disengagement? And what does this mean for Europe’s future role in the region?
This podcast was recorded on 5 October 2021.
Further reading: - Iraq’s parliamentary election will produce more of the same by Nussaibah Younis: https://buff.ly/3A5xORd - Europe’s post-Afghanistan to-do list by Arancha Gonzalez Laya: https://buff.ly/3AHJyuC - Autonomous in Afghanistan: How the Europeans could have stayed after US withdrawal by Mary Kaldor: https://buff.ly/3CaB0wi
Bookshelf:
Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture by Sudhir Hazaareesingh
After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies by Christopher Davidson
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
German election results are in, and they mark a new era for Germany. On 26 September, Germans headed to the polls to vote in one of the most unpredictable elections since Angela Merkel took office over a decade and a half ago. Now, Germany will have to endure weeks – or possibly months – of fraught coalition talks before a new government can be formed.
In this week’s World in 30 Minutes episode, host Mark Leonard talks with Jeremy Cliffe, international editor of the New Statesman, Jana Puglierin, head of ECFR’s Berlin Office, Lykke Friis, ECFR co-chair and Director of the Danish Think Tank Europa, and Sylvie Kauffmann, editorial director of Le Monde, about the fragmented election result and its implications for Europe. What coalition – the ‘traffic light’, ‘Jamaica’ or ‘grand’ – is most likely? How are the results being perceived throughout Europe? And what do they mean for the future of our continent?
This podcast was recorded on 29 September 2021.
Bookshelf:
-How Olaf Scholz and the SPD could lead Germany’s next government by Jeremy Cliffe -The Fateful Chancellor: What the end of the Merkel era means for the world by Jeremy Cliffe - Speak, Silence: In Search of WG Sebald by Caroline Angier - Pandemonium: Europe’s COVID Crisis by Luuk van Middelaar - Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity causes Conflict by Mark Leonard - The Vaccine by Joe Miller with Dr. Özlem Türeci and Dr. Ugur Sahin - Le Premier XXIe siècle by Jean-Marie Guehenno - Crime and persuade by Peter Baldwin
The announcement of the new Indo-Pacific security alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States - dubbed ‘AUKUS’ - has led to the biggest crisis in transatlantic relations since the Iraq war in 2003. In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks with Janka Oertel, head of ECFR’ Asia programme, Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR’s research director, and Tara Varma, head of ECFR’s Paris office, about the new security pact and its implications for Europe. What does it mean for the future of transatlantic relations? And what lessons can be drawn for European strategic autonomy and European sovereignty?
This podcast was recorded on 20 September 2021.
Further reading: - What Europeans think about the US-China cold war by Ivan Krastev & Mark Leonard: https://buff.ly/3hT6Iqa - After AUKUS: The uncertain future of American and European cooperation in the Indo-Pacific by Tara Varma: https://buff.ly/3CC3I9S - AUKUS: After the sugar rush by Nick Witney: https://buff.ly/3zyho3z
Bookshelf:
- NüVoices - Podcast
- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah:
- Stalin an Appraisal of the Man His Influence by Leon Trotsky
Get a sneak peek into Mark Leonard's latest book "The Age of Unpeace - How Connectivity Causes Conflict", read by the author himself. Additionally, in October we will have a special “ask me anything” episode with Mark Leonard and ask all of you to send in your burning questions about the book to mark.leonard@ecfr.eu which will then be answered in the forthcoming episode. All those who submit questions will be eligible to win a free signed book from Mark, so start emailing! We are happy to receive your questions in written or audio (voice-memo) form.
In his newly released book “The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity causes Conflict” ECFR director Mark Leonard explains how many of the forces that we thought would bring us together have ended up driving us apart. Trade, technology, the internet, and travel were once promised to create a global village but have instead created an era of “unpeace”, where the distinctions between war and peace are breaking down.
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard becomes the guest of his own podcast to talk with ECFR’s Asia programme director Janka Oertel about the main themes of his book and particularly how China’s growing role in this interconnected world poses threats for Europe.
This podcast was recorded on 16 September 2021.
Further reading: Age of Unpeace by Mark Leonard “The Afghan tragedy and the age of unpeace” by Mark Leonard Bookshelf: “Doom” by Neil Ferguson “Shutdown. How Covid Shook the World’s Economy” by Adam Tooze Move by Parag Khanna “Renewal: From crisis to transformation in our lives, work, and politics” by Anne Marie Slaughter “China unbound: a new world disorder” by Joanna Chiu
The collapse of Afghan government forces and the rapid seizure of power by the Taliban has unleashed a series of intense debates about the implications for Europe. How will the Western withdrawal impact on the state of European defence and military capabilities? Are we likely to see a shift in Europe’s relationship with other powers - such as Turkey, China, and the United States?
In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks with Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR’s research director, and senior policy fellows Asli Aydintaşbaş and Andrew Small about what the withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan means for Europe and the future of transatlantic relations.
This podcast was recorded on 8 September 2021.
Further Reading: - “The fall of the Afghan government and what it means for Europe” by ECFR policy experts: https://buff.ly/3kqkOjh - “The Afghan tragedy and the age of unpeace” by Mark Leonard: https://buff.ly/3gXZTmS
Bookshelf: "Age of Unpeace" by Mark Leonard https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/144/1443237/the-age-of-unpeace/9781787634657.html - "Faust’s Metropolis - A History of Berlin" by Alexandra Richie - “Mr. Five Per Cent” by Jonathan Conlin - “Red Roulette" by Desmond Shum
Every Friday, Mark Leonard invites top-level speakers from across the EU and beyond to debate Europe’s role in the world. We feature and discuss everything from our own research at ECFR to practical pan-European policy – and news from Africa, Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Wider Europe and our own European Power programme. So basically, we bring you the world – in 30 minutes.
With Germany’s federal elections rapidly approaching, chancellor Angela Merkel is set to depart the political stage. What will the foreign policy of her party, the CDU, look like when she’s gone? In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks to ECFR senior policy fellow Ulrike Franke and Andreas Nick, a CDU member of the German Bundestag. How would a chancellor Armin Laschet approach China, Russia, and defence? And what exactly sets the CDU’s foreign policy apart from those of the Social Democrats or the Greens?
This podcast was recorded on 1 September 2021.
Further Reading:
ECFR German Election 360 https://ecfr.eu/topic/german-election-2021/
Bookshelf: “Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict” by Mark Leonard https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/144/1443237/the-age-of-unpeace/9781787634657.html
“Has China Won?” by Kishore Mahbubani https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/kishore-mahbubani/has-china-won/9781541768123/
“From Cold War to Hot Peace” by Michael McFaul https://fsi.stanford.edu/content/cold-war-hot-peace
“Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy” by Brendan Simms https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2013/04/reviewed-europe-struggle-supremacy-brendan-simms
German party election platforms: https://www.aicgs.org/2021/07/a-guide-german-party-election-platforms-2021/
Ukraine and the EU recently opened a new chapter in their strategic relationship by signing a memorandum of understanding for closer cooperation in raw materials, green and digital technologies. Making Ukraine part of the European value chain is of strategic importance, but where does the country stand on the recent US-German deal on Nord Stream 2? In this week’s episode, guest host Joanna Hosa, deputy director of ECFR’s Wider Europe programme talks with Svitlana Zalishchuk, Deputy Prime-Minister Foreign Policy Advisor and former Member of Parliament in Ukraine and ECFR senior policy fellow Andrew Wilson about Ukraine, its domestic and international outlook and what the EU can and should do to support Ukrainian sovereignty.
This podcast was recorded on 29 July 2021.
Further reading:
“Faltering fightback: Zelensky’s piecemeal campaign against Ukraine’s oligarchs” by Andrew Wilson https://ecfr.eu/publication/faltering-fightback-zelenskys-piecemeal-campaign-against-ukraines-oligarchs/
Bookshelf:
“Civilisations” by Laurent Binet https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/29/civilisations-by-laurent-binet-review-counterfactual-hi-jinks
“American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the marriage of money and power” by Andrea Bernstein https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/12/american-oligarchs-review-donald-trump-jared-kushner-andrea-bernstein
“No Room for small dreams: Courage, imagination, and the making of modern Israel” by Shimon Peres https://www.france24.com/en/20170921-peres-autobiography
“Now we have your attention: The new politics of the people” by Jack Shenker https://www.redpepper.org.uk/review-now-we-have-your-attention-the-new-politics-of-the-people-by-jack-shenker/
The EU is often described as a “regulatory superpower” benefitting from the so-called “Brussels effect.” But is the bloc also able to set its own rules and standards when it comes to new technologies, and let the rest of the world adapt? This week, host Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR senior policy fellows Ulrike Franke and Jose Torreblanca, as well as Marietje Schaake, international director of policy at Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center. How ready are Europeans to prevail in a world of fierce geopolitical tech competition? And what role does Europe play in the Sino American competition?
This podcast was recorded on 16 July 2021.
Further reading:
· “Geo-tech politics: Why technology shapes European power” by Ulrike Franke & José Ignacio Torreblanca https://ecfr.eu/publication/geo-tech-politics-why-technology-shapes-european-power/
· “Europe’s digital sovereignty: From rulemaker to superpower in the age of US-China rivalry” by Carla Hobbs (ed.) https://ecfr.eu/publication/europe_digital_sovereignty_rulemaker_superpower_age_us_china_rivalry/
Bookshelf · “I, Warbot: The dawn of artificially intelligent conflict” by Kenneth Payne · “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau · “Mistrust: Why losing faith in institutions provides the tools to transform them” by Ethan Zuckerman
With Angela Merkel stepping down as Chancellor, the next German federal elections scheduled for this September promise to mark a turning point for Germany. Foreign policy issues promise to be a crucial part of the election campaign. In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks to Niels Annen, Minister of State in the German Federal Foreign Office and member of the Bundestag for the SPD to find out what a social-democratic foreign policy looks like. What would SPD foreign policy look like unbound by the grand coalition with Merkel’s Christian Democrats? What are social democratic policy ideas when it comes to China, Russia or European security and defence? And how deep are the divides between the SPD’s foreign policy and that of the parties they’re running against?
This podcast was recorded on 15 July 2021.
Further Reading: - ECFR German Election 360: https://buff.ly/3gJNvr2 - A foreign policy for a Green Germany: https://buff.ly/3vxdTcd
Bookshelf: - “The Arab of the Future” by Riad Sattouf
In June this year, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the end of Operation Barkhane – a military offensive launched in 2013 against Islamist militants in the Sahel. France has determined, he said, it could no longer maintain a “constant presence” in West Africa. In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard discusses European interests in the region and what might change after France’s Africa policy shift, together with Emanuela Del Re, former Italian deputy foreign minister and the new EU special representative for the Sahel; Sylvie Kauffmann, editorial director, lead writer, and columnist for Le Monde; as well as ECFR’s Andrew Lebovich. What does the end of Operation Barkhane in its current form mean for the Sahel? What could further European and international engagement in the region look like?
This podcast was recorded on 7 July 2021.
Further reading: • “After Barkhane: What France’s military drawdown means for the Sahel” by Andrew Lebovich: https://t.co/xxZ11TiM24
Bookshelf • ”La Guerre de vingt ans. Djihadisme et contre-terrorisme au XXIe siècle” by Marc Hecker & Elie Tenenbaum • “Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel” by Alexander Thurston • “Être etudiant au Mali: chroniques d'une vie d'étudiant” by Boubacar Sangaré • “Moral Letters to Lucilius“ by Seneca •“From Empires to NGOs in the West African Sahel. The Road to Nongovernmentality” by Gregory Mann • “Half of a Yellow Sun” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie • “L'Islâm in Europa: riflessioni di un imâm italiano “ by Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini
Globalisation and economic interdependence are increasingly weaponised by various state actors. Europe faces ever greater threats of economic blackmail, sanctions against its lawmakers, and consumer boycotts of its companies. Later this year, the European Commission will launch the Anti-Coercion Instrument, a tool that could enable the EU to protect citizens and businesses by countering economic blackmail from China, Russia, and Turkey – and even the US. In what circumstances could such a tool be triggered? What kind of countermeasures could protect Europe, keep markets open and support a functional global trade order? And how can such a tool be both credible and effective?
To find out, host Mark Leonard talks to policy fellows Jonathan Hackenbroich and Pawel Zerka, who worked with the ECFR Task Force for Protecting Europe from Economic Coercion on our latest publication: https://buff.ly/3zTgkZo
This podcast was recorded on 1 July 2021.
Further Reading: "Xi, Merkel phone call ‘timely to stabilise ties’" in Global Times "Defending Europe’s Economic Sovereignty: new ways to resist economic coercion" by Jonathan Hackenbroich, Janka Oertel, Philipp Sandner & Pawel Zerka: https://buff.ly/37FRvEQ
Bookshelf: - An account of the life of Dick Leonard, who passed away this week, written by his son Mark Leonard: https://www.facebook.com/markhleonard/posts/10159900328587642 - "Learning Empire: Globalization and the German Quest for World Status 1875-1919" by Erik Grimmer Solem - "The passions and the interests: Political arguments for capitalism before its triumph” by Albert O. Hirschman
After an election which saw the lowest turnout and highest number of spoiled ballots in the history of the Islamic Republic, the ultraconservative regime veteran Ebrahim Raisi was elected as the newest president of Iran. Does the election of Raisi represent a significant change of direction following the term of President Rouhani? Could unified hardliner control of Iran paradoxically lead to a more durable nuclear deal and greater dialogue with regional adversaries such as Saudi Arabia? Will Raisi’s own human rights record prove a barrier to talks with Western powers?
To find out, this week’s host Anthony Dworkin, senior research fellow and acting research director at ECFR, talks to Narges Bajoghli, assistant professor of Middle East Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder and CEO of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation and visiting fellow at ECFR, and Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of ECFR´s MENA programme.
This podcast was recorded on 23 June 2021.
Further Reading:
Council of despair: Iran’s uncompetitive presidential election https://ecfr.eu/article/council-of-despair-irans-uncompetitive-presidential-election/
A familiar victory: Iran’s divides under a new president https://ecfr.eu/article/a-familiar-victory-irans-divides-under-a-new-president/
Four steps to support Europe-Iran trade under a revived JCPOA https://ecfr.eu/article/four-steps-to-support-europe-iran-trade-under-a-revived-jcpoa/
Bookshelf:
Syria and the Neutrality Trap: The Dilemmas of Delivering Humanitarian Aid through Violent Regimes by Carsten Wieland http://www.carsten-wieland.com/books.html
Television and the Afghan Culture Wars: Brought to You by Foreigners, Warlords, and Activists by Wazhmah Osman https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/29bgf5br9780252043550.html
Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levi https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/christ-stopped-at-eboli-1945-by-carlo-levi-a-remarkable-memoir-1.4551169
The meeting between US president Biden and the Turkish president Erdogan, as well as the upcoming European Council Summit on Turkey come at a critical moment in the EU-US-Turkey relationship. After years of heightened tensions, there appears to have been a thawing in relations since the beginning of this year. The renewed focus on climate policy by the EU, however, makes many aspects of this relationship uncertain. Are carbon border taxes a threat to Turkish trade? How can Turkey and the EU cooperate on green energy? To find out, host Susi Dennison, director of ECFR´s European Power programme, talks to Asli Aydıntaşbaş, senior policy fellow at ECFR and in-house expert on Turkey, and Simone Tagliapietra, senior fellow at Bruegel focusing on European Union climate and energy policy. They discuss the outcomes of the Biden-Erdogan summit and the prospects for the EU-Turkey relationship, particularly in relation to the EU’s climate policies.
This podcast was recorded on 17 June 2021.
Further Reading: - "Europe’s Green Moment: How to meet the climate challenge" by Susi Dennison, Rafael Loss and Jenny Söderström: https://buff.ly/3v48Lw4 - "The geopolitics of the European Green Deal" by Mark Leonard, Jean Pisani-Ferry, Jeremy Shapiro, Simone Tagliapietra and Guntram Wolff: https://buff.ly/3tpyKxG
Bookshelf: - "Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman" by Robert K. Massie - "The New Climate War" by Michael E. Mann
Joe Biden described his mission for his trip to Europe this week as “realizing America’s renewed commitment to (its) allies and partners.” But what does this mean in practice? How well does the transatlantic alliance still fit with the way that Europe and the United States now see their goals in foreign policy? To find out, host Anthony Dworkin, senior policy fellow at ECFR, talks to Susi Dennison, director of ECFR´s European Power Program, Jana Puglierin, head of ECFR´s Berlin office, as well as Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR´s research director. They discuss what Europe and the US want from this week’s summit meetings and look at some of the striking results of ECFR’s latest public opinion poll across 12 European countries. Once the coronavirus crisis is over, how do Europeans see the EU’s role in the world?
This podcast was recorded on 9 June 2021.
Further reading: - Crisis of confidence: How Europeans see their place in the world by Jana Puglierin & Susi Dennison: https://buff.ly/2RxZFt9
Bookshelf: - "How to prevent Germany from becoming Eurosceptic" by Jana Puglierin & Mark Leonard: https://buff.ly/2RzAxSO - "Ali and Nino" by Kurban Said - "The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life" by Tom Reiss - "Why the Germans Do it Better: Notes from a Grown-Up Country" by John Kampfner - "Histoire de la laïcité en France" by Jean Baubérot
Photo: picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Markus Schreiber ©
The little-known but long-running conflict in Western Sahara made it into the headlines in Europe recently, when Morocco weaponised migration in Ceuta to advance its territorial claim. Listen as host Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of the MENA programme at ECFR discusses the issue with Irene Fernandez-Molina, senior lecturer in International Relations at the University of Exeter and expert on frozen conflicts, Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, senior policy fellow and head of ECFR´s Madrid office, as well as Jacob Mundy, visiting fellow at ECFR and an associate professor in Peace and Conflict Studies and Middle Eastern, and Islamic Studies programs at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. Together they try to find out what the Western Sahara conflict is all about, and how the most recent developments between Morocco and Spain will influence this conflict.
Picture: UN Photo/Martine Perret (CC BY-NC-ND)
Last Sunday, Belarus intercepted and diverted a commercial flight between two EU capitals to arrest a dissident. This, alongside the stagnation of the Belarusian economy, the continuing protests and Lukashenka’s illegitimate rule, fuels popular discontent in the country and worries the European Union. Katia Glod, non-resident fellow with the Russia programme of the US-based Center for European Policy Analysis, Linas Linkevičius, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Minister of Defence of Lithuania as well as ECFR Council member, and ECFR visiting fellow Pavel Slunkin who previously worked for the Foreign Ministry of Belarus and our host for this week’s episode ECFR deputy director Vessela Tcherneva recap the recent developments and explore the broader context of the crisis: What will be the impact of the EU and US measures against Belarus? What is Russia’s role in this? And what should be next steps also ahead of the EU-US summit on 15 June?
This podcast was recorded on 27 May 2021.
Further reading:
After the Pratasevich arrest: Four key steps for the EU on Belarus by Joanna Hosa & Pavel Slunkin, https://ecfr.eu/article/after-the-pratasevich-arrest-four-key-steps-for-the-eu-on-belarus/
Bookshelf:
A promised land by Barack Obama, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/12/books/review/barack-obama-a-promised-land.html
The politics book: Big ideas simply explained by Kate Johnsen, Sam Atkinson & Rebecca Warren, https://www.frostmagazine.com/2013/03/the-politics-book-review/
Airport by Arthur Hailey, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/arthur-hailey-3/airport/
Image: Andrey Kukharenko CC2.0 https://www.flickr.com/photos/192897193@N02/51199553335/
Catastrophe and disaster have been a frequent phenomenon throughout the history of mankind, coming in different forms. So how is it then that, despite being far more scientifically educated on the origins of disasters, we do not seem to be getting any better at dealing with them? To find out, host Mark Leonard talks to Niall Ferguson, author of the book “Doom: The politics of catastrophe” and senior fellow at both the Hoover Institution at Stanford University as well as the Center for European Studies at Harvard University. Together, they address why some societies and states respond to catastrophe so much better than others. And why do some fall apart, most hold together, and a few emerge stronger?
This podcast was recorded on 16 May 2021.
Further reading: - "Doom: The politics of catastrophe" by Niall Ferguson: https://buff.ly/3fy2DWA
Bookshelf: - "America in the world: A history of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy" by Robert B. Zoellick - "The road less traveled: The secret battle to end the Great War, 1916-1917" by Philip D. Zelikow
China’s formalised, seemingly nonchalant, attitude towards the Western Balkans masks a surprising nimbleness and strategic intent. In the past decade, the country has become the most prominent third actor in this part of the European Union’s neighbourhood. To find out why, host Mark Leonard talks to Majda Ruge, senior policy fellow in ECFR´s Wider Europe programme with a focus on the Western Balkans, Vladimir Shopov, visiting fellow with ECFR´s Asia programme, as well as Vessela Tcherneva, deputy director of ECFR and head of ECFR’s Sofia office. Together, they discuss why it is important to take a closer look at Chinese engagement in the region, how much influence China already has in the Western Balkans and how European policymakers should react.
This podcast was recorded on 12 May 2021.
Further reading:
Decade of patience: How China became a power in the Western Balkans by Vladimir Shopov, https://ecfr.eu/publication/decade-of-patience-how-china-became-a-power-in-the-western-balkans/
Bookshelf:
War: How Conflict Shaped Us by Margaret MacMillan, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/books/review/war-margaret-macmillan.html
The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations by Daniel Yergin, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/a-global-energy-study-that-misses-some-climate-change-realities/2020/09/24/1addeb3e-f2b3-11ea-bc45-e5d48ab44b9f_story.html
The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State by Elizabeth C. Economy, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2019/01/15/book-review-the-third-revolution-xi-jinping-and-the-new-chinese-state-by-elizabeth-economy/
Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe by Niall Ferguson, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/may/07/doom-by-niall-ferguson-review-how-to-make-sense-of-catastrophe
Photo: REUTERS/Djordje Kojadinovic
The EU is India's largest trading partner; India, in turn, is only the EU’s tenth largest trading partner. And despite the two often having expressed an interest in closer trade and political relations, there has been no visible progress made in the last years. Ahead of the EU-India Leaders Summit on 8 May 2021, host Mark Leonard talks to Fréderic Grare, senior policy fellow with ECFR’s Asia Programme, Raja Mohan, director of the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore and columnist of the Indian Express, as well as Manisha Reuter, ECFR´s Asia programme coordinator. How does the covid-19 pandemic impact India´s geopolitics and foreign policy? How has the rise of China influenced EU-India relations so far? And what are the prospects of a closer EU-India relationship following the upcoming Summit?
This podcast was recorded on 5 May 2021.
Further reading:
“The EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy: A chance for a clear message to China and Europe’s allies” by Fréderic Grare: https://buff.ly/3sKTjmO
“Friends in deed: How the EU and the Quad can promote security in the Indo-Pacific” by Manish Reuter https://buff.ly/33ud7Ax
Bookshelf
- “Globalists: the end of empire and the birth of neoliberalism” by Quinn Slobodian
- “India's power elite” by Sanjaya Baru
- “India's China challenge: A journey through China's rise and what it means for India” by Ananth Krishnan “The Covid Consensus: The new politics of global inequality” by Toby Green https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-covid-consensus/
While Germany’s long-ruling centre-right parties continue to offer more of the same, the Greens have recently emerged as a serious contender in the run-up to September’s federal elections. Rather than demanding that Germans give up their lifestyles, the Greens are promising to make Germany a better version of itself. But how will this affect German foreign policy? Host Mark Leonard talks to Franziska Brantner, spokesperson for European Policy and Parliamentary Secretary of Bündnis90/Die Grünen’s parliamentary group as well as Janka Oertel, head of ECFR´s Asia programme to discuss what Germany’s future with a Green government would look like.
This podcast was recorded on 29 April 2021.
Further reading: •“Germany’s Green Velvet Revolution?” by Mark Leonard: https://buff.ly/2RcOTb6
Bookshelf: •“Green Recovery Tracker": https://www.greenrecoverytracker.org/ •“Heimat Europa?” by Martin Ramb & Holger Zaborowski, • “China’s FinTech: the end of the wild west” by Viviana Zhu
Our system is not fit to deal with the challenges of the 21st century. This has been laid bare not just by the covid-19 pandemic, but also by the increasing power competition between the US and China, and the blockage and weaponisation of the multilateral system and the current crisis of democracy. Could a new “concert of powers” possibly be the solution? This week, host Mark Leonard talks to Charles Kupchan, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and professor of international affairs at Georgetown University; Leslie Vinjamuri, Director of the US and the Americas programme and Dean of the Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs at Chatham House; as well as Nicu Popescu, senior policy fellow and director of ECFR´s Wider Europe programme. In this episode, they discuss the idea of a “global concert of powers” to promote stability in a multipolar world. How would such a format be formed and who would be involved? And how does the future of the liberal order look after two centuries of Western domination?
This podcast was recorded on 20 April 2021.
Further reading: • “The new concert of powers. How to prevent catastrophe and promote stability in a multipolar world” by Richard N. Haass & Charles A. Kupchan in Foreign Affairs: https://buff.ly/2OYR5Co • "The liberal order begins at home. How democratic revival can reboot the international system" by Robin Niblett and Leslie Vinjamuri in Foreign Affairs: https://buff.ly/3sMLKfr
Bookshelf: • “Kill switch: The rise of the modern senate and the crippling of American democracy” by Adam Jentleson • “Mountains beyond mountains: The quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a man who would cure the world” by Tracy Kidder • “Why an internationalist foreign policy needs a stronger domestic foundation” by Charles Kupchan & Peter Trubowitz • “The heart is a lonely hunter” by Carson McCullers • “The bean trees” by Barbara Kingsolver
Diplomacy and war have both been part of human history, but neither are stagnant concepts. Different conceptions of the global order influence policy decisions daily, while the notions of war equally shape nation-states and our lives. To get a deeper understanding of how both ideas impact geopolitics, host Mark Leonard talks to Margaret MacMillan, professor of history at the University of Toronto and author of the book “War: How Conflict Shaped Us”, Robert Cooper, distinguished British and European diplomat and author of “The Ambassadors: Thinking about Diplomacy from Machiavelli to Modern Times” and Gideon Rachman, British journalist and chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times. What are different models for thinking about global order? How do ideas about war shape what statesmen and -women do?
This podcast was recorded on 14 April 2021.
Bookshelf: • “The ambassadors: Thinking about diplomacy from Machiavelli to modern times ” by Robert Cooper • “War: How Conflict Shaped Us” by Margaret MacMillan • “Zero-Sum World: Politics, Power and Prosperity After the Crash” by Gideon Rachman • “Britain alone” by Philip Stephens • “The Greek Revolution: A Critical Dictionary” by Paschalis M. Kitromilides & Constantinos Tsoukalas • “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas • “Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain” by Sathnam Sanghera • “Ioannis A. Kapodistrias, the European diplomat and statesman of the 19th century” by Helen E. Koukkou
Now that the world is entering a new phase of fighting the covid-19 pandemic, there is a renewed chance for working better together - and the European Union could do much to set these frameworks. But how can Europe adapt its strategies for multilateralism in this competitive world and what would they look like? Moreover, with other big players like China making their intentions to shape the global community unmistakably known, what reactions can Europe expect from a new-found agenda for multilateralism? This week’s host Susi Dennison tries to find answers to these questions with the help of Anthony Dworkin, ECFR research director and senior policy fellow, and Janka Oertel, ECFR’s Asia programme director and senior policy fellow. Together, they take a closer look at the potential for further global cooperation, the role Europe could play and future challenges the multilateral world will face.
This podcast was recorded on 8 April 2021.
Further reading: · “Built to order: How Europe can rebuild multilateralism after covid-19” by Anthony Dworkin: https://buff.ly/3fu4ehF · “Climate superpowers: How the EU and China can compete and cooperate for a green future” Janka Oertel, Jennifer Tollmann and Byford Tsang: https://buff.ly/2JHm437
Bookshelf: · “The bleak house” by Charles Dickens · “Summer” by Ali Smith · “China reveals co-operation with EU on green investment standards” by Selena Yi and Robin Yu · “Economic policy for a pandemic age: How the world must prepare” by Monica de Bolle, Maurice Obstfeld and Adam S. Posen
Despite the asymmetry in their size, population, and military prowess, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been engaged in a decade-long rivalry. This confrontation is not only feeding regional instability but is also deepening Europe’s divisions, making it more difficult for the European Union and its member states to develop a cohesive policy on the Mediterranean. This week, host Mark Leonard talks to Asli Aydıntaşbaş, ECFR´s Turkey expert, Cinzia Bianco, visiting fellow working on the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf region, as well as Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at ECFR. Together, they examine the origins of the rivalry, its impacts on the EU, as well as the arenas the rivalry outplays. Finally, they try to answer a most critical question: How can the EU prevent the Turkey-UAE rivalry from destabilising European security and foreign policy?
This podcast was recorded on 31 March 2021.
Further reading: • “Useful enemies: How the Turkey-UAE rivalry is remaking the Middle East” by Asli Aydıntaşbaş & Cinzia Bianco: https://buff.ly/3tuyQUd • “Mutual reassurance: Why Europe should support talks between Egypt and Turkey” by Matteo Colombo: https://buff.ly/35Fo43U • “Israel-UAE peace deal: Flipping the regional order of the Middle East” by Cinzia Bianco & Hugh Lovatt: https://buff.ly/3dnAQar
Bookshelf: • “The Sympathizer” by Viet Thanh Nguyen, • “Desert Kingdoms to Global Powers: The Rise of the Arab Gulf” by Rory Miller • “The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life” by Tom Reiss • “The Ambassadors thinking about Diplomacy from Machiavelli to Modern Times” by Robert Cooper
Picture (c) REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Just over a year ago, a health crisis of proportions never seen in recent history captured the attention of the world. However, faced with the same threat, nations all over the globe reacted vastly differently to the covid-19 pandemic. To find out why, host Mark Leonard talks this week to Peter Baldwin, professor of history at the University of California and author of the new book “Fighting the first wave: Why the coronavirus was tackled so differently across the globe”. Together, they discuss why the approaches to handling the coronavirus differed so much even in countries normally considered rather similar, like the Nordics. Who succeeded initially and who did not and for what reasons? Looking back, what can we learn from the fight against the first wave of corona and what will the lasting impact be?
This podcast was recorded on 15 March 2021.
Further reading: - “Fighting the first wave: Why the coronavirus was tackled so differently across the globe” by Peter Baldwin: https://buff.ly/3rmsS66 - “Leadership in a time of contagion” by Mark Leonard: https://buff.ly/3feDDVQ “Tracking European solidarity during covid-19: Lessons from the first wave” by Rafael Loss: https://buff.ly/3nfXAfO
Bookshelf: - “Failures of state: The inside story of Britain's battle with coronavirus by Jonathan Calvert & George Arbuthnott - “Unearthly powers: Religious and political change in world history” by Alan Strathern Alan Strathern - “The herd” by Johan Anderberg
The British government has outlined an overhaul of the UK's foreign and defence policies. The Integrated Review of the UK’s Defence, Security, Development and Foreign Policy, published this week, lays out a vision for the country’s role in the world over the next decade. Host Mark Leonard talks to Jo Johnson, a former Member of the British Parliament between 2010 and 2019 who held key ministerial offices in each of the last three Conservative governments, attending Cabinet as Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation. Together, they discuss the proposed Indo-Pacific tilt and the UK means by sovereignty in the context of the review. But most importantly, how does continental Europe fit into all of this?
This podcast was recorded on 18 March 2021.
Further reading: • Global Britain in a Competitive Age: the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/global-britain-in-a-competitive-age-the-integrated-review-of-security-defence-development-and-foreign-policy • “The China question. Managing risks and maximising benefits from partnership in higher education and research” by Jo Johnson et al. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-institute/assets/china-question.pdf •“Britain’s global pipe dream” by Nick Witney https://ecfr.eu/podcasts/episode/new-battlefields-the-uks-integrated-review/ •“Brexit Britain: The buccaneering begins at home” by Nick Witney https://ecfr.eu/article/brexit-britain-the-buccaneering-begins-at-home/
Bookshelf: •“China's quest for foreign technology. Beyond espionage” ed. By William C. Hannas & Didi Kirsten Tatlow
In May 2020, China announced its new economic strategy which aims at cutting the country’s dependence on overseas markets and technology in the long-term. This “dual circulation strategy” was yet another result of the deepening rift with the United States. But what does this new economic policy mean for Europe? Host Mark Leonard is joined by Janka Oertel, director of the Asia programme at ECFR as well as Andrew Small, senior transatlantic fellow with the Asia programme at the German Marshall Fund of the United States as well as associate senior policy fellow at ECFR. What lies behind China’s dual circulation strategy? How will the EU approach all of this? And are European policy-makers really prepared to deal with this new challenge coming from China?
This podcast was recorded on 4 March 2021.
Bookshelf: · “The rise of industrial policy in China, 1978-2012” by Sebastian Heilmann and Lea Shih · Interview with Joe Kaeser in Handelsblatt [German] · “Decoupling - severed ties and patchwork globalisation” by the European Chamber of Commerce in China in partnership with MERICS
In 2020 Belarus made headlines when protests erupted in the aftermath of a fraught presidential election. Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for over 26 years, still clings to power today and has unleashed a crackdown on the protests and protesters with a level of brutality unseen in Europe for decades. Vessela Tcherneva, ECFR deputy director takes over the podcast this week to examine the subject of Belarus further. How did we actually get here? And what kind of implications do the developments in Belarus have for the wider neighbourhood and Europe? Andrew Wilson, ECFR senior policy fellow, Nicu Popescu, director of the ECFR Wider Europe Programme as well as Pavel Slunkin, ECFR visiting fellow from Belarus, discuss these questions.
Further reading: https://ecfr.eu/topic/belarus/
This podcast was recorded on 3 March 2021.
Bookshelf: •“Belarus – the last European dictatorship?” by Andrew Wilson • “American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the marriage of money and power” by Andrea Bernstein •“Atlas shrugged“ by Ayn Rand • “The unwomanly face of war” by Svetlana Alexievich • “Secondhand Time: The last of the Soviets” by Svetlana Alexievich • “Pork Barrel Politics: How government spending determines elections in a polarized era” by Andrew Sidman • “Renaissance diplomacy“ by Garrett Mattingly • “The Ambassadors“ by Robert Cooper
On January 1, Portugal took over from Germany at the helm of the Council of the EU’s rotating presidency and the government set out three priorities for this presidency captured in its slogan “Time to deliver: a fair, green and digital recovery”. What is needed for a fair and inclusive climate and digital transition? What will the biggest short-term challenges be? And how can the Portuguese presidency strengthen European strategic autonomy? Mark Leonard is joined by Claudia Azevedo, CEO, Sonae, Teresa Gouveia, ECFR Board Member and former Portuguese Minister of Environment and of Foreign Affairs, and finally, Carlos Moedas, former European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, to discuss the prospects of the ongoing Portuguese Council presidency.
This podcast was recorded on 24 February 2021.
Further reading: "Crisis presidency: How Portuguese leadership can guide the EU into the post-covid era" by Susi Dennison & Lívia Franco: https://buff.ly/3mxp7cl - “Where Portugal can lead Europe in 2021” by Teresa Gouveia: https://buff.ly/2LHuuca - “Out of the south: Why Italy and Portugal should lead on climate change, health security, and multilateralism” by Teresa Coratella: https://buff.ly/2WC02BX - “Edge of the Atlantic: Portugal’s presidency of the EU Council” by Lívia Franco: https://buff.ly/3r3wY44
Bookshelf: - “A Superpower, Like It or Not: Why Americans Must Accept Their Global Role” in Foreign Affairs by Robert Kagan - “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need” by Bill Gates - “The world faces a pandemic of human rights abuses in the wake of Covid-19” by António Guterres - “Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism” by Mariana Mazzucato - “Think Again” by Adam Grant
This week, former European Central Bank Chief Mario Draghi was sworn in as the country’s prime minister and the head of a unity government and put an end to weeks of political turmoil. His cabinet is the third administration that Italy sees in less than three years. But how stable will this government be? What are the first challenges Draghi will face in his country and in Brussels? Will he be able to stand on equal footing with Macron and Merkel? Host Mark Leonard talks to Lia Quartapelle, Italian parliamentarian of Partito Democratico, Alessandro Speciale, Bloomberg Italia director, and head of ECFR’s Rome office Arturo Varvelli about what the Draghi government will mean for Italy and Europe.
This podcast was recorded on 17 February 2021.
Bookshelf: • “Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World” by Laura Spinney • “The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories” by Susanna Clarke • “Passé, présent et futur de Mario Draghi : la carrière politique d’un technician” by Alessandro Aresu & Andrea Garnero in Le Grand Continent • “Mario Draghi l'artefice” by Jana Randow & Alessandro Speciale
This month, High Representative Josep Borrell visited Moscow to discuss key issues of concern and test the waters for building a more “constructive dialogue” between Russia and the European Union. His visit came at a time of elevated tensions, as calls for sanctions against the Russian Federation are increasing and both sides debate over the recent poisoning and imprisonment of Alexei Navalny, as well as issues concerning the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. What lessons can be drawn from Borrell’s controversial visit? Why do attempts to reset relations with Russia fail? In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard is joined by Kadri Liik, senior policy fellow at ECFR and Russian domestic and foreign policy expert, Nicu Popescu, Director of ECFR´s Wider Europe programme, and José Ignacio Torreblanca, head of ECFR's Madrid office to discuss Europe’s strategy vis-à-vis Russia.
This podcast was recorded on 10 February 2021.
Further reading: - “Why attempts to reset relations with Russia fail” by Nicu Popescu: https://buff.ly/3rnwG7P - “The Putin paradox: Five things Navalny’s arrest says about Russia” by Kadri Liik: https://buff.ly/3rcfJgh
Bookshelf: - “In Confidence: Moscow's Ambassador to Six Cold War Presidents” by Anatoly Dobrynin - “Barbarie de l'ignorance” by George Steiner and Antoine Spire - “Rakovsky, Ou, La Révolution Dans Tous Les Pays” by Pierre Broué
What are the key aspects of how the European Green Deal will change the world? Introduced by the new European Commission in 2019, the Green Deal’s goal is to decouple economic growth from resource use and to create an EU economy with zero net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. To reach that goal a fundamental overhaul of the European economy is needed. But this transformation will also have a dramatic effect on external economic relations and on foreign policy. This week host Mark Leonard invited ECFR Council Member and Member of the German Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens Franziska Brantner as well as Jean Pisani Ferry and Simone Tagliapietra from the Brussels-based think-tank Bruegel to discuss the geopolitical repercussions of the European Green Deal.
This podcast was recorded on 4 February 2021.
Further reading: “The geopolitics of the European Green Deal” by Mark Leonard, Jean Pisani-Ferry, Jeremy Shapiro, Simone Tagliapietra, and Guntram Wolff: https://buff.ly/3cJHAjW
Bookshelf: • “National power and the structure of foreign trade” by Albert O. Hirschman •"21st century diplomacy: foreign policy is climate policy” by the Wilson Centre & adelphi • "The new map: Energy, climate, and the clash of nations” by Daniel Yergin • “Fighting the first wave: Why the coronavirus was tackled so differently across the globe” by Peter Baldwin
One of the foreign policy priorities of US president Joe Biden is to work with allies on China. His administration reached out to the European Union ahead of his inauguration to make US intentions clear. However, so far, they have only been met with disappointment over the alacrity with which European leaders pushed forward the agenda of the comprehensive agreement on investment before Biden was even sworn in as president. What are the prospects for transatlantic cooperation on China now that a new US administration is in power? Has it ended before it has begun, or will we see a new Western approach to dealing with China’s rising power? This week, our host Mark Leonard is joined by Janka Oertel, head of ECFR’s Asia programme and Andrew Small, senior transatlantic fellow with the Asia programme at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and associate senior policy fellow at ECFR, to discuss the future of EU-China-US relations.
This podcast was recorded on 28 January 2021.
Further reading: - “Europe’s China deal: How not to work with the Biden administration” by Andrew Small: https://t.co/Po017TsXRo
Bookshelf - “The 1000-year-old boy” by Ross Welford - “The quest for legitimacy in Chinese politics: A new interpretation” by Lanxin Xiang
The new poll by ECFR revealed that despite the joy and relief many Europeans felt when Joe Biden won the US presidential election, they do not think he can help America make a comeback as the pre-eminent global leader. This week, Susi Dennison is taking over the podcast, joined by our usual host, Mark Leonard as well as Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR’s research director and in-house US expert. How do Europeans assess the future of transatlantic relations? Can the EU finally come to terms with its strategic sovereignty goal? And what does this mean for policy-makers in European capitals and across the Atlantic in Washington D.C.?
This podcast was recorded on 21 January 2021.
Further reading: "The crisis of American power: How Europeans see Biden’s America" by Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard: https://buff.ly/3oXcLvs
Bookshelf: • “The upswing: How America came together a century ago and how we can do it again” by Robert D. Putnam & Shaylyn Romney • “The comedians” by Graham Greene • “Reset: Reclaiming the internet for civil society” by Ronald Deibert
It’s time for our annual review!
It has become tradition that at the beginning of each year, World in 30 Minutes host Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director at ECFR, predict ten bright and bold policy projections for the year to come. Predictions for 2020 took a real beating from the coronavirus pandemic, but thanks to some very generous rounding, the end of year score came to 6 points out of 10. What are your foreign policy predictions for 2021?
Let us know by tweeting at us @ecfr or comment here below or on Facebook.
This podcast was recorded on 13 January 2021.
Further reading: The long year: Top foreign policy trends for 2021: https://buff.ly/3636nLQ Top ten foreign policy trends in 2020: https://buff.ly/2XE1G6q Check out all predictions since 2016: https://buff.ly/3oJbwA8
Bookshelf: - “The Mermaid from Jeju” by Sumi Hahn - “Cyber War & Cyber Peace in the Middle East" edited by Michael Sexton and Eliza Campbell
In the early days of covid-19, it became clear that none of the great powers were looking to the multilateral system to provide an answer. As the death count rose, every country acted as if it was on its own, closing borders, stockpiling medical equipment, and introducing export controls. The blame game conducted by Beijing and Washington over the WHO showed how geopolitics is increasingly undermining multilateralism. While it seems increasingly evident that the global challenges of today require global solutions, how can we explain the current crisis of the liberal international order? In this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard is joined by John Ikenberry, Albert G. Milbank Professor of International Affairs at Princeton University, to discuss the roles of the US and the EU in supporting liberal internationalism to address the problems of modernity and build a world safe for democracy.
This podcast was recorded on 9 December 2020.
Further reading: “The Next Liberal Order” by John Ikenberry: https://buff.ly/3j50qTC “Why Liberal Internationalism Is Still Indispensable—and Fixable” by Michael Hirsh: https://buff.ly/3gkxgil
Bookshelf: • “A World Safe for Democracy: Liberal Internationalism and the Crises of Global Order” by John Ikenberry • The “FDR at War” series by Nigel Hamilton • “Brideshead revisited” by Evelyn Waugh
As Europe is in the middle of the second wave of the covid-19 pandemic, everyone hopes that a vaccine will put an end to it and thereby stop raising the death tolls and repeating lockdowns. In this week’s episode, Anthony Dworkin takes over the podcast to talk to Gunilla Carlsson, ECFR Council member and Vice-Chair of the Global Fund Strategy Committee, and Ilona Kickbusch, founding director and chair of the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva about the global distribution of covid-19 vaccines and the geopolitics surrounding this. What are upcoming challenges for the COVAX initiative? How should we expect European countries to balance their commitment to protect their own populations vs global responsibilities?
This podcast was recorded on 17 December 2020.
Bookshelf: • "Risk society" by Ulrich Beck • Swedish poetry • "Why the Germans do it better" by John Kampfner
The corona outbreak has put the world’s leaders and the way they communicate to their people, to the test. Each country wants to project a positive self-image, portraying itself as a strong and capable crisis manager. In these past months, there have been attempts to discredit other countries, their political systems, and their responses to the pandemic. Also, scientific facts have been under scrutiny and challenged by “alternative facts” and disinformation. This week’s host, Susi Dennison, director of ECFR’s European Power programme is joined by ECFR Council Members Christine Ockrent and Julia De Clerck-Sachsse to talk about what HR/VP Josep Borrell called a “global battle of narratives and a struggle for geopolitical influence.”
This podcast was recorded on 10 December 2020.
Further reading: “La guerre des récits. Xi, Trump, Poutine: la pandémie et le choc des empires” by Christine Ockrent
“From Brussels with love: How the European Union can win the battle of narratives” by Julia De Clerck-Sachsse: https://buff.ly/3kj6Uxy
“Together in trauma: Europeans and the world after covid-19” by Susi Dennison & Pawel Zerka: https://buff.ly/37qdxel
Bookshelf: • The magic mountain by Thomas Mann • Love in the Blitz by Eileen Alexander • A country for dying by Abdellah Taïa • Ghana must go by Taiye Selasi • The world of yesterday by Stefan Zweig • Impossible by Erri De Luca
ust over a month ago, Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia and 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner, ordered a military offensive against regional forces in Tigray. Since then, the situation has been spiralling out of control, with increasing international concern over access to the Tigray region and reports of attacks against UN personnel trying to gain access. ECFR’s Susi Dennison takes over in this week’s episode to discuss the regional implications of the conflict and the prospects for transatlantic cooperation around the issue. She is joined by Theo Murphy, Director of ECFR’s Africa programme, Payton Knopf, Senior Advisor to the Africa programme of the US Institute for Peace, and Alexander Rondos, ECFR Council Member and EU Special Representative to the Horn of Africa.
This podcast was recorded on 9 December 2020.
Further reading: - “Final Report and Recommendations of the Senior Study Group on Peace and Security in the Red Sea Arena”, U.S. Institute of Peace: https://buff.ly/2JS25Pq
Bookshelf: - “Afropean: Notes from Black Europe” by Johny Pitts - “America in the World: A History of U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy” by Robert Zoellick - “The Shadow King” by Maaza Mengiste - “Swimmer Among the Stars” by Kanishk Tharoor
The election of Joe Biden presents an opening to strengthen transatlantic diplomacy on Iran. Biden has already outlined his intention to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, primarily by ensuring the US re-joining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from which the US unilaterally withdrew under outgoing President Trump. However, to what extent can and will Iran policy be a priority of the incoming administration? What can Europeans do to bolster transatlantic diplomacy on Iran? This week Mark Leonard is joined by Nasser Hadian, professor of political science at the University of Tehran, Ilan Goldenberg, director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security and ECFR’s Ellie Geranmayeh, deputy head of our Middle East and North Africa programme to discuss these issues.
This podcast was recorded on 2 December 2020.
Further Reading: “A call for Europe to bolster transatlantic diplomacy on Iran”, a joint statement by ECFR Council Members: https://buff.ly/3qfKrFC
On Iran, the Next Administration Must Break With the Past by Elisa Catalano Ewers, Ilan Goldenberg, and Kaleigh Thomasin Foreign Affairs
Bookshelf: • “Losing the Long Game: The False Promise of Regime Change in the Middle East”, by Philip H. Gordon • “A Promised Land” by Barack Obama
The geopolitical grouping known as the “frugal four” — Austria, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands — has emerged as a key power centre in this year’s negotiations over the EU’s next budget and the covid-19 recovery fund. However, flying the “frugal” banner now seems like it could become a trap — both for the countries themselves and for the rest of the EU. In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard is joined by Catharina Sørensen, deputy director of the Danish “Think Tank Europa”, Caroline de Gruyter, ECFR Council Member and Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, Daniel Sachs, ECFR Council member and CEO of the board of Sweden-based Proventus AB, and ECFR policy fellow Pawel Zerka. Does “frugality” actually reflect the public sentiment in those countries? How do the citizens really feel about the recovery fund? And how could the leaders of the frugal states reposition their countries as transformative engines for the EU?
Further reading: The transformative five: A new role for the frugal states after the EU recovery deal, by Pawel Zerka and Susi Dennison https://ecfr.eu/publication/the-transformative-five-a-new-role-for-the-frugal-states-after-the-eu-recovery-deal/
This podcast was recorded on 25 November 2020.
Bookshelf: - The Mirror & the Light (Thomas Cromwell #3), by Hilary Mantel - Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin - Leaving, by Vaclav Havel - The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann - The Joe Biden Experience, The Ezra Klein Show
picture (c) picture alliance / AA | Abdullah Asiran
Almost a year ago, when EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made her first business trip outside the EU, she chose the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa as her destination and took quite a stand . Also this year was supposed to be a “decisive year” in African-European relations: The German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development talked at the beginning of 2020 about a “treaty of the century” which should have been sealed at the AU-EU Summit. However, with the pandemic ongoing, the Summit was postponed, and priorities shifted. Where do we stand now in building a “strategic partnership” between the European and African continent? And can we actually consider it a “strategic” one? What impact has the competition between the US and China on these relations?
In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard is joined by Faten Aggad, Senior Advisor to the AU High Representative on AU-EU negotiations, Mark Malloch Brown, former deputy secretary‐general of the UN under Kofi Annan and minister of state in the UK foreign office, and ECFR Africa’s director Theodore Murphy to discuss challenges and possible opportunities of the AU-EU relationship.
This podcast was recorded on 9 November 2020.
Further reading:
“Trump, Biden, and Europe’s place in the Africa great power competition” by Theodore Murphy https://ecfr.eu/article/trump-biden-and-how-europes-losing-the-great-power-competition-in-africa/
Bookshelf: • JFK: Volume One, by Fredrik Logevall • Shaping the Future of Power, by Lina Benabdallah • The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S Lewis • A World Safe for Democracy, John Ikenberry Podcast: • Global Translations, POLITICO
Joe Biden has won the US elections and in January 2021 will become the 46th president of the United States of America. While that is not yet official, it is clear. But what is also clear is that we cannot go back to the pre-Trump world. When Biden returns to the White House, he will look for a Europe that brings solutions rather than problems. Europeans should show they can be an equal partner and offer him a new transatlantic bargain. This week, host Mark Leonard is joined by our ECFR program directors: Susi Dennison, Janka Oertel, Julien Barnes-Dacey, Nicu Popescu, and Theodore Murphy to analyse how a “European offer” could look, with topics ranging from climate to trade, to multilateralism. Further reading: - ECFR topic page: https://ecfr.eu/topic/us-election-2020/
- “The best defence: Why the EU should forge security compacts with its eastern neighbours” by Gustav Gressel & Nicu Popescu: https://buff.ly/3jTzMMv
This podcast was recorded on 12 November 2020.
Bookshelf: • "Africa first" by Jakkie Cilliers • "Forget unity – now elections deliver revenge as much as representation" by William Davies in The Guardian • "This is not normal" by William Davies • "My Brother’s Road, an American's Fateful Journey to Armenia" by Markar Melkonian • "The Nine Lives of Pakistan" by Declan Walsh in The Guardian • "Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion" by Michelle Dean • "Blood and Oil: Mohammed bin Salman's Ruthless Quest for Global Power" by Bradley Hope, Justin Scheck
With Trump´s inauguration in 2017 and his claims about NATO and the transatlantic relationship, Europe began to realize that it needed to take better care of its own security. With the official election result looming, host Mark Leonard talks to ECFR’s heads of offices from Berlin, Paris, Madrid, and Warsaw – Jana Puglierin, Tara Varma, Jose Ignacio Torreblanca and Piotr Buras – as well as Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR´s research director and in-house US expert: How much impact does the future US president have on the very concept of European sovereignty? Will the idea and initiatives to build more strategic autonomy in Europe be put back to bed with Joe Biden in the White House? Or does Europe have to forge its own agenda? Further reading: • Topic page US elections and their impact on Europe and the world: https://buff.ly/3jQeFdV • “Independence play: Europe’s pursuit of strategic autonomy” by Ulrike Franke & Tara Varma: https://buff.ly/3jXaCwJ • "An American chasm" The Rachman Review with Jeremy Shapiro: https://buff.ly/2JG7QiU
This podcast was recorded on 5 November 2020.
Bookshelf: • “These truths: a history of the United States” by Jill Lepore h • “We the People: a history of the United States” by Bidna, David et.al • “Yoga” by Emmanuel Carrère • “The tribalization of Europe: a defence of our liberal values” by Marlene Wind • Transcript Of John McCain's concession speech • TV show “Emily in Paris” • TV show “Patria”
How will and can Europeans react in the event of a post-election chaos in the US? The election day is fast approaching yet the outcome still remains highly debatable and unpredictable. And, it is rather likely that also after November 3rd, no clear winner can be announced. How should Europe respond in this time of uncertainty? What impact will the prolonged power struggle have on the transatlantic relationship? ECFR’s research director Jeremy Shapiro takes over this week and is joined by ECFR´s senior director for strategic partnerships Anna Kuchenbecker, the Polish MEP Radek Sikorski, ECFR´s deputy director Vessela Tcherneva and Pierre Vimont, French ambassador to the US.
Further reading: The world must prepare for a contested US election, by Timothy Garton Ash: https://buff.ly/3jKwPOe
This podcast was recorded on 23 October 2020.
Bookshelf: • “Cynical Theories: How activist scholarship made everything about race, gender, and identity—and why this harms everybody” by Helen Pluckrose & James Lindsay • “The Crimean war: A history” by Orlando Figes • "The United States and Central Europe: Tasks for a second century together” by Daniel Fried et. Al • “The plot against America” by Philip Roth
European countries are increasingly coming under threat of economic coercion from great powers, as outlined in the latest ECFR’s policy brief. But what do we mean by economic coercion? What and who is currently threatening EU’s sovereignty, and what is likely to threaten it in the future? In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard is joined by Elizabeth Rosenberg, Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, Jean Pisani-Ferry, ECFR Council Member and a senior fellow at Brussels-based think-tank Bruegel and Jonathan Hackenbroich, ECFR policy fellow for economic statecraft and the head of ECFR’s Task Force for Protecting Europe from Economic Coercion to discuss how Europe could build up higher economic resilience. How can the Union best redress market distortions caused by sanctions, export controls and other forms of economic coercion? And can deterrence actually work?
Further readings: • "A New Arsenal for Competition: Coercive Economic Measures in the U.S.-China Relationship" by Elizabeth Rosenberg, Peter Harrell and Ashley Feng: https://buff.ly/3mdQAiT • "Trump’s International Economic Legacy, by Jean Pisani-Ferry: https://buff.ly/31B0nrw • "Defending Europe’s Economic Sovereignty: new ways to resist economic coercion" by Jonathan Hackenbroich, with Janka Oertel, Philipp Sandner, and Pawel Zerka: https://t.co/R7G02XnyYU
This podcast was recorded on 22 October 2020.
Bookshelf: • "How Global Currencies Work: Past, Present, and Future" by Barry Eichengreen, Arnaud Mehl, and Livia Chitu • "De Gaulle" by Julian Jackson • "Maoism: a global history" by Julia Lowell • "National Power and the Structure of Foreign Trade" by Albert O. Hirschman • "Redefining A Philosophy for World Governance" by Tingyang Zao
Europe’s digital transformation and sovereignty has become a question of existential importance. But what does it actually mean to be digital sovereign? Host Mark Leonard is joined by Marietje Schaake, President of the CyberPeace Institute and International Policy Director at the Cyber Policy Center at Stanford University as well as ECFR’s Jose Ignacio Torreblanca and Jeremy Shapiro. Together they analyse where we do see progress in developing digital sovereignty on EU level and where challenges still remain. What are some of the ideas for how the EU could develop digital sovereignty? And why does Europe have to even take two steps ahead and go above and beyond being a “regulatory superpower”?
Further read:
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“Europe’s digital sovereignty: From rulemaker to superpower in the age of US-China rivalry” by Carla Hobbs (ed.) https://buff.ly/30eSI1P
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“Weakened democracy is another harm caused by Big Tech” by Marietje Schaake in Financial Times https://buff.ly/2T23y6I
This podcast was recorded on 15 October 2020.
Bookshelf:
“Central bank digital currencies: foundational principles and core features” Report No.1 by Bank for International Settlements 2020
“Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism” by Anne Applebaum
José I. Torreblanca interviewing Anne Applebaum in El Mundo [in Spanish]
“Which Side of History?: How Technology Is Reshaping Democracy and Our Lives Kindle Edition” by James P. Steyer (ed.)
“The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World” by Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
The covid-19 pandemic has shaken the EU’s conception of order and exposed a gap between European aspirations and actions. Firstly, Europeans are confronted with the fact that raw power, not rules, is the main factor determining today’s global dynamics. Secondly, global politics are now centred rather in Asia than Europe; the Sino-American rivalry has shifted attention away from European issues.
In this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard stars as guest – not host – to discuss with policy fellow Ulrike Franke und head of ECFR’s Berlin office Jana Puglierin these “twin shocks”. What are possible ways to deal with these new geopolitical realities shock and what does this mean for the transatlantic relationship? To what extent will the US elections be a game-changer? Should Europe reinvent its geopolitical approach? And in which ways can Germany help Europe to redefine its strategy in this deeply changed scenario?
Further reading: “Geopolitical Europe in times of covid-19 ” by Mark Leonard: https://www.europesfutures.eu/vault/geopolitical-europe-in-times-of-covid-19
This podcast was recorded on 7 October 2020.
Bookshelf:
-"Possible Minds: 25 Ways of Looking at AI” by John Brockman -"Zeitenwende", Special Edition of the Munich Security Report on German Foreign and Security Policy.
The contested Nagorno-Karabakh region is at the heart of a decades-long armed standoff between neighbours Armenia and Azerbaijan. The heavy clashes seen last week prompted fears that the dispute could spark yet again another war in the region. Host Mark Leonard is joined by Nicu Popescu, head of ECFR’s Wider Europe programme, ECFR’s Turkey expert Asli Aydıntaşbaş and Sophia Pugsley, Caucasus Regional Manager at International Alert. They explain the background to this conflict, why it flared up again and talk about the situation on the ground. What kind of roles do Turkey and Russia play in the recent fights? Should the EU interfere, and if yes, how?
Further reading: "A hill here, a village there: Nagorno-Karabakh and the salami-slicing wars", by Nicu Popescu: https://buff.ly/3joH77w
This podcast was recorded on 30 September 2020.
Bookshelf:
“The story of a new name” by Elena Ferrante - “Envisioning peace: An analysis of grassroots views on the Nagorny Karabakh conflict” by Larisa Sotieva et al. - “Parts of a Circle: History of the Karabakh conflict“ a film by Conciliation Resources: https://vimeo.com/407942633 - “Biography of an empire. Governing Ottomans in an age of revolution” by Christine Philliou - “ Osman’s Dream: The history of the Ottoman Empire” by Caroline Finkel - “The Churchill Complex: rise and fall of the special relationship” by Ian Buruma
In the eastern Mediterranean, a scramble is under way between countries in the region for access to recently discovered gas fields, often overlapping with wider battle lines across the Middle East, historical tensions and far-back-reaching sentiments. Following up on last week’s conversation with spokesperson and close senior advisor to President Erdogan Ibrahim Kalin, this week’s episode analyses the crisis from a Greek, French, and Turkish perspective. Host Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR´s Turkey expert Asli Aydıntaşbaş, the head of ECFR’s Paris Office Tara Varma and ECFR Council Member, professor at the University of Athens and President of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) Loukas Tsoukalis. Together, they discuss what led to the escalation and which different aspects are important to understand the crisis. Is Ankara adopting an assertive approach or is it playing a “stabilising role”? And what are the intentions behind President Macron´s call for a Pax Mediterranea? Can Europe’s find a common approach and voice on this conflict and in the mediation process?
Read more about the Eastern Mediterranean issue here: https://buff.ly/3ciG99U
Re-watch the conversation with Ibrahim Kalin here: https://buff.ly/3mNNfrZ
This podcast was recorded on 23 September 2020.
Bookshelf:
• “My Brilliant Friend” and "The lying life of adults" by Elena Ferrante • "Necropolitics” by Achille Mbembe • “How my mother and I became Chinese propaganda” by Jiayang Fan in The New Yorker • "Turkey’s labyrinthine relationship with the West: Seeking a way forward” by Marc Pierini
picture: © picture alliance / AA | Turkish National Defense Ministry -
Ursula von der Leyen’s first State of the European Union speech was as long as it was broad in topics and calls for action. Host Mark Leonard is joined by Alexander Stubb, ECFR Board Member, Director of the European University Institute’s School of Transnational Governance and Former Prime Minister of Finland and Carlos Moedas Trustee at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and former European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation. Together they break down the speech and analyse its various parts, from climate to health policy, from digital sovereignty to Europe’s place in the world. What did the Commission President promise and envision? And did she point out some black sheep?
This podcast was recorded on 16 September 2020.
Bookshelf: • “Governance in the new global disorder: Politics for a post-sovereign society” by Daniel Innerarity • “The virus in the age of madness" by Bernard-Henri Lévy • “Has China won? The Chinese challenge to American primacy” by Kishore Mahbubani • "Negotiating flexibility in the European Union" by Alexander Stubb • "Taming Sino-American rivalry" by Feng Zhang & Richard Ned Lebow
Although US President Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine the election are shameless, they are still more subtle than the outright election rigging that one finds in places like Belarus. Like other authoritarian leaders, Trump is deploying a new anti-democratic politics that has yet to be fully comprehended. Together with Asli Aydintasbas, Jeremy Shapiro and Andrew Wilson, Mark Leonard depicts seven dirty tricks that Trump seems to be borrowing from e.g. Russian President Vladimir Putin or Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Further reading: "Trump's dirty trick" by Mark Leonard: https://buff.ly/2EYW4xG
This podcast was recorded on 9 September 2020.
Bookshelf: - “Circe” and “The song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller - “The eternal city: A history of Rome” by Ferdinand Addis - “Democracy for sale” by Peter Geoghegan
Picture (c) Gage Skidmore
In this week’s episode, we feature one of the focus sessions from our Annual Council Meeting this June. Policy Fellow Ulrike Franke moderated this online panel discussion featuring Marietje Schaake, International Director of Policy at Stanford University's Cyber Policy Centre and former Member of the European Parliament, and Carlos Moedas Trustee at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and former European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, European Commission. Is the European Union indeed a “regulatory superpower” for digitalisation and the tech market? Does the EU draw on its AI potential to the fullest? Where should Europe position itself in the US-China rivalry?
The session was recorded on 29 June 2020.
Further reading: -Europe’s digital sovereignty: From rulemaker to superpower in the age of US-China rivalry by Carla Hobbs (ed.): https://buff.ly/30eSI1P -Not smart enough: The poverty of European military thinking on artificial intelligence by Ulrike Franke: https://buff.ly/2Es0QAp
Bookshelf:
ECFR’s August Reading List:https://buff.ly/30aJOSM
In this week’s episode, Jeremy Shapiro stepped in as host and welcomes senior policy fellows Kadri Liik and Andrew Wilson as well as political scientist and editor of “Belarus-Analysen” Olga Dryndova to the podcast. Together, they shed light on the situation on the ground in Belarus: what are the goals do of the opposition in Belarus and what kind, if any, of strategy does it have for achieving them? How does long-time president Lukashenko see the situation and what is the state’s strategy to try to remain in power? And finally, what roles should the EU and Russia play in a mediation process?
Further reading: Why the EU now needs a deliberate Belarus policy, by Andrew Wilson: https://buff.ly/3gomwOl
This podcast was recorded on 26 August 2020.
Bookshelf: - “Berlin 1936: 16 days in August” by Oliver Hilmes - Follow Tadeusz Giczan for analyses on Belarus - “Lie Machines: How to save democracy from troll armies, deceitful robots, junk news operations, and political operatives” by Philip N. Howard - Collections of essays by Haljand Udam - “Einstein’s dream“ by Alan Lightman
Picture: (c) picture alliance / AA | Marina Serebryakova
“Defending the WHO is necessary but not sufficient to address the weaknesses that the corvid-19 crisis has revealed. Fundamentally, those weaknesses revolve around the interplay between, first, underfunded national and local health systems and second, international coordination which relies on goodwill and is too weak in a world of great power rivalry,” write Jonas Gahr Store, Leader of the Norwegian Labour Party and former Health and Foreign Minister as well as David Miliband, CEO of the International Rescue Committee and former UK Foreign Secretary in their recent op-ed. Mark Leonard invited the two author to his podcast talking about how the global health system could be reformed: what role should Europe play? And is it likely that the US position to global health changes with a potential Biden win? And can China also to play a positive role in global health security?
Further reading: “Global Health Security Needs New Thinking” by David Miliband and Jonas Gahr: https://www.newsweek.com/new-world-health-mechanisms-covid-bold-thinking-1521096
“Health sovereignty: How to build a resilient European response to pandemics” by Jonathan Hackenbroich, Jeremy Shapiro, and Tara Varma: https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/health_sovereignty_how_to_build_a_resilient_european_response_to_pandemics
This podcast was recorded on 31 July 2020.
Bookshelf: •“The United States Needs a New Foreign Policy” by William J Burns in The Atlantic •“Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mante •“Dinner at the Center of the Earth” by Nathan Englander • “The years” by Annie Ernaux •“The Burden of Responsibility: Blum, Camus, Aron, and the French Twentieth Century” by Tony Judt •“Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power” by Jon Meacham
Picture: © Yann Forget / Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 3.0
In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard presents the new and third edition of ECFR´s Coalition explorer, which also included special questions regarding the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Together with policy fellows Ulrike Franke and Pawel Zerka, he analyses the collected data in depth, answering the question of France’s and Germany´s role within the EU: How are the two countries perceived by their European partners? How can this power tandem influence EU policy-making? And what kind of new coalition patterns did emerge during the covid-19 crisis?
EU Coalition Explorer: https://www.ecfr.eu/eucoalitionexplorer
The big engine that might: How France and Germany can build a geopolitical Europe by Ulrike Franke and Jana Puglierin https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/the_big_engine_that_might_how_france_and_germany_can_build_a_geopolitical_e
The EU Coalition Explorer was developed within ECFR’s Rethink: Europe” project supported by Stiftung Mercator.
This podcast was recorded on 31 July 2020.
Bookshelf: •“In the Shadow of Justice: Postwar Liberalism and the Remaking of Political Philosophy” by Katrina Forrester • “Recursion” by Blake Crouch • “Kissinger: 1923-1968: The Idealist” by Niall Ferguson • “Normal People” and “Conversation with friends” by Sally Rooney
After last week’s discussion with Matt Duss and Jeremy Shapiro, Mark Leonard follows up by gathering the European views on a possible Biden win and its effect on US foreign policy. Vessela Tcherneva, deputy director of ECFR and head of our Sofia office, Jana Puglierin, head of ECFRs Berlin office, Tara Varma, head of ECFRs Paris office and Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR´s research director and in-house US expert analyse what a potential Biden administration would mean for European sovereignty and EU foreign policies. How do expectations differ in France, Germany and Central and Eastern Europe? What would another Trump or Biden administration mean for European security? And could Biden also restore the public image of the US which has worsened during the coronavirus crisis significantly in Europe?
This podcast was recorded on 29 July 2020.
Bookshelf: -" Falken im Sturm“ by Constanze Stelzenmüller in Internationale Politik - "Counterpart“ -“Twilight of Democracy: The seductive lure of authoritarianism” by Anne Applebaum -“The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller -“Quest for Status: Chinese and Russian Foreign Policy” by Alexei Shevchenko and Deborah Welch Larson
The United States presidential election is approaching and there is no doubt that its result will have a significant and large-scale impact on global politics. Across the Atlantic, European analysts already started to discuss the possible outcomes and what they would mean for Europe and the transatlantic partnership. What changes would a Biden win bring? How could US foreign policy look like under him as President? How would it affect the US-Europe relations? In this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard is joined by Matt Duss, foreign policy advisor to the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign and Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR´s research director and in-house US expert to discuss what Biden will bring to the table.
This podcast was recorded on 29 July 2020
Bookshelf:
- “Blowback” by Brendan James and Noah Kulwin
- “Miles: The Autobiography” by Miles Davis with Quincy Troupe
- “Circe” by Madeline Miller
- “Why We're Polarized” by Ezra Klein
The over 90-hour European Council summit in Brussels ended with a deal on a €1.82 trillion financial package. What does this deal mean for the future of Europe? Will the EU recovery fund, made up of €390 billion in grants and €360 billion in loans, be a historic change of our Europe and the eurozone, as Macron said? In this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard is joined by Guntram Wolff, Director of Bruegel, Piotr Buras, head of ECFR's Warsaw office and José Ignacio Torreblanca, head of ECFR's Madrid office to discuss the EU deal on the bloc's budget and economic recovery fund.
This podcast was recorded on 22 July 2020
Bookshelf:
The Balkans: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers 1804 – 1999 by Misha Glenny https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/311471/the-balkans-by-misha-glenny/
How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship by Ece Temelkuran http://www.4thestate.co.uk/2018/11/cover-reveal-how-to-lose-a-country-by-ece-temelkuran/
AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee https://www.aisuperpowers.com/
Can Europe compete in today’s new geopolitical realities? Does the Union find itself in a technology war with China? And are at least cooperative solutions with China on climate policies possible? In this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard is joined by Agatha Kratz, Associate Director at Rhodium Group and expert on EU-China relations, Janka Oertel head of ECFR´s Asia programme as well as ECFR co-chair Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden. Together, they answer these questions and discuss if and how Germany – as current EU Council Presidency holder – can find ways to recalibrate the EU’s handling and approach to China.
A Europe Ready to Compete? EU-China relations and new geopolitical realities: https://youtu.be/DaoiVm9zHzE
“Europe, China, and Hong Kong: Why new red lines will be worth the cost” by Janka Oertel https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_europe_china_and_hong_kong_why_new_red_lines_will_be_worth_the_c
“Booster or Brake? COVID and the Belt and Road Initiative” by Agatha Kratz et al: https://rhg.com/research/booster-or-brake-covid-and-the-belt-and-road-initiative/
“In times of strategic confusion, deeper dialogue is a must” by Carl Bildt: https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_eu_india_relations
This podcast was recorded on 13 July 2020.
Bookshelf: • “The Paladin: A Spy Novel” by David Ignatius • “Counting the Infected” “The Daily” Podcast by The New York Times • “The Adriatic Sea” by Harry Hodgkinson
In his opening remarks at our virtual Annual Council Meeting, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, spoke about Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the EU and the high expectations which are placed on it. According to him, the next six months will be centred around two things: solidarity and sovereignty.
In this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard is joined by our expert Jana Puglierin, head of the Berlin office to discuss the German EU Presidency in detail. What are the biggest challenges? Can Germany deliver on a greener, more social, and innovative recovery plan for the EU? Or are the expectations so high that they are set to fail?
Watch the opening session of our Annual Council Meeting on Germany in Europe and the German EU Council Presidency here: https://youtu.be/r9FxIX6WapQ
Remarks from Heiko Maas, Foreign Minister of Germany, at ECFR's virtual Annual Council Meeting 2020: https://www.ecfr.eu/article/remarks_from_heiko_maas_foreign_minister_of_germany_at_ecfr_annual_council
This podcast was recorded on 3 July 2020
Bookshelf:
· “Believer: My Forty Years in Politics” by David Axelrod
“If it’s about Europe´s role in global health, a big part of it is Europe's health sovereignty which we want to make one of the big topics of the German EU Council Presidency”, Germany’s Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn said in our Virtual Annual Council Meeting. The coronavirus pandemic brought the issue of health sovereignty affront: how can health security be achieved across Europe? In this week’s podcast Mark Leonard is joined by our experts Tara Varma, head of the Paris office, policy fellows Anthony Dworkin and Jonathan Hackenbroich, to discuss the components of European health sovereignty and how it can be attained.
Further reading: Health sovereignty: How to build a resilient European response to pandemics by Jonathan Hackenbroich, Jeremy Shapiro and Tara Varma https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/health_sovereignty_how_to_build_a_resilient_european_response_to_pandemics
Watch the session from our Annual Council Meeting featuring Jens Spahn and Mark Suzman here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfwZUU_0wus&feature=emb_title
This podcast was recorded on 1 July 2020
Bookshelf: -“The lying life of adults” by Elena Ferrante - “The “restructuring” of Hong Kong and the rise of neostatism” by Sebastian Veg - “National power and the structure of foreign trade” by Albert O. Hirschman - “Life and fate” by Vasily Grossman
As covid-19 raged, speculation grew that the crisis would re- strengthen public support for the state; faith in experts; and both pro- and anti-Europeanism. But ECFR’s latest research reveals these all to be illusions. Instead, the crisis has revolutionised citizens’ perceptions of global order – scrambling the distinctions between nationalism and globalism. Host Mark Leonard is joined by Ivan Krastev, co-author of the new Unlock study and chair of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia as well as by ECFR co-chair Lykke Friis and Ismaël Emelien, co-founder of En Marche! and President Emmanuel Macron 's former special advisor for strategy, communication and speeches. Together they discuss the findings of ECFR’s Unlock project: how has the pandemic changed European politics and the Europeans’ view of the EU and the world?
Find the paper by Ivan Krastev & Mark Leonard here: https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/europes_pandemic_politics_how_the_virus_has_changed_the_publics_worldview
This podcast was recorded on 25 June 2020
Bookshelf: -“Is it tomorrow yet?: Paradoxes of the pandemic” by Ivan Krastev -“The uncontrollability of the World” by Hartmut Rosa -“The new progressivism: a grassroots alternative to the populism of our times” by Ismaël Emelien & David Amiel
The coronavirus crisis brought about financial hardship for the European Union, and many agree that a recovery fund would be needed to overcome it. In the beginning, countries like Italy and Spain, in particular, felt left alone in dealing with this health, social and economic crisis. And still, support for financial burden-sharing is low in the “frugal” countries which would be the net contributors to such a recovery fund. But does this mean, there a general lack of solidarity in Europe? Can solidarity go in line with member states’ self-interest? In this week’s podcast Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR’s heads of offices Jana Puglierin (Berlin), Arturo Varvelli (Rome) and José Ignacio Torreblanca (Madrid) to discuss how solidarity is perceived across Europe and what ECFR’s Solidarity Tracker can teach us about pan-European solidarity during the covid-19 crisis. Find the European Solidarity Tracker here: https://www.ecfr.eu/solidaritytracker
This podcast was recorded on 17 June 2020.
Bookshelf:
· “Forget Hamilton. This Is Europe’s Calonne Moment.” by Trevor Jackson in Foreign Policy · “Russisches Roulette: Vom Kalten Krieg zum Kalten Frieden” by Horst Teltschik · “Germany and the European Union: Europe's Reluctant Hegemon?” by Simon Bulmer, William E. Paterson
The ongoing anti-racism demonstrations in the United States spurred by the brutal killing of George Floyd spread across the Atlantic. In many European countries, people are getting behind the cause and protesting racism and police violence against BIPOC. How are the demonstrations in France and Germany connected to the ones in the US? Is Europe also starting to confront racial injustice on its own soil? And what does it mean for the transatlantic relationship? In this week’s podcast Mark Leonard is joined by the head of our Paris office Tara Varma, Member of the German Bundestag and Council member Omid Nouripour, as well as Spencer Boyer, director of the Washington office of the Brennan Center for Justice to discuss the recent anti-racism protests and their impact on the transatlantic relations.
This podcast was recorded on 10 June 2020.
Bookshelf: • "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates • "Strategy: A History" by Sir Lawrence Freedman • "Time on Two Crosses: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin" by Bayard Rustin, Devon Carbado • "Les exilés meurent aussi d’amour" by Abnousse Shalmani • "The Bureau", TV Show
•"Mais d'où viens-tu en fait?" Plaidoyer pour un nouvel universalisme by Tara Varma for Huffington Post https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/entry/mais-dou-viens-tu-en-fait-plaidoyer-pour-un-nouvel-universalisme_fr_5ede5c61c5b690659234f07d
The attempt of a peace process in Libya is facing several substantial hindrances, where a variety of actors keep on inducing significant upheavals in its territory. Recently Turkey was observed to use Libya more and more as a playing field for its advancements - with some arguing that Turkey is becoming the new Russia on the geopolitical stage. In this week’s podcast Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR policy fellows Asli Aydıntaşbaş, and Tarek Megerisi as well as Nicu Popescu, Director of ECFR´s Wider Europe Program to discuss Turkey’s recent actions and aims in Libya. Is Turkey in Libya mirroring Russia in Syria?
See also: “Deep sea rivals: Europe, Turkey, and new eastern Mediterranean conflict lines” by Asli Aydıntaşbaş, Julien Barnes-Dacey, Cinzia Bianco, Hugh Lovatt, Tarek Megerisi: https://www.ecfr.eu/specials/eastern_med
This podcast was recorded on 4 June 2020.
Bookshelf: - “Libya's Fragmentation: Structure and Process in Violent Conflict” by Wolfram Lacher -“The Great Influenza: Tthe Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History” by John M. Barry -“Three Byzantine Military Treatises” by George T. Dennis - “The Hacker and the State: Cyber Attacks and the New Normal of -Geopolitics” by Ben Buchanan
The recent Franco-German proposal for an EU recovery fund sparked a lively debate on possible changes in EU’s nature, suggesting that the plan to raise €500bn through common EU debt and hand it out as grants, not loans, marks an important shift in EU policy. But is this really a “Hamiltonian” moment, as some labelled it? In this week’s podcast Mark Leonard welcomes Lykke Friis, ECFR co-chair and director of the Danish think tank EUROPA; ECFR Council Members Coen van Oostrom, Dutch-based founder and chief executive officer of EDGE Technologies and Jean Pisani-Ferry, Senior Fellow at Bruegel to discuss the ambitious Franco-German proposal and what it means for the future of Europe.
This podcast was recorded on 26 May 2020.
Bookshelf:
· "Helmut Kohl: Eine politische Biographie" by Hans-Peter Schwarz · "The Ride of a Lifetime" by Robert Iger · "How to Fix Globalization—for Detroit, Not Davos" by Lawrence H. Summers in The American Interest
Last year, the European Union published a strategic outlook in which it reviewed China as a partner, competitor and a strategic rival, creating a lively debate about the nature of the EU-China relations. However, this outlook was designed for a pre-corona world. How has covid-19 reshaped the EU-China relations? What changes to the global order will the pandemic bring? Who will be the main actors in the international arena? In this week’s podcast Mark Leonard welcomed Lanxin Xiang, Professor in International History and Politics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva and Director of the Centre of One And One Road Studies, who shares his insights on the changing global order, China’s attitude towards the EU and the Chinese “wolf warrior diplomacy”
This podcast was recorded on 20 May 2020.
Bookshelf: · "John Maynard Keynes 1883-1946: Economist, Philosopher, Statesman" by Robert Skidelsky · "The meaning of systemic rivalry: Europe and China beyond the pandemi"c by Andrew Small https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/the_meaning_of_systemic_rivalry_europe_and_china_beyond_the_pandemic
· "The post-coronavirus world is already here" by Josep Borrell https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/the_post_coronavirus_world_is_already_here
Emotions are an increasingly important part of contemporary politics. Strategies based on fear, nostalgia or hope are used by political leaders all over Europe to mobilize populations. Sociologist Karolina Wigura explored the role of emotions in times of corona in the latest episode of our ECFRQUARANTIMES series. In this week's podcast, this topic will be analysed further with a strong focus on the situation in Poland, the US and France. What are the dominant emotions in these countries? Which people and parties are trying to take advantage of this crisis and transform emotions into policies? What kind of impact covid-19 had and will have on elections? Our Host Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR experts Jeremy Shapiro, Piotr Buras, and Tara Varma. They share their feelings and tell us about the emotional experiences of their countries: how do Poles, the French and US-Americans experiences fear, suspicion and uncertainty in times of corona? Watch: ECFR Quarantimes episode with Karolina Wigura: https://www.ecfr.eu/article/ecfr_quarantimes_5_with_karolina_wigura This podcast was recorded on 14 May 2020.
Bookshelf:
- “We Have Been Harmonised: Life in China’s Surveillance State” by Kai Strittmatter
- “The meaning of systemic rivalry: Europe and China beyond the pandemic” by Andrew Small on ecfr.eu
- “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles
- “Is it tomorrow yet?” (working title) by Ivan Krastev based on some of the arguments, he laid out in his article “Seven early lessons from the coronavirus” on ecfr.eu
- “Baron Noir”, TV Series
Epidemics like the coronavirus outbreak are a mirror for humanity. Mark Leonard talked in our ECFR QUARANTIMES session to Frank Snowden, Professor Emeritus of History and History of Medicine at Yale University, about how infectious diseases have shaped societies, inspired political reform, altered the outcome of wars, transformed religion, and entrenched racial and economic discrimination. What lessons can we draw from post pandemic's to prepare our politics, economies and societies for the future?
This podcast is a recording of the ECFR QUARANTIMES session, 6 May 2020: https://www.ecfr.eu/article/ecfr_quarantimes_4_with_frank_snowden
Bookshelf:
“Epidemics and Society: From the Black Death to the Present" by Frank Snowden
Recently, we have seen funding cuts to the WHO in the middle of the coronavirus crisis and national governments closing borders instead of calling for a G20 or G7 summit. On the positive side, we heard Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González in our ECFR Quarantimes session arguing that covid-19 could serve as a catalyst for multilateral solutions on global health. But do this week’s podcast guests agree? Mark Leonard is joined by Gunilla Carlsson, former Swedish Minister for international development cooperation, and ECFR Senior Policy Fellow Anthony Dworkin to discuss the future of multilateral institutions like the WHO and what role the EU could play when it comes to global health? Can Europe be the forerunner?
ECFR Quarantimes Session with Arancha González: https://www.ecfr.eu/article/quarantimes_arancha_gonzalez
This podcast was recorded on 30 April 2020
Bookshelf:
- “And the band played on. Politics, people and the AIDS Epidemic” by Randy Shiltz
- Collected works by Selma Lagerlöf
- “The WHO v. coronavirus: why it can't handle the pandemic” by Stephen Buranyi, The Guardian
- “WHO becomes battleground as Trump chooses pandemic confrontation over cooperation” by Colum Lynch, Foreign Policy
- “EU limits on medical gear exports put poor countries and Europeans at risk” by Chad P. Bown, Peterson Institute for International Economics
- “The Cosmopolitan Tradition: A Noble but Flawed Ideal” by Martha C. Nussbaum
“We are at a moment of truth, which is to decide whether the European Union is a political project or just a market project. I think it’s a political project… We need financial transfers and solidarity, if only so that Europe holds on”, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with the Financial Times. In yesterday’s virtual EU Council Meeting, the EU tried to rise to this challenge. But did it succeed? Host Mark Leonard is joined by Henrik Enderlein, President at the Hertie School & Director of the Jacques Delors Centre think tank and Jana Puglierin, head of ECFR’s Berlin Office: what have been the expectations for and conclusion of the meeting? What happened to the swirling coronabonds discussion? And what’s Germany’s take on Macron’s vision and way forward for Europe?
This podcast was recorded on 24 April 2020
Bookshelf - "Macron, Merkel, and Europe's 'moment of truth'" by Tara Varma and Jonathan Hackenbroich https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_merkron_no_more - "The Great Transformation" by Karl Polanyi, "The New Progressivism: A Grassroots Alternative to the Populism of our Times" by David Amiel & Ismael Emelien
Word on the street suggests that technology will be the way out of the coronavirus crisis and the lockdowns in many European countries. This seems to be confirmed by a multitude of projects such as the EU’s Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT), the aim of which is to make it possible to interrupt new chains of infection with the coronavirus. Through apps and data sharing, we will be able to track the spread of the virus, those infected and those who developed a degree of immunity to the disease and thus are allowed to return to participate normally in society. As good as it sounds, however, the issue comes with its own set of profound ethical questions regarding individual rights such as privacy and consent. Our Host Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR experts Ulrike Franke and Anthony Dworkin as well as independent researcher and broadcaster Stephanie Hare to break down the current discourse around tech in the age of corona and its implications.
This podcast was recorded on 15 April 2020.
Bookshelf “The age of surveillance capitalism” by Shoshana Zuboff “In the shadow of justice” by Katrina Forrester “Pale rider” by Laura Spinney “The mirror of yoga” by Richard Freeman
How is Russia dealing with covid-19? What impact does the pandemic have on the other underlying political issues in Russia – such as the change of the constitution and Putin’s decision to essentially stay in power until 2036? Our ECFR experts also point out the strange absence of the Russian leader from the fight against corona – has covid-19 as well as the oil price crisis caused more turbulence and chaos in the country as he wants to admit? Host Mark Leonard, Gustav Gressel, Kadri Liik and Nicu Popescu come forward with analyses and predictions: if the EU doesn’t handle the crisis well, could Russia have been right in its Hobbsian view of the world?
Check out our “Dive Deep into Russia” lecture series by the ECFR Wider Europe Programme!
Bookshelf: - "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - "The Rise and Fall of 'Neutral' Sweden's Secret Reserve Option of Wartime Help from the West" by Robert Dalsjö - "Чужая и наша война - Сборник стихотворений и песен о военной операции Вооружённых Сил Российской Федерации против международных террористов в Сирийской Арабской Республике” by Сост. В.А. Силкин - "Why Russians don't get coronavirus” by Albatros - "Summertime" by JM Coetzee - "Discovering Judith Shklar sceptical liberalism of fear” by Samantha Ashenden & Andreas Hess
This podcast was recorded on 8 April 2020.
The EU members states have been caught up in a heated discussion on possible European ‘coronabonds’, a joint debt assistance by the Union to help those countries hit by the virus particularly hard. Soon enough, the discussion seemed to produce little of substance and rather to ignite previously existing divides between the member states in regard to a common fiscal policy and mutualisation of debt. In this unprecedented crisis, in which solidarity should be more than ever the Union’s raison d’être, what is the correct course of action? And, should a final solution not be met, what is at stake for Europe? Host Mark Leonard is joined by Guntram Wolff, Director of Bruegel, Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, and Jonathan Hackenbroich to break down the situation and a possible way forward.
This podcast was recorded on 1 April 2020.
Bookshelf: Love in the time of cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Radical Uncertainty: Decision-making for an Unknowable Future by Mervyn King and John Kay
Last week’s episode saw our experts dissecting the coronavirus’ implications for Europe. In today's episode, we’re breaking down how the crisis is unfolding in the rest of the world. From the Middle East to Russia and Asia, and all over across the Atlantic – what long-term effects could it have on these regions? And what does it mean for geopolitics, the global system and its institutions? Our Host Mark Leonard is joined by the ECFR heads of programme Julien Barnes-Dacey, Susi Dennison, Janka Oertel & Nicu Popescu to discuss how the virus is manifesting in these regions, and the implications it carries with it – and it doesn’t look too good. For all the gloominess this podcast will create, our experts recommend turning to poetry for some soul-healing. Recommendations below!
Bookshelf: - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S.Elliot - "Happy Everyday" by Benjamin Zephaniah
- "MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed Bin Salman" by Ben Hubbard
- "Sandworm" by Andy Greenberg
- "The Pursuit of Power" by William H. McNeill
- "Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy" by Cathy O'Neil
- "The Psychology of Pandemics. Preparing for the Next Global Outbreak of Infectious Disease" by Steven Taylor
- "The Coronavirus pandemic and the new world it is creating" by Josep Borrell
This podcast was recorded on 25 March 2020.
Recently declared a global pandemic, it is undeniable that the coronavirus will be a global political, social, financial and economic crisis - requiring actions that reach far beyond unilateral measures by single states. Within Europe, the virus seems to be calling into question the fundamentality of a shared European solidarity also due to rising dissatisfaction at the lack of a coordinated response. Whilst it is too early to tell, to what extent, it seems more and more certain that this crisis will have long-lasting consequences for the European project and life as we know it. Host Mark Leonard is joined by his fellow home office workers Jana Puglierin, Arturo Varvelli, Jose Ignacio Torreblanca and Pawel Zerka to dissect the European response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This podcast was recorded on 18 March 2020.
Bookshelf: "We need to talk about Putin" by Mark Galeotti “The bethrothed” by Alessandro Manzoni “I burn Paris” by Bruno Jasienski “Europe and the virus: The battle of narratives” by Pawel Zerka
Further reading: www.ecfr.eu/coronavirus
The European Union faces a multi-crisis situation at the moment. As the conflict in Idlib and the circumstances at the Greek-Turkish border has erupted, Europe seems to have troubles to respond to latest developments in the Syrian war and threats from Turkey. Host Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR co-chair and former Prime Minister of Sweden, Carl Bildt as well as by the ECFR experts Asli Aydintasbas and Julien Barnes-Dacey to discuss the reasoning behind Ankara’s recent moves and the EU’s reactions. How to avoid a 2015-like situation but without tossing its own values and human rights out off the window? And how to deal with the other seats of fire within the Union itself?
This podcast was recorded on 12 March 2020.
Further reading: - Syrian voices: Where next for European policy? https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_syrian_voices_where_next_for_european_policy
Bookshelf: "The Anarchy" by William Dalrymple "Pax Sinica: implications for the India dawn" by Samir Saran & Akhil Deo "Black Lamb and Grey Falcon" by Rebecca West "Blame Europe, not just Turkey, for migration deal collapse" by Kati Piri on politico.eu "Beyond blackmail at the Greek-Turkish border" by Nathalie Tocci on politico.eu "Clash of Empires: Currencies and Power in a Multipolar World" by Charles Gave & Louis-Vincent Gave
This week’s podcast episode sees very special participation from Anu Bradford, law professor at Columbia and author of “The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World”. Bradford’s book focuses on the way the EU manages to continuously set standards and have a say in the global playing field by unilaterally regulating its powerful single market, and consequentially reinforcing its status as a global powerhouse. Joined by our usual Host Mark Leonard and Head of ECFR Berlin Jana Puglierin, and drawing on many examples from the digital economy to climate change, this episode explores how a global regulatory race to the top will be how the EU gets to have a say in the 21st century.
Bookshelf: - The Brussels Effect by Anu Bradford - “The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Market ” by Thomas Philippon - “The World as It Is” by Ben Rhodes - “The Sanders Doctrine” in The Atlantic by Uri Friedman
This podcast was recorded on 2 March 2020.
Negotiations over the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021 – 2027 just have started. But as tensions and divergences between the EU member states are rising, a final agreement seems considerably far away for now. The European Union is subject to a series of unprecedented constraints, the most significant one being the UK’s departure and the withdrawal of the money it once granted. Still, the implications of the budget allocation are manifold and extremely far-reaching. It will affect major themes which stand at the very basis of the Union and its future role on the global stage, such as national sovereignty, climate and innovation. Our Director Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR co-chair and director of the Danish think tank EUROPA Lykke Friis, as well as ECFR experts Jonathan Hackenbroich and Pawel Zerka to dissect the ongoing status of the discussions.
Inspired by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, here are some recommendations by our podcast crew on what to read during the long hours of MFF negotiations:
Bookshelf: - “Den nya oredans tid” by Carl Bildt - “The three escapes by Hannah Arendt” by Ken Krimstein - "The books of Jacob“ by Olga Tokarczuk - “Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System” by Barry Eichengreen - - - "Håbets Europa” by Lykke Friis - "En kuffert i Berlin: Rejse i Angela Merkels Tyskland“ by Lykke Friis
This podcast was recorded on 25 February 2020.
Picture (c) European Union
The annual Munich Security Conference was themed "Westlessness" defining “a widespread feeling of uneasiness and restlessness in the face of increasing uncertainty about the enduring purpose of the West”. Is the West becoming less relevant in global affairs? Are the West’s international partnerships endangered? And if so, what will the world look like in the future? Our Director Mark Leonard is joined by an all-star ECFR cast including Janka Oertel, Ulrike Franke, Ellie Geranmayeh and Jeremy Shapiro, for a very special episode recorded straight from the MSC – and covering everything from 5G, China, Iran and the future of Europe’s transatlantic relationship.
Further readings Land of the lost: My trip to the Munich Security Conference by Jeremy Shapiro Europe, 5G, and Munich: The China challenge and American mission by Janka Oertel Facing the West’s Demons: The 2020 Munich Security Conference by Mark Leonard Westlessness: Lessons from the Western Balkans by Majda Ruge Charm defensive: Macron and the Germans at the Munich Security Conference by Jana Puglierin
This podcast was recorded on 15 February 2020. Picture (c) MSC/Becker
When US-President Donald Trump revealed his much-awaited plan for peace for Israel and Palestine it was set to solve one of the world's longest-running conflict. But this “deal of the century” was not met with the same enthusiasm in Palestine as it was seen on Trump’s and Netanyahu’s faces – to say the least. Host Mark Leonard and our MENA experts Hugh Lovatt and René Wildangel are analysing in depth the “Peace Plan” and show how little there is actually in it for the Palestinians. “The proposal clearly challenges the internationally agreed parameters,” said the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell. But what can and should Europe do beyond statements?
Further read: From negotiation to imposition: Trump’s Israel-Palestine parameters by Hugh Lovatt
Bookshelf: "Drinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege" Amira Hass "The living mountain" by Nan Shepherd "My Struggle" by Karl Ove Knausgård "Embracing Europe’s Power" by Josep Borrell
This podcast was recorded on 12 February 2020.
Last week the European Commission published its EU Toolbox on 5G Cyber Security, with the aim of aiding the Member States in evaluating the risks associated with future usage of 5G infrastructure and networks. This was a step forward given the polarising debate surrounding the role of Chinese telecommunications firms like Huawei and ZTE within a future 5G network in Europe. The decision, however, will ultimately be a national one taken by individual member states. Our Director Mark Leonard is joined by Asia Programme Director Janka Oertel and Project Director of Stiftung Neue Verantwortung Jan-Peter Kleinhans to discuss the significance and implications of the toolbox and what this might mean for the EU.
Bookshelf:
"The logic of strategic assets" by Jeffrey Ding and Allan Dafoe "The Path to Power" by Robert Caro "Clash of Empires: Currencies and Power in a Multipolar World" by Charles Gave and Louis Vincent Gave "All the Names" by Jose Saramago
This podcast was recorded on 5 February 2020.
It came as a surprise when Russia’s government resigned just hours after Putin’s announced his plans for a possible referendum of constitutional changes. Host Mark Leonard is joined by Kadri Liik and Gustav Gressel to elaborate on the recent political changes that have happened in the world’ largest country over the course of just the past weeks. What role will Putin play in the future in Russia and on the global stage? Is there a change to recent the relationship between the EU and Moscow? And was does this all mean to Belarus, Ukraine and the NordStream 2 project?
Further read: - "Will he stay or will he go? Putin’s role will change" by Kadri Liik - " The last of the offended: Russia’s first post-Putin diplomats" by Kadri Liik
Bookshelf: - "Brennender Enzian: Die Operationsplanung der NATO für Österreich und Norditalien 1951 bis 1960" by Dieter Krüger - "Admissions" by Henry Marsh "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi - "Traditions and Trends in Global Environmental Politics International Relations and the Earth" ed. by Olaf Corry & Hayley Stevenson
This podcast was recorded on 27 January 2020.
Anthony Dworkin stands in for our usual host, Mark Leonard, to de-brief the Berlin Conference on Libya. Together with the ECFR’s experts Asli Aydıntaşbaş, Tarek Megerisi and Arturo Varvelli, he discusses Europe’s attempt to get back in the game in Libya after the country has been torn apart by many foreign forces and players. They evaluate the conference’s turnout and analyse the final agreements – while also looking at another question: what does this all say about European foreign policy?
This podcast was recorded on 23 January 2020.
Bookshelf: - "The Confines of the Shadow" by Alessandro Spina - "International Schemes, Libyan Realities" by Wolfram Lacher - "The Balkan Trilogy" by Olivia Manning
Further read on ecfr.eu - Views from the capitals: The Libya conference in Berlin - A chance for leadership: German foreign policy after the killing of Qassem Soleimani by René Wildangel - How Italy was marginalised in Libya by Mattia Giampaolo - How to repair Europe’s credibility in Libya by Tarek Megerisi
During the Munich Strategy Forum 2019, host Mark Leonard sat down Toomas Ilves, the former president of Estonia aka the first smart country and “digital nation” in the world. What could we learn from this small EU member state when it comes to digitalisation? How did the digital revolution change foreign relations and international relations? And what role does Europe play it in? Frankly, does it play any role at all? Toomas Ilves points out how the lack of a common digital market puts the EU behind in advancing innovation and digitalisation in the 21st century. He urges Europe to finally merge the “two cultures” of sciences/tech and humanities to become a digital player in the world.
This podcast was recorded on 2 December 2019.
Bookshelf: • Two cultures by C.P. Snow • LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media by Peter W. Singer • The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for the Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff
Today, 100 years ago, the Versailles Contract went into effect which established the League of the Nations and laid the foundations for multilateralism. In 2019, Germany and France launched the Alliance for Multilateralism aiming at showing that countries still "support multilateralism and support the United Nations (to) remain the majority in the world," as French Foreign Minister Le Drian said. Planning to establish a network of countries ready to join forces and efforts on inequality or climate change, the Alliance also wants the members to strongly commit to a rules-based international order. But how will this look like in reality? Christoph Heusgen, Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations, explains to Mark Leonard some concrete measures and how the old tale of the German-Franco friendship still serves as a role model for other countries for how to overcome decades of conflicts and rivalry. Further information: www.multilateralism.org
This podcast was recorded on 3 December 2019.
Bookshelf: • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
With the US-killing of the Iranian military leader, Qassem Soleimani, the Middle East has been yet again sent in the heart to geopolitical uncertainty and frenzy. What does the killing mean for the future of the region, the Iran Nuclear Deal and the US role within it? Was there a strategy behind this offence and if yes, what kind? How should Europe react? In a special podcast edition, Mark Leonard talks with our senior policy fellows Ellie Geranmayeh, Jeremy Shapiro and Julien Barnes-Dacey about the implications for the neighbouring countries, Europe’s mediation role and whether there is a chance for de-escalation.
This podcast was recorded on 6 January 2020.
Bookshelf: - "Crisis in Iran will drive wedge between Europe and Washington" by Ellie Geranmayeh: https://www.politico.eu/article/crisis-in-iran-will-drive-wedge-between-europe-and-washington/
Picture (c) sayyed shahab o din vajedi/wikicommons
‘Tis the season! ...when Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro review the year gone by and predict 10 foreign policy trends (plus two bonus ones) that will define 2020, the beginning of a new decade. With a score of 6.5/10 they couldn’t sustain last year’s success but can still pat themselves on their backs - or what do you think? Let us know about your foreign policy predictions for the upcoming year. Comment below or e-mail us!
Bookshelf: - Ten Foreign Policy Trends for 2020 by Mark Leonard & Jeremy Shapiro - Mapping European Leverage in the MENA region by the ECFR MENA Programme: https://www.ecfr.eu/specials/mapping_eu_leverage_mena
This podcast was recorded on 16 December 2019.
In this bonus episode of our 1989 podcast miniseries, host Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR's young generation, all born between 1988-1990. Coming from the former GDR and Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Venezuela and the UK, they grew up in a borderless world, in a united Europe, with their parent's optimism about the future but with their teenage years shaped by the financial crisis and 9/11. So what did 1989 mean for their lives? And how will this generation influence the world and politics once it's their turn?
This podcast was recorded on 18 December 2019.
Bookshelf: - "Cruel Optimism" by Lauren Berlant - "The Wall" by John Lanchester - "My Parents: An Introduction" by Aleksandar Hemon - "Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow" by Yuval Noah Harari
Films: - "Sonnenallee" - "Good-Bye, Lenin!" - "The Lives of Others"
In the 1990s 13 out 15 European countries were led by social democratic governments and the transatlantic relationship came out strong by “winning the Cold War”. The fall of Berlin Wall and dissolution of the Soviet Union was considered as a turning point for Europe’s future and it symbolized the greatest common achievement of US and Europe at that time. But since then, EU-US relations and most of the social democratic parties in Europe have been deteriorating. Did the West underestimate the forces of liberalism and globalisation which took European states by storm? In this episode, Sylvie Kauffmann with host Mark Leonard untangles some of the many interconnections and which 1989 provoked or brought to light.
Bookshelf: - Sylvie Kauffmann's article series in Le Monde (in French) (1/4) Qui a perdu la Russie? (2/4) Comment la chut de l’URSS a bouleversé l’Occident (3/4) La revanche de la Chine (4/4) La social-démocratie, continent englouti
- "Firebird: The Elusive Fate of Russian Democracy" by Andrei Kozyrev
This podcast was recorded on 4 December 2019.
Picture: Aron Urb (EU2017EE)
Anthony Dworkin stands in for host Mark Leonard to talk about how China experienced 1989 back then and today. In some ways, it is more comparable to the changes 1968 provoked in the West, claims podcast guest and China expert Jeff Wasserstrom. Looking beyond the dreadful Tiananmen Square Massacre, how did China change after 1989 politically and socially? And can we draw a line from the protests back then to the ones in Hong Kong right now?
This podcast was recorded on 2 December 2019.
Bookshelf: "Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink" by Jeffrey Wasserstrom "Minjian: The Rise of China’s Grassroots Intellectuals" by Sebastian Veg Follow: Yangyang Cheng Twitter@yangyang_chen
Picture (c) Derzsi Elekes Andor, WikiCommons
In the fourth episode on the events of 1989 and how they have shaped, and may continue to shape our world in the years to come, host Mark Leonard is joined by Jeremy Shapiro. Jeremy Shapiro is research director here at ECFR, and is able to provide an account of the American experience of 1989, which was much less dramatic than European and Russian collective memories of the event. Nevertheless, 1989 is an interesting jumping off point for thinking about the lenses of US foreign policy and the foreign enemy paradigm it appears to require. In dialogue with our previous contributors- Timothy Garton Ash and Fyodor Lukyanov- Shapiro analyses the neglect of Russia in American foreign policy thinking and addresses issues such as the rise of China. Did the EU ever really develop a security order accepted by the Russians? What could the US or Europe have done differently in the wake of the Cold War?
This podcast was recorded on 27 November 2019.
Bookshelf: 1989: The Struggle to Create a Post-Cold War Europe, by Marie Elise Sarotte
Host Mark Leonard has an intimate discussion with our heads of office from Sofia and Warsaw, Vessela Tcherneva and Piotr Buras about their experiences, hopes and dreams during the transition times of the 1990s. How did their life and future change the minute the Berlin Wall fell? What are this generation’s thoughts 30 years later and predications for Europe in the coming 30 years?
This podcast was recorded on 21 November 2019.
Bookshelf: - The light that failed by Ivan Krastev - Bulgaria under Communism by Ivaylo Znepolski et al. - Reflections on a ravaged century by Robert Conquest - Die Welt braucht den Westen by Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff
Picture (c)Gavin Stewart/Flickr
In the second in our series on the events of 1989 and how they will shape our world for decades to come, host Mark Leonard is joined by Fyodor Lukyanov. Lukyanov is Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs, Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, and Research Director of the Valdai International Discussion Club. In this podcast, recorded in Dubai, the two discuss America's and Russia's differing views on the Cold War and its end. The trauma of 1989, but also the euphoria it generated in Europe, and Putin's development as a political actor, are set into context. This context allows for a multifaceted understanding of the events of 1989.It also allows the arc of Russian foreign policy to be traced to today, and in doing so provides a useful accompaniment to the Eurocentric 1989 celebrations.
This podcast was recorded on 4 November 2019
Bookshelf: Mikhail S. Gorbachev "Perestroika: New Thinking for Our Country and the World"
In this episode, live from Brussels, Ellie Geranmayeh is standing in for our host Mark Leonard to discuss Iran’s further withdrawal from the 2015 Nuclear Agreement. After the Iran Strategy Meeting meeting, she met with Hossein Mousavian (Princeton University), Ilan Goldenberg (Center for a New American Security) and Nasser Hadian (University of Teheran) to analyse the responses coming from the US and European governments, in particular from France. By marking the 40th anniversary of the Iran Hostage Crisis, they look back on how this has shaped the Iran-US relations in the past 4 years. Moreover, after one year, how has the re-imposition of the US sanction impacted Iran domestically?
This podcast was recorded on 6 November 2019.
Bookshelf: - "The United States Overthrew Iran’s Last Democratic Leader" by Roham Alvandi & Mark J. Gasiorowski - "U.S. Maximum Pressure Meets Iranian Maximum Pressure" by International Crisis Group - HBO Series “Our boys”
Picture (c)Tasnim News Agency
In the first in our mini-series on the events of 1989, host Mark Leonard is joined by very special guest Timothy Garton Ash, historian and Professor of European Studies at Oxford University. This series considers how 1989 and it's events will shape our world in the future. Was 1989 the greatest year in European history? How much of what is going on was a blip? Are we witnessing the decline of liberalism today? Ash provides insights into the course of our political history, but cautions on prescribing a course to our future. The neglect of solidarity, identity and community as part of the development of the European Union project has led to a hollowing out of European identity. Global challenges and populism put the future of the liberal democratic world into question, unless answers are found.
This podcast was recorded on 31 October 2019.
Bookshelf: The Light that Failed: A Reckoning, by Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes The Power of the Powerless, by Václav Havel
How will IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s killing impact ISIS as a terror organisation and the situation in Syria? Host Mark Leonard is joined by Anthony Dworkin and Asli Aydıntaşbaş to analyse the current events and political implications for Syria’s neighbouring countries, the US and the EU. As the European Union has failed to come up with a coherent policy on how to handle their citizens who travelled to join ISIS, they argue it would still be best, to bring them home and to try them there. But how could the EU member states go ahead with the process?
Further read: "Beyond good and evil: Why Europe should bring ISIS foreign fighters home" by Anthony Dworkin - https://t.co/06xbm6A2Th
The podcast was recorded on 30 October 2019.
Bookshelf: - "Sweet Caress" by William Boyd - "They will have to die now" by James Verini - "The Topeka School" by Ben Lerner - "Human Compatible" by Stuart Russell
North Macedonia and Albania wanted to start negotiations with the EU after having been candidate countries since 2005 and 2014. But the enlargement plans seemed to have stalled especially after opposition from France. Host Mark Leonard is joined by Susi Dennison, José Ignacio Torreblanca and Vessela Tcherneva to get to the bottom of things and the divisions particularly between France and Germany on this issue.
Bookshelf: - "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" by Shoshana Zuboff - "Spring" by Ali Smith - "The light that failed" by Ivan Krastev & Stephen Holmes - "State of the Union" Miniseries on BBC Two
The podcast as recorded on 17 October 2019.
Picture (c) JLogan|Wikipedia
Turkey's offensive into northeastern Syria is moving at an unprecedented pace with grave consequences. Europe's utter irrelevance in the face of US withdrawal from the Turkish/Syrian border has been thrown in to stark light, particularly as it fails to take responsibility for European Isis members in the region. Europes weakness on migration and the refugee crisis as a whole has also been highlighted. What can and should Europe do at this crisis point? As events unfold, Asli Aydıntaşbaş, senior policy fellow with the Wider Europe programme joins host Mark Leonard from Turkey. Mark is also joined by head of ECFR's MENA programme, Julien Barnes-Dacey. Jeremy Shapiro, our research director, provides insight into Trump and Erdoğan's relationship breakdown and what US foreign policy under Trump may continue to look like.
Bookshelf: "The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, 1914-1920" By Eugene Rogan "The Noise of Time" by Julien Barnes "Chimera" by Alexandros Yannis
This podcast was recorded on the 10th of October
In this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard, Gustav Gressel and Kadri Liik analyse Macron’s plans and ideas for recreating the European security order, an initiative which he launched with a speech at the Ambassador’s conference this year. Moreover, according to French officials, France will instead of starting with a top-down plan, try to build European security from the bottom-up and see if there is a desire in Moscow to make progress on specific issues, one brick at a time. They have laid out a roadmap with five different areas: Disarmament, security dialogue, crisis management, values, and common projects. Further read: “Emmanuel Macron’s very big idea on Russia” by Gustav Gressel, Kadri Liik, Jeremy Shapiro & Tara Varma
The podcast was recorded on 30 September 2019.
Bookshelf
- “We Need to Talk About Putin. Why the West gets him wrong, and how to get him right” by Mark Galeotti
- “Psychopolitics. Neoliberalism and New Technologies of Power” by Byung-Chul Han
Mark Leonard welcomes a very special guest, David McAllister MEP to the podcast, talking about the process of doing all the hearings for the European Commission over the next weeks. Additionally, David McAllister gives his view on Europe on the world stage and his vision of European foreign policy.
The podcast was recorded on 25 September 2019.
Bookshelf: "Aufstehen, Kilt richten, weiterkämpfen" by John McGurk
Livestream to the hearings: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-live/en/schedule
The multilateral system faces three related crises of power, relevance, and legitimacy. This fraying consensus threatens the EU, which is committed to multilateralism. But the situation also represents an opportunity for European influence! Mark Leonard discusses Europe's stake on multilateralism with the ECFR experts Richard Gowan and Anthony Dworkin.
Bookshelf: "The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir" by Samantha Power "The Final Act: The Helsinki Accords and the Transformation of the Cold War" by Michael Cotey Morgan "Three crises and an opportunity: Europe’s stake in multilateralism" by Richard Gowan & Anthony Dworkin
The podcast was recorded on 19 September 2019.
Mark Leonard is meeting his ECFR colleagues, Tara Varma, Piotr Buras and Teresa Coratello in Berlin to go through the newly selected EU Commission. What have been surprises, disappointments and challenges in von der Leyen's new cabinet? And what role did geopolitics play during the selection process?
This podcast was recorded on 10 September 2019.
Read von der Leyen's Vision Statement here: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/resources/library/media/20190716RES57231/20190716RES57231.pdf
Bookshelf: - "Wer wir sind: die Erfahrung ostdeutsch zu sein" by Jana Hensel & Wolfgang Engler - "L’art de perdre " by Alice Zeniter - "The testaments" by Margaret Atwood - Speech by Liliana Segre in front of the Italian Senate - "The Virtual Weapon and International Order" by Lucas Kello
Picture (c) LIBER Europe
This week, ECFR director Mark Leonard discusses with experts Ellie Geranmayeh and Julien Barnes-Dacey the French president Emmanuel Macron's bold initiative: Europeans are now to explore a credit line for Iran to entice the sanctions-battered country to keep abiding by an international nuclear deal. But the US and president Trump are sceptical.
Bookshelf: "Crashed" by Adam Tooze "21 Lessons for the 21st Century" by Yuval Harari "Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in History" by Richard J. Evans
The podcast was recorded on 6 September 2019 Picture: MSC / Balk
In the final episode of our special summer series on European strategic sovereignty, regular host Mark Leonard is joined by two of ECFR’s own experts: research director Jeremy Shapiro and Senior Policy Fellow and head of the Paris office Tara Varma. Topic of discussion is research led by Ulrike Franke and Tara Varma looking at how Europeans from all of the different EU member states see strategic autonomy. Is the idea of strategic sovereignty owned by the French? If it is, does French ownership pose a problem for the acceptance of the idea? What is the military component of European strategic sovereignty? What role is there for the UK after Brexit? These are some of the questions they discuss.
The paper that is referred to can be found here: https://www.ecfr.eu/specials/scorecard/independence_play_europes_pursuit_of_strategic_autonomy
This podcast was recorded on Friday, August 30, 2019.
Picture retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emmanuel_Macron_and_Angela_Merkel_(Frankfurter_Buchmesse_2017).jpg Public domain.
As the US-China tech war escalates, techno-nationalism looks to replace global connectivity and collaboration. Helping ECFR director Mark Leonard understand the tech rivalry are Andrew Small, a senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund, Tim Rühlig, a researcher at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs and Amy Studdart, a senior advisor at the International Republican Institute and Founder of the tech startup Villager. The all-star cast discuss the pressing questions: Will either side agree to a tech war truce? Will globalization unravel? What role will Europe play?
The podcast was recorded on Tuesday, 16 July 2019.
Photo: NASA engineers inspect a new piece of telescope technology. Photo by Chris Gunn. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/15119297052
In this episode of ECFR’s special summer series on European strategic sovereignty, Mark Leonard talks to Ulrike Franke, ECFR Policy Fellow, about artificial intelligence (AI). Mark asks Ulrike, who is currently on leave at the University of Oxford studying AI, where Europe stands compared to the United States and China in harnessing this promising new technology. More specifically, they look at the ingredients needed to develop good AI (talent, data and hardware) and ask to what extent Europe has them. The two end with a number of recommendations for Europe’s leaders as to what it can do to catch up with frontrunners US and China.
The podcast was recorded Monday, July 15, 2019.
Picture retrieved from pixabay: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/artificial-intelligence-brain-think-4389372/.
In the third episode of ECFR’s summer series on strategic sovereignty, Mark Leonard talks to Gustav Gressel, Acting Director of the Wider Europe programme and Senior Policy Fellow at ECFR, about hybrid threats. Using Gressel’s recent paper on hybrid threats as a starting point, they discuss all elements of hybrid warfare: from sponsored proxy groups to propaganda war, and from economic pressure to cyber attacks. Importantly, they ask what impact hybrid warfare might have on European sovereignty.
This podcast was recorded on Friday, 12 July, 2019.
Picture: Cyber warfare specialists serving with the Maryland Air National Guard’s 175th Cyberspace Operations Group engage in weekend training at Warfield Air National Guard Base in Middle River, Md., June 3, 2017. Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr. Public domain. Retrieved from: https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/News/Article/Article/1466442/military-officials-testify-on-cybersecurity-on-capitol-hill/
The second episode of ECFR's summer series on strategic sovereignty explores the critical challenge that secondary sanctions pose for Europe, due to the Trump administration's maximalist position on Iran. Joining Mark Leonard for a lively discussion of economic statecraft are Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior policy fellow at ECFR, Henry Farrell, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University and Elizabeth Rosenberg, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. They discuss how Europe could reduce its vulnerabilities to U.S. secondary sanctions, which — in the future — could target countries that are more important to the European economy, such as China and Russia.
This podcast was recorded on Tuesday, 23 July 2019.
Photo: Trump announces his decision not to certify under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Act, October 13, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/president-trump-announces-iran-strategy/
Mark Leonard launches ECFR’s special summer series on European sovereignty with a discussion of the continent’s security and defence policy. He is joined by Nick Witney, a senior policy fellow at ECFR with a wealth of experience in diplomacy and defence strategy. Witney discusses how today’s strategically-divergent Europeans can collectively bolster their defence capabilities to offset new pressures from Russia and the southern border as well as reduce their reliance on the Americans.
This podcast was recorded on Friday, 12 July 2019.
Picture: Spanish soldiers at the European Best Sniper Squad Competition in Bavaria, Germany, 24 October 2016. Photo by Gertrud Zach. Retrieved from https://www.army.mil/article/177439/sniper_teams_shoot_for_european_best_squad_2016
Standing in for regular host Mark Leonard, Anthony Dworkin, senior policy fellow at ECFR, looks at Europe's Eastern neighbourhood and interaction with Russia. He is joined by Kurt Volker, executive director of the McCain Institute and US special representative for the Ukraine negotiations, and Nicu Popescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Moldova and former head of the Wider Europe program at ECFR. They look at the conflicts in Ukraine and Moldova, what the Ukrainians might learn from the Moldovans, and what role there is for Europe in the region.
The podcast was recorded on Tuesday, 25 June, 2019, at the side-lines of ECFR’s Annual Council Meeting in Lisbon.
Bookshelf • The Perfect Kill: 21 Laws for Assassins by Robert Baer https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/315835/the-perfect-kill-by-robert-b-baer/ • A Little War That Shook the World by Ronald Asmus https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0033SA54M/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 • 1984 by George Orwell https://www.hmhco.com/shop/books/1984/9781328869333
Picture US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker at President Zelensky's inauguration, on May 20th 2019. Photo by the Presidential Administration of Ukraine. Retrieved from https://www.president.gov.ua/photos/urochisti-zahodi-z-nagodi-skladennya-prisyagi-prezidentom-uk-2905. [CCA 4.0 international]
In the latest edition of the World in 30 Minutes, regular host Mark Leonard discusses the transatlantic relations with Ben Rhodes, former speechwriter and advisor to President Obama, Jake Sullivan, former National Security Advisor to Vice-President Biden and Head of Policy Planning to then Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, and Amanda Sloat, senior fellow at Brookings and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southern Europe and Eastern Mediterranean Affairs in the State Department. They try to look beyond Trump and into the future, asking what the ingredients are for a sustainable transatlantic relationship.
The podcast was recorded on Wednesday, June 26th, 2019, at the side-lines of ECFR’s Annual Council Meeting in Lisbon.
Bookshelf • The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt https://righteousmind.com/ • Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Tom Wright & Bradley Hope https://www.hachettebooks.com/titles/tom-wright/billion-dollar-whale/9780316436502/ • How To Lose A Country: the 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship by Ece Temelkuran http://www.4thestate.co.uk/book/how-to-lose-a-country-the-7-steps-from-democracy-to-dictatorship-ece-temelkuran-9780008294014/
Picture: President Trump’s Trip Abroad via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/34502607780 Taken on May 25, 2017. Public domain.
This week, ECFR director Mark Leonard discusses the new faces of the European Council: from Ursula von der Leyen to Josep Borrell, these are the figures who will lead Europe over the coming years. Mark is joined by an all-star cast from four ECFR offices across Europe.
Bookshelf: Wes Mitchell: Perhapsburg (American Interest) Francis Fukuyama: Identity John Mearsheimer: The Great Dillusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities Alexandros Yannis: Chimera: A Novel Luuk von Middelaar: Alarums and Excursions – Improving Politics on the European Stage Parag Khanna: The Future is Asian German philosophy about Europe from Immanuel Kant to Jürgen Habermas Robert Menasse: Die Hauptstadt ECFR: Strategic sovereignty: How Europe can regain the capacity to act
The podcast was recorded on 5 July 2019 Picture: European Union EC - Audiovisual Service
Anthony Dworkin, standing in for regular host Mark Leonard, was joined by Douglas Alexander, senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, former Labour Europe minister, and former Labour shadow Foreign Secretary, and by Heather Grabbe, director of the Open Society European Policy Institute, to discuss Brexit. On this latest episode of the World in 30 Minutes, Anthony and his two guests, who are both ECFR Council Members, discuss the upcoming Tory leadership election and the consequences it will have for Brexit. In addition to asking what likely future Prime Minister Boris Johnson´s plans might be, they look back on what Brexit has been so far and examine the state of the debate. The podcast was recorded on Tuesday, 25 June 2019 at the side-lines of ECFR’s Annual Council Meeting in Lisbon. Bookshelf * The Passage to Europe by Luuk van Middelaar https://www.yalebooks.co.uk/display.asp?ISB=9780300205336 * Alarums and Excursions by Luuk van Middelaar https://www.agendapub.com/books/94/alarums-and-excursions * The Self-Destruction of American Power by Fareed Zakaria https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2019-06-11/self-destruction-american-power
Picture: Tiocfaidh ár lá 1916 via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/tiocfaidh_ar_la_1916/46607043232 (CC BY-ND 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/)
Mark Leonard was joined by Jean Pisany-Ferry, co-founder of Bruegel, Guntram Wolff, director of Bruegel and Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director at ECFR. This week ECFR published a paper on how Europe can regain the capacity to act. Mark and his guests, inspired by the tenor of this new publication, discussed the concept of European Economic Sovereignty on this latest episode of Mark Leonard’s World in 30 Minutes.
The podcast was recorded on Thursday, 20 June 2019.
Bookshelf
Super intelligence by Nick Bostrom https://www.amazon.com/Superintelligence-Dangers-Strategies-Nick-Bostrom/dp/1501227742 A London apprentice Judy Graham https://www.amazon.co.uk/Judy-Graham/e/B07QL18H74 We have been harmonized Kai Strittmatter https://www.waterstones.com/book/we-have-been-harmonised/kai-strittmatter/ruth-martin/9781913083007 European sovereignty paper https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/strategic_sovereignty_how_europe_can_regain_the_capacity_to_act#
Image: European Central Bank (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
This week, Ulrike Franke is filling in for the regular host Mark Leonard to discuss the stories behind the media headlines in the aftermath of the EU elections. She is joined by Simon Hix, Pro-Director for Research and the Harold Laski Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics, Susi Dennison, senior policy fellow and the director of ECFR's European Power programme and Pawel Zerka, policy fellow and programme coordinator of the European Power programme at ECFR. They speak about the crumbling political centre, the Green wave and what young voters have to do with it, and bet on who will become the next president of the European Commission.
The podcast was recorded on Monday, 3 June 2019.
Bookshelf
Europe’s Citizens Say They Want a More Political EU by Jean Pisani-Ferry https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/european-parliament-election-heralds-political-europe-by-jean-pisani-ferry-2019-05 Machines like me by Ian McEwan https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1117889/machines-like-me/9781787331662.html Why cities lose by Jonathan A. Rodden https://politicalscience.stanford.edu/publications/why-cities-lose-deep-roots-urban-rural-political-divide Views from the Capitals: European elections by various ECFR experts https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/vfc_views_from_the_capitals_european_elections
What Europeans really feel: The battle for the political system by Susi Dennison, Mark Leonard, and Adam Lury https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/what_europeans_really_feel_the_battle_for_the_political_system_eu_election Kingmakers of the mainstream: predictions for the European Parliament election by Kevin Cunningham, Simon Hix, and Michael Marsh, with Susi Dennison https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/kingmakers_of_mainstream_predictions_for_european_parliament_election
Image: (c) European Union
Mark Leonard is joined by Ellie Geranmayeh, deputy head of ECFR’s MENA programme, Hossein Mousavian, former Iranian diplomat and scholar, and Ilan Goldenberg, director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and former Pentagon official. They explore the latest development around the JCPOA, the European and Iranian point of views, and scenarios for potential US-Iran escalation.
The podcast was recorded on 14 May 2019.
Bookshelf: 60 days to save the JCPOA by Ellie Geranmayeh https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_60_days_to_save_the_jcpoa_iran_nuclear_deal
There Is Still Time for Diplomacy With Iran by Ilan Goldenberg and Elizabeth Rosenberg https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/05/10/there-is-still-time-for-diplomacy-with-iran-united-states-trump/
It’s Time for the Leaders of Saudi Arabia and Iran to Talk by Hossein Mousavian and Abdulaziz Sager https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/opinion/saudi-arabia-iran.html
Picture: (c) European Union
Mark Leonard speaks with Simon Kuper, Tara Varma and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil about the Yellow Vest Movement, and whether it is only a French phenomenon. The podcast was recorded on 21 March 2019.
EU Radio is now also broadcasting this podcast on Tuesdays at 7pm and Wednesdays at 9am CET every week. You can listen to the station at www.euradio.fr.
Bookshelf: Sur le fil de l'asile by Pasquale Brice https://livre.fnac.com/a10913324/Pascal-Brice-Sur-le-fil-de-l-asile Harcelées by Astrid de Villaines https://www.amazon.fr/Harcel%C3%A9es-Astrid-VILLAINES/dp/2259276563 Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain by Fintan O’Toole https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heroic-Failure-Brexit-Politics-Pain/dp/1789540984 Twilight of the Elites: Prosperity, the Periphery, and the Future of France by Christophe Guilluy & Malcolm DeBevoise https://guardianbookshop.com/twilight-of-the-elites-9780300233766.html?utm_source=editoriallink&utm_medium=merch&utm_campaign=article The 2019 European Election: How anti-Europeans plan to wreck European and what can be done to stop it by Susi Dennison and Pawel Zerka https://www.ecfr.eu/specials/scorecard/the_2019_European_election Why Viktor Orbán and his allies won’t win the EU elections by Ivan Krastev https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_why_viktor_orban_and_his_allies_wont_win_the_eu_elections Will the yellow vests movement spread across Europe? by Tara Varma https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_will_the_yellow_vests_movement_spread_across_europe Unlock Europe’s majority https://www.ecfr.eu/europeanpower/unlock Secrets of the populist playbook How a new breed of political strategist paved the way for Trump and Orbán by Simon Kuper https://www.ft.com/content/5bd32460-4521-11e9-b168-96a37d002cd3
Picture credit: Gilets Jaunes by Ella87 via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/fr/photos/gilets-jaunes-manifestation-3854259/, CC0 – 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
Jeremy Shapiro is standing in for the regular host Mark Leonard and discusses the current situation in Crimea and relations between Russia and Ukraine with ECFR experts Kadri Liik and Nicu Popsecu. The podcast was recorded on 13 March 2019.
EU Radio is now also broadcasting this podcast on Tuesdays at 7pm and Wednesdays at 9am CET every week. You can listen to the station at euradio.fr.
Bookshelf: We need to talk about Putin by Mark Galeotti https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1117583/we-need-to-talk-about-putin/9781529103595.html
History of the Russian Revolution by Leon Trotsky https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/305/305080/history-of-the-russian-revolution/9780241301319.html
The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Bully-Pulpit/Doris-Kearns-Goodwin/9781416547877
Picture credit: Concert celebrating Crimea and Sevastopol’s reunification with Russia by Kremlin via http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/47878, CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Mark Leonard speaks with Andrew Lebovich, Anthony Dworkin and Chloe Teevan, about what the demonstrators want, and EU-Algeria relations.
Bookshelf:
La Martingale Algérienne, Réflexions sur une crise by Abderrahmane Hadj-Nacer http://www.editions-barzakh.com/catalogue/la-martingale-algerienne-reflexions-sur-une-crise
A History of Algeria by James McDougall https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/history-of-algeria/418AD49FDD701AB08A1D77E83423AB11
Algiers, Third World Capital: Freedom Fighters, Revolutionaries, Black Panthers by Elaine Mokhtefi https://www.versobooks.com/books/2736-algiers-third-world-capital
The Battlefield: Algeria 1988-2002, Studies in a Broken Polity by Hugh Roberts https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/the-battlefield-9781786632517/
Protests and the ailing president: Algeria's political crisis by Andrew Lebovich https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_protests_and_the_ailing_president_algerias_political_crisis
Renewing Europe by Emmanuel Macron https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/three-goals-to-guide-european-union-renewal-by-emmanuel-macron-2019-03
Picture credit: Algeria Protests 2019 2nd week by Bachounda via Wikimedia https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81:Algeria_Protests_2019_2ndweek_1.jpg#filelinks, CC-BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Mark Leonard speaks with Ellie Geranmayeh and Dr Kayhan Barzegar about Mohammad Javad Zarif’s resignation, and the current political situation in Iran.
Bookshelf: Becoming by Michelle Obama https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/562881/becoming-by-michelle-obama/9781524763138/ Reading Lolita from Tehran by Azar Nafisi https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/290/290466/reading-lolita-in-tehran/9780241246238.html Let the swords encircle me by Scott Peterson https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Let-the-Swords-Encircle-Me/Scott-Peterson/9781416597285
Films: The Insult https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Insult_(film) No Man’s Land https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Man%27s_Land_(2001_film) About Elly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/About_Elly A Separation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Separation
Picture credit: Iranian and German foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif and Frank-Walter Steinmeier meeting in Tehran by Tasnim News Agency, via Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FM_Javad_Zarif_meeting_German_FM_Frank-Walter_Steinmeier_in_Tehran_139411132358185167028224.jpg, CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Highlights of the Munich Security Conference 2019 Directly from the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Mark Leonard, Ulrike Franke and Jonathan Hackenbroich share their post-conference insights. They discuss the speeches by German chancellor Angela Merkel, US vice-president Mike Pence, and Britain’s defence secretary Gavin Williamson, and talk about their favourite side-events.
Bookshelf: * Munich Security Report 2019 "The Great Puzzle: Who Will Pick Up the Pieces?" https://www.securityconference.de/publikationen/munich-security-report/ * La ruée vers l'Europe : La jeune Afrique en route pour le Vieux Continent by Stephen Smith https://www.grasset.fr/la-ruee-vers-leurope-9782246803508 * The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers https://www.hodder.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781473619777 * The Light that Failed: How the West Won the Cold War But Lost the Peace by Ivan Krastev & Stephen Holmes (forthcoming September 2019)
The podcast was recorded on Sunday, 17 February 2017. Picture: MSC / Kuhlmann
Mark Leonard speaks with Susi Dennison, director of ECFR’s European Power programme, and programme coordinator Pawel Zerka, about the upcoming European Parliament elections, the possibility of a surge in Eurosceptic parties, and how to mobilize the pro-European vote.
New ECFR report: "The 2019 European Elections: How anti-Europeans plan to wreck Europe and what can be done to stop" it’https://www.ecfr.eu/specials/scorecard/the_2019_European_election
Bookshelf: - The Happiness Industry by William Davies - Nervous States by William Davies - Bourgeois Equality by Deirdre N. McCloskey - The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith - The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff
The podcast was recorded on 11 February 2019. Picture: © European Union 2019 - Source : EP
Anthony Dworkin steps in for Mark Leonard and speaks with Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, Federica Paddeu, and Sergey Sukhankin, about what risks the recognition of Juan Guaido as interim president of Venezuela by several European countries will bring. The podcast was recorded on 5 February 2019.
Bookshelf:
Russian mercenaries on the march: next stop Venezuela? by Sergey Sukhankin https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_russian_mercenaries_on_the_march_next_stop_venezuela
Dismantling Democracy in Venezuela: The Chávez Authoritarian Experiment by Allan R. Brewer-Carías https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/dismantling-democracy-in-venezuela/8AE23B722E92B1BB95A8B15363ADEADA
The Mutiny - the name of the third world by Evgeny Messner http://csef.ru/en/oborona-i-bezopasnost/504/messner-e-myatezh-imya-tretej-vsemirnoj-3829
Caracas Chronicles https://www.caracaschronicles.com/
AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley and the New World Order by Kai-Fu Lee https://aisuperpowers.com/
Picture credit: Isabel Díaz Ayuso junto a Jose Luis Rodriguez Almeida asisten a la concentración en apoyo al gobierno de Juan Guaido by PP Communidad de Madrid, via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/ppmadrid/32021734217/in/photolist-QMDKXP-2dabiBV-2drUZcq-2dabiLc-2drUYU1-23RMhr6-2dabiCX-23WvvMg-QMDKYR-QMDKLX-2drUZfG-2drUZis-2drUZcL-QLMj7k-2etmEE6-QMDL3t-23WvvNt-23WvvHi-2dabiQv-2d5qK6c-2dnbkSd-23RMhGr-23RMgMF-2eteBaV-QMDL9a-QMDL5n-2dnbkJ7-2eteBdv-23RMgfZ-23RMgjX-2d5rj3V-23RMgZV-23RMgPz-23WvvDR-23WvvUv-2drUYA5-2drUYMC-23Wvw3M-2drUZ4Q-QMDL1e-2drUZdY-2drUZaw-23RMg3V-2dabizF-2drUYNj-23WvvFz-23WvvSB-QMDKSP-2drUZ37-Sk8waj, CC-BY-2.0
Anthony Dworkin steps in for Mark Leonard and speaks with Janka Oertel and Sebastian Mallaby about US-China trade talks, their relationship and Europe’s role. The podcast was recorded on 30 January 2019.
Bookshelf:
Troublemakers: Silicon Valley's Coming of Age by Leslie Berlin https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Troublemakers/Leslie-Berlin/9781451651508
The Code: Silicon Valley and the remaking of America by Margeret O’Mara https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/534709/the-code-by-margaret-omara/9780399562181/
Die Neuerfindung der Diktatur by Kai Strittmatter https://www.piper.de/buecher/die-neuerfindung-der-diktatur-isbn-978-3-492-05895-7
Algiers, Third World Capital: Freedom Fighters, Revolutionaries, Black Panthers by Elaine Mokhtefi https://www.versobooks.com/books/2736-algiers-third-world-capital
Picture credit: 1444957 by Mohamed Hassan via Pxhere https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1444957, CC0 Public Domain
Anthony Dworkin steps in for Mark Leonard and speaks with Almut Möller, Manuel Lafont Rapnouil and Tom Nuttall about how significant the new treaty of friendship between France and Germany is. The podcast was recorded on the 17 January 2019.
Bookshelf:
Iron Kingdom by Christopher Clark https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/261/26185/iron-kingdom/9780140293340.html
Wir sind ja nicht zum Spaß hier: Reportagen, Satiren und andere Gebrauchstexte by Deniz Yügel https://www.amazon.de/sind-nicht-Spa%C3%9F-hier-Gebrauchstexte/dp/3960540736
La Faiblesse du vrai: Ce que la post-vérité fait à notre monde commun by Myriam Revault d'Allonnes http://www.seuil.com/ouvrage/la-faiblesse-du-vrai-myriam-revault-d-allonnes/9782021383041
Sabbath's Theater by Philip Roth https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/103/1037630/sabbath-s-theater/9780099582014.html
Warnings From Versailles: The Lessons of 1919, a Hundred Years On By Margaret MacMillan https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2019-01-08/warnings-versailles
Picture credit: Official portrait and opening ceremony Emmanuel Macron (President of France) and Angela Merkel (Federal Chancellor of Germany) by NATO via https://www.flickr.com/photos/nato/43344877991, CC-by-NC-ND 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
Anthony Dworkin steps in for Mark Leonard and discusses the US strategy in Syria with Asli Aydintasbas, Julien Barnes-Dacey and Jasmin El-Gamal. The podcast was recorded on 10 January 2019.
Picture: Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Matthew Callahan via US Department of Defense https://dod.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1239452/collaboration-fuels-fight-against-isis-official-says/, DoD Instruction 5410.20 https://www.dimoc.mil/resources/limitations/.
Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro review the year gone by and predict the 10 foreign policy trends that will define 2019.
Picture credit: Statistics Forward Financial Trends by Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/statistics-forward-financial-trends-2214097/, CC0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
Mark Leonard speaks with Shoshana Fine, Tom Nuttall, Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, and Patrycja Sasnal about the UN’s GCM, and whether it matters that some European countries haven’t signed it. The podcast was recorded on 12 December 2018.
Bookshelf:
Go, went, gone by Jenny Erpenbeck https://www.amazon.co.uk/Go-Went-Gone-Jenny-Erpenbeck/dp/1846276209
How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/562246/how-democracies-die-by-steven-levitsky-and-daniel-ziblatt/9781524762933/
Security at the Borders: Transnational Practices and Technologies in West Africa by Philippe M. Frowd https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/security-at-the-borders/4F392EE06A6B27A2E531C388C86B73E6
Revolution Of Hope: Toward a Humanized Technology by Erich Fromm https://www.amazon.co.uk/Revolution-Hope-Toward-Humanized-Technology/dp/159056183X
Distant love by Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Distant+Love-p-9780745661803
Picture credit: The main entrance to the Global Compact for Migration Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, by UN Photo/Abdelouahed Tajani via UN News https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/12/1028251, Copyright guidelines https://www.unmultimedia.org/photo/guidelines.jsp.
Mark Leonard speaks with Michael Thumann about Germany and its new role in the world.
Bookshelf: The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities by John J. Mearsheimer https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300234190/great-delusion Spionagechef im geheimen Krieg by Markus Wolf https://www.amazon.de/Spionagechef-geheimen-Krieg-Markus-Wolf/dp/3612264826 Die Zeit articles by Michael Thumann https://www.zeit.de/autoren/T/Michael_Thumann/index.xml
Picture credit: The hands of Angela Merkel, forming her trademark gesture by Armin Linnartz via Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Angela_Merkel_hands.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
Mark Leonard speaks with Andrew Wilson, Kadri Liik and Nicu Popescu about the Kerch Strait ship capture, what this means and how the international community could react to the latest tensions. The podcast was recorded on 26 November 2018.
Bookshelf: The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage by Cliff Stoll http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Cuckoos-Egg/Cliff-Stoll/9781416507789 Why doctors hate their computers by Atul Gawande https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/11/12/why-doctors-hate-their-computers Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President - What We Don't, Can't, and Do Know by Kathleen Hall Jamieson https://global.oup.com/academic/product/cyberwar-9780190915810?cc=gb⟨=en& Network Propaganda - Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics by Yochai Benkler, Robert Faris, and Hal Roberts https://global.oup.com/academic/product/network-propaganda-9780190923631?cc=gb⟨=en& Distant love by Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Distant+Love-p-9780745661803
Picture credit: Vladimir Putin at celebrating the 70th anniversary of D-Day by Kremlin.ru, available via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimir_Putin_at_celebrating_the_70th_anniversary_of_D-Day_(2014-06-06;_06).jpeg, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Anthony Dworkin speaks with Gerald Knaus about how the EU can protect human rights and prevent rising illiberalism.
Bookshelf: Moral Tribes by Joshua Greene https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/299057/moral-tribes-by-joshua-greene/9780143126058/ Not Enough - Human Rights in an Unequal World by Samuel Moyn http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674737563
Picture credit: Do not enter by nrjfalcon1 via Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/do-not-enter-sign-traffic-road-600755/, CC0
Anthony Dworkin speaks with Douglas Alexander about the proposed withdrawal agreement, whether it will get through parliament and what might happen if it doesn't.
Picture credit: Brexit talks on the verge of crucial new stage as Theresa May falters by Tiocfaidh ár lá 1916 via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/tiocfaidh_ar_la_1916/39061122941, CC BY-ND 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/
Mark Leonard speaks with Craig Kennedy, Jeremy Shapiro and Anna Kuchenbecker about the election results and Donald Trump's tenure.
Bookshelf:
The Great Delusion by John J. Mearsheimer https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300234190/great-delusion
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari https://www.ynharari.com/book/sapiens/
Lords of the Desert by James Barr http://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Lords-of-the-Desert/James-Barr/9781471139796
The Coming of Democracy by Mark R. Cheathem http://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Lords-of-the-Desert/James-Barr/9781471139796
Picture credit: Donald Trump rally in Huntington by Office of the President of the United States via Wikimedia, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Donald_Trump_rally_in_Huntington_%28a%29_.png, CC0
What does Angela Merkel’s decision to stand down as leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) mean for Germany and Europe? Mark Leonard discusses with Josef Janning and Susi Dennison the political implications and expectations for party leadership: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Friedrich Merz, Jens Spahn.
Bookshelf • ECFR’s EU Coalition Explorer www.ecfr.eu/eucoalitionexplorer • Counter-Revolution - Liberal Europe in Retreat by Jan Zielonka https://global.oup.com/academic/product/counter-revolution-9780198806561?cc=de⟨=en& • Fauda https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4565380/
The podcast was recorded on 31 October 2018.
Picture: (c) The European Union
ECFR’s EU28 Survey reveals the interactions, perceptions, and chemistry between the 28 EU member states. This week, Mark Leonard joins Josef Janning, Christoph Klavehn and Almut Möller to discuss findings of the expert poll that will be published in the “EU Coalition Explorer” on Thursday, 30 October 2018.
Bookshelf - EU Coalition Explorer https://www.ecfr.eu/eucoalitionexplorer (Stay tuned for the new edition on 30 October) - Country analyses with data from the EU28 Survey by Josef Janning and Almut Möller https://www.ecfr.eu/europeanpower/rethink - Poems by Tomáš Kafka https://www.zeitzug.com/autoren/tomas-kafka.html - 1815 Waterloo by Thierry Lentz https://www.amazon.fr/Waterloo-1815-Thierry-Lentz/dp/2262039402
The podcast was recorded on 25 October.
Mark Leonard speaks with Asli Aydintasbas, Jeremy Shapiro and Julien Barnes-Dacey about what effect the incident might have on relations between Saudi Arabia, the US and Turkey. The podcast was recorded on the 16 October 2018.
Bookshelf: The Jungle Grows Back by Robert Kagan https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576193/the-jungle-grows-back-by-robert-kagan/9780525521655/ The River of Doubt by Candice Millard http://www.candicemillard.com/river-of-doubt.html Lords of the Desert by James Barr http://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/Lords-of-the-Desert/James-Barr/9781471139796 Khashoggi disappearance: Time for an independent investigation by Julien Barnes-Dacey https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_khashoggi_disappearance_time_for_an_independent_investigation
Picture credit: Mohammed bin Salman's Saudi Arabia: A Deeper Look by April Brady/Project on Middle East Democracy via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/pomed/26087328517, CC-BY-2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Mark Leonard speaks with Shoshana Fine and Andrew Lebovich about what Europe is trying to do in the Sahel.
Bookshelf:
The Good Immigrant by Nico Schuettler
From Empires to NGOs in the West African Sahel by Gregory Mann https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/from-empires-to-ngos-in-the-west-african-sahel/A091DE71429912E256C6A1E093CD7274
Halting ambition: EU migration and security policy in the Sahel by Andrew Lebovich https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/halting_ambition_eu_migration_and_security_policy_in_the_sahel
Picture credit: Gaoudel Mali refugee women by jhntering via Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaoudel_Mali_refugee_women.jpg, CC-BY-2.0
Mark Leonard speaks with Vessela Tcherneva and Robert Cooper about the contested result and how it might be solved.
Bookshelf: Carnegie report on the Balkan wars http://www.pollitecon.com/html/ebooks/Carnegie-Report-on-the-Balkan-Wars.pdf Safe Passage - The Transition from British to American Hegemony by Tori Schake http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674975071 The Master and Margarita Reader’s Guide by Mikhail Bulgakov https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/531360/the-master-and-margarita-by-mikhail-bulgakov-a-newly-revised-translation-by-richard-pevear-and-larissa-volokhonsky-introduction-by-richard-pevear-foreword-by-boris-fishman/9780143108276/readers-guide/ The Age of Rubens: Diplomacy, Dynastic politics and the Visual Arts in Early 17th Century Europe http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503549484-1 http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503549484-1 Breaking old habits in the Balkans by Robert Cooper https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_breaking_old_habits_in_the_balkans Macedonia’s looming war of interpretations by Vessela Tcherneva https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_macedonias_looming_war_of_interpretations
Image credit: Macedonian flag by Ruben Holsthuijsen via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/rubenholthuijsen/22601525310/in/photolist-ArdJ3S-B9ifnR-hBx53V-6XaVMQ-Rm6T4w-f9PKqh-faJYJd-RDNzX6-nBxNXX-d4ZcGh-23WRzPH-qkGr1P-UqKyFB-6X6MkB-nb2V3z-6YdfeB-oj8YS3-fNuqBe-A5ZMU2-e8VRv6-fNuqGc-cVoknA-MFE15H-3BgS2u-oj8XyG-dXLNmF-9T1q6q-6iC1d5-6x3ocu-jbLq5-fbmTVA-5ea3NH-4ZuBCb-7qJ41z-paTrCe-fbD3wd-8Q9usv-6s31kh-mRWhf-7pSa5k-84G3fW-e4YAF7-SaDRCJ-brKzG3-5QYDen-ab8xkh-jvDRA-4RQZR6-58pjN6-Q9VL6j, CC-BY-2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Mark Leonard speaks with Erica Moret and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil about European sanctions policies, secondary sanctions and counter measures. The podcast was recorded on the 27 September 2018.
Bookshelf: Keeping Europe Safe after Brexit - Findings of a reflection group led by Marta Dassù, Wolfgang Ischinger, Pierre Vimont, and Robert Cooper. Edited by Susi Dennison https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/keeping_europe_safe_after_brexit Cassandra by Christa Wolf https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cassandra-Christa-Wolf/dp/1907970118 Un publicista en apuros by Natalia Moret https://www.amazon.com/publicista-en-apuros-Spanish-ebook/dp/B0094MIMQO Why Europe should focus on its growing interdependence with Africa by Jeremy Cliffe https://www.economist.com/europe/2018/09/22/why-europe-should-focus-on-its-growing-interdependence-with-africa La Rue vers L’Europe by Stephen Smith https://www.amazon.com/RUE-VERS-LEUROPE-STEPHEN-SMITH/dp/2246803500
Image credit: Reimposing Certain Sanctions with Respect to Iran by White House/Shealah Craighead, via https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-president-reimposition-united-states-sanctions-respect-iran/, CC-BY-3.0 https://www.whitehouse.gov/copyright/
Mark Leonard and Richard Gowan go through the likely talking points at the meeting and discuss what might be on some countries' hidden agendas. The podcast was recorded on 19 September 2018.
Bookshelf:
The Secret of the World: A History of Intelligence by Christopher Andrew Enough Said by Mark Thompson
Picture credit: 70th session of the UN General Assembly by Kremlin.ru http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/50385, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Mark Leonard examines the looming Syrian-Russian military action in Idlib in discussion with ECFR experts Asli Aydıntaşbaş, Julien Barnes-Dacey, and Almut Möller. What do Turks and Europeans make of the possible humanitarian and geopolitical consequences?
Bookshelf - Judith Kerr: The tiger who came to tea https://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Who-Came-Tea/dp/0007215991 - David D. Kirkpatrick: Into the Hands of the Soldiers: Freedom and Chaos in Egypt and the Middle East https://www.amazon.com/Into-Hands-Soldiers-Freedom-Middle/dp/073522062X - Louis Menand: Francis Fukuyama Postpones the End of History https://www.amazon.com/Into-Hands-Soldiers-Freedom-Middle/dp/073522062X - Michiko Kakutani: The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump https://www.amazon.com/Death-Truth-Notes-Falsehood-Trump/dp/0525574824
The podcast was recorded on 12 September.
Picture credit: Qasioun News Agency via Wikicommons (cropped)CC BY 3.0
Mark Leonard speaks with Mark Schieritz from Die Zeit and ECFR's Sebastian Dullien about a new framework for transatlantic relations. The podcast was recorded on 6 September 2018.
Bookshelf: Crashed by Adam Tooze https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/301357/crashed-by-adam-tooze/9780670024933/
The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect by Judea Pearl https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/289825/the-book-of-why/#mJDZe5QqZFKGwC7k.99
The German barrier to a global euro by Sebastian Dullien https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_german_barrier_global_euro_maas
Weg vom Dollar by Mark Schieritz https://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2018-09/transatlantische-beziehungen-zahlungsverkehr-europa-usa-heiko-maas
Es reicht! by Tina Hildebrandt, Kerstin Kohlenberg, Jörg Lau, Mark Schieritz und Michael Thumann https://www.zeit.de/2018/36/aussenpolitik-handelsstreit-donald-trump-heiko-maas
Picture credit: Dollars and euros background by Petr Krachtovil via Public Domain Pictures https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=20851&picture=dollars-and-euros-background, CC-BY-0.
Mark Leonard speaks with Oksana Antonenko, Director for Global Political risk Analysis at Control Risks, and ECFR Turkey experts Asli Aydintasbas and Almut Moeller about the current crisis in Turkey. The podcast was recorded on 31 August 2018.
Bookshelf:
To Go Forward, Turkey Must Look Back by Daron Acemoglu https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-08-30/to-go-forward-turkey-must-look-back
Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post-American World by Suzy Hansen https://www.amazon.co.uk/Notes-Foreign-Country-American-Post-American/dp/0374280045
The House of Government: A Saga of the Russian Revolution by Yuri Slezkine https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11056.html
East West Street: On the Origins of "Genocide" and "Crimes against Humanity" by Philippe Sands https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/227917/east-west-street-by-philippe-sands/9780525433729/
Podcast "Stimmenfang" - Sachsen, wir müssen reden! http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/chemnitz-warum-hat-sachsen-ein-problem-mit-rechter-gewalt-a-1225686.html
Picture credit: After coup nightly demonstartion of president Erdogan supporters by Mstyslav Chernov, via Wikipedia https://ga.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Domh%C3%A1:After_coup_nightly_demonstartion_of_president_Erdogan_supporters._Istanbul,_Turkey,_Eastern_Europe_and_Western_Asia._22_July,2016.jpg, CC-BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en.
Mark Leonard speaks with Jeremy Heimans about his new book, and the old and new ways to achieve intended effects. The podcast was recorded on 27 July 2018.
Picture credit: Internet map 1024 by The Opte Project via Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_network#/media/File:Internet_map_1024.jpg, CC-BY-2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/
Mark Leonard speaks with Bastian Giegerich, Director of Defence and Military Analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, about the three baskets that form strategic autonomy: decision-making, capabilities and defence industrial capacity. The podcast was recorded on the 27 July 2018.
Picture credit: A multitude of colourful flags at the European Parliament in Strasbourg by European Parliament via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/european_parliament/10943216394, CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
Mark Leonard speaks with Francois Godement and Jeremy Shapiro about what kind of leverage the EU can have over great powers such as the US and China. And should Europe behave differently in institutions such as G7 and UN? The podcast was recorded on 26 July 2018.
Picture credit: President Trump met with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker where they reaffirmed the strong bond between the United States and Europe, by White House Photo https://useu.usmission.gov/70th-anniversary-marshall-plan/trump-eu/, CC BY 3.0 US https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/
Mark Leonard speaks with Tomas Valasek and Nick Witney about what the real military dependence of Europeans on America looks like and what is possible within the existing security budget. The podcast was recorded on 26 July 2018.
Picture credit: EATT14 DV Day by European Defence Agency via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/eudefenceagency/14557213832/in/album-72157645478881825/, CC-BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/.
Mark Leonard speaks with Jean Pisani-Ferry and Guntram Wolff about the economics of European sovereignty in a new world disorder. What are Europe’s vulnerabilities, where is it not sovereign? The podcast was recorded on the 26 July 2018.
Picture credit: Dollar and euros background by Petr Kratochvil via publicdomainpictures.net https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=20851&picture=dollars-and-euros-background, CC0 - Public domain.
This week, Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro discuss how the Chinese view Trump, fresh from Mark's trip to China, and how the Big Lebowski explains the Helsinki Summit.
Bookshelf:
François Godement: Trump cannot bring Europe and China together (https://buff.ly/2Lenli8) The Trump opportunity: Chinese perceptions of the US administration (https://buff.ly/2LztXDI)
Doreen Baingana: Tongues of fire. (Forthcoming)
Kori Schake & Jeremy Shapiro: How the Big Lebowski Explains the Helsinki Summit and the International Order (https://buff.ly/2zWMM2n)
TV stand: Bobby Kennedy for President (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io3uQ6Q4NlU) The Big Lebowski (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQl5aYhkF3E)
Tell us what's on your bookshelf, and why! Each episode, Mark Leonard will pick the most interesting ones to present. To submit, write to mark.leonard@ecfr.eu.
Jeremy Shapiro covers for Mark Leonard and speaks with Ulrike Franke, Manuel Lafont Rapnouil and Piotr Buras, about what this means and what the Trump-Putin meeting might bring. The podcast was recorded on 12 July 2018.
Bookshelf: Esprit Journal https://esprit.presse.fr/ Communique from NATO Summit 2018 https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_156624.htm The Swan King: Ludwig 2. of Bavaria by Christopher McIntosh https://www.amazon.de/Swan-King-Ludwig-II-Bavaria/dp/1848858477/ref=sr_1_5?s=books-intl-de&ie=UTF8&qid=1531481343&sr=1-5&keywords=ludwig+ii+bavaria+biography
Image credit: Secretary Pompeo Participates in Press Conference With President Trump at NATO by US Department of State, via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/statephotos/41551661440/in/album-72157698247752204/, Public Domain https://www.usa.gov/government-works
Mark Leonard speaks with Julien Barnes-Dacey and Tarek Megerisi about the Libyan conflict, the impact of the Paris summit, and Europe’s fight over migration policies in the country. The podcast was recorded on 29 June 2018.
Bookshelf: No Turning Back by Rania Abouzeid Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine Saint-Exupery How Democracy Ends by David Runciman
Image credit: Refugees from Libya Queue for Food at Tunisia Transit Camp by UN Photo/OCHA/David Ohana, via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/un_photo/5622093239, CC-BY-NC-ND-2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
Mark Leonard speaks with Adam Baron, Ellie Geranmayeh and Julien Barnes-Dacey about Yemen caught in the midst of a regional conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The podcast was recorded on 19 June 2018.
Bookshelf: Tribes and Politics in Yemen by Marieke Brandt https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/tribes-and-politics-in-yemen/ Yemen: The Unknown War by Dana Adams Schmidt https://www.amazon.com/Yemen-war-Dana-Adams-Schmidt/dp/B0006BVM3W Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear by Paula Bronstein http://www.paulaphoto.com/book--afghanistan--between-hope-and-fear/Book-cover_final/ No Turning Back by Rania Abouzeid https://www.raniaabouzeid.com/book/
Picture credit: This neighborhood where more than 100 buildings have been damaged has brought attention to the plight of Yemeni blacks with neighboring communities coming to witness the damage - Sanaa - Oct-9-2015.png by Almigdad Mojalli/VOA [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:This_neighborhood_where_more_than_100_buildings_have_been_damaged_has_brought_attention_to_the_plight_of_Yemeni_blacks_with_neighboring_communities_coming_to_witness_the_damage_-_Sanaa_-_Oct-9-2015.png
Mark Leonard speaks with Josef Janning, Silvia Francescon, Piotr Buras and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil about the major rift between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her interior minister over migrant policy.
Bookshelf: L'Ordre du jour by Eric Vuillard, https://www.amazon.fr/Lordre-jour-Prix-Goncourt-2017/dp/2330078978 The Miracle Of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh https://www.amazon.co.uk/Miracle-Mindfulness-Classic-Meditation-Revered/dp/1846041066 Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There by Rutger Bregman https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/utopia-for-realists-9781408890264/ The Mask it Wears by Pankaj Mishra https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n12/pankaj-mishra/the-mask-it-wears
Picture credit: Angela Merkel mit Horst Seehofer by Harald Bischoff [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Angela_Merkel_mit_Horst_Seehofer_1597.jpg
Mark Leonard speaks with Professor Kishore Mahbubani about the talks between the US president and North Korea’s leader, its outcome and implications for the US’s future role in Asia.
Bookshelf: Has the West lost it? A Provocation by Kishore Mahbubani https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/306226/has-the-west-lost-it/
Picture credit: Kim and Trump shaking hands at the red carpet during the DPRK–USA Singapore Summit by Executive Office of the President of the United States, via Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kim_and_Trump_shaking_hands_at_the_red_carpet_during_the_DPRK%E2%80%93USA_Singapore_Summit.jpg#filelinks, CC0 – Public Domain.
Mark Leonard speaks with Ulrike Franke, Angela Stanzel and Andre Loesekrig-Pietri, about the international race to develop artificial intelligence. The podcast was recorded on 4 June 2018.
Bookshelf: Mao - The unknown story by Jon Halliday https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mao-Story-Jon-Halliday/dp/0099507374 The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking the public and private sector by Marianna Mazzucato https://www.amazon.co.uk/Entrepreneurial-State-Debunking-Private-Economics/dp/0857282522 The Red: First Light by Linda Nagata https://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-First-Light-Trilogy/dp/1481440934 Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart https://www.amazon.co.uk/Super-Sad-True-Love-Story/dp/1847082491 Mindful Tech by David M. Levy https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300208313/mindful-tech Liquid Surveillnace - A Conversation by Zymnunt Bauman Kanzlerin Merkel in Gespraech in FAZ am Sonntag http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/kanzlerin-angela-merkel-f-a-s-interview-europa-muss-handlungsfaehig-sein-15619721.html
Picture credit: Binary null one by Piaxabay https://pixabay.com/en/binary-null-one-digital-blue-797274/, CC0
The postwar liberal order has weakened whilst liberal democracy appears fragile and polarised. Mark Leonard speaks with Professor John Ikenberry from Princeton University about the decline of faith in democracy and whether Europe can save the world order.
Bookshelf: Richard Cobden, The Apostle Of Free Trade: His Political Career And Public Services Can Europe save the world order? by Anthony Dworkin and Mark Leonard
Picture credits: President Trump and EU leaders by US Mission to the European Union at https://useu.usmission.gov/70th-anniversary-marshall-plan/trump-eu/, CC-BY-3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Mark Leonard speaks with Silvia Francescon and Nathalie Tocci about the brewing political crisis in Italy and what impact this could have on Europe as a whole.
Image credit: Italian Parliament Building / Italienisches Parlamentsgebäude by Marco Verch, via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/35553467263, CC-BY-2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Mark Leonard presents highlights of the ECFR event “Can Europe save the Iran Deal?” with Ellie Geranmayeh, Norbert Röttgen, and Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger.
Picture credit: German Foreign Minister Steinmeier, EU High Representative Mogherini, and Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif Stand for a Group Photo After EU, P5+1 Reached Iran Nuclear Agreement in Austria.jpg by U.S. Department of State [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:German_Foreign_Minister_Steinmeier,_EU_High_Representative_Mogherini,_and_Iranian_Foreign_Minister_Zarif_Stand_for_a_Group_Photo_After_EU,_P5%2B1_Reached_Iran_Nuclear_Agreement_in_Austria.jpg
Mark Leonard talks to the all star cast of Nick Witney, Ulrike Franke and Jeremy Shapiro on the topic of European strategic culture.
Picture Credit: European Parliament https://www.flickr.com/photos/european_parliament/17132957147/in/album-72157651849893227/ ( CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 ) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/ via Flickr
Mark Leonard speaks with Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, Almut Möller and Vessela Tcherneva, about what has changed in French foreign policy with Macron one year in office as French president.
Picture credit: Emmanuel Macron (3).jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emmanuel_Macron_(3).jpg by Gouvernement français [CC BY-SA 3.0 fr (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/fr/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons
Mark Leonard speaks with Iran expert Ellie Geranmayeh about what might happen after Donald Trump has decided to withdraw US support from the deal. The podcast was recorded on 10 May 2018.
Bookshelf: After Trump’s Iran decision: Time for Europe to step up by Ellie Geranmayeh
Picture credit: Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore via flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/27151950503, CC by SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Mark Leonard speaks with Jeremy Shapiro and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil about Macron and Merkel's meetings with the US president, and how the European leaders engaged with him.
Bookshelf: Aux quatre vents du monde - Petit guide de navigation sur l'océan de la mondialisation by Mireille Delmas-Marty http://www.seuil.com/ouvrage/aux-quatre-vents-du-monde-mireille-delmas-marty/9782021185898
The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachmann https://www.amazon.co.uk/Italian-Teacher-Tom-Rachman/dp/1786482576
Flattering Donald Trump reaps scant reward for Macron and Merkel by Jeremy Shapiro https://www.ft.com/content/91834f5a-4936-11e8-8c77-ff51caedcde6
How Europe Can Save the Iran Nuclear Deal by Mark Leonard https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/how-europe-can-save-the-iran-nuclear-deal-by-mark-leonard-2018-04
1968: Power to the Imagination by Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Claus Leggewie http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/05/10/1968-power-to-the-imagination/
Picture credit: 170714-D-PB-1003.jpg by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Dominique Pineiro, via Joint Chief of Staff http://www.jcs.mil/Media/Photos/igphoto/2001778227/, in the public domain https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain.
Mark Leonard speaks with Asli Aydıntaşbaş about why Erdoğan called early elections for this summer, and the new European Commission’s accession report.
Bookshelf: The world America made by Robert Kagan https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-America-Made-Vintage/dp/0345802713
El libro de los abrazos by Eduardo Galeano http://resistir.info/livros/galeano_el_libro_de_los_abrazos.pdf
Picture credit: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President_Recep_Tayyip_Erdo%C4%9Fan.jpg by By Glenn Fawcett [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR's Ellie Geranmayeh, Ilan Goldberg, head of the MENA programme at the Centre for New American Security, and Nasser Haiden, Professor of Political Science at Teheran University, about the JCPOA and whether Trump will pull out of the deal.
Bookshelf:
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sympathizer
Snow by Orhan Pamuk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_(Pamuk_novel)
A Saudi Prince’s Quest to Remake the Middle East by Dexter Filkins https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/09/a-saudi-princes-quest-to-remake-the-middle-east
Picture: Tea Party Patriots Stop the Iran Nuclear Deal IMG 4650 by Elvert Barnes https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tea_Party_Patriots_Stop_the_Iran_Nuclear_Deal_IMG_4650_(21277938456).jpg [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR experts Asli Aydintasbas, Kadri Liik, Julien Barnes-Dacey, and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil about how the international community might respond.
Bookshelf:
Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story by Henry Morgenthau https://www.amazon.com/Ambassador-Morgenthaus-Story-Henry-Morgenthau/dp/1602061246
Joseph Conrad: A Biography by Jeffrey Meyers https://www.amazon.co.uk/Joseph-Conrad-Biography-Jeffrey-Meyers/dp/081541112X
Brother’s Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4934.The_Brothers_Karamazov
La mondialisation des pauvres by Armelle Choplin and Olivier Pliez http://www.seuil.com/ouvrage/la-mondialisation-des-pauvres-armelle-choplin/9782021366525
Alone in the desert? How France can lead Europe in the Middle East by Manuel Lafont Rapnouil http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/alone_in_the_desert_how_france_can_lead_europe_in_the_middle_east
Picture credit:
US fire support for SDF at Raqqa https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/US_fire_support_for_SDF_at_Raqqa.png/1024px-US_fire_support_for_SDF_at_Raqqa.png by United States Marine Corps (https://twitter.com/USMC/status/877608815520210945) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Jonathan Hackenbroich covers for Mark Leonard and speaks with Professor John Naughton about Facebook’s data leak and its monetisation of data.
Bookshelf: East West Street by Philippe Sands https://www.amazon.co.uk/East-West-Street-Non-fiction-Book/dp/1474601901 95 Thesis about Technology by John Naughton http://95theses.co.uk/ China’s Big Data Big Brother by Mark Leonard https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/xi-jinping-surveillance-state-by-mark-leonard-2018-02
Picture credits: Cambridge Analytica by Thought Catalogue via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/lookcatalog/26029490417/in/photolist-FE8WDx-bWN3ja-21kifhB-21htHYs-FHycfF-21kgHZp-Dcy5Jw-Dczwm1-DczwPW-21kgHBF-24iDy1d-HfhRq7-Pi78SZ, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR experts Kadri Liik and Sebastian Dullien about the consequences of the attack on Sergei Skripal in the UK, and the eruption of an EU-US trade war.
Bookshelf: The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization by Professor Peter van den Bossche Liquid Surveillance by Zygmunt Bauman and David Lyon
Picture credit: Vladimir Putin and Theresa May (2016-09-04) 02 by Kremlin.ru [CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimir_Putin_and_Theresa_May_(2016-09-04)_02.jpg
Mark Leonard speaks with Asli Aydıntaşbaş, Kadri Liik, François Godement and Jeremy Shapiro about Europe’s relations with the US, China, Russia and Turkey. The podcast was recorded on the 6 March 2018.
Picture credit: President Trump's Trip to Germany and the G20 Summit, by The White House, via flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/34971872723/in/album-72157685885349776/, CC BY 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
ECFR's director Mark Leonard discusses four possible outcomes in Italy’s election on the 4th of march 2018 with Silvia Francescon, head of ECFR Rome, and Alba Lamberti, Senior Director for Advocacy.
This podcast was recorded on 2 March 2018.
More on the Italy election:
Teresa Coratella: Italy votes: Europe in the Italian election http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_italy_votes_europe_in_the_italian_election
Josef Janning: Italy: Following Britain towards the exit? http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_italy_following_britain_towards_the_exit
For our Italian listeners, check out the event on Italy’s foreign policy after the election here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xVZ5MEWOFM
Picture: Dave Kellam via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)https://www.flickr.com/photos/davekellam/482815089
ECFR's director Mark Leonard checks in with ECFR's Policy Fellows Ulrike Franke and Ellie Geranmayeh after the first day of the Munich Security Conference 2018. They discuss the hot topics so far - European defence, the end of the liberal order and technology - and give an outlook on the more explosive discussions related to the Middle East that will be discussed on Sunday.
The podcast was recorded on Friday, 16 February 2018.
Bookshelf Munich Security Report 2018: To the Brink - and Back MSC2018 Opening Statements by Ursula von der Leyen and Florence Parly Jim Walsh: Why North Korea and Iran get accused of nuclear collusion Franklin Foren: World Without Mind - The Existential Threat of Big Tech
Picture: MSC / Kuhlmann
Mark Leonard speaks with Ulrike Franke and Susi Dennison about what the new German coalition means for foreign policy. The podcast was recorded on 8 January 2018.
Bookshelf: Coalition Treaty https://www.spd.de/fileadmin/Dokumente/Koalitionsvertrag/Koalitionsvertrag_2018.pdf Autumn and Winter by Ali Smith https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autumn-Ali-Smith/dp/1510051805 and https://www.amazon.co.uk/Winter-Seasonal-Ali-Smith/dp/0241207029/ref=pd_cp_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0241207029&pd_rd_r=AKWAWQ6CSJZPSB9189RJ&pd_rd_w=duEqQ&pd_rd_wg=MS5kH&psc=1&refRID=AKWAWQ6CSJZPSB9189RJ Too soon for champagne toasts for GroKo by Ulrike Franke http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_too_soon_for_champagne_toasts_to_groko
Picture credits: European Council 7-8.2.2013 by Herman Van Rompuy, licensed under CC BY NC-ND 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/), via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/europeancouncil/8453630381/in/photolist-dT24MX-f5g1CB-XEKw8G-X3kdrM-WU9kcw-nHr7o3-f5g1Gv-YgKwTK-XULubm-XXvRfB-XyR4A7-pCG92C-XULL9d-EpB1LV-pomeGF-XEKteL-K3jrTk-npFCZ7-nqLt4P-Y4qE8R-XEKhW1-XXvWnk-drrFQZ-222JSpR-pEME6T-22YZY7G-XXvSTg-nNXLUu-EpB2wT-22UrsFL-Y1E5NW-244PokT-CoZ986-21ZM1uy-XyQBoN-22UrtAm-XULt5o-WWoXSV-WU9qzf-K3jA2e-YaRW96-22Urtpj-21ZLYH7-241Unrs-Y1Dnjy-22Urt1d-223xJGZ-ZXeBrJ-WU9ngS-23ZbUdM.
Mark Leonard speaks with Justin Vogt, Managing Editor of Foreign Affairs, Professor Mary Fulbrook from UCL, and Dr. Fraziska Exeler, Research Associate and Lecturer at FUB, about how nations deal with the evils of history. Recorded on 31 January 2018.
For background reading on FOREIGN AFFAIRS ON THE ROAD events download a complimentary eBook: A Post-American Europe? Liberalism and Transatlantic Relations https://www.foreignaffairs.com/special-edition-ebook?cid=nlc-eve-Events%20-%20FA%20on%20the%20Road%20-%20Berlin-20180117
Bookshelf:
Meines Vaters Land by Wiebke Brun
A model childhood by Christa Wolf
A small town near Auschwitz by Mary Fulbrook
Bind Us Apart: How Enlightened Americans Invented Racial Segregation by Nicholas Guyatt
Jean Améry - Revolte in der Resignation: Biographie by Irène Heidelberger-Leonard
Image credit: Bebelplatz Monument by Aaron Siirila [CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABebelplatz_Night_of_Shame_Monument.jpg
Mark Leonard, Asli Aydintasbas, Kadri Liik and Jeremy Shapiro, discuss Turkey's offensive near the Syria-Turkey boarder, the future of US-Turkey relations and Russia's role in the region.
Bookshelf: Johan by Oli Bagel Slow Burn by Slate Paris 1919: Six months that changed the world by Margaret MacMillan 95 theses about technology by John Naughton
Picture credit: Return to Homs by Chaoyue 超越 PAN 潘 licensed under CC BY-NC-DC-ND-2.0 Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pan_chaoyue/16969008478/in/photolist-rRuB2G-mC66kN-oDqfyx-pjTZMi-mC4sxx-mC4uCp-ot4zdL-mC4v2F-mC4vPx-mC4sRD-mC52bg-htm4Jr-fDaaGA-8z473w-86twBc-oZs62R-dWGdNT-p6vQv5-dQotuS-cW27gw-i2oPsA-T9L3Ph-eUqTyu-ph4U7e-mC66HG-i7TpEN-8yZYYt-Ugfw9Q-i2pYv3-UAVyhQ-i32tWW-dkY5Jf-o2AzJt-evqVXG-fjfAYG-o2inNV-skBinf-esBH71-5wTUUZ-i2odwn-i2oURk-9iGGcb-i2ph1f-9gb79Z-d2nAQ1-fFG193-oqPAnP-dKaC67-i2oriV-e38ZTn
Mark Leonard speaks with Wawrzyniec Smoczyński, editor-in-chief of Polityka INSIGHT, about the implications of Poland's government reshuffle and the changes to its constitution.
Bookshelf: Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari The Square and the Tower: Networks, Hierarchies and the Struggle for Global Power by Niall Ferguson Europe and its discontents: Poland’s collision course with the European Union by Piotr Buras
Picture credit: "Visita del Presidente de Polonia, Andrzej Duda", by Presidencia de la República Mexicana, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Mark Leonard speaks to François Godement and Abigaël Vasselier from the ECFR Asia & China team to get their reactions to President Macron's recent visit to China. They discuss the relationship between Europe and China more broadly, using the findings from their recent publication "China at the gates: A power audit of EU-China relations".
Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro review the year gone by and predict the 10 foreign policy trends that will define 2018.
Picture: Pixabay/Geralt https://pixabay.com/en/users/geralt-9301/
Mark Leonard speaks with Heidi Tworek, Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, about the potential damage to content providers that could follow from the US Federal Communication Commission’s decision to discard net neutrality. The podcast was recorded on 18 December 2017.
Bookshelf:
Everyobody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
Picture: Flickr/amikan_san
ECFR Policy Fellow Ulrike Franke speaks with Mark Leonard, former MP Douglas Alexander, and ECFR’s Senior Policy Fellow Nick Witney, about Britain’s future vision of EU-UK security cooperation after Brexit. The podcast was recorded on the 13.12.2017 in Berlin.
Bookshelf:
The Shardlake Series by C. J. Sampson Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey Lecture on David Cameron’s relationship with the EU by Sir Ivan Rogers
Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR Policy Fellows Hugh Lovatt, Ellie Geranmayeh and Julien Barnes-Dacey about reactions to Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the new divergence between Washington and Europe across the Middle East.
Bookshelf:
The Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks Gaza: Preparing for Dawn by Donald Macintyre No Knives in the Kitchen of this City: A Novel by Khaled Khalifa
Mark Leonard speaks with Shahin Vallée, former Economic Advisor to the President of the European Council, and to Emanuel Macron when he was French Economy Minister. They discuss what Macron’s plans are for Europe and what it might lead to.
Bookshelf:
L’Art de perdre by Alice Zeniter
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses the launch of PESCO, the latest collective European defence initiative with Senior Policy Fellow Nick Witney and Policy Fellow, Ulrike Franke.
The podcast was recorded on 24th November 2017.
Bookshelf: George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia Peter Wilson, The Holy Roman Empire Nick Witney, Re-energising Europe's Security and Defence Policy: www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/re_energising_europes_security_and_defence_policy Nick Witney, EU defence efforts miss the open goal again: www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_eu_defence_efforts_miss_the_open_goal_again ECFR New Security Initiative essay collection: www.ecfr.eu/europeanpower/specials/new_european_security_initiative
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses the consequences of the German political crisis for Germany and for Europe with ECFR's Berlin office director, Josef Janning, and policy fellow, Ulrike Franke.
The podcast was recorded on 22nd November 2017.
Bookshelf: Ivan Krastev, After Europe Richard Youngs, Europe Reset: New Directions for the EU H.G. Wells, The War in the Air, available at: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/780/780-h/780-h.htm Timothy Garton Ash, "It’s the Kultur, Stupid", in NY Review of Books, December 2017 Issue, available at: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2017/12/07/germany-alt-right-kultur-stupid/
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses the refugee crisis with David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee and former British foreign secretary.
The podcast was recorded on 16th November 2017.
Bookshelf: David Miliband, Rescue: Refugees and the Political Crisis of our Time Edward Luce, The Retreat of Western Liberalism Lisa Maxwell, The Horse Who Walked Through Time
Picture: CC/ Wikimedia Commons
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses Trump's foreign policy and its global consequences with ECFR's research director, Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR's Russia expert, Kadri Liik and ECFR's China expert, Francois Godement.
The podcast was recorded on 10th November 2017.
Bookshelf: Stein Ringen, The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century Vladimir Sorokin, Day of the Oprichnik George F. Kennan, Russia Leaves the War Jeremy Shapiro, The transatlantic meaning of Donald Trump: a US-EU Power Audit (2017), available at: http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/the_transatlantic_meaning_of_donald_trump_a_us_eu_power_audit7229 Jeremy Shapiro, Towards a post-American Europe: A Power Audit of EU-US Relations (2009)available at: http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/towards_a_post_american_europe_a_power_audit_of_eu_us_relations
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses peacekeeping in Ukraine and the EU's Russia policy with ECFR's Russia expert, Kadri Liik and ECFR's Ukraine expert Andrew Wilson.
The podcast was recorded on 3rd November 2017.
Bookshelf: Stephen Kotkin, Stalin, Vol. II: Waiting for Hitler, 1928–1941 Anne Applebaum, Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine Yuri Slezkine, The House of Government: A Saga of the Russian Revolution Carl Bildt, "Is Peace in Donbas possible?", available at: http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_is_peace_in_donbas_possible
In this new episode of our summer series, ECFR's director Mark Leonard and Policy Fellow Anthony Dworkin talk with Martin Wolf about the economic origins of the populist surge that is undermining the liberal order.
**Disclaimer: Imperfect audio quality
Martin Wolf is chief economics commentator at the Financial Times.
Bookshelf: Martin Wolf, The Shifts and the Shocks: What we’ve learned – and have still to learn – from the financial crisis Martin Wolf's columns in the Financial Times, available at: https://www.ft.com/comment/columnists/martin-wolf Stephen King, Sleeping Beauties Wolfgang Streeck, Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism Walter Scheidel, The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses the state of the transatlantic relations with Jan Techau, director of the Richard Holbrook Forum at the American Academy in Berlin.
The podcast was recorded on 25th October 2017.
In this new episode of our summer series, ECFR's director Mark Leonard talks with Anu Bradford about the EU's global power and how it successfully exports its influence to the rest of the world.
Anu Bradford is a professor of international economic law and European Union law at Columbia Law School.
Bookshelf: Anu Bradford, The Brussels Effect, The Rise of a Regulatory Superstate in Europe, available at: http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1081&context= Mark Leonard (ed.), Connectivity Wars, available at: http://www.ecfr.eu/page/-/Connectivity_Wars.pdf
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses the major takeways from China's 19th Party Congress with ECFR’s head of Asia & China programme François Godement and China expert Jérôme Doyon.
The podcast was recorded on 20th October 2017.
Bookshelf: Ian Johnson, The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao Jean-Paul Kauffmann, Outre-Terre: Le Voyage a Eylau Angela Stanzel (ed.), "Grand Designs: Does China have a ‘Grand Strategy’?", available at: http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/grands_designs_does_china_have_a_grand_strategy Mathieu Duchâtel, "EU should host US-China contingency talks on North Korean nuclear crisis", available at: http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_eu_should_host_us_china_contingency_talks_on_north_korean_nuclea
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with ECFR’s head of MENA programme Ruth Citrin and Iran expert Ellie Geranmayeh about the consequences of Trump's decision to decertify the Iran nuclear deal and the responses that Europe can make to avert another nuclear crisis.
The podcast was recorded on 13th October 2017.
Bookshelf: Peter Frankopan, The Silk Roads: A New History of the World Deidre Berger et al., ‘In Spite of It All, America’, in the New York Times and Die Zeit, available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/world/europe/germany-united-states-trump-manifesto.html?ribbon-ad-idx=5&rref=world/europe&module=Ribbon&version=origin®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Europe&pgtype=article
In this new episode of our summer series, ECFR's director Mark Leonard talks with Joseph Nye about power and multilateral institutions.
Joseph Nye is a Harvard University Professor and the co-founder, along with Robert Keohane, of the international relations theory of neoliberalism.
Bookshelf: Joseph Nye, Is the American Century Over? Joseph Nye, Will the Liberal Order Survive?, in Foreign Affairs, Jan-Feb 2017 Issue, available at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2016-12-12/will-liberal-order-survive Daniel Deudney G. & John Ikenberry, Realism, Liberalism and the Iraq War, in Survival, Vol 59, No 4, available at: https://www.iiss.org/en/publications/survival/sections/2017-579b/survival--global-politics-and-strategy-august-september-2017-5983/59-4-02-deudney-and-ikenberry-4d9e Dani Rodrik, Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy
ECFR’s Anthony Dworkin is joined by Gary Gibbon, the political editor of Channel 4 News, and Susi Dennison, the head of ECFR's European Power programme, to discuss what the Tories, Britain and the EU want after Brexit.
The podcast was recorded on 6th October 2017.
Bookshelf: Yanis Varoufakis, Adults in the Room: My Battle With Europe’s Deep Establishment Ivan Krastev, After Europe Graham Stewart, Burying Caesar : Churchill, Chamberlain And The Battle For The Tory Party Gary Younge, Another Day in the Death of America Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro, The Internationalists
Picture: Wikimedia Commons/Ilovetheeu
In this unusual episode of our End of the World series, ECFR's Anthony Dworkin is talking about the migration crisis with Kelly Greenhill, who is an Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Tufts University and Research Fellow at Harvard University.
Bookshelf: Kelly Greenhill, Weapons of Mass Migration: Forced Displacement, Coercion and Foreign Policy Georg Sorensen, A Liberal World Order in Crisis Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea Duncan Bell, Reordering the World: Essays on Liberalism and Empire
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with the heads of ECFR's Paris and Berlin offices, Manuel Lafont Rapnouil and Josef Janning about Macron's speech and his vision for the European Union.
The podcast was recorded on 26th September 2017.
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with ECFR’s U.N. expert Richard Gowan about Trump and Macron's addresses at the UNGA, the Korean nuclear crisis, the Iran deal and the Syrian peace process.
The podcast was recorded on 21st September 2017.
Bookshelf: John Le Carré, A Legacy of Spies Hillary Clinton, What Happened Zygmunt Bauman, Retrotopia
Picture: Kremlin.ru
In this unusual episode of our End of the World series, ECFR's Anthony Dworkin is talking to Michael von der Schulenburg, who has held positions within the United Nations, including assistant secretary-general, for more than thirty years, about democracy and foreign interventions.
Bookshelf: Michael Von Der Schulenburg, On Building Peace
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with the head of ECFR’s Berlin Office Josef Janning and ECFR's policy fellow Ulrike Franke about the upcoming federal elections in Germany, the parties that are in the running to form a government and the implications for European and foreign policy.
The podcast was recorded on 18th September 2017.
Picture: Flicker/ Marco Verch
ECFR’s Policy Fellow Ulrike Franke talks with ECFR’s Director Mark Leonard about Jean-Claude Juncker’s State of the Union and Juncker’s – and Mark’s – vision for the future of the EU and Europe.
The podcast was recorded on 13rd September 2017.
Bookshelf: Mark Leonard, L’Europe qui protège, http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/leurope_qui_protege_conceiving_the_next_european_union Mark Leonard, Why Europe will rule the 21st Century http://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/book/why-europe-will-run-the-21st-century/9781586484248
Picture: Flicker/ Euractiv
For the rest of the summer Mark Leonard will be breaking from the usual World in 30 Minutes format to talk about how the global order is being challenged. This week, he is joined by Cathy O'Neil, an American mathematician and the author of the blog mathbabe.org and several books on data science.
Bookshelf: Cathy O'Neil, Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy Cathy O'Neil's articles on Bloomberg.com The investigative journalism of ProPublica.org
For the rest of the summer Mark Leonard will be breaking from the usual World in 30 Minutes format to talk about how the global order is being challenged. This week, he is joined by Pankaj Mishra, author and writer of literary and political essays.
Bookshelf: Pankaj Mishra, Age of Anger: A History of the Present Pankaj Mishra, From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia C. A Bayly, The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914: Global Connections and Comparisons
For the rest of the summer Mark Leonard will be breaking from the usual World in 30 Minutes format to talk about how the global order is being challenged. This week, he is joined by Yascha Mounk, a lecturer on Government at Harvard University and the host of The Good Fight podcast to talk about the sustainability of democracy in the liberal international order.
Bookshelf: Yascha Mounk, The People Versus Democracy Roberto Stefan Foa and Yascha Mounk, The Democratic Disconnect, available at: http://www.journalofdemocracy.org/sites/default/files/Foa%26Mounk-27-3.pdf Edward Luce, The Retreat of Liberalism Ivan Krastev, After Europe Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard
For the rest of the summer Mark Leonard will be breaking from the usual World in 30 Minutes format to talk about how the global order is being challenged. This week, he is joined by Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden and ECFR's co-chair, to talk about Internet governance and cybersecurity.
Bookshelf: Report of the Global Commission on Internet Governance, available at: https://www.ourinternet.org/report Internet Society, available at: http://www.internetsociety.org/ ECFR, Europe's Digital Power, available at: http://www.ecfr.eu/digitalpower
For the rest of the summer Mark Leonard will be breaking from the usual World in 30 Minutes format to talk about how the global order is being challenged. This week, he is joined by Professor Mary Kaldor, who is Director of the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit at the London School of Economics, to talk about new wars and foreign interventions.
Bookshelf: Christine Chinkin & Mary Kaldor, International Law and New Wars Stephen Neff, War and the Law of Nations
For the rest of the summer Mark Leonard will be breaking from the usual World in 30 Minutes format to talk about how the global order is being challenged. This week, he is joined by Vincenzo Iozzo, a research associate at the MIT Media Lab and the co-founder of IperLane, Inc, a cybersecurity company.
Bookshelf: Vincenzo Iozzo et al., IOS Hacker's Handbook
For the rest of the summer Mark Leonard will be breaking from the usual World in 30 Minutes format to talk about how the global order is being challenged. This week, he is joined by Parag Khanna, a Senior Research Fellow at the Center on Asia and Globalization at the National University of Singapore and best-selling author of a trilogy of books on the future of world order.
Bookshelf: Parag Khanna, The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization
For the rest of the summer Mark Leonard will be breaking from the usual World in 30 Minutes format to talk about how the global order is being challenged. This week, he is joined by Edward Luttwak, a political scientist who has published works on grand strategy, military history, and international relations.
Bookshelf: Edward Luttwak, Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook Thomas Piketty, Capital in the Twenty-First Century
For the rest of the summer Mark Leonard will be breaking from the usual World in 30 Minutes format to talk about how the global order is being challenged. This week, he is joined by Edward Luce, the Washington commentator for the Financial Times and author of "The Retreat of Western Liberalism".
Bookshelf: Edward Luce, The Retreat of Western Liberalism New York Times, Financial Times, The Economist
Thanks to the kind support of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with Wawrzyniec Smoczyński, the founder and editor in chief of the magazine Polityka Insight, about the political crisis that shakes Poland and threatens the liberal foundations of its constitutional order.
The podcast was recorded on 14th July 2017.
Bookshelf: Gary Klein, Seeing What Others Don't. The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights
Picture: Wikimedia Commons
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with Brendan Cox, a humanitarian campaigner and the widower of MP Jo Cox, about his fight against political extremism.
The podcast was recorded on 27th June 2017.
Bookshelf: Brendan Cox, Jo Cox: More in Common Sheryl Sandberg, Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy
ECFR's director Mark Leonard discusses the challenges that Europe faces both in its Eastern and Southern neighbourhoods with Nicu Popescu and Florence Gaub, two Senior Analysts at the EU Institute for Security Studies.
The podcast was recorded in Brussels on 21st June 2017.
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with Herbert S. Lin, Senior Research Scholar for Cyber Policy and Security at Stanford University, about cybersecurity, fake news and the future of the Internet.
The podcast was recorded on 7th June 2017.
Bookshelf: David Clark, Thomas Berson & Herbert S. Lin, At the Nexus of Cybersecurity and Public Policy P.W. Singer & Allan Friedman, Cybersecurity and Cyberwar What Everyone Needs to Know
This time, ECFR's director Mark Leonard is on the other side of the microphone and tells you all you need to know about the results of the UK General election.
The podcast was recorded on 9th June 2017.
Bookshelf: Robert Heinlein, The Moon is a harsh Mistress Baron Noir, French drama series, 2016 Mark Leonard, Winners and losers in the UK election, http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_winners_and_losers_in_the_uk_election_7295
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with the director of ECFR's Paris office, Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, and ECFR's Research Director, Jeremy Shapiro, about the consequences of the US withdrawal from the Paris climate deal.
The podcast was recorded on 5th June 2017.
Bookshelf: Francois Godement, Expanded ambitions, shrinking achievements: How China sees the global order Richard Haass, World in Disarray, American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order Ben Aaronovitch, The Hanging Tree (Rivers of London Novels) Michael Anton, America and the Liberal International Order, in American Affairs Volume I, Number 1 (Spring 2017): 113–25.
In this special episode, author and terrorism expert Professor Gilles Kepel talks with ECFR's Anthony Dworkin about the factors that gave rise to the network-based 3rd generation Jihad, that has Europe as its main target.
The podcast was recorded on 25th May 2017.
Bookshelf: Gilles Kepel, Terror in France: The Rise of Jihad in the West Rory Stewart, The Marches
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with the director of ECFR's offices in Paris, Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, and Berlin, Almut Möller, about President Macron’s newly appointed government, his proposals for the Eurozone and the EU and the future of the Franco-German relation.
The podcast was recorded on 17th May 2017 in Berlin.
Bookshelf: Andre Wilkens, Der diskrete Charme der Bürokratie: Gute Nachrichten aus Europa Antoine Garapon & Michel Rosenfeld, Démocraties sous stress - Les défis du terrorisme global L'imaginaire historique d'Emmanuel Macron, a France Culture podcast available here: https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/la-fabrique-de-lhistoire/limaginaire-historique-demmanuel-macron
Picture: Facebook/ Emmanuel Macron
This week, rather than putting out our ordinary podcast, we're leaving the floor to Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, head of ECFR Paris, who's hosting a discussion with the heads of most of ECFR's offices from around Europe to look at France and Macron's rise from the outside in.
Picture: Flickr/ Lorie Shaull
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with the director of ECFR's office in Sofia, Vessela Tcherneva and the director of ECFR's Wider Europe programme, Fredrik Wesslau about the crisis in Macedonia and the bigger picture of political stagnation and chaos in the Balkans, at a time when accession to the EU is losing its credibility in the region.
The podcast was recorded on 5th May 2017.
To find out more, read ECFR's publication, "Return to instability: How migration and great power politics threaten the Western Balkans" here: http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/return_to_instability_6045
Bookshelf: Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century Dubravka Ugrešić, Baba Yaga Laid an Egg Anne-Marie Slaughter, The Chessboard and the Web: Strategies of Connection in a Networked World
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with Christine Ockrent, an eminent journalist, and Laurence Parisot, the former head of the main polling company in France, about the second round of the French election where voters are facing a choice that will have enormous consequences for France and for the future of the European Union.
The podcast was recorded on 25th April 2017.
Bookshelf: Zygmunt Bauman et al., L'âge de la Régression Anne Nivat, Dans quelle France on vit Laurence Parisot, Un piège bleu Marine Christine Ockrent, Who is Marine Le Pen?
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with Tom Nuttall, author of the Charlemagne column in the Economist, and Susi Dennison, director of ECFR's European Power programme, about May's real reasons for calling elections and the implications for the Brexit negotiations.
The podcast was recorded on 21st April 2017.
Bookshelf: Alexander Betts & Paul Collier, Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life Emmanuel Macron, Révolution Christopher H. Achen & Larry M. Bartels, Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government Michael Gove, Now we’ll find out what Mayism stands for, The Times, 21st April 2017
Picture: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with ECFR's research director, Jeremy Shapiro and Asia & China experts Angela Stanzel and François Godement about Trump's Asia policy and the EU's response to it. The podcast was recorded on 13th April 2017.
Bookshelf: Bobo Lo, A Wary Embrace Daniel Drezner, The Ideas Industry: How Pessimists, Partisans, and Plutocrats are Transforming the Marketplace of Ideas Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here Dale C. Copeland, Economic Interdependence and War
Picture: Brigette Supernova/ The Daily Beast
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with ECFR's policy fellows Kadri Liik and Julien Barnes-Dacey about Trump's air strikes on Syria and what they mean for the other actors involved.
The podcast was recorded over the phone on 7th April 2017.
Bookshelf: Anton Shekhovtsov, Russia and the Western Far Right: Tango Noir Maxine David, National Perspectives on Russia Philippe Sands, East West Street Philipp Howard, Pax Technica: How the Internet of Things May Set Us Free or Lock Us Up
Picture: U.S. Navy/ Ford Williams
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with Manuel Lafont-Rapnouil and Tara Varma from ECFR's Paris office about something that many people hope will never happen: a President Marine Le Pen.
The podcast was recorded in Paris on 31st March 2017.
Bookshelf: Astrid de Villaines & Marie Labat, Philippot Ier, le nouveau visage du Front national Marie Tondelier, Nouvelles du Front Brice Teinturier, "Plus rien à faire, plus rien à foutre"
Picture: Flickr/ Blandine Le Cain
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Soli Özel, ECFR Council Member and Professor of International Relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul and ECFR's Vessela Tcherneva on the upcoming Turkish constitutional referendum and Turkey's EU membership prospects.
The podcast was recorded in Brussels on 24 March 2017.
Bookshelf: Pankaj Mishra, Age of Anger: A History of the Present Jan-Werner Müller, What Is Populism? Lion Feuchtwanger, The Lautensack Brothers James Burnham, The Managerial Revolution
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Julius Krein, who has set up the American Affairs Journal with the aim of laying the intellectual foundations of the Trump movement.
The podcast was recorded on 17 March 2017.
Bookshelf: James Burnham - The Managerial Revolution F.H. Buckley - The Way Back: Restoring the Promise of America The Claremont's Review of Books https://amgreatness.com/ Find Julius Krein's Journal here: https://americanaffairsjournal.org
Picture: Flickr/Gage Skidmore
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR's senior fellows, Asli Aydintasbas and Almut Moeller on the German-Turkish diplomatic spat, the forthcoming polls and the bigger picture of EU-Turkey relations.
The podcast was recorded on 9 March 2017.
Bookshelf: Atul Gawande, Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End Jan Morris, Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere Ivan Krastev, After Europe
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with James McGann, senior lecturer in International Studies and director of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR's research director and Kadri Liik, ECFR's senior fellow, on the threats and challenges that think tanks face in a fast-paced, post-truth world.
The podcast was recorded on 2 March 2017.
Bookshelf: James McGann, The Fifth Estate: Think Tanks, Public Policy, and Governance James McGann, Global Think Tanks: Policy Networks and Governance David Cecil, The Young Melbourne Stuart Jeffries, Grand Hotel Abyss: The Lives of the Frankfurt School
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard is meeting with Wolfgang Ischinger, the Chairman of the Munich Security Conference. Together they are debriefing a very unusual MSC where the whole idea of the West was at stake.
The podcast was recorded on 22 February 2017.
Bookshelf: Thomas Schmid, Europa ist tot, es lebe Europa! Eine Weltmacht muss sich neu erfinden Wolfgang Ischinger, Deutschlands neue Verantwortung
Want to find out more about this topic? Reach for the Munich Security Conference 2017 website here: https://www.securityconference.de/en/activities/munich-security-conference/msc-2017/
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard is meeting with Alexander Stubb, the former Prime Minister of Finland. Together they are discussing the idea of flexible European integration in a post-Brexit environment.
The podcast was recorded on 16 February 2017.
Want to find out more about this topic? Reach for Alexander Stubb's publications here: http://www.alexstubb.com/publications/
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard is meeting with Michael Ignatieff, the former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and one of the most thoughtful historians of liberalism. Together they are looking at the future of the liberal order following Trump's election and the rise of several illiberal powers elsewhere in the world.
The podcast was recorded in Vienna on 7 February 2017.
Want to find out more about this topic? Reach for Michael Ignatieff's publications here: http://michaelignatieff.ca/writing/index.php
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses with ECFR's Research Director Jeremy Shapiro and ECFR Policy Fellows Anthony Dworkin & Mattia Toaldo how the EU should respond to Trump's decision to restrict access to citizens from 7 predominantly Muslim countries.
The podcast was recorded on 31 January 2017.
Bookshelf: Walter Russel Mead, The Jacksonian Revolt Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens. A Brief History of Humankind Tom Nichols, Death of the Expertise Fear & Love, at the London Design Museum until 23rd April 2017
Picture: Lorie Shaull/ Flickr
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses with Vessela Tcherneva, Head of ECFR Sofia office, and Aslı Aydıntaşbaş & Kadri Liik, ECFR Senior Policy Fellows, how US President Trump is challenging the European security order along 3 fundamental dimensions: future of NATO, sanctions on Russia and relation with Turkey.
The podcast was recorded on 25 January 2017.
Bookshelf: Philip Roth, The Plot against America Dan Harris, 10% Happier Jürgen Osterhammel, The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century
Picture: DonkeyHotey/Flickr
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard discusses with Tom Nuttall, Brussels bureau chief for the Economist and Ulrike Franke, ECFR's Policy Fellow, whether the Brexit negotiations will be influenced by the changes to the liberal order unleashed by Donald Trump's election.
The podcast was recorded on 17 January 2017.
Bookshelf: Zadie Smith, Swing Time Michael Lewis, The Undoing Project Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia Zygmunt Bauman, Liquid Modernity
Picture: Max Pixel CC
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR's Middle East and North Africa Progamme Director, Ruth Citrin, and ECFR Policy Fellows, Ellie Geranmayeh and Hugh Lovatt, on the cards that the EU can play if the U.S. walks away from the table.
The podcast was recorded on 13 January 2017.
Bookshelf: Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See Naguib Mahfouz, Children of the Alley: A Novel Aeyal Gross, The Writing on the Wall: Rethinking the International Law of Occupation Deutsche Asset Management, Backlash against globalization: Déjà vu?
Picture: Wikimedia
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR Policy Fellows Stefan Soesanto, Kadri Liik and Gustav Gressel on Russia's interferences in Western politics.
The podcast was recorded on 5 January 2017.
Bookshelf: Maurice Paléologue, An Ambassador’s Memoirs Harvey Pitcher, Witnesses Of The Russian Revolution Timothy Snyder, Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin Michael Hayden, Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror The GCHQ Puzzle Book Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
Picture: commdiginews.com
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR Research Director Jeremy Shapiro for an end-of-year special where they recklessly hold themselves accountable for last year's predictions and take the risk of making 10 more for 2017.
The podcast was recorded on 22 December 2016.
Picture: Hieronymus Bosch - Der Garten der Lueste Mitte
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR Senior Policy Fellows Kadri Liik, Julien Barnes-Dacey and Anthony Dworkin about the Syrian situation and the prospects of a political solution. This discussion is followed by an interview with Piotr Buras, head of ECFR Warsaw office, on the current political crisis in Poland. The podcast was recorded on 21 December 2016.
Bookshelf: Rosa Brooks - How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything. A Reluctant Peacenik View from the Inside of the Military Complex Henry Kissinger - World Order: Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History Christian Welzel - Freedom Rising Ian Clarkson - Praising Change
ECFR’s policy fellows are also grateful for your book recommendations – just email us!
Picture: Flickr /Freedom House
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Christine Ockrent, journalist, Jana Puglierin, head of the Alfred von Oppenheim Center for European Policy Studies, and Josef Janning, ECFR senior policy fellow, about the ongoing debate in Berlin on a possible German nuclear deterrent. The podcast was recorded on 14 December 2016.
Bookshelf: 2016 White Paper on German Security Policy and the Future of the Bundeswehr Idealist Internationalism and the Security Dilemma by John Herz Révolution by Emmanuel Macron
Picture: Flickr /Neil H
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks with Nathalie Tocci, Deputy Director of Istituto Affari Internazionali and Wolfgang Schüssel, Austria's former Chancellor, about the polls that were held this weekend in Italy and Austria. The podcast was recorded on the 5 December 2016.
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks with author Gilles Kepel about the the primary election results, Islamophobia and challenges to French political identity. The podcast was recorded on the 2 December 2016.
Bookshelf: La Fracture by Gilles Kepel
Picture: Wikimedia/Mardus
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with journalist and Angela Merkel's official biographer Stefan Kornelius, and ECFR fellows Almut Möller and Josef Janning, about Merkel's candidacy for her fourth term as German Chancellor. The podcast was recorded on 23 November 2016.
Bookshelf: Angela Merkel - The Chancellor and her World by Stefan Kornelius The Passage to Europe by Luuk van Middelaar Terror overseas: understanding China’s evolving counter-terror strategy by Mathieu Duchâtel New World Disorder - Old problems - Realist answers by Carlo Masala
Picture: Flickr / EPP
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR fellow Francois Godement and journalist Chistine Ockrent about the candidates for the French presidential election in 2017. The podcast was recorded on 18 November 2016.
Bookshelf: Judas by Amos Oz The Shipwrecked Mind: On Political Reaction by Mark Lilla Remake the union to heal Europe’s rifts by Nicolas Sarkozy Affaires étrangères by Christine Ockrent
Picture: Wikimedia Commons
Mark Leonard speaks with Jeremy Shapiro, Asli Aydintasbas and Josef Janning about reactions to Trump’s electoral triumph from the UK, Germany and Turkey.
Bookshelf: In Europe: Travels Through the Twentieth Century by Geert Mak The global crisis and the failure of the West by Carlo Masala Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari The everyday and the existential: how Clinton and Trump challenge transatlantic relations by Jeremy Shapiro Fear and loathing on the road to the US elections by Susi Dennison, Dina Pardijs and Jeremy Shapiro
Picture: Flickr/gageskidmore
Mark Leonard speaks with Cristina Manzano, Editor-in-Chief of the Spanish newspaper Es Global, and Borja Lasheras, ECFR’s director of the Madrid office, about the new Spanish government, which has finally come into place after a year of waiting. In the second part, he speaks with Conor Quinn, ECFR’s Communications Manager, about the recent UK High Court ruling that the British Parliament must vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the EU. The podcast was recorded on 4 November 2016.
Bookshelf: The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric In Europe: Travels through the twentieth century by Geert Mak My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante Trump, Brexit, and the Rise of Populism by Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart
Picture: Flickr/morebyless
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Almut Möller, head of ECFR’s Berlin office, and François Godement, director of the Asia and China programme, about the recent blocking of the trade deal between Canada and the EU by the Belgian Walloons, and what this means for Europe’s governability.
Bookshelf: Dies sind die Namen by Tommy Wieringa Les tueurs de la Republique: Assassinats et operations speciales des services secrets by Vincent Nouzille The Shipwrecked Mind: On Political Reaction by Mark Lilla Why less Europe is no Europe - comparing the fates of CETA and MES by Francois Godement
Picture: Flickr/147558657@N06
Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR Middle East experts, Hayder al-Khoei and Ellie Geranmayeh, who have just returned from Iraq about the battle for Mosul and prospects for post-conflict reconciliation.
Mark Leonard speaks with former director of the European Defence Agency Nick Witney, Manuel Lafont Rapnouil and Ulrike Esther Franke about European defence in the context of Brexit, increasing defence budgets and proposals for a Schengen of Defence.
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard first speaks with David Sanger, journalist from the New York Times, about what Donald Trump would mean for the future of the United States, and the NATO alliance. In the second part of the podcast he speaks with Kadri Liik and Ellie Geranmayeh about the new “power couple” Russia and Iran, and their relations in the Middle East. The podcast was recorded on the 15 and 27 September 2016.
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Senior Policy Fellow Richard Gowan about the candidates, and the factors that will decide the race. The podcast was recorded on the 15 September 2016.
Bookshelf: The fog of peace: A memoir of international peacekeeping in the 21st century by Jean-Marie Guehenno EU indecision on UN Secretary General choice plays to Russia’s advantage by Richard Gowan
Picture: Wikipedia/Patrick Gruban
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with experts Angela Stanzel, Francois Godement and Susi Dennison, about what the British exit from the EU will mean for China and Asia, and how the East can gain from the new landscape. The podcast was recorded on the 13 September 2016.
Bookshelf: Europeans, get down to work by Andres Ortega Wild grass: China’s revolution from below by Ian Johnson Goodbye Europe by Sylvie Goulard China and Brexit: What’s in it for us? by Francois Godement and Angela Stanzel
Picture: Flickr/Friends of Europe
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with heads of office Almut Möller and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil about political debates in France and Germany. What directions are the two countries heading as they approach next year's elections? The podcast was recorded on 7 September 2016.
Bookshelf: Der taumelnde Kontinent by Philipp Blom New European counter-terror wars by Anthony Dworkin View from Berlin: The EU’s musical chairs by Josef Janning
Picture: Flickr/Martin Schulz
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with experts Andrew Wilson, Fredrik Wesslau and Gustav Gressel, about tensions between Russia and Ukraine rising in Eastern Ukraine, the Minsk Agreement, and whether European sanctions should be renewed towards Russia. The podcast was recorded on 30 August 2016.
Bookshelf: Enough said: What’s gone wrong with the language of politics by Mark Thompson The decline of the West by Oswald Sprengler Ukraine crisis: What it means for the West by Andrew Wilson The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation by Andrew Wilson Russia’s role in the Greyzone
Picture: Flickr/GrusiaKot
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with policy fellow Asli Aydintasbas and research director Jeremy Shapiro about the deployment of Turkish tanks into Syria and the rivalry with Kurdish troops in the fight against ISIS in that region. The podcast was recorded on the 25 August 2016.
Bookshelf: Desert Queen: The extraordinary life of Gertrude Bell by Janet Wallach Decisive moments in history by Stefan Zweig Man(h)atten (series)
Picture: Flickr/Pan Chauyoe
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR experts Vessela Tcherneva, Silvia Francescon, Ulrike Franke, Borja Lasheras, and board member Ivan Krastev, about summer readings. The list includes foreign policy books, wider readings to understand the world we live in, and finally what to read to get away from it all. The podcast was recorded on 28 July 2016.
Books discussed:
The force of reason by Oriana Fallaci Senza la Guerra by Massimo Cacciari, Lucio Caracciolo, Ernesto Galli della Lggia and Elisabetta Rasy La febbre di Trump: Un fenomeno Americano by Mattia Ferraresi Liberta a migrare: Perche ci spostiamo da sempre ed e bene cosi by Valerio Calzano and Telmo Pievani En immersion a Molenbeek by Hind Fraihi Reichtum ohne Gier by Sahra Wagenknecht Wunschdenken: Europa, Währung, Bildung, Einwanderung – warum Politik so häufig scheitert by Thilo Sarrazin 1913: The year before the storm by Florian Illies La France pour la vie by Nikolas Sarkozy Expert political judgement: How good is it? How can we know? By Philip E. Tetlock Global inequality: A new approch for the age of globalisation by Branko Milanovic El retorno de los chamanes by Victor Lapuente Siria, el país de las almas rotas by Javier Espinosa and Monica G. Prieto Esodo: Storia del nuovo millennio by Domenico Quirico The search for Europe: Contrasting approaches, published by BBVA 1917: Razgadka “russkoj” revolyutsii by Nikolaj Starikov The Silk Road: A new history of the world by Peter Frankopan Political epistemics: The secret police, the opposition, and the end of east German socialism by Andreas Glaeser Thinking in time: The uses of history for decision makers by Richard E. Neustadt and Ernest R. May Diplomat i gradinar by Ivan D. Stanchov Ill fares the land by Tony Judt When facts change by Tony Judt Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder The responsible company: What we’ve learned from Patagonia’s first 40 years by Yvon Chouinard and Vincent Stanley Drone warfare by John Kaag and Sarah Kreps Swarm troopers: How small drones will conquer the world by David Hambling Sternstunden der Menschheit by Stefan Zweig The Star Rover by Jack London The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston De Walt Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon American Pastoral by Philip Roth
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Tom Nuttall, Brussels Bureau Chief of the Economist and author of the Charlemagne column, about reactions to the UK referendum result in the EU institutions, and the upcoming negotiations. The podcast was recorded on 26 July 2016.
Bookshelf: This Blessed Plot by Hugo Young Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837 by Linda Colley Britain as Europe by Linda Colley
Picture: Flickr/Thijs ter Haar
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Ulrike Franke, research assistant and expert on security and drones, Josef Janning, co-head of ECFR’s Berlin office, and Volker Stanzel, senior advisor to the Asia & China programme, about the four recent violent attacks in southern Germany. The speakers agree that the mood in Germany is much calmer than it is portrayed by foreign media. The podcast was recorded on 25 June 2016.
Bookshelf: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline Der Schimmelreiter by Theodor Storm Ohne Liebe geht es auch by Rudolf Lorenzen Fortress Besieged by Qian Zhongshu Heretics by Leonardo Padura The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon by Karl Marx
Picture: Flickr/Metropolico
ECFR council member Loukas Tsoukalis, Professor at the University of Athens, puts the blame for the rise of euroscepticism on the eurozone crisis and a succession of policy failures.
Picture: Flickr/RobDeman
ECFR’s Director Mark Leonard speaks with Policy Fellow Asli Aydintasbas and Research Director Jeremy Shapiro about the failed coup against Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and its consequences for the West. The podcast was recorded on the 18 July 2016.
Bookshelf: Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears
Picture: Flickr/UNAOC
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Piotr Buras, Head of ECFR’s Warsaw office and Senior Policy Fellow, Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR’s Research Director, Vessela Tcherneva, Head of ECFR’s Progammes and the Sofia office, and Ulrike Franke, Research Assistant at ECFR and expert on military issues, about what was discussed at the summit and what that means for European security. The podcast was recorded on 11 July 2016.
Bookshelf: Seveneves by Neal Stephenson Submission by Michel Houellebecq 111 things you need to see in Burgenland by Gerd Wolfgang Sievers The world according to Europe’s insurgent parties: Putin, migration and people power by Susi Dennison and Dina Pardijs
Picture: Flickr/EEAS
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard presents the discussion “Brexit - Views from Europe“ which was held at ECFR’s Annual Council Meeting in the Hague earlier this week. The panelists are Gordon Bajnai, former Prime Minister of Hungary, Norbert Röttgen, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the German Bundestag, George Soros, Founder and Chairman of the Open Society Foundations, Alexander Stubb, former Prime Minister of Finland, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, CEO at Save the Children International, and Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs Columnist at the Financial Times. They look at what other EU countries can learn from the British EU referendum and what the future shape of Europe will be. It was recorded on the 28 June 2016.
Readings:
The world according to Europe’s insurgent parties: Putin, migration, and people power by Susi Dennison and Dina Pardijs.
You can find more audio and video recordings from the Annual Council Meeting here on our website.
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Sunder Katwala, director of the think-tank British Future, about the EU referendum, the recent poll swings and what the result might be. The podcast was recorded on 21 June 2016.
Bookshelf: How (not) to talk about Europe by Sunder Katwala and Steve Ballinger This blessed plot – Britain and Europe from Churchill to Blair by Hugo Young Jo Cox’s Fund https://www.gofundme.com/jocox
Picture: Flickr/Abi Begum
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Susi Dennison, ECFR's director of the European Power programme, Josef Janning, Co-Head of the ECFR Berlin office, Piotr Buras, Head of the ECFR office in Warsaw, and Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR's Research Director, about populism and European foreign policy. The podcast was recorded on the 15 June 2016.
Bookshelf: Never let me go by Kazuko Ishiguro The age of catastrophe – A history of the West 1914-1945 by Heinrich August Winkler Warum Europa eine Republk werden muss! Eine politische Utopie by Ulrike Guérot This blessed plot: Britain and Europe from Churchill to Blair by Hugo Young American Political Decay or Renewal? by Francis Fukuyama
Picture: Flickr/Lightroomer
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Piotr Buras, Head of the ECFR office in Warsaw, and Almut Möller, co-Head of the ECFR Berlin office, about what the main concerns for policymakers in Poland and Germany are. The podcast was recorded in Warsaw on 3 June 2016 and in London/Berlin on 9 June 2016.
Bookshelf: Die zerrissenen Jahre by Philipp Blom Day in Day out by Terézia Mora The Inventory by Gila Lustiger Deutschland 83 Britain in Europe Monitor
Picture: Flickr/Descrier
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Tom Fletcher, diplomat, former UK Ambassador to Lebanon and author of the book Naked Diplomacy, about how technology is changing power and diplomacy. The podcast was recorded on 1 June 2016.
Book: Naked Diplomacy by Tom Fletcher
Podcast: New Diplomacy in the Age of Networks with Mark Leonard, Jeremy Heimans, Anne-Marie Slaughter and Carl Bildt
Picture: Flickr/Mezdoce
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR policy fellows Ellie Geranmayeh, Julien Barnes-Dacey and Mattia Toaldo, about the recent talks in Vienna where foreign minister met up to discuss Libya and the growing threat of ISIS in the country, and about new developments Syria.
Bookshelf: In the light of what we know by Zia Haidar Rahman Trilogy by Elena Ferrante Dateline Baghdad by Luke Baker Forces for good by Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant Five films that will help you understand the modern Arab world by Shohini Chaudhuri Intervening better: Europe’s second chance in Libya by Mattia Toaldo The seventh sense: Power, fortune and survival in the age of networks by Joshua Cooper Ramo
Picture: Flickr/European Parliament
The podcast was recorded on 23 May 2016.
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Nicola Clase, Swedish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Fredrik Wesslau, Director of ECFR’s Wider Europe programme, and Vessela Tcherneva, Head of ECFR’s Sofia Office, about the Eurovision Song Contest and its geopolitical features.
The Swedish Ambassador’s Guide to the Eurovision Song Contest by Nicola Clase
Picture: Flickr/Per-Olof Forsberg
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard first speaks with Burkhard Bischof, editor of the Austrian newspaper Die Presse, and Caroline de Gruyter, correspondent from the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblatt, about the Austrian presidential elections, in which the far-right party FPÖ is the favourite to win. In the second half of the podcast Mark Leonard speaks with Douglas Alexander, Senior Fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School and former Shadow Foreign Secretary, about the parallels between the British EU referendum and the Scottish referendum.
Picture: Flickr/Yellow.Cat
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Center for Liberal Strategies in Sofiar, Sir Robert Cooper, former Director-General for External and Politico-Military Affairs at the Council of the EU, and Kadri Liik, ECFR Senior Policy Fellow, about the multiple crises Europe is facing and how they might be interrelated.
Bookshelf: All the Kremlin’s men by Mikhail Zygar The anatomy of a moment by Javier Cercas Soldier of Salamis by Javier Cercas The passage to Europe – how a continent became a union by Luuk van Middelaar The industries of the future by Alec Ross
Picture: Flickr/ European Union 2013 - European Parliament
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Sylvie Kauffmann, editorial director of Le Monde, and Manual Lafont Rapnouil, head of the ECFR Paris office, about the future of France, its place in Europe, and how it sees the world.
France and Germany: Europe’s stalling engine by Manuel Lafont Rapnouil and Josef Janning
Views from the Capitals
Picture: Flickr/Guillaume Fleur
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks with Vice-Admiral Sir Anthony Dymock, former UK Military Representative to NATO and the EU, Simon Foy, former head of the Metropolitan Police's Homicide and Serious Crimes Command, Nigel Inkster, former board member of MI6, Baroness Pauline Neville Jones, former Security Minister, and Nick Witney, former chief executive of European Defence Agency and ECFR senior policy fellow, about what a British exit from the EU would mean for Britain's security.
The drawbridge fallacy by Mark Leonard Brexit to nowhere: The foreign policy consequences of “Out” by Nick Witney
Picture: Flickr/Will Taylor
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Somini Sengupta, UN correspondent for the New York Times, Richard Gowan, ECFR Senior Policy Fellow, and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, Head of ECFR Paris office, about the UN secretary-general candidacy, the public hustings and about who is leading the race.
Picture: Flickr/sanjitbakshi
Interview to Yevhen Hlibovytsky, Ukrainian intellectual, co-founder of the Nestor Group on the future of Ukraine.
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks with Beatrice de Graaf, Professor of History of International Relations at Utrecht University, Michiel van Hulten, one of the leaders of the Dutch yes-campaign, and Dick Oosting, CEO of ECFR, about the Dutch referendum and its results. In the second part he talks to Sam Coates, Deputy Political Editor of the Times, about the British referendum campaign.
+++ Dear listeners, we have technical difficulties this week and we apologise for the sound quality +++
Picture: Flickr/Notbrucelee
Whilst China's defence budget this year is rising at its slowest pace since 2010, the reform of the People's Liberation Army is in full swing. Jérôme Doyon, ECFR Associate Fellow and editor of China Analysis, explains the key drivers to the reform, and its implications on Chinese defence.
You can find the publication 'Xi’s army: Reform and loyalty in the PLA' here: http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/xis_army_reform_and_loyalty_in_the_pla6055
Picture: Flickr/lafayette1
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Stefan Kornelius, head of the international section of Sueddeutsche Zeitung, and ECFR senior policy fellows Kadri Liik and Sebastian Dullien, about the biggest leak in whistleblower history.
The Panama Papers show how corruption really works in Russia by Mark Galeotti
How Reporters Pulled Off the Panama Papers, the Biggest Leak in Whistleblower History by Andy Greenberg
Picture: Flickr/Orban Lopez Cruz
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Clara Portela, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Singapore Management University, and Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR’s Research Director, about the role of sanctions in European foreign policy.
Bookshelf: Connectivity Wars edited by Mark Leonard http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/connectivity_wars_5064
Picture: Flickr/jeffowenphotos
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks with Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, Head of ECFR's Paris office, Anthony Dworkin, Senior Policy Fellow, and Nick Witney, co-director of ECFR's European Power programme, about the Brussels terror attacks and its implications on European security and unity.
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks with Franziska Brantner, Member of the German Parliament and ECFR council member, and with Josef Janning, Senior Policy Fellow and Head of ECFR Berlin Office, about the results of the three state elections in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt, and what this means for the future of Germany and its role in the EU.
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR Visiting Fellow Asli Aydintasbas, ECFR Senior Policy Fellow Mattia Toaldo, and ECFR Board Member and German politician Norbert Röttgen, about the EU-Turkey ‘one-in one-out’ deal over the Syrian refugee crisis.
Picture: Flickr/European Union 2012 - European Parliament
+++ Dear listeners, we have technical difficulties this week and we apologise for the sound quality +++
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Ulf Sverdrup, Director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, about the Norwegian model and whether it could work for the UK, and to Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director at ECFR, about the prospects of a Donald Trump presidency and what it means for Europe.
Outside and Inside - Official Norwegian Reports NOU 2012 Why the Norwegian EU option is best left to Norway by Fredrik Sejersted and Ulf Sverdrup
Picture: Flickr/Gage Skidmore
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Sam Coates, Deputy Political Editor of the Times, and to Nick Witney and Susi Dennison, Co-Directors of ECFR's European Power programme, about the current state of the debate on the British membership of the European Union.
Picture: Flickr/Crown Copyright
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks with Emma Bonino, former Foreign Minister of Italy, Asli Aydintasbas, ECFR Visiting Fellow, and Vessela Tcherneva, ECFR's director of Programmes, about Turkey's role in the world and its relationship with the EU.
Picture: Flickr/Michal
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Herman van Rompuy, former President of the European Council, Pierre Vimont, former ambassador and Senior Associate at Carnegie Europe, Almut Moeller, co-director of ECFR's Berlin office, and Janis Emmanouilidis, Director of Studies at the European Policy Centre, about the foreign policy dimensions of the refugee crisis.
Picture: Flickr/Josh Zakary
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Alexandra Saieh, Policy Officer for Oxfam's Syria crisis response in Jordan, Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs and Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director at ECFR, and Julien Barnes-Dacey, Senior Policy Fellow for ECFR’s Middle East & North Africa programme, about the Syria conference in London and the future of Syria more broadly.
Picture: Flickr/Adam Brown/Crown Copyright
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to diplomat Robert Cooper and ECFR policy fellows Susi Dennison, Almut Moeller, Kadri Liik, and Fredrik Wesslau, about ECFR's Foreign Policy Scorecard 2016, its results and future prospects.
You can find the publication here: http://www.ecfr.eu/scorecard/2016
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks to Gideon Rose, editor of Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, former Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Parag Khanna, Senior Research Fellow at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, and Sebastian Dullien, Senior Policy Fellow at ECFR, about geo-economics and how Europe will do in a geo-economic world.
You can find out more about the geo-economic battlegrounds of the future in our latest publication 'Connectivity Wars': http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/connectivity_wars_5064
Picture: Flickr/Andrew Moreton
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks to Christian Koch, director of the Gulf Research Center Foundation, Marc Lynch, Professor of Political Science at George Washington University, and Ellie Geranmayeh, ECFR policy fellow, about the recent breakdown of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Bookshelf: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka The Other Saudis – Shiism, Dissent and Sectarianism by Toby Matthiesen Joyriding in Riyadh – Oil, Urbanism, and Road Revolt by Pascal Menoret Taxi Tehran (Film) by Jafar Panahi
Picture: Flickr/Stuart Rankin
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks to ECFR’s research director Jeremy Shapiro about trends and issues in 2016. You can find the article with the thirteen predictions on our website at www.ecfr.eu.
Bookshelf: This is London by Ben Judah Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction by Phillip Tetlock and Dan Gardner
Picture: Flickr/Adam Carter
Ahead of the Spanish general election, that will take place on December 20th, José Ignacio Torreblanca, Head of the ECFR Office in Madrid, offers a quick analysis on what to expect according to the most recent Spanish polls.
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Sebastian Dullien, ECFR senior policy fellow and a professor of international economics, about the impact that the influx of refugees will have on Germany’s economy, and on its local services.
Picture: Flickr/sabaso
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to the Japanese Ambassador to NATO, Masafumi Ishii, and former German Ambassador to China and Japan and ECFR senior advisor to the Asia programme, Volker Stanzel, about what the world order might look like in 2030 and what role Europe might play.
Bookshelf: Prof. Dr. Reinhard Wolf's article on politics and emotions is in the book "Emotionen und Politik: Begründungen, Konzeptionen und Praxisfelder einer politikwissenschaftlichen Emotionsforschung" by Karl-Rudolf Korte Danger on the high seas by Volker Stanzel Europe and Japan by Mathieu Duchâtel Europe and Japan: Country by country
Picture: Flickr/Halfrain
Kateryna Dankova is the head in Chernihiv of the Democratic Alliance (Demallianz), recently elected as a representative in the local elections.
Interviewed by Francisco de Borja Lasheras in mid-November 2015.
Inna Gryshchenko is a political candidate from the Ukrainian party 'Sila Lyudei' ('Power of the People').
Francisco de Borja Lasheras did the interview in November 2015.
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks to Asli Aydintasbas, ECFR visiting fellow and expert on Turkish foreign policy, and Kadri Liik, ECFR senior policy fellow and expert on Russian foreign policy, about the downing of a Russian fighter jet by a Turkish F-16 and its implications on Turkish-Russian relations.
Bookshelf: Great Catastrophe: Armenians and Turks in the Shadow of Genocide by Thomas de Waal Russia and the Arabs by Yevgeny Primakov Proxy war worsens between Russia and Turkey by Asli Aydintasbas Nato should not risk a wrong turn over Turkey – and Ukraine by François Godement
Picture: Flickr/Mikhail Serbin
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to senior policy fellow, Anthony Dworkin, and to the head of the Paris office and senior policy fellow, Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, about the implications of the Paris attacks on France and Europe.
Bookshelf: Les Guerres du President by David Revault d’Allonnes Power Wars by Charlie Savage La Revanche de Passions by Pierre Hassner Le Grand Remplacement by Renaud Camus Le Grand Repli by Nicolas Bancel, Pascal Blanchard and Ahmed Boubeker Responding to Paris
Picture: Flickr/Alberto Maldeno
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Bharat Karnad, Professor of National Security Studies at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, Clemens Spiess, Project Officer for India at the Robert Bosch Foundation in Germany, and Francois Godement, director of the Asia and China Programme at ECFR, about Indian Prime Minister Modi's visit to the UK and India's relation with the EU.
Bookshelf: How Modi won it by Harish Khare Rebooting India by Nandan Nilekani and Viral Shah God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens What does India think? http://www.ecfr.eu/what_does_india_think Asia’s Giant: India and China
Picture: Flickr/Dave https://www.flickr.com/photos/dave_raw_lin_son/262974297/in/photolist-peP6B-oq5dfx-nYhNyC-4nKZ4s-4nFS4X-nffgpX-4nNoHY-7zojzu-ofz7ML-nPJCtd-nJ3zvN-kDF3x6-futbTu-8sNo8N-7bqwob-gtmDKU-nCBSk5-nfXTs4-pKfFZ4-onvvjp-fKXX8t-jU29vy-ggkEAd-4E47a9-goBNG1-bBmZC8-4nLcHb-f415P9-4nJSTC-4nJKv1-nX7M1r-2GmXy3-iaL2fw-fGWYj6-4nEHKF-rJQggz-jX4ri9-ryiDGQ-qxVk9v-rLV7L7-rMMm9x-otAdzw-nJKakc-qF8tic-fHYdt5-ef5ju9-goztwZ-goBhu7-fKivE6-4nFCYp
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Stephen Walt, Professor of International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, about the threats that could rip Europe apart, and about different options of how the EU could develop given the current picture.
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Jeremy Heimans, social activist and CEO of Purpose.com, Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New America Foundation, and Carl Bildt, former Foreign Minister and Prime Minister of Sweden and co-chair of ECFR, about the future of diplomacy in an age of networks.
Picture: Flickr/Maxine Bonzi
Bookshelf: Unfinished Business by Anne-Marie Slaughter Between the world and me by Ta-Nehisi Coates The Uses and Abuses of History by Margaret Macmillan Kissinger: Volume 1 by Niall Ferguson Understanding "New Power" by Jeremy Heimans A New World Order by Anne-Marie Slaughter
Hugh Lovatt speaks to Fadi Quran, activist, senior campaigner for Avaaz, and according to the Time magazine "the new face of the Middle East".
Picture: Flickr/Rusty Stewart
Three experts from the Chinese delegation that Xi Jinping has brought with him to London give their opinion on the possible repercussions of an exit of the UK from the EU.
Picture: Flickr/Number10gov
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Professor Feng Zhongping, Vice President of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, Professor Pan Wei, Professor at the Center for Chinese and Global Affairs at Peking University, and Francois Godement, ECFR's head of the China and Asia programme, about China's president Xi Jinping's four day visit to the UK.
Picture: Flickr/Number 10/Crown Copyright
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to 'In' campaigners Damian Green MP and Emma Reynolds MP, from the Conservatives and Labour respectively as the official 'In' campaign launches this week.
ECFR's Hugh Lovatt and Mattia Toaldo speak to independent journalist and editor Noam Sheizaf, who has previously worked for a number of Israeli news outlets including Ynet.co.il and Maariv, and now writes regularly for +972 Magazine.
Picture: Flickr/Rusty Steward https://www.flickr.com/photos/rustystewart/300026777/in/photolist-jZzWj-jZzWk-svHvt-jNYUZR-dxs9sa-4ZvCWU-4jm2Zv
"Voices of Ukraine, Voices from Ukraine" part 12. Francisco de Borja Lasheras interviews Alexei Matsuka, journalist from the independent local online newspaper “News of Donbass”, about his opinion on the Ukrainian conflict, the deadlock the region of Donbass is living right now, and the matter of dialogue and reconciliation in the country.
ECFR speaks to humanitarian expert and former UNHCR representative Kilian Kleinschmidt about how EU countries can actively help solve the refugee crisis and how migration should be dealt with in the future.
Picture: Flickr/Foreign and Commonwealth Office
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Nikolay Kozhanov, scholar at the Carnegie Moscow Centre, Jeremy Shapiro, Policy Fellow at Brookings, and ECFR Senior Policy Fellow Julien Barnes-Dacey about Russia's military actions in Syria.
Bookshelf: The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud The Fall of the Ottomans by Eugene Rogan Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky It's time to rethink Syria by Philip Gordon Russia does not have the means or desire to defeat Isis in Syria and Vladimir Putin knows it by Gustav Gressel
Picture: Flickr/Global Panorama
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Labour MP Pat McFadden, Luke Akehurst from Labour First, and Kirsty McNeill, campaign director of Save the Children, at the annual Labour conference about the new Labour leader's foreign policy.
Picture: Flickr/The Weekly Bull/RonF
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to ECFR senior policy fellows Susi Dennison, Josef Janning and Vessela Tcherneva about the possible implications of the refugee crisis and whether it will tear the European Union apart.
Picture: Flickr/Thijs ter Haar
Bookshelf: Divided Poland faces foreign policy crossroads by Piotr Buras Ten home truths on Europe's refugee crisis by Susi Dennison, Dina Pardijs and Nick Witney
Websites: EU Insight The Catch Up Index
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Senior Policy Fellow Kadri Liik, and to the head of ECFR's Sofia office, Vessela Tcherneva, about the growing divide between eastern and western European countries on the refugee crisis.
Bookshelf: The Judgement by Stephan Komandarev Russian Approaches to International Law by Prof. Lauri Mälksoo Eastern Europe’s Compassion Deficit by Ivan Krastev
Picture: Flickr/ Stephen Ryan / IFRC
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to experts Susi Dennison and Josef Janning about the results of ECFR's Britain in Europe Renegotiation Scorecard - an exclusive survey of opinion in ten of the most critical EU member states to find how close Cameron is to securing agreement to a reform package that he can put to the British people.
Download the survey on our dedicated page: http://www.ecfr.eu/europeanpower/britain
Picture: Flickr/Number 10 - Crown Copyright
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to ECFR's CEO Dick Oosting, experts Susi Dennison and Josef Janning, about how the different EU countries deal with the crisis, Germany's role and how other countries might respond.
Bookshelf:
Geopolitics and democracy in the Middle East by Kristina Kausch
Picture: Flickr/EC/ECHO
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks to Almut Moeller, former head of the Alfred von Oppenheim Center for European Policy Studies at the German Council on Foreign Relations, Christoph Bertram, former director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, and Wolfgang Ischinger, Germany's former ambassador to Washington and London and currently chairman of the Munich Security Conference, about German politician Egon Bahr, who passed away recently, and his legacy.
Bookshelf: Blue dahlia, black gold: A journey to Angola by Daniel Metcalfe Moby Dick by Herman Melville The counterlife by Philip Roth
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ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks to Francois Godement, ECFR’s director of the Asia and China Programme, about China’s recent decision to devalue its currency as well as the 70th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day.
Bookshelf: Duty – Memoirs of a Secretary at War by Robert M. Gates Soumission by Michel Houellebecq China’s Second Continent by Howard French The China-Pakistan Axis by Andrew Small
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ECFR's Mattia Toaldo gives insight into how the instability in Libya contributes to the migration crisis.
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http://www.ecfr.eu/podcasts
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks to political scientist and author, Ian Bremmer, and diplomat and author, Jonas Parello-Plesner about their new books. Both guests recently wrote about world superpowers: Bremmer’s book is called 'Superpower: Three Choices for America's Role in the World', and Parello-Plesner’s 'China’s Strong Arm – Protecting Citizens and Assets Aroad', co-authored with Mathieu Duchatel.
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ECFR's Mattia Toaldo speaks at BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show about how other EU countries deal with asylum seekers and how Britain compared approaches the topic.
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ECFR's director Mark Leonard presents the highlights of the recent ECFR event 'What would 'out' mean?' Taking part in the discussion are Bernard Jenkin, MP for Harwich and North Essex, Mark Reckless, UKIP's Director of Policy, and Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of Business for Britain, who want to see a change in Britain's relationship with Europe.
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ECFR's Policy Fellow and Associate Director of the Madrid office, Francisco de Borja Lasheras, interviews experts and locals on Ukraine.
Photo by SerenityRose (Flickr).
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Franziska Brantner, Member of the German Parliament, ECFR’s senior policy fellow Sebastian Dullien and Josef Janning, and Ulrike Franke, Research Assistant at ECFR, about Germany’s leadership role and recent criticism on their decisions.
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ECFR policy fellows Mattia Toaldo and Hugh Lovatt, authors of the policy brief "EU differentiation and Israeli settlements", believe that the EU needs to act faster and further in ensuring that Israeli settlements in no way benefit from EU-Israel bilateral relations. In the interview they explain the benefits of a differentiation policy.
http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/eu_differentiation_and_israeli_settlements3076
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ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Daniel Levy, director of the MENA programme, and to policy fellows Julien Barnes-Dacey and Ellie Geranmayeh, about the Iran nuclear agreement and Geranmayeh's new policy brief 'Engaging with Iran: A European agenda'.
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ECFR's Carla Hobbs interviews the new council member and former European Commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, on the new Greek bailout agreement. Almunia explains possible consequences this could have on the political situation in Spain.
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ECFR policy fellow Ellie Geranmayeh is in Vienna where the nuclear talks between Iran and six major powers are being held. She speaks to Kelsey Davenport, director of Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association, and gives an update on the state of the nuclear negotiations.
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ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to senior policy fellows Vessela Tcherneva and Sebastian Dullien about what the result of the Greek referendum will mean for Greece and for the EU.
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ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Loukas Tsoukalis, Professor of Economics and head of the Greek think tank ELIAMEP, and Sebastian Dullien, ECFR's senior policy fellow and Professor of International Economics at HTW Berlin, about the Greek referendum, what it means and its possible implications.
Cover art: Flickr/Theophilos Papadopoulos
Head of ECFR's Sofia office, Vessela Tcherneva, interviews Professor Olexiy Haran from Kyiv on the current challenges in Eastern Ukraine and future prospects.
Picture Credit: Flickr/Sasha Maksymenko
ECFR's Policy Fellow and Associate Director of the Madrid office, Francisco de Borja Lasheras, interviews experts and locals on Ukraine.
Photo by SerenityRose (Flickr).
ECFR's Policy Fellow and Associate Director of the Madrid office, Francisco de Borja Lasheras, interviews experts and locals on Ukraine.
Photo by SerenityRose (Flickr).
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Gerald Knaus, chairman and founder of the European Stability Initiative, Andrew Wilson, senior policy fellow at ECFR and Ukraine specialist, and Anthony Dworkin, senior policy fellow at ECFR and expert on human rights, democracy and justice, about the increase and effectiveness of the geo-economic tool sanctions.
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ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Sinan Ülgen, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, and Vessela Tcherneva, head of ECFR's Wider Europe programme, about the upcoming Turkish elections, possible results and implications.
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ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to ECFR Middle East experts and policy fellows Ellie Geranmayeh and Julien Barnes-Dacey about the geopolitics of ISIS and the role of the West.
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With only a few months following his election victory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is faced with his first crisis over a discriminatory pilot scheme that would've seen Palestinian workers banned from using Israeli buses in the occupied West Bank. The proposal has been scrapped. However, as ECFR's director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme, Daniel Levy argues, the government Netanyahu has put together will see on a number of occasions "this kind of visible ugliness floating to the surface in ways that people have tried to gloss over in the past".
Picture credits (cc) European External Action Service -www.flickr.com/photos/eeas/
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Ian Bond, director of Foreign Policy at the Centre for European Reform, and ECFR Senior Policy Fellow’s Kadri Liik and Andrew Wilson. They take a look at the Eastern Partnership summit, which will take place in Riga on the 20th and 21st May 2015, and whether we can expect any major changes.
Cover art (CC) Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland - https://www.flickr.com/photos/polandmfa/
ECFR's director Mark Leonard speaks to Silvia Francescon, head of ECFR's Rome office, Josef Janning, senior policy fellow from ECFR's Berlin office and Piotr Buras, head of ECFR's Warsaw office, about what the results will mean for Britain's membership of the EU and the development of the EU going forward.
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On 7 May the British public is asked to choose a new government. Mark Leonard, director of ECFR, Robin Niblett, the director of Chatham House, Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, and Ulrike Franke, Research Assistant at ECFR, discuss the possible outcomes and what this would mean for the future of British foreign policy and its relationship with the EU.
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Juan Ruitiña interviews Policy Fellow and Associate Director of ECFR Madrid Office Francisco de Borja Lasheras on the reforms in the Ukraine and the effectiveness of Minsk II.
Asia is rising - economically, socially, and technologically, Asia’s nations are taking strides towards increased welfare and prosperity. Francois Godement, Director of ECFR’s Asia & China programme, and Angela Stanzel, ECFR Policy Fellow, reflect on our recent publication 'How do Asians see their future?'. They take a look at recent developments in and around Asia, and whether this had any impact on how Asians see their future.
On 2 April in Lausanne, world powers and Iran declared the parameters of a comprehensive nuclear deal, offering greater detail than expected. The US has re-asserted its commitment to traditional allies while suggesting a new equilibrium needs to be found in the region. Paul Pillar, Senior Fellow at the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University and at the Brookings Institution, Ali Vaez, senior analyst on Iran at International Crisis Group, Ellie Geranmayeh, MENA policy fellow at ECFR, and Mark Leonard, director of ECFR explore the potentially game-changing developments.
ECFR's Policy Fellow and Associate Director of the Madrid office, Francisco de Borja Lasheras, interviews Yehven Fedchenko, the director of the Mohyla School of Journalism in Kiev, about his website StopFake.org, whose purpose is to fact-check Russian propaganda.
Mark Leonard talks to Jeremy Shapiro and Nicu Popescu about changing transatlantic relations. How serious are the tensions between Germany and the US after the recent spying scandal? And can the EU and the US still co-operate on issues in Ukraine and the Middle East?
Mark Leonard talks to Jose Ignacio Torreblanca and Daniel Levy about the European elections, euroscepticism, and the Middle East peace process after Kerry.
ECFR's director Mark Leonard discusses the latest developments in Iraq with Myriam Benraad, Vessela Tcherneva and Julien Barnes-Dacy.
With an EU-Ukraine summit coming up this month, in this episode of World in 30 Minutes Mark Leonard, Director of ECFR, speaks to Kadri Liik and Vessela Tcherneva from ECFR's Wider Europe Programme, and Carl Bildt, co-chair and former Foreign Minister of Sweden. They discuss their recent study trip to Kiev and Minsk were they met with the Ukrainian president Poroshenko, Maidan activists, think-tanks and ministers.
Journalist, analyst and author of our web publication 'Mapping Libya's factions', Mary Fitzgerald, explains the political factions and armed groups involved in the fighting in Libya, and gives us insight into what lies behind the conflicts.
ECFR's Policy Fellow and Associate Director of the Madrid office, Francisco de Borja Lasheras, and Hanna Hopko, former Maidan activist and now member of the Verkhovna Rada and head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, discuss the reform challenges in post-Maidan Ukraine.
ECFR Policy Fellow, Mattia Toaldo, speaks to journalist and analyst Mary Fitzgerald, and Libyan politician Guma El-Gamaty about the lessons that have been learned in 2011 and whether international intervention in Libya would be a good idea.
ECFR Senior Policy Fellow, Julien Barnes-Dacey, and Visiting Fellow, Adam Baron, discuss the recent developments in Yemen and take a look at where the situation is headed.
ECFR Director and co-author of the publication 'Geo-economics: Seven Challenges to Globalization', Mark Leonard, gives his thoughts on what states can do to prevent geopolitics from unravelling the globalization of the world economy and its systems of governance.
ECFR's Policy Fellow and Associate Director of the Madrid office, Francisco de Borja Lasheras, on how to improve EU foreign policy and reach a stronger strategic convergence.
Former EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Dr Javier Solana, ECFR's Senior Policy Fellow, Nick Witney, and Advisor at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Hilmar Linnenkamp, discuss the recent report "More Union in European Defence".
ECFR's Policy Fellow and Associate Director of the Madrid office, Francisco de Borja Lasheras, and Ukrainian artist, Yevgenia Belorusets, take a look at the everyday life of people in eastern Ukraine and the challenges they have to face.
Professor Joseph Nye, political scientist and former Dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, talks to ECFR Director Mark Leonard about his new book "Is the American Century Over?".
In this episode of World in 30 Minutes Mark Leonard, Director of ECFR, and the three experts Susi Dennison, Kadri Liik and Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, take a look at the Scorecard 2015 publication and discuss the highlights and low points of EU foreign policy in 2014.
Richard Gowan, ECFR Associate Fellow and author of Chapter 6, believes that there were several crises the EU had to face in 2014. How to deal with the increased migration from African countries was the most challenging one.
Francois Godement, director of ECFR’s China and Asia Programme, talks about the expansion of relations between the EU and Asia in 2014 through the EU’s confirmation of a free trade pact negotiation with Japan, and an agreement on joint action involving global security, along with the participation in peacekeeping efforts with South Korea.
Susi Dennison, Senior Policy Fellow and expert on the MENA region, explains the EU's performance in the Middle East and North Africa in 2014, and the need for a new strategy.
Vessela Tcherneva, ECFR's director of the Wider Europe programme, gives her analysis on the EU's performance upon dealing with the western Balkans in 2014 and discusses which challenges the relations with Turkey and Bosnia will pose this year.
Thomas Wright, author of Chapter 2 from the European Foreign Policy Scorecard 2015, talks about US-EU relations last year and their convergence towards the end of the year.
Russia's annexation of Crimea and the invasion of Eastern Ukraine turned EU-Russia relations from problematic into an urgent strategic problem. Kadri Liik, ECFR senior policy fellow and author of the 1st chapter called Russia from our European foreign policy publication Scorecard 2015, speaks about last year's challenges and what the EU could have done better.