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

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

The crisis of European security: What Europeans think about the war in Ukraine

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

System failure: The causes of humanitarian crises

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

The Age of Unpeace: Therapy for internationalists | Session 5 with A. Bradford, T. Wright & F. 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

Europe’s role in tackling the Russia-Ukraine crisis

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

The Age of Unpeace: Therapy for internationalists | Session 4 with 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

Top 10 foreign policy trends for 2022

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

The Age of Unpeace: Therapy for internationalists | Session 3 with Dan 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.

The Age of Unpeace: Therapy for internationalists | Session 2 with Parag Khanna

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’.

The Age of Unpeace: Therapy for internationalists | Session 1 with Marietje Schaake

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

Jamil Anderlini: Inside scoop on POLITICO Europe

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

Syria’s war, Europe’s problem

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

The new German coalition’s roadmap for foreign policy

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

The Russian troop build-up near Ukraine

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

How migration became a weapon: the Belarus-Polish border crisis

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

COP26 and Europe’s green grand bargain

Foreign policy podcasts hosted by Mark Leonard, Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), the first pan-European think-tank. https://www.ecfr.eu The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is an award-winning international think-tank that aims to conduct cutting-edge independent research on European foreign and security policy and to provide a safe meeting space for decision-makers, activists and influencers to share ideas. We build coalitions for change at the European level and promote informed debate about Europe’s role in the world. In 2007, ECFR’s founders set about creating a pan-European institution that could combine establishment credibility with intellectual insurgency. Today, ECFR remains uniquely placed to continue providing a pan-European perspective on some of the biggest strategic challenges and choices Europeans need to confront, with a network of offices in seven European capitals, over 60 staff from more than 25 different countries and a team of associated researchers in the EU 28 member states.

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Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

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