Sounds Strategic

The IISS Manama Dialogue 2026, held from 30 October to 1 November, came after months of conflict in the Middle East. In this episode, Air Marshal (retd) Martin ‘Sammy’ Sampson, Emile Hokayem and Tomisha Bino discuss how this year’s themes compared with last year’s and how Gulf states see their place in a changing international order. They discuss the key findings of the new IISS Strategic Dossier...

How has the Iran war reshaped the Gulf? In this episode, Meia Nouwens is joined by four IISS colleagues to discuss the latest IISS Strategic Dossier, The Gulf at War: Strategic, Security and Geo-economic Dimensions . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As European rearmament accelerates and NATO's defence ambitions expand, what progress has actually been made and where do the gaps remain? Meia Nouwens is joined by four IISS experts to reflect on the key discussions from the third IISS Prague Defence Summit, covering South Korea-Europe security ties, land warfare, defence spending and the challenge of turning strategic ambition into real capa...

Czech ammunition output surpassing US production capacity, sovereign AI systems pushing back against American platforms and a growing Chinese challenge in quantum submarine detection: these are the fault lines shaping Europe's defence transformation. As Washington's strategic priorities shift and Russia's threat endures, IISS experts examine what it will take for Europe to move from dependence to...

Europe's military space capabilities are expanding, but so are the threats they face. This episode discusses the IISS research paper Advancing European Military Capacity in Space , assessing how European governments are working to reduce their dependence on the United States in a domain that underpins modern warfare. From Russian GPS jamming and satellite shadowing to the prospect of a nuclear wea...

The episode examines the gap between NATO's 5% GDP spending commitments and the delivery of real military capability, the challenge of sustaining support for Ukraine as US stockpiles face pressure from the Iran conflict and Türkiye's growing defence industrial ambitions and the political significance of hosting the summit. The conversation also addresses NATO's structural three-front problem, span...

Podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Veerle Nouwens, Darshana M. Baruah, Morgan Michaels and Dr Daniel Salisbury to reflect on the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, which was held in Singapore from 29–31 May 2026. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts to preview the Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment 2026 ahead of its launch next week. Together, they discuss rising defence spending, evolving military doctrines, land force modernisation, nuclear risk and the race to shape quantum security governance in an increasingly contested region. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of  Sounds Strategic , IISS experts reflect on the inaugural IISS Stockholm Civil Defence Forum and unpack the findings of the Strategic Dossier  Civil Defence in Europe: An Initial Assessment . The discussion explores how European countries are adapting to emerging security threats, from protecting critical infrastructure and countering foreign information manipulation t...

In this episode of  Sounds Strategic , IISS experts unpack the findings of the Strategic Dossier  UAVs: ISR, Deterrence and War , exploring how uninhabited aerial vehicles are reshaping military operations in peace and conflict. From Europe’s long-running capability gaps to lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East, the discussion examines how UAVs are changing intelligence gathering, dec...

Podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Henry Boyd, Fenella McGerty, Ester Sabatino and Ruben Stewart to discuss the 2026 edition of The Military Balance .  The Military Balance  reveals a world of accelerating defence transformation. From Europe’s structural spending surge and procurement bottlenecks, to institutionalised drone warfare, Gulf industrial localisation and inten...

Podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Air Marshal (Retd) Martin 'Sammy' Sampson, Dr Hasan Alhasan, Wolf-Christian Paes and Asna Wajid to reflect on the IISS Manama Dialogue 2025, which took place in the Kingdom of Bahrain on 31 October–2 November 2025.  Together they discuss how the Dialogue reflected shifting regional alignments, the implications of global power competition for...

Podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Dr Ben Schreer, Fenella McGerty and Ester Sabatino to reflect on the 2nd IISS Prague Defence Summit, which was held on 3–5 September 2025.  Meia, Ben, Fenella and Esther discuss the major takeaways from the Prague Defence Summit, including: Secretary General Mark Rutte’s call for stronger European defence production in the face of closer Rus...

Podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Veerle Nouwens, Morgan Michaels and Darshana Baruah to reflect on the 22nd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, which was held on 30 May–1 June 2025.  Meia, Veerle, Morgan and Darshana discuss key takeaways and topics include:  US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his landmark speech on the US’ new ambitions for the Indo-Pacific;  Preside...

In this Sounds Strategic episode, podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by Veerle Nouwens, Evan A. Laksmana and Nick Childs to discuss the upcoming 22nd IISS Shangri La Dialogue, which will be held in Singapore from 30 May–1 June.    This year’s dialogue is held against the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, an intense US trade and tariff war with China, h...

Europe’s defence posture is evolving rapidly — but is the pace of change sustainable? In this episode, IISS experts examine global and regional defence spending trends, the EU’s emerging industrial initiatives and the implications of Germany’s policy shift.  Host Meia Nouwens is joined by Fenella McGerty , Ester Sabatino and Ben Schreer to discuss whether current trends represent a pivot in E...

Podcast host Meia Nouwens i s joined by Dr Nigel Gould-Davies , Dr Maria Shagina and Franz-Stefan Gady to discuss the recent developments in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.    Almost three years to the date of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a new US administration has drastically changed the course of events. President Trump has signaled a desire for the war to end, and for th...

In this episode of Sounds Strategic , we explore the main takeaways from the 20th IISS Manama Dialogue, held in Bahrain from 6 to 8 December 2024. IISS host Meia Nouwens is joined by experts Air Marshal (Retd) Martin ‘Sammy’  Sampson, Dr Irene Mia and Dr Hasan Alhasan to discuss to their views on the themes that emerged from the Dialogue ranging from conflict resolution to post-conflict recon...

In this podcast episode, Meia Nouwens is joined by Dr Ben Schreer, Fenella McGerty, Tom Waldwyn and Ester Sabatino to discuss the status and future trajectory of European defence and look back on the main take-aways from the IISS Prague Defence Summit.   Meia, Ben, Fenella, Tom and Ester analyse the trends in European and NATO defence spending and what’s next given the Trump election victory...

In this episode of Sounds Strategic, podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by Emile Hokayem , Hasan Alhasan and Fabian Hinz to discuss the ongoing developments in the Middle East. One year after 7 October, the speakers share their insights on the regional developments – from the status of the war in Gaza to the broadening of Israel’s operations in the region. The IISS experts discuss the strate...

In this episode of Sounds Strategic , podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by Douglas Barrie and Timothy Wright to discuss the return of long-range US missiles to Europe.  Amid Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine and following Russian violations of arms control measures, Washington and Berlin have announced they would begin episodic deployments of conventionally-armed surface-to-surface miss...

In this latest episode, host Meia Nouwens , IISS Senior Fellow for Chinese Security and Defence Policy, is joined by IISS experts Henry Boyd , Fenella McGerty and Karl Dewey to dissect the critical outcomes of the NATO Leaders Summit held in Washington DC.   The discussion navigates through the latest trends in NATO defence spending, the need for greater budget transparency, and the pres...

Host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Dr Bastian Giegerich, Veerle Nouwens, Dr Ben Schreer and Morgan Michaels to discuss the key themes and takeaways from the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue.    The episode delves into the proliferation of new partnership formats amidst the strategic competition between the US and China. The discussion also features analyses of the keynote speeches by Pr...

Podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Evan A. Laksmana, Julia Voo, Nick Childs and Viraj Solanki to discuss the upcoming IISS Shangri-La Dialogue. This year's Dialogue comes after a turbulent year in the Indo-Pacific. US-China competition is ongoing and both countries continue to promote their competing offers to the Indo-Pacific region. Small and medium powers in the region remain c...

In the first Sounds Strategic episode of 2024, host Meia Nouwens is joined by Veerle Nouwens, Dr Evan A. Laksmana and Timothy Wright to discuss the Indo-Pacific security landscape. The IISS experts explore the developments in the US-China relationship, Southeast Asian military modernisation plans in response to growing Chinese assertiveness, and the impact of recent elections in the region. Meia,...