Chatham House

In this episode of Africa Aware, Gita Honwana Welch highlights historical development challenges in the Sahel, and Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos discusses how responses to Jihadist groups in the Sahel must be rethought. Credits: Speakers: Gita Honwana Welch, Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos Host: Yusuf Hassan Editor: Jamie Reed Producers: Yusuf Hassan, Ben Horton Recorded and produced by Chatha...

This week, Ben is joined by Claudia Sadoff, Managing Director for Research Delivery and Impact, to discuss the relationship between food systems, climate change and security. Claudia was speaking ahead of the launch of a new campaign from CGIAR and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Transforming Agricultural Innovation for Climate, Nature and People calls for half of public...

This week Undercurrents is collaborating with the Asia Matters podcast to bring you two episodes on recent events in Southeast Asia.  In this episode, Dr Champa Patel, Director of the Asia-Pacific programme at Chatham House, and Tin Htar Swe, the BBC’s former Burmese editor, provide their reaction to the ongoing coup in Myanmar. This episode was first published on 8 February 2021, and events...

More than five years have passed since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, and there are only nine months to go until COP26. To kick off its second season the Climate Briefing podcast focuses on how climate change politics have shifted since COP21 in Paris, and explores the roles of the three largest emitters – China, the United States and the EU – in global climate action. The episode also provi...

As countries across the world begin to roll out vaccine programmes to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, questions are emerging over how to ensure that competition for supply does not derail the global response. In this week's Undercurrents, Amrit Swali speaks to about the looming threat of vaccine nationalism and what can be done to realize more equitable distribution.  Next, Ben learns about th...

As African states find themselves in the midst of severe economic difficulty exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Yusuf speaks to on the topic of debt on the continent, African risk perception and how the current system must be transformed to ensure it delivers for Africa.   Read the Chatham House Expert Comment:   Credits: Speakers: Tighisti Amare, Alex Vines, Carlos Lopes Host: Yusuf...

Undercurrents returns for its first episode of 2021 with an extended interview on the future of UK foreign policy. The United Kingdom is emerging from four long years of intense debate abouts its relationship with the European Union. While the effects of Brexit are still to be felt, questions now confront policymakers about how the UK should position itself in an increasingly complex global landsc...

In the final episode of Undercurrents in 2020, Ben is joined by Yusuf Hassan from the Africa Programme for a preview of a new podcast series launching in January 2021.  2020 was anticipated to be a year of landmark elections across Africa in numerous countries at critical junctures in their transitions to electoral democracy. of the National Democratic Institute speaks to Yusuf about efforts...

Undercurrents is back with two new interviews! This week, as President-elect Joe Biden’s transition to the White House gathers pace, Ben speaks to academic and author Claire Yorke about the role that empathy played in the 2020 election campaign. They talk about empathy as a dynamic in campaigns, but also as a tool for governing, and take a look at examples elsewhere in the world of political empat...

In the latest episode of the Climate Briefing, the team explore the concept of carbon pricing, a set of mechanisms which incentivise businesses and consumers to reduce their carbon emissions. Could these tactics play a big role in increasing national climate ambitions at COP26? To find out, Ben speaks to from Vivid Economics before Anna is joined by from the Perspectives Climate Group. They discus...

Undercurrents returns with two new interviews! Since highly contentious elections in 2019, citizens across Thailand have engaged in largescale protests to call for constitutional reform. Ben speaks to about what the mass movement has demanded, and how the Thai government is responding so far. Then Ben is joined by to discuss how Bhutan started a global debate on gross national happiness. They disc...

In the final instalment of Who Rules Cyberspace? Ben and Joyce are joined by two cyber experts to explore future developments in cyber governance. Kerstin Vignard of UNIDIR reflects on the progress achieved so far through the United Nations processes, and the challenges that lie ahead at future negotiations. Then former cyber diplomat Chris Painter explains how technological innovations could chan...

While international debates on cyber governance can often seem dominated by governments and powerful multi-national corporations, there remains an important role for civil society organisations to play. In this episode of Who Rules Cyberspace? Ben and Joyce speak to cyber experts from the civil society space to find out more.  Ben considers the avenues available for civil society to engage wi...

As the first two episodes of Who Rules Cyberspace? have shown, much of the debate around cyber governance at the state level takes place within highly complex United Nations processes.  Beyond the high-level diplomacy, however, a wide range of non-state actors are working to develop international solutions to cyber governance. In this episode Ben and Joyce speak to representatives from the pr...

In Episode 2 of Who Rules Cyberspace? Ben and Joyce find out how states are approaching the debate on cyber governance at the United Nations. Through the GGE and OEWG processes, the UN has attempted to be the forum where countries could come together to find solutions to these issues. However, as was explained in , there remain many obstacles to international cooperation on cyber governance. In th...

A new Chatham House mini-series on the Undercurrents podcast feed explores the ongoing international debate on how to govern cyberspace.  In the first episode of Who Rules Cyberspace? Ben Horton and Dr Joyce Hakmeh, from the International Security Programme at Chatham House, trace the recent history of cyberspace and outline the major dividing lines that characterise debates at the United Nat...

Note: this episode was recorded at 9am (GMT) on Friday 6 November 2020.  Three days after polls closed in the highest turnout presidential election in US history, the result is still yet to be definitively decided. As the dust begins to settle Ben speaks to and to find out: what lessons can be drawn from the election so far; what we can expect from both candidates in the coming days as the re...

Throughout the world, journalists and other news workers are facing new and growing threats. From the state-sponsored killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the state-led harassment of Maria Ressa, to the suppression of dissent in Hong Kong and the demonization of journalists by the Trump administration, the excesses of the state are endangering the lives and livelihoods of journalists as they...

The second episode of Future-Proofing Media Freedom looks at how media organisations are responding to the ongoing crisis of disinformation.  As landmark elections loom in, among other countries, the US and Myanmar, the role of the media as a source of trusted, accurate information is under renewed scrutiny. Social media-driven disinformation campaigns have been regular features of many recen...

Future-Proofing Media Freedom, the new mini-series on the Undercurrents podcast feed, is a collaboration between Chatham House, Luminate, and the International Center for Journalists. Presented by Ben Horton, host of the Undercurrents podcast, and Julie Posetti, Global Director of Research at the ICFJ, the series explores the challenges facing public interest media in the 21st century and highligh...

Undercurrents returns with two new interviews! As the conflict in Syria raged after 2011, a wide range of state and non-state actors competed for territory, population control and domination of the country's resources. One such resource was water, with access to critical infrastructure like dams acting both as a driver of fierce fighting and brittle compromises. has studied the ways in which water...

The media cycle in the US and across the world is consumed by the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election, with incumbent Donald Trump hoping to win a second term against the challenge of former Vice-President Joe Biden. Much of the debates around the election have focused on the response to COVID-19, and the candidates' positions on issues related to 'law and order'. But what will the elect...

The Climate Briefing returns from its summer break with a deepdive into the history of the international climate agenda. of the Grantham Institute speaks to Ben about the origins of the UN-led climate negotiations, and explains why some conferences have been more successful than others. Then Anna discusses the historic role developing countries have played in the climate agenda with from the Londo...

Design in an Age of Crisis is a new mini-series on the Undercurrents podcast feed. Great design thinking can play a major role in improving our health and wellbeing, by strengthening our resilience to illness, and to major pandemics, like COVID-19. It can also be focused on helping the most marginalized members of the society. In this episode, , and discuss how design can empower marginalised grou...

Design In An Age of Crisis is a new mini-series on the Undercurrents podcast feed. COVID-19 could provide a moment to recast work as a social as well as economic activity, as business models change and people find new ways of organising work and life. At the same time, the pandemic has demonstrated the urgent need for us to radically rethink environments to be sustainable, just and resilient in th...