Chatham House

G20 leaders met in New Delhi this week to discuss economic cooperation. Underlying the summit however were wider international tensions and a sense of India on the rise. Joining Bronwen Maddox on the show this week are Samir Puri, a visiting lecturer in War Studies at King’s College London, Chietigj Bajpaee, the new South Asia fellow at Chatham House and Leslie Vinjamuri, the director of the US an...

This week on the show we turn our eyes to Iran and the year long protests by young Iranians against the Islamic regime. September 16 marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman killed in police custody. Since her death Iran has been rocked by a year of protests in which over 500 people, many of them women, have been killed. We look at how Iran has changed...

Independent Thinking is back after a short summer break for the start of Season 2 of the podcast. This week, for our first episode, we’re returning to the much-discussed topic of Ukraine’s counter-offensive. Since June, the Ukrainian armed forces have been fighting hard to breach the defensive lines established by the Russian army in the east and south, the so-called ‘Surovkin Line’. Two months on...

Partial reforms in Tanzania’s political and socio-economic environment have been widely lauded since President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s sudden rise to office in March 2021, but progress towards the reconciliation and repair of Tanzania’s democratic system remains incomplete. Criticisms over the limits of the current reform process are increasingly coalescing around demands for a new Tanzanian constit...

As the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) prepares for its upcoming elections, the nation stands at a critical juncture in its democratic trajectory. Against a backdrop of historical challenges and persistent political complexities, the forthcoming elections are of paramount importance to the future of the country and its democratic aspirations. On this episode of Africa Aware, Martin Fayulu, oppo...

Climate change poses increasingly severe security challenges. What does this mean for defence forces? To find out, Anna speaks to Tobias Ellwood (Chair of the House of Common’s Defence Committee) and Anum Farhan (Chatham House). The episode is published on the same day the Defence Committee is releasing its report ‘Defence and Climate Change’, which is available here: The research paper ‘Preparing...

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has historically had a strong record of regional norm-setting on governance and democracy. Yet ECOWAS now faces significant challenges in how to reorient its role and credibility amid a rise in military and 'constitutional' coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and most recently in Niger. On this episode of Africa Aware, Ambassador Abdel-F...

In the final episode of our first season, we return to the topic we started Season 1 of the podcast with: China and how Beijing sees the world post-February 2022. Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Western capitals, especially Washington and London, have been watching ties between Russia and China closely, attempting to decipher any signs of disagreement or even disapproval between Vladim...

Countries in the Horn of Africa face several interlinked challenges to their stability, including conflict, resource contestation and cross-border divisions. These complex issues are exacerbated by the impacts of climate change and the competing interests of external actors. On this episode of Africa Aware, the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), H.E. Dr W...

On the show this week we discuss artificial intelligence, the hopes, and opportunities the technology may bring, as well as the challenges and even the risks it presents to governments and above all democracy. This week the United Nations Security Council, operating under the UK presidency, met for the first time to discuss the issue of AI, with UN officials and diplomats alike urging the world to...

Africa’s maritime domain is an essential, yet often underappreciated component of the continent’s stability, trade, and development. The blue economy offers an ocean of untapped potential, presenting African nations with the means to diversify their economies, create sustainable jobs, and alleviate poverty.  On this episode of Africa Aware, Yusuf speaks to Amb. Nancy Karigithu, Special Envoy...

The geoeconomics of climate change are shifting. The US and the EU are among those launching major packages to gain a competitive advantage as economies transition.  In this episode of the Climate Briefing, Antony speaks to Jane Nakano (Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS) and Suzana Carp (Cleantech for Europe) about how the US and the EU are positioning themselves in the new...

On the podcast this week we discuss the fallout from the NATO Summit in Vilnius. Turkey cleared the way for Sweden to join the alliance this week, and across Vilnius there were signs aplenty calling for F-16s for Ukraine, and of course, NATO membership. We discuss what was agreed at the summit, what was deferred and what the NATO joint communique means for President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian peo...

On the show this week, we ask how long Russia’s Vladimir Putin can survive. Two weeks on from the mutiny by the Wagner Group and Yevgeny Prigozhin’s challenge to his rule, we’ve seen a flurry of activity by the Russian leader to reassert his authority in Moscow. Russian history however is replete with leaders who appear unassailable, right up until the point they’re not. We discuss whether Putin’s...

This episode of Africa Aware reflects on Sierra Leone’s peace process as the country concludes its 2023 general elections and marks the 24th anniversary of the Lomé Peace Agreement - which helped to bring an end to its decade-long civil war. Yusuf speaks to Dr Comfort Ero, President and CEO of Crisis Group, who discusses her experience as a researcher in Freetown during the civil war. Dr Ero highl...

We are live this week from our London Conference, where we discuss the war in Ukraine, the recent events in Russia with the mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group and the weakening of Vladimir Putin’s grip on power. And then later in the show, we look at the increasing tensions within the international system and discuss how the UK as a ‘middle power’ can manage these tensions with an increasi...

On the podcast this week we look at the UK’s role in the defence of the Nordic region. Since the annexation of Crimea, the UK has taken a keen interest in the Nordic and Baltic regions, with the formation of the Joint Expeditionary Force. With Kyiv’s counter-offensive now underway, we look at how Europe’s security is being reshaped by events in Ukraine, what London and the JEF states are looking t...

Agriculture accounted for 26 per cent of Mozambique's GDP in 2020 and employs more than 70 per cent of its workforce. The Mozambican government has made agriculture a top priority, and in recent years, the sector has seen significant growth.  On this episode, Yusuf speaks to Hon. Celso Ismael Correia, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Republic of Mozambique. The Honourable...

On the podcast this week, we look at the growing tensions between India and China. This week marks three years since Indian and Chinese troops were killed fighting each other in the Himalayas along the contested border. Since then, ties between Beijing and New Delhi have gone from bad to worse. This week, India's last remaining journalist in China was asked to leave. A stark sign of the increasing...

On the podcast this week, we look at the Wagner Group, the shadowy paramilitary organisation, and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wagner has been active on the ground and involved in some of the conflict’s fiercest battles, notably around Bakhmut. We discuss the group’s relationship with the Russian armed forces, its ties with the Kremlin and the incr...

On the podcast this week we look at the outcome of the final round of Turkey’s presidential election. Despite the polls showing him behind, and amid a devastating earthquake and an economy in crisis, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been re-elected as Turkey’s president, winning by 52 per cent of the vote. In the last episode we covered what Erdoğan’s re-election might mean for Turkey’s fragile democracy...

This week on the podcast we discuss Syria and the regime of Bashar al-Assad. For over a decade, the regime in Damascus has been an international pariah, amid a brutal campaign of terror by the Syrian armed forces against its people. The geopolitical sands however are shifting, with signs that regimes across the Middle East are prepared to talk with Assad once more. We look at what this means for t...

On this special episode of Africa Aware, Yusuf speaks to H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, African Union (AU) Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS). His Excellency explores the future of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), outlines the potential long-term impacts of climate change on peace and security, and discusses the role of the African Union in facilitati...

Ambassador Patricia Espinosa Cantellano served as executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) between July 2016 and July 2022.  In this role, she headed the UN entity tasked with supporting the global response to climate change. In this episode of the Climate Briefing, Ambassador Cantellano talks about the major developments in international climate politics...

This week on podcast we look at the fallout from the first round of Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections. President Erdogan is just a hair's breadth away from securing the 50% of the vote needed to become president. With Turkey set to enter a presidential run-off on 28 May we ask what this means for Turkey’s fragile democracy? Has the opposition under Kilicdaroglu lost momentum? And w...