ECFR ON AIR

In September 2024, the United Nation’s Summit of the Future is set to take place – a crucial moment to mend “eroded trust” between peoples, countries, and generations. Europe's role on the world stage is constantly adapting to the fluidity of the global geopolitical space. Traditional views of multilateralism are being rethought, and Europe is exploring its role in fostering meaningful internation...

To achieve the ambitions of the European Green Deal, the European Commission insists that healthy oceans and a sustainable maritime economy are crucial. With rising demand for minerals from various sectors, including to advance the green transformation, many expect we are on the brink of the biggest gold rush in history – deep beneath the ocean surface.  In this episode of Europe Listens, ECF...

Around 70 per cent of our planet is covered by the ocean, of which two-thirds fall beyond national jurisdiction. After decades of discussions and negotiations, states adopted the so-called High Seas Treaty in September 2023. The treaty aims to increase the governance of the world’s oceans and tackle common challenges such as environmental degradation, illegal fishing, and preserving our marine res...

What is the mood in Russian society after two years of war? How can we understand what is happening? Expressing meaningful dissent can land Russians in jail, yet a huge number of people attended the funeral of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, taking huge personal risk. In this episode, we discuss public opinion in Russia in the run-up to the presidential election and after Navalny’s death. &...

In this episode, we delve into how the Russian economy transitioned into a wartime economy. What does the structure of the Russian economy and the 2024 state budget reveal about Putin's strategy? Does the Kremlin possess sufficient resources for a long war? Will Russia persist in gradually nationalising remaining foreign assets? Will the government seize the assets of Russian business figures who...

In this episode, we analyse who is really in charge of the Russian military and its nuclear weapons. The answer is far from simple. Does Putin have overwhelming control or does the military have a decisive say? What are the implications of civil-military relations on Russia's foreign policy, defense reform, and domestic politics? And who ultimately controls the Russia’s nuclear weapons?  ECFR’s ne...

The fourth episode of ECFR’s WOMENP mini-series, recorded during the 2023 Doha Forum, looks at the regional reverberations of the war in Gaza, particularly from the perspective of key Arab Gulf monarchies such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The podcast unpacks how these countries have reacted to the 7 October attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza, the prospects of ongoing n...

How do Russian officials "coexist" with the war nearly two years after the invasion? How has the bureaucratic system adapted to the requirements of the war? Do officials who openly endorse the invasion or are deployed to work in occupied territories receive better roles or resources ? Does the relative efficiency of the Russian bureaucracy boost the Kremlin’s capacity to sustain the conflict? ECFR...

The Russian Orthodox Church is supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine in its sermons, sending priests to the front, and collecting humanitarian aid for soldiers and the occupied Ukrainian territories. It is also involved in the administration of the occupied territories and in promoting propaganda narratives abroad. So why did the head of the Church, Patriarch Kirill, bet on Putin? How influential is...

On 1 September, Russian high schools transitioned to new "patriotic" history textbooks authored by one of Russia's staunchest conservatives, former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky. How do these textbooks mirror the core tenets of the Russian regime's ideology? What stance do they take on figures like Stalin, the dissolution of the USSR, and Russia’s war in Ukraine? What narratives will Russian...

The third episode of ECFR’s WOMENP mini-series looks at domestic dynamics and the human rights situation in Iran a year after nationwide protests erupted following the death of a young woman, Mahsa Jina Amini, in police custody. The podcast unpacks how power dynamics between state and society have shifted since, and its implications on the country’s leadership. How have Iranians continued with act...

The global space economy is worth a whopping $469 billion, and growing fast. Commercial interests are proliferating; more and more countries are launching satellites into space. Some African leaders aspire for their continent to become a knowledge, technology, and manufacturing hub for this new space age and to leverage space technologies to advance economic development. They are looking for globa...

On 8 January 2023, following a contentious national election, protestors attacked government buildings in Brazil’s capital. The riots were preceded by years of online disinformation, targeting lawmakers and the country’s electoral process. Striking parallels with the storming of the US Capitol two years prior underline the role that transnational networks play in pushing disinformation globally, a...

Digital technologies are set to transform African economies. Yet, only 40 per cent of Africans accessed the internet in 2022 – well below the proportion in the world’s other regions. Technological as well as socio-economic factors drive this digital divide, and US-Chinese competition risks making it worse. To kick off the second season of Europe Listens, ECFR’s Rafael Loss and Jana Puglierin welco...

The second episode of ECFR’s WOMENP mini-series considers the geo-economic trends in the Middle East and emerging opportunities following recent developments, such as the detente between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the new government in Iraq almost one year after its formation. Does Iran seek and stand to benefit economically from the opening with the Arab world? How do broader dynamics, including t...

China is becoming ever more important to global affairs. But political and geopolitical challenges, as well as the covid-19 pandemic, have diminished Europeans’ ability to engage with Chinese thinkers and understand their views and ideas about the world. In this mini-series, Mark Leonard and Janka Oertel try to change that by engaging in conversations with some of the best Chinese academics, resea...

China is becoming ever more important to global affairs. But political and geopolitical challenges, as well as the covid-19 pandemic, have diminished Europeans’ ability to engage with Chinese thinkers and understand their views and ideas about the world. In this mini-series, Mark Leonard and Janka Oertel try to change that by engaging in conversations with some of the best Chinese academics, resea...

The first episode of ECFR’s WOMENP mini-series brings together leading experts to discuss what can be expected from Iran and Saudi Arabia’s de-escalation after the two countries signed an agreement to normalise relations last March and following the recent Arab League Summit. What are Iran and Saudi Arabia hoping to achieve with this deal, especially in view of the US election next year? What fact...

Beyond the UN formats, countries around the world are forging hundreds of bilateral and multilateral agreements to advance the clean energy transition. India has emerged as a prominent player in these initiatives, with prime minister Narendra Modi describing his country’s potential in green energy as no less than a “goldmine”. Since 2016, India and the EU have set up new schemes to deepen their gr...

Action on climate financing is long overdue. Inadequate mitigation and adaptation have already led to substantial loss and damage in the most vulnerable countries. But the scale of investment required to mitigate global warming is beyond the capacity of rich governments, far less developing countries. To square this circle, Barbados’s prime minister, Mia Mottley, last year made a bold proposal: th...

Climate change is an immediate existential threat to the coral islands that make up the Maldives, one of the lowest-lying countries in the world. Recent predictions estimate that, by 2050, rising sea levels could render 80 per cent of the country uninhabitable. By 2100 – in just 77 years time – the entire country could be submerged. None of this is news to the Maldives. To kick off this series of...

China is becoming ever more important to global affairs. But political and geopolitical challenges, as well as the covid-19 pandemic, have diminished Europeans’ ability to engage with Chinese thinkers and understand their views and ideas about the world. In this mini-series, Mark Leonard and Janka Oertel try to change that by engaging in conversations with some of the best Chinese academics, resea...

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 ac...

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.-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 ide...

As the EU builds up its global footprint, it’s crucial to avoid European naval gazing. Instead, Europe needs to engage partners around the world on their expectations and concerns about the EU’s activities and ambitions. That's why it's time for Europe to listen carefully and with curiosity! Episode 4 with Dr Togzhan Kassenova, a Washington, DC-based senior fellow at the Center for Policy Research...