Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

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 situati...

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...

This week, Mark Leonard answers your most burning questions about his newly released book, “The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity causes Conflict”. Hosted by ECFR’s head of communications, Ana Ramic, the special Ask Me Anything episode features Mark responding to loyal podcast listeners Zebulon Carlander, Robert Cooper, Teresa Gouveia, Antonio Notario, Jonas Parello-Plesner, Timi Okoya, and Patrycj...

Last week, French president Emmanuel Marcon presented a massive investment plan – “France 2030”. The roadmap sketches out France’s digital and green transformation and is meant to set up the country – as well as Europe – for growth and success ahead of the French EU Council presidency. But is this strategy only part of electoral campaigning, as critics say? Or does “France 2030” echo bigger plans...

A major ruling of Poland’s Constitutional Court challenging the primacy of EU law has escalated Warsaw’s legal and political dispute with Brussels and unleashed serious concerns of a ‘Polexit.’ In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard speaks with Piotr Buras, head of ECFR’s Warsaw office, and Jana Puglierin, head of ECFR’s Berlin office, about the implications of the ruling for Poland as well as...

As the US looks to disentangle itself from various conflicts globally, it leaves behind power vacuums. In the MENA region, various regional – and global - powers are vying to fill the void. In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard is joined by three guests directly from ECFR’s MENA Forum in Rome: Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, professor of political science in the UAE; Alia Moubayed, MENA chief economist f...

German election results are in, and they mark a new era for Germany. On 26 September, Germans headed to the polls to vote in one of the most unpredictable elections since Angela Merkel took office over a decade and a half ago. Now, Germany will have to endure weeks – or possibly months – of fraught coalition talks before a new government can be formed. In this week’s World in 30 Minutes episode, h...

The announcement of the new Indo-Pacific security alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States - dubbed ‘AUKUS’ - has led to the biggest crisis in transatlantic relations since the Iraq war in 2003. In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks with Janka Oertel, head of ECFR’ Asia programme, Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR’s research director, and Tara Varma, head of ECFR’s Paris...

Get a sneak peek into Mark Leonard's latest book "The Age of Unpeace - How Connectivity Causes Conflict", read by the author himself. Additionally, in October we will have a special “ask me anything” episode with Mark Leonard and ask all of you to send in your burning questions about the book to mark.leonard@ecfr.eu which will then be answered in the forthcoming episode. All those who submit quest...

In his newly released book “The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity causes Conflict” ECFR director Mark Leonard explains how many of the forces that we thought would bring us together have ended up driving us apart. Trade, technology, the internet, and travel were once promised to create a global village but have instead created an era of “unpeace”, where the distinctions between war and peace are br...

The collapse of Afghan government forces and the rapid seizure of power by the Taliban has unleashed a series of intense debates about the implications for Europe. How will the Western withdrawal impact on the state of European defence and military capabilities? Are we likely to see a shift in Europe’s relationship with other powers - such as Turkey, China, and the United States? In this week’s po...

Every Friday, Mark Leonard invites top-level speakers from across the EU and beyond to debate Europe’s role in the world. We feature and discuss everything from our own research at ECFR to practical pan-European policy – and news from Africa, Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Wider Europe and our own European Power programme. So basically, we bring you the world – in 30 minutes. Hosted on Acast....

With Germany’s federal elections rapidly approaching, chancellor Angela Merkel is set to depart the political stage. What will the foreign policy of her party, the CDU, look like when she’s gone? In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks to ECFR senior policy fellow Ulrike Franke and Andreas Nick, a CDU member of the German Bundestag. How would a chancellor Armin Laschet approach China, Russ...

Ukraine and the EU recently opened a new chapter in their strategic relationship by signing a memorandum of understanding for closer cooperation in raw materials, green and digital technologies. Making Ukraine part of the European value chain is of strategic importance, but where does the country stand on the recent US-German deal on Nord Stream 2? In this week’s episode, guest host Joanna Hosa, d...

The EU is often described as a “regulatory superpower” benefitting from the so-called “Brussels effect.” But is the bloc also able to set its own rules and standards when it comes to new technologies, and let the rest of the world adapt? This week, host Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR senior policy fellows Ulrike Franke and Jose Torreblanca, as well as Marietje Schaake, international director of po...

With Angela Merkel stepping down as Chancellor, the next German federal elections scheduled for this September promise to mark a turning point for Germany. Foreign policy issues promise to be a crucial part of the election campaign. In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks to Niels Annen, Minister of State in the German Federal Foreign Office and member of the Bundestag for the SPD to find...

In June this year, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the end of Operation Barkhane – a military offensive launched in 2013 against Islamist militants in the Sahel. France has determined, he said, it could no longer maintain a “constant presence” in West Africa. In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard discusses European interests in the region and what might change after France’s Africa...

Globalisation and economic interdependence are increasingly weaponised by various state actors. Europe faces ever greater threats of economic blackmail, sanctions against its lawmakers, and consumer boycotts of its companies. Later this year, the European Commission will launch the Anti-Coercion Instrument, a tool that could enable the EU to protect citizens and businesses by countering economic b...

After an election which saw the lowest turnout and highest number of spoiled ballots in the history of the Islamic Republic, the ultraconservative regime veteran Ebrahim Raisi was elected as the newest president of Iran. Does the election of Raisi represent a significant change of direction following the term of President Rouhani? Could unified hardliner control of Iran paradoxically lead to a mor...

The meeting between US president Biden and the Turkish president Erdogan, as well as the upcoming European Council Summit on Turkey come at a critical moment in the EU-US-Turkey relationship. After years of heightened tensions, there appears to have been a thawing in relations since the beginning of this year. The renewed focus on climate policy by the EU, however, makes many aspects of this relat...

Joe Biden described his mission for his trip to Europe this week as “realizing America’s renewed commitment to (its) allies and partners.” But what does this mean in practice? How well does the transatlantic alliance still fit with the way that Europe and the United States now see their goals in foreign policy? To find out, host Anthony Dworkin, senior policy fellow at ECFR, talks to Susi Dennison...

The little-known but long-running conflict in Western Sahara made it into the headlines in Europe recently, when Morocco weaponised migration in Ceuta to advance its territorial claim. Listen as host Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of the MENA programme at ECFR discusses the issue with Irene Fernandez-Molina, senior lecturer in International Relations at the University of Exeter and expert on frozen...

Last Sunday, Belarus intercepted and diverted a commercial flight between two EU capitals to arrest a dissident. This, alongside the stagnation of the Belarusian economy, the continuing protests and Lukashenka’s illegitimate rule, fuels popular discontent in the country and worries the European Union. Katia Glod, non-resident fellow with the Russia programme of the US-based Center for European Pol...

Catastrophe and disaster have been a frequent phenomenon throughout the history of mankind, coming in different forms. So how is it then that, despite being far more scientifically educated on the origins of disasters, we do not seem to be getting any better at dealing with them? To find out, host Mark Leonard talks to Niall Ferguson, author of the book “Doom: The politics of catastrophe” and seni...

China’s formalised, seemingly nonchalant, attitude towards the Western Balkans masks a surprising nimbleness and strategic intent. In the past decade, the country has become the most prominent third actor in this part of the European Union’s neighbourhood. To find out why, host Mark Leonard talks to Majda Ruge, senior policy fellow in ECFR´s Wider Europe programme with a focus on the Western Balka...