Sounds Strategic

To celebrate the 50th episode of Sounds Strategic, Robert Ward, Director of the Geo-economics and Strategy programme at the IISS, hosts Meia Nouwens and Nigel Inkster for a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation on China, its foreign-policy motivations and what its possible dominance in technology could mean for the West. In the episode, Meia and Nigel examine the limits of China’s assertive, ‘...

Following a  special presentation  by US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Meia and Antônio speak with Research Fellow Aaron Connelly on how the United States’ strategy towards Southeast Asia is viewed by Southeast Asian countries themselves.   In the episode, Aaron explains why Secretary Esper’s recent remarks may indicate US policymakers are moving away from large-scale m...

With the return of great-power competition to the forefront of international affairs, there has been a renewed focus among the world’s advanced militaries on what capabilities will be required to win or compete in possible conflicts in the future.  In this week’s episode, Franz-Stefan Gady joins Meia and Antônio to discuss the concepts that underpin debates around future warfighting, and...

Europe was already facing a host of complex geopolitical and economic challenges at the start of 2020, even before the COVID-19 crisis. In this week’s episode, Meia is joined by Sarah Raine and Fabrice Pothier for a wide-ranging and in-depth discussion on how the EU’s political agenda has been impacted by the pandemic and what issues remain at the forefront of its policy priorities. Domestically,...

China has been expanding its economic and diplomatic reach in the Gulf for little over a decade, but should growing Gulf–China relations concern the United States? In this week’s episode, Camille Lons speaks with Antônio and Meia on the dynamics of China’s growing presence in the Gulf, how it has evolved in recent years and its limitations.  At its core, China’s interest in the Gulf rema...

Japan was already heading towards economic difficulties before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world’s economy. How will Japan’s economy fare in the post-COVID period? And will it affect the country’s geostrategic and geo-economic ambitions? In this week’s episode, Meia discusses these questions with Robert Ward and Yuka Koshino. Robert explains that Japan will likely experience a severe econo...

The profound economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has led some to question the utility and necessity of traditional defence spending as a means of ensuring national security, especially in Europe. In this week’s episode of Sounds Strategic, Antônio speaks with Bastian Giegerich and Fenella McGerty on why defence spending remains important and the implications of the COVID-19 crisis for Eu...

In this week’s episode, Meia is joined by Lynn Kuok and Euan Graham for an in-depth discussion on what China’s activity in the South China Sea means for ASEAN, Australia, the US and Europe, and whether such actions are indicative of shifting geopolitical power dynamics. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, China has maintained a constant presence in the South China Sea, even encroaching on the Exclusive...

This week, Meia and Antônio are joined by Nick Childs, Senior Fellow for Naval Forces and Maritime Security, for a conversation on the increasingly contested realm of maritime security, how Russia and China are developing their naval capabilities, and what technologies could revolutionise defence affairs at sea in the near future. During the episode, Nick explains why the traditional naval su...

This week, Antonio and Meia are joined by Franck Bousquet, Senior Director of the World Bank's Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group, to discuss a new strategy that aims to enhance the organisation’s ability to support fragile states. By 2030 up to two-thirds of the world’s extreme poor will live in fragile or conflict-afflicted states. The  World Bank Group Strategy for Fragility, Conflict...

In this special episode of Sounds Strategic, Meia Nouwens and Antônio Sampaio discuss the major trends in modern armed conflict with contributors from the Armed Conflict Survey 2020 , the annual review of the political, military and humanitarian dimensions of all active armed conflicts from the IISS. Meia speaks with Virginia Comolli and Eleanor Beevor on the key features of this year’s editi...

In this week’s episode, Meia Nouwens speaks with Viraj Solanki and Antoine Levesques on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected South Asia. Viraj discusses the ways India’s nationwide lockdown has evolved since it was initially imposed in late March and the impact this response has had on India’s society and economic prospects. Antoine, meanwhile, examines Pakistan’s own response to COVID-19, inclu...

This week, Meia speaks with her co-host, Antônio Sampaio, Research Fellow for Conflict, Security and Development, on how Brazil has been impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has made headlines due to his unorthodox response to the COVID-19 virus, sacking his health minister, Luiz Mandetta, and largely disregarding or undermining the medical community’s advic...

In this week’s episode of Sounds Strategic, Antônio Sampaio speaks with Senior Fellow Virginia Comolli and Research Associate Eleanor Beevor from the Conflict, Security and Development Programme at the IISS. They discuss the challenges fragile states face in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, why international organisations are struggling to deliver humanitarian aid and how non-state armed groups hav...

In this week’s episode of Sounds Strategic, Meia Nouwens speaks with Executive Director of IISS–Asia, Dr Tim Huxley, on how countries in Southeast Asia have been handling the COVID-19 pandemic and the wider geopolitical impact the crisis may have on the region. Although a hugely diverse region in political, economic and cultural terms, Tim explains how and why Southeast Asia has, for the most part...

In this week’s episode, Antonio and Meia are joined by David Gordon, IISS Senior Adviser for Geo-Economics and Strategy, to discuss how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the global economy, why this crisis is so unique and the prospects for an eventual recovery. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented and, crucially, near-universal closing of the world’s economy. As David explai...

This week, Meia and Antonio are joined by Nigel Gould-Davies, the new IISS Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia and Editor of Strategic Survey, for a discussion on how Russia has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a slow initial response, the Russian government has started enacting stricter controls in an effort to control the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. However, Putin has re...

In this episode, Mahsa Rouhi and Emile Hokayem join Meia Nouwens for a discussion on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected countries in the Middle East. Iran has been one of the most severely affected countries in the world, with over 3,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19 (as of 2 April 2020). Mahsa explains how the Iranian public has responded to this crisis and why the combination of US sanctions...

In this episode of Sounds Strategic, Antonio and Meia are joined by David Kilcullen, Professor of International and Political Studies at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, and former special adviser to the US Secretary of State between 2007 and 2009. Over the past five years, the world has witnessed some of the largest city-based battles since World War Two. The sieges of Mosul in Iraq...

James Hackett, Senior Fellow for Defence and Military Analysis, and Tom Waldwyn, Research Associate for Defence and Military Analysis, join Meia and Antonio for this episode to discuss the key trends in defence procurement and capabilities identified in the latest edition of The Military Balance, the Institute’s annual assessment of global military capabilities and defence economics. In recent yea...

Sir Tom Beckett, Executive Director of IISS−Middle East, joins podcast hosts Meia Nouwens and Antônio Sampaio for this episode of Sounds Strategic. Tom, Meia and Antônio discuss how countries in the Middle East have reacted to United States President Donald Trump’s proposed plan for Israeli−Palestinian peace. Their discussion also highlights why the peace plan might be difficult to implement. Tom...

In the first episode of the new season of Sounds Strategic, Robert Ward welcomes his new co-hosts Meia Nouwens and Antônio Sampaio on to the podcast. During the episode they discuss the recent election results in Taiwan, the protests in Hong Kong and how the recent coronavirus outbreak has impacted China’s economy and Taiwan. Taken together, these crises have brought new challenges for China’s pre...

In her final episode as host of Sounds Strategic, Kori Schake is joined by the new director of the IISS Geo-economics and Strategy programme and Japan Chair, Robert Ward. During the episode, Kori and Robert discuss how ageing demographics and economic stagnation severely undercut the optimism that surrounded hopes for Japan’s economic future in the late 1980s. Robert goes on to assess whether Chin...

Bill Emmott, Chairman of the IISS Trustees, joins Dr Kori Schake for this episode of Sounds Strategic. From President Trump’s questioning of traditional US allies and commitments, to growing Russian and Chinese influence in international and regional affairs, 2019 has seen a further erosion of the liberal world order established after the Second World War. In this end-of-year special, Bill Emmott...

In this special episode, Kori Schake, Deputy Director-General of the IISS, leads a panel of experts to reflect on the major themes of the debate at the IISS Manama Dialogue 2019.Opening the discussion is John Raine, Senior Adviser for Geopolitical Due Diligence, who addresses the changes to the political geography of the Middle East already underway and what they mean for the myriad of internation...