The Global Agora

What was the most complicated aspect of preparing for the American intervention in Venezuela? What does the selection process for such a special operation look like? Will American President Donald Trump repeat it elsewhere – for example, in Greenland? And if so, should Europeans start practicing his kidnapping? Military analyst Patrick Bury answered these questions and more. He served as an air as...

What do the Venezuela operation and the January 6 attack on the Capitol, which happened five years ago, tell us about President Donald Trump? "The anniversary of January 6th and the insurrection and uprising that occurred that goes on when Congress comes back into session with the background of what just happened in Venezuela, I think completely captures the reckless endangerment of others by...

Elections in Hungary are not expected until April, but who is leading in the polls? Péter Magyar’s Tisza party or Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz? To better understand the situation, I spoke with Daniel Hegedüs , Regional Director for Central Europe at the German Marshall Fund. He writes and speaks extensively on populism and democratic backsliding in Central and Eastern Europe, and we discus...

Global Risks to the EU is a large-scale survey designed to quantify expert perceptions of conflict-related threats to European Union security. To explore what to watch for and what threatens the EU, I spoke with Erik Jones , Director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute. We discuss the likelihood of various scenarios, identify what are the high, mo...

This episode of my podcast, The Global Agora, features an exclusive interview with former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg . After leaving Brussels in October last year, he became Norway's Finance Minister, and he also wrote a book, On My Watch , reflecting on his 10 years at NATO. It was the perfect opportunity for another round of conversation, especially since I had the chance to int...

"Although the National Security Strategy says very little about Russia, what it does say is really, really significant because it does not treat Russia as an adversary. But we’re talking about an attempt to break the European Union, to absolutely shatter this institution.” This is what Scott Lucas , Professor of International Politics at the Clinton Institute at University College Dublin, told me...

"Fighting corruption has strategic importance for Ukraine’s national security. I believe this because when it comes to corruption in areas critical to national defense and security, we very often see that this corruption is not random, that people are not just there to steal some money. They do it because it serves Russian interests," explains Olena Tregub , Secretary-General of NAKO – T...

Alex Finley , a former officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations and author of the Victor Caro intelligence novels, unpacks a story that sounds like one of her satirical books – but may be anything but fictional. She reacts to allegations that a recent US peace plan for Ukraine was, at least in part, drafted in Moscow before being translated into English and circulated in Washington. “It very...

Does the European Parliament have a new majority? Is the EPP normalizing the far-right? And why does EPP chair Manfred Weber vote with the Patriots when he and the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, are essentially portrayed as political anti-Christs in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary? Eric Maurice , a Policy Analyst at the European Policy Centre, explains what is happening in the European...

How has the nature of threats changed over the past decades? With a 36-year career in Canada’s foreign service and security community, Jennifer Irish can tell. We met at the Stratcom Under Pressure conference in Bratislava, organized by the Hoaxy a podvody (Hoaxes and Scams) project. Ms. Irish is the Founding Director of the Information Integrity Lab at the University of Ottawa, and we discuss for...

US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that, because of other countries' testing programs, he has instructed the Department of War to begin testing nuclear weapons on an equal basis – a process he says will start immediately. What does this mean? How risky is it? Will Trump really resume nuclear testing? And if he does, who will be the biggest winner? I try to find answers...

If authoritarians seek to dictate the global agenda while liberal democracies at least partly resist, could this lead to conflicts or even wars? This was one of my questions for Alexander Cooley , Professor of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University, and Alexander Dukalskis , Associate Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at University College Dublin. T...

Some people welcome the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, yet criticize the same procedure when applied to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What does Hugo Slim – Director of the Las Casas Institute for Social Justice and Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University, who studies ethics, war, and humanitarian aid in international relations –...

When President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament in June 2024, he gambled that new elections might restore his control or expose the far right as unfit to govern. Instead, France has been stuck in a political stalemate – no clear majority, a restless opposition, and a public growing weary of the political chaos. To help us make sense of it all, I’m joined by Georgina Wright , Special Adviser to...

Does American President Donald Trump really see the Russian war against Ukraine at least partly differently compared to, for example, six months ago, when he was still regularly berating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy? This was my question for a military analyst, Franz-Stefan Gady . His response? "I think the major mistake that we are making in Europe is constantly trying to assess w...

Who is Andrej Babiš? Who is the real Babiš? The best kind of handle we can get on this is what he said early on about how he wants to run the country like a firm. Clearly, he wants centralized power. He doesn’t like checks and balances. That’s how Seán Hanle y, Associate Professor in Comparative Central and East European Politics at University College London, put it in our conversation. The electi...

Is it accurate to describe the upcoming elections in Moldova, scheduled for September 28, as a duel between the pro-EU and pro-Russian camps? Has Russia been at least partly successful in influencing a significant number of Moldovan voters? And what might happen if pro-Russian forces win? I discuss these questions, and more, with Denis Cenusa , an Associate Expert at the Center for Geopolitics and...

Are Russia, China, and Donald Trump's America global disruptors, and what can the EU do about it? And how to live in a world full of anxiety where drones fly over our heads, we feel economic pressure, and the wars are nearby. Join me as I speak with Paweł Świeboda , Senior Visiting Fellow and Co-Director of the Brussels Economic Security Forum at the European Policy Centre. He was Deputy Head...

What does MAGA propaganda represent in American politics? And what does Superman represent? To unpack these political symbols, I speak with Nicholas Cull , Professor of Communication at the University of Southern California, a pioneer scholar and educator in the field of public diplomacy and a historian of the role of mass communication in foreign policy. Does he believe that President Donald Trum...

Washington has sent warships, submarines, and thousands of Marines into the Caribbean, raising questions about America’s intentions toward Venezuela. The Trump administration says it is targeting narco-terrorists linked to Nicolás Maduro’s regime – but how accurate is that picture, and what does it mean for regional stability and security? There was already an attack on an alleged drug trafficker&...

In this episode of my podcast, The Global Agora, Niklas Harring , Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, discusses the complex relationship between public concern over climate change and actual support for climate policies. While surveys consistently show that Europeans overwhelmingly view climate change as a serious threat and support ambitious...

A very different kind of meeting took place between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. It was a stark contrast to their previous encounter at the end of February, which many described as an ambush. What has changed in the past six months on both the Ukrainian and American sides? And what do these changes mean for the future of the Russian war,...

Vanda Felbab-Brown is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and we discuss how the fentanyl crisis has become the most lethal drug epidemic in United States history. She examines the factors contributing to it, including the high potency of synthetic opioids and the role of criminal organizations in their distribution. Vanda also offers her insights into a recent decline in fentanyl-relate...

When President Donald Trump says jump, every Republican asks: How high? But is he weaker than he appears? Trump plays the hegemon, and many are afraid of him, from his party to the media, law firms, and universities. But at one moment, he will be a lame duck, and he is old. I discussed the current state of the GOP and the Democratic Party with Steven Greene , a Professor of Political Science at No...

Is there a real risk of coordinated aggression by China and Russia that could lead to simultaneous attacks on Taiwan and NATO countries? Both the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have mentioned this scenario. So, should we be seriously worried about something that could resemble a global war? I spoke with Mick Ryan , a military strat...