The International Risk Podcast

Exploring the evolution of ESG investing and challenges in reporting for companies. Regional and industry-specific variances in ESG practices shed light on sustainability priorities. Navigating ESG for corporate reputation and global concerns highlight nature-based solutions for sustainable progress.

Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on 17 December 2023 to elect members of the National Assembly. While they were initially scheduled to be held by 30 April 2026, Aleksandar Vučić, the president of Serbia, called a snap election in November 2023, after previously announcing that snap elections could be either held in 2023 or 2024. In addition to the parliamentary elections, the Vojvodina provincial and local elections were held in 65 cities and municipalities, including the capital, Belgrade. Data released by the election commission on Wednesday showed President Aleksandar Vučić’s Serbian Progressive party (SNS) won 46.75% of the vote, while a pro-European opposition coalition, Serbia Against Violence, got 23.66%.   The 2023 Serbian elections were highly contentious and sparked major controversy due to a number of reasons that created doubts about the electoral process's fairness and openness. President Aleksandar Vui's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won a resounding win, maintaining its political control. However, the elections were criticised by opposition parties and international observers for charges of media censorship, limited freedom of expression, and unequal access to the media, all of which favoured the incumbent party. There were allegations that state resources were being exploited to assist the SNS campaign, jeopardising the electoral environment's impartiality. Furthermore, the opposition parties expressed worries about voter intimidation and irregularities, calling the election results into question. In order to help unpack these controversies and what these elections mean for both Serbia and the Balkans region as a whole, we are joined once again by Dr Alexander Mesarovich.Alexander Mesarovich earned his PhD (Politics) at the University of Edinburgh. His thesis analysed the impact of informal political networks on the EU accession processes of Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. Since finishing his PhD, Alexander has been a teaching assistant at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Stirling and has worked as a Lecturer in Politics at the University of Strathclyde. Alexander was previously on the IRP discussing the international risks associated with EU enlargement in the Balkans.  You can listen to that conversation at episode 141. Tell us what you liked!

The International Risk Podcast is a weekly podcast for senior executives, board members, and risk advisors. In these podcasts, we speak with experts in a variety of fields to explore international risk. Our host is Dominic Bowen, Head of Strategic Advisory at one of Europe's leading risk management consulting firms. Dominic is a regular public and corporate event speaker, and visiting lecturer at several universities. Having spent the last 20 years successfully establishing large and complex operations in the world's highest-risk areas and conflict zones, Dominic now joins you to speak with exciting guests from around the world to discuss international risk.The International Risk Podcast – Reducing risk by increasing knowledge.Follow us on LinkedIn for all our great updates.Today, we are thrilled to be joined by Nathan Paul Southern, an investigative journalist, a PhD Candidate at the University of St. Andrews, and a senior investigator at KSI, an independent investigative and research consultancy. As a non-traditional security specialist, he focuses on the links between organised crime, governance and armed groups. His work explores Chinese organised crime and the BRI, human trafficking, the global war on drugs, environmental crime, and the transnational trade in small arms. His geographical interest stretches through Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Europe, and the dynamic between organised crime and militancy in the Sahel.  Tell us what you liked!

Today we are thrilled to be joined by Thammy Evans, a non-resident Senior Fellowat the GeoTech Center of the Atlantic Council and a member of its Global China Hub. She is also a Senior Research Associate of the Climate Change (In)Security Project – a collaboration between Rueben College of Oxford University and the British Army’s Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research (CHACR). Thammy has spent much of her career working in the dual areas of security sector reform and ecological security, and her diverse career spans systems sustainability, security sector reform, gender and security, public information and political advising. From meagre means raised in self-sufficient farming, she has weaved one strand of her career in and out of individual and household sustainability, community and corporate sustainability and now national and international ecological security. Spanning private, public sector, local and international NGOs, her work has taken her abroad extensively, working for and with the UN, NATO, the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Reform and Justice (DCAF), Rocky Mountain Institute (resource efficiency consulting), Global Action Plan UK, and at the forerunner of Flamingo in international market research. She has been closely involved throughout her career with strategy and doctrine development internationally as well as turning policy and strategy into concrete plans and action. As a Colonel in the UK Army Reserves, she is spending the academic year 2023/24 as a full time Member of the Global Strategy Programme at the Royal College of Defence Studies Thammy has published with Carnegie Europe, Chatham House, British Army Review, Modern Asian Studies, and Small Wars Journal on topics of ecological and regenerative security, security sector reform, human security, China, gendered analysis, and on travel. She is a speaker and facilitator for a variety of organisations and conferences. This is her first podcast appearance.Watch how final negotiations balance energy opportunity with climate insecurity risks, 12 December 2023, Atlantic Council Cop28 Live blogEcological Security: The New Military Operational Priority for Humanitarian and Disaster Response co-authored with Gary Lewis, former regional director at UNEP, published 1 December in the book Climate Change, Conflict & (In)Security: Hot WarClimate Impact Scenarios (2023, Westminster Energy Forum)Building Global Climate Security (2021, Chatham House) co-authored with Dr Patrick Shroeder, includes my original working definition of regenerative securityEconomic Regeneration as a Vehicle for System Resilience (2021, Carnegie Europe) co-authored with John Elkington (the ‘godfather of sustainability)Tell us what you liked!

 We are thrilled to be joined today by Valentin’s Lira. Valentina is an Industrial Engineer from the University of Chile, with a postgraduate degree in Environmental Economics from the University of California Berkeley. She worked as a Development Engineer at CMPC Holding and as Director of the Development and Conservation Program of Fundación Chile, achieving the first sale of carbon credits from forestry projects in Chile. Since 2011, Valentina Lira the Sustainability Division at Viña Concha y Toro, in charge of the development and implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Strategy. During this time, the company has integrated the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and has become the first Latin American company to make its commitment to reduce emissions based on climate science and became the largest winery being B Corp Certified. Since 2020, she has been an active member of the SBT Net-Zero Expert Advisory Group, contributing to the generation of a global standard for Net Zero Emission scenario.  Valentina has recently returned from COP28 in Dubai. This year had an enormous emphasis on business and how companies can become more environmentally conscious. Environmental, social and corporate governance, also known as ESG is becoming a commercial necessity in addition to providing significant benefits to companies. In light of the intensifying global race to attain net-zero emissions, companies seeking to enter into new alliances and partnerships need to be able to articulate their ESG strategy and, more importantly, explain how they intend to carry it out. This makes getting support from a variety of stakeholders and creating a coherent, fair, and transparent approach to ESG at COP28 even more crucial.  We are very excited to hear from Valentina about her experiences at the COP conference, as well as the opportunities and risks presented to businesses in the broader world of ESG  Tell us what you liked!

In today's episode of The International Risk Podcast, we turn our attention to the intricate and dynamic process of EU enlargement in the Balkans. The region, known for its complex political and ethnic landscape, is at a pivotal moment in its integration into the European Union. We will explore the influence of the EU's policies on the Balkans, the socio-economic and political hurdles faced by countries in the region, and the broader geopolitical consequences of their potential accession to the EU. This discussion is timely and critical, as the stability and future of the Balkans are not just regional but also global concerns that touch on issues of democracy, security, and international cooperation. We are privileged to welcome Dr. Alexander Mesarovich a scholar with an extensive background in the politics of EU enlargement. Dr. Mesarovich's research into the influence of informal political networks on accession processes provides us with a unique lens through which to examine the ongoing transformations in the Balkans. With his postdoctoral work at the European University Institute focusing on the diffusion of illiberalism and populism, Dr. Mesarovich offers invaluable insights into the current challenges and future prospects of EU enlargement policy. Tell us what you liked!

Today we are joined by Zion Lights, a passionate science advocate and writer who wants to change the world for the better. She is the author of the book The Ultimate Guide to Green Parenting, the nature poetry book Only a Moment, and was a former spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion. She was the UK director of the pro-nuclear lobby group Environmental Progress, and currently the Founder Emergency Reactor, and a well-known public speaker. We are very grateful to have Zion on The International Risk Podcast today. .For more information on Zion, please take a look at the links below https://zionlights.substack.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/zionlights/?originalSubdomain=uk Tell us what you liked!

Today, our podcasted is hosted by Ben Lawson, Intern at the International Risk Podcast, as we talk to Dominic Bowen. Every week we hear about the work Dominic does in the world of international risk, and in every episode Dominic shares some of his knowledge about international risk, to contextualise the questions he asks his guests; and today, we thought it would be interesting to put Dominic in the guest’s chair. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine at the time of recording, been taking place for 648 days. In this time, Dominic has spent a significant amount of time working across Ukraine including the frontline, and today we speak with Dominic whilst he is in Ukraine; so today, we hope to learn from his experiences on the ground.  Tell us what you liked!

Today we are thrilled to be joined by Professor Bruce Jones, a senior fellow with the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. His research expertise and policy experience are in international security, with his current research focusing on US strategy, international order, and great power relations. Professor Jones will help us explore what this expansion means for the future of international collaboration, governance, and the delicate balance of global power.  We are very excited to have Professor Jones on the International Risk Podcast today. Tell us what you liked!

The International Risk Podcast is a weekly podcast for senior executives, board members, and risk advisors. In these podcasts, we speak with risk management specialists from around the world. Our host is Dominic Bowen, originally from Australia, is one of Europe’s leading international risk specialists. Having spent the last 20 years successfully establishing large and complex operations in the world’s highest-risk areas and conflict zones, Dominic now joins you to speak with exciting guests from around the world to discuss risk.The International Risk Podcast – Reducing risk by increasing knowledgeFollow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for all our great updates.Today we are excited to be joined by Professor James Teo. Professor Teo is a Professor of Neurology at Kings College Hospital, and Clinical Director of Data Science and AI at Kings College Hospital and Guys & St Thomas Hospital. He has extensive experience in data science research, including machine vision and clinical natural language processing, as well as clinical trial governance. On top of all that, he continues to be a practicing clinical neurologist treating patients with stroke and neurorehabilitation.Tell us what you liked!