IIEA Talks

According to Dr Kaim, strategies are tricky things: flowery words describe the big picture and in the end, no one really knows what these words actually mean in practice. This is how many of the 76 pages of the first German National Security Strategy read. The Scholz government has not developed any fundamentally new guidelines for its foreign and security policy – it has written down what it has already planned and what is already reality. Much of the Strategy remains vague so that all parties of the coalition can rally behind it, with the Chancellor and four ministers using the presentation of the strategy to send a signal of unity. Nevertheless, the National Security Strategy expands the conception of "security" beyond just diplomacy and the Bundeswehr to also encompass electricity and water resources, pharmaceutical supplies, and the supply chains for raw materials that industry relies upon. But whether this is more than just words is something the German Government must now show in its implementation of the strategy. About the Speaker: Dr Markus Kaim is Senior Fellow in the International Security Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). He was Helmut Schmidt Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington 2019-2020. He has taught as a Visiting Scholar at the Institute of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at Carleton University, Ottawa, as DAAD Professor for German and European Studies at the University of Toronto, and as Adjunct Professor of Foreign Policy and International Relations at the University of Konstanz. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Zurich, at the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, and at the Bucerius Law School, Hamburg.

In this interview, IIEA Researcher, Leanne Digney, talks to Ireland’s United Nations Youth Delegates, David Giles and Jessica Gill, about their experience of writing the first standalone youth chapter in a Voluntary National Review, which was included in Ireland’s 2023 VNR report at the UN High-level Political Forum in July 2023. This interview is part of the Global Europe UN podcast series which is sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs

In his remarks, Mehmet Öğütçü reflects upon Turkey’s elections on 14 and 28 May 2023 and the implications which Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s winning yet another mandate to run the country for the next five years may have for Europe. He examines whether there is any prospect of resetting EU-Turkey relations and what could be done to improve the dialogue between Brussels and Ankara on key issues such as energy, climate change, migration and tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. Mr Öğütçü discusses whether Turkey’s new government will be able to change course from its current approach to relations with Moscow, as well as Turkey’s role in NATO enlargement. About the Speaker: Mehmet Öğütçü is the Chair of the London Energy Club. He is a former advisor to the Prime Minister, and diplomat in China, Belgium, France and the UK. Previously, Öğütçü served as a principal administrator for Asia-Pacific and Latin America at International Energy Agency and head of investment outreach for the OECD. He was director for BG Group (now part of Shell) and Chair of the advisory board of Invensys plc and the Middle East Institute, Washington DC. He was also a board member of Genel Energy plc, Şişecam, Yasar Holding. He is now Chair of the London Energy Club, the Bosphorus Energy Club and Global Resources Partners, UK.

Prof. Gerard Quinn, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, discusses Ireland’s obligations, strengths, and shortcomings, under international human rights treaties, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which was adopted by the United Nations in 2006. The UNCRPD is the first international, legally binding instrument setting minimum standards for the rights of people with disabilities. The Convention followed decades of work by the United Nations to change attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities. It is a human rights instrument with an explicit, social development dimension which adopts a broad categorisation of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Irish Government signed the Convention in 2007 and in March 2018 the Convention was ratified. About the Speaker: Professor Gerard Quinn was appointed the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities by the Human Rights Council in October 2020. A graduate of Harvard Law School, the King's Inns and the National University of Ireland, Professor Quinn formerly held a chair at the National University of Ireland where he founded and directed the Centre on Disability Law & Policy. In Ireland, he also served as a member of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities (1992-1996) which was composed of a majority of persons with disabilities. He has received three awards for his work on international disability Law - from Rehabilitation International (RI), the US International Council on Disability (USICD), and the European Association of Service Providers (EASPD).

In this interview, IIEA Researcher, Leanne Digney, talks to the UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, Ms Siobhán Mullally, about the mandate of her office and the major challenges in the fight against human trafficking today. This interview is part of the Global Europe UN podcast series which is sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs

In his address to the IIEA, Charles Dunst discusses his new book, Defeating the Dictators: How Democracy Can Prevail in the Age of the Strongman. Mr Dunst explores the dangers of rising authoritarianism and outlines the steps that democracies can take to rebuild trust, restore accountability, improve governance, and build a better future for generations to come. He also outlines how democracies can engage with autocratic partners elsewhere in the world. About the Speaker: Charles Dunst is Deputy Director of Research & Analytics at The Asia Group and an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Telegraph, and Foreign Policy, among other outlets. An erstwhile foreign correspondent, Charles Dunst has reported from Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, and Romania.

Asylum and Migration policy has been at the forefront of the EU agenda as negotiations have commenced on some key aspects of the new Asylum and Migration Pact. Since the proposal was tabled, in September 2020, considerable progress has been made, although discussions at the recent European Council Meeting were inconclusive. The desire for a rational fact-based approach to the topic can only be achieved by building on a spirit of trust and cooperation between Member States. It has reinforced the belief that the scale and scope of migration management in the EU is best addressed collectively, rather than at Member State by Member State level. In her address to the IIEA as part of the Global Europe project, which is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson outlines the progress made on migration policy, the crises and challenges to overcome, the outreach to third country partners, and on the type of debate needed to continue to make progress if the Pact is to be agreed before the European Elections in June 2024. About the Speaker: Ylva Johansson was appointed European Commissioner for Home Affairs in December 2019. She previously served as Minister for Employment in the Swedish Government from 2014 to 2019, Minister for Welfare and Elderly Healthcare from 2004 to 2006 and Minister for Schools from 1994 to 1998. Ms. Johansson was educated at Lund University and the Stockholm Institute of Education.

In her address, Anne Bajart discusses the European Commission’s activities and initiatives to promote digital skills. She focuses the Commission’s plans to promote skills for key areas such as AI (artificial intelligence), data, cybersecurity, semi-conductors and AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) technologies. Ms Bajart also discusses the role of the European Jobs and Skills Coalition, and the European Digital Jobs and Skills Platform, in promoting skills and the importance of grassroots initiatives such as EU Code Week. About the Speaker: Anne Bajart is Deputy Head of Unit for Interactive Technologies, Digital for Culture and Education at DG CONNECT. She previously was Head of Sector for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in DG CONNECT. She has a PhD in Electrical engineering and has worked as a researcher, lecturer and project manager.

Lord Paul Bew, Member of the House of Lords; Ben Lowry, Editor-in-chief of the Belfast Newsletter, in conversation with Dan O’Brien, IIEA Chief Economist.

Military neutrality has long held an important place in the Irish national psyche with polls consistently showing strong support for the concept. This support has remained solid even in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, an invasion which caused some other neutral EU countries to seriously evaluate their security stances. In his remarks, Conor Gallagher shares his view that today, the Irish version of neutrality seems uniquely narrow and appears, in the eyes of the Government at least, to comprise of simply staying out of NATO or an EU common defence pact. However, Mr Gallagher believes that many Irish people view neutrality as encompassing something complex and ambitious, but there is little agreement on what that is. About the Speaker: Conor Gallagher is the Crime and Security Correspondent for The Irish Times where he reports on issues concerning defence and state security, including developments in the Defence Forces and the rise of hybrid threats. He joined the newspaper in 2017. He recently published Is Ireland Neutral?, a book examining the evolving definitions of Irish neutrality in the decades since independence and its future in an increasingly uncertain world. He is a graduate of the DCU journalism program and has a Master’s Degree in Political Communications.