Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

Mark Leonard is meeting his ECFR colleagues, Tara Varma, Piotr Buras and Teresa Coratello in Berlin to go through the newly selected EU Commission. What have been surprises, disappointments and challenges in von der Leyen's new cabinet? And what role did geopolitics play during the selection process?This podcast was recorded on 10 September 2019.Read von der Leyen's Vision Statement here: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/resources/library/media/20190716RES57231/20190716RES57231.pdf Bookshelf:- "Wer wir sind: die Erfahrung ostdeutsch zu sein" by Jana Hensel & Wolfgang Engler- "L’art de perdre " by Alice Zeniter- "The testaments" by Margaret Atwood- Speech by Liliana Segre in front of the Italian Senate - "The Virtual Weapon and International Order" by Lucas KelloPicture (c) LIBER Europe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, ECFR director Mark Leonard discusses with experts Ellie Geranmayeh and Julien Barnes-Dacey the French president Emmanuel Macron's bold initiative: Europeans are now to explore a credit line for Iran to entice the sanctions-battered country to keep abiding by an international nuclear deal. But the US and president Trump are sceptical.Bookshelf:"Crashed" by Adam Tooze"21 Lessons for the 21st Century" by Yuval Harari"Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in History" by Richard J. EvansThe podcast was recorded on 6 September 2019Picture: MSC / Balk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of our special summer series on European strategic sovereignty, regular host Mark Leonard is joined by two of ECFR’s own experts: research director Jeremy Shapiro and Senior Policy Fellow and head of the Paris office Tara Varma. Topic of discussion is research led by Ulrike Franke and Tara Varma looking at how Europeans from all of the different EU member states see strategic autonomy. Is the idea of strategic sovereignty owned by the French? If it is, does French ownership pose a problem for the acceptance of the idea? What is the military component of European strategic sovereignty? What role is there for the UK after Brexit? These are some of the questions they discuss. The paper that is referred to can be found here: https://www.ecfr.eu/specials/scorecard/independence_play_europes_pursuit_of_strategic_autonomy This podcast was recorded on Friday, August 30, 2019. Picture retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emmanuel_Macron_and_Angela_Merkel_(Frankfurter_Buchmesse_2017).jpgPublic domain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the US-China tech war escalates, techno-nationalism looks to replace global connectivity and collaboration. Helping ECFR director Mark Leonard understand the tech rivalry are Andrew Small, a senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund, Tim Rühlig, a researcher at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs and Amy Studdart, a senior advisor at the International Republican Institute and Founder of the tech startup Villager. The all-star cast discuss the pressing questions: Will either side agree to a tech war truce? Will globalization unravel? What role will Europe play? The podcast was recorded on Tuesday, 16 July 2019. Photo: NASA engineers inspect a new piece of telescope technology. Photo by Chris Gunn. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/15119297052 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of ECFR’s special summer series on European strategic sovereignty, Mark Leonard talks to Ulrike Franke, ECFR Policy Fellow, about artificial intelligence (AI). Mark asks Ulrike, who is currently on leave at the University of Oxford studying AI, where Europe stands compared to the United States and China in harnessing this promising new technology. More specifically, they look at the ingredients needed to develop good AI (talent, data and hardware) and ask to what extent Europe has them. The two end with a number of recommendations for Europe’s leaders as to what it can do to catch up with frontrunners US and China.The podcast was recorded Monday, July 15, 2019.Picture retrieved from pixabay: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/artificial-intelligence-brain-think-4389372/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the third episode of ECFR’s summer series on strategic sovereignty, Mark Leonard talks to Gustav Gressel, Acting Director of the Wider Europe programme and Senior Policy Fellow at ECFR, about hybrid threats. Using Gressel’s recent paper on hybrid threats as a starting point, they discuss all elements of hybrid warfare: from sponsored proxy groups to propaganda war, and from economic pressure to cyber attacks. Importantly, they ask what impact hybrid warfare might have on European sovereignty.This podcast was recorded on Friday, 12 July, 2019.Picture:Cyber warfare specialists serving with the Maryland Air National Guard’s 175th Cyberspace Operations Group engage in weekend training at Warfield Air National Guard Base in Middle River, Md., June 3, 2017. Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr.Public domain. Retrieved from: https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/News/Article/Article/1466442/military-officials-testify-on-cybersecurity-on-capitol-hill/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second episode of ECFR's summer series on strategic sovereignty explores the critical challenge that secondary sanctions pose for Europe, due to the Trump administration's maximalist position on Iran. Joining Mark Leonard for a lively discussion of economic statecraft are Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior policy fellow at ECFR, Henry Farrell, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University and Elizabeth Rosenberg, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. They discuss how Europe could reduce its vulnerabilities to U.S. secondary sanctions, which — in the future — could target countries that are more important to the European economy, such as China and Russia.This podcast was recorded on Tuesday, 23 July 2019.Photo: Trump announces his decision not to certify under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Act, October 13, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/president-trump-announces-iran-strategy/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Leonard launches ECFR’s special summer series on European sovereignty with a discussion of the continent’s security and defence policy. He is joined by Nick Witney, a senior policy fellow at ECFR with a wealth of experience in diplomacy and defence strategy. Witney discusses how today’s strategically-divergent Europeans can collectively bolster their defence capabilities to offset new pressures from Russia and the southern border as well as reduce their reliance on the Americans.This podcast was recorded on Friday, 12 July 2019.Picture: Spanish soldiers at the European Best Sniper Squad Competition in Bavaria, Germany, 24 October 2016. Photo by Gertrud Zach. Retrieved from https://www.army.mil/article/177439/sniper_teams_shoot_for_european_best_squad_2016 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Standing in for regular host Mark Leonard, Anthony Dworkin, senior policy fellow at ECFR, looks at Europe's Eastern neighbourhood and interaction with Russia. He is joined by Kurt Volker, executive director of the McCain Institute and US special representative for the Ukraine negotiations, and Nicu Popescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Moldova and former head of the Wider Europe program at ECFR. They look at the conflicts in Ukraine and Moldova, what the Ukrainians might learn from the Moldovans, and what role there is for Europe in the region.The podcast was recorded on Tuesday, 25 June, 2019, at the side-lines of ECFR’s Annual Council Meeting in Lisbon.Bookshelf •The Perfect Kill: 21 Laws for Assassins by Robert Baerhttps://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/315835/the-perfect-kill-by-robert-b-baer/ •A Little War That Shook the World by Ronald Asmushttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0033SA54M/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 •1984 by George Orwellhttps://www.hmhco.com/shop/books/1984/9781328869333PictureUS Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker at President Zelensky's inauguration, on May 20th 2019. Photo by the Presidential Administration of Ukraine. Retrieved from https://www.president.gov.ua/photos/urochisti-zahodi-z-nagodi-skladennya-prisyagi-prezidentom-uk-2905. [CCA 4.0 international] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest edition of the World in 30 Minutes, regular host Mark Leonard discusses the transatlantic relations with Ben Rhodes, former speechwriter and advisor to President Obama, Jake Sullivan, former National Security Advisor to Vice-President Biden and Head of Policy Planning to then Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, and Amanda Sloat, senior fellow at Brookings and former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Southern Europe and Eastern Mediterranean Affairs in the State Department. They try to look beyond Trump and into the future, asking what the ingredients are for a sustainable transatlantic relationship. The podcast was recorded on Wednesday, June 26th, 2019, at the side-lines of ECFR’s Annual Council Meeting in Lisbon. Bookshelf•The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt https://righteousmind.com/•Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World by Tom Wright & Bradley Hopehttps://www.hachettebooks.com/titles/tom-wright/billion-dollar-whale/9780316436502/•How To Lose A Country: the 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship by Ece Temelkuranhttp://www.4thestate.co.uk/book/how-to-lose-a-country-the-7-steps-from-democracy-to-dictatorship-ece-temelkuran-9780008294014/Picture: President Trump’s Trip Abroad via Flickrhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/34502607780Taken on May 25, 2017. Public domain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.