Sounds Strategic

In this episode, Meia Nouwens is joined by Dr Samir Puri, The IISS’ new Senior Fellow for Hybrid Warfare, for a discussion about the concept of ‘hybrid warfare’ and its potential applications in the Asia-Pacific. Having observed the realities of hybrid warfare in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, Samir highlights the differences between ‘grey zone’ and ‘hybrid warfare’ activities.Meia and Samir then explore the possible applications of hybrid warfare in the Asia-Pacific, with a particular focus on how China could expand its regional influence through hybrid strategies and tactics. Samir also predicts that grey zone activity will likely become an increasingly common feature in international affairs in the 2020s as the United States clashes with China’s efforts to establish its own informal empire. As a result, Samir suggests Western powers may need to revisit their hybrid warfare capabilities in this new multi-polar world order. We hope you enjoy listening to the episode. Don’t forget to follow, rate and subscribe to Sounds Strategic on wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.Date of recording: 2 December 2020Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode of Sounds Strategic, recorded ahead of the IISS Manama Dialogue 2020, Sir Tom Beckett speaks with Hasan Alhasan and Camille Lons about the key geopolitical challenges the Middle East has faced in 2020.  Hasan and Camille highlight the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to countries across the Middle East and how the pandemic has worsened the humanitarian situation in many of the region's ongoing conflicts, from Yemen to Libya.They also assess the wider geopolitical implications of the recent Abraham Accords between Israel and several Gulf states and how ongoing US–China competition may impact regional politics in 2021. We hope you enjoy listening to the episode. Don’t forget to follow, rate and subscribe to Sounds Strategic on wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.Date of recording: 24 November 2020Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode, Meia Nouwens speaks with Helena Legarda, Senior Analyst at Mercator Institute for China Studies, on NATO’s evolving, and often complex, relationship with China. Meia and Helena trace the history of the relationship, from the early antagonism following the 1998 Belgrade bombing of the Chinese embassy, through several years of tentative cooperation in the early 2000s, to growing hostility in the late 2010s as China’s global ambitions and capabilities expanded.Both Helena and Meia agree that 2019 was a critical turning point in NATO–China relations and explore why NATO, and the EU, may struggle in developing a coordinated and robust policy to confront the multi-faceted strategic challenge presented by a rising China.We hope you enjoy listening to the episode. Don’t forget to follow, rate and subscribe to Sounds Strategic on wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.Date of recording: 17 November 2020Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary elections on 4 October threw the country into political crisis. Claims that the elections were rigged sparked mass popular protests on the streets of Bishkek, the capital, which led to the resignation of Kyrgyzstani president, Sooronbay Jeyenbekov, on 15 October.In this special episode of Sounds Strategic, Nigel Gould-Davies, IISS Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia, speaks with the Kyrgyzstan Ambassador to the UK, H.E. Edil Baisalov on what the recent political upheaval means for Kyrgyzstan and the possible paths forward for the country.We hope you enjoy listening to the episode. Don’t forget to follow, rate and subscribe to Sounds Strategic on wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.Date of recording: 19 October 2020Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second part of our US election podcast, Meia Nouwens speaks with Nigel Gould-Davies, Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia, and Irene Mia, Senior Fellow for Latin America, on the policy challenges the incoming Biden administration will face in both Russia and Latin America.Nigel explains that the election of Biden will strengthen American resolve to counter Russian influence in Europe and elsewhere. Nigel predicts renewed US engagement in the ongoing crises in Ukraine and Belarus as part of the new administration’s wider efforts to bolster democracy and human rights internationally. However, the maintenance of the New START agreement will likely be Biden’s first priority once in office from 20 January 2020.Irene details the vast array of challenges President-elect Biden will face in Latin America, from political instability in Venezuela to continued immigration from Mexico and Central America. Irene raises concerns over possible political instability in the region, due to the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to many Latin American economies. However, Irene also notes that the region offers opportunities for the new US administration to support local efforts to address these emerging crises.We hope you enjoy listening to the episode. Don’t forget to follow, rate and subscribe to Sounds Strategic on wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.Date of recording: 9 November 2020Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this two-part episode, Meia Nouwens speaks with IISS experts on the foreign-policy priorities the incoming Biden administration will likely address over the next four years.In part one, Euan Graham, Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Security, discusses how leaders in the Asia-Pacific, including China, have reacted to the election result and the policy implications a Biden presidency may have. He foresees alliances making a welcome return to the region, but warns that domestic concerns over COVID-19 could limit US foreign-policy ambitions.John Raine, IISS Senior Adviser, focuses on the possible policy changes a Biden administration would introduce to the Middle East. He expects Biden will take a much different approach towards the Gulf states and recommit to defending human rights across the region. However, any US attempts at re-engagement with Iran and ongoing conflicts in the region may become hamstrung by political considerations back home.We hope you enjoy listening to the episode. Don’t forget to follow, rate and subscribe to Sounds Strategic on wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.Date of recording: 9 November 2020Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The upcoming US presidential election between President Donald Trump and former vice president Joseph Biden may prove to be one of the most contentious in US history. In this episode, Dana Allin, Senior Fellow for US Foreign Policy and Transatlantic Affairs, and David Gordon, Senior Adviser for Geo-Economics and Strategy, discuss each candidate’s prospects and how the Trump administration has impacted the United States’ political system and international reputation.David and Dana agree that this election will prove pivotal for the future of America and its place in the world. They also discuss the policy implications of a two-term Trump presidency or a new Biden administration for US allies and adversaries alike. We hope you enjoy listening to the episode. Don’t forget to follow, rate and subscribe to Sounds Strategic on wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.Date of recording: 20 October 2020Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty last year increased concerns that the international architecture around arms control was weakening further. With other agreements up for renewal or under renewed scrutiny, what does the future hold for arms control between the US, Russia and China? In this week’s episode, Meia Nouwens speaks with three IISS Missile Dialogue Initiative specialists on the current politics around arms control and the new technologies that risk complicating future arms-control efforts.Douglas Barrie and Timothy Wright from the IISS and Pavel Podvig from the UN Institute for Disarmament Research explain why it is such a critical time for arms control and the importance of agreements such as the Open Skies Treaty and the NEW Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty for regional and global stability. We hope you enjoy listening to the episode. Don’t forget to follow, rate and subscribe to Sounds Strategic on wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.Date of recording: 5 October 2020Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The recent dispute between Greece and Turkey has again raised questions around the sustainability of the NATO Alliance. However, one of the Alliance’s loudest critics in recent years has been US President Donald Trump, despite the United States' critical role within it. But are such criticisms political rhetoric or are they part of a wider strategic recalculation by the US as its national security concerns outside of Europe multiply?Meia Nouwens discusses this question with IISS–Americas Executive Director EJ Herold and Research Fellow Henry Boyd in this episode of Sounds Strategic. As Henry and EJ explain, there is increasing evidence that the US Department of Defense considers China, rather than a resurgent Russia, as its greatest strategic challenge for the foreseeable future. They also discuss how this rebalancing of US strategic priorities towards the Asia-Pacific will adversely affect the European member states of NATO, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope you enjoy listening to the episode. Don’t forget to follow, rate and subscribe to Sounds Strategic on wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.Date of recording: 22 September 2020Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Antonio Sampaio is joined by Ignacio Cano, Alice Hills and Tessa Diphoorn for a wide-ranging discussion on the challenges of policing in the developing world, with a particular focus on Brazil, Kenya and Somalia.Ignacio, Alice and Tessa each describe the different forms of policing in each country, from extreme militarisation in Rio de Janeiro to sporadic and limited policing in Somalia and Kenya. However, they all highlight how corruption, limited state capacity and domestic politics impact policing and undermine a state’s willingness and ability to police in vulnerable and marginalised communities.They also examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted policing in recent months, as well as explore some of the positive signs in police reform coming out of Kenya.Dr Ignacio Cano is a member of the Laboratory of Violence at Rio de Janeiro State University and is currently visiting researcher at the Safety Lab in Cape Town, South Africa.Dr Alice Hills is Visiting Professor at the University of Leeds focusing on police development in sub-Saharan Africa and Somali security governance.Dr Tessa Diphoorn is Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and is currently researching policing in Kenya. We hope you enjoy listening to the episode. Don’t forget to follow, rate and subscribe to Sounds Strategic on wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.Date of recording: 28 August 2020Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.