Election results should never be a foregone conclusion, and democratic upsets are a healthy feature of the system. Nonetheless, when the incumbent pro-Russian governing party in Georgia declared itself the winner of national elections on 26 October, with some 54% of the vote, there was a massive outcry: polls had predicted a win for the opposition. This is a huge setback for the cause of democracy in the state — and the region, given that just a week earlier, a referendum on European integration in Moldova had ended with a tiny margin of victory for the pro-EU camp when a near landslide had been predicted.

The tentacles of autocracy are clearly reaching far and wide, tightening their grip upon the states surrounding Ukraine and bordering Europe — threatening both. To delve into these issues, Ilana Bet-El is joined by Salome Samadashvili, opposition Member of Parliament in Georgia, and Tinatin Japaridze, member of the Younger Generation Leaders Network (YGLN) and Eurasia Analyst at the Eurasia Group. This is a hard-hitting discussion on Georgia, the region, autocracy and democracy, covered with clarity, intellect and empathy.

This episode was recorded on 31 October 2024

Mentions and further resources

• Salome’s previous episode Georgia on the edge
• Tinatin’s book Stalin’s Millennials: Nostalgia, Trauma and Nationalism

Follow our guests

• Tinatin Japaridze LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Eurasie website
• Salome Samadashvil LinkedIn; X/Twitter

You can also follow us

• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• Our partner European Leadership Network social media Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook
• Our partner European Leadership Network website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production**:** Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll License code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The speed of events in the disaster zone that is currently the Middle East is unrelenting. Just as attention was focused on Lebanon and refocused on Gaza, Israel announced the death of Yahiya Sinwar, head of Hamas and architect of the attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. Across the West, and possibly beyond, this development was viewed with relief - if only because it may allow for a hostage deal to finally occur. But in Iran, the death called for the mourning of a Martyr. This is not by chance: Iran is a major protagonist in the region.

From two missile attacks on Israel, to supporting Hizbollah, Hamas and the Houthis — Iran is perceived to be a malign presence across the Middle East, especially from the Western perspective. This is undoubtedly underpinned by its broken relations with the US, which dates back to the 1979-81 hostage crisis, coupled with its current closer relationship with China while also supplying armaments to Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine.

These are difficult positions for the Western mind, but they stem from the Iranian interest and perspective. To better understand both interest and perspective, Ilana Bet-El is joined by Dr Roxane Farmanfarmaian of Cambridge University in a strong and enlightening discussion that touches on the history of Iran and its international position since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, through the Iran-Iraq war of the 1990s, all the way to understanding its regional and global interests today.

This episode was recorded on 14 October 2024

Mentions

• The Iran hostage crisis
• “A Brief History of Israeli-Iranian Cooperation and Confrontation” and “How Iran and Israel became archenemies”
• Roxane’s inspiration: An American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal by Neil King Jr

Follow:

• Roxane Farmanfarmaian LinkedIn, book “Blood & Oil: A Prince’s Memoir of Iran"
• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• European Leadership Network Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook & website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production: Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll Uppbeat

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The constant escalation in the Middle East shows no signs of abating. October 7 marks a year since Hamas viciously invaded southern Israel, while October 8 is a year since Hezbollah started firing rockets into the north of Israel in support of Hamas. A year of unspeakable violence in Israel, Gaza and now Lebanon, rounded off by Iran firing some 200 ballistic missiles into Israel this week. A year of deaths and destruction for Palestinians, Israelis and Lebanese people.

In this unique episode Women Leaders is building a bridge: Fania Oz-Salzberger, Professor of history at Haifa University and renowned public intellectual, and Roula from Beirut — her name for security purposes — join Ilana Bet-El In a fascinating, passionate and hard hitting episode. From explanations about Lebanese and Israeli politics to calls for women in decision making, and from the depths of despair to a future day in a new Middle East, this is the discussion necessary to understand the problems and the people of the region.

This episode was recorded on 2 October 2024

Mentions and further resources

• Peace Now
• Fania’s article on Israeli perceptions on U.S Election

We asked after the recording our guests’ recommendations, just below:

• Fania’s recommendation “We will dance again” (trailer of the movie)

Follow our guests:

• Fania Oz-Salzberger X/Twitter, LinkedIn, and academic publications (Academia.eu)
• For security reasons, we cannot follow Roula from Beirut

Follow us

• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• Our partner European Leadership Network social media Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook
• Our partner European Leadership Network website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production: Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine is in its third year, with no end in sight. The Russian offensive in the East of Ukraine grinds on, consuming a mass of men and materiel on both sides while its conquest proceeds in tiny paces. The only surprise of the past few months was the Ukrainian incursion into Russia, taking a small square of the Kursk region. It is no minor achievement, not least given that Russia has not been invaded since WWII, and that the Kursk region is where the biggest tank battle — and one of the biggest battles ever — took place in the summer of 1943 between the then Soviet Union and Germany. But ultimately, the war grinds on, with Russia intensifying its drone attacks as well as ground assaults, ably supplied by Iranian drones and materiel, shored up by offerings from North Korea, and aided in a circuitous way by purchases of raw materials and weapons made through third countries, so circumventing western sanctions.

Ukraine is fighting back, using its own drones and weaponry in Russia and trying to fend off the invading Russian forces with the aid of Western weapons in Ukraine. But it is not enough. Between the fighting and the massive Russian drone and missile strikes at its energy grid now happening nearly daily, reality is difficult. And worse. To get a deep insight into this reality and what is both happening and should be happening to change the situation, Ilana Bet-El is joined by Lisa Yasko, Member of the Ukrainian Rada (parliament) and Head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. In a frank and revealing conversation, Lisa reflects on the war from its start, the daily reality in Ukraine, and the shortcomings of the international community.

This episode was recorded on 18 September 2024

Follow our guests:

• Lisa Yasko X/Twitter & Instagram

You can also follow us

• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• Our partner European Leadership Network social media Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook
• Our partner European Leadership Network website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production: Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll License code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT
• Supported by a grant from the Foundation Open Society Institute in cooperation with the Open Society Foundations

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summer used to be a period of quiet. The sun shone — or not — and holidays were taken, events slowed to a nearly non-existent pace, and newsrooms had to deal with what was known as the “silly season”. No longer. Whether because events really have become more dramatic or whether because we know about them immediately due to the constant digital connections, this past summer was an example of constant and rapid events: From the assassination attempt on Donald Trump to the sudden rise of Kamala Harris, both now presidential candidates in the US; and from the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza/Israel to the hardening of the China-Russia partnership in the face of the west — the world carried on spinning unabated, and at speed.

To get a closer insight into events in the US and the Middle East, Ilana Bet-El is joined by Jodi Rudoren, Editor in Chief of the Forward and former New York Times Bureau Chief in Jerusalem. In a strong and flowing conversation they move through the rapidly changing realities of US politics and the changing gender roles within them; the prospects of both presidential candidates policies on wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the appalling lack of women in the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians — and elsewhere too.

This episode was recorded 5 September 2024

Mentions and further resources

• Jodi and Roxanne's previous conversation

Follow our guests:

• Jodi Rudoren LinkedIn & X/Twitter
• The Forward website

You can also follow us

• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• Our partner European Leadership Network social media Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook
• Our partner European Leadership Network website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production: Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-rollLicense code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT
• Supported by a grant from the Foundation Open Society Institute in cooperation with the Open Society Foundations

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We know some of you have been wondering where we've been. Rest assured, Women Leaders will be back very soon.

Get ready for more extraordinary conversations with inspiring women experts this September. Stay tuned!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.