This month, High Representative Josep Borrell visited Moscow to discuss key issues of concern and test the waters for building a more “constructive dialogue” between Russia and the European Union. His visit came at a time of elevated tensions, as calls for sanctions against the Russian Federation are increasing and both sides debate over the recent poisoning and imprisonment of Alexei Navalny, as well as issues concerning the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. What lessons can be drawn from Borrell’s controversial visit? Why do attempts to reset relations with Russia fail? In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard is joined by Kadri Liik, senior policy fellow at ECFR and Russian domestic and foreign policy expert, Nicu Popescu, Director of ECFR´s Wider Europe programme, and José Ignacio Torreblanca, head of ECFR's Madrid office to discuss Europe’s strategy vis-à-vis Russia.

This podcast was recorded on 10 February 2021.

Further reading:
- “Why attempts to reset relations with Russia fail” by Nicu Popescu: buff.ly/3rnwG7P
- “The Putin paradox: Five things Navalny’s arrest says about Russia” by Kadri Liik: buff.ly/3rcfJgh

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What are the key aspects of how the European Green Deal will change the world? Introduced by the new European Commission in 2019, the Green Deal’s goal is to decouple economic growth from resource use and to create an EU economy with zero net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. To reach that goal a fundamental overhaul of the European economy is needed. But this transformation will also have a dramatic effect on external economic relations and on foreign policy. This week host Mark Leonard invited ECFR Council Member and Member of the German Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens Franziska Brantner as well as Jean Pisani Ferry and Simone Tagliapietra from the Brussels-based think-tank Bruegel to discuss the geopolitical repercussions of the European Green Deal.

This podcast was recorded on 4 February 2021.

Further reading:
“The geopolitics of the European Green Deal” by Mark Leonard, Jean Pisani-Ferry, Jeremy Shapiro, Simone Tagliapietra, and Guntram Wolff: buff.ly/3cJHAjW

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The new poll by ECFR revealed that despite the joy and relief many Europeans felt when Joe Biden won the US presidential election, they do not think he can help America make a comeback as the pre-eminent global leader. This week, Susi Dennison is taking over the podcast, joined by our usual host, Mark Leonard as well as Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR’s research director and in-house US expert. How do Europeans assess the future of transatlantic relations? Can the EU finally come to terms with its strategic sovereignty goal? And what does this mean for policy-makers in European capitals and across the Atlantic in Washington D.C.?

This podcast was recorded on 21 January 2021.

Further reading:
"The crisis of American power: How Europeans see Biden’s America" by Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard: buff.ly/3oXcLvs

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It’s time for our annual review!

It has become tradition that at the beginning of each year, World in 30 Minutes host Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director at ECFR, predict ten bright and bold policy projections for the year to come. Predictions for 2020 took a real beating from the coronavirus pandemic, but thanks to some very generous rounding, the end of year score came to 6 points out of 10.
What are your foreign policy predictions for 2021?

Let us know by tweeting at us @ecfr or comment here below or on Facebook.

This podcast was recorded on 13 January 2021.

Further reading:
Top ten foreign policy trends in 2020: buff.ly/2XE1G6q
Check out all predictions since 2016: buff.ly/3oJbwA8

Bookshelf:
- “The Mermaid from Jeju” by Sumi Hahn
- “Cyber War & Cyber Peace in the Middle East" edited by Michael Sexton and Eliza Campbell

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In the early days of Covid-19, it became clear that none of the great powers were looking to the multilateral system to provide an answer. As the death count rose, every country acted as if it was on its own, closing borders, stockpiling medical equipment, and introducing export controls. The blame game conducted by Beijing and Washington over the WHO showed how geopolitics is increasingly undermining multilateralism. While it seems increasingly evident that the global challenges of today require global solutions, how can we explain the current crisis of the liberal international order? In this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard is joined by John Ikenberry, Albert G. Milbank Professor of International Affairs at Princeton University, to discuss the roles of the US and the EU in supporting liberal internationalism to address the problems of modernity and build a world safe for democracy.

This podcast was recorded on 9 December 2020.

Further reading:
“The Next Liberal Order” by John Ikenberry: buff.ly/3j50qTC
“Why Liberal Internationalism Is Still Indispensable—and Fixable” by Michael Hirsh: buff.ly/3gkxgil

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The corona outbreak has put the world’s leaders and the way they communicate with their people, to the test. Each country wants to project a positive self-image, portraying itself as a strong and capable crisis manager. In these past months, there have been attempts to discredit other countries, their political systems, and their responses to the pandemic. Also, scientific facts have been under scrutiny and challenged by “alternative facts” and disinformation. This week’s host, Susi Dennison, director of ECFR’s European Power programme is joined by ECFR Council Members Christine Ockrent and Julia De Clerck-Sachsse to talk about what HR/VP Josep Borrell called a “global battle of narratives and a struggle for geopolitical influence.”

This podcast was recorded on 10 December 2020.

Further reading:
“La guerre des récits. Xi, Trump, Poutine: la pandémie et le choc des empires” by Christine Ockrent

“From Brussels with love: How the European Union can win the battle of narratives” by Julia De Clerck-Sachsse: buff.ly/3kj6Uxy

“Together in trauma: Europeans and the world after covid-19” by Susi Dennison & Pawel Zerka: buff.ly/37qdxel

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Just over a month ago, Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia and 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner ordered a military offensive against regional forces in Tigray. Since then, the situation has been spiralling out of control, with increasing international concern over access to the Tigray region and reports of attacks against UN personnel trying to gain access. ECFR’s Susi Dennison takes over in this week’s episode to discuss the regional implications of the conflict and the prospects for transatlantic cooperation around the issue. She is joined by Theo Murphy, Director of ECFR’s Africa programme, Payton Knopf, Senior Advisor to the Africa programme of the US Institute for Peace, and Alexander Rondos, ECFR Council Member and EU Special Representative to the Horn of Africa.

This podcast was recorded on 9 December 2020.

Further reading:
- “Final Report and Recommendations of the Senior Study Group on Peace and Security in the Red Sea Arena”, U.S. Institute of Peace: buff.ly/2JS25Pq

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