Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen will face off against each other in the second round of the French presidential election on April 24. We have a good idea of what a second Macron presidency would look like, but Marine Le Pen is another story all together. How would her presidency affect Europe and the world? Jeremy Shapiro – seizing the reins of the podcast this week from a complaisant Mark Leonard – will explore this question with Agneska Bloch, a senior research assistant at a DC-based think tank, where she works on European affairs.This podcast was recorded on 14 April 2022.Further reading:All ECFR analysis on the French election: https://ecfr.eu/topic/france-2022/ Bookshelf:- East West Street by Philippe Sands - My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has turned European defence and security policy upside down. The German Zeitenwende, the Versailles Summit in March, and the recently published Strategic Compass for Security and Defence are all testament to this rediscovered priority on European leaders’ agenda. Jana Puglierin takes over the podcast to talk with ECFR senior policy fellows Nick Witney – who served as the first chief executive of the European Defence Agency – and Gustav Gressel about the state of European defence and its future. Will it be different this time? What are the biggest challenges in building greater European sovereignty in defence? And how will this effort be funded? This podcast was recorded on 5 April 2022. Further reading: - The EU’s Strategic Compass: Brand new, already obsolete by Nick Witney https://buff.ly/3wZEKkW- Out of the dark: Reinventing European defence cooperation by Gustav Gressel & Nick Witney https://buff.ly/3qidU3v Bookshelf: - East West Street by Philippe Sands - Rochan Consulting - Top 10 books about tumultuous times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Leonard is joined by the head of ECFR's Middle East and North Africa programme Julien Barnes-Dacey, ECFR visiting fellow Cinzia Bianco, professor of political science at the University of Tehran Nasser Hadian, and founder and chair of the Gulf Research Center Abdulaziz Sager to analyse current developments in Gulf energy security and the Iran nuclear deal. On location at the Doha Forum 2022, they discuss questions like: following Western energy sanctions on Russia, why is there a reluctance in the Gulf states and the West to cooperate on energy supplies? Is the resurrection of the Iran nuclear deal tangible? And what role do sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and regional security threats such as conflict in Yemen play in such decisions?This podcast was recorded on 27 March 2022.Further reading on ecfr.eu:•Europe’s Russian energy dilemma by Cinzia Bianco, Jonathan Hackenbroich, Filip Medunic, & Pawel Zerka•Order of engagement: Assad’s visit to Abu Dhabi by Julien Barney-Dacey & Cinzia Bianco•Agreement and uncertainty: The Iran nuclear deal in a new global order by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj•Balance of power: Gulf states, Russia, and European energy security by Cinzia BiancoBookshelf:•“Midday event: trace of blood” film by Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian •“Establish geographic inclusivity in the Security Council” by Abdulaziz Sager•“The thick of it” TV series•“A certain idea of France” by Julian Jackson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Leonard is joined by Andrew Wilson, senior policy fellow at ECFR and Ukraine expert, and Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher and editor of the blog Ukraine World, to dissect Russia's war against Ukraine from a Ukrainian intellectual perspective. What concepts define Ukrainian history and identity, and how is this important in understanding Ukraine’s response to the Russian invasion? What role does Westsplaining play for Ukraine in the current context? And what do Russia’s zoopolitics mean for Ukrainian futures?This podcast was recorded on 22 March 2022.Further reading:• All ECFR Ukraine analysis: https://ecfr.eu/topic/russia-ukraine-crisis/• Ukraine world https://ukraineworld.org/Bookshelf:• “The last empire” by Serhii Plokhy • "Explaining Ukraine" podcast: https://buff.ly/3uwd9W2 • Ukraine in Histories and Stories, essays by Ukrainian intellectuals: https://buff.ly/3DbTEGa If you want to support Ukraine World, you can become a patron and donate via patreon.com/ukraineworld! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Leonard is joined by Marie Dumoulin, head of our Wider Europe programme, and ECFR’s research director, Jeremy Shapiro, to talk yet again about the ongoing war in Ukraine and some possible different scenarios for its resolution. Does this war actually mean – as per one US strategist – a complete collapse of NATO member states’ policy? How should Europe react to Russian loss or indeed victory in this war? And what are the possible ramifications for the West?This podcast was recorded on 15 March 2022.Further reading: All ECFR Ukraine analysis https://ecfr.eu/topic/russia-ukraine-crisis/Bookshelf:“The end of diplomacy? Seven glimpses of the new normal by Andrey Kortunov https://russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/analytics/the-end-of-diplomacy-seven-glimpses-of-the-new-normal/“Death and the penguin” by Andrey Kurkov https://www.npr.org/2012/04/24/150972348/death-and-the-penguin-captures-post-soviet-reality?t=1647353925557 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Leonard and senior policy fellow and head of ECFR´s Paris Office, Tara Varma, sat down in Paris to talk about how Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine is affecting France and the French presidential race. In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and facing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they discussed such questions as: what kind of role did foreign policy play in the election campaigns before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and what role is it playing now? Have we seen candidates change their positions on Russia and Putin? And will Emmanuel Macron’s approach to European politics and defence policy help him win another term as president? This podcast was recorded on 9 March 2022. Further reading: • EU defence facing Russia: Eastern European security after the invasion of Ukraine by Kristi Raik: https://buff.ly/3pxKLB8• How Russia’s war on Ukraine is shaping the French presidential race by Mathilde Ciulla and Amandine Drouet: https://buff.ly/3suVZZ0• A certain idea of Europe: How the next French president can lead by Susi Dennison and Tara Varma: https://buff.ly/3sSqybg Bookshelf: • “Anéantir“ by Michel Houellebecq Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s early podcast, Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR senior policy fellow Kadri Liik and the head of ECFR’s Asia programme Janka Oertel to talk about how the Ukraine war is affecting Sino-Russian relations. How is Russia's attack on Ukraine perceived in China? Will Russia and China be joining forces in an ‘alliance of autocracies’? What does Russian and Chinese policymakers planning look like now - and what should Europeans do? This podcast was recorded on 1 March 2022. Further reading: Russia’s escalation in Ukraine: Views from Asia by Frédéric Grare, Janka Oertel & Elli-Katharina Pohlkamp Games changer: How China is rewriting global rules and Russia is playing along by Janka Oertel All other ECFR Ukraine analysis: https://ecfr.eu/topic/russia-ukraine-crisis/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

War in UkraineAs the situation at the Ukrainian border escalates, Mark Leonard sat down with Marie Dumoulin, director of ECFR’s Wider Europe programme, and senior policy fellows Gustav Gressel and Kadri Liik – as well as Jonathan Hackenbroich, head of ECFR’s Task Force for Strengthening Europe against Economic Coercion – to talk about the recent developments and the state of play at the ground: What does the situation look like militarily? And what reactions from the West have we seen so far? Are economic sanctions enough to react to Putin’s war? This podcast was recorded on 23 February 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Live from the Munich Security Conference (MSC)! Mark Leonard huddled together with editorial director for Le Monde and ECFR board and Council Member Sylvie Kauffmann and Jana Puglierin, head of ECFR’s Berlin office in one of the many rooms of the Bayerischer Hof to talk about the West’s thinking and reaction to the geopolitical challenges and battles of today: In the spotlight is of course the question about Ukraine. Has the West really started to “unlearn helplessness” that defined the Western countries’ policy responses? Did the MSC mark the revival of a forceful and united transatlantic alliance, ready to move away from affirmative words to assertive actions? This podcast was recorded on 20 February 2022. Further reading: Munich Security Conference Report https://securityconference.org/publikationen/munich-security-report-2022/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, ECFR senior policy fellow, Susi Dennison, takes over the podcast to talk about international cooperation on global health. As many European countries are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel after yet another hard winter struggling with covid-19, attention is refocusing on global inequity around tackling the pandemic. What does effective multilateral cooperation on global health and pandemic preparedness look like in a growing geopolitically competitive world? And what needs to change in Europe’s approach to cooperation in this area with the African Union and African states? ECFR Council Member Gunilla Carlsson – vice-chair of the Global Fund Strategy Committee, former deputy director of UNAIDS, and former Swedish minister for international development cooperation – and ECFR senior policy fellow Anthony Dworkin share their insights and recommendations from ECFR's latest report on this topic.This podcast was recorded on 10 February 2022.Further reading:The Power Atlas, Health chapter by Anthony Dworkin: https://buff.ly/3lSfyXpHealth of Nations: How Europe can fight future pandemics by Anthony Dworkin: https://buff.ly/3LyS3xIBookshelf:“Beloved” by Toni Morrison“The Global Fund Report”“Oxford Guide to Plain English”“The uncounted” by Sara L.M. Davis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.