

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes
ECFR
Weekly podcast on the events, policies and ideas that will shape the world.World in 30 minutes is curated by Mark Leonard, Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), and features top-level speakers from across the EU and beyond to debate and discuss Europe’s role in the world. It was awarded “Best podcasts on EU politics” by PolicyLab in 2019.Member of the EuroPod network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 4, 2019 • 30min
Reaching out to Russia – joining hands or getting the mitten?
In this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard, Gustav Gressel and Kadri Liik analyse Macron’s plans and ideas for recreating the European security order, an initiative which he launched with a speech at the Ambassador’s conference this year. Moreover, according to French officials, France will instead of starting with a top-down plan, try to build European security from the bottom-up and see if there is a desire in Moscow to make progress on specific issues, one brick at a time. They have laid out a roadmap with five different areas: Disarmament, security dialogue, crisis management, values, and common projects.Further read: “Emmanuel Macron’s very big idea on Russia” by Gustav Gressel, Kadri Liik, Jeremy Shapiro & Tara VarmaThe podcast was recorded on 30 September 2019.Bookshelf- “We Need to Talk About Putin. Why the West gets him wrong, and how to get him right” by Mark Galeotti - “Psychopolitics. Neoliberalism and New Technologies of Power” by Byung-Chul Han Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 27, 2019 • 29min
David McAllister on how MEPs will quiz the next Commissioners
Mark Leonard welcomes a very special guest, David McAllister MEP to the podcast, talking about the process of doing all the hearings for the European Commission over the next weeks. Additionally, David McAllister gives his view on Europe on the world stage and his vision of European foreign policy.The podcast was recorded on 25 September 2019.Bookshelf:"Aufstehen, Kilt richten, weiterkämpfen" by John McGurkLivestream to the hearings:https://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-live/en/schedule Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 20, 2019 • 32min
Three crises and an opportunity: Europe’s stake in multilateralism
The multilateral system faces three related crises of power, relevance, and legitimacy. This fraying consensus threatens the EU, which is committed to multilateralism. But the situation also represents an opportunity for European influence! Mark Leonard discusses Europe's stake on multilateralism with the ECFR experts Richard Gowan and Anthony Dworkin.Bookshelf:"The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir" by Samantha Power"The Final Act: The Helsinki Accords and the Transformation of the Cold War" by Michael Cotey Morgan"Three crises and an opportunity: Europe’s stake in multilateralism" by Richard Gowan & Anthony DworkinThe podcast was recorded on 19 September 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 11, 2019 • 31min
Von der Leyen's EU Commission: Picks for a Union that strives for more
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.

Sep 9, 2019 • 35min
Meddling or Bargaining? Emmanuel Macron's Iran Initiative
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.

Sep 2, 2019 • 33min
Independence Play: Europe's Pursuit of Strategic Autonomy
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.

Aug 23, 2019 • 27min
Should Europe take sides in the US-China Tech War?
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.

Aug 15, 2019 • 33min
Harnessing artificial intelligence
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.

Aug 9, 2019 • 27min
Protecting Europe against hybrid threats
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.

Aug 1, 2019 • 34min
Meeting the Challenge of Secondary Sanctions
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.


