Talk Eastern Europe

>>> Become a patron of Talk Eastern Europe for even more content: http://bit.ly/3nMGeYjIn this episode we focus on Czechia and its recent presidential election, which saw a clash of two very different visions of the country's future. We discuss the role of President in Czechia, the legacy of the outgoing President, Miloš Zeman, the profile and policy ideas of the newly elected Petr Pavel and the biggest points of contention between him and his main rival in the election, former Czech PM Andrej Babiš.Our guest is Pavel Havlíček, a Research Fellow at the Association for International Affairs (AMO) and a Central European Fellow for Security Policy at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. Additional materials:https://www.gmfus.org/news/test-democratic-maturityhttps://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/new-czech-president-pavel-to-end-international-isolation/Listen to our previous episode with Pavel: https://talkeasterneurope.eu/episodes/episode-106-czechias-eu-presidency-priorities-and-challenges-083You can follow Pavel and his work on Twitter (@Pavel_Havlicek_), Facebook (Pavel Paulie Havlíček) and LinkedIn (Pavel Havlicek).

>>> Become a patron of Talk Eastern Europe for even more content: http://bit.ly/3nMGeYjIn this week's episode Aga sits down with not one but two guests to discuss the Swedish presidency of the Council of the EU, the future of the Eastern Partnership, and the role civil society has played and can play in the relations between the EU and the EaP, as well as within the EaP itself. This episode is co-produced with ForumCiv, a Swedish development cooperation organisation uniting around 200 Swedish CSOs and supporting civil society in over 70 countries all over the world. Our guests are Ognjen Radonjic, Hub Manager for Eastern Europe at ForumCiv, and Hugo von Essen, an analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies.You can learn more about ForumCiv at https://www.forumciv.org/int. You can find Hugo's and SCEEUS' research at https://sceeus.se/en/.As we mention in the outro of this episode, we love to hear from you! You can contact us via:1. Our website https://talkeasterneurope.eu/2. Our Facebook group "Talk Eastern Europe Podcast" or 3. Twitter @AWidlaszewska and @areichardt.

>>> Become a patron of Talk Eastern Europe for even more content: http://bit.ly/3nMGeYjIn this episode, Adam and Agnieszka start by discussing latest updates in the region, including the election of Petr Pavel as the new Czech president, an interesting piece on how Poland is repairing Ukraine’s military equipment, and the announcement that Germany will allow for the export of Leopard main battle tanks to Ukraine.They are then joined by Marcel Krueger, a German-born writer and essayist. He discusses his view of the German discourse, his family history as well as how this all impacts Polish-German relations.Read Marcel’s essay published in New Eastern Europe from last July: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2022/07/08/ignorance-of-history-germanys-culture-of-memory-and-response-to-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/Visit Marcel online: http://marcel-krueger.squarespace.com/Read the special WSJ report on Poland’s 24/7 repair shop for Ukraine: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-covert-polish-repair-shop-patching-up-ukrainian-arms-11674920742Check us out online: www.talkeasterneurope.eu

*** Become a patron of Talk Eastern Europe and get additional content: https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope ***Talk Eastern Europe is back with its first episode of 2023! The episode opens with Adam and Agnieszka catching up with the news (and not only!) from the last weeks and a quick reaction to the Ramstein meeting on January 20th. The rest of the episode is dedicated to looking at the country of Slovakia, which recently celebrated 30 years of statehood following the peaceful breakup of Czechoslovakia. Adam sits down with Michaela Terenzani, editor in chief of the Slovak Spectator, to discuss the legacy of this break-up; the developments throughout the last 30 years; and finally to discuss the tumultuous political situation currently taking place. Check out the latest issue of New Eastern Europe now available online here: https://bit.ly/3FLKp2g

*** Please support us to keep bringing you in-depth coverage. Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeIn the last episode of 2022, the three co-hosts reunite to wrap up the year. It was a year dominated by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Besides the war, it was a year full of important developments in many countries of the region.In the main part of the episode, Maciek sits down with Anna Żamejć, an independent journalist and analyst focusing on the Southern Caucasus. They discuss recent developments in Azerbaijan and how the war in Ukraine paradoxically brings new opportunities for the country and what are the long-term internal challenges for Baku.Thank you for listening to the podcast in 2022! ///Check out the latest issue of New Eastern Europe now available online here: https://bit.ly/3FLKp2gWant to keep up to date on Talk Eastern Europe’s latest episodes – sign up for notifications via the website at: https://talkeasterneurope.eu/subscribe

*** Please support us to keep bringing you in-depth coverage. Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeThis week, Talk Eastern Europe heads back to the Western Balkans. Maciek and Adam discuss the most recent EU-Western Balkan Summit which was held in Tirana, Albania on December 6th. Later, Adam is joined by Leon Hartwell, a senior advisor for the Central and South Eastern European Programme (CSEEP) at LSE IDEAS and a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). They discuss the context to current rising tensions between Serbia and Kosovo; what are the barriers to finding a solution; and which actors are involved in trying to resolve (or not) the conflict.During the bonus round section – available for our Patrons only – Leon discusses the role of the Russian war in Ukraine in the Western Balkan region and why Serbia is so pro-Russian.///Check out the latest issue of New Eastern Europe now available online here: https://bit.ly/3FLKp2gWant to keep up to date on Talk Eastern Europe’s latest episodes – sign up for notifications via the website at: https://talkeasterneurope.eu/subscribe

It has been now over nine months since the Russian unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and Talk Eastern Europe is continuing its special coverage with additional content and conversations on the situation with the war.Since October, the Russian strategy has shifted, by putting more pressure on the Ukrainian civilian population by targeting critical infrastructure such as electricity, water and heating. As the winter months are now starting more pressure will be put on the Ukrainian population as a result of this strategy. Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the Ukrainian forces continue to slowly advance and retake the land from the invaders and defend against any further Russian advance. In this special episode dedicated to the war in Ukraine, Adam sits down with Anton Naychuk – a Ukrainian expert and director of the Civil Diplomacy Fund. They discuss the current situation in Ukraine, Ukraine’s military strategy, the Russian strategy, and pressure from the West to reach some sort of compromise. A bonus question on the role of Belarus concludes the conversation and is available for our patrons.Listen to the full episode via our patreon page at: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope.Want to listen to more podcasts about Eastern Europe? Visit: www.talkeasterneurope.eu

*** Please support us to keep bringing you in-depth coverage. Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeIn this episode, Aga sits down with Francis Farrell - an Aussie who ended up working as a frontline reporter for The Kyiv Independent. They discuss plenty of war-related topics, including the liberation of Kherson, life in the occupied and frontline areas, and the current struggles linked to Russia's mass attacks on Ukraine's energy grid.There's also a couple of bonus questions for our patrons, in which Francis reveals more details about his work as a journalist in wartime Ukraine.Follow Francis on Twitter @francisjfarrell. If you want to find his recent publications, check out:- The Kyiv Independent at https://kyivindependent.com/author/francis-farrell- Lossi 36 at https://lossi36.com/author/francis-farrell/

*** Please support us to keep bringing you in-depth coverage. Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeIn this episode Adam and Aga start with a brief conversation on recent developments regarding the Russian war against, including the incident which took place at Przewodów in Poland, just across the border with Ukraine.Later, Adam sits downs with Anais Marin - the UN Special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus. They discuss the situation in Belarus and the challenge Belarusians face when forced abroad.Ms. Marin has recently presented her report on the human rights situation to the UN General Assembly. You can read the full report here: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N22/432/95/PDF/N2243295.pdf?OpenElement About the guest: Anaïs Marin is an independent Belarus expert who is an Associate Fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House. She is also a researcher with the University of Warsaw, Poland. She holds a PhD from Sciences Po, where she studied international public law and comparative politics with a focus on post-communist transformations in Central and Eastern Europe.For more context – listen to a special Talk Eastern Europe podcast series titled “The Story of Belarus. The nation, its history and a new hope”: https://neweasterneurope.eu/belarus/

*** Please support us to keep bringing you in-depth coverage. Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeIn this episode, we focus our attention on Russia's semi-exclave of Kaliningrad, located by the Baltic Sea and surrounded by NATO allies.Our guest for this week is Miłosz J. Cordes, a former career diplomat, currently a post-doc researcher at Lund University, a fellow researcher at the Danish Foreign Policy Society, and a lecturer at DIS Study Abroad in Copenhagen.Aga and Miłosz discuss how the region of Kaliningrad changed hands over the centuries and how it ended up being part of the USSR and eventually Russia. They also talk about the role of Kaliningrad today, and the geopolitical sensitivities stemming from its location.Finally, as Miłosz's research interests cover identity politics in the Baltic Sea Region and in Central and Eastern Europe, the interview delves into how the inhabitants of Kaliningrad identify themselves vis-a-vis the rest of Russia, and what are their perceptions of their country's actions on the international stage.You can find Miłosz's research on https://www.milosz.dk/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/miloszcordes