Talk Eastern Europe

In the final episode of our special series on Black Sea security, Adam and Maciek discuss the most recent NATO meeting of heads of states in London. Adam then interviews Victor Kipiani, chair of the Geocase think tank in Tbilisi (15.45), where they discuss implications for Georgia, the region and wider geopolitics.Follow Victor Kipiani on Twitter: @victor_kipiani https://twitter.com/victor_kipianiThank you to all of our listeners for making 2019 a successful year for Talk Eastern Europe. We look forward to new ideas and episodes for next year.Thank you for the Polish embassy in Georgia and NATO for the support of this special series.We wish you all peaceful holiday break and Happy New Year! Resources:The NATO “London Declaration”, issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in London 3-4 December 2019 https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_171584.htm?selectedLocale=enNATO at 70 – cheating death, one threat at a time? By Wojciech Michnik. New Eastern Europe. 24 April 2019: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/04/24/nato-at-70-cheating-death-one-threat-at-a-time/Georgia’s long and uncertain road to NATO membership. By: Giorgi Goguadze. New Eastern Europe no. 5/2019: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/08/26/georgias-long-and-uncertain-road-to-nato-membership/*** Please SUPPORT the podcast – become a patron: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope Music featured in the podcast licensed under the Creative Commons license 3.0/4.0:Intro: Indie Rock by Scott Holmes: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/Road_Trip_Indie_Rock/Indie_Rock_1327- Chillin' With Jeris by copperhead. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/copperhead/35987 This episode is supported by funding from the Polish Embassy in Tbilisi in the framework of the NATO Contact Point Embassy (We thank them for their support!)

In this episode of Talk Eastern Europe, Adam interviews Emil Avdaliani, a Tbilisi-based expert and author with New Eastern Europe, on the role of geopolitics in the Black Sea region. They discuss Turkey-Russia relations, Chinese-American competition, the security risk of Iran’s proximity and Georgia’s place as an inter-connector for geopolitics. Follow Emil on Twitter: @emilavdaliani.Become a Patron! We need only 7 more patrons to reach our goal of 20 by January. Support us here: www.patreon.com/TalkEasternEurope Resources“A sea of insecurity” by Emil Avdalian. New Eastern Europe 5/2019: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/08/26/a-sea-of-insecurity/“China takes it all in the Black Sea region” by Michael Lambert. New Eastern Europe 19 February 2019: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/02/19/china-takes-it-all-in-the-black-sea-region/“Anaklia’s deep sea port – a new strategic pivot in Eurasia” by Beka Kiria. New Eastern Europe 12 June 2019: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/06/12/anaklias-deep-sea-port-a-new-strategic-pivot-in-eurasia/“Managed chaos: Russia’s deal with Turkey on northern Syria” by Gustav Gressel. European Council on Foreign Relations 3 November 2019. https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_managed_chaos_russias_deal_with_turkey_on_northern_syriaJoin us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/TalkEasternEurope Music featured in the podcast licensed under the Creative Commons license 3.0/4.0:Intro: Indie Rock by Scott Holmes: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/Road_Trip_Indie_Rock/Indie_Rock_1327Speaker Joy by Blue Dot Sessions - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/RadioPink/Speaker_JoyKirkus Interlude by Blue Dot Sessions - https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/Architect/Kirkus_Interlude

Welcome to Episode 26 of Talk Eastern Europe! This episode features an interview with Marta Ardashelia of Sova.News – a Russian language portal based in Georgia.Adam and Maciek introduce the episode with a brief roundup of some of the most important developments in the region, including a look at the Normandy Summit in France and recent developments in Belarusian-Russian integration. Maciek then interviews Marta (17.35) and they discuss the challenge of Russian disinformation in Georgia, the rise of anti-western narratives in Russian-language media and how to combat it with a project like Sova.News.Resources- Five things to know in order to not freak out over the upcoming Putin-Lukashenka meeting by Yahor Azarkevich (New Eastern Europe): https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/12/06/five-things-to-know-in-order-to-not-freak-out-over-the-upcoming-putin-lukashenka-meeting/- Is Zelenskyy’s peace with Russia worth the price of Ukraine’s capitulation? By Taras Kuzio (New Eastern Europe): https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/12/04/is-zelenskyys-peace-with-russia-worth-the-price-of-ukraines-capitulation/- Sova.News – a Russian-language portal based in Georgia: https://sova.news/Marta Ardashelia on Twitter: @Ardashelia (https://twitter.com/ardashelia)Music featured in the podcast licensed under the Creative Commons license 3.0/4.0:Intro: Indie Rock by Scott Holmes: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/Road_Trip_Indie_Rock/Indie_Rock_1327hot lite core by panu: http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/panumoon/59084

How does the situation of extremism look in Georgia and the South Caucasus? How can these countries deal with returning members of ISIS and the challenge of their re-integration? For this and much more, check out the latest episode of Talk Eastern Europe. In this episode, our co-hosts Adam and Maciek explore the current outlook for Georgia in the realm of security in the wider region of the South Caucasus which also touches the Middle East. They also discuss Georgia’s view of NATO ahead of the high-level NATO meeting in London in December 2019. The episode finishes with Maciek’s interview with Giorgi Goguadze, director at the Georgian Center for Strategy and Development in Tbilisi with a discussion on these issues as well as the situation with violent extremism in the country and region.While you are here – why not help us reach our goal of getting 7 new supporters by January 2020?! Click here to become a Patron: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope ResourcesGeorgia’s long and uncertain road to NATO membership by Giorgi Goguadze, New Eastern Europe issue 5/2019: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/08/26/georgias-long-and-uncertain-road-to-nato-membership/Georgia debates NATO membership excluding defence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, OC Media, https://oc-media.org/georgia-debates-nato-membership-excluding-defence-of-abkhazia-and-south-ossetia/US base in Georgia – A scarecrow in Russia’s backyard? By Beka Chedia, New Eastern Europe, 4 November 2019: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/11/04/us-base-in-georgia-a-scarecrow-in-russias-backyard/Music featured in the podcast licensed under the Creative Commons license 3.0/4.0:Intro: Indie Rock by Scott Holmes: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/Road_Trip_Indie_Rock/Indie_Rock_1327Around the Cliffs by Lobo Loco is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 License: https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/My_Yearnings/Arround_the_Cliffs_ID_1202This episode is supported by funding from the Polish Embassy in Tbilisi in the framework of the NATO Contact Point Embassy (We thank them for their support!)

This episode is a part of a special series on Georgia and Black Sea Security funded by the Polish Embassy in Tbilisi.In this episode Adam interviews Egor Kuroptev, head of the Free Russia Foundation’s Tbilisi office. They discuss issues on Georgian-Russian relations, the ongoing borderization of the so-called South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) territory and the current threat to Georgian security as a result of the frozen conflicts.Resources:Episode 17 – Zelenskyy wins big in Ukraine; Georgia protests against Russian influencehttps://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/07/29/talk-eastern-europe-episode-17-zelenskyy-wins-big-in-ukraine-georgia-protests-against-russian-influence/The dimensions of Georgia’s frozen conflicts by Nino Kukhianidze. https://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/08/26/the-dimensions-of-georgias-frozen-conflicts/Georgia’s separatist regions at a standstill by Agnieszka Tomczyk. https://neweasterneurope.eu/2018/04/26/georgias-separatist-regions-standstill/Music featured in the podcast licensed under the Creative Commons license 3.0/4.0:Intro: Indie Rock by Scott Holmes –http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/Road_Trip_Indie_Rock/Indie_Rock_1327Sometimes by Frequency Decree - https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Frequency_Decree/Dubbed/Sometimes_1733This episode is supported by funding from the Polish Embassy in Tbilisi in the framework of the NATO Contact Point Embassy

This episode features an interview with Francis Fukuyama, a professor at Stanford University and author of the recent book Identity: the demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment.Maciek and Adam open with a small birthday celebration and later discuss the background to the interview. In the interview, Maciek and Prof. Fukuyama discuss the history of identity politics, how it fits in today’s context and also look at the role it plays in Russia. The interview can also be read in the new latest issue of New Eastern Europe.Please support our podcast – Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeCheck out the latest issue of New Eastern Europe here: http://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/11/13/new-old-faces-a-true-makeover-or-cosmetic-change/Resources:“Identity politics is nothing new”, A conversation with Francis Fukuyama. New Eastern Europe issue 6/2019: http://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/11/13/identity-politics-is-nothing-new/ “The new identity politics. Rightwing populism and the demand for dignity”. Eurozine 18 April 2019. https://www.eurozine.com/new-identity-politics/Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment By: Francis Fukuyama https://amzn.to/350ikPC

This episode launches a special series on security, Georgia and the Black Sea region. The series is sponsored by the Polish Embassy in Tbilisi Georgia – the NATO contact point embassy for 2019/2020. In this first episode of the series, Adam catches up with Dominik Jankowski – a Brussels-based expert on security who gives an overview from the NATO perspective. Adam and Dominik discuss the Black Sea, Georgia’s co-operation with NATO, NATO response to the situation in Ukraine as well as relations with Russia.Support the podcast – Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeJoin us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/TalkEasternEurope Resources:New Eastern Europe Issue 5 2019: The Black Sea Region: A Geopolitical Trojan Horse? http://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/08/26/the-black-sea-region-a-geopolitical-trojan-horse/Adam on Twitter: https://twitter.com/areichardtMaciek on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MakulskiMaciejMusic featured in the podcast licensed under the Creative Commons license 3.0/4.0:Intro: Indie Rock by Scott Holmes –http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/Road_Trip_Indie_Rock/Indie_Rock_1327Siesta by Jahzzar https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Travellers_Guide/Siesta

This episode of Talk Eastern Europe takes a closer look at the current state of Russia-China relations. It features an interview with Marcin Kaczmarski from the University of Glasgow. Adam and Marcin examine how Russia-China relations have developed in the context of geopolitical changes and the wake of the 2014 annexation of Crimea and aggression in Donbas. They discuss such pertinent questions as: What are the aims of this co-operation? Where are the tensions? How do these relations fit in the current US-China trade conflict? And what might be next. Marcin Kaczmarski is a lecturer in security studies at the University of Glasgow and author of the book Russia-China Relations in the Post-Crisis International Order. Follow him on Twitter: @M_KaczmarskiSupport the podcast. Become a patron here: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope Join us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/groups/TalkEasternEurope Resources:Marcin Kaczmarski: The Moscow-Beijing Relationship: Increasingly Asymmetrical and Resilient - Australian Institute of International Affairs.Marcin Kaczmarski: The future of Russia-China relations – Atlantic Community.org“Russia is unprepared for the next world order” An interview with Bobo Lo. New Eastern EuropeMusic featured in the podcast licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.Intro: Indie Rock by Scott Holmes –http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/Road_Trip_Indie_Rock/Indie_Rock_1327Pacing by Chad Crouch - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chad_Crouch/Drifter/Pacing_1820

Talk Eastern Europe celebrates its 20th episode! In this episode Adam and Maciek take a look back at the last 19 episodes and then discuss how Ukraine has unexpectedly found itself in the center of the scandal with US President Donald Trump and how all of a sudden everyone is an expert on Ukraine. Later Adam interviews Andrew Wilson, a professor of Ukrainian studies at UCL in the United Kingdom and an expert with the European Council on Foreign Relations. In the interview Adam and Andrew first dissect recent developments in Belarus and its opening to the West. They later take on the current situation in Ukraine as Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just passed his 100 days as president. What’s ahead for these key countries of the region? Get Andrew Wilson’s take by listening to the latest Talk Eastern Europe.Support the Talk Eastern Europe – Become a Patron! Help us reach our goal of 13 until the end of this year – click here to be a supporter: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope Resources:Taras Kuzio: Latest Trump-Ukraine scandal reveals there is plenty of blame to go around, New Eastern Europe: http://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/09/26/latest-trump-ukraine-scandal-reveals-there-is-plenty-of-blame-to-go-around/Volodymyr Dubovyk: Ukraine still needs US, European support and the ongoing scandal must not undermine it, New Eastern Europe: http://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/09/29/ukraine-still-needs-us-european-support-and-the-ongoing-scandal-must-not-undermine-it/Andrew Wilson: Zelensky unchained: What Ukraine’s new political order means for its future, European Council on Foreign Relations: https://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/zelensky_unchained_what_ukraines_new_political_order_means_for_its_futureMusic featured in the podcast licensed under the Creative Commons license 3.0/4.0:Intro: Indie Rock by Scott Holmes –http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/Road_Trip_Indie_Rock/Indie_Rock_1327Mission Ready by Ketsa - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/Raising_Frequecy/Mission_Ready

This episode of the podcast gives a rundown of the current changes taking place in Moldova. After a political agreement between the Socialists and the pro-West ACUM broke an electoral status quo, the country has seemed to gain new momentum. However, are the new authorities going to be able to meet the high expectations the society and international partners have for them? To help answer this question, Maciek and Adam interview Gina Lentine, an expert from Freedom House who is a close observe of the region and of Moldova in particular.Please support the podcast – click here to be a TEE Patronhttps://www.patreon.com/talkeasterneuropeResourcesGina Lentine: “Moldova’s crisis offers chance to reform a captured state” Balkan Insight https://balkaninsight.com/2019/07/11/moldovas-crisis-offers-chance-to-reform-a-captured-state/Piotr Oleksy: “Political fiction: Moldova without geopolitics” New Eastern Europehttps://balkaninsight.com/2019/07/11/moldovas-crisis-offers-chance-to-reform-a-captured-state/Previous Episode on Moldova Episode 7: Moldova after electionshttp://neweasterneurope.eu/2019/03/08/talk-eastern-europe-episode-7-moldova-after-elections/>>>> JOIN OUR NEW FACEBOOK GROUP: www.facebook.com/groups/TalkEasternEurope Music featured in the podcast licensed under the Creative Commons license 3.0:Intro (and outro): Indie Rock by Scott Holmes –http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/Road_Trip_Indie_Rock/Indie_Rock_1327Funky Bits by Jeris (c) copyright 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/48708 Ft: Martijn de Boer (NiGiD) (NiGiD)