Sounds Strategic

Nicholas Crawford, Research Associate for Conflict, Security and Development, joins Dr Kori Schake for this episode of Sounds Strategic.Nicholas and Kori discuss China’s lending to African states, touching on the IMF’s recently approved bailout package for the Republic of Congo and its implications. With a research focus on conflict and development, Nicholas is perfectly placed to explore China’s actions across the developing world within the context of the Belt and Road Initiative. He debunks the idea that China engages in debt-trap diplomacy and deliberately lends money with the goal of trapping other countries, highlighting the economic and political risks that China faces in this situation. With debt levels rising in many countries across the world, Nicholas advocates for greater transparency from China in order to help provide more effective debt relief. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dana Allin, IISS Senior Fellow for US Foreign Policy and Transatlantic Affairs and Editor of Survival, talks with Dr Kori Schake in this episode of Sounds Strategic.With the resignation of the British Ambassador to the US Sir Kim Darroch weighing heavily on the conversation, Dana and Kori discuss the impact of the episode on the UK’s ‘special relationship’ with the US, and how this may change in the future with a post-Brexit ‘Global Britain’, potentially separate from the EU.Dana challenges the assumed direct link between a state’s willingness to use force and its international credibility. As Kori and he explore, this issue came into stark focus with the aborted US strikes against Iran in retaliation for the downing of an unmanned surveillance drone in June 2019.As both an academic and editor of the IISS journal, Survival, Dana also speaks on his other area of expertise, the Israel–US relationship. As a topic covered in his latest book, Our Separate Ways: The Struggle for the Future of the US–Israel Alliance, Dana explains how the agreement around the liberal values that formed a key element of this historic alliance may come under considerable stress in the future.This episode also features a discussion on the enduring importance and impact of John Hersey’s 1946 classic, Hiroshima.Favourite Data Visualisation:‘Top 15 defence budgets 2018’, in IISS Military Balance 2019, (London: Taylor & Francis, 2019), p. 21‘Top 15 defence budgets 2014’, in IISS Military Balance 2014, (London: Taylor & Francis, 2015), p. 21Reading Recommendations:John Hersey, Hiroshima (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc, 1946)Dana H. Allin and Steven Simon, Our Separate Ways: The Struggle for the Future of the US-Israel Alliance (New York: PublicAffairs, 2016)Date of recording: 11 July 2019Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Raine, IISS Senior Adviser for Geopolitical Due Diligence, speaks with Dr Kori Schake in this episode of Sounds Strategic.The dynamics underpinning the international order are in a time of flux. John and Kori discuss the shifting state of geopolitics, where economic interdependence both enables and restrains states and empowers companies to become globally influential.With a long and successful career in the UK Foreign Service, John is uniquely placed to understand and explain the historic shifts in global economic, political and military power that have been occurring over recent years. For John, economic power has taken on a new primacy in the modern age, with deeply interdependent countries competing at unprecedented levels within the economic system. The number and type of actors within this system have also multiplied, with John advocating a need for companies to develop their own foreign policies as their influence begins to surpass that of governments. The mass collection of data has played a crucial role in empowering corporations, and John and Kori discuss how this may affect our understanding of privacy and civil liberties. This is a truly engaging discussion on the future of geopolitics at a time of historic change.Date of recording: 4 July 2019Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ahead of the European Council meeting on 20–21 June, Sarah and Kori discuss what’s to come in the next few weeks. The outcomes of the negotiations taking place will have implications for the functioning of the Franco-German dynamics that are so critical for the European Union, Sarah explains. Looking at the world from a European security perspective, Sarah examines strategic competition in the Western Balkans, European strategic autonomy and the EU–UK relationship in the years ahead. Sarah and Kori discuss Sarah’s upcoming Adelphi book Europe’s Strategic Future – From Crisis to Coherence, as well as the enduring importance of the United Kingdom for the security of Europe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Sounds Strategic, Dr Kori Schake catches up with Aaron Connelly, IISS Research Fellow in Southeast Asian Political Change and Foreign Policy, at the 18th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue.With expertise in the US role in East Asia and the politics and foreign policy of Indonesia, Myanmar and Malaysia, Aaron is best placed to discuss the current developments following the recent elections in Indonesia and Thailand. Kori and Aaron discuss the US–China relationship after major speeches from Patrick Shanahan and General Wei Fenghe at the Dialogue, touching on economic powers and maritime disputes in the South China Sea. Aaron debunks the common portrayal of Aung San Suu Kyi as a powerless leader in Myanmar, emphasising her power to control situations in the country, from the Rohingya crisis to freedom of the press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special edition of Sounds Strategic, Dr Kori Schake is joined by a variety of guests at the 18th IISS Shangri-La Dialogue. Following major speeches by defence ministers from across the world, Kori and her guests discuss the key takeaways and provide thoughtful analysis from their areas of expertise. From Huawei to power politics, this episode covers the pressing strategic challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region today. Featured guests in order of appearance:Eric Sayers, Senior Adjunct Fellow for Defense, at the Center for a New American Security.Bonnie Glaser, Senior Advisor and Director of the China Power Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies.Chung Min Lee, Chairman of the Council, IISS; Senior Fellow, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.Hervé Lemahieu, Director, Asian Power and Diplomacy, Lowy Institute.Jamie Fly, Senior Fellow and Director, Future of Geopolitics, Asia Program, German Marshall Fund.Antoine Noguier, Head of Strategy, Airbus Defence and Space, Airbus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Mahsa Rouhi, Research Fellow for the Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Policy Programme, joins Dr Kori Schake for this episode of Sounds Strategic. Mahsa and Kori discuss Iran’s nuclear and foreign policy. Their dynamic discussion covers the current heightening of tensions with the US, revolutionary ideology, the strategic security decisions made since the revolution and the bottom-up approach taken to make these decisions.With a research focus on nuclear policy and security strategy in the Middle East, particularly Iran, Mahsa is perfectly placed to explore the country’s actions since the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and what they mean for the region. To avoid misinterpreting Iran’s politics, Mahsa reinforces the importance of analysing both Iran’s nuclear and regional policies against the wider background of its strategic objectives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Francesca Grandi, IISS Senior Fellow for Conflict, Security and Development and Editor of the Armed Conflict Survey 2019, joins Dr Kori Schake for this episode of Sounds Strategic.In this episode, Francesca and Kori discuss the great power dynamics currently unfolding in the Central African Republic with Russia’s growing presence and influence in the Middle East and Africa. Francesca explains Russia’s role in the conflict in CAR and the obstacles to the country’s stabilisation despite the signing of a peace agreement.Francesca expands on how aid is used as a weapon of war in today’s conflicts – a key topic featured in the 2019 edition of the Armed Conflict Survey. With a research focus in conflict analysis and post-conflict justice, she evaluates the norms and tools for the protection of civilians and debunks the concept of ethnic wars, which oversimplifies the multicausal dynamism of armed conflict. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Névine Schepers, IISS Research Associate for Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, joins Dr Kori Schake for this episode of Sounds Strategic. Névine and Kori discuss recent developments relating to the civil nuclear export market, highlighting how innovations in legal structures and instruments to safeguard against nuclear proliferation have advanced the cause of non-proliferation. Their lively discussion ranges from analysis of Saudi Arabia’s civil nuclear energy programme, Egypt’s nuclear deal with Russia, concerns about US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Iran nuclear deal, and nuclear energy trends in Russia. With a research focus on Iran and the geopolitics of nuclear energy, Névine examines concerns about Iran, the JCPOA and proliferation in the region. She asserts that the Trump administration’s current position on the Iran nuclear agreement is counter-productive. Névine and Kori also discuss whether Russia’s civil nuclear exports have clear geopolitical implications, and whether Russian exports might lead to weaker nuclear governance compliance. Favourite data visualisation: Time Zone Map: https://www.timeanddate.com/time/map/ Reading recommendations: Névine Schepers, ‘Russia’s Nuclear Energy Exports: Status, Prospects and Implications’, EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Papers, no. 69, pp. 1–15 (2019)Tom Zoellner, Uranium (London: Penguin Books, 2010) Date of recording: 24 April 2019 Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Henry Boyd, IISS Research Fellow for Defence and Military Analysis, joins Dr Kori Schake for this episode of Sounds Strategic. In this episode, Kori and Henry explore the military dimensions of the new great power competition emerging between a declining United States, a resurgent Russia and a rising China and their implications for international security and defence. They also discuss the impact Russian intervention in Syria has had on contemporary concepts of the legitimate use of force and the ethics of modern warfare. Henry goes on to explain why assessing the military capabilities of countries such as the United States and China requires more than a simple measure of their military hardware. Instead, additional factors must be considered, such as organisation, doctrine and training. Henry also talks about how he first became interested in the subject of defence and security, the virtues of wargaming, and the role human rationale and psychology plays in how we understand modern international affairs, war and policy. Favourite data visualisationRichard J. Heuer Jr, Psychology of Intelligence Analysis, ‘Chapter 12 - Biases in Estimating Probabilities, Figure 18’, CIA Measuring perceptions of Uncertainty | Visual Capitalisthttps://www.visualcapitalist.com/measuring-perceptions-of-uncertainty/ Reading recommendations:Professor Philip Sabin, Simulating War: Studying Conflict through Simulation Games, (London: Bloomsburg, 2014) Further work by the IISS Defence and Military Analysis ProgrammeBastian Giegerich, Christian Moelling et al, ‘Could the EU deliver on its military ambitions after Brexit?’, Military Balance blog, (London: IISS, 2018) IISS Defence and Military Analysis Programme, ‘The Military Balance 2019 wall chart’, The Military Balance 2019, (Abingdon: Routledge, 2019)Date of recording: 8 April 2019Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London.Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.