Independent Thinking

Democratic big hitters have coalesced around Kamala Harris as the Party’s new nominee, but what do we know about her world view, especially on Gaza, and the place of US leadership in the world?

Bronwen Maddox is joined by chief correspondent at the Washington Post, Dan Balz, political scientist Dan Drezner, and the Director of our US and Americas Programme, Leslie Vinjamuri, to discuss what a Trump-Harris race will look like, and how the winner might approach America’s global role.

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Kamala Harris would bring greater foreign policy experience than most new US presidents

Biden’s decision to withdraw is an act of true leadership. It is also his best chance at ensuring his legacy

Netanyahu’s speech sought bipartisan support by invoking the threat of Iran

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Ruth Gold.

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The Republican National Convention is underway in Wisconsin just days after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Bronwen Maddox is joined by journalists Edward Luce and David E Sanger to discuss the selection of J. D. Vance as Trump's running mate and what this means for America's future foreign policy. Joining them is Leslie Vinjamuri, the director of our US and Americas Programme.

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Three key issues require progress as the UK hosts European leaders for the EPC summit

The new government must work hard to restore the UK’s reputation as a champion of international law

The illusion of legitimacy: unveiling Syria’s sham elections

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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NATO’s Washington summit takes place amid growing uncertainty about US leadership, and some of Russia’s heaviest missile attacks on Ukraine since the start of the war. Bronwen Maddox is joined by two former US ambassadors to NATO, Kurt Volker and Ivo Daalder, to discuss the challenges facing the alliance. With them is The Telegraph’s Roland Oliphant and Chatham House’s Armida van Rij.

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As NATO leaders gather, Putin has been making peace proposals – why?

Orbán is using Hungary’s EU Council presidency to bulldoze EU norms

China’s third plenum marks a sea change in growth model

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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In this recording of a Chatham House event, Bronwen Maddox is joined by an expert panel on the morning of Labour’s landslide win in the UK general election. Will Hutton, Anne McElvoy, James Heappey and Olivia O’Sullivan discuss the Conservatives' collapse, the new prime minister and his likely cabinet, and what the result means for the UK and its place in the world. 

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Can Labour improve Britain’s place in the world?

South Africa’s foreign relations under a new government: consistent policy with a new style

The UK election debate has missed important conversations on defence

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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On 17 June China’s coastguard clashed violently with the Philippines near an isolated coral reef in the South China Sea. Tensions are running high between Beijing and Manila, a key US ally. Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippines Coast Guard, Collin Koh, Olivia Cheung, and Bill Hayton to discuss the dangers posed in one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.

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The next UK government must bridge the Indo-Pacific and Europe

Israel and Hezbollah are destroying the meaning of red lines

China blocks Philippines access to South China Sea reef

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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Joining Bronwen Maddox this week is Fareed Zakaria, the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN. Recorded at our 2024 London Conference, they discuss the consequences of the US stepping back from its alliances, and the international order that relies on them.

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Donald Tusk awarded 2024 Chatham House Prize

UK election manifestos make promises on security and foreign policy – but tough choices await a new government

The evidence suggests Putin is not grooming Alexei Dyumin as his successor

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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With Bronwen Maddox this week is Shaharzad Akbar, the former chair of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission and an Academy Associate at Chatham House. Joining them are Nilofar Sakhi, a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Centre and Heather Hurlburt, an Associate Fellow with our US and the Americas Programme. 

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What the US wants from the next UK government’s foreign policy

Advanced economies must urgently address their public debt overhangs

How will gains by the far right affect the European Parliament and EU?

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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With Bronwen Maddox this week is Suzanne Lynch, the Global Playbook author and Associate Editor at POLITICO Europe. Joining them are Armida van Rij, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Europe Programme at Chatham House, and journalist Sebastien Maillard, Associate Fellow of the Europe Programme.

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India’s shock election result is a loss for Modi but a win for democracy

After a landslide victory, global engagement is a necessity and an opportunity for Mexico’s next president

An ANC–DA alliance is the outcome investors want in South Africa. But the parties see risks in partnership

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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Bronwen Maddox is joined by Philippe Sands, a barrister specialising in international law and a Professor of the Public Understanding of Law at University College London. Joining them both are Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne, an Associate Professor in Law at the University of Bristol and Nomi Bar-Yacoov, an Associate Fellow of the International Security Programme at Chatham House and an international negotiator in the Middle East.

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The ICJ and ICC put Israel on notice but cannot stop the war

What are the first foreign affairs questions for the new government?

The ICC Prosecutor’s applications for arrest warrants explained

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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Rishi Sunak called a 4 July election saying the world is more dangerous than at any time since the end of the Cold War. Bronwen Maddox discusses those threats with Chatham House experts Olivia O’Sullivan, director of our UK in the World; David Lubin, our Michael Klein Senior Research Fellow in our Global Economy and Finance Programme; and Tim Eaton, senior research fellow in our Middle East and North Africa Programme.

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An election for ‘dangerous times’

Three foreign policy priorities for the next UK government

Is the Kremlin behind Georgia’s foreign agents law?

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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Bronwen Maddox is joined by Shashank Joshi, defence editor of The Economist and historian and commentator Helene von Bismarck to discuss what the next government must prioritize in the UK's foreign policy. With them is Olivia O’Sullivan, Director of our UK in the World programme and co-author of the report: Three foreign policy priorities for the next UK government. 

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UK parties are pitching a ‘pragmatic’ foreign policy, but can a new government make the necessary hard choices?

A Gaza ceasefire rests on preventing a full-scale Israeli offensive in Rafah

Russia is using the Soviet playbook in the Global South to challenge the West – and it is working

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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In this special episode, Bronwen Maddox interviews a key figure in US foreign policy to the Middle East for over a decade, Ambassador Dennis Ross.

Ambassador Ross engaged directly with both Israeli and Palestinian parties in peace negotiations under multiple US presidents, and was instrumental in brokering agreements between them, including the ‘Oslo II’ accord of 1995 and the 1997 Hebron Accord.

They discuss topics including the US-Israel relationship, what pressure President Biden can exert on Benjamin Netanyahu over a possible invasion of Rafah, global protests against Israeli action in Gaza and whether any hope remains for a deal to end the conflict.

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Xi Jinping hopes to improve EU–China relations – and drive a wedge between Europe and the US

Vietnam’s political turmoil reveals a turn towards China – and away from the West

The UK should not rule out sending troops to Ukraine – despite Putin’s nuclear threats

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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This week, Bronwen Maddox discusses whether we are seeing a resurgence of the threat posed by nuclear weapons, given recent events in the Middle East and rhetoric from world leaders.

She is joined by Robert E Kelly, Professor of Political Science at Pusan National University, Dr Hanna Notte, Director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and Dr Patricia Lewis, Director of the International Security Programme at Chatham House.

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The UK defence budget increase is welcome but defers tough choices | Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank

Confiscation of immobilized Russian state assets is moral and vital | Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank

Confiscating sanctioned Russian state assets should be the last resort | Chatham House – International Affairs Think Tank

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. 

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by journalist Oz Katerji and Phillips P. O’Brien, a Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St Andrews. Joining them both in the studio is Ukrainian journalist Olga Tokariuk, the OSUN Academy Fellow in the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House.

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The US aid package to Ukraine will help. But a better strategy is urgently needed

As yet another UN Libya envoy quits, his successor must be bolder

The Baltic Sea is far from a ‘NATO lake’ – the alliance must strengthen its defences

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Sanam Vakil, the director of our Middle East programme to discuss Iran's missile attack on Israel and the possible consequences across the region. Joining them both are Professor Yossi Mekelberg and Dr Elham Fakhro, Associate Fellows with our Middle East programme. 

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Iran-Israel exhanges are a test for China’s influence in the Gulf

Iran’s attack on Israel was not the failure many claim but it has ended Israel’s isolation

The strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria could be the spark that ignites the Middle East

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Mohammed al-Ta’ishi, a civilian member of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council - where he served as the chief negotiator and main architect of the Juba Peace Agreement. Joining them both are BBC journalist James Copnall and Rosalind Marsden, an Associate Fellow with our Africa programme and the former UK ambassador to Sudan.

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Sudan’s forgotten war: A new diplomatic push is needed

The ‘conflict economy’ of sesame in Ethiopia and Sudan

How Sudan’s forgotten war is being fought

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined by Soli Özel, a Professor of International Relations at Istanbul Kadir Has University, and Hürcan Aslı Aksoy, the Head of the Centre for Applied Turkey Studies at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. With them is Galip Dalay, a Senior Consulting Fellow with our Middle East and North Africa programme.

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Has David Cameron’s return revitalised UK policy in the Middle East?

Maduro is flouting his commitment to hold free elections in Venezuela. The US must respond – carefully

Securitizing the Ethiopia–Sudan border: How cross-border conflict is shaping trade and the control of land 

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Mujtaba Rahman, the Managing Director Europe of the Eurasia Group and Georgina Wright, a Senior Fellow with Institut Montaigne. Joining them all is journalist John Kampfner, the former head of Chatham House's UK in the World Programme.

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Is Moldova a new battleground in Russia’s war?

Has David Cameron’s return revitalised UK policy in the Middle East?

Britain must rearm to strengthen NATO and meet threats beyond Russia and terrorism

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined from Dakar, Senegal by Gilles Yabi, the founder and CEO of WATHI, the West Africa Citizen Think Tank and Idayat Hassan, a Senior Associate with CSIS. Joining them in the Chatham House studio is Paul Melly, a Consulting Fellow with our Africa Programme.

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Democracy in West Africa: Why Senegal’s election crisis matters

Sudan’s forgotten war: A new diplomatic push is needed

The UK should help coordinate support for Ukraine by backing EU defence initiatives

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is in Japan this week, and is joined from Taipei by journalist Bethany Allen to discuss China's National People's Congress and the political calculations of Beijing's neighbours. Joining them are Robert Ward from The International Institute for Strategic Studies and Dr Yu Jie – a Senior Fellow with our Asia-Pacific programme.

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Why Egypt’s improved economic outlook is mostly down to luck, not skill

This time Haiti really is on the brink. The US and UN must act to restore order

The EU’s new AI Act could have global impact

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Guest host Leslie Vinjamuri is joined on the podcast this week by Ben Smith, the Editor-in-Chief of Semafor News and Professor Jennifer M Lind – an Associate Fellow with our US and Americas programme.

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How foreign policy might impact the outcome of the US election

This time Haiti really is on the brink. The US and UN must act to restore order

How geopolitical competition in the Black Sea is redefining regional order

Presented by Leslie Vinjamuri. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined on the podcast this week by Gregg Carlstrom, the Middle East correspondent for The Economist, Siavash Ardalan from BBC Persia and Dr Sanam Vakil – the Director of our Middle East and North Africa programme.

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The Gaza war is testing Hezbollah’s strategic capability

Sweden brings benefits for NATO but accession delay raises difficult questions

Watch the keynote address by Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Bill Browder – who for years has worked as a human rights and anti-corruption campaigner against the Putin regime. Alongside him is Nikolai Petrov, a Consulting Fellow with our Russia and Eurasia programme and Yulia Mineeva, an Academy Fellow with Chatham House, who was previously Head of News for Novaya Gazeta, the main independent newspaper in Russia.

Read our latest:

Alexei Navalny’s most powerful legacy is urging Russians to imagine their country without Putin

China’s ‘renminbi trap’: The economy needs a weaker currency, but Beijing is unable to act

Ukraine means enlargement is again the EU’s priority – but not for the reasons it claims

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week from Jakarta by Professor Burhanuddin Muhtadi, executive director of the Indonesian polling organization Indikator Politik Indonesia, and Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a former advisor to Indonesia’s Vice President and chair of Indonesian think tank, The Habibie Center. Joining them all is Ben Bland, the director of our Asia-Pacific program at Chatham House.

Read our latest:

‘Continuity’ Prabowo means change for Indonesia

Indonesia’s Democracy Is Stronger Than a Strongman (Foreign Affairs)

Indonesia’s elections: new president, new parliament, same old politics?

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Ciaran Martin, the former Chief Executive of the National Cyber Security Centre; Nnenna Ifeanyi-Ajufo, Vice Chair of the African Union’s Cyber Security Experts Group; Amy Hogan-Burney, General Manager of Cyber Security Policy at Microsoft and Joyce Hakmeh, the Deputy Director of our International Security Programme.

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Yes, China pressured Iran on Red Sea attacks – but only to protect its own ships

A long war works against Ukraine – and the West’s own security

Pakistan must ensure free and fair elections to avert a meltdown

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Alex Moyler.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Madiha Afzal, an author and Research Fellow at Brookings in Washington DC. Joining them are Dr Farzana Shaikh, an Associate Fellow with our Asia-Pacific Programme and Dr Chietigj Bajpaee, our Senior Research Fellow for South Asia.

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Pakistan must ensure free and fair elections to avert a meltdown

February/March issue of The World Today

Russia’s withdrawal from its border agreement with Finland is an expansion of its hybrid warfare on the EU

The world is already in Trump-induced chaos. Prepare for things to get worse

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Alex Moyler.

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Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by journalist Olga Tokariuk, an Academy Fellow in our Ukraine Forum, and Natalie Sabanadze, a Senior Research Fellow in our Russia and Eurasia Programme to discuss Viktor Orbán and Ukraine.

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The Director’s Annual Lecture 2024

Orban’s Ukraine gamble is a blow to the EU’s geopolitical ambitions

Are we heading for World War Three – and is Britain’s military ready?

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Roxanne Escobales, Editor of The World Today, is joined this week by Tom Sharpe, a former commander in the Royal Navy and defence columnist with The Telegraph. Joining them are Dr Sanam Vakil, the Director of our Middle East and North Africa programme, and Farea Al-Muslimi, a Research Fellow with Chatham House and Yemen specialist.

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The Director’s Annual Lecture 2024

The Houthis won’t back down after strikes on Yemen

When Netanyahu falls, Israel’s democracy will need new political realignments

Read the latest edition of The World Today here.

Presented by Roxanne Escobales. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Alex Moyler.

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by journalist Jojje Olsson and Dr Chun-Yi Lee from the University of Nottingham's Taiwan Research Hub to discuss Taiwan's presidential election. Joining them in the studio is Ben Bland, Director of our Asia-Pacific programme.

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Taiwan elections offer no clear answers to China challenge

The horrors of Ecuador are not just Ecuador’s

The Director’s Annual Lecture 2024

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator for the Financial Times to discuss the elections and geopolitical flashpoints in 2024. Joining them in the studio are Leslie Vinjamuri, Ben Bland and Armida van Rij.

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The Director’s Annual Lecture 2024

Collapsing foreign direct investment might not be all bad for China’s economy

The hidden scale of laboratory accidents: The need for transparency and engagement

COP28: What was achieved, and what needs to happen now

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

At the Doha Conference, Bronwen Maddox speaks with Dr Majed Al Ansari, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr Al Ansari shares the Qatari perspective on the war between Hamas and Israel and the role the country has played as a key interlocutor.

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What does Turkey’s policy on the Gaza war mean for the region?

Why the time is now for a Palestinian national unity government

The UK’s Safety of Rwanda Bill is a reminder that democracies are not immune from attacks on the rule of law

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by writer and academic Nishtha Gautam to discuss what India's state elections mean ahead of the 2024 general election. Joining them in the studio are Professor Louise Tillin  from Kings College London and Senior Research Fellow Chietigj Bajpaee from our Asia-Pacific programme.

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Reducing nuclear weapons risk

Maduro hoped to mobilize Venezuelans around an old grievance in Guyana. He seems to have failed

Why the time is now for a Palestinian national unity government

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by writer and academic Nishtha Gautam to discuss what India's state elections mean ahead of the 2024 general election. Joining them in the studio are Professor Louise Tillin  from Kings College London and Senior Research Fellow Chietigj Bajpaee from our Asia-Pacific programme.

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Reducing nuclear weapons risk

Maduro hoped to mobilize Venezuelans around an old grievance in Guyana. He seems to have failed

Why the time is now for a Palestinian national unity government

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Ana Yang, Bernice Lee and Ruth Townend from our Environment and Society Centre to discuss the COP28 summit in the United Arab Emirates.

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What is COP28 and why is it important?

What COP28 needs to address to avoid climate disaster

The emerging global crisis of land use

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Professor Kerry Brown and journalist Latika Bourke to discuss China's economic slowdown, amid signs of a more assertive foreign policy in Asia.

Joining them is economist David Lubin, an Associate Fellow with our Global Economy and Finance program.

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China's new scientists

Is China building a military base in Cambodia?

China–US talks offer optimism at bleak time for arms control

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by journalist Jon Sopel, the host of the News Agents podcast, to discuss the 2024 US presidential election.

Joining them are Dr Leslie Vinjamuri, Director of our US and Americas programme and Laura Rozen, a journalist formerly with Politico and Foreign Policy magazine.

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US foreign policy in a critical year ahead

Biden–Xi meeting: A must-win in high stakes diplomacy

The Supreme Court’s decision requires fresh thinking – not emergency legislation

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Shashank Joshi, the Defence Editor at The Economist, to discuss Iran's role in the Hamas-Israel War.

Joining them are our experts, Dr Sanam Vakil, Director of our Middle East and North Africa programme and Dr Renad Mansour, a Senior Research Fellow with the MENA programme.

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The war in Gaza is aligning Russia against Israel

Netanyahu’s premiership will not outlast the war with Hamas

Iraq shows a political settlement without accountability cannot deliver peace

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Roxanne Escobales is joined by Lucy Fisher, the FT's Whitehall Editor and host of the Political Fix podcast, to discuss Rishi Sunak's AI summit.

Joining them are our experts Olivia O’Sullivan and Alex Krasodomski from our UK in the World and Digital Society initiatives.

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Keir Starmer's speech at Chatham House

The UK AI summit can succeed by generating momentum for effective governance

Balancing China’s role in the UK’s AI agenda

Presented by Roxanne Escobales. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Roxanne Escobales speaks with experts from our US and Americas programme, Dr Christopher Sabatini and Vanessa Rubio-Márquez, about Argentina's on-going election.

Joining them from Buenos Aires are journalist Natalia Gherardi who is covering Argentina's election up-close.

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If Milei meets Massa in a second round, all bets are off for Argentina’s election

Latin America’s anti-femicide crusades need help

Mexico: The election race to succeed AMLO has started

Presented by Roxanne Escobales. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Bronwen Maddox speaks with New York Times journalist Steven Erlanger about President Biden's trip to Israel and the prospects of an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza.

Joining them are Sam Rose from UNRWA and   Dr Elham Fakhro from our Middle East and North Africa programme.

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President Biden’s Middle East visit reveals the challenges for US diplomacy

Israel has the capacity to significantly damage Hamas with a ground offensive

 MENA countries should lead the way de-escalating the Israel–Hamas war

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Bronwen Maddox speaks with Reuters journalist Steve Farrell about the attacks by Hamas on Israel and the Israeli military response now underway in Gaza.

Joining them also are Professor Yossi Mekelberg and Dr Elham Fakhor from our Middle East and North Africa programme.

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Why has Hamas taken hostages?

MENA countries should lead the way de-escalating the Israel–Hamas war

The Israel–Hamas war and its fallout

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Bronwen Maddox speaks with Rory Stewart about the state of British politics in a world of populist leaders. Journalist Robert Peston meanwhile joins us from the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.

Later in the show, Roxanne Escobales and Olivia O'Sullivan discuss whether Rory Stewart is right about the state of Britain, and whether his time in government was a success or failure.

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In conversation with The Rt Hon Rory Stewart

President Biden should not rush a deal on Israel–Saudi normalization

The future of the Republican Party

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

Bronwen Maddox speaks with Ambassador Roya Rahmani, Shaharzad Akbar and Tobias Ellwood MP about the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and whether the West should engage with the Taliban.

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Seizing MENA’s moment

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Alex Moyler.

World leaders met in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). All the P5 leaders bar America's Joe Biden stayed away however. Is the UN losing its relevance in international affairs?

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the show this week are Mark Malloch-Brown, former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Roger Boyes, Diplomatic Editor for The Times, and Leslie Vinjamuri, the Director of the US and Americas programme.

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Rishi Sunak’s speech will make the UK harder to take seriously at COP28

If the SDGs are to survive, multilateral development banks must embrace reform

Western policy towards Iran lacks both goals and goalposts

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Alex Moyler.

G20 leaders met in New Delhi this week to discuss economic cooperation. Underlying the summit however were wider international tensions and a sense of India on the rise. 

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the show this week are Samir Puri, a visiting lecturer in War Studies at King’s College London, Chietigj Bajpaee, the new South Asia fellow at Chatham House, and Leslie Vinjamuri, the director of the US and Americas programme.

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US–India ties deepened at the G20. But domestic politics could pull the countries in different directions

The G20 lives on, but mistrust between the West and China hampers progress

The G20 showcases India’s growing power. It could also expose the limits of its foreign policy

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Alex Moyler.

September 16 marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman killed in police custody. Since her death Iran has been rocked by a year of protests in which over 500 people, many of them women, have been killed. 

Joining Bronwen Maddox in the studio this week are former BBC journalist Rana Rahimpour, Dr Sanam Vakil, the Director of our Middle East and North Africa programme and journalist Michael Goldfarb.

Read our expertise:

Making climate an election issue risks undermining the UK’s international role

The G20 showcases India’s growing power

Whether 1.5°C is ‘alive’ or ‘dead’, a new climate plan will be required

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Alex Moyler.

Independent Thinking is back after a short summer break for the start of Season 2 of the podcast. This week, for our first episode, we’re returning to the much-discussed topic of Ukraine’s counter-offensive.

Since June, the Ukrainian armed forces have been fighting hard to breach the defensive lines established by the Russian army in the east and south, the so-called ‘Surovkin Line’. Joining Bronwen Maddox on the show this week are Christopher Miller, the Ukraine correspondent for the FT and the author of the book ‘The War Came to Us: Life and Death in Ukraine’ and Ulrike Franke, a Senior Fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations. Joining them in the studio here in London are James Nixey and Orysia Lutsevych, the director and deputy director respectively of our Russia and Eurasia programme.

Read our expertise:

US allies need to wake up to the Trump question

Pushing Ukraine to negotiate now would be disastrous

How to end Russia’s war on Ukraine

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Alex Moyler and Abdul Boudaif.

In the final episode of our first season, we return to the topic we started Season 1 of the podcast with: China and how Beijing sees the world post-February 2022. Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Western capitals, especially Washington and London, have been watching ties between Russia and China closely, attempting to decipher any signs of disagreement or even disapproval between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. 

We discuss how China views the invasion of Ukraine, the ties between China and Russia and above all how both countries view the EU, NATO, and the transatlantic alliance. 

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the show this week is Yu Jie, a Senior Research Fellow with our Asia-Pacific programme; Samuel Ramani, a tutor of international relations at the University of Oxford and author of the book Putin’s War on Ukraine and Marcin Kaczmarski, a Lecturer in Security Studies at the University of Glasgow.

Read our expertise:

China’s new scientists

How to end Russia’s war on Ukraine

Ukraine is disappointed after the NATO summit – but not discouraged

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty and Abdul Boudaif.

On the show this week we discuss artificial intelligence, the hopes, and opportunities the technology may bring, as well as the challenges and even the risks it presents to governments and above all democracy.

This week the United Nations Security Council, operating under the UK presidency, met for the first time to discuss the issue of AI, with UN officials and diplomats alike urging the world to take the emergence of this new technology seriously. Meanwhile in the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is preparing to host the first global summit on artificial intelligence in the autumn. 

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the show to help us understand the enormous implications of this subject are Dr Talita Dias, a Senior Research Fellow with our International Law Programme; Alex Krasadomski, a Senior Research Associate with our Digital Society Initiative; Dr Milly Zimeta, until very recently with the Open Data Institute and writer and journalist Carl Miller.

Read our expertise:

Why are we building AI?

Artificial intelligence: hear from the experts

The nuclear governance model won’t work for AI 

Global AI governance: What is the UK’s role?

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

On the podcast this week we discuss the fallout from the NATO Summit in Vilnius. Turkey cleared the way for Sweden to join the alliance this week, and across Vilnius there were signs aplenty calling for F-16s for Ukraine, and of course, NATO membership. We discuss what was agreed at the summit, what was deferred and what the NATO joint communique means for President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people.

Also, on the show this week we discuss the European Union and its relations with countries eager to join, such as Ukraine and Turkey and one that’s just left, namely the UK. Faced with the prospect of EU enlargement for the first time in over a decade, will Brussels and EU capitals be able to handle all the newcomers

Joining Bronwen Maddox to help answer all these questions are Roland Oliphant, the Telegraph’s senior foreign correspondent, Mariia Zolkina, the DINAM Fellow at the London School of Economics and Galip Dalay, an Associate Fellow with our Middle East and North Africa programme. 

Read our expertise:

How to end Russia’s war on Ukraine

Ukraine is disappointed after the NATO summit – but not discouraged

Divisions remain, but NATO is expanding. This will not sit comfortably in Moscow

 Preparing NATO for climate-related security challenges

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty and Abdul Boudiaf.

On the show this week, we ask how long Russia’s Vladimir Putin can survive. Two weeks on from the mutiny by the Wagner Group and Yevgeny Prigozhin’s challenge to his rule, we’ve seen a flurry of activity by the Russian leader to reassert his authority in Moscow. Russian history however is replete with leaders who appear unassailable, right up until the point they’re not. We discuss whether Putin’s grip is weakening, and how might Western governments react if he falls.

Also, on the show this week we look ahead, once more, to the NATO Summit in Vilnius next week. As we discussed at our London Conference special, multilateralism is being challenged everywhere and the NATO alliance is no exception. With Turkey showing no signs of budging on Sweden’s membership, Ukraine not likely to be offered membership anytime soon, and infighting over who the next Secretary General might be, can the alliance rally next week?

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the podcast this week is Tobias Ellwood MP is the chair of the UK Parliament’s Defence Select Committee; Polina Ivanova, a foreign correspondent for the Financial Times covering Russia, Ukraine, and Central Asia and Mark Temnycky, a Ukrainian journalist and Associate Fellow with the Atlantic Council. 

Read our expertise:

How to end Russia’s war on Ukraine

Putin has limited options after the Prigozhin mutiny

Preparing NATO for climate-related security challenges

Fate of vulnerable minority looms over Armenia-Azerbaijan peace

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Robin Gardner and Abdul Boudiaf.

We are live this week from our London Conference, where we discuss the war in Ukraine, the recent events in Russia with the mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group and the weakening of Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.

And then later in the show, we look at the increasing tensions within the international system and discuss how the UK as a ‘middle power’ can manage these tensions with an increasingly fragile economy and Brexit.

And finally on the podcast, we announce this year’s Chatham House prize winner.

The prize is an annual honor awarded to the person, persons, or organization deemed to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year.

The Chatham House Prize is voted for by Chatham House members following nominations from the institute’s staff.

The winner this year, is President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the podcast this week is Garry Kasparov, a world-renowned Russian chess grandmaster, turned ardent critic of Vladimir Putin; Jonathan Powell, the former chief of staff for Tony Blair; Martin Wolf, the chief economics commentator at the Financial Times and Orysia Lutsevych, the head of our Ukraine Forum here at Chatham House.

Read our expertise:

UK foreign secretary James Cleverly calls for reform of UN Security Council

How to end Russia’s war on Ukraine

Global AI governance: What is the UK’s role?

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Matthew Docherty.

On the podcast this week we look at the UK’s role in the defence of the Nordic region. Since the annexation of Crimea, the UK has taken a keen interest in the Nordic and Baltic regions, with the formation of the Joint Expeditionary Force. With Kyiv’s counter-offensive now underway, we look at how Europe’s security is being reshaped by events in Ukraine, what London and the JEF states are looking to achieve by operating more closely in the north, and the balance of forces between NATO and Russia in the Baltic now Finland is a NATO member.

Also, this week, we look ahead to the NATO summit in Vilnius next month. With Finland now an alliance member, but Sweden still outside, are alliance politics (with Turkey and Hungary) leaving NATO's northern flank vulnerable. What role are key alliance members like France and the UK playing ahead of Vilnius, and in the face of intense fighting in the east, what kind of plan might the alliance offer Ukraine?

Joining Roxanne Escobales on the show this week are Olivia O’Sullivan, Director of our UK in the World program, Alice Billon-Galland, a Research Fellow with Chatham House’s Europe program and from Helsinki Matti Pesu, a Researcher with the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

Read our expertise:

Why the UK must deliver on Nordic-Baltic security

Macron’s summit needs to bolster anti-corruption efforts in climate finance

The Illegal Migration Bill matters beyond UK borders

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Alex Moyler.

On the podcast this week, we look at the growing tensions between India and China. This week marks three years since Indian and Chinese troops were killed fighting each other in the Himalayas along the contested border. Since then, ties between Beijing and New Delhi have gone from bad to worse. This week, India's last remaining journalist in China was asked to leave. A stark sign of the increasingly cold ties between the two countries. We discuss the current state of India’s relations with China and how concerned the world should be.

Also on the show, we take a wider look at India’s foreign policy ambitions and the challenges it faces as it attempts to become a global power, amid a turbulent neighbourhood in South Asia and beyond. We look at India’s relations with its key neighbours in South Asia, the security challenges it faces, notably the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, as well as New Delhi’s growing ties with the Quad nations, Japan, Australia, and the United States. Will the 21st Century be an ‘Indian Century’ after all?

Joining Bronwen Maddox this week are Dr Avinash Paliwal from University London SOAS; from New Delhi Dr Raji Pillai,the Director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and from Nepal journalist Amish Raj Mulmi, author of the book All Roads Lead North.

Read our expertise:

Are China and India bound for another deadly border clash?

The Illegal Migration Bill matters beyond UK borders

Here are five difficult issues for the NATO summit

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Matthew Docherty.

On the podcast this week, we look at the Wagner Group, the shadowy paramilitary organisation, and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wagner has been active on the ground and involved in some of the conflict’s fiercest battles, notably around Bakhmut. We discuss the group’s relationship with the Russian armed forces, its ties with the Kremlin and the increasingly tense relationship Prigozhin seems to have with senior Russian leaders.

Also on the show we discuss the latest developments from the frontline in Ukraine. With Kyiv’s counter-offensive seemingly imminent, the world woke up to news this week that the Nova Kakhovka dam along the Dnipro River had been destroyed by Russia. We discuss the impact of this ecological disaster on Ukraine, as well as the recent fighting in Belgorod, the drone attacks in Moscow and whether these are all key signs that Kyiv may be about to go on the offensive.

Joining guest host James Nixey on the show this week to discuss all these topics are Patricia Lewis is the Director of our International Security programme; journalist Samantha de Bendern, an Associated Fellow with our Russia and Eurasia programme and Ed Arnold, a Research Fellow for European Security from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

Read our expertise:

Imagining Russia’s future after Putin

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Alex Moyler.

On the podcast this week we look at the outcome of the final round of Turkey’s presidential election. Despite the polls showing him behind, and amid a devastating earthquake and an economy in crisis, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been re-elected as Turkey’s president, winning by 52 per cent of the vote.

In the last episode we covered what Erdoğan’s re-election might mean for Turkey’s fragile democracy and economy, this week we discuss what five more years of Erdoğan’s foreign policy means for Ankara and for its relations with critical players like the US, NATO and Russia.

Joining Leslie Vinjamuri on the show to discuss where Turkey may be heading are Galip Dalay, an Associate Fellow Middle East and North Africa programme, Sinem Adar, an Associate Researcher for the German Institute for International and Security Affairs and finally Dimitar Bechev, from the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies.

Read our expertise:

Turkey’s politics on the cusp of generational change

 Turkey’s next leader may be pro-West but not anti-Russia

Turkey at a crossroads

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Alex Moyler.

This week on the podcast we discuss Syria and the regime of Bashar al-Assad. For over a decade, the regime in Damascus has been an international pariah, amid a brutal campaign of terror by the Syrian armed forces against its people. The geopolitical sands however are shifting, with signs that regimes across the Middle East are prepared to talk with Assad once more. We look at what this means for the region, the implications for the alliance between Iran and Syria, and whether justice for the Assad regime’s victims is now lost to realpolitik diplomacy. 

We also look this week at the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia. This week Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a rallying call for Ukraine at the summit, in a part of the world where views of the war differ greatly from those here in Europe. We ask what Zelenskyy was trying to achieve, not least by meeting Mohammed Bin Salman, what influence Russia has in the region and how is the war perceived by the people of the Middle East more widely.

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the show this week s Dr Sanam Vakil, the new Director of our Middle East and North Africa programme. Dr Haid Haid, a Consulting Fellow with our MENA programme, and Professor Christopher Phillips from Queen Mary University London, and the author of the book The Battle for Syria.

Read our expertise:

The end of the Arab Spring and there is a price to pay

Turkey’s politics on the cusp of generational change

War in Sudan: Perspectives and prospects for resolution

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Robin Gardner and Alex Moyler.

This week on podcast we look at the fallout from the first round of Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections. President Erdogan is just a hair's breadth away from securing the 50% of the vote needed to become president. With Turkey set to enter a presidential run-off on 28 May we ask what this means for Turkey’s fragile democracy? Has the opposition under Kilicdaroglu lost momentum? And what impact did issues such as identity politics, the economy, foreign policy, and the devastating earthquakes play in the election? 

We also look more broadly to what the result means for Turkey’s place in the world. With Turkey potentially about to enter a third decade of rule under Erdogan, where will this place Ankara’s ties with Russia, Europe, and the United States? What does this mean for Sweden’s entry into NATO? And what does the election result mean for the future of Turkey’s fragile economy?

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the show this week is Galip Dalay is an Associate Fellow with our MENA programme; Timothy Ash an Associate Fellow with our Russia, and Eurasia programme; Evren Balta, a Professor of International Relations at Özyeğin University and journalist Guney Yildiz, formerly with the BBC, but now with Cambridge University. 

Read our expertise:

Turkey’s next leader may be pro-West but not anti-Russia

Turkey elections: High stakes for democracy

Turkey at a crossroads

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Alex Moyler.

This week on the podcast we look at the announcement by Vladimir Putin to move Russian nuclear weapons into Belarus and equip Belarusian forces with dual-use equipment and technology. We discuss what the security implications are of this decision, how it fits into Russia’s wider nuclear doctrine and how concerned we should be?

We also dive into the internal dynamics of Belarus. It’s been three years since the 2020 presidential election. An election Aliaksandr Lukashenka was widely seen to have lost, sparking widespread pro-democracy protests. Since then, however, Lukashenka has crushed the opposition in Belarus, kidnapped journalists and been drawn into Russia’s invasion against Ukraine. Our experts discuss the sentiment in Belarus via polling data commissioned by Chatham House and ask how the West should engage with Europe’s last dictatorship?

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the show this week are colleagues from our Russia and Eurasia Program. Keir Giles is a Senior Consulting Fellow with REP and the author of a recent Chatham House report on Russia’s nuclear doctrine; Ryhor Astapenia, is the Director of our Belarus Initiative and joining them is journalist and Associate Fellow  Samantha de Bendern.

Read our expertise:

Russian nuclear intimidation

Rethinking Western policy towards Belarus

Turkey’s next leader may be pro-West but not anti-Russia

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Robin Gardner.

This week on the show we look at Japan, and the historic changes underway in its foreign and security policy. In March, prime minister Fumio Kishida visited Kyiv, marking the first time a Japanese leader has visited an active war zone since WWII. This comes amid successive changes to how Japan approaches national security concerns. We ask whether Tokyo is moving away from its pacifist constitution? What role has the rise of China and the invasion of Ukraine played? And is this the culmination of former prime minister Abe Shinzo’s vision of Japan as a ‘normal country’?

We look more widely to Tokyo’s tumultuous relations with its neighbours, not just with China but also importantly South Korea. With Fumio Kishida expected to visit Seoul in the next few days, we look at why two democracies, both of which are US allies, find themselves continually at odds.

Joining Bronwen Maddox in the studio this week is Robert Ward, the Japan Chair and Senior Fellow with the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), from Tokyo, Valerie Niquet, a Senior Research Fellow with Foundation for Strategic Research, and finally, from Singapore, Professor Alessio Patalano, an expert on East Asia and academic with King’s College London’s War Studies department.

Read our expertise:

Crumbling nuclear order needs leadership and commitment

Cleverly’s calculation makes ambivalence a clear policy

Turkey at a crossroads

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Matthew Docherty.

This week on the podcast we look at the crisis overtaking Sudan. Since fighting broke out in Khartoum twelve days ago, the country appears to be descending into outright civil war, with intense fighting between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces. We discuss how Sudan’s military bifurcated into two opposing camps, who leads and supports the two factions, and what if anything can be done to stem the fighting now underway. 

We also look more widely to the Horn of Africa and what the crisis in Sudan means for a region already wracked by conflicts in Ethiopia, Somalia and beyond. With international forces evacuating Sudan and US-backed ceasefires failing, could Sudan destabilise the Horn, and plunge Ethiopia, Eritrea, and South Sudan back into instability?

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the show this week is Rosalind Marsden, the former EU Special Representative for Sudan, as well as the former British ambassador and now an Associate Fellow with our Africa programme; Justin Lynch, a researcher who has written extensively on Sudan for Foreign Policy magazine, as well as more recently for CNN, and finally, joining them from Khartoum is Professor Mohamed Hassan Al Taishi, previously a member of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council.

Read our expertise:

Cleverly’s calculation makes ambivalence a clear policy

Resolving Sudan’s crisis means removing those fighting

Coordinating international responses to Ethiopia–Sudan tensions

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Matthew Docherty.

This week on the podcast we focus on France and the domestic and foreign policy travails of the fifth republic and its president, Emmanuel Macron. At home, President Macron faces a wave of popular discontent, amid his plans to raise France’s pension age. We discuss how Macron’s decision to bypass the French parliament has impacted his ability to govern, as well as look at his wider standing within the country. Has this opened the door for the far-right in the next presidential election, and can France be governed?

We also look to the Indo-Pacific and discuss the reverberations of Marcon’s recent visit to China with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. We discuss the comments he made around the question of Taiwan, and what he was trying to achieve by saying them. The panel also discuss the widespread criticism Macron received and what they say about France’s wider foreign policy.

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the podcast this week are Simon Kuper, a writer and journalist with the Financial Times; Georgina Wright, formerly of Chatham House, but now the Director of the Europe program at the Institute Montaigne, and Antoine Bondaz, the Director of the Korea, and Taiwan programs at the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique.

Read our expertise:

Finland brings great value to NATO's future deterrence

Will reconciliation across the Middle East bring lasting change?

A critical juncture for Sudan’s democratic transition

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Matthew Docherty.

This week on the podcast we look at the latest developments relating to Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO. This week the Hungarian parliament finally ratified Finland’s membership to the alliance, two weeks after President Erdogan in Turkey gave his seal of approval following a meeting with the Finnish president. Sweden however remains trapped in limbo, with both Turkey and Hungary delaying Stockholm’s membership and Erdogan in particular asking for more concessions. We discuss why Turkey and Hungary took issue with Sweden and Finland, what the strategic situation in the Baltic looks like now with only Finland in NATO, and the challenges facing Sweden amid fraught ties with President Erdogan?

We also look ahead to Turkey’s presidential election in May. Recent opinion polls point to a neck-and-neck race with some polls even showing President Erdogan falling behind the opposition. Turkish voters cast their votes on 14 May, so we discuss what the sentiment is like in Turkey ahead of the election, and how will the world respond to a potential change of power in Ankara for the first time in 20 years?

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the podcast his week is Henri Vanhanen, a Research Fellow with Finnish Institute of International Affairs and Galip Dalay, an Associate Fellow with our Middle East and North Africa Programme.

Read our expertise:

Russian nuclear intimidation

The Abraham Accords and Israel–UAE normalization

Russia’s aggression and a crisis for multilateralism

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Alex Moyler

This week on the podcast we mark twenty years since the start of the invasion of Iraq led by the US. Launched amid fears that Saddam Hussein was acquiring weapons of mass destruction, the war changed the Middle East and inflicted huge damage on Iraq and many civilian casualties, with effects that persist today. We discuss the invasion with those who were in power here in London when the decision was made to commit UK forces to the invasion, and with those in Iraq who lived with the consequences.   

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the podcast is Clare Short, the former Secretary of State for International Development, who served in Tony Blair’s cabinet and resigned after the invasion began, becoming one of the best-known critics of Prime Minister Blair’s approach to the war. Joining her is Dr Patricia Lewis, the Director of our International Security programm; Dr Lina Khatib, the Director of our Middle East, and North Africa Programme; Dr Renad Mansour is a Senior Research Fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme and the Project Director of our Iraq Initiative and Hayder Al-Shakeri, a Research Associate with the MENAP programme. 

Read our expertise:

From Iraq to Ukraine: What did governments learn?

Iraq 20 years on: Insider reflections on the war and its aftermath

What two decades of Iraqi struggles can teach us about modern conflict

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Matthew Docherty.

This week on the podcast we discuss AUKUS and the UK’s Integrated Review Refresh. The UK and Australia will soon be building nuclear submarines together, but is the UK’s tilt to the Indo-Pacific sustainable? Likewise two years on from the last IR, has the UK finally clarified its foreign policy priorities, on Russia, China and on defence? And importantly does it have the money to do any of it?

Also, on the show this week, we discuss Georgia and the recent anti-government protests in Tbilisi. Following the Rose revolution in 2003, Georgia was seen to be on a path towards closer ties with NATO and the EU. In the last few years however, the country’s government has increasingly tilted towards Russia and Vladimir Putin. What is the state of Georgia’s democracy and where is the country going next?

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the podcast this week are Natia Seskuria, an Associate Fellow with the Royal United Services Institute; Arthur Snell, a former diplomat and host of the podcast Doomsday Watch; Creon Butler, the Director of our Global Economy, and Finance Programme; Professor Andrew Dorman, the editor of our journal International Affairs and Alice Billon-Galland, a Research Fellow with our Europe Programme.

Read our expertise:

UK is too tight on the money and too vague on China

A new momentum grows for UK-France defence cooperation

SVB collapse shows interest rate financial stability threat

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Matthew Docherty.

This week on the podcast we celebrate the women of Chatham House for International Women’s Day. Joining Bronwen Maddox in the studio are some of the many researchers who work at the institute, and they discuss their experiences working in global affairs and their advice for those wanting to work in public policy.

We also discuss India this week. On Monday, Chatham House hosted Rahul Gandhi, a leading Indian politician and former president of the Indian National Congress (INC). We discuss what he had to say about India’s internal quandaries and the international perceptions of the country, almost a decade on from the 2014 election that brought Narendra Modi and the BJP to power.

In the studio this week with Bronwen is Dr Mukulika Banerjee, until recently the Director of the LSE’s South Asia Centre; Rashmin Sagoo the Director of our International Law programme; Anna Aberg from our Environment and Society programme; Armida van Rij from our International Security programme and Isabella Wilkinson, a Research Associate on Cybersecurity here at Chatham House.

Read our expertise:

In conversation with Rahul Gandhi

Debunking common myths about gender and cyber

The security gap

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Alex Moyler.

This week on the show we look at the outcome of Nigeria’s historic presidential election. On the 24 February, millions of Nigerians went to the polls in an election widely seen as crucial for the direction of the country, with the winner, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, declared the president elect. We look at the state of Nigeria’s democracy and ask what lies ahead?

We’ll also be looking at events closer to home this week. On Monday, Rishi Sunak, and Ursula von der Leyen announced a new deal for Northern Ireland, with implications for all the UK. Three years after the UK formally left the EU, we look at whether Rishi Sunak has indeed finally gotten Brexit done.

Joining Bronwen Maddox this week are Leena Koni Hoffman, an Associate Fellow with our Africa programme, Aanu Adeoye, the West African correspondent for the Financial Times, and Charles Grant, the Director for the Centre for European Reform.

Read our expertise:

Nigeria’s election highlights Anglo-American missteps

Nigeria’s election results put disenfranchisement in the spotlight

Tech alone won’t improve trust in Nigeria’s elections

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Alex Moyler.

This week on the podcast we look at Russia’s war on Ukraine. Friday February 24th marks exactly one year to the day when Vladimir Putin launched his all-out assault on Ukraine. A decision that unleashed the largest war seen in Europe since 1945, and with-it hundreds of thousands of casualties on all sides. Twelve months on we discuss the impact of the invasion, for Ukraine and its people but also the world.

We also discuss Vladimir Putin's speech on the anniversary of the war and the ramifications of Russia suspending participation in the New START nuclear arms treaty, as well as reflect on perceptions of the war from the Munich Security Conference.

Joining Bronwen on the show this week are Mariya Ionova, a Ukrainian opposition MP, journalist Samantha de Bendern, an Associate Fellow with our Russia and Eurasia programme, Patricia Lewis, the Director of our International Security programme, and James Nixey, the Director of our Russia and Eurasia programme.

Read our expertise:

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: How it changed the world

Seven ways Russia’s war on Ukraine has changed the world

One year on, how can the war on Ukraine end?

 The World Today - February & March 2023

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Alex Moyler.

This week on the show we look at the aftermath of the tragic earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 and discuss the far-reaching consequences on the region’s fragile geopolitics. With thousands dead and international aid flooding in, what hopes are there for the many thousands of victims caught between groups and governments at war with each other for over a decade?

We also discuss the impact within Turkey, as fears grow that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may postpone the election, amid outcries over corruption and the devastating loss of life.

Joining Bronwen this week from Beirut is Lina Sinjab, a Syrian filmmaker and BBC journalist covering the Middle East, from Washington, Charles Lister, a Senior Fellow, and Director of the Syria program at the Middle East Institute and from London, Ziya Meral, a Senior Associate Fellow on Turkey at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

Read our expertise:

Earthquakes drag Syria's warring sides away from peace

Syrian rescue efforts slowed by bureaucracy and regime

Disruptive technologies by states and malign cyber actors, with Lisa Monaco

 The World Today - February & March 2023

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Alex Moyler.

This week on the show, we look at Joe Biden’s 2023 State of the Union. This week saw President Biden address an unruly joint session of Congress, during which he discussed, Americas place in the world, China, Ukraine, and the state of the US economy. As we enter the start of a new presidential cycle and the mid-point of Biden’s presidency, we look at how Biden is doing and what are challenges lying.

We also look at AUKUS, eighteen months on from the announcement that the UK and US will help Australia develop nuclear hunter killer submarines. What does AUKUS mean for Australia, non-proliferation, and the Indo-Pacific more broadly?

Finally, we’ll also discuss the topic everyone on Twitter suddenly became an expert on this week, China’s spy balloon over Montana. Was it a diplomatic signal from Beijing and what was it trying to photograph?

Joining guest host John Kampfner this week are Euan Graham, the Shangri-La Dialogue Senior Fellow for Defence and Strategy at IISS, Leslie Vinjamuri, the Director of our Americas programme and Patricia Lewis, Director of our International Security programme.

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State of the Union has lessons for transatlantic unity

A new nuclear order: In conversation with Rafael Mariano Grossi

World economy is fracturing, not deglobalizing

 The World Today - February & March 2023

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Presented by John Kampfner. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Alex Moyler.

This week on the show, we look at the crisis in Myanmar. February 1st marks the two-year anniversary of the coup d'état by the armed forces, the Tatmadaw, who in February 2021 overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, the country has descended into a brutal and complex civil war. Our panel look at the state of the country and its people two years on. Can Myanmar hold together, can democracy ever be restored and is the world ignoring a major humanitarian crisis in the making?

Joining Bronwen Maddox are two journalists who have covered Myanmar extensively. Sebastian Strangio is an author and the Southeast Asia editor at The Diplomat and Ali Fowle, a freelance journalist with Al Jazeera and the BBC. Joining them in the studio are Ben Bland, the Director of the Asia-Pacific programme, and Rashmin Sagoo, the Director of Chatham House's International Law Programme.

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National security and transatlantic unity top Biden’s agenda

The state of the union? US foreign policy and a new US Congress

The World Today - February & March 2023

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Robin Gardner.

This week on the show, we look at the deployment of western main battle tanks to Ukraine, specifically the importance placed on the Leopard II and the contentious diplomacy seen this week to pressure Germany into allowing its export. What kind of capabilities will these new weapons give to Ukraine, amid fears of Russian offensive looming in the spring?

We also discuss Germany and the intense pressure Olaf Scholz’s government has been under since the invasion of Ukraine started. How has Germany’s standing changed over the last twelve months, and what are the challenges facing the country as a long and cold winter sets in for relations with Russia?    

Joining Bronwen Maddox from Berlin this week is Jeremy Cliffe, Writer-at-Large for The New Statesman Magazine. Alongside them is Orysia Lutsevych, the Head of our Ukraine Forum, Ed Arnold, a Research Fellow for European Security at the Royal United Services Institute, and Marion Messmer, a Senior Research Fellow in the International Security Programme here at Chatham House.

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Scholz will bow to pressure to send tanks to Ukraine

What is Labour’s foreign policy?

UK-Europe relations finally head in the right direction

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Robin Gardner.

This week on the show, we look at the role disinformation plays in the United States and Brazil. The storming in Brasilia of federal government institutions by supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro echoed strongly the events seen at the US Capitol Building on January 6th 2021. We discuss the impact on Brazil's democracy, the role played by social media platforms and how conspiracy theories percolate online.

This week we also look at the state of American politics going into 2023. How are things shaping up for Joe Biden’s presidency after the mid-terms now that a new Congress has been sworn in? And what are the wider challenges being faced more broadly by the American body politic? Our experts also discuss the legacy of January 6th, two years on from the insurrection at The Capitol.

Joining guest host Leslie Vinjamuri this week is Christopher Sabatini, Senior Research Fellow for Latin America, Serusha Govender the Mo Ibrahim Foundation Academy Fellow at Chatham House and Alex Krasodomski, a Senior Research Associate with our Digital Society Initiative.

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Digital politics threatens democracy and must change

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Robin Gardner.

In our first episode of 2023, we look at Africa and the complex role China plays on the continent. A recently published Chatham House report highlights twenty-two African countries suffering from debt distress, with Beijing a key creditor to many. This comes as China’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang is touring several African this week and next, with visits to Ethiopia, Angola, Gabon, and the headquarters of the African Union.

This week we also hosted Dr Comfort Ero, President of the International Crisis Group, where, in conversation with our own Dr Patricia Lewis, Comfort discussed the ten conflicts to watch in 2023. Our panel look at some of the key conflicts mentioned and how the world is responding to them.

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the podcast this week are Dr Alex Vines, the Director of our Africa programme; Creon Butler, the Director of our Global Economy and Finance programme; Dr Yu Jie, the Senior Fellow on our Asia-Pacific programme, and Armida van Rij, a Research Fellow with the International Security programme.

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The response to debt distress in Africa and the role of China

Ten conflicts to watch in 2023

Africa in 2023: Continuing political and economic volatility

The Director’s Annual Lecture 2023

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Robin Gardner.

In our final episode of the year, we discuss the UK’s foreign policy ‘tilt’ to the Indo-Pacific where, despite the turnover in British prime ministers, London has eyes on being a strategic player in the region. The last eighteen months have seen the deployment of a Royal Navy carrier strike group, the emergence of the AUKUS alliance, talk of closer diplomatic ties with India and ASEAN and, in the context of Brexit, the UK potentially joining the CPTPP pan-Pacific trade deal. How sustainable is a UK presence in the Indo-Pacific? And what are the UK’s strategic objectives in the region?

Joining Bronwen Maddox this week to discuss the UK’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific are Shashank Joshi, the Defence Editor at The Economist and Veerle Nouwens, a Senior Research Fellow at RUSI and co-author of a recent Chatham House report on transatlantic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

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Transatlantic cooperation on the Indo-Pacific

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Robin Gardner.

As 2022 comes to a close, this week on the podcast the staff of Chatham House reflect on a year of war in Ukraine and twelve years of war in Syria. Joining Bronwen Maddox in the studio is Oz Katerji, a war correspondent and freelance journalist who in the early stages of the Syrian uprising reported on the brutality of the regime of Bashar al-Assad from neighbouring Lebanon and Turkey and covered closely the role played by Russia's armed forces in the conflict. Having written extensively on the Middle East, in January of this year he journeyed to Ukraine, where he was present in Kyiv on February 24th as Russia began its invasion. He reported extensively on the battle for Ukraine’s capital and later Russia's offensive in the Donbas in Foreign Policy magazine, the New Statesman and Rolling Stone.

Joining Bronwen to unpack the wider role played by Vladimir Putin's military in Ukraine and Syria are James Nixey, the Director of our Russia and Eurasia programme and Lina Khatib, the Director of our Middle East, and North Africa programme.

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Russian imperial mindset must change for real victory

Will an EU oil price cap limit Russian aggression?

Moving medicine in Iraq: Networks fuelling everyday conflict

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Robin Gardner.

Anti-lockdown protests are sweeping the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. What does the unrest tell us about China’s response to COVID-19? How serious a challenge are they for Xi Jinping’s legitimacy so soon after the 20th Party Congress? Meanwhile on the Korean Peninsula, 2022 has been a record year for Pyongyang’s ballistic missile tests. How far has the North’s nuclear programme and its missile systems developed, and what does it mean for the country’s neighbours such as Japan?

Joining Bronwen Maddox in the studio to answer these questions and more are Ben Bland the Director of Chatham House’s Asia-Pacific programme and Dr Yu Jie a Senior Research Fellow with the Asia programme. Joining the panel this week from Washington DC is special guest Ankit Panda, the Stanton Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Editor-at-Large for The Diplomat magazine.

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China’s zero-COVID cannot continue, reopening is needed

Indonesia shows the value of non-aligned leadership

Weathering the storm: In conversation with David Miliband

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Robin Gardner.

In Tigray, the world’s largest armed conflict rages between Ethiopian federal government troops and the Tigray Defence Forces. With estimates placing those killed in the fighting at 600,000, how did Ethiopia, one of Africa’s great success stories, descend into civil war, and what hopes are there for recent peace initiatives? Meanwhile in Ukraine, all eyes are on Zaporizhzhia, as Europe’s largest nuclear plant continues to be occupied by Russian forces. With fresh reports of explosions near the dormant reactors, how is the international community responding? Finally, what role does Turkey, a middle power country with great power ambitions, surprisingly play in both conflicts?

Joining guest host John Kampfner on the podcast this week are Dr Patricia Lewis, the Director of our International Security programme here at Chatham House, Ahmed Soliman, a Senior Research Fellow, on our Africa programme and Galip Dalay, an Associate Fellow with our Middle East and North Africa programme.

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Can Ethiopia avert deep turmoil and prioritize peace?

Attacks on Ukraine nuclear plant – what’s at stake?

Ukraine's wider impact on Turkey’s international future

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Robin Gardner.

In Iran, since September the country has been swept by thousands of women-led protests, demanding an end to the morality police and the even the fall of the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile at Chatham House this week, we hosted our long-awaited Iraq conference, which delved heavily into the multiple challenges facing Iraq two decades on from the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Joining Bronwen Maddox on the podcast this week are Dr Sanam Vakil, the Deputy Director of our Middle East and North Africa programme, Dr Renad Mansour, a Senior Research Fellow, for the Middle East and North Africa Programme and the Project Director of our Iraq Initiative and Sanya Burgess, a digital investigations journalist with Sky News.

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Iraq initiative conference 2022

The Sadrist movement in Iraq

Iran protests highlight its crisis of legitimacy

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Robin Gardner.

In the United States, the midterm elections threw up some surprising results, with the anticipated Republican ‘red wave’ failing to materialise. Meanwhile at COP27 in Egypt, world leaders met in the first week of the summit. What did their presence achieve?

To find out, returning to the podcast this week with Bronwen Maddox are Leslie Vinjamuri, Director of our US and Americas Programme who was in Atlanta Georgia for the midterms and Anna Aberg Research Associate, Environment and Society Programme who is on the ground at COP27. Joining them are Peter Trubowitz, a Professor of International Relations, and Director of the Phelan US Centre at the London School of Economics and Antony Froggart, the Deputy Director and Senior Research Fellow of our Environment and Society Programme.

Read our expertise:

Democracy in America: Midterm elections and America’s global signal

America's vote shows a desire for stability and calm

What are the key issues at COP27?

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Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by John Pollock. Sound by Abdul Boudiaf and Robin Gardner.