Breaking Britain: A Podcast about the Politics of a Disunited Kingdom

In this week's episode we have been joined by Geoffrey Pleyers, whose extensive expertise in global activism during times of crisis can provide crucial insights into the impact President Trump's authoritarian project has had on Latin America. Starting with how Mexico has struggled to overcome relentless American pressure, in our discussion we also take a broader look at what activists and scholars around the world can learn from how Latin American societies have fought back against authoritarian populists.

As Professor of Sociology at Université Catholique de Louvain and President of the International Sociological Association, Geoffrey Pleyers is a globally renowned scholar. He has produced groundbreaking research exploring how social movements have responded to globalisation. Geoffrey's scholarship is based on direct experience of civil society resistance across Latin America that can help provide a better understanding of the existential challenges that democracies face today.

The background music is by Through the City by Crowander, and the production for this podcast was by Daniel Mansfield. 

In this week's episode, we have been joined by Christoph Meyer to take a closer look at how relations between Russia and the European Union fell apart in the 2010s. As a renowned expert in European security, Christoph provides wider insights into how the Russian state's growing hostility to Ukrainian aspirations to join the European Union became part of a wider spiral of escalation between Russia and the rest of Europe. 

As Professor of European & International Politics at King’s College London, Christoph has developed groundbreaking research exploring conflict prevention, public communications and economic governance. With this extensive experience in policy areas that have been transformed by the crises Europe has faced over the last decade, Christoph can help us to better understand the geopolitical dynamics that shaped a growing conflict between Russia and the European Union.  

The background music is by Through the City by Crowander, and the production for this podcast was by Daniel Mansfield. 

As part of our series exploring turning points that shaped European politics, we've been joined by Lee Savage to explore the impact the collapse of Communism in 1989 had on societies across Central and Eastern Europe. With Lee's help, in this episode we will take a closer look at how the years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall witnessed economic and political upheavals whose legacies still shape the politics of the European Union. 

As a Reader in European Politics at KCL, Lee Savage has produced groundbreaking research focusing on the impact of economic insecurity and party competition on Central and Eastern European societies. With his extensive experience of the changing nature of European politics, Lee can provide fascinating insights into how Europe was reshaped in the chaotic years after the fall of Communism.

The background music is by Through the City by Crowander, and the production for this podcast was by Daniel Mansfield. 

As part of our new season exploring crises that have shaped European politics, in this first episode we look at the impact the collapse of Yugoslavia in the summer of 1991 had on the European Union's military ambitions. We've been joined by Ben Jones, whose expertise on European military cooperation can provide crucial insights into how the wars that erupted through the break-up of Yugoslavia reshaped European security in the 1990s.

As a teaching fellow in European Foreign Policy at King's College London, Ben's research focus is on the ways in which inter-state military cooperation in Europe affects issues of sovereignty and autonomy. Along with his extensive policy-making background through advisory roles in the European Commission and European Parliament as well as for the Liberal Democratic Party in the UK, Ben's vast research experience can help us gain a better understanding into how legacies of wars in the 1990s still shape European politics today.

The background music is by Through the City by Crowander, and the production for this podcast was by Daniel Mansfield. 

With the 4 July parliamentary election now coming closer, there are growing indications of a political shock that could reshape the United Kingdom. Over the past few weeks Scotland has emerged as a key electoral battleground, where a Scottish National Party that has governed Scotland's devolved institutions for seventeen years risks losing many of its seats in the UK parliament to a resurgent Labour Party.

To help us explore the impact political turmoil and social change in Scotland will have on this pivotal election we've been joined by David Leask. Through a long career in journalism, David has provided incisive analysis on the changing nature of Scottish and global politics. 

The background music is by Through the City by Crowander, and the production for this podcast was by Daniel Mansfield. 

With elections looming on 4 July, the UK faces a turning point in its relationships with Europe and the wider world. Though there are three weeks of campaigning to go, all signs point to a substantial victory for the opposition Labour Party and a total collapse for the governing Conservative - or Tory - Party.

To help us explore the impact this election will have on the UK's foreign and defence policy we've been joined by Ben Jones, whose fascinating research explores the impact of military cooperation on state sovereignty. As a lecturer in European foreign policy here at King's College London and with his extensive experience of the UK political scene, in this podcast Ben sets out the challenges a new UK government will face in a rapidly changing world.

The background music is by Through the City by Crowander, and the production for this podcast was by Daniel Mansfield. 

During the 2010s the Russian state under Vladimir Putin and a Turkish government led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan deepened a geopolitical relationship involving cooperation as well as armed conflict. Both leaders faced domestic political challenges while pursuing their own visions of great power status.

Over the past two decades, Dimitar Bechev has written extensively about these complex interactions between Turkey and Russia in studies that are rich in fascinating insights. This week he will help us explore how an interaction between domestic protest and escalating conflict reshaped the politics of Turkey, Russia and their neighbours during the crisis of the 2010s.

The background music is by Through the City by Crowander, and the production for this podcast was by Daniel Mansfield.

In the final years of the 2000s the UK and EU were rocked by seemingly endless turmoil on global financial markets. A sense of crisis over the future of the banking system and the Euro converged with a surge of support for eurosceptic populism to fundamentally disrupt British political life.

To discuss the turmoil that enveloped the UK in the early 2010s we've been joined by Annette Dittert, who as London correspondent for German public broadcaster ARD has witnessed the ups and downs of British politics up close since 2008. With her extensive knowledge of the British political scene as well as her previous experience as a foreign correspondent in Warsaw and New York, Annette provides fascinating insights into tensions in British politics that laid the foundation for the fateful vote to leave the EU in the Brexit referendum of June 2016.

The background music is by Through the City by Crowander, and the production for this podcast was by Daniel Mansfield.    

As the Crisis of the 2010s unfolded after the near collapse of the global financial system in 2008, relations between Russia and the West shifted from cautious cooperation to profound hostility. Yet even in the wake of the Russian military assault on Georgia in 2008, governments in the US and EU continued to hope for a reset of relations despite every escalatory step taken by Vladimir Putin's authoritarian regime.

In this episode we have been joined by Ruth Deyermond, who as Senior Lecturer in Post-Soviet Security at King's College London can help us explore key factors that led to the breakdown of relations between Russia and the West. As a scholar with a background in pathbreaking research exploring Russia's security landscape, Ruth can provide extensive insights into the emergence of tensions between Moscow and the West a decade ago that culminated with the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

The background music is by Through the City by Crowander, and the production for this podcast was by Daniel Mansfield.

In the wake of the near collapse of the global financial system in 2008 the post-Cold War order was upended by a convergence of crises in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Beginning our series exploring this Crisis of the 2010s, we have been joined by Clingendael Institute Research Fellow Andrew Lebovich to explore the turmoil that engulfed communities across the Sahel and West Africa during this tumultuous period.

The near collapse of the Malian state in the face of an insurgent offensive in January 2013 triggered a French-led European military intervention as well as wider regional instability that became intertwined with conflicts in every other state in the region. The rapid escalation of insurgencies, military coups and creeping involvement of Russian mercenaries and other external actors became symptoms of deeper structural pressures that have reshaped West African politics. As a scholar with extensive experience of the history and politics of West Africa, Andrew Lebovich can help guide us through the social roots of the crises that turned the Sahel region into one of the central geopolitical flashpoints of the 2010s.

The background music is by Through the City by Crowander, and the production for this podcast was by Daniel Mansfield.