Independent Thinking

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.

Read our expertise:

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.

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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.

In Brazil, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beat incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by the narrowest of margins. Meanwhile in the United States, the Democrats are fighting to retain the House and Senate from a resurgent Republican Party, still enamoured with Donald Trump. Joining Bronwen Maddox this week are Leslie Vinjamuri, Director of our US and Americas Programme, Christopher Sabatini, Senior Fellow on Latin America and Ana Yang, Executive Director of our Sustainability Accelerator.

Read our expertise:

What are the key issues at COP27?

Brazil’s new president inherits huge economic challenges

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

Rishi Sunak enters Downing Street as the youngest prime minister in modern times, whilst also this week Chatham House welcomed the US Special Presidential Envoy on Climate, John Kerry, to discuss what lies ahead for COP27. To discuss all this and more, Bronwen Maddox is joined by John Kampfner, Executive Director of Chatham House’s UK in the World Initiative, Simon Fraser, formerly of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hans Kundani an Associate Fellow with the Europe Programme and Anna Åberg, a Research Associate with our Environment and Society Programme.

Read our expertise here:

Conflict, fragility and multilateral climate funds

Hard times ahead for Sunak to restore UK's credibility

The road to COP27: In conversation with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry

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

Amid political chaos in the UK, with the resignation of Liz Truss, Bronwen Maddox speaks with Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator for the Financial Times, and Orysia Lutsevych, Head of the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House, about the latest developments surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Putin's nuclear threats. Joining them is Dr Yu Jie, Senior Research Fellow for Chatham House’s Asia Pacific program, to break down Xi Jinping’s speech at the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party

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After Truss, the UK can still rebuild its global reputation

20th CCP National Congress: Five issues to watch

Ukraine’s allies must dig deep to save its economy now

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

In this Chatham House event, a panel of experts consider the current state of Indian politics. 

2019 saw a number of political developments in India that brought into question Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) commitment to one of India’s founding principles: secularism. The fallout from Modi and his party’s revocation of Articles 370 and 35A, updates to the National Register of Citizens and the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill have arguably demonstrated that power-sharing arrangements based on group divisions and representations fail to accord adequate protection to minorities in India in line with the country’s constitution.

The panel assess the capacity of India’s republican framework to withstand the BJP and Prime Minister Modi’s brand of nationalism. What do recent developments tell us about Modi and the BJP’s vision for India and how do we explain this paradox where, despite a strong political centre, the BJP is faced with regional insecurity? How might India reconcile its behaviour in the domestic sphere with its ambition as an emerging power that supports the rules-based order? And in the year of its 70th anniversary, how compatible has India’s constitution proved with the country’s ongoing religious and cultural divides?

Credits:

Speakers: Mukulika Banerjee, Kapil Komireddi, Deepa Kumar, Gareth Price

Hosts: Ludivine Rebet, Amrit Swali

Recorded and produced at Chatham House

Find out more about Chatham House Events here.

In this Chatham House event Robert Malley, CEO of International Crisis Group, discusses the major security flashpoints facing the world in 2020 with Dr Leslie Vinjamuri. 

They identify key challenges for international relations, discuss the potential for national and regional political instability and consider how these issues may impact foreign policy, international security and democratic governance.

Read the report:

10 Conflicts to Watch in 2020

Credits:

Speakers: Robert Malley, Leslie Vinjamuri

Hosts: Ludivine Rebet, Amrit Swali

Recorded and produced at Chatham House

Find out more about Chatham House Events here.