Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

The announcement of the new Indo-Pacific security alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States - dubbed ‘AUKUS’ - has led to the biggest crisis in transatlantic relations since the Iraq war in 2003. In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks with Janka Oertel, head of ECFR’ Asia programme, Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR’s research director, and Tara Varma, head of ECFR’s Paris office, about the new security pact and its implications for Europe. What does it mean for the future of transatlantic relations? And what lessons can be drawn for European strategic autonomy and European sovereignty? This podcast was recorded on 20 September 2021.Further reading:- What Europeans think about the US-China cold war by Ivan Krastev & Mark Leonard: https://buff.ly/3hT6Iqa- After AUKUS: The uncertain future of American and European cooperation in the Indo-Pacific by Tara Varma: https://buff.ly/3CC3I9S- AUKUS: After the sugar rush by Nick Witney: https://buff.ly/3zyho3zBookshelf: - NüVoices - Podcast- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah: - Stalin an Appraisal of the Man His Influence by Leon Trotsky

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Get a sneak peek into Mark Leonard's latest book "The Age of Unpeace - How Connectivity Causes Conflict", read by the author himself.Additionally, in October we will have a special “ask me anything” episode with Mark Leonard and ask all of you to send in your burning questions about the book to [email protected] which will then be answered in the forthcoming episode.All those who submit questions will be eligible to win a free signed book from Mark, so start emailing! We are happy to receive your questions in written or audio (voice-memo) form.

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In his newly released book “The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity causes Conflict” ECFR director Mark Leonard explains how many of the forces that we thought would bring us together have ended up driving us apart. Trade, technology, the internet, and travel were once promised to create a global village but have instead created an era of “unpeace”, where the distinctions between war and peace are breaking down.In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard becomes the guest of his own podcast to talk with ECFR’s Asia programme director Janka Oertel about the main themes of his book and particularly how China’s growing role in this interconnected world poses threats for Europe.This podcast was recorded on 16 September 2021.Further reading:Age of Unpeace by Mark Leonard“The Afghan tragedy and the age of unpeace” by Mark LeonardBookshelf:“Doom” by Neil Ferguson“Shutdown. How Covid Shook the World’s Economy” by Adam ToozeMove by Parag Khanna“Renewal: From crisis to transformation in our lives, work, and politics” by Anne Marie Slaughter“China unbound: a new world disorder” by Joanna Chiu

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The collapse of Afghan government forces and the rapid seizure of power by the Taliban has unleashed a series of intense debates about the implications for Europe. How will the Western withdrawal impact on the state of European defence and military capabilities? Are we likely to see a shift in Europe’s relationship with other powers - such as Turkey, China, and the United States? In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks with Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR’s research director, and senior policy fellows Asli Aydintaşbaş and Andrew Small about what the withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan means for Europe and the future of transatlantic relations.This podcast was recorded on 8 September 2021.Further Reading:- “The fall of the Afghan government and what it means for Europe” by ECFR policy experts: https://buff.ly/3kqkOjh - “The Afghan tragedy and the age of unpeace” by Mark Leonard: https://buff.ly/3gXZTmSBookshelf:"Age of Unpeace" by Mark Leonardhttps://www.penguin.co.uk/books/144/1443237/the-age-of-unpeace/9781787634657.html- "Faust’s Metropolis - A History of Berlin" by Alexandra Richie- “Mr. Five Per Cent” by Jonathan Conlin - “Red Roulette" by Desmond Shum

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Every Friday, Mark Leonard invites top-level speakers from across the EU and beyond to debate Europe’s role in the world. We feature and discuss everything from our own research at ECFR to practical pan-European policy – and news from Africa, Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Wider Europe and our own European Power programme. So basically, we bring you the world – in 30 minutes.

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With Germany’s federal elections rapidly approaching, chancellor Angela Merkel is set to depart the political stage. What will the foreign policy of her party, the CDU, look like when she’s gone? In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks to ECFR senior policy fellow Ulrike Franke and Andreas Nick, a CDU member of the German Bundestag. How would a chancellor Armin Laschet approach China, Russia, and defence? And what exactly sets the CDU’s foreign policy apart from those of the Social Democrats or the Greens? This podcast was recorded on 1 September 2021.Further Reading: ECFR German Election 360https://ecfr.eu/topic/german-election-2021/ Bookshelf: “Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict” by Mark Leonard https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/144/1443237/the-age-of-unpeace/9781787634657.html “Has China Won?” by Kishore Mahbubani https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/kishore-mahbubani/has-china-won/9781541768123/ “From Cold War to Hot Peace” by Michael McFaul https://fsi.stanford.edu/content/cold-war-hot-peace “Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy” by Brendan Simms https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2013/04/reviewed-europe-struggle-supremacy-brendan-simms German party election platforms: https://www.aicgs.org/2021/07/a-guide-german-party-election-platforms-2021/

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Ukraine and the EU recently opened a new chapter in their strategic relationship by signing a memorandum of understanding for closer cooperation in raw materials, green and digital technologies. Making Ukraine part of the European value chain is of strategic importance, but where does the country stand on the recent US-German deal on Nord Stream 2? In this week’s episode, guest host Joanna Hosa, deputy director of ECFR’s Wider Europe programme talks with Svitlana Zalishchuk, Deputy Prime-Minister Foreign Policy Advisor and former Member of Parliament in Ukraine and ECFR senior policy fellow Andrew Wilson about Ukraine, its domestic and international outlook and what the EU can and should do to support Ukrainian sovereignty. This podcast was recorded on 29 July 2021. Further reading: “Faltering fightback: Zelensky’s piecemeal campaign against Ukraine’s oligarchs” by Andrew Wilson https://ecfr.eu/publication/faltering-fightback-zelenskys-piecemeal-campaign-against-ukraines-oligarchs/ Bookshelf: “Civilisations” by Laurent Binet https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/29/civilisations-by-laurent-binet-review-counterfactual-hi-jinks “American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the marriage of money and power” by Andrea Bernstein https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/12/american-oligarchs-review-donald-trump-jared-kushner-andrea-bernstein “No Room for small dreams: Courage, imagination, and the making of modern Israel” by Shimon Peres https://www.france24.com/en/20170921-peres-autobiography “Now we have your attention: The new politics of the people” by Jack Shenker https://www.redpepper.org.uk/review-now-we-have-your-attention-the-new-politics-of-the-people-by-jack-shenker/

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The EU is often described as a “regulatory superpower” benefitting from the so-called “Brussels effect.” But is the bloc also able to set its own rules and standards when it comes to new technologies, and let the rest of the world adapt? This week, host Mark Leonard is joined by ECFR senior policy fellows Ulrike Franke and Jose Torreblanca, as well as Marietje Schaake, international director of policy at Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center. How ready are Europeans to prevail in a world of fierce geopolitical tech competition? And what role does Europe play in the Sino American competition?This podcast was recorded on 16 July 2021.Further reading:· “Geo-tech politics: Why technology shapes European power” by Ulrike Franke & José Ignacio Torreblanca https://ecfr.eu/publication/geo-tech-politics-why-technology-shapes-european-power/· “Europe’s digital sovereignty: From rulemaker to superpower in the age of US-China rivalry” by Carla Hobbs (ed.) https://ecfr.eu/publication/europe_digital_sovereignty_rulemaker_superpower_age_us_china_rivalry/Bookshelf· “I, Warbot: The dawn of artificially intelligent conflict” by Kenneth Payne · “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau · “Mistrust: Why losing faith in institutions provides the tools to transform them” by Ethan Zuckerman

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With Angela Merkel stepping down as Chancellor, the next German federal elections scheduled for this September promise to mark a turning point for Germany. Foreign policy issues promise to be a crucial part of the election campaign. In this week’s podcast, host Mark Leonard talks to Niels Annen, Minister of State in the German Federal Foreign Office and member of the Bundestag for the SPD to find out what a social-democratic foreign policy looks like. What would SPD foreign policy look like unbound by the grand coalition with Merkel’s Christian Democrats? What are social democratic policy ideas when it comes to China, Russia or European security and defence? And how deep are the divides between the SPD’s foreign policy and that of the parties they’re running against?This podcast was recorded on 15 July 2021.Further Reading:- ECFR German Election 360: https://buff.ly/3gJNvr2- A foreign policy for a Green Germany: https://buff.ly/3vxdTcd Bookshelf:- “The Arab of the Future” by Riad Sattouf

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In June this year, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the end of Operation Barkhane – a military offensive launched in 2013 against Islamist militants in the Sahel. France has determined, he said, it could no longer maintain a “constant presence” in West Africa. In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard discusses European interests in the region and what might change after France’s Africa policy shift, together with Emanuela Del Re, former Italian deputy foreign minister and the new EU special representative for the Sahel; Sylvie Kauffmann, editorial director, lead writer, and columnist for Le Monde; as well as ECFR’s Andrew Lebovich. What does the end of Operation Barkhane in its current form mean for the Sahel? What could further European and international engagement in the region look like?This podcast was recorded on 7 July 2021.Further reading:• “After Barkhane: What France’s military drawdown means for the Sahel” by Andrew Lebovich: https://t.co/xxZ11TiM24 Bookshelf• ”La Guerre de vingt ans. Djihadisme et contre-terrorisme au XXIe siècle” by Marc Hecker & Elie Tenenbaum • “Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel” by Alexander Thurston • “Être etudiant au Mali: chroniques d'une vie d'étudiant” by Boubacar Sangaré • “Moral Letters to Lucilius“ by Seneca•“From Empires to NGOs in the West African Sahel. The Road to Nongovernmentality” by Gregory Mann • “Half of a Yellow Sun” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie • “L'Islâm in Europa: riflessioni di un imâm italiano “ by Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini

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