Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

EU enlargement is back at the top of the EU’s political agenda as Russia’s war against Ukraine has transformed it from a bureaucratic process into a matter of European security.

This episode marks the launch of ECFR’s new RE-ENGAGE podcast series: The Neighbourhood, which will unpack how countries hoping to join the EU navigate political change and outside pressure, and what that means for Europe’s democracy and security.

In this episode, Mark Leonard speaks with Lykke Friis, co-chair of ECFR’s council, director of the Danish think-tank Europa, and former Danish minister, as European leaders gather for the European Political Community summit in Copenhagen. Together they discuss why Denmark has shifted to advocating for enlargement and why Europe’s future security may depend on bringing Ukraine and Moldova closer.

Is the EU ready for a new wave of member countries? Can enlargement be both geopolitical and merit-based? And what role will Denmark play in defining the EU’s next chapter?

Bookshelf:

Strength in members: How to rally EU enlargement for defence by Gustav Gressel, Nicu Popescu

Deutschland 1946: Das Wunder beginnt by Rüdiger Barth, Hauke Friederichs

Indignity: A Life Reimagined by Lea Ypi

This episode was recorded on October 2nd, 2025.

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This week Mark Leonard welcomes Célia Belin, senior policy fellow and head of ECFR’s Paris office, to discuss the unprecedented political turmoil in France. Just weeks after his appointment, Sébastien Lecornu became the fourth prime minister to resign in a year—leaving Macron to choose between naming yet another leader, dissolving the National Assembly, or answering the mounting calls for his resignation.

Why is Macron refusing to turn to the left? Can the centrists hold together? And are snap elections or Macron’s resignation now inevitable?

This podcast was recorded on October 9th, 2025.

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Mark Leonard welcomes Hugh Lovatt to unpack Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza and what it means for Israel, Hamas, and Europe.

This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Hugh Lovatt, Senior Policy Fellow at ECFR and expert on Israel–Palestine, to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of Trump’s proposed Gaza peace deal.

What does the plan actually contain, and how did it come about? Can it deliver a real ceasefire and political pathway, or is it another exercise in ambiguity? Hugh explains why the deal may be more complicated for Hamas than for Israel, what leverage Europeans still hold, and how an international stabilisation force could (or couldn’t) work on the ground.

This podcast was recorded on September 6th 2025

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In the United States, the political right is undergoing a significant transformation. Once dominated by Reagan economics—characterised by free trade and deregulation—the movement has increasingly adopted policies focusing on the working class, opposing globalisation, pursuing protectionism and imposing tariffs on foreign trade. At the heart of this shift is Oren Cass, chief economist at the American Compass think-tank and author of The Once and Future Worker.

This week, Mark Leonard talks with Cass about his intellectual journey, the differences between the “New Right” and traditional conservatives and the economic agenda reshaping American conservatism. Together, they discuss what a pro-worker trade policy can look like and why family is central to Cass’s political vision.

What does this new conservatism mean for US domestic and foreign policy? How does the conservative working class policy differ from Bernie Sanders’s vision? And how do these intellectual debates shape Trump’s administration?

This episode was recorded on September 24th 2025

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Mark Leonard welcomes James Crabtree and Suhasini Haidar to explore India’s foreign policy and its emerging relations with Europe.

For decades, India-Europe relations did not fulfil their potential. Now transactional American foreign policy has seen Donald Trump impose severe tariffs on India and push New Delhi to adopt a strategy of multi-alignment. This allows the EU to deepen their own economic and diplomatic relations with India.

This week, Mark Leonard is joined by James Crabtree, ECFR distinguished visiting fellow and author of Pivot to Europe: India’s back-up plan in Trump’s world, and Suhasini Haidar, diplomatic editor at The Hindu. Together, they examine how India’s changing foreign policy sees it balancing its position between China, Russia and the US, while discovering new opportunities in Europe.

Why does Europe’s changing geopolitical role appeal to New Delhi? What is the current state of Indo-Chinese relations? Why is non-alignment and multi-alignment crucial in understanding India’s foreign policy? And are India-US relations wrecked for the foreseeable future?

This episode was recorded on September 24th 2025.

Booskhelf:

Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department by Dean Acheson

India’s World: How Prime Ministers Shaped Foreign Policy by Rajiv Dogra

Pivot to Europe: India’s back-up plan in Trump’s world by James Crabtree

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Mark Leonard is joined by Ulrike Franke, ECFR senior policy fellow, for an Emergency Room podcast. Together, they unpack the recent wave of drone incursions across European airspace in Poland, Romania and Denmark, and discuss what these hybrid threats reveal about Russian tactics and NATO’s readiness.

How serious are these drone sightings and what are their origins? What kind of counter-drone defences should Europe be investing in? Why did Poland only shoot down some drones, and what does this signal to Moscow? And if Putin is probing NATO’s red lines, what might his next move be?

This episode was recorded on September 25th, 2025

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Mark Leonard welcomes Jana Kobzova to break down the summer’s key developments in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

This week, ECFR’s director Mark Leonard returns to our regular programming after an eventful summer over Ukraine that saw Donald Trump meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss the war—a meeting that stunned global observers. Also over the summer, European leaders held a summit in the White House to craft a response to the crisis as Russia kept a relentless pace of bombardment of Ukrainian cities. The conflict’s shadow lengthened beyond Ukraine’s borders when, in September, Russian drones flew into Polish and Romanian territory, breaching NATO airspace.  

To unpack these events, Mark is joined by Jana Kobzova, co-director of ECFR’s European Security Programme and former foreign policy advisor to Slovak president Zuzana Čaputová. They discuss what the US has actually promised to Russia and what concrete security guarantees European countries are willing to offer. What is the domestic situation in Ukraine? And is Zelensky losing or gaining influence on the domestic political scene? 

This episode was recorded on September 16th, 2025 

Bookshelf: 

John Maynard Keynes: 1883-1946: Economist, Philosopher, Statesman 

Preventing the next war: A European plan for Ukraine 

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This week, ECFR director Mark Leonard concludes his deep-dive podcast series into the political universe of the “post-liberal revolution”. Throughout the series, Mark has interviewed prominent individuals across national conservative movements and “new right” politics, aiming to unpack the values behind its roots and ideas.

The last episode, which Mark recorded at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, features remarks from various MAGA figures such as Thomas Homan and Steve Bannon. How do the “new right” MAGA politicians perceive traditional Republicans? Why are tariffs and re-industrialisation at the heart of national conservative strategy? And which disagreements arose when discussing foreign policy?

This podcast was recorded on September 10th 2025.

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This week Mark Leonard is joined by Balázs Orbán, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s (no relation) political director since 2021. He is also chairman of the board at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium. Previously, Balázs was minister of state in the prime minister’s office and director general of the Migration Research Institute in Budapest. 

Together, Mark and Balázs explore the latter’s intellectual journey that resulted in his inclusion in Orbán's cabinet. They also discuss how the national conservative movement developed in Europe and Hungary, where Orbán’s party Fidesz was at the forefront of the “new right”. 

What are the key concepts underpinning Hungary’s national conservatism? Has the right-wing movement in Europe developed in Hungary’s image? Will the European Parliament’s Patriots for Europe group become mainstream in EU politics? And how is this “new politics” restructuring power in Europe?  

This podcast was recorded on September 2nd 2025. 

Bookshelf: 

Regime Change: Towards a Postliberal Future by Patrick Deneen 

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This week Mark Leonard is joined by Hélène De Lauzun, Paris correspondent for the European Conservative and author of L'histoire de l'Autriche (The History of Austria), to discuss the historical roots and modern expressions of conservatism in France.

Together, Mark and Hélène explore her intellectual journey as a historian emphasising France’s pre-Revolutionary legacy, the fragmentation of conservatism into Bonapartist, liberal, Catholic and counter-revolutionary traditions, and how figures like Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen reflect or challenge these ideals.

Amid France's polarised landscape, what unites or divides conservative thought today? Can conservatism reclaim its historical depth in a nation increasingly defined by secularism and globalism? And is the rise of the National Rally a true conservative revival—or a populist deviation?

This podcast was recorded on Ausgust 28, 2025.

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