The Iran War and Digital Geopolitics

Podcast | Trend Report

This podcast was hosted by Cengiz Günay and features a conversation with Emiliano Alessandri

Podcast | Trend Report 6: Crisis-Induced Decarbonization: How Infrastructure Breakdown and Cheap Solar

This podcast was hosted by Cengiz Günay and features a conversation with Camillo Stubenberg

Succession—The Make-or-Break Moment of Electoral Authoritarian Regimes: The Case of Erdoğan’s Turkey

Podcast | Trend Report

This podcast was hosted by Johannes Späth and features a conversation with Cengiz Günay

This podcast was hosted by Cengiz Günay and features a conversation with Johannes Späth

Governing Without Consequence: Israel as a High-Visibility Indicator in 2026

Podcast | Trend Report 2

This podcast was hosted by Cengiz Günay and features a conversation with Osnat Lubrani

When Visibility Becomes a Liability: Self-Shielded Contestation and the Future of Protest in 2026

Podcast | Trend Report 13 / February 2026

The podcast was hosted by Cengiz Günay and features a conversation with Ceren Çetinkaya & Osnat Lubrani.

The Personal Is Still Political: Why the Rise of Misogyny Threatens Democracy

Podcast | Trend Report 1 / February 2026

The podcast was hosted by Cengiz Günay and features a conversation with Annika Scharnagl.

China and the European Union (EU) are both vying for closer relations with Latin American countries in the context of their respective strategic autonomy policies and the US’s protectionist turn.

China’s role in the region has grown rapidly and sees new growth drivers over the last year in burgeoning Chinese investment (esp. in Brazil) and record imports of agricultural products (such as soybeans). Beijing has sought closer diplomatic connections including through the BRICS group and the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum, as well as a series of bilateral strategic partnerships. China’s dominance of global rare earth and critical raw material industries is bolstered through its companies’ pertinent positions in Latin America.

At the same time, the EU is completing the process of updating trade agreements with Chile and other Andean countries, as well as Mexico, and seeking to ratify a further agreement with the Mercosur Group (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay). Europe seeks to build on traditional strengths as a source for investment in Latin America and export revenues for the region. Brussels has assigned Latin America a central role in diversifying European external economic relations, and particularly the reduction of vulnerabilities and dependencies in critical raw material imports.

This discussion addressed the sources of China’s success in Latin America, and its policy goals in the region, with a particular focus on critical raw materials. It delved into the difference in Chinese and EU approaches, as well as whether and why Latin American governments perceive them as attractive partners. Speakers further discussed whether and how the EU should change its approach to Latin American countries in general, and its policies related to critical raw materials in particular.

Discussants:

Ruben Gonzalez Vicente

Associate Professor in Political Economy at the University of Birmingham (Department of Political Science and International Studies); Editor for Global China Pulse and People’s Map of Global China; research focus on China, Latin America, and the Caribbean

Karin Küblböck

Senior Researcher at the Austrian Foundation for Development Research / Österreichische Forschungsstiftung für Internationale Entwicklung (ÖFSE); research focus on natural resource policies, international trade and investment policies

Moderator:

Thomas Eder

Research Fellow at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (oiip)

In cooperation with the Ministry of Defence bmlv.

Recording of the panel discussion on 2 October 2025

In cooperation with the Ministry of Defense and the Australian Embassy Vienna.

Terrorism has undergone profound transformations in its forms, motivations, and geopolitical implications, increasingly defying conventional frameworks of security analysis. This keynote interrogated the evolving nature of terrorism and its implications for the reconfiguration of international security agendas in the twenty-first century. The October 7 attacks and the ongoing war in Ukraine illustrate how acts of political violence resonate beyond their immediate theatres, producing ripple effects that destabilize regional balances and challenge global governance mechanisms. Placing these developments within a longue durée perspective, the keynote drew parallels to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, an event that precipitated systemic conflict through the entanglement of alliances and rivalries. By juxtaposing historical and contemporary cases, the lecture underscored the ways in which terrorism operates not only as a tactic of asymmetrical warfare but also as a catalyst for structural transformations in international order. The analysis highlights the necessity of reassessing existing theoretical paradigms and policy approaches, emphasizing the interplay between terrorism, state power, and the fragility of multilateral institutions.

Moderation:

Dr. Daniela Pisoiu

oiip

Keynote:

Dr. Levi West

Australian National University

Dr. West is an internationally recognised authority on terrorism and counter-terrorism, and is currently working on an Office of National Intelligence funded grant, researching radicalisation. For over a decade, Dr West was the Director of Terrorism Studies at the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security at CSU where he built a world leading post-graduate terrorism studies program. Dr. West is also an Adjunct Fellow with the Irregular Warfare & Special Operations program at UNSW Canberra; an Adjunct Research Fellow with the Institute for Sustainable Industries & Liveable Cities at Victoria University; and an expert with The Cipher Brief. He is also a 2024 Non-Resident Fellow with the Irregular Warfare Initiative, a joint project of Princeton University’s Empirical Studies of Conflict program and West Point Military Academy’s Modern War Institute.

His research interests focus on the intersection of terrorism, communication, and technology. He has been published in academic journals and scholarly books, as well as national media outlets and on prominent national security blogs and podcasts. He has lectured at numerous academic conferences, and extensively to law enforcement, intelligence, military, and policy audiences both domestically and internationally. Dr West has liaised with, and advised, in varying capacities, the Australian and US intelligence, special operations, and law enforcement communities in relation to counter terrorism matters.

Recording of the 1st event of our joint series on 29 April 2025 with the Kreisky Forum Shaping Turkey’s Democratic Future – Event Series

March 19, 2025, marked a turning point in Turkish history. The detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul and President Erdoğan’s main political challenger, has been seen as an attack on Turkish democracy — or what remains of it. İmamoğlu’s arrest triggered the largest protests in years. Starting from universities, thousands of people have taken to the streets. The government has responded with police repression and legal prosecution. Students, journalists, and critics have been arrested. However, the regime’s repressive measures have so far led to more rather than less public fury and protest. And the main opposition and (in current polls) first party CHP (Republican People’s Party) has been able to keep the momentum and channel resistance to new areas, such as an economic boycott of pro-government enterprises and a mass signature campaign demanding İmamoğlu’s release and early elections. Turkey is at a critical juncture: will the regime maintain the repressive course or at some point comprise? Will the opposition be able to translate social resistance into a process of change, beginning with İmamoğlu challenging Erdoğan in elections as a free man?What role do — and should — external actors play? What role does the diaspora play?

Participants:

Şebnem Gümüşçü

Middlebury College

Seren Selvin Korkmaz

IstanPol Istitute, IPC at Sabancı University

Murat Somer

Özyeğin University, CEU

Chair:

Cengiz Günay

Austrian Institute for International Affairs

In cooperation with the Ministry of Defence bmlv.