The Global Agora

How many people are arriving? What is their motivation? And could it help Ukraine which is under Russia's attack? All of these questions are related to the establishment of the International Legion of Territorial Defense. Trying to find the answers, I talked to Kacper Kerawek. He is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX) at the University of Oslo. His book Brown-Red Cocktail? Extremist Foreign Fighters in the War in Ukraine will be published soon. We also talked about how the Foreign Legion could work, about some historical parallels, but also about the somewhat inevitable topic of the Azov Movement. Listen to our conversation.

Maria Avdeeva is a Research Director at the European Expert Association where she focuses on international security, cooperation of Ukraine with the EU and NATO, combating hybrid threats, and emerging security challenges. For years she was fighting Russia's disinformation war against Ukraine. From February 24th is her country under military invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin and Maria stays in Kharkiv, even as the city faces heavy Russian shelling. I talked to Maria on March 3rd afternoon and originally the recording was not for a podcast, which means the sound quality is a bit lower. But Maria stays in Kharkiv because she wants to inform the world about what's going on and I decided that I want to help her to spread the message. I talked to her also just before the war started. Stand with Ukraine and listen to our conversation.

The number of casualties is growing as Russia wages its war in Ukraine. Will President Vladimir Putin escalate even further and why does he talk about nuclear weapons? I talked to Mark Galeotti who is, as his Twitter bio says, an analyst of murky topics from Russian politics to global crime. Dr. Galeotti is the director of the consultancy firm Mayak Intelligence. He is also an Honorary Professor at UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies and a Senior Associate Fellow at RUSI. His books include We Need To Talk About Putin and most recently The Weaponisation of Everything. He is also a creator of the podcast In Moscow's Shadows. Why does Dr. Galeotti see some parallels between the Russian attack against Ukraine and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan? Listen to our conversation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is a man of dark emotions. But it's good that the West still engages with Moscow diplomatically. This is what Andrei Kolesnikov thinks. He is a Senior Fellow and the Chair of the Russian Domestic Politics and Political Institutions Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center. We talked about Putin's decision system. if he listens to somebody and what it all means for the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Do you want to know when was Putin honest and if he gave us a road map of his intentions? This podcast was recorded on February 17, just before the current round of a huge escalation. Listen to our conversation.

Maria Avdeeva lives in Kharkiv, just 40 kilometers from the Russian border. She is a Research Director at the European Expert Association where she focuses on international security, cooperation of Ukraine with the EU and NATO, combating hybrid threats, and emerging security challenges. I talked to her on February 13 when we debated extremely tense situation as the Russian troops are surrounding Ukraine. Are people in Kharkiv panicking or are they ready to fight? How does she assess the Western support for Ukraine and why does she think that even if Russia starts a large-scale invasion it won't be able to control Ukrainian cities? Listen to our conversation.

To use her own words, she a disaster researcher and scientist for fiction with irrepressible curiosity about our wonderfully weird universe. This is how Mika McKinnon introduces yourself. If you listen to my podcast regularly, and I hope you do, you know that I usually cover foreign policy events and trends. But not exclusively, so this is an episode about disasters. Mika McKinnon is a perfect guest. Experienced and funny. We talked about the current Hunga Tonga eruption, about volcanoes and related risks and about how you cannot, I repeat, cannot trigger Yellowstone eruption by using nukes. But also about her fascinating research into landslides on asteroids. And did I mention that she is also a sci-fi science consultant? Most recently for the movie Moonfall but also for cult classics Sharknado, Stargate or Star Trek. Listen to our conversation

According to current polls, less than 50 percent of Finns oppose the membership of their country in NATO. This is for the first time ever. Is it caused by Russian actions? I talked to Charly Salonius-Pasternak, a leading researcher in The Center on US Politics and Power at Finnish Institute of International Affairs. Does it mean that Finland will apply for NATO membership any time soon? And if it will, would it be a smooth and quick process? And what would Russia do? Listen to our conversation: Will Finland apply for NATO membership and how would it work?

What does French President Emmanuel Macron mean when he says that Europeans should work on proposals to build a new security and stability order in Europe? These words are somewhat similar to those the West hears from Kremlin. But is there any connection? I talked to Georgina Wright, a Senior Fellow and Director of Institut Montaigne’s Europe Program. We talked about Paris-Moscow relations, what will France do in case of Russian invasion against Ukraine but also about what kind of role can Russian issue play in the upcoming presidential election. Listen to our conversation: Russia crisis and European security: A view from France.

The world tennis number one Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia on January 16 and that means he is unable to defend his Australian Open title from the previous year. For now he also lost the chance to become the record Grand Slam holder. The Serbian tennis player is unvaccinated but he received a medical exemption to enter Australia. But in the end his visa was revoked twice and the federal court decided that he can be deported. What does it tell us about the immigration system in Australia? Were political calculations involved in Djokovic's case? This podcast was recorded on January 13,  just before the final decision related to subsequent deportation. I talked to Emily Foley, a PhD candidate at La Trobe University in Melbourne. Her research focuses on political parties and temporary migration. Does she think that Djokovic should support refugees in Australia? Listen to our conversation: Will Djokovic's case affect Australia's immigration system and politics?

The US-Russia bilateral meeting, NATO-Russia Council meeting and the OSCE talks. Can a flurry of diplomatic activities change something, or will Russia invade Ukraine? How much should we be concerned also about the possibility of bigger conflict between NATO and Russia? I talked to John Deni, Research Professor of Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational (JIIM) Security Studies at the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute. Before joining the U.S. Army War College, Dr. Deni worked for 8 years as a political advisor for senior U.S. military commanders in Europe. He is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. This podcast was recorded on January 12 and Dr. Deni's views do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Government. Listen to our conversation: How to approach negotiations with Putin's Russia?