Women Leaders

Politicians tend to aspire to a status quo: a clarity of positions and possibilities that deliver a semblance of stability. In a period of change, not to mention when things go wrong, there is a yearning for a status quo ante — a return to such clarity and stability, regardless of whether it is actually possible. It is significant that in the current world of radical change no leader or decision-maker is talking about the status quo ante: all the cards are up in the air.

To get a feel for the decision-maker’s dilemmas within this new reality, Ilana Bet-El is joined by Foreign Minister of Latvia, Baiba Braže. In a special short and sharp episode demanded by events, they focus upon the situation in Ukraine and the need to support it, the significance of upping European defence, the reality of life under Russian and Soviet occupation.

This episode was recorded on 27 February 2025.

Chapters

• Is NATO still a solid pillar for European security?
• What are the discussions in the decision-making rooms?
• The horrific realities of Soviet and Russian occupations

Mentions

Putin’s Ukraine: The End of War and the Price of Russian Occupation

UN “Human rights 3 years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine”

UN “Ukraine: Torture by Russian authorities amounts to crimes against humanity”

Latvia Ministry of Foreign Affairs “Russia is using torture as a coordinated state policy against Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war”

Our previous episode with Olena Tregub & Inna Pidluska

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Baiba Braže X/Twitter

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Our partner European Leadership Network Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and website

Ilana Bet-El

Credits

Production: Florence Ferrando

Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat 

Contribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️

Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcast

Watch now our episode on Youtube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Historians will spend eternity trying to explain why Donald Trump and his administration turned against Ukraine and Europe but one fact is clear: on 12 February 2025 the post Cold War era ended, and the post WWII international system came to a grinding halt. President Trump spoke at length to President Putin and they agreed to start negotiations immediately without Ukraine or the EU. Subsequent events were no less surprising: an anti-European tirade by US Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference, a US demand of Ukraine to sign away most of its rare earth resources, a first US-Russia meeting in Riyadh and President Trump accusing Ukraine of starting the Russian war of aggression against it, and calling President Zelensky a dictator. Europe, and many other parts of the world, is still reeling from these developments but it is undoubtedly Ukraine that is in the eye of the storm: from trying to deny it a say over its own destiny to attempting to impose elections upon it, and from cutting defence assistance to undermining funding to its civil society, the Ukrainian reality has changed rapidly, and for the worse. To understand this reality better Ilana Bet-El is joined by two leaders of civil society in Ukraine: Olena Tregub Secretary General of NAKO - the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission in Ukraine, and Inna Pidluska Deputy Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation. In a brave no-holds-bar discussion they reflect on the sense of betrayal by the US and the opposing sense of Ukrainian dignity, and the deep-felt sense that might is not right.

This episode was recorded on 20 February 2025.

Chapters

How is Ukraine reacting to Trump administration’s shift?

What does Ukraine expect from Europe now?

Is Ukraine’s civil society at risk?

What kind of deal would be acceptable for Ukraine?

Mentions

James Joll, Unspoken assumptions

Ukraine civil society

BBC, Ukraine in maps: Tracking the war with Russia

Fact-checking Trump claims about war in Ukraine

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Olena Tregub  LinkedIn, X/Twitter

Inna Pidluska LinkedIn

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Our partner European Leadership Network Twitter LinkedIn website

Credits

Production: Florence Ferrando

Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA #Uppbeat

Contribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️

Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcast

Watch now our episode on Youtube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trade is the backbone of the global economy, but its workings are a mystery to many. What is a tariff? What is a trade war? Why is trade so complicated? The chaos wrought by Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico – despite a thirty-day reprieve negotiated for the latter two - makes these and many other questions imperative to answer.

Ilana Bet-El is joined by Sylvia Chen, International Trade Policy and Compliance Consultant, and Sara Nordin, Partner in the Global Trade Practice of international law firm White & Case, to gain some understanding of how international trade works. Together, they outline the basics of trade law, how tariffs connect to policy measures, and how they influence modern trade and global supply chains. This episode is a necessary exploration of the actual trade underpinning any potential trade war on the horizon.

This episode was recorded on 5 February 2025.

Chapters

• What does a trade lawyer do?
• Why are trade rules and laws necessary?
• What is a tariff?
• Why did Trump put tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China?

Mentions

• Trade Experettes website
• World Trade statistics
• Office of the US Trade representative statistics
• GATT
• WTO

Follow our guest

• Sylvia Chen  LinkedIn, Trade Policy Expert Advisory
• Sara Nordin LinkedIn, White & Case website

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• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• Our partner European Leadership Network social media Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook
• Our partner European Leadership Network website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production: Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat License code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT

Contribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️

Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcast

Watch now our episode on Youtube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There can be no doubt the world changed on 20th of January 2025. As a matter of fact, a new US President was inaugurated — a second time for President Trump — whose return to power has spooked global friends and enemies alike since his election last November. The flurry of Executive Orders issued from day one says much about the determination of this US Administration to not only dismantle the work and legacy of the Biden Administration but potentially also many elements of the postwar multilateral order.

Indeed, amongst the first measures taken by President Trump upon his return to the White House was the withdrawal of the US from both the Paris Climate Agreement, and the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, beyond the acts the bluster, the rhetoric on tariffs and bold promises to end both wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the vast majority of actions and orders have concerned domestic matters, focused upon issues such as immigration and equality. This begs the question: is the Trump Administration more concerned with bombastic rhetoric than bombastic action when it comes to global and geostrategic affairs?

Dr Kathleen McInnis is definitely someone who can speak to this and many other related issues. Director and senior fellow of the Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and a former official at the US Department of Defence (DOD), she joins Ilana Bet-El in a wide-ranging conversation. From women and "dudes" in defence and foreign affairs to modern strategic challenges, and the future of NATO and EU-US relations, this is a strong and surprising discussion concerning rhetoric, reality and continuity in America's foreign policy under President Trump 2.0.

This episode was recorded on 23 January 2025.

Mentions

• The Heart of War: Misadventures in the Pentagon
• Smart Women, Smart Power podcast and resources
• The NCI Global Trends 2035 Report

Follow our guest:

• Kathleen McInnis X/Twitter & LinkedIn
• Her bio

You can also follow us

• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• Our partner European Leadership Network social media Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production: Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat

Contribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️

Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcast

Watch now our episode on Youtube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Women Leaders entered its fifth year (!!), it is apt to reflect on our turbulent world and the challenges that lie ahead. From wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan to the shifting power dynamics of global politics, there is a need to unpack the complexities of our current situation -- and look into the coming months with a strong dose of realism. Joined by Jessica Cox, Director of Defence Plans and Policy at the U.S. Mission to NATO, Ilana unpacks these and other pressing global issues. Together, they delve into the NATO and US perceptions and expectations in the coming months for Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific region, China, the Middle East ... and much more! A sharp, insightful conversation on our interconnected world at a time when many forces are trying to disconnect it.

This episode was recorded on 8 January 2025.

Chapters

• NATO versus multilateral institutions
• Ukraine: NATO and US expected achievements for Ukraine
• Is NATO at war with Russia?
• Collaboration between Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea against the international order
• NATO and its relations with China, and the Indo-Pacific region
• China’s unique stance on the international order
• Middle Eastern events as a NATO concern
• A bad year for Russia, Iran and China

Mentions

• The Nuclear Nexus, previous Women Leaders episode with Jessica
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Lex Fridman Podcast

Follow our guest:

• Jessica Cox X/Twitter & LinkedIn

You can also follow us

• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• Our partner European Leadership Network social media Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook
• Our partner European Leadership Network website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production: Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll License code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT

Contribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️

Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcast

Watch now our episode on Youtube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“How did you go bankrupt?"  “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”  Novelist Earnest Hemingway put these words in the mouth of one of his characters in his 1926 breakthrough novel, The Sun Also Rises, and it seems they are as true to dictators as they are to a fictional gambler and drunk. 

Last weekend, President Bashar al Assad of Syria, the cruel and brutal head of a corrupt dynasty that had ruled Syria for over half a century, fled with his family to Moscow — just two weeks after a rebel group started upon an offensive from north to south. 

In retrospect, it became clear that the regime had been creaking gradually for some time, before it collapsed suddenly, leaving Iran and Russia, his two external supporters, bereft and the people of Syria free - or at least free from the regime. The freedom to decide their future is yet to be tested or understood.

Hind Kabawat, a former member of the High Negotiations Committee at the Syrian peace talks in Geneva and a prominent leader of Syrian civil society, is one of the best-placed people to reflect on the past and especially the future of Syria. A native of Damascus who attended school with Bashar al Assad but has been standing in staunch opposition to him ever since she passionately believes in multi-faith collaboration as well as the importance of women. 

While applauding the fall of Assad, Professor Kabawat knows the future is yet to be decided - but that equality of different peoples of all faiths, genders, and political tribes must be at its centre.

This episode was recorded on 12 December 2024

Mentions and further resources

IIIM – International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism

Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS)

Timeline of Arab Spring in Syria

Follow our guest

Hind Kabawat X/Twitter, LinkedIn and webpage (George Mason University)

Tastakel, the non-profit Syrian women-led organisation working on building a democratic society on the basis of respect, justice & the rule of law.

Follow us

Instagram @women_leaders_podcast

European Leadership Network Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and website

Ilana Bet-El

Credits

Production: Florence Ferrando

Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat

Contribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️

Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcast

Watch now our episode on Youtube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The political landscape in Germany seems anything but stable. From unresolved disputes and coalitions failing to the publication of Angela Merkel’s memoirs - a timely reminder of a past ideal era - the nation faced mounting challenges. Economic struggles, extremism on the edge and upcoming early elections: a worrying mix for one key European player.

Tanit Koch Schneider, journalist, co-host of the Focus Briefing and former editor-in-chief of the popular BILD, joins Ilana Bet-El to explain how and why the cherished German model went wrong, from the national situation following the elections three years ago, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, weaknesses to the multiple challenges and issues - and more!

This episode was recorded on 28 November 2024

Mentions and further resources

• Tanit’s article on Merkel’s memoirs release (The New European)
• “Freedom: Memoirs 1954 - 2021” from Angela Merkel

Follow our guest

• Tanit Koch X/Twitter & [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?fetchDeterministicClustersOnly=true&heroEntityKey=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_profile%3AACoAABenGA4BaEm2wOlqXbdvN8g7wLzGF2HV6tQ&keywords=tanit koch&origin=RICH_QUERY_SUGGESTION&position=0&searchId=85357a78-82ef-46e1-b5e0-3120cc0a07f9&sid=%3A(2&spellCorrectionEnabled=false)
• All her publications
• Newsletter Focus Briefing

You can also follow us

• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• Our partner European Leadership Network social media Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook
• Our partner European Leadership Network website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production: Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll License code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT

Contribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️

Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcast

Watch now our episode on Youtube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2024 US elections were unique. From the last minute candidacy of Kamala Harris through the assassination attempt of Donald Trump to the sheer amount of money involved -- over US$ 15 billion -- events moved at an amazing speed, resulting in an unexpected definitive win for Trump and the Republican Party.

Understanding what truly happened and capturing the real atmosphere across the U.S. may still be challenging, but necessary. To do this, Ilana Bet-El welcomes Elena Schneider, National Political Reporter at Politico U.S. Elena shares insights drawn from her extensive experience covering this and previous U.S. elections, touching on the current political landscape, media fragmentation, and how perceptions of power and strength remain deeply embedded in the electorate.

This episode was recorded on 14 November 2024

Mentions and further resources

• Our episode on Georgia elections
• The show All in the Family centers on a working-class White American family living in Queens, New York. Its patriarch, Archie Bunker is an outspoken, narrow-minded man, seemingly prejudiced against everyone not like him or his ideas of how people should be.
• Proportion of women in Congress 
• Cost of 2024 US elections

Follow our guest

• Elena Schneider X/Twitter & LinkedIn
• All her recent stories on Politico

You can also follow us

• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• Our partner European Leadership Network social media Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook
• Our partner European Leadership Network website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production: Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll License code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT

Contribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️

Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcast

Watch now our episode on Youtube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Election results should never be a foregone conclusion, and democratic upsets are a healthy feature of the system. Nonetheless, when the incumbent pro-Russian governing party in Georgia declared itself the winner of national elections on 26 October, with some 54% of the vote, there was a massive outcry: polls had predicted a win for the opposition. This is a huge setback for the cause of democracy in the state — and the region, given that just a week earlier, a referendum on European integration in Moldova had ended with a tiny margin of victory for the pro-EU camp when a near landslide had been predicted.

The tentacles of autocracy are clearly reaching far and wide, tightening their grip upon the states surrounding Ukraine and bordering Europe — threatening both. To delve into these issues, Ilana Bet-El is joined by Salome Samadashvili, opposition Member of Parliament in Georgia, and Tinatin Japaridze, member of the Younger Generation Leaders Network (YGLN) and Eurasia Analyst at the Eurasia Group. This is a hard-hitting discussion on Georgia, the region, autocracy and democracy, covered with clarity, intellect and empathy.

This episode was recorded on 31 October 2024

Mentions and further resources

• Salome’s previous episode Georgia on the edge
• Tinatin’s book Stalin’s Millennials: Nostalgia, Trauma and Nationalism

Follow our guests

• Tinatin Japaridze LinkedIn, X/Twitter,  Eurasie website
• Salome Samadashvil LinkedIn; X/Twitter

You can also follow us

• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• Our partner European Leadership Network social media Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook
• Our partner European Leadership Network website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production**:** Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll License code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT

Contribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️

Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcast

Watch now our episode on Youtube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The speed of events in the disaster zone that is currently the Middle East is unrelenting. Just as attention was focused on Lebanon and refocused on Gaza, Israel announced the death of Yahiya Sinwar, head of Hamas and architect of the attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023. Across the West, and possibly beyond, this development was viewed with relief - if only because it may allow for a hostage deal to finally occur. But in Iran, the death called for the mourning of a Martyr. This is not by chance: Iran is a major protagonist in the region.

From two missile attacks on Israel, to supporting Hizbollah, Hamas and the Houthis — Iran is perceived to be a malign presence across the Middle East, especially from the Western perspective. This is undoubtedly underpinned by its broken relations with the US, which dates back to the 1979-81 hostage crisis, coupled with its current closer relationship with China while also supplying armaments to Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine.

These are difficult positions for the Western mind, but they stem from the Iranian interest and perspective. To better understand both interest and perspective, Ilana Bet-El is joined by Dr Roxane Farmanfarmaian of Cambridge University in a strong and enlightening discussion that touches on the history of Iran and its international position since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, through the Iran-Iraq war of the 1990s, all the way to understanding its regional and global interests today.

This episode was recorded on 14 October 2024

Mentions

• The Iran hostage crisis
• “A Brief History of Israeli-Iranian Cooperation and Confrontation” and “How Iran and Israel became archenemies”
• Roxane’s inspiration: An American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal by Neil King Jr

Follow:

• Roxane Farmanfarmaian LinkedIn, book “Blood & Oil: A Prince’s Memoir of Iran"
• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• European Leadership Network Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook & website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production: Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll Uppbeat

Contribute to the conversation with a comment & a 5-⭐️

Reach us on our Instagram and follow for updates @women_leaders_podcast

Watch now our episode on Youtube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.