Undercurrents - Season 2

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Mohammed al-Ta’ishi, a civilian member of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council - where he served as the chief negotiator and main architect of the Juba Peace Agreement. Joining them both are BBC journalist James Copnall and Rosalind Marsden, an Associate Fellow with our Africa programme and the former UK ambassador to Sudan.

Has the world forgotten Sudan?

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by Sanam Vakil, the director of our Middle East programme to discuss Iran's missile attack on Israel and the possible consequences across the region. Joining them both are Professor Yossi Mekelberg and Dr Elham Fakhro, Associate Fellows with our Middle East programme.

Are Israel and Iran on the brink of all out war?

Bronwen Maddox is joined this week by journalist Oz Katerji and Phillips P. O’Brien, a Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St Andrews. Joining them both in the studio is Ukrainian journalist Olga Tokariuk, the OSUN Academy Fellow in the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House.

Is time running out for Ukraine?

This week, Bronwen Maddox discusses whether we are seeing a resurgence of the threat posed by nuclear weapons, given recent events in the Middle East and rhetoric from world leaders. 

On the panel is Robert E Kelly, Professor of Political Science at Pusan National University, Dr Hanna Notte, Director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and Dr Patricia Lewis, Director of the International Security Programme at Chatham House.

Which country is next to go nuclear?

In this special episode, Bronwen Maddox interviews a key figure in US foreign policy to the Middle East for over a decade, Ambassador Dennis Ross.

Ambassador Ross engaged directly with both Israeli and Palestinian parties in peace negotiations under multiple US presidents, and was instrumental in brokering agreements between them, including the ‘Oslo II’ accord of 1995 and the 1997 Hebron Accord.

They discuss topics including the US-Israel relationship, what pressure President Biden can exert on Benjamin Netanyahu over a possible invasion of Rafah, global protests against Israeli action in Gaza and whether any hope remains for a deal to end the conflict.

Will the US continue to support Israel?

Undercurrents is back for a second season!&nbsp; This week Agnes and Ben interview two leading academics from the worlds of International Relations and History. John Mearsheimer (University of Chicago) discusses his new book,  The Great Delusion, on the rise and fall of liberal foreign policy. With China's rise and Russia's resurgence the world has returned to a zero-sum balance of power political system. John explains why he's glad to see the back of an era of western interventions, and how the US should respond to the new geopolitical reality.&nbsp; Margaret MacMillan (University of Toronto) is a renowned historian of the First World War, who gave the BBC Reith Lectures in 2018. A new special issue of International Affairs, guest-edited by Margaret, looks at the state of world politics today in comparison to the aftermath of the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles. Ben and Agnes met with her to discuss why these comparisons can be useful, and how history is used and abused by politicians in the present.&nbsp; Find the book:  The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities Read the International Affairs special issue: World Politics 100 Years After the Paris Peace Conference Listen to the 2018 Reith Lectures: The Mark of Cain: War and Humanity &nbsp; Credits: Hosts: Ben Horton and Agnes Frimston Editors: Ben Horton and Agnes Frimston Sound Editor: Jamie Reed Record and produced at Chatham House, London

Episode 25: The End of Liberal Foreign Policy, and the Legacy of the Paris Peace Conference

This week Agnes and Ben meet with experts on China's economy and the history of UK relations with the gulf states.&nbsp; Yu Jie joins Ben to explain what's happening to the Chinese economy in 2019, and what's really driving the US-China trade war.&nbsp; Then Agnes discusses UK foreign policy in the Middle East with  David Wearing, drawing on his new book, Anglo Arabia.&nbsp; Read The World Today article: Marx and spenders Find the book:  Anglo Arabia: Why Gulf Wealth Matters to Britain

Episode 26: China's Economy, and UK Relations with Saudi Arabia

This week Agnes and Ben discuss how to the global financial system is experienced by developing countries, and hear about the perilous situation for investigative journalists in Ghana.&nbsp; David Lubin is head of emerging markets economics at Citi, and an associate fellow in the Global Economy &amp; Finance department at Chatham House. His latest book, Dance of the Trillions, tells the story of what makes money flow from high-income countries to lower-income countries. Ben met up with David to find out more.&nbsp; The February/March issue of The World Today features Agnes's interview with Ghanian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas. Hear the extended conversation, on how media can fight crime and corruption in Africa, as the second segment of this episode.&nbsp;&nbsp; Find the book:  Dance of the Trillions: Developing Countries and Global Finance Read the interview: Anas Aremayew Anas Credits: Hosts: Ben Horton and Agnes Frimston Editors: Ben Horton and Agnes Frimston Sound Editor: Jamie Reed Record and produced at Chatham House, London

Episode 27: Financing for Developing Countries, and Investigative Journalism in West Africa

This week we're celebrating International Women's Day with a special episode looking at the role of women in the early days of Chatham House. Katharina Rietzler is a historian at the University of Sussex, and co-leads a Leverhulme-funded project titled 'Women and the History of International Thought.'&nbsp; Ben met up with Katharina to find out more about how women experienced work at the institute from its founding to the end of the Second World War.&nbsp; Find out more: 'Women and the History of International Thought' project

Episode 28: The History of Women at Chatham House

Undercurrents returns this week with interviews on the ongoing trade dispute between the EU and US, and the underlying factors driving Russian foreign policy.&nbsp; Agnes discusses a new Chatham House report by Marianne Schneider-Petsinger from the US &amp; Americas Programme, assessing the future EU-US trade after the fall of TTIP.&nbsp; Then Ben explores modern Russian foreign policy and how the West should respond with Keir Giles, a Senior Consulting Fellow in the Russia &amp; Eurasia Programme. The discussion draws on Keir's new book for the Chatham House Insights series, Moscow Rules. &nbsp; Read the Chatham House Research Paper:  US–EU Trade Relations in the Trump Era: Which Way Forward? Find the book:  Moscow Rules: What Drives Russia to Confront the West

Episode 29: The Future of EU-US Trade, and Why Russia Confronts the West

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Episode 25: The End of Liberal Foreign Policy, and the Legacy of the Paris Peace Conference

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