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?

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

In the first of two summer specials, Ben interviews the former Deputy Foreign Minister of Mexico about the state of Mexican politics under President&nbsp;Andrés Manuel López Obrador. In July 2018, Andrés Manuel López Obrador - commonly referred to as AMLO - was elected president with 53 per cent of the vote on a platform pledging to rid Mexico of corruption, stifle the country’s drug war and offer support for its most vulnerable. Entering office in December, his approval rating was 83 per cent. However, eight months on and AMLO’s approval ratings are at risk with much of the international discourse focusing on how the country is responding to threats of sanctions and tariffs from its northern neighbour as well as how AMLO's campaign promises have or have not been kept. This week Ben speaks to Ambassador Andrés Rozental, former Deputy Foreign Minister of Mexico and special advisor at Chatham House, about how far AMLO has delivered on his campaign promises, and how Mexico's relations with its western hemisphere neighbours are developing.&nbsp; Read the Expert Comment:  Can AMLO Live Up To Mexico's Expectations? &nbsp; Credits: Speaker:&nbsp;Andrés Rozental Host: Ben Horton Producer: Ben Horton Sound Editor: Jamie Reed Recorded and produced at Chatham House, London

Summer Special: Andrés Rozental on Mexican Politics

Chatham House is an independent policy instute, based in London. We have been a source of independent analysis, trusted dialogue and influential ideas for one hundred years. Today, at the beginning of our second century, we continue to offer solutions to global challenges and actively seek to empower the next generation to change their world.

Summer Special: Andrés Rozental on Mexican Politics

Chatham House

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