China is becoming ever more important to global affairs. But political and geopolitical challenges, as well as the covid-19 pandemic, have diminished Europeans’ ability to engage with Chinese thinkers and understand their views and ideas about the world. In this mini-series, Mark Leonard and Janka Oertel try to change that by engaging in conversations with some of the best Chinese academics, researchers, writers, and journalists on diverse topics in Chinese internal debates that matter most to Europeans.  
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In this episode, we are joined by research assistant professor of political science at Tsinghua University, Duan Jiuzhou, who is an expert on the Middle East and North Africa with a special interest in civil-military relations and the political economy of development. Duan talks us through how Chinese scholars view the dynamics in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as China’s role in the region. Which countries do Chinese experts view as the major players? What does the Saudi-Iranian detente mean for China’s ambitions as a global peace-broker? And what does the development of Chinese-Middle Eastern relations mean for the world order in the coming decade?

China-Egypt Relations During the BRI Era and Beyond by Duan Jiuzhou in Routledge Handbook on China-Middle East Relations
Initiative and Visions: Synergy between Development Strategies of China and the Arab States in Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies by Duan Jiuzhou & She Gangzheng  

This podcast was recorded on 19 May 2023.

In:Sight China with with Duan Jiuzhou

The second episode of ECFR’s WOMENP mini-series considers the geo-economic trends in the Middle East and emerging opportunities following recent developments, such as the detente between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the new government in Iraq almost one year after its formation. Does Iran seek and stand to benefit economically from the opening with the Arab world? How do broader dynamics, including the United States’ sanctions framework limit these prospects? In which areas would investments by the Gulf Cooperation Council in Iran benefit the Iranian people? Will Iraq be a testing ground for economic cooperation? In this episode, ECFR’s Ellie Geranmayeh speaks to Nadereh Chamlou, non-resident senior fellow, Atlantic Council and Sheikha Najla Al Qassimi, director of the Global Affairs Division, Dubai Public Policy Research Centre (B’huth).
 
This podcast was recorded on 12 July 2023.  
 
Suggested reading by experts:
 
Liberalism and Its Discontents by Francis Fukuyama
 
A political economy of the Middle East by Alan Richards and John Waterbury
 
On China by Henry Kissinger

The geo-economic effect of the Iran-GCC thaw

Digital technologies are set to transform African economies. Yet, only 40 per cent of Africans accessed the internet in 2022 – well below the proportion in the world’s other regions. Technological as well as socio-economic factors drive this digital divide, and US-Chinese competition risks making it worse.

To kick off the second season of Europe Listens, ECFR’s Rafael Loss and Jana Puglierin welcome Jane Munga, a fellow in the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former digital policy advisor to the government of Kenya. What are the most pressing priorities for African countries to overcome the global digital divide? How does Europe’s digital diplomacy compare to US and Chinese tech giants’ approaches? And what is Africa’s vision for “digital sovereignty”?

This podcast was recorded on 8 August 2023.

Other episodes of this season:
Episode 2: Combatting online disinformation with Flora Rebello Arduini 

Episode 3: Governing outer space with Ruvimbo Samanga

Further reading:

How the United States can effectively implement its new Digital Transformation with Africa initiative by Jane Munga

How Will U.S.-China Tech Decoupling Affect Africa’s Mobile Phone Market? By Jane Munga and Kyla Denwood

Measuring digital development: Facts and figures 2022 by the International Telecommunication Union

The geopolitics of technology: How the EU can become a global player by Julian Ringhof and José Ignacio Torreblanca

Europe Listens: Overcoming the global digital divide with Jane Munga

On 8 January 2023, following a contentious national election, protestors attacked government buildings in Brazil’s capital. The riots were preceded by years of online disinformation, targeting lawmakers and the country’s electoral process. Striking parallels with the storming of the US Capitol two years prior underline the role that transnational networks play in pushing disinformation globally, and that of big tech standing idly by (at best).

In this episode of Europe Listens, ECFR’s Rafael Loss and Jana Puglierin welcome Flora Rebello Arduini, campaign director, disinformation researcher, and big-tech watcher at Ekō, a global non-profit organisation advancing corporate accountability. How does online disinformation affect Brazilian politics? What role do social media giants play in spreading fake news? And how can companies, legislators, and civil society in Brazil and Europe stem the tide of AI-powered disinformation in the future?

This podcast was recorded on 16 June 2023.

Other episodes of this season:

Episode 1: Overcoming the global digital divide with Jane Munga 

Episode 3: Governing outer space with Ruvimbo Samanga

Further reading:

Stop the steal 2.0. How Meta is subverting Brazilian democracy by SumOfUs (now Ekō)

Everyone saw Brazil violence coming. Except social media giants by Mark Scott

Gendered disinformation: 6 reasons why liberal democracies need to respond to this threat by Ellen Judson

Democratic defence: How Italy can lead the fight against Russian disinformation by Gabriele Carrer, Teresa Coratella and Silvia Samorè

Europe Listens: Combatting online disinformation with Flora Rebello Arduini

The global space economy is worth a whopping $469 billion, and growing fast. Commercial interests are proliferating; more and more countries are launching satellites into space. Some African leaders aspire for their continent to become a knowledge, technology, and manufacturing hub for this new space age and to leverage space technologies to advance economic development. They are looking for global partners to join them in this quest.

In this episode of Europe Listens, ECFR’s Rafael Loss and Jana Puglierin welcome Ruvimbo Samanga, a space law and policy advisor at Access Partnership, a global tech advisory firm. How can Africans and Europeans benefit from cooperating on space access and technologies, and what pitfalls should they look out for? What is “space junk” and how might a clean-up effort work in practice? And how can the EU’s space law best promote responsible behaviour on Earth and in outer space?

This podcast was recorded on 7 July 2023.

Other episodes of this season:

Episode 1: Overcoming the global digital divide with Jane Munga 

Episode 2: Combatting online disinformation with Flora Rebello Arduini

Further reading:

Why Africa needs to be in space by Val Munsami

Space innovation in Zimbabwe and beyond: Interview with Ruvimbo Samanga

African space strategy for social, political and economic integration by the African Union

Multilateral space: A European space oddity by Rafael Loss and Silvia Samorè

Europe Listens: Governing outer space with Ruvimbo Samanga

The third episode of ECFR’s WOMENP mini-series looks at domestic dynamics and the human rights situation in Iran a year after nationwide protests erupted following the death of a young woman, Mahsa Jina Amini, in police custody. The podcast unpacks how power dynamics between state and society have shifted since, and its implications on the country’s leadership. How have Iranians continued with acts of resistance and civil disobedience despite the large scale crackdown by authorities? How has the West has responded, and what more can European countries do to tangibly support activists and human rights defenders inside Iran?

In this episode, ECFR's Ellie Geranmayeh speaks to Tara Sepehri Far, Iran and Kuwait researcher, Middle East and North Africa division, Human Rights Watch; Sussan Tahmasebi, executive director, FEMENA; and Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House.
 
This podcast was recorded on 30 August 2023.
 
Suggested reading by experts:
 
The Protests Inside Iran’s Girls’ Schools by Azadeh Moaveni
 
Iran’s Hijab-Industrial Complex by Kourosh Ziabari
 
We-change.org, by multiple authors
 
The Uncaged Sky by Kylie Moore-Gilbert
 
Bureaucraft: Statemakers in Amman and Baghdad by José Ciro Martínez, Omar Sirri

A Year on from the Mahsa Amini Protests: Where Iran is headed and Implications for Western Policy

On 1 September, Russian high schools transitioned to new "patriotic" history textbooks authored by one of Russia's staunchest conservatives, former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky. How do these textbooks mirror the core tenets of the Russian regime's ideology? What stance do they take on figures like Stalin, the dissolution of the USSR, and Russia’s war in Ukraine? What narratives will Russian students be exposed to based on these textbooks? How has the Russian and Soviet history curriculum changed in the past?

ECFR’s new podcast on Russia, “Under the Overcoat”, will explore the deeper trends beneath the surface of daily politics. For a closer look at history, our host Kadri Liik is joined by ECFR visiting fellows Ksenia Luchenko, Kirill Shamiev, and Mikhail Komin. 

Bookshelf: 
The House of Government: A Saga of the Russian Revolution

Soldiers and the Soviet State: Civil-Military Relations from Brezhnev to Gorbachev | Timothy J. Colton

Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More: The Last Soviet Generation
Alexei Yurchak

Under the Overcoat: the past is unpredictable

The Russian Orthodox Church is supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine in its sermons, sending priests to the front, and collecting humanitarian aid for soldiers and the occupied Ukrainian territories. It is also involved in the administration of the occupied territories and in promoting propaganda narratives abroad. So why did the head of the Church, Patriarch Kirill, bet on Putin? How influential is the Church in Russian politics and society? What will happen to it after the war and will it survive Putin's regime? 

ECFR’s new podcast on Russia, “Under the Overcoat”, will explore the deeper trends beneath the surface of daily politics. To dive deeper into the role of the Russian Orthodox Church, our host Kadri Liik is joined by ECFR visiting fellow Ksenia Luchenko and Alexander Agadjanian, a senior research fellow at Yerevan State University.  

Bookshelf: 

Daniel Stein, Interpreter: A Novel | Ludmila Ulitskaya 
La Sainte Russie contre l’Occident 

Everyday Religiosity and the Politics of Belonging in Ukraine | Catherine Wanner  

Understanding World Christianity: Russia | Alexander S. Agadjanian (Author), Scott M. Kenworthy

Under the overcoat: God save the Tsar

How do Russian officials "coexist"  with the war nearly two years after the invasion? How has the bureaucratic system adapted to the requirements of the war? Do officials who openly endorse the invasion or are deployed to work in occupied territories receive better roles or resources ? Does the relative efficiency of the Russian bureaucracy boost the Kremlin’s capacity to sustain the conflict?

ECFR’s new podcast on Russia, “Under the Overcoat”, will explore the deeper trends beneath the surface of daily politics. To investigate the role of Russian bureaucrats, our host Kadri Liik is joined by ECFR visiting fellow Mikhail Komin and Russian political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann. 

Bookshelf: 
Legislation as a Political Process and Practical Political Science: A Guide to Contact with Reality
Nomenklatura by Voslenskiy

Under the overcoat: the death of a clerk

The fourth episode of ECFR’s WOMENP mini-series, recorded during the 2023 Doha Forum, looks at the regional reverberations of the war in Gaza, particularly from the perspective of key Arab Gulf monarchies such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The podcast unpacks how these countries have reacted to the 7 October attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza, the prospects of ongoing normalisation deals and negotiations between Arab Gulf monarchies and Israel, domestic dynamics in these countries, and potential future scenarios. How is Qatar managing the new cycle of violence in Israel and Palestine, and what role has it played? How have different Gulf countries positioned themselves on the war in Gaza? What is the state of Saudi-Israeli negotiations following the 7 October attacks?

In this episode, ECFR’s Cinzia Bianco speaks to Dania Thafer, executive director of the Gulf International Forum and lecturer at Georgetown University and Elham Fakhro, associate fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House.
This podcast was recorded on 11 December 2023.

Beyond Gaza: focus on regional and global players

Short interviews and comments by our experts and others on breaking news and key topics from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) - the first pan-European think-tank. Launched in October 2007, our objective is to conduct research and promote informed debate across Europe on the development of coherent and effective European values-based foreign policy.

Listen also to Mark Leonard's The World in 30 Minutes, our weekly series in which we explore the big issues in foreign policy: https://soundcloud.com/ecfr

Under the Overcoat: the past is unpredictable

ECFR ON AIR