Podcast Episodes

Syria: Is this going to work?

The unloading of Bashar al-Assad in December was a hopeful moment for Syria. The installation of his successor, jihadist commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, was a more nervous one. We discuss the mood among c…

Published on 9 months ago

Explainer 459: Why has Rwanda severed ties with Belgium?

Following Rwanda’s expulsion of Belgium’s diplomats this week, Andrew Mueller explains the European nation’s troubled history of involvement in Rwanda and the DRC.

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Published on 9 months, 1 week ago

Nato’s frontline: the view from the Baltics

‘The Foreign Desk’ speaks to leaders from Nato’s Baltic members about the vexing, existential questions they face: what happens if Russia strikes one of them? Is Nato’s Article 5 the unassailable sec…

Published on 9 months, 1 week ago

Explainer 458: Why is Rodrigo Duterte being sent to The Hague?

Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, has been arrested and sent to The Hague, where he will face charges for crimes against humanity. Andrew Mueller explains the former president…

Published on 9 months, 2 weeks ago

Has the US given up?

It is clear by now that Donald Trump’s second administration will not be a rerun of the first. Why has the United States tilted away from Europe? Is there any method to the apparent madness? And how …

Published on 9 months, 2 weeks ago

Explainer 457: What does Ukraine do now?

What shape will the war in Ukraine take now that president Trump has paused all military aid? Andrew Mueller unpacks the nation’s prospects following Friday’s showdown in the Oval Office. 

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Published on 9 months, 3 weeks ago

Russia’s ripple effect

Russia’s rampage in Ukraine has had knock-on effects elsewhere, few if any of them positive. At the Munich Security Conference, Georgia’s president Salome Zourabichvili told us how she’s fighting Rus…

Published on 9 months, 3 weeks ago

Explainer 456: What’s halting Germany’s defence? History.

As security risks on the European continent rise and the US retreats from its historic role, will Germany be able to shake off its history and arm itself to meet the moment?

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Published on 10 months ago

Very well, alone?

In the week following US vice president JD Vance’s explosive speech at the Munich Security Conference, European leaders scrambled to two emergency summits to consider the prospect of American detachm…

Published on 10 months ago

Explainer 455: Mauritius’s money-laundering prime minister

Former Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth was arrested last weekend after the country’s Financial Crimes Commission recovered suitcases full of banknotes worth over €2m. We explain why the scandal is not …

Published on 10 months, 1 week ago