War & Peace

Latest Episodes:

Russian Digital Diplomacy Oct 13, 2020

Show notes

Hugh and Olga are joined this week by Oleg Shakirov, Senior Expert at the Center for Advanced Governance and Consultant at the Moscow-based PIR Center, for a discussion on how Russian foreign policy and diplomacy have evolved in the 21st century.

Oleg describes Russia’s launch into the digital age over a decade ago, and the ways it has since harnessed these new platforms to project its desired self-image into the public sphere. By asserting its place in the virtual realms of real-time politics and competing narratives on disinformation, Russia has joined its Western counterparts in transforming the status quo of international relations.

Has Moscow managed to tilt the balance of power in its favour?

Tune in to find out!

For more information on Oleg’s research into Russian humanitarian aid during the COVID-19 pandemic: https://cpur.ru/russian-anti-covid-aid-2020-map/

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

Rethinking an End to Ukraine’s Costly War Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

Why have ceasefire agreements repeatedly fallen apart since the war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region erupted six years ago? And how has this political inertia shaped the lives of civilian populations divided by the line of separation?

Drawing on the two latest installments in our Peace in Ukraine series, Katharine unpacks these questions with Olga and Hugh. Fighting between government troops and Russian-backed separatists persists at a slow simmer, says Katharine, a result of the failure to achieve a lasting ceasefire at the front line. European leaders have met with both sides over the years to broker peace, but agreements have faltered in the face of unwillingness on either side to compromise on their respective narratives of the broader conflict.

A sense of urgency over securing a political solution has been lost with the advent of COVID-19, and it remains to be seen how long the current truce will hold. In the meantime, the dynamics of the war have altered the socio-economic landscape of frontier villages beyond recognition, a double-edged phenomenon, Katharine explains. Breaking the deadlock will require a fundamental rethinking of who stands to benefit from establishing zones of disengagement and a recentring of the humanitarian imperative in future negotiations.

The question of whether the Ukrainian government envisions the eventual reintegration of separatist-held areas will be ever more critical as the years go by. Tune in to find out more!

For more information, see our reports: Peace in Ukraine (II): A New Approach to Disengagement and Peace in Ukraine (III): The Costs of War in Donbas

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

How a Bad Brexit May Sour European Security Cooperation Sep 15, 2020

Show notes

As the end of the transitional period and negotiations for Britain to leave the EU draws near, a ‘no-deal’ or a very limited deal is increasingly likely. Even if a deal is reached, it will be far from a comprehensive framework on how to integrate the two trading systems and contentious issues are likely going to be kicked into next year. Future negotiations could spill over into important areas such as defence and security.

Lord Mark Malloch-Brown joins Olga and Hugh for the first episode of a new season to discuss what both a ‘no-deal’ and a limited deal would mean for the future relationship between the UK and the EU, as well as their respective relationships with other actors such as the U.S., NATO and Russia. They also discuss Malloch-Brown’s work as chair for the Best for Britain campaign to keep Britain in Europe, what Brexit tells us about the state of global politics and what must change to better address the concerns of today.

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

Episode 9: La communication pendant la crise (FR) Jul 15, 2020

Show notes

Dans ce dernier épisode de la série, réalisé en français, Isabel Caño Aguilar, vice-présidente du CESE responsable pour la communication, parle de l'expérience de la COVID. Elle nous décrit comment la pandémie a modifié tout le travail de communication du CESE en faisant de la solidarité et de l'engagement les mots-clés de tout son travail et de toutes ses initiatives, à commencer par le Prix de la solidarité civile 2020. Pour la Vice-Présidente, "rien ne sera plus comme avant après cette pandémie. Mais nous avons la responsabilité de réagir, de faire une Europe plus forte. Les citoyens et les citoyennes européennes nous demandent de le faire".

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

Episode 8 : When the world of work comes tumbling down Jul 02, 2020

Show notes

When COVID-19 struck Europe, it not only brought hospitals to the verge of collapse but created havoc in its wake on many different fronts: European GDP slumped, industrial production plummeted and thousands lost their jobs. The future does not look rosy either. In episode 8 "When the world of work comes tumbling down", we look at what the EU could do on the employment front, where it has only limited powers. We spoke to Professor Caroline de la Porte from the Copenhagen Business School who gave us a brief overview of the employment guidelines, a tool that enables the EU to help coordinate the Member States' employment policies. EESC member Ellen Nygren told us about the EESC proposal on how the employment guidelines should be revised in the face of the COVID-19 crisis so to make sure that the Member States, among other things, help self-employed Europeans – such as Portuguese musician Tiago Rodrigues, who shared with us his story of how he and his 5EX Band became jobless overnight.

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

Energy Policy and Pipeline Politics Jun 29, 2020

Show notes

To conclude our first season, Olga and Hugh talk energy security with Alissa de Carbonnel, Crisis Group’s Deputy Program Director for Europe and Central Asia. They assess who is dependent on who in the Russia-Europe relationship, the impact of energy on conflicts, what an increasingly assertive U.S. policy will achieve, and how energy prices in a COVID-19 era could affect Russia.

We’ll be back in September with a brand new season. Until then, stay safe!

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

Will Protests in the U.S. Bring the Systemic Change Needed? Jun 15, 2020

Show notes

Last week, for the very first time in Crisis Group's history, we published a statement on the events unfolding in the U.S. The murder of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, triggered protests across the country against structural inequality. Similar protests have since erupted around the world as many countries reckon with their own histories of entrenched racial discrimination.

Dan Schneiderman, Crisis Group’s Head of Advocacy and Research for the U.S., joins Hugh and Olga to discuss the meaning of these recent events. They look at the militarisation of the police, the impact the protests will have on the U.S.'s global credibility, and their potential to bring about the systemic change being demanded.

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

Episode 7: Getting the European air industry back off the ground Jun 12, 2020

Show notes

Caught in the crossfire of the COVID-19 and climate crises, will the European air industry take off again after months of grounding? We hear the views of Thomas Kropp, senior advisor to Lufthansa and EESC rapporteur on the waiving of airport slot rules during COVID-19, Saim Saeed, mobility reporter at Politico Europe, and Agathe Bounfour, who is in charge of transport policies at Climate Action Network France.

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

How COVID-19 Makes Afghanistan’s War Still More Deadly Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

After two decades of conflict in Afghanistan, many hoped that a peace deal between the U.S. and the Taliban, signed on 29 February 2020, would mark the beginning of a peace process between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Instead, the peace process has stalled as the two sides struggle to agree on issues necessary to begin the negotiations. The Taliban has since steadily escalated violence against Afghan security forces, while the U.S. has resumed airstrikes.

In addition to the uptick in violence, Afghanistan’s minister of public health has warned that up to 25 million Afghans could eventually be infected with COVID-19, out of a population of about 36 million. Even with very limited testing, numbers continue to rise. At the same time, the public health crisis may pale compared to severe food insecurity, a shrinking economy, and yet more people who are unable to make money to put food on the table.

Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Afghanistan Andrew Watkins talks with Olga and Hugh about sentiment among Afghans suffering under these overlapping crises, which states could serve as neutral negotiators for the peace process, the role of the EU and its member states in Afghanistan’s future and what could happen if the U.S. withdraws its troops without an intra-Afghan peace deal.

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

Episode 6: Shoring up businesses from Covid-19 May 20, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, Belgian hotel owner and industry representative Marc Van Muylders illustrates the catastrophic impact of COVID-19 on the tourism and hotel sector, while Milena Angelova, EESC Vice-President for budget and secretary-general of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), explains how the EESC is putting its expertise at the service of businesses grappling with the crisis across Europe and Amandine Crespy, professor of political science at the Free University of Brussels and visiting professor at the European College in Bruges, outlines the EU's larger plans to help European businesses weather the storm.

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