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, Janka Oertel, and Alicja Bachulska try to change that by engaging in conversations with some of the best Chinese academics, researchers, writers, and journalists on the topics in Chinese internal debates that matter most to Europeans.  

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In this episode we are joined by Yan Xuetong, director of the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University and one of the world’s most renowned scholars on realism in international relations, to discuss the trajectory of the international order and China’s response to it. What do Chinese leaders mean when they talk about “great changes unseen in a century”? How might China respond to the US strategy of “small yard, high fence”? And what is the role of populism in the emerging global order? 

The Essence of Interstate Leadership: Debating Moral Realism edited by Yan Xuetong and Fang Yuanyuan 

Leadership and the Rise of Great Powers by Yan Xuetong  

This podcast was recorded on 16 April 2024.    

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Europe’s Africa policy was greatly affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, especially as energy and food supply became weaponised as a Russian tool of aggression. In response, stronger bilateral, regional, and multilateral cooperation is needed between African organisations and countries and Western actors. Both parties should continue to accelerate existing objectives, like the 2030 Agenda, debt, sustainable development, health security, energy independence, political instability, and democracy and human rights. All these priorities, if well implemented through the G7 mandate, could also help Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni to finally succeed in tackling migration through a multilateral approach rather than a purely domestic one.  

In this episode, Elisabeth Sidiropoulos, chief executive of the South African Institute for International Affairs, and Maddalena Procopio, senior policy fellow at ECFR’s Africa programme, discuss how Meloni could advance her policy ideas on Africa through the G7 presidency.

This podcast was recorded on 30 May 2024

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xThe green transition requires massive investments in energy, digital, and transport connectivity to fill the gap in developing countries. At the same time, infrastructure projects are becoming weaponised by rival powers seeking to extend their influence abroad through the construction of railways, undersea cables, or renewable energy plants. China has been the pioneer in this effort, through its massive investment plan, the Belt and Road Initiative. The G7, conscious of the necessity to answer China’s infrastructural offensive and to mend ties with the global south, has launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investments. Italy, as G7 president, aims to be a bridge builder – literally and metaphorically – and is developing routes alternative to those sponsored by China.

In this episode, Alberto Rizzi, policy fellow at ECFR and author of the recent report on the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor, and Mohammed Soliman, director of the strategic technologies and cyber security programme at the Middle East Institute, discuss the importance of infrastructures and connectivity in the current fragmented global order.

This podcast was recorded on 16 May 2024

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The rise of AI has shaken national debates on regulations and security, pushed the European Union towards an unprecedent legislative measure, the AI Act, and driven competition between great and emerging powers. AI had also the potential to be a pandora’s box for new risks and challenges, especially amid the unstable geopolitical environment. Based on the results of the Hiroshima AI process, the final declaration on AI from Japan’s G7 presidency, prime minister Giorgia Meloni has prioritised the issue of AI in Italy’s 2024 presidency.

In this episode of our ‘Meloni goes multilateral’ podcast series, Maria Rosaria Taddeo, professor of digital ethics and defence technologies, programme director at the Oxford Internet Institute, and ethics fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, together with Gabriele Carrer, journalist and former ECFR visiting fellow, discuss how to tackle such challenges.

This podcast was recorded on 3 June 2024

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Two years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the international community remains deeply divided on how to react to Putin’s aggression. Disagreements have characterised the European position, prompting strong criticism about the European Union’s incapacity to react, act, and lead with a strong and united position. In the United States, measures to support Ukraine have also been blocked because of bipartisan division; China still sends weapons-related exports to Russia; and many countries take strong pro-Russia positions. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s support to Ukraine has surprised many observers who did not believe in her commitment to a free and sovereign Ukraine. As the war becomes one of attrition, she should use her G7 presidency to harmonise and expand its role, not only in condemning Russia, but also on supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction.

In this episode, Arturo Varvelli, who heads the Rome office at ECFR, and Lesia Ogryzko, an ECFR visiting fellow and head of the International Cooperation Department of the RISE Ukraine Coalition and a fellow at the Centre for Defence Strategies, discuss what to expect from Meloni on support to Ukraine.

This podcast was recorded on 9 May 2024

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How has the war impacted the way Russians think about their identity and their future? Are some signs of major change already visible? What are the possible scenarios for change and what would trigger them?

ECFR’s podcast on Russia, “Under the Overcoat”, explores the deeper trends beneath the surface of daily politics. To explore how the war has transformed Russia's society and political culture and outline possible scenarios for its medium to long term political trajectory, our host Kadri Liik is joined by ECFR visiting fellows Mikhail Komin, Ksenia Luchenko, and Kirill Shamiev. 

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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 the topics in Chinese internal debates that matter most to Europeans. 

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In this episode, we are joined by Angela Zhang, associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong and director of the Philip K.H. Wong Centre for Chinese Law, to discuss China’s big tech regulation. Angela talks us through big tech companies’ far from frictionless relationship with the Chinese state. How is China regulating its big tech firms? What role do these firms play in China’s competition with Europe and the United States? And what are the lessons for Europe’s own attempts at tech regulation? 

High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy by Angela Zhang 

Wuhan: How the COVID-19 Outbreak in China Spiraled Out of Control, by Dali L. Yang 

This podcast was recorded on 21 May 2024.   

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How can we understand current-day Russia against the background of history? Is the monopolisation of power and lack of checks and balances on a level unique to Russia? Was Russia’s foreign policy trajectory predestined and if not, what were the crucial turning points that brought it to where it is today? And is Russian foreign policy changing irreversibly?   

ECFR’s new podcast on Russia, “Under the Overcoat”, explores the deeper trends beneath the surface of daily politics. To look at the history of Russia’s foreign policy and what its future might be, our host Kadri Liik is joined by ECFR visiting fellow Kirill Shamiev and Sergey Radchenko, Wilson E. Schmidt distinguished professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. 

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In September 2024, the United Nation’s Summit of the Future is set to take place – a crucial moment to mend “eroded trust” between peoples, countries, and generations. Europe's role on the world stage is constantly adapting to the fluidity of the global geopolitical space. Traditional views of multilateralism are being rethought, and Europe is exploring its role in fostering meaningful international cooperation on many global issues.  

In this final episode of Europe Listens, ECFR’s Rafael Loss and Jana Puglierin welcome Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group and Arancha González Laya, former Spanish foreign minister and current dean of the Science Po Paris School of International Affairs. They revisit previous discussions of the Europe Listens series and, looking ahead, ask how the European Union can continue playing a meaningful role on the global stage. 

This podcast was recorded on 19 March 2024. 

Other episodes of this show: 

Europe Listens – seasons 1-3 

Further reading: 

Pact for the Future: Zero draft by Germany and Namibia as co-facilitators of the UN Summit of the Future 

Multilateral values: European ideals under pressure by Richard Gowan 

How the World Lost Faith in the UN by Richard Gowan 

Trump-proofing Europe: How the continent can prepare for American abandonment by Arancha González Laya et al. 

Multilateral Matchmaker by Carla Hobbs, Rafael Loss, Jana Puglierin, and Pawel Zerka 

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To achieve the ambitions of the European Green Deal, the European Commission insists that healthy oceans and a sustainable maritime economy are crucial. With rising demand for minerals from various sectors, including to advance the green transformation, many expect we are on the brink of the biggest gold rush in history – deep beneath the ocean surface. 

In this episode of Europe Listens, ECFR’s Rafael Loss and Jana Puglierin welcome Pradeep Singh, environmental lawyer and fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainability in Potsdam. What are the key resources in the seabed? Is deep seabed mining more of an opportunity or a risk? How can the European Union and its global partners help to guard against the known and unknown dangers of deep seabed mining?  

This podcast was recorded on 4 March 2024. 

Other episodes of this season: 

Episode 1: Protecting the high seas with Essam Yassin Mohammed

Further reading: 

The European Union and seabed mining by Pradeep A. Singh, Virginie Tassin Campanella, and Frank Maes 

A “deadline” expires: Quo Vadis, International Seabed Authority? By Pradeep Singh 

The country with nothing left to lose by Christina Lu 

Resolution on Norway’s recent decision to advance seabed mining in the Arctic by the European Parliament 

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Around 70 per cent of our planet is covered by the ocean, of which two-thirds fall beyond national jurisdiction. After decades of discussions and negotiations, states adopted the so-called High Seas Treaty in September 2023. The treaty aims to increase the governance of the world’s oceans and tackle common challenges such as environmental degradation, illegal fishing, and preserving our marine resources sustainably.   

To kick off the third season of Europe Listens, ECFR’s Rafael Loss and Jana Puglierin welcome Essam Yassin Mohammed, director general of WorldFish and senior director of aquatic food at CGIAR, a global partnership that unites international organisations engaged in research about food security. What are the most pressing challenges when navigating the realm of ocean governance? What other developments or multilateral initiatives in ocean governance are on the horizon for the European Union and its allies?

This podcast was recorded on 28 February 2024. 

Other episodes of this season: 

Episode 2: Exploring the deep seabed with Pradeep Singh

Further reading: 

2024: A turning point for transforming aquatic food systems by Essam Yassin Mohammed 

A momentous milestone for the ocean and global biodiversity by the High Seas Alliance 

Protecting the ocean, time for action by the European Commission 

Multilateral Matchmaker: Outer-space and maritime security governance by Rafael Loss 

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