Siste episoder av .think atlantic podcast

1. THREATS: European Perspectives on a changing strategic environment10.07.2023 (00:28:45)

   In this special episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by IRI's Transatlantic Strategy Division Senior Director Jan Surotchak and three authors of IRI’s latest publication “THREATS: European Perspectives on a changing strategic environment”. This publication gathers a collection of essays from a range of European experts and practitioners of geopolitics, and provides an overview of how diverse - and at the same time how convergent - security perceptions are in the Europe today.  And to discuss it, we have Theresa from Germany, Radu from Romania and Anna from Greece. Theresa Carolina Winter is Policy advisor for security and defence politics at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom; Ana Zahariadou is a defense and security affairs specialist and Deputy International Secretary of the Greek centre-right governing party New Democracy; Radu Albu Comanescu is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of European Studies at the Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca; And last but not least, our own Transatlantic Strategy Division Senior Director Jan Surotchak, who supported this project all along and who give us the US perspective on Transatlantic security. What is the most important thing that Allies need to achieve at the NATO Vilnius Summit? What is the German Zeitenwende and how the German security establishment has reacted to the Russian war in Ukraine? How does Romania perceive its place in the NATO alliance to be, and does its perception of threats differ radically from other actors? How does Greece view the current situation in the Black Sea, and does that affect the way it perceives its role in the Mediterranean? how the US views geopolitical threats and its strategic environment, in Europe and beyond? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this episode. Do not forget to download IRI's publication " THREATS: European Perspectives on a changing strategic environment”. Find Jan Surotchak on Twitter @jansurotchak Find Theresa Winter on Twitter @tcwint Find Radu Albu Comanescu on Twitter @raalcom Find Anna Zahariadou on Twitter @Anna_Zah_ Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

2. (SPECIAL) Voices from Central and Eastern Europe26.03.2023 (00:27:57)

   In this special episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by IRI's Transatlantic Security Initiative Program Director Andrea Keerbs and four participants of its latest edition to talk about “Voices from Central and Eastern Europe” - the TSI 2 publication that was just released this month. This paper gathers essays from participants of our TSI program. And to discuss it, we have Kamila and Adam from Slovakia, Artur from Hungary and Daniel from Poland. When it comes to Andrea Keerbs, she has been at IRI for more than a decade now and has worked in our offices in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova before moving in Budapest, so needless to say she has extensive experience in talking democracy and security in Central and Eastern Europe. What is the Transatlantic Security Initiative program? How the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia changed the program? How did participants from Central and Eastern Europe feel the TSI experience? Is 2022 NATO's strategic concept now fully taking into account CEE region's security needs? Are regional formats of cooperation a plus for CEE region? How to mitigate disinformation vulnerabilities? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this episode. Do not forget to download IRI's publication "Voices from Central and Eastern Europe": Voices From Central and Eastern Europe | International Republican Institute (iri.org) Find Andrea Keerbs on Twitter @AndreaKeerbs Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

3. 2022 in Retrospect with Dan Twining19.12.2022 (00:28:40)

   In this special end of the year episode of .think Atlantic, our host Thibault Muzergues is joined by special guest, none other than IRI President Dr. Daniel Twining to review the transatlantic space’s most influential events of the year. Dr. Twining’s expertise regarding political parties, autocracies, and strategies as we enter the New Year will be the center of this episode’s discussion. Dr. Daniel Twining joined the International Republican Institute as President in 2017, where he leads the Institute’s mission to advance democracy and freedom around the world. He heads IRI’s team of over 800 global experts to link citizens and governments, motivate people to engage in the political process, and guide politicians and government officials to be responsive to citizens. Previously, Dr. Twining served as counselor to the president and director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund, as a member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, as the foreign policy advisor to U.S. Senator John McCain, and as a staff member of the U.S. Trade Representative. He has been an associate of the National Intelligence Council, taught at Georgetown University, and served as a military instructor associated with the Naval Postgraduate School. He serves on the Bush Institute’s Human Freedom Advisory Council and the Wilson Center’s Asia Advisory Board. He has been a columnist for Foreign Policy and Nikkei and served as an advisor to six presidential campaigns. From 2004-7, he was the Fulbright/Oxford Scholar at Oxford University. Find Dan on Twitter: @DCTwining Find IRI on Twitter: @IRIglobal Find Thibault on Twitter: @tmuzergues Visit IRI’s website at www.iri.org

4. Russian & Chinese Influence in Europe, with Giulia Pompili04.12.2022 (00:31:43)

   In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Giulia Pompili to talk about how both Russia and China work to increase their influence in European politics. The conversation focuses specifically on Italy. Giulia is a well-known journalist at Il Foglio, where she covers Eastern Asia. She is also the author of the Katane newsletter, and we had her come last year to talk about her previous book, Sotto lo stesso Cielo. This time, however, she’s here to talk about her new book, which was co-written with Valerio Valentini and covers the topic of the day. It is in Italian and it is called Al cuore dell’Italia, whose full title translates as “To The Heart of Italy: How Russia and China are Trying To Conquer The Country”. What happened in the spring of 2020 in Italy? Are there similarities in the ways the Chinese Communist Party and Putin’s regime have tried to capture Italian elites? Are there common features or motives that makes an individual pro-Russian or pro-Chinese? How Chinese and Russian institutions have attempted to influence and control the Italian press? What are the challenges ahead for the new Italian government? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this episode. Find Giulia Pompili on Twitter @giuliapompili Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

5. The Right with Matthew Continetti20.11.2022 (00:40:10)

   In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Matthew Continetti to talk about talk about the past, present and future of the American Right. Matthew is a prominent journalist, analyst, author and intellectual historian of the American Right. Founder of The Washington Free Beacon, he used to act as its Editor-in-Chief while contributing regularly to various journals and outlets including National Review, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Matthew is also a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Matthew is the author of ‘The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism’. What is the history of the American Right in the past 100 years? How the American Right went from marginality to mainstream after the Second World War? What is Reaganism? How to navigate between Neo-Conservatives and the Paleo-Conservatives? What is the legacy of Donald Trump in American Right? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this episode. Find Matthew Continetti on Twitter @continetti Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

6. Midterm Elections with Sean Tonner06.11.2022 (00:23:06)

   In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Sean Tonner to talk about the US mid-term elections, which are going to be held on Tuesday, November the 8th. Sean currently works as Managing Partner at the Fulcrum Group, a strategic communication company based in Denver Colorado. Previously he worked in numerous campaigns, and was among other things deputy chief of staff of Colorado Governor Bill Owens in the late 1990s and Western US Campaign Director for George W. Bush’s campaign in 2000. How do things look like for each party? Should we expect a Red wave this Tuesday night? What are the main messages on both sides? What races should we be watching? Do Europeans have reasons to be worried, in particular about America’s support to Ukraine? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this episode. Find Sean Tonner on Twitter @GOPCO Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

7. Germany at the Crossroads30.10.2022 (00:33:59)

   In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Dr. Markus Kerber to talk about Germany, its economy and its place in Europe and in the World as Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on. Dr. Kerber is currently the Chief Strategic Advisor to Friedrich Merz, the party leader of the German Christian Democratic Union or CDU. He served between 2017 and 2021 as State Secretary at the Internal Ministry of the Interior and Community in the German government, after a six-years tenure as CEO of the Federation of German Industries. How is the German economy doing? What direction German economic policies are heading to? Is there questioning of German leadership in Europe? Has the perception of Russia and China changed? How to improve bilateral relation with the US? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this episode. Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

8. Nuclear Deterrence with Bruno Tertrais23.10.2022 (00:26:56)

   In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Bruno Tertrais to talk about nuclear deterrence. Bruno Tertrais is deputy director of the Foundation for Strategic Research - or FRS, a French think-tank. His areas of expertise include geopolitics and international relations with a specific focus on strategic and military affairs, and for what is of particular concern to us today, nuclear deterrence and non-proliferation. He is a Senior Fellow at Institute Montaigne as well as a scientific adviser to the French Government’s High Commissioner for Planning. Finally, he is the author of numerous books and articles on the nuclear weapon, including this spring “Principles of Nuclear Deterrence and Strategy”, a paper for the NATO Defense college, and even more recently another paper on the future of nuclear deterrence which was published by our partners Fondapol a couple of weeks ago. What is the concept of nuclear deterrence? Can we talk about nuclear blackmail? What are the “odds” for a nuclear strike from Russia in Ukraine? Are we living a new 1962 Cuba missile crisis again? Is there any way out of this war that avoids the use of nuclear weapons? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this episode. Find Bruno Tertrais on Twitter @BrunoTertrais Find Fondation pour la Recherche Strategique on Twitter @FRS_org Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

9. The Politics of Diversity with Saqib Bhatti09.10.2022 (00:40:24)

   In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Saqib Bhatti to talk about the politics of diversity. Saqib Bhatti is the Conservative MP for Meriden, and has been an MP continuously since 12 December 2019. What does the UK and the Conservative study case show us about the politics of minority? Why is it that minority voters no longer go only to the left? Why are minority voters attracted by Conservative parties around the transatlantic space? Is there any point at which the promotion of diversity becomes a problem? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this episode. Find Saqib Bhatti on Twitter @bhatti_saqib Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

10. Election Time in Bosnia and Herzegovina27.09.2022 (00:46:44)

    In this special pre-election episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by two in-house Bosnia experts, IRI Deputy Program Director Amila Karacic and Resident Program Director Borislav Spasojevic to discuss the political landscape of the country and how upcoming elections can affect the region after October 2. Amila has served IRI since 2011, holding residence in Sarajevo. Her wide range of focus includes political party work, women’s empowerment programs, examining malign foreign influence as well as reconciliation programs and cross community engagement in Bosnia. Borislav has been with IRI since 2005 and is based in Sarajevo. and has played an essential role in the development and implementation of IRI’s Political Party Assistance program in BiH, which resulted in the formation of the Women’s Caucus in the House of Representatives of the Federation Parliament. What is the political system in Bosnia, and what makes it more complicated than other countries? What are the pressing issues of each campaign? Are there any issues that cross ethnic borders? Where do the parties stand regarding the possible reformation of the electoral system? To what extent is Russia involved in the destabilization of Bosnia and the region, and what can be done to counter these efforts? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this special pre-election episode. Find Amila Karacic on Twitter @AmilaKaracic Find Borislav Spasojevic on Twitter @borkospas Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find Think Atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

11. Political Disruption with Laure Mandeville18.09.2022 (00:53:39)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by French journalist Laure Mandeville. Laure Mandeville is reporter for the newspaper Le Figaro where she follows international politics – among her many fascinating postings, she was Le Figaro’s correspondent in the United States in the 2010s. She also published this year a new book called Les Révoltés d’Occident, the West’s rebels, which takes a wide look at the phenomenon of political disruption across the Transatlantic space. What are the recurrent themes and policies that feed populism? What are the issues that make people follow the populists? What makes the difference between the successful and the unsuccessful disruptors? How to approach left-wing disruption? Why is it that disruptors are fascinated with Putin, and what are Putin’s motives for supporting them? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this episode. Find Laure Mandeville on Twitter @lauremandeville Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

12. Swedish Elections with Arvid Hallén04.09.2022 (00:39:44)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Arvid Hallén, Program Director at Oikos, a Swedish conservative think tank, to discuss the forthcoming elections in Sweden. Arvid Hallén is an expert on geopolitics with a specialization on energy policy. He has previously worked as editorial writer, consultant and analyst and is still a regular political commentator in Swedish media. Arvid defines himself as a conservative Keynesian, an Atlanticist and a fan of the idea of a property-owning democracy. Is Sweden a 'socialist paradise'? How to explain the rise of opposition parties in the past few weeks? Are Sweden Democrats ready to enter a governing coalition? Will Sweden continue to be a frugal state at the EU level? Which are the repercussions of upcoming accession to NATO for Sweden and the Baltic Sea region? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this episode. Find Arvid Hallén on Twitter @hallen_a Find Oikos on Twitter @Oikos_org Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

13. In Defense of Globalism, with Dalibor Rohac10.07.2022 (00:47:03)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Dalibor Rohac, a resident scholar at the American Enterprises Institute, to discuss the ramifications of globalism and its intersections with nationalism. Dalibor Rohac is senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies European political and economic trends, US-EU relations, and the post-Communist transitions and backsliding of countries in the former Soviet bloc. In addition, he is also a research associate at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies in Brussels and a fellow at the Anglo-American University in Prague. How can we view globalism today? How have recent events impacted globalization and its role? What are the effects of nationalism on globalism and how can the two function concurrently? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this episode. Find Dalibor Rohac on Twitter @DaliborRohac Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

14. Mafia(s) with Sergio Nazzaro26.06.2022 (00:39:36)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Sergio Nazzaro to talk about an institution that has a very real impact on Italian life: the Mafia. Sergio is an Italian investigative journalist who focuses on organized crime: He also has written books on both the Italian and African mafias including "Fort Alamo: Nigerian Crime and Human Trafficking". In addition to writing, he is currently Spokesman for the President of the Anti-Mafia parliamentary commission and the Spokesman for Italy's Deputy Minister of the Interior. What is the Mafia? How has it emerged? How did it become and international and transnational entity? Is organized crime a growing phenomenon in the world? What could be our strategies to put mafia(s) on the backburner? Listen for answers to these questions and more in our special anniversary episode looking back at two pivotal times in transatlantic history . Find Jan Surotchak on Twitter @sergio_nazzaro Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

15. Marshall and Reagan revisited, with Jan Surotchak12.06.2022 (00:43:55)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by IRI’s Senior Director for Transatlantic Strategy, Jan Surotchak, to reflect on the anniversaries of two historic speeches: the 75th anniversary of the Marshall Plan Speech and the 40th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s Westminster Speech. Jan Surotchak began his career with IRI in 1994. As Senior Director, he focuses on key threats to the alliance of democratic societies in the Transatlantic space. Jan has extensive experience working in election observation missions world-wide, and even served for five terms as city counselor for his native Penn Argyll in Pennsylvania. What parallels can be drawn from the legacies of both speeches? How are the concepts presented in the Marshall Plan applicable to Ukraine? How can the international community foster democracy in the 21st century? Listen for answers to these questions and more in our special anniversary episode looking back at two pivotal times in transatlantic history . Find Jan Surotchak on Twitter @jansurotchak Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

16. Energy Security with Velina Tchakarova, Arvid Hallén and Philippe Charlez30.05.2022 (00:50:06)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Velina Tchakarova, Arvid Hallén and Philippe Charlez to talk about energy security over the transatlantic space. To delve into these topics, Thibault has a range of experts in this space on the show today. Velina Tchakarova is Director of the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy in Vienna. Arvid Hallén is Program Director at Oikos, a Swedish conservative think tank. And Philippe Charlew is an energy expert from the Sapiens Institute. How are Austria, Sweden and France coping with the reducing of dependency on Russian gas? Is Energy independence possible for Europe? How to conciliqte energy security and environmental transition? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this Transatlantic Energy Roundtable themed episode. Find Velina Tchakarova on Twitter @vtchakarova Find Arvid Hallén on Twitter @hallen_a Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

17. The Neocons: Past, Present and Future15.05.2022 (00:33:55)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, Thibault Muzergues returns as host to talk to Jacob Heilbrunn about the past, present and future of Neoconservatism. Jacob Heilbrunn is the editor of the National Interest, and he has written extensively on foreign and domestic issues for most if not all major American news outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs. His 2008 book "The Knew They Were Right" tells the story of origins and rise of neoconservatism in American politics. He is here to join us today to speak about his most recent article in Politico magazine ''Trumpian Conservatives Hold an ‘Emergency’ Meeting Over Russia'', which you can read here. Is neoconservatism getting back to center stage? Where did it come from, and when did it rise and fall from popularity in American foreign policy? How do neocon ideas help explain or understand the crisis in Ukraine? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this special episode. And keep in mind, the opinions expressed by Jacob, as well as all guests of .think atlantic are their own and do not necessarily reflect the positions of IRI. Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find Jacob Heilbrunn on Twitter @jacobheilbrunn Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

18. War in Europe? With Thibault Muzergues01.05.2022 (00:30:08)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, International Republican Institute’s President Dan Twining is joined by Thibault Muzergues to talk about his latest book War in Europe? (available here) Thibault Muzergues is a Resident Program Director for the IRI's Transatlantic Strategy Division, based in Rome, Italy. In this capacity of Europe and EuroMed programming, he applies more than 20 years of experience working with political parties to preserve and promote democracy around the continent. He is the author of two books, most recently War in Europe? From Impossible War to Improbable Peace, and regularly contributes to French, English and Spanish-language media. Most importantly, he has been hosting .think atlantic for three seasons and counting! What was Thibault's motivation to write this book on war? Has peace in Europe always been more myth than reality? How to assess NATO's role over the past decades on the European continent? While Russia has waged a full-scale war on Ukraine, should we expect other tensions and conflicts to happen? What should be done over the Transatlantic space to face successfully current geopolitical threats? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this special episode. Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find Dan Twining on Twitter @DCTwining Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

19. Pardon our French: French Foreign Policy with Isabelle Lasserre18.04.2022 (00:42:57)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Isabelle Lasserre to talk about French foreign policy. Isabelle Lasserre is a journalist and the deputy editor of Le Figaro’s international coverage. A former war reporter, she was awarded the Diplomatic Press Prize in 1999 for her reporting on conflict in Kosovo and the Caucasus. Her latest book, Macron the Disruptor: The Foreign Policy of an Antisystem President, was published in January 2022. How does the French foreign policy establishment view the world? What are France’s international interests? In what areas of French foreign policy has Macron been the most disruptive? What has Macron tried to achieve with Russia? Has Macron’s attempt to center France in European policy succeeded? Has French foreign policy failed in Eastern Mediterranean and in Africa? What opportunities does France have to change the dynamics in those regions? What is the future of Franco-American relations? Find answers to these questions and more as France decides its presidential election. Find Isabelle Lassere on Twitter @ilasserre Find Thibualt Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

20. French Presidential Election with Bruno Jeanbart03.04.2022 (00:42:52)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Bruno Jeanbart to talk about upcoming French Presidential election (April 10-24). Bruno is Vice-President in charge of political research at OpinionWay, where ha has led the development of online polling - something on which OpinionWay is a pioneer company in Europe. He also wrote 5 years ago a great book, 'La Présidence Anormale', which looked back at the Presidency of François Hollande through the prism of public opinion. How to explain a new Macron-Le Pen duel? Why so much support for disruptors in French society? How to explain Macron's failure to build a stable political party over the past 5 years? Did the Russian war in Ukraine change the campaign? How to explain love-hate relationship of French with polls? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this special timely episode. Find Bruno Jeanbart on Twitter @bjeanbart Find OpinionWay on Twitter @opinionway and at www.opinion-way.com Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

21. What future for the Mediterranean? with Fabrizio Luciolli, Pascal Ausseur, Balkan Devlen and Olfa Hamdi20.03.2022 (00:56:17)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Fabrizio Luciolli, Pascal Ausseur, Balkan Devlen and Olfa Hamdi to talk about the past, present and future of the Mediterranean space. As the Latin origins of the name suggest, the ''Sea between lands'' has seen hundreds of years of changes, developments, and plays a critical role in the security of Europe as we know it today. To delve into these topics, Thibault has a range of experts in this space on the show today. Pascal Ausseur is a retired admiral from the French Navy and the current General Director of the Mediterranean Foundation of Strategic Studies (FMES). Fabrizio Luciolli is the President of the Italian Atlantic Committee. Balkan Devlen is a Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, and Olfa Hamdi is an entrepreneur and founder of the Movement for the Third Republic in Tunisia. What can the transatlantic allies do to promote stability in the Mediterranean? What is the concept of enlarged Mediterranean? Should we brace ourselves for more tensions or on the contrary should we expect more cooperation between the allies in the field of Energy? What can the West do to regulate migration flows? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this Med Atlantic themed episode. Find Fabrizio Luciolli on Twitter @FWLuciolli Find Balkan Devlen on Twitter @BalkanDevlen Find Admiral Pascal Ausseur's FMES on Twitter @InstitutFMES Find Olfa Hamdi on Twitter @OlfaHaamdi Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

22. Ukraine: News from the Frontline14.03.2022 (00:36:06)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Solomiia Bobrovska and Maria Tomak to talk about war of aggression that Vladimir Putin is waging in Ukraine. Solomiia is a Ukrainian Member of Parliament, Deputy Head of Ukraine's Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and former Governor of Odessa region. Maria is a Ukrainian human right activist, journalist, co-ordinator and co-founder of the Media Initiative for Human Rights. She has been appointed by Volodymyr Zelensky as Head for the National Office of the Crimea Platform Department What is the situation and the morale on the ground? Is it an all-out attack on Ukraine or rather an extremely violent episode of a longer and larger aggression by Russia? Is the continuation of the Parliament's work a testimony of Ukraine's democratic resilience? What Ukraine does need from the West? What answer to people from the West who ask to stay as far from the war as possible? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this special timely episode. Find Solomiia Bobrovska on Twitter @Bobrovska_MP Find Maria Tomak on Twitter @MariaTomak Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

23. Hawks over Central Europe06.03.2022 (00:41:32)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Jiri Kozak and Mantas Adomėnas -- Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs in the Czech Republic and Lithuania, respectively -- to talk about foreign policy changes in Central and Eastern Europe, including the region’s response to Russia’s undergoing invasion of Ukraine. What has changed in Czech and Lithuanian foreign policy since their new governments took office, and why? What relation does contemporary conservative foreign policy have to neoconservatism? What role can Central and Eastern European countries play in countering Russian aggression? How has Lithuania fared against Chinese economic coercion and what lessons can other CEE countries take from the experience? Listen for answers to these questions and more in this special timely episode. While you're here, remember to check out IRI’s recent report on candidate selection called “Standing Out from the Crowd,” including a chapter written by Adomėnas, on iri.org. Find Jiri Kozak on Twitter @Kozakj Find Mantas Adomėnas on Twitter @Adomenas Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

24. Standing Out From the Crowd20.02.2022 (00:42:32)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, guest host Breanna Kerr is joined by Rebecca Pitsika, Dr. Benjamin Höhne, Thibault Muzergues, and Daniel Scaduto is discuss the findings and main themes from IRI’s newly released publication, “Standing Out from the Crowd: Political Parties’ Candidate (S)election in the Transatlantic World.” To describe and compare candidate (s)election approaches from both sides of the Atlantic, the publication presents case studies from 12 different countries, as well as a standalone summary chapter. Four of the publication's authors are interviewed in this episode to discuss their findings with Breanna. The first guest is Rebecca Pitsika, author of the case study on Greece, and CEO of People for Business. Rebecca has managed talent acquisitions for Greece’s New Democracy political party since 2016. The second guests is Dr. Benjamin Höhne, Deputy Director of the Institute for Parliamentary Research in Berlin and author of the Germany chapter. Thibault Muzergues, IRI’s Europe and Europe-Mediterranean Program Director authored the case study on France. And finally, IRI Senior Program Associate Daniel Scaduto authored the case study on candidate selection in the US. Which method of candidate (s)election is best for the U.S.? What about in France, Germany, Greece? Can a political party mix selection methods, and what on earth is the technocratic style? Find out the answers to these questions and more when you listen to our episode. And while you're here, read the full publication here. Find Benjamin Höhne on Twitter @BenHoeh Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter @tmuzergues Find .think atlantic on Twitter @ThinkAtlantic Find IRI on Twitter @IRIglobal

25. Freedoms at Risk with Katie Hamilton06.02.2022 (00:27:25)

    In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Katie Hamilton to talk about “Freedoms at Risk: The Challenge of the Century”, a publication by the Fondation pour l’Innovation Politique - or Fondapol - which was released only a couple of weeks ago, with the support and participation of IRI, among others. Katie Hamilton was very involved in the making of the survey and in the writing of this publication. She has been a Project Manager in Fondapol for the past four years being involved in each edition of Fondapol's global surveys on democracy. Katie is a graduate from Skidmore College in New York and she speaks both French and English. Why taking such a titanic task to study public opinion in so many countries? What are the main evolutions between 2019 and 2022 surveys on democracy? What remains the same? What are the main internal and external threats for democracies today? Are people still attached to democratic ideals? How to explain EU's rise of popularity and should we expect it to continue in the long-term? Thibault and his guest discuss these questions – and much more. Find Fondapol on Twitter: @fondapol Find Thibault on Twitter: @tmuzegues Visit IRI’s website at www.iri.org and read our latest publication "Freedoms at Risk: The Challenge of the Century".