Independence Play: Europe's Pursuit of Strategic Autonomy

In the final episode of our special summer series on European strategic sovereignty, regular host Mark Leonard is joined by two of ECFR’s own experts: research director Jeremy Shapiro and Senior Policy Fellow and head of the Paris office Tara Varma. Topic of discussion is research led by Ulrike Franke and Tara Varma looking at how Europeans from all of the different EU member states see strategic autonomy. Is the idea of strategic sovereignty owned by the French? If it is, does French ownership pose a problem for the acceptance of the idea? What is the military component of European strategic sovereignty? What role is there for the UK after Brexit? These are some of the questions they discuss.

The paper that is referred to can be found here: https://www.ecfr.eu/specials/scorecard/independence_play_europes_pursuit_of_strategic_autonomy 

This podcast was recorded on Friday, August 30, 2019.

Picture retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emmanuel_Macron_and_Angela_Merkel_(Frankfurter_Buchmesse_2017).jpg
Public domain.

Should Europe Take Sides in US-China Tech Wars?

As the US-China tech war escalates, techno-nationalism looks to replace global connectivity and collaboration. Helping ECFR director Mark Leonard understand the tech rivalry are Andrew Small, a senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund, Tim Rühlig, a researcher at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs and Amy Studdart, a senior advisor at the International Republican Institute and Founder of the tech startup Villager. The all-star cast discuss the pressing questions: Will either side agree to a tech war truce? Will globalization unravel? What role will Europe play?

The podcast was recorded on Tuesday, 16 July 2019.

Harnessing artificial intelligence

In this episode of ECFR’s special summer series on European strategic sovereignty, Mark Leonard talks to Ulrike Franke, ECFR Policy Fellow, about artificial intelligence (AI). Mark asks Ulrike, who is currently on leave at the University of Oxford studying AI, where Europe stands compared to the United States and China in harnessing this promising new technology. More specifically, they look at the ingredients needed to develop good AI (talent, data and hardware) and ask to what extent Europe has them. The two end with a number of recommendations for Europe’s leaders as to what it can do to catch up with frontrunners US and China.

The podcast was recorded Monday, July 15, 2019.

Picture retrieved from pixabay: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/artificial-intelligence-brain-think-4389372/. 

Protecting Europe against hybrid threats

In the third episode of ECFR’s summer series on strategic sovereignty, Mark Leonard talks to Gustav Gressel, Acting Director of the Wider Europe programme and Senior Policy Fellow at ECFR, about hybrid threats. Using Gressel’s recent paper on hybrid threats as a starting point, they discuss all elements of hybrid warfare: from sponsored proxy groups to propaganda war, and from economic pressure to cyber attacks. Importantly, they ask what impact hybrid warfare might have on European sovereignty.

This podcast was recorded on Friday, 12 July, 2019.

Picture:
Cyber warfare specialists serving with the Maryland Air National Guard’s 175th Cyberspace Operations Group engage in weekend training at Warfield Air National Guard Base in Middle River, Md., June 3, 2017. Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr.
Public domain. Retrieved from: www.defense.gov/Newsroom/News/Art…-on-capitol-hill/

Meeting the Challenge of Secondary Sanctions

The second episode of ECFR’s summer series on strategic sovereignty explores the critical challenge that secondary sanctions pose for Europe, due to the Trump administration’s maximalist position on Iran. Joining Mark Leonard for a lively discussion of economic statecraft are Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior policy fellow at ECFR, Henry Farrell, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University and Elizabeth Rosenberg, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. They discuss how Europe could reduce its vulnerabilities to U.S. secondary sections, which – in the future - could target countries that are more important to the European economy, such as China and Russia. 

This podcast was recorded on Tuesday, 23 July 2019.

Building Europeans' Capacity to Defend Themselves

Mark Leonard launches ECFR’s special summer series on European sovereignty with a discussion of the continent’s security and defence policy. He is joined by Nick Witney, a senior policy fellow at ECFR with a wealth of experience in diplomacy and defence strategy. Witney discusses how today’s strategically-divergent Europeans can collectively bolster their defence capabilities to offset new pressures from Russia and the southern border as well as reduce their reliance on the Americans.

This podcast was recorded on Friday, 12 July 2019.

Brexit's final act

Anthony Dworkin, standing in for regular host Mark Leonard, was joined by Douglas Alexander, senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, former Labour Europe minister, and former Labour shadow Foreign Secretary, and by Heather Grabbe, director of the Open Society European Policy Institute, to discuss Brexit. On this latest episode of the World in 30 Minutes, Anthony and his two guests, who are both ECFR Council Members, discuss the upcoming Tory leadership election and the consequences it will have for Brexit. In addition to asking what likely future Prime Minister Boris Johnson´s plans might be, they look back on what Brexit has been so far and examine the state of the debate.  

The podcast was recorded on Tuesday, 25 June 2019 at the side-lines of ECFR’s Annual Council Meeting in Lisbon.

Bookshelf

• The Passage to Europe by Luuk van Middelaar
• Alarums and Excursions by Luuk van Middelaar
• The Self-Destruction of American Power by Fareed Zakaria

Key takeaways from the European elections 2019

This week, Ulrike Franke is filling in for the regular host Mark Leonard to discuss the stories behind the media headlines in the aftermath of the EU elections.  She is joined by Simon Hix, Pro-Director for Research and the Harold Laski Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics, Susi Dennison, senior policy fellow and the director of ECFR's European Power programme and Pawel Zerka, policy fellow and programme coordinator of the European Power programme at ECFR. They speak about the crumbling political centre, the Green wave and what young voters have to do with it, and bet on who will become the next president of the European Commission.

The podcast was recorded on Monday, 3 June 2019.

Bookshelf

• Europe’s Citizens Say They Want a More Political EU by Jean Pisani-Ferry 
• Machines like me by Ian McEwan 
• Why cities lose by Jonathan A. Rodden 
• Views from the Capitals: European elections by various ECFR experts 
• What Europeans really feel: The battle for the political system by Susi Dennison, Mark Leonard, and Adam Lury 
• Kingmakers of the mainstream: predictions for the European Parliament election by Kevin Cunningham, Simon Hix, and Michael Marsh, with Susi Dennison