Europe and China with Nusrat Ghani, Paweł Kowal and Antoine Bondaz

The tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean have escalated over the summer with maritime tensions rising between Greece and Cyprus on the one hand and Turkey on the other, and complex entanglements in North Africa and the Middle East. What happened exactly, and are all the tensions around the region (with military conflict in Libya, Syria) linked? What are Turkey's foreign policy goals? How will NATO adapt to a changing configuration in the Eastern Med? In this episode of .think Atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues and his guest Arnaud Danjean are making sense of this complex situation. Visit IRI’s website at www.iri.org Arnaud Danjean is a French Member of the European Parliament, where he sits with the ruling European People’s Party and a representative of the main center-right party Les Republicains in France. Arnaud is a member of the Foreign Affairs committee and the security and defense subcommittee. He has authored many reports on the question of European defense for the European Parliament. Find Arnaud Danjean on Twitter at @ArnaudDanjean Find Thibault on Twitter at @tmuzergues

23 Okt 202029min

What is the state of the relationship between France and Germany, and does the German-French couple still “lead” the European construction? With Brexit, would this domination become a problem for the Union and the Transatlantic Alliance? In this episode of .think Atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues and his guests Hans Kundnani debate all these questions - and many more. Hans Kundnani is an author and think-tanker and currently serves as Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House, Britain’s Royal Institute of International Affairs. Before this, he worked at the European Council on Foreign Relations and the German Marshall Fund. Hans also writes for foreign-policy journals including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Internationale Politik, Berlin Policy Journal, and The Washington Quarterly. He is the author of The Paradox of German Power (2014) (https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-paradox-of-german-power/) Find Hans on Twitter at @hanskundnani Find Thibault on Twitter at @tmuzergues Visit IRI’s website at www.iri.org

7 Okt 202036min

Since 2016, the Working Class has made a spectacular comeback into the public debate. How do social problems for the white working class translate in terms of political affiliations across the Transatlantic space? Why are working class folks rebelling against the establishment in many countries, and what can be done to solve their problems? In this episode of .think Atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues and his guests Justin Gest discuss all these questions - and more. Justin Gest is an Associate Professor of Policy and Government at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government and author of numerous great books. His teaching and research interests include comparative politics, immigration, and demographic change. Find Justin on Twitter at @_JustinGest Find Thibault on Twitter at @tmuzergues Further reading: White Working Class Politics in an Age of Immigration and Inequality by Justin Gest (https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-new-minority-9780190632557?cc=sk&lang=en&) The White Working Class: What Everyone Needs to Know by Justin Gest (https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-white-working-class-9780190861414?lang=en&cc=sk)

23 Sep 202027min

What does influence from the Chinese Communist Party look like today? How are countries from both sides of the Atlantic addressing malign influence? What can local leaders do to protect their citizens from propaganda and disinformation? In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues and his guests Mareike Ohlberg and David Shullman discuss these questions. Mareike Ohlberg is a senior fellow in the Asia program of the German Marshal Fund and a co-leader of the Stockholm China Forum. Mareike’s career has focused on China’s media and digital policies as well as the Chinese Communist Party’s influence campaigns in Europe. David Shullman is a Senior Advisor at the International Republican Institute’s Center for Global Impact. He oversees IRI’s work addressing the influence of China and other autocracies on democratic institutions and governance in countries around the world. David is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Find Mareike on Twitter at @MareikeOhlberg Find David on Twitter at @DaveShullman Find Thibault on Twitter at @tmuzergues Further reading: Hidden Hand: Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party is Reshaping the World by Clive Hamilton and Mareike Ohlberg (https://oneworld-publications.com/hidden-hand-hb.html) Chinese Malign Influence and the Corrosion of Democracy by the International Republican Institute (https://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/chinese_malign_influence_report.pdf)

8 Sep 202039min

Are Millenials completely different from any other generation before? Are they going to end up becoming more conservative and right-wing as they get old? How do we account for this? In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues and his guest Kristen Soltis Anderson discuss the millennial politics in the Transatlantic World. Kristen Soltis Anderson is a pollster, speaker, and commentator. She is also the co-founder of polling and public opinion firm Echelon insight, and the author of “The Selfie Vote”. Find Kristen on Twitter at @KSoltisAnderson Find Thibault on Twitter at @tmuzergues

21 Aug 202031min

Does Russia have to play a role in Europe’s security? Does our relationship with Russia have to remain tense? Or can Russia somehow become more open, more democratic, and more respectful of its neighbors? How do we achieve all this? In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues and his guest Andrius Kubilius discuss the difficult relations between the West and Russia. Andrius Kubilius served twice as a Prime Minister of Lithuania, twice in times of financial and economic crisis for this Baltic nation, in 1999-2000 and from 2008 to 2012. He was also the leader of the opposition from 2012 to 2016, and is since last year a Member of the European Parliament. Find Andrius Kubilius on Twitter at @AndriusKubilius Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter at @tmuzergues

21 Jul 202025min

How is the relationship between the United States and Europe? What does the future of NATO look like? Is the rise of China the glue that NATO may need to renew political cohesion after years of soul-searching? In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues and his guest Benjamin Haddad discuss the future of the transatlantic relationship. Benjamin Haddad is the Director of the Future Europe Initiative at the Atlantic Council, and author of a great book Le Paradis perdu (Lost paradise: Trump’s America and the end of European Illusions). Find Ben Haddad on Twitter at @benjaminhaddad Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter at @tmuzergues

7 Jul 202027min

As COVID-19 hit Europe particularly hard this spring, Central Europe was less affected than many other regions, but showed great differences in their handling of the sanitary crisis. Among them, Slovakia undoubtedly stands as the most successful on the whole continent in “flattening the curve”. This happened in a very special context as the epidemic broke out just after a change of government and a major electoral landscape in the country. In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues and his guest Grigorij Meseznikov analyze how Slovakia and the Visegrad four managed the crisis, and what comes next. Grigorij Meseznikov is a Slovak political analyst, promoter of democracy, and chairman of the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO), a renowned think-tank in Slovakia. Find Thibault Muzergues on Twitter at @tmuzergues

23 Jun 202025min