Midterm Elections with Sean Tonner

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".

6 Feb 202227min

In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Giulio Terzi, an Italian former diplomat, to discuss Italy's revival in foreign policy as a Presidential election is taking place on the very day of publication for this episode, that is Monday January 24. Giulio Terzi was between 2011 and 2013 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy; prior to that, his distinguished career as a diplomat led him, among many other other important posts, to be Italy’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and he was also Italy’s Ambassador to the United States and to Israel. He remains extremely active in Italian politics and civil society today, and heads the Global Committee for the Rule of Law Marco Pannella. Is this presidential election going to have consequences on Italy’s domestic and international politics? How to explain Italy's sudden come-back at the centre-stage? Why some “soft spots” for dictators in some circles of the centre-left and center-right? What is Italy's place in a post-Brexit European balance? What can be done to re-build a viable security architecture in the Mediterranean? Thibault and his guest discuss these questions – and much more. Find Giulio Terzi on Twitter: @GiulioTerzi 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".

23 Jan 202240min

In this episode of .think Atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by special guest Samuel Greene to discuss about the post-Soviet space, 30 years after the collapse of the USSR. Sam is Professor in Russian politics and Director of the Russia Institute at King’s College London. He lived for more than a decade in Moscow where he worked as Director of the Centre for the Study of New Media & Society at the New Economic School and was also Deputy-Director of the Carnegie Moscow Center. He is also the author of numerous academic articles, op-eds and books on Russia and the post-Soviet space, his latest, co-authored with Graeme Robertson was published in 2019 and is called Putin v the People: The perilous Politics of a Divided Russia. How Putin's Russia is dealing with its Soviet past? Is Vladimir Putin’s dream to revive some sort of Soviet Union? Is the concept of post-Soviet still relevant today? Why is Russia being so disruptive in its neighbourhood? Are Russians getting tired of Putin and his reckless geopolitical ambitions? Thibault and his guest discuss all these questions and contemplate what they mean for the larger transatlantic space – and much more. Find David on Twitter: @samagreene Find Thibault on Twitter: @tmuzergues Visit IRI’s website at www.iri.org

9 Jan 202229min

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 and read his most recent article here: America must double down on democracy | TheHill. Find IRI on Twitter: @IRIglobal Find Thibault on Twitter: @tmuzergues Visit IRI’s website at www.iri.org

17 Des 202138min

In this episode of .think Atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined, live from Rome where IRI was holding a Parliamentary Roundtable on relations between Europe and China, by an all-star cast of guests - namely Nusrat Ghani, Paweł Kowal, and Antoine Bondaz. Nusrat Ghani is a British Member of Parliament, representing the constituency of Wealden in Essex; she is a Member of the UK delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and Member and Rapporteur of its Science and Technology committee. Paweł Kowal, is a Polish politician, political scientist, and historian. Currently a professor at the Polish Academy of Science and member of the Polish Parliament, he was a secretary of state in Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006-2007), a member of the National Security Council and he served as a Member of the European Parliament between 2009 and 2014. Last but not least, Antoine Bondaz is Research Fellow and the Director of both the Korea Program and the Taiwan Program at the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (FRS) in Paris, France. He is also Associate Professor at Sciences Po Paris. How the relations between Europe and China have evolved in the past decade? How successful has the Chinese Communist Party been in buying itself influence in Europe? Have we managed to build any resilience against this? Can the West get its act together, co-ordinate to contain China? Find Nusrat Ghani on Twitter: @Nus_Ghani Find Paweł Kowal on Twitter: @pawelkowalp Find Antoine Bondaz on Twitter: @antoinebondaz Find Thibault on Twitter: @tmuzergues Visit IRI’s website at www.iri.org

3 Des 202151min

In this episode of .think Atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by special guest Justin Gest to discuss “Europe’s Path Back from the Fringe” written by Gest and co-authored by Jeremy Ferwerda and Tyler Reny. This publication, published on November 17, 2021, evaluates the motivations and future of fringe political parties across the transatlantic space. The findings of this report guide the discussion of this week's episode. Justin Gest is an Associate Professor of Policy and Government at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. His teaching and research interests include comparative politics, immigration, and demographic change. His research has been published in numerous well-respected journals. Dr. Gest has also provided commentary, analysis, or reporting to several broadcast networks including ABC, BBC, CBC, CNN, and NPR, and news publications including The Atlantic, The Guardian, The New York Times, POLITICO, Reuters, The Washington Post, and many more. Find Justin on Twitter: @_JustinGest Find Thibault on Twitter: @tmuzergues Visit IRI’s website at www.iri.org See the publication on IRI's website at: IRI and Partners Release New Study on Triggers to Fringe Party Voting in Europe | IRI

18 Nov 202136min

In this episode of .think Atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by special guest Mircea Geoană to discuss the future of NATO Mircea has been the Deputy Secretary General of NATO since 2019. He joined NATO after a remarkable career as politician and statesman in Romania – among many other things, he was President of the Social Democratic Party from 2005 to 2010, an influential Senator and President of the Senate from 2008 to 2011, presidential candidate in 2009, and also, importantly, minister of foreign affairs from 2000 to 2004, a time in which he presided over Romania’s entry into NATO Should we be pessimist about NATO? Is NATO a global or a regional alliance? Should we expect new allies within the Alliance by 2030? How NATO, a defense alliance by nature, is adapting to new threats such as cyberthreats? Thibault and his guest discuss all these questions and contemplate what they mean for the larger transatlantic space – and much more. Find Mircea on Twitter: @Mircea_Geoana Find NATO on Twitter: @NATO Find Thibault on Twitter: @tmuzergues Visit IRI’s website at www.iri.org

4 Nov 202127min

In this episode of .think Atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by special guest David Brooks to discuss the Bobos, or the Bohemian Bourgeoisie. David has been an Op-ed Columnist for the New York Times since 2003. He is the author of several books, including a No. 1 New York Times Bestseller “The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement.” This episode will focus on “Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There” which discusses the concept of the Bobo, and how they have changed since coining this term back in 2000. His expertise on cultural shifts and political trends directs this episode. What is a Bobo, and how did they get there? Have the Bobo’s achieved their paradise, and what does this mean for people around the world? As the movement becomes more mainstream, has it maintained its creativity and purpose? What type of backlash has the movement created? Thibault and his guest discuss all these questions and contemplate what they mean for the larger transatlantic space – and much more. Find David on Twitter: @nytdavidbrooks Find The New York Times on Twitter: @nytimes Find Thibault on Twitter: @tmuzergues Visit IRI’s website at www.iri.org

22 Okt 202130min