BerlinsideOut

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 08:50:28 +0000 https://berlinsideout.podigee.io/32-season-finale 9b84c47864bb929d9fcb11e4591b5c6d Wrapping up season 2 of BerlinsideOut, Ben and Aaron give listeners their take on what to watch out for in international security this summer – particularly at the upcoming NATO Summit in Washington, November's American election, and the incoming European Commission. The hosts talk about the significance of Kaja Kallas' nomination as the new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and explore the state of German politics after the European Parliament Elections. They also discuss their own highlights of the season, its most important lessons – and give you a taste of what's next for BerlinsideOut. Resources: The US Presidential Election 2024 – Two Outcomes, One Set of Challenges, Andrew A. Michta, DGAP Commentary The World Needs to Win in Ukraine, Chris Alexander, The Globe and Mail Kaja Kallas: The Russia-defying Estonian PM poised to lead EU foreign policy, Patrick Wintour, The Guardian Europe's Response to China Shock 2.0: Hold China Closer, Tom Fairless and Bertrand Benoit featuring comment by Noah Barkin, The Wall Street Journal Step Aside, Joe Biden, Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic Germany has One Year to Replace Olaf Scholz, Paul Hockenos, Foreign Policy Letter: Forget half-measures, G7 must confiscate frozen Russian assets, Letter to Financial Times by Michael Roth, Benjamin Haddad, Rihards Kols and others The West Should Use Frozen Russian Billions to Fund Ukraine's Victory – Fear is the Only Thing Holding Them Back, Aaron Gasch Burnett, Byline Times Military Mobility: Getting Germany's Infrastructure Up to Speed, Jannik Hartmann, DGAP Policy Brief Ukraine-Krieg: Umfrage zur militärischen Unterstützung durch den Westen im Juni 2024, Statista Neue Umfrage zeigt deutliche Veränderung: Immer mehr Deutsche wollen stärkere Ukraine-Unterstützung, Lisa Schmedemann, Merkur Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media: Dr. Benjamin Tallis Aaron Gasch Burnett DGAP on X DGAP on Instagram DGAP on LinkedIn full no Benjamin Tallis, Aaron Gasch Burnett 2959

In this final regular episode of season 2 – partly recorded on the margins of the Lennart Meri Conference in Tallinn – Ben and Aaron first chat with a pan-European panel on how to implement the strategic change Europe needs...

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 08:47:51 +0000 https://berlinsideout.podigee.io/30-pillars-of-victory-pt-2 c2306de39572c3b560ce8f96fc9aa235 In part two of BerlinsideOut's ‘Pillars of Victory' special – Ben and Aaron go from the front lines to the back rooms – to discuss the necessity of confiscating $300 billion in frozen Russian state assets to help fund both Ukraine's victory and to hold Russia accountable for Ukraine's reconstruction. They hear from an international panel of guests on why seizing Russia's assets is legal and economically feasible – and discuss how doing so would demonstrate strategic resolve. Yet, despite the clear case for making Russia pay for its crimes through the seizure of state assets – Germany remains reluctant to do so. Ben and Aaron also discuss the strategic pitfalls such a failure would bring – and the need for politicians to stand up and make sure that doesn't happen. Guests: Robin Wagener, MdB and Chair of the German-Ukrainian Parliamentary Friendship Group (@robinwagener) Halyna Yanchenko, Member of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine (@HalynaYanchenko) Senator Ratna Omidvar, Independent Canadian Senator for Ontario (@ratnaomi) Yuliya Ziskina, Senior Legal Fellow at Razom for Ukraine (@jziskina) Resources: Seizing Russian Assets is Legal and Strategically Imperative, Aaron Gasch Burnett & Yuliya Ziskina, European Resilience Initiative Center No more excuses: Debunking arguments against seizing Russian state assets for Ukraine, Yuliya Ziskina, Jamison Firestone & Tetyana Nesterchuk, European Policy Centre A structured, predictable, and transparent approach to seizing Russian state assets to help Ukraine, Senator Ratna Omidvar, The Hill Times On Russian assets, Canada throws away a clear chance to lead, Aaron Gasch Burnett, MacDonald-Laurier Institute So soll Putin für Ukraine-Wiederaufbau blechen, Julian Röpcke featuring comment Aaron Gasch Burnett & Wolfgang Stefinger, MdB, Bild (in German) Wir müssen die Ukraine noch viel mehr stärken, Sebastian Schäfer, MdB & Jamila Schäfer, MdB Handelsblatt (in German) Seizing Russian Assets: Too Little, But Not Too Late, Patrick Heinemann, Zentrum Liberale Moderne On Proposed Countermeasures Against Russia to Compensate Injured States for Losses Caused by Russia's War of Aggression Against Ukraine, Nigel Gould-Davies, International Institute for Strategic Studies Die europäische Angst, russiche Vermögen zu beschlagnahmen – und was dahintersteckt, Die Welt (in German), Tim Daldrup featuring comment from Robin Wagener, MdB International Centre for Ukrainian Victory, Confiscation of Russian Assets Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media: Dr. Benjamin Tallis Aaron Gasch Burnett DGAP on X DGAP on Instagram DGAP on LinkedIn full no Benjamin Tallis, Aaron Gasch Burnett 3938

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 03:54:00 +0000 https://berlinsideout.podigee.io/29-pillars-of-victory-pt-1 3f3f0c2130a6af074ee40152b91e2efd In the first of ‘Pillars of Victory' a two-part special on what the West – including Germany - needs to do to achieve victory for Ukraine, Ben and Aaron talk with top military, diplomatic and NATO experts, who bring years of experience of top-level decision-making to BerlinsideOut. They discuss the level of Western commitment needed for Ukraine to win on the battlefield, how victory is defined, and how to bring Ukraine into NATO to shield it from further Russian aggression after war's end. Guests: Ben Hodges, Former Commanding General, United States Army Europe (@general_ben) Oleksandr V. Danylyuk, Chair of Centre for Defence Strategies, Ukraine Ivo H. Daalder, Former US Permanent Representative to NATO (@IvoHDaalder) Teri Schultz, Journalist with Deutsche Welle and NPR, Brussels (@TeriSchultz) Resources: Time to Call Putin's Bluff, Adam Kinzinger and Ben Hodges, CNN Opinion What Ukraine's Defeat Would Mean for the US, Europe and the World, Oleksandr V. Danylyuk, RUSI What Ukraine Needs from NATO: Advanced Weapons—And What Membership will Require, Ivo Daalder & Karen Donfried, Foreign Affairs Could a Ukraine under siege join NATO?, Teri Schultz, Deutsche Welle Arming for Growth, Moritz Schularick, IfW Kiel Institute for World Economy Policy Article Security Guarantees for Ukraine: Until NATO Membership, Extending the Joint Expeditionary Force Is the Best Option, Benjamin Tallis, DGAP Policy Brief Chancellor Scholz Must Change Course and Support Ukraine to Win, Benjamin Tallis, Ralf Fücks and Maximilian Terhalle, Byline Times Why Ukraine should get an invitation to NATO, Alyona Getmanchuk & Olena Halushka The war is not going well for Ukraine, Eliot A Cohen, The Atlantic American Aid Alone Won't Save Ukraine, Jack Watling, Foreign Affairs Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media: Dr. Benjamin Tallis Aaron Gasch Burnett DGAP on X DGAP on Instagram DGAP on LinkedIn full no Benjamin Tallis, Aaron Gasch Burnett 3163

Wed, 29 May 2024 03:57:00 +0000 https://berlinsideout.podigee.io/28-germanys-nuclear-fear e013be200a700e6c8776893ec1a6e7cc In this episode, Ben and Aaron talk to nuclear experts William Alberque and Fabian Hoffmann, as well as to Canada's former Ambassador to NATO Kerry Buck, about how Russian nuclear sabre-rattling plays into German support for Ukraine, how western leadership on discussing nuclear issues with the public needs to improve, and how to deter Putin's nuclear brinkmanship. We explain what people in allied states, including Germany, need to know about nuclear weapons and deterrence and how we can drive the debate on these issues beyond debilitating and dangerous fear. We clearly outline the threats we face – and how we can handle them. Guests: Kerry Buck, Former Canadian Ambassador to NATO, Senior Fellow, University of Ottawa (@kerry_buck) William Alberque, Former Director of Strategy, Technology & Arms Control, International Institute for Strategic Studies (@walberque) Fabian Hoffmann, Doctoral Research Fellow, Oslo Nuclear Project (@FRHoffmann1) Resources: Olaf Scholz cites risk of nuclear war in refusal to send tanks to Ukraine, Laurenz Gehrke, Politico Zelenskyy blasts Scholz's reason for not sending German Taurus missiles, Paul Ronzheimer, Politico Russian Military Thought and Doctrine Related to Non-strategic Nuclear Weapons: Change and Continuity, William Alberque, IISS An Unprepared West Contemplates Threats of Russia's Nonstrategic Nukes, William Alberque, Real Clear Defense NATO: Thinking Strategically in a New Nuclear Age, William Alberque As NATO alliance marks 75 years, Russia and Donald Trump again threaten its future, Canadian Press featuring input from Kerry Buck Why War With Russia Could Be Closer Than You Think, Twitter Thread by Fabian Hoffmann Strategic Stability and the Ukraine War – Implications of Conventional Missile Technologies, Fabian Hoffmann, CNA Corporation Europe's Missile Conundrum, Fabian Hoffmann, War on the Rocks Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media: Dr. Benjamin Tallis Aaron Gasch Burnett DGAP on X DGAP on Instagram DGAP on LinkedIn full no Benjamin Tallis, Aaron Gasch Burnett 5525

In front of a special live audience in Tallinn, Ben and Aaron talk to world-renowned historian Timothy Snyder, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, Portuguese Secretary of State for Defence Ana Isabel Xavier, and Eliot Cohen, one of the top strategic experts in the world.

BerlinsideOut, the podcast that takes an expert look at international politics from Berlin – goes to Tallinn! From the International ‘Lennart Meri Conference' Dr. Benjamin Tallis, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Action Group Zeitenwende at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and Aaron Gasch Burnett, a security analyst and journalist specialising in German politics, host a series of special editions of the podcast - TalinnsideOut!

BerlinsideOut, the podcast that takes an expert look at international politics from Berlin – goes to Tallinn! From the International ‘Lennart Meri Conference' Dr. Benjamin Tallis, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Action Group Zeitenwende at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and Aaron Gasch Burnett, a security analyst and journalist specialising in German politics, host a series of special editions of the podcast - TalinnsideOut!

Wed, 08 May 2024 04:07:00 +0000 https://berlinsideout.podigee.io/24-chip-war b3e7cb9269fcdf3672b3a0ca4726ff39 Chris Miller, author of the bestselling and highly-awarded “Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology”, sits down with Ben and Aaron to chat about his book, and how the semiconductor industry is redrawing the current map of geopolitical risk – from the Taiwan Strait to Europe and the US. Miller also talks about how corresponding American and European risk assessments of the likelihood of an increasingly aggressive China differ – and what's needed to properly assess the risk around this critical industry. Ben, Aaron and Chris draw key lessons from the semiconductor industry's history – including the role it played in winning the cold war – and highlight how democracies need to activate their advantages to prevail once more. Guests: Chris Miller, Associate Professor of International History at Tufts University and Author, “Chip War” (@crmiller1) Resources: Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, Chris Miller The US Chips Act has been surprisingly successful so far, Chris Miller, Financial Times The geopolitics of semi-conductors and what Europe can expect, Alicia Garcia-Herrero The Long Hard Road to Decoupling from China, Andrew A. Michta, The City Journal (2020) Why the EU can be tougher on China, Sander Tordoir and Zach Meyers, Centre for European Reform Is Canada Ready to Pay a “National Security Premium”?, Aaron Gasch Burnett, Open Canada Strategy on China of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, (2023) Chip Diplomacy - Analysis of technology partnerships, Jan-Peter Kleinhans (2023), Stiftung Neue Verantwortung Follow DGAP & the hosts on social media: Dr. Benjamin Tallis Aaron Gasch Burnett DGAP on X DGAP on Instagram DGAP on LinkedIn full no Benjamin Tallis, Aaron Gasch Burnett 3178

In the fourth episode of BerlinsideOut season two, Ben and Aaron sit down with Albrecht Ritschl, a renowned German economic historian, to trace the historical origins of Germany's economic model – and how its current emphasis on geoeconomics and free riding on security has influenced German foreign policy towards Russia, Ukraine, and wider Europe.

In season two's third episode, Ben and Aaron are joined by grand strategy expert Maximilian Terhalle, as well as the DGAP's own Aylin Matlé and Jacob Ross, to discuss why Germany must move on from its reactive Zeitenwende to a more proactive grand strategy...

In the second episode of BerlinsideOut season two, Ben and Aaron sit down with Yaroslav Trofimov, the Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and author of “Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence”.

In BerlinsideOut's second season premiere, Ben and Aaron dive into Germany's recent foreign policy problems – driven by a Chancellery whose threat assessment of Russia is increasingly jeopardising European security. Together with parliamentarians Anton Hofreiter and Thomas Erndl, as well as regular panellists Minna Ålander and Britta Jacob, BerlinsideOut lays out how Germany can address its dangerous lack of strategy – and how it can start turning things around to help Ukraine win, deter Russia, and defend European security and democracy.

In this special episode of BerlinsideOut, Ben and Aaron take questions live at the 2024 Pirate Security Conference in Munich. They chat about how Germany needs to change its strategy to have a will to win in the systemic struggle between democracies and authoritarian regimes – and why that starts in Ukraine.

In this special episode of BerlinsideOut, Ben and Aaron head to the Munich Security Conference and talk about how Germany uses the world's most well-known international security gathering to influence global foreign policy agendas. Ben, Aaron, and guests also chat about the themes influencing the hundreds of meetings happening in Munich...

In BerlinsideOut's first season finale, Ben and Aaron identify key themes and talk through their highlights from the last few months focusing on how Germany's Zeitenwende has progressed - or not - in that time, how allies see that, and why Germany needs a real grand strategy.

Ben and Aaron speak with Alexander Vindman – the man who literally wrote the book on Trump – Here, Right Matters – detailing his decision to report the phone call between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, resulting in Trump's impeachment.

In the penultimate week of BerlinsideOut's first season, Ben and Aaron take a look at the transatlantic relationship's current strategic deficit, what's in store for the relationship during either a Trump or a Biden win in 2024, and the China challenge that will come increasingly into view over the next few years.

Ben and Aaron pick up core BerlinsideOut themes with Anessa Kimball and Stephanie Carvin. They discuss how Germany and Canada both depend heavily on liberal ordering but, thanks to a strategic deficit in both countries, are currently not stepping up to take responsibility for this.

BerlinsideOut talks about Germany's relationship with Aaron's (other) home country of Canada, its potential role in helping to provide Germany and the rest of the democratic team with critical resources, whether both countries are underpricing Russian and Chinese threats, and how to leverage another transatlantic relationship amidst uncertain political times in the US.

Ben and Aaron look at Germany's relationship with Ben's native UK – and how Russia's war against Ukraine has necessitated a move-on from the tension around Brexit to new ways of cooperating – particularly on security issues. Together with retired Air Marshal Edward Stringer Ben and Aaron look at the respective capabilities and posture...

Ben and Aaron look at Germany's relationship with Ben's native UK – and how Russia's war against Ukraine has necessitated a move-on from the tension around Brexit to new ways of cooperating – particularly on security issues. They look at how the two countries should prepare for a possible Trump presidency in the US...

BerlinsideOut looks at current German strategy for European Security and why it needs to both finish its Zeitenwende and think bigger. Ben provides an update from Vilnius and, together with Aaron, they address the recent decision on Ukraine's EU Accession talks and the keynote speech of HE Olha Stefanishyna.

Ben and Aaron take a look at how the French “Bratislava Agenda” of rapprochement with CEE and thus rebalancing European leadership complements – or clashes with – Germany's Zeitenwende, its supposed sea change in foreign and security policy.

Ben and Aaron take a look at the current dysfunction in what German foreign policy elites often refer to as the country's most important bilateral relationship – and the “motor” through which Europe either moves or stalls.

In the second episode looking at Germany's tough, but crucial relationship with Poland, Ben and Aaron are joined by former German Ambassador to Poland and author of Feinde, Fremde, Freunde (“Foes, Strangers, Friends”) – a book about Germany's current relationship with Poland following Russia's invasion of Ukraine – to discuss the opportunities for reconciliation between Warsaw and Berlin following a pivotal Polish election, including by spotting ways to address German blind spots when it comes to Poland.

Ben and Aaron get into a particularly important, but historically difficult and tense relationship – the one that Germany has with its largest eastern neighbour in Poland. Recent elections have seen a new Polish coalition gain the numbers to oust the populist Law & Justice Party from power in Warsaw, leaving Berlin with an opportunity to recalibrate its relationship with Poland – if it decides to seize the moment.

In a very special BerlinsideOut, Ben and Aaron are joined by HE Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration directly after her keynote speech at the DGAP on 24/11/2023 - in which she outlined not only why Ukraine must win, but also why EU and NATO accession would benefit all Europeans, including Germans.

From the EU's northern enlargement to the euro crisis, Germany's Nordic partners in the EU had often looked to Berlin as a champion of their interests. Now though, Berlin's slow and indecisive handling of both support for Ukraine and NATO enlargement has raised concern in Helsinki and Stockholm...

Ben and Aaron are joined by Professor Ulrike von Hirschhausen for an extended discussion of the ties that bind the Baltic States and Germany and the opportunities that new ways of seeing each other offer for greater mutual understanding.

Ben and Aaron are joined this week by an all-star panel of Baltic politicians, including Marko Mihkelson and Žygimantas Pavilionis – who chair the Foreign Affairs Committees in Estonian and Lithuanian Parliament...

In this bonus episode, we speak with DGAP CEO Dr. Guntram Wolff and Natixis Chief Economist Dr. Alicia Garcia-Herrero about the scale of Germany's exposure to an increasingly aggressive China in particular.

Ben and Aaron are joined on this episode by Oliver Moody, Berlin Correspondent for The Times and author of a forthcoming book entitled Baltic: The Future of Europe to be published by John Murray press. The book shows how the region is not only the frontier of our present security but of our better future.

Pivoting from key themes in German foreign and security policy to the country's key relationships, BerlinsideOut takes the road, sadly, less travelled. Rather than ‘go West' and look first to Paris or Washington, BerlinsideOut first heads east, to Central and Eastern Europe...

In the second part of our special report back from our high-level workshops in Berlin and Prague on Neo-idealism and grand strategy for liberal democracies, we look at why the stakes for Ukrainian victory against Russian aggression are so high – and what the outsize implications of the outcome might be.

This episode continues the discussion on Neo-idealism and grand strategy for liberal democracies, by examining the dangers of taking liberal democracy for granted and putting it “on cruise control”.

Are everyday Germans willing to pay the “National Security Premium” to be less dependent on authoritarian countries like Russia and China?

This episode looks at how Germany's trade and economic model became so entangled with authoritarian countries.

In this bonus episode, we speak with Anna Vero Wendland, a historian specialising in both German technology and Eastern Europe, about a particular sacred cow in German politics – the role of nuclear energy.

This episode looks at how Germany long ignored the strategic and geopolitical implications of its energy policy.

Thousands of you have already listened to BerlinsideOut and each of you who has, has heard our opening theme tune. Some of you have asked: What is it and why do you use that? Well, it is good that you asked, because there's a reason for it...

This episode deals with grand strategy and why liberal democracies like Germany now need a new strategic approach. First with Alice Stollmeyer and then with Chris Alexander, we identify internal and extrernal threats to liberal democracies and how to counteract them.

Defence is fundamental to Germany's sea change in its foreign and security policy because Germany has been so fundamentally deficient in this area. This was a key point that the country's leaders conceded in February last year after Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine. Having long underinvested in – and undervalued - its military, the country had been left unable to truly defend itself or play its full, proper role in NATO.

This bonus episode features a special conversation with Ukrainian researcher and Germany expert Stepan Rusyn that zooms in on how Berlin's approach is viewed from Ukraine. It looks at Ukraine's victory and why it matters – as well as why Berlin does not yet fully support it and still hesitates to send any new type of weapons, including Taurus cruise missiles.

This episode centers around Ukraine – the importance of its victory in Russia's war, and its future in Europe and the wider Western democratic alliance. We talk with our expert guests about how failing to aim for Ukrainian victory has conditioned piece-meal support from Germany, undermining its credibility and hurting both Ukrainian and wider western interests.

Episode 1 looks at why it's important to understand Germany when looking at international politics today. The country's past policies put it under the spotlight when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It drew further attention to itself when Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a ‘Zeitenwende' or epochal shift and the need for Germany to change with the times. Germany has come a long way but has moved slowly on weapons for Ukraine. By contrast, it has speedily replaced Russian gas supply, but has created new dependencies on authoritarian states. The national security strategy suggests geostrategic confusion rather than a clear vision for the future.

BerlinsideOut, the podcast that takes an expert look at international politics from Berlin. Hosted by Dr. Benjamin Tallis, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Action Group Zeitenwende at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and Aaron Gasch Burnett, a journalist specialising in German politics, we look at how Germany sees the world and the world sees Germany.

BerlinsideOut, the podcast that takes an expert look at international politics from Berlin. Hosted by Dr. Benjamin Tallis, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Action Group Zeitenwende at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and Aaron Gasch Burnett, a journalist specialising in German politics, we look at how Germany sees the world and the world sees Germany.