Eurasia Center Wonkcast

Casey and Cole are joined by career diplomat Dimitrios Tsikouris to hear about his thoughts on diplomacy. Ambassador Tsikouris had a long diplomatic career that ended in 2010 and has recently joined the honorary board of the Eurasia Center. We are thankful for him taking the time to join the podcast.

Casey, Cole, and Noah discus the recent criticism UEFA has faced over whether to light a soccer stadium in rainbow colors. This follows a widely maligned Hungarian law impinging on freedom of expression. This episode briefly covers the European response and sport diplomacy.

Casey, Cole, and Noah finalize the summit diplomacy series. In this episode they discuss the meeting between Joseph Biden and Vladimir Putin in Geneva.

Casey, Cole, and Noah discuss the Tigray conflict. The TPLF and Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Amhara forces have been fighting for months. Neither side posses the capacity to decisively win the conflict but civilians have borne the brunt of fighting.

Casey, Cole, and Noah discuss the recent diplomatic engagements in Europe. This episode focuses on the G7 and NATO summits with the Biden-Putin summit coming in a later episode.

Casey, Cole, and Noah discuss the situation in East Asia. They place America's allies and partnerships in context vis a vis China and discuss the future in the region.

Casey, Cole, and Noah discuss the "non-paper" alongside Thomas Ridenour, a Eurasia Center research assistant. The mysterious diplomatic paper suggests the breakup of Bosnia-Herzegovina along ethnic lines. They discuss the implications of the paper, reactions to it from Balkan and Western powers, and who might be responsible for writing it.

Casey Chambers and Cole Davila discuss the recent COVID-19 surge in India with Eurasia Center intern Rishi Parikh. We discuss the specifics of the Indian situation as well as vaccine distribution globally.

On May 23rd Belarus engaged in "state piracy" by seizing a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius. Two of the passengers onboard, Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega were wanted by Belarus. Under the pretense of a false bomb threat attributed to Hamas, authorities forced the flight to land in Minsk and took the two. Casey, Cole, and Noah discuss the implications of this incident.

Russia has recently undertaken a massive troop buildup on the border of Ukraine. This could be the prelude to invasion or simply a continued form of prodding the West. Casey and Nick discuss the implications of this further.

Mr. Ralph Winnie, director of the Eurasia Center's China program and Vice President of the Eurasian Business Council, joins Casey and Nick to discuss cross strait relations. Recently, 20 Chinese aircraft entered Taiwan's ADIZ as part of a campaign of increasing pressure on Taiwan.

Casey and Nick return to the Russia and China Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in space exploration. This was originally discussed in the China-Russia Nexus episode.

Casey and Nick discuss the violent crackdown in Myanmar. They go over some of the historical context that led to Myanmar being under military rule, brief strides towards democracy, and the crackdown under the new junta.

Casey and Nick discuss President Biden labelling Vladimir Putin a "killer". Erdogan was not happy about this but that does that mean for the US-Turkey relationship?

Casey and Nick discuss the history, recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh, and future prospects of the enclave.

How do we respond to climate change? Europe gives us some hints.

Rishi Parikh, a Eurasia Center research assistant, joins Casey and Nick to discuss the recent farmer protests in India. Narendra Modi's BJP party has tried to pass liberalization laws to remove government run produce auctions with set price floors. The government says it will reduce middlemen and corruption while increasing farmer's incomes. The protesters fear being crushed by the free market. Regardless of who is right, the authoritarian responses to the protests are highly concerning.

In a world of great powers what has pushed China and Russia towards each other? Both countries are revisionist powers that have an alignment of interests even amongst the backdrop of past tension. Still, there are discrepancies in their relative capabilities and interests. Casey and Nick trace the history of this complicated relationship and where it might lead.

Casey and Nick discuss the NATO 2030 report. We envision what the future of the alliance will look in ten years as threats and opportunities change.

Casey and Nick start off the first episode with a retrospective on the Capitol Hill riot. We felt it was too important a subject not to discuss and why not start off the podcast on a somber note? We also discuss the political culture in America that led to the violence and what moving forwards looks like.