Podcasts about european relations

The fiat money system has survived the Great Inflation, the global financial crisis, and a pandemic. But can it survive digital currencies?Bitcoin and the blockchain solved a genuine problem in computer science: how to stop people spending the same money twice. Forty years of successful inflation control means central bank money is stable; that is the stability in stablecoins, attempting to solve the volatility problem. What's next? What if the unit of account itself were indexed to consumer prices? Digitalisation might finally make that approach viable at scale. Price stability, by design.Will we still need cash? Maybe not now, But if you never use it, it may not be there if the blackout comes.The research behind this episode:Stracca, Livio. 2025. Redefining the Monetary Standard in the Digital Age: Digital Innovations and the Future of Monetary Policy. Springer Nature.To cite this episode:Phillips, Tim, and Livio Stracca. 2026. "Redefining the monetary standard." VoxTalks Economics (podcast). Assign this as extra listening. The citation above is formatted and ready for a reading list or VLE.About the guestLivio Stracca is Deputy Director General for International and European Relations at the European Central Bank, where he has worked for more than two decades. His research spans monetary economics, international finance, and the implications of digitalisation for central banking, with extensive work on exchange rates, capital flows, and the architecture of the international monetary system. Research cited in this episodeThe double-spend problem. The fundamental challenge in any decentralised digital payment system: how to prevent a participant from spending the same unit of money twice when there is no trusted central authority to verify transactions. Bitcoin's 2008 white paper offered an innovative solution by making the transaction ledger public, cumulative, and computationally expensive to rewrite. The trade-off is that transparency sacrifices privacy; every transaction is visible to all participants in the network.The blockchain. A distributed ledger in which transactions are grouped into sequential blocks, each cryptographically linked to the one before. Reversing any transaction requires rewriting every subsequent block, which demands enormous computational effort. This design solves the double-spend problem in a decentralised network but makes the system slow and costly to operate at scale.The payment trilemma. A framework discussed in the episode and in Stracca's book: any digital payment system can optimise for at most two of three properties simultaneously (universal access, security against fraudulent transactions, and privacy). Cash is the only instrument that escapes the trilemma; digital systems must accept a trade-off among the three, and the choice is often made implicitly by the designer of the system rather than through democratic deliberation.Hayek, Friedrich A. 1976. Denationalisation of Money. London: Institute of Economic Affairs. The classic argument for currency competition: let currencies compete freely and the one providing the most stable prices will win. Economists, including Milton Friedman, largely rejected the proposal on the grounds that money exhibits strong network externalities; the more people use a currency, the more attractive it becomes to the next user, producing a natural tendency towards monopoly. A formal modern revisitation, finding similar conclusions, is Fernández-Villaverde, Jesús, and Daniel Sanches. 2019. "Can Currency Competition Work?" Journal of Political Economy 127 (3): 1017 to 1058.Irving Fisher's compensated dollar. A proposal published in Fisher, Irving. 1913. "A Compensated Dollar." Quarterly Journal of Economics 27 (2): 213–235 (the same year the Federal Reserve was created). Fisher argued for a dollar whose purchasing power was held constant by adjusting its gold content in line with prices. The mechanical details of his proposal are no longer relevant, but its animating idea (indexing the unit of account to a price level) has gained new plausibility in a digital context.The Unidad de Fomento. Chile's inflation-indexed unit of account, in operation since 1967 and updated daily against the consumer price index. It is used widely in long-term contracts, including mortgages, and functions as a security that can be traded. Stracca cites it as evidence that an indexed monetary standard is operationally feasible, and as a prototype for what a digital equivalent might look like at larger scale.The Great Moderation. The period of low and stable inflation in advanced economies running roughly from the mid-1980s until the inflation episode of 2021 to 2023. Economists attribute it to improved monetary policy frameworks, particularly central bank independence, inflation targeting, and (crucially, in Stracca's account) the introduction of interest on reserves, which gave central banks precise control over the short-term interest rate without draining liquidity. Stracca treats the Great Moderation as the benchmark against which any proposed reform of the monetary standard must be judged.Programmable money. A form of digital money in which payment is conditional on an independently verifiable event, potentially confirmed by a machine rather than a human intermediary. Example: a payment that executes automatically when a delivery is confirmed by a sensor. Decentralised ledgers make such conditional payments technically straightforward; traditional banking systems can approximate them but with far greater friction. Stracca notes significant enthusiasm for programmable money but also real scepticism about whether the benefits outweigh the complexity in practice.More VoxTalks Economics episodesStablecoins and Global Imbalances, Gilles Moëc explains why we can think of stablecoins as a radical macroeconomic experiment that has arrived at exactly the moment the US external position is showing signs of stress.Can blockchain decentralise money, contracts, and finance? Bruno Biais on blockchain's potential, its flaws, and its future.Do stablecoins threaten financial stability? Richard Portes thinks so.

5. Mary Kissel discusses shifting global alliances, noting stronger ties with Gulf partners while European relations fray. She highlights Ukraine's savvy outreach for energy and defense support from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. (5)1920.

As UK-EU reconnection talks continue in Brussels and London, are more deals in the offing, what does it mean and when will the public see the difference?Anne has been speaking to the Minister for European Relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, to see if any progress has been made and whether Brits can avoid the queues at immigration over the festive period. Back in Westminster, with a week until the Christmas break there's plenty of business for the government to get through but it's not all plain sailing.

  In this episode of Doug Casey's Take, Doug and I discuss Trump's latest speech and the broader geopolitical shifts unfolding before our eyes. As always, Doug doesn't hold back. “Trump is mightily entertaining, but let's be honest—his rhetoric is often nonsense. That doesn't mean he's wrong about everything.” “The U.S. government is a dangerous predator sitting on top of America. People conflate the government with the people—they're not the same.” “If you want to solve the drug problem, legalize drugs. That's the only answer. Everything else is theater.” We cover Trump's plan to “unshackle” the economy, the deep state's resistance, the looming financial collapse, and why he believes America's overreach—from the Panama Canal to Greenland—is a mistake. Doug also gives his take on the latest Ukraine minerals deal and what's going on with Europe ramping up military spending. 00:00 Introduction and Initial Impressions of Trump's Speech 00:15 Entertainment Value and Comparisons to Zelensky's Visit 01:28 Analyzing Trump's Speech and Economic Claims 03:07 Fact-Checking and Media Reactions 05:49 Trump's Economic Policies and Their Implications 19:06 Discussion on Social Security and Tax Policies 21:56 Trump's Proposals for the Auto Industry and Tariffs 27:23 Declaring War on Drug Cartels 29:58 The Cycle of Violence and Drug Addiction 32:08 The Death Penalty Debate 34:49 Transgender Issues and Child Transition Surgery 37:00 National Security and the Golden Dome 39:28 Reshoring Shipbuilding and the Panama Canal 44:51 Trump's Radical Policies and Greenland 54:48 European Relations and Defense Spending 58:59 The Mineral Deal in Ukraine 01:01:48 Concluding Thoughts and Future Speculations

United States President Donald Trump sees many European countries as extensions of the Democratic Party abroad, and thus his “adversaries”, argues Ed Luce, the US national editor at the Financial Times. Luce tells host Steve Clemons that the string of European leaders “bringing fruits to the volcano” in Washington will not be able to change Trump's views on Ukraine or Europe in general. “America now sees the world as a jungle,” he says. The power vacuum left by the US will usher in “a dangerous time ... when you have the revenge of geopolitics, the return of history,” Luce says. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #aljazeera #aljazeeraenglish #aljazeeranewslive

NATO leaders are shocked by U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance's recent beratement of European allies at the pivotal Munich Security Conference. As the U.S. recedes, there are questions about who will fill the void as Russia continues to flex its influence around the world. Matt Galloway talks to Kerry Buck, former Canadian ambassador to NATO, about the potential impact on Ukraine's long-term security, the alliance's unity and what Canada should do next.

Peter Dunn, Director of European Relations, Cullen International, discusses the USO, how European postal operators are reacting to falling letter volumes, and more. The purpose of the Postal Services Directive, including letters USO and quality of service How local universal service obligations can be changed Flexibility provisions in Postal Services Directive Changes to letter delivery frequency in Italy (Poste Italiane) Letter volume declines in Nordic countries Introducing alternate-day letter delivery Lack of standardised EU approach to USO scope definition Parcels in the USO Local variations in letter volume declines Review of the Postal Services Directive State aid and government support for postal operators Letter trends and USO review worldwide Varying national responses to falling letter volumes Cultural and operational differences between postal operators and markets  

Bonus Tuesday episode! Our guest on the Mibbes Aye show this week is Dr Kirsty Hughes, writer, political commentator and former Director of the Scottish Centre for European Relations.  We put some key questions about EO/EFTA membership to Kirsty, including:  what is the process for applying to join? how long does it take? what support and benefits do we get through the accession process and many more.   There are shareable versions of each of the main questions on our Indylive Extra Youtube channel - please feel free to share them around anyone you think would be interested!  

Dr. Roger Kangas, Ph.D. Academic Dean and Professor Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University TNWAC Global Town Hall at Belmont University, March 31, 2022 @ 6:00 p.m. CT with Moderator, Dr. Thomas A Schwartz, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of History of U.S. Foreign Relations, Vanderbilt University Transcript available at TNWAC.org | Support the Tennessee World Affairs Council by becoming a member and making a contribution | Sign up for the newsletter | All on TNWAC.org Dr. Roger Kangas – Academic Dean and a Professor of Central Asian Studies at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. Previously Dr. Kangas served as a Professor of Central Asian Studies at the George C. Marshall Center for European Security in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; Deputy Director of the Central Asian Institute at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC; Central Asian Course Coordinator at the Foreign Service Institute for the U.S. Department of State; Research Analyst on Central Asian Affairs for the Open Media Research Institute (OMRI) in Prague, Czech Republic; and as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Kangas has been an advisor to the Combatant Commands, NATO/ISAF, the US Air Force Special Operations School, National Democratic Institute, International Research and Exchanges Board, American Councils, Academy for Educational Development, USIA, USAID, and other US government agencies on issues relating to Central and South Asia, Russia, and the South Caucasus. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. Dr. Kangas holds a B.S.F.S. in Comparative Politics from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Indiana University. Dr. Thomas A. Schwartz Thomas Alan Schwartz is a historian of the foreign relations of the United States, with related interests in American politics, the history of international relations, Modern European history, and biography. His most recent book is Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography (Hill and Wang, 2020). The book has received considerable notice and acclaim. Harvard's University's Charles Maier has written: “Thomas Schwartz's superbly researched political biography reveals the brilliance, self-serving ego, and vulnerability of America's most remarkable diplomat in the twentieth century, even as it provides a history of U.S. engagement in global politics as it moved beyond bipolarity.” Earlier in his career, Schwartz was the author of America's Germany: John J. McCloy and the Federal Republic of Germany (Harvard, 1991), which was translated into German, Die Atlantik Brücke (Ullstein, 1992). This book received the Stuart Bernath Book Prize of the Society of American Foreign Relations, and the Harry S. Truman Book Award, given by the Truman Presidential Library. He is also the author of Lyndon Johnson and Europe: In the Shadow of Vietnam (Harvard, 2003), which examined the Johnson Administration's policy toward Europe and assessed the impact of the war in Vietnam on its other foreign policy objectives. He is the co-editor with Matthias Schulz of The Strained Alliance: U.S.-European Relations from Nixon to Carter, (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

What does the AUKUS security partnership between Australia, the US and UK mean for security in Asia, for the US-China rivalry, and for US-Europe relations? In this episode of NUPI Podcast, you hear a talk by Deputy Director Bruno Tertrais of the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique. The talk was held on the NUPI seminar AUKUS and its implications for Asia, US-European relations and non-proliferation on 12 October 2021. Read more about the event, and find the link to the YouTube event (full version) here: https://www.nupi.no/nupi_eng/Events/2021/AUKUS-and-its-implications-for-Asia-US-European-relations-and-non-proliferation

What does the AUKUS security partnership between Australia, the US and UK mean for security in Asia, for the US-China rivalry, and for US-Europe relations?In this episode of NUPI Podcast, you hear a talk by Deputy Director Bruno Tertrais of the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique. The talk was held on the NUPI seminar AUKUS and its implications for Asia, US-European relations and non-proliferation on 12 October 2021. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scotland could once again seek to move towards independence and EU membership. Esme Nicholson discusses resulting challenges for Scotland, Westminster and the EU with Kirsty Hughes (Scottish Centre on European Relations), Nicolai von Ondarza (SWP), and Jess Sargeant (Institute for Government). Talk guests: Dr Kirsty Hughes is Director and founder of the Scottish Centre on European Relations, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. She is a researcher, writer and commentator on European politics and policy. Dr Nicolai von Ondarza is Head of the Research Division EU / Europe of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). His research interests include Brexit and future EU-UK relations. Jess Sargeant is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government. Her research focuses on devolution and Brexit, with particular interests in referendums, the UK internal market, and the Northern Ireland protocol. Host: Esme Nicholson

Son of the Manse  The news that the German government and the EU is in dispute with AstraZeneca about supplies of the Covid vaccine is our first topic...this issue has legs so expect more on it… We roast the UKGov’s invisible Scottish Secretary for his article in the Irish Times… We disagree with a well written London Times piece by Hugo Rifkind...and recall the friendly and excited atmosphere of Indyref1 and the AUOB marches… The new owners of the Scotsman and Evening News may have abandoned the previous strong unionist support...we ruminate… We offer our support to Craig Murray who faces political charges in an Edinburgh court this week… We recommend an article ( England’s Scotland Panic – What is to be done & why a mature UK debate on the union & on Scottish independence is not on the horizon ) by Kirsty Hughes of the Scottish Centre on European Relations...more to follow. (link below). https://www.scer.scot/database/ident-13005

As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office next month, many see an opportunity to restore U.S.-European relations after a Trump administration that backed away from the two side's traditional multilateral framework. Nick Schifrin spoke with Philippe Étienne, France's Ambassador to the U.S., to discuss Brexit, climate change, Iran's nuclear program and future relations with America. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office next month, many see an opportunity to restore U.S.-European relations after a Trump administration that backed away from the two side's traditional multilateral framework. Nick Schifrin spoke with Philippe Étienne, France's Ambassador to the U.S., to discuss Brexit, climate change, Iran's nuclear program and future relations with America. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Beyond the Noise with David Jamieson is a weekly podcast with CommonSpace journalist David Jamieson, where he gets behind the 24/7 news cycle and gets to the heart of issues, trying to find the substance behind the headlines. IN this week’s podcast, Jamieson speaks to Kirsty Hughes Director Scottish Centre on European Relations on the week Britain leaves the EU. They discuss: 1:17 – What comes next for the UK and Scotland regarding Brexit, what’s the timeline of the coming months? 10:24 – Can ‘independence in Europe’ survive Brexit and the exit of the UK from the European single market and customs union? 16:31 – Will Brexit create further problem’s for the SNP’s position on currency in an independent Scotland?

Cathryn Clüver-Ashbrook, executive director of both the Future of Diplomacy Project and the Project on Trans-Atlantic and European Relations out of the Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, describes the changing nature of relations between Europe and Russia, providing historical context, examining contemporary factors such as the Syrian civil war and Russian election meddling, and describing how the new Project on Trans-Atlantic and European Relations, chaired by HKS Professor Nicholas Burns, seeks to find solutions to the emerging challenges.

Ambassador Elena Poptodorova, former Ambassador of Bulgaria to the United States and Vice President of the Atlantic Treaty Association, sits down with Brussels Sprouts to discuss what America first means for Europe, how the use of diplomacy has fundamentally changed, and who is filling the void of US leadership in Europe.

Are Israeli-European Relations in Crisis? - JCPA Insider Briefing - Dan Diker, Amb. Zvi Mazel

Joanna Spear, associate professor of political science and international affairs, discusses President Obama's recent trip to Europe and the implications for the U.S.-European alliance of the Russian invasion of Crimea.

As China's comprehensive power grows domestically and internationally, so too does its global cultural presence and government efforts to enhance its international image. Are China's efforts to expand and enhance its soft power producing positive results--or is China's image abroad tarnished? In this lecture, Professor Shambaugh will discuss findings from his research in China on different dimensions of China's global cultural footprint and soft power. Professor Shambaugh is recognized internationally as an authority on contemporary Chinese affairs and the international politics and security of the Asia-Pacific region. He is a widely published author of numerous books, articles, book chapters and newspaper editorials. He has previously authored six and edited sixteen volumes. His newest books are China's Communist Party: Atrophy & Adaptation; American and European Relations with China; and The International Relations of Asia (all published in 2008). Other recent books include Power Shift: China & Asia's New Dynamics (2005); China Watching: Perspectives from Europe, Japan, and the United States (2007); China-Europe Relations (2007); Modernizing China's Military (2003); The Odyssey of China's Imperial Art Treasures (2005); and The Modern Chinese State (2000). Professor Shambaugh is a frequent commentator in international media, and has contributed to leading scholarly journals such as International Security, Foreign Affairs, The China Quarterly, and The China Journal. Before joining the faculty at George Washington, he taught at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, where he also served as Editor of The China Quarterly (the world's leading scholarly journal of contemporary Chinese studies). He also served as Director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (1985-86), as an analyst in the Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research (1976-1977) and the National Security Council (1977-78), and has been a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at The Brookings Institution since 1998. He has received numerous research grants, awards, and fellowships -- including being appointed as an Honorary Research Professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (2008- ), a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (2002-2003), a Senior Fulbright Research Scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of World Economics & Politics (2009-2010), and a visiting scholar at institutions in China, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, and Taiwan. Professor Shambaugh has held a number of consultancies, including with various agencies of the U.S. Government, The Ford Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, The RAND Corporation, The Library of Congress, and numerous private sector corporations. He serves on several editorial boards (including International Security, Journal of Strategic Studies, Current History, The China Quarterly, China Perspectives) and is a member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, National Committee on U.S. China Relations, the World Economic Forum, The Council on Foreign Relations, Pacific Council on International Policy, Committee on Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP), The Asia Society, Association for Asian Studies, and International Studies Association. Professor Shambaugh received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of International Studies (SAIS), and B.A. in East Asian Studies from The Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. He also studied at Nankai University, Fudan University, and Peking University in China.

As China's comprehensive power grows domestically and internationally, so too does its global cultural presence and government efforts to enhance its international image. Are China's efforts to expand and enhance its soft power producing positive results--or is China's image abroad tarnished? In this lecture, Professor Shambaugh will discuss findings from his research in China on different dimensions of China's global cultural footprint and soft power. Professor Shambaugh is recognized internationally as an authority on contemporary Chinese affairs and the international politics and security of the Asia-Pacific region. He is a widely published author of numerous books, articles, book chapters and newspaper editorials. He has previously authored six and edited sixteen volumes. His newest books are China's Communist Party: Atrophy & Adaptation; American and European Relations with China; and The International Relations of Asia (all published in 2008). Other recent books include Power Shift: China & Asia's New Dynamics (2005); China Watching: Perspectives from Europe, Japan, and the United States (2007); China-Europe Relations (2007); Modernizing China's Military (2003); The Odyssey of China's Imperial Art Treasures (2005); and The Modern Chinese State (2000). Professor Shambaugh is a frequent commentator in international media, and has contributed to leading scholarly journals such as International Security, Foreign Affairs, The China Quarterly, and The China Journal. Before joining the faculty at George Washington, he taught at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, where he also served as Editor of The China Quarterly (the world's leading scholarly journal of contemporary Chinese studies). He also served as Director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (1985-86), as an analyst in the Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research (1976-1977) and the National Security Council (1977-78), and has been a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at The Brookings Institution since 1998. He has received numerous research grants, awards, and fellowships -- including being appointed as an Honorary Research Professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (2008- ), a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (2002-2003), a Senior Fulbright Research Scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of World Economics & Politics (2009-2010), and a visiting scholar at institutions in China, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, and Taiwan. Professor Shambaugh has held a number of consultancies, including with various agencies of the U.S. Government, The Ford Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, The RAND Corporation, The Library of Congress, and numerous private sector corporations. He serves on several editorial boards (including International Security, Journal of Strategic Studies, Current History, The China Quarterly, China Perspectives) and is a member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, National Committee on U.S. China Relations, the World Economic Forum, The Council on Foreign Relations, Pacific Council on International Policy, Committee on Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP), The Asia Society, Association for Asian Studies, and International Studies Association. Professor Shambaugh received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan, an M.A. in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of International Studies (SAIS), and B.A. in East Asian Studies from The Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. He also studied at Nankai University, Fudan University, and Peking University in China.

Switchboard for February 20, 2007 from VPR. We talk with Sarwar Kashmeri about his book, America and Europe After 9/11 and Iraq. Hosted by Mitch Wertlieb.