All episodes

Alistair Wellmann, a Practice Fellow at the Centre for International Security at the Hertie School, and an expert on sanctions implementation and effectiveness, joins Dr. Katharina Emschermann, Deputy Director at the Centre for International Security, to talk about sanctions. They discuss:
• why states impose sanctions,
• different sanction types,
• when sanctions work and when they don’t, and
• how to sharpen the tool.

Julian Wucherpfennig, Professor of International Affairs and Security at the Hertie School, and an expert on ethnic civil war and terrorism, joins Dr. Katharina Emschermann, Deputy Director at the Centre for International Security, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks to talk about terrorism. They discuss:
• what terrorists want,
• what went wrong in the so-called war on terror,
• the effects of domestic counter-terrorism measures, and
• the policy implications of terrorism research.

Marina Henke, Professor of International Relations at the Hertie School and Director of the Centre for International Security, an expert on nuclear security, military interventions and European defense policy, joins Dr. Katharina Emschermann, Deputy Director at the Centre for International Security, to talk about nuclear security. They discuss:
• the Centre’s newest research project “Understanding Nuclear Assurance,
Deterrence and Escalation in Europe”, funded by the Stanton Foundation,
• Marina Henke’s research into the psychology of limited nuclear war,
• nuclear weapons as signaling devices,
• strategic in-stability,
• arms control, and
• the controversy over nuclear sharing in Germany.

Tarah Wheeler, a Cyber Project Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and an expert on information security and international conflict, joins Dr. Katharina Emschermann, Deputy Director at the Centre for International Security, to talk about cyber security. They discuss:
• the difference between cyber espionage and cyber war,
• whether deterrence can work in cyberspace,
• what the cyber future of warfare will look like,
• and what that entails for military planning and procurement.

Andrea Ruggeri, Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Oxford, and an expert on peacekeeping and civil wars, joins Dr. Katharina Emschermann, Deputy Director at the Centre for International Security, to talk about UN peacekeeping. They discuss:
• why and how peacekeeping works,
• when to deploy peacekeepers – and when not to,
• how to use diversity in mission composition as an asset,
• how geopolitics influences decision-making at the UN Security Council,
• and, finally, where to get the best coffee.

Sara Mitchell, Professor of Political Science at the University of Iowa, and an expert on international conflict, esp. territorial, river and maritime issues, joins Dr. Katharina Emschermann, Deputy Director at the Centre for International Security, to talk about maritime disputes. They discuss:

• the ins and outs of the disputes in the South China Sea,
• how climate change increases the risk of maritime conflict,
• why some of those conflicts turn violent while others are resolved peacefully,
• whether the United States needs a larger fleet,
• and, finally, what maritime conflicts to worry about.

Brian McQuinn, Assistant Professor of International Studies at the University of Regina, Canada, and an expert on armed groups and peace building, joins Dr. Katharina Emschermann, Deputy Director at the Centre for International Security, to talk about Libya. They discuss:

• the origins of the 2011 Libyan uprisings,
• the “who’s who” of the ensuing conflict,
• his experience living among rebels in Misrata for ethnographic studies, and
• the many “ifs” deciding the fate of the Libyan peace process.

Stacie Goddard, Professor of Political Science at Wellesley College and an expert on international order and global power politics, joins Dr. Katharina Emschermann, Deputy Director at the Centre for International Security, to talk about grand strategy. They discuss:

• grand-strategic successes and failures,
• why talk isn’t cheap,
• how to keep a U.S.-China “Cold War 2.0” from becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy,
• and (musical) 90s nostalgia.

Kai Oppermann, Professor for International Politics at the Chemnitz University of Technology and an expert on German Foreign Policy and the dynamics of coalition governments joins Dr. Katharina Emschermann, Deputy Director at the Centre for International Security, in dissecting Europe’s “top risk” in 2021 – the German Federal Election and its foreign policy implications. They discuss:

• how to lose an election,
• whether Germany is still a “civilian power”,
• why Germany did not participate in the 2011 intervention in Libya,
• and what to expect from a potential coalition between the conservative CDU and the Greens.

Nils Metternich, Associate Professor in International Relations at the University College London and an expert on civil conflicts and the prediction of their dynamics joins Dr. Katharina Emschermann, Deputy Director at the Centre for International Security, in looking to the future. They discuss:

- what we can and cannot predict in international security,

- why a Nobel Peace Prize winner went to war in Ethiopia,

- the role of forecasting in the policymaking process, and what conflicts to watch in 2021.