By all accounts, 2023 will be a year of endless debates about energy relations between the European Union and Russia. On this edition of "IR thinker", I am curious about Russian LNG in Europe, is it a sign of hypocrisy in the European Union or a smart Russian business move?
I am joined by Andreas Schroeder, Head of Energy Analytics at ICIS – Independent Commodity Intelligence Services; a global company with 150 years of experience in delivering market intelligence. Andreas is a leading expert on LNG issues, and I highly recommend connecting with him on LinkedIn, where he posts tremendous sources of knowledge.
ICIS company website:
https://www.icis.com/
Content
00:00 - Introduction
02:07 - Russian LNG in Europe
04:45 - Novatek and LNG transport to Europe
11:55 - LNG politics and the European Union
18:14 - EU gas storage, LNG supplies and terminals
23:33 - Russia sells LNG to third countries
26:04 - LNG gas contracts
29:45 - LNG price components
38:43 - LNG market and reforms in Europe
44:32 - Recommendation for the European Union
"IR thinker" talk show creator
Martin Zubko
https://martinzubko.com/
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed on the "IR thinker" talk show are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Martin Zubko.
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Today, we are going to speak about Japan from a slightly different angle – what expats, people who were not born in Japan, but live there, think about Japan.
I am joined by Maya Matsuoka, a long-term resident of Japan. She has worked both in Bulgaria and Japan, her career including positions in the education, travel and tourism, and IT industries. Maya is also an international broadcaster with a spectacular talk show, Japan Expert Insights.
Over the past two years, with the help of the Tim Sullivan, Maya has built Japan Expert Insights into a community hub for professionals who have substantial experience of working and doing businesses in Japan.
https://japanexpertinsights.com
Content
00:00 - Introduction
02:59 - Japanese international voice in the last 10 years
05:22 - Japanese confidence in international relations
07:50 - young Japanese and global politics
11:39 - Japanese elite universities
13:22 - Japanese political thinking
18:55 - why changes in Japan take so long
23:50 - Abe's impact on Japan
29:14 - Abe's legacy
30:40 - Japanese domestic politics
32:40 - one political party in Japan
35:38 - intellectual property decline
39:19 - ageing and demographics
41:40 - raising a child in Japan
46:15 - Ukraine and Japan
53:19 - Japanese regional relations
"IR thinker" creator
Martin Zubko
https://martinzubko.com
SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL
If you enjoy my channel and have the means to support me, I have set up "Buymeacoffee" page. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irthinker
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed on the "IR thinker" talk show are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Martin Zubko.
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Serbia and Russia, what a great topic to discuss with Dr. Vuk Vuksanovic who is a senior researcher at the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy and an associate at LSE IDEAS, a foreign policy think tank within the London School of Economics and Political Science.
We divided this episode into two parts: "Energy relations" and "Political ties".
Content
00:00 - Introduction
00:57 - Gazprom's role in the Serbian energy security
10:52 - Gazprom's investment in Serbia
12:14 - Diversification of Serbian gas supplies (Azerbaijan)
23:21 - Russian reaction to Azeri gas
25:02 - Serbian oil supplies, JANAF, DRUZHBA and Hungary
31:39 - EU, Druzhba and Russian oil exceptions
34:04 - Serbian, Hungarian and Russian energy union
35:08 - Why Serbia has no nuclear power plant?
38:43 - Does Russia control Serbia?
44:30 - limits of Russian influence in Serbia
48:52 - Russian "mutual consultations" on the Serbian foreign policy
51:44 - Russian soft power and the Wagner Group in Serbia
01:01:00 - Serbia's role between Russia and the West
Martin Zubko
https://martinzubko.com
SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL
If you enjoy my channel and have the means to support me, I have set up "Buymeacoffee" page. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irthinker
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed on the "IR thinker" talk show are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Martin Zubko.
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I am joined by Junuguru Srinivas, Assistant Professor at the Woxsen University in Kamkole, which is around 50 km from Hyderabad, India. He is also the Alina Mungiu Pippidi Professor of Public Policy and Co-Chairperson of the CoE-Public Policy Research.
Woxsen University is a modern educational institution with a spot on research, especially when you go through the research section on the website.
https://woxsen.edu.in
Professor Srinivas focuses on foreign economic policies of India, Russia, China, and Political economy of the Global South in International Relations. He was awarded numerous grants worldwide, conducted presentations and participated in many international conferences. However, there is one section in his CV that got my attention.
Professor has written two books: the first one, "Future of the BRICS and the role of Russia and China" published in 2022; and the second one, "Russian approach towards BRICS and G-20, 2001-2012" published in 2017. Therefore, I assume he knows "something" about BRICS.
Book 1: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-19-1115-6
Book 2: https://www.amazon.com/Russian-approach-towards-BRICS-2001-2012/dp/3659637467
Content
00:00 - Introduction
02:10 - Prof. Srinivas and BRICS
06:30 - How India joined BRICS?
15:58 - Manmohan Singh
21:11 - Narendra Modi
25:15 - BRICS benefits to India
34:34 - India's diplomacy
38:55 - India's diaspora abroad
47:30 - Misconception about India's diplomacy
49:40 - India's and BRICS countries analysis
1:09:49 - Threats to BRICS
1:15:42 - India's politics and BRICS
"IR thinker" talk show creator
Martin Zubko
https://martinzubko.com
SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL
If you enjoy my channel and have the means to support me, I have set up "Buymeacoffee" page. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irthinker
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed on the "IR thinker" talk show are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Martin Zubko.
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Recently, I have come across an interesting book’s title containing three keywords “EU”, “Law” and “Geopolitics”. Especially in 2022, the European Union foreign and security policies went through real world tests related to law and geopolitics. On this edition of "IR thinker", I am curious about what can we learn about the EU foreign and security policies in those frameworks, does the EU have a strong legal framework supporting her foreign policy in today’s geopolitical dynamics?
I am joined by Dr. Luigi Lonardo is a lecturer in EU law at University College Cork, Ireland, and a visiting lecturer in European Foreign Security and Defence Policy at Sciences Po in Paris, France.
Dr Lonardo has published two books. The first one, “EU Common Foreign and Security Policy After Lisbon: Between Law and Geopolitics” published in 2022, this is the book we will talk about it today.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Common-Foreign-Security-Policy-Lisbon-ebook/dp/B0BPLH6V65/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1673624607&refinements=p_27%3ALuigi+Lonardo&s=books&sr=1-2
Also, there is another publication “Russia's 2022 War Against Ukraine and the EU's Foreign Policy Reaction: Context, Diplomacy, and Law” published in January 2023.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russias-Against-Ukraine-Foreign-Reaction-ebook/dp/B0BRGV8P3B/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1673536780&refinements=p_27%3ALuigi+Lonardo&s=books&sr=1-1
Content
00:00 - Introduction
04:00 - Definition of geopolitics
13:03 - Four concepts of EU foreign policy
18:20 - Common security and foreign policy
20:11 - Treaty of Lisbon
22:52 - EU enlargement current stage
28:54 - Geopolitics of Russian energy supplies
31:04 - Geopolitics of water
37:20 - EU enlargement geopolitics
42:05 - Legal basis in the EU law
43:35 - Sanctions and COREPER II
46:00 - EU territory
48:45 - EU constitution
52:25 - Common geopolitical challenges
56:30 - Recommendations for EU geopolitics
"IR thinker" talk show creator
Martin Zubko
https://martinzubko.com
SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL
If you enjoy my channel and have the means to support me, I have set up "Buymeacoffee" page. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irthinker
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed on the "IR thinker" talk show are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Martin Zubko.
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A woman who interviewed over 800 terrorists worldwide, helped established rehabilitation programmes in Iraq and worked with leading international institutions to understand terrorism, extremism and hate crime.
It's been my privilege to speak with Dr. Anne Speckhard about terrorism and extremism.
Content
00:00 - Introduction and Anne's background
04:55 - First interview with a terrorist
07:22 - First interview questions and preparation
10:27 - Being a woman while interviewing terrorists
11:58 - Conditions for interviewing terrorists
14:11 - Detainee Rehabilitation Program in Iraq
19:59 - Breaking the ISIS Brand Counternarratives Project
25:54 - Surprising ISIS propaganda elements
28:29 - 4 things making a terrorist
30:49 - Women as terrorists
34:24 - Women's motivation to join terrorist groups
38:12 - Anne's new book and a review of three chapters
50:47 - The US and European extremism similarities and differences
53:32 - Emerging trends in extremism
55:53 - The US effort to tackle extremism at the present
58:05 - International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism
Anne's New Book - Homegrown Hate: Inside the Minds of Domestic Violent Extremists
https://www.amazon.com/Homegrown-Hate-Domestic-Violent-Extremists-ebook/dp/B0BRNTBGHF?ref_=ast_author_dp
International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism
https://icsve.org/staff-member/anne-speckhard/
Anne's Academia Profile
https://georgetown.academia.edu/AnneSpeckhard
Martin Zubko
https://martinzubko.com
SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL
Creating each episode of my talk show requires a lot of hard work, taking around 5 days to develop the questions and structure. If you enjoy my channel and have the means to support me, I have set up "Buymeacoffee" page. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irthinker
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed on the "IR thinker" talk show are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Martin Zubko.
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On this episode of "IR thinker", I was curious about the role of students in international relations, their contribution to diplomacy and problem-solving platforms such as international institutions and professional organizations. Thus, I interviewed Max Browning from Scotland, recently awarded with the Schwarzman Scholars' scholarship for the best world future leaders.
Content
00:00 - Introduction
02:00 - Why should students get engage in international relations?
04:00 - The difference between bachelor's degree and master's degree students
05:01 - How can students go international with their projects?
08:05 - How should students contact experts and senior managers?
09:26 - What about if students do not study international relations but they want to go international?
11:57 - Posh universities vs regular universities
14:17 - The most important skills for international students' projects
17:07 - How to develop leadership skills?
20:08 - The most difficult barriers to international student collaboration
24:31 - Should students involve lecturers and professors in their initiatives?
26:26 - How should international student initiatives start?
30:24 - The role of diaspora in international student projects
32:37 - Digital identity of students' projects
34:39 - Schwarzman Scholars' scholarship
36:42 - Why to go to study in China?
38:28 - Which courses will Max study? Who does teach in China?
40:49 - Who is going to study with Max?
42:07 - Challenges of studying and living in China
45:47 - Where will Max live in China?
46:50 - Do Chinese students develop international student initiatives?
48:37 - Will Max share his experience in China on social media?
49:28 - How to get an international scholarship?
51:27 - Max's future job
Max Browning is the Founder and Chairman of One Scotland, a charitable initiative bringing future leaders together through cultural exchange and collaboration at universities in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and Aberdeen.
He graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Double First in Chinese & Russian in 2022 and am now pursuing and MSc in East Asian Relations.
In 2021, he had the privilege of attending the COP26 Blue Zone on behalf of the University of Edinburgh and spoke about the importance of building a global network of young changemakers.
His other commitments include managing the Scottish Parliament's Cross Party Group on China; attending the China Scotland Business Forum; and advising the Scotland China Education Network.
One Scotland Initiative
https://www.one-scotland.com/
Schwarzman Scholars
https://www.schwarzmanscholars.org/
Scottish Business Network
https://www.sbn.scot/
Martin Zubko, a content creator
https://martinzubko.com/
SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL
If you enjoy my channel and have the means to support me, I have set up "Buymeacoffee" page. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irthinker
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed on the "IR thinker" talk show are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Martin Zubko.
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MUSIC CREDIT
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