Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

ECFR

Weekly podcast on the events, policies and ideas that will shape the world.World in 30 minutes is curated by Mark Leonard, Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), and features top-level speakers from across the EU and beyond to debate and discuss Europe’s role in the world. It was awarded “Best podcasts on EU politics” by PolicyLab in 2019.Member of the EuroPod network.

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Top 10 Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The Russian troop build-up near Ukraine

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

11/19/21 • 34 min

At the beginning of this week, NATO warned about an ‘unusual’ concentration of Russian forces close to the Ukraine border. So far, the Kremlin has dismissed the warning as “alarmist” while the US alerted allies about the possibility of Moscow preparing for a possible invasion of Ukraine. Mark Leonard is joined by Marie Dumoulin the new director of our Wider Europe programme, in her first week on the job, and ECFR Senior policy fellows Gustav Gressel and Kadri Liik to talk about the Russian military built up on Ukraine ́s borders: how serious is the situation? And what should - and should not NATO do about it?This podcast has been recorded 17 November 2021.Further reading:Russia’s military movements: What they could mean for Ukraine, Europe, and NATO by Gustav Gressel https://ecfr.eu/article/russias-military-movements-what-they-could-mean-for-ukraine-europe-and-nato/ Bookshelf:• “Ukraine: Putin’s unfinished business” by Eugen Rumer & Andrew Weiss • “Russia in Global Affairs“, Volume 19, No. 3, Jul-Sept 2021• “Practical political science. A guide to getting in touch with reality” by Ekaterina Schulmann [in RU] Picture © picture alliance / AA | Ukrainian Presidency / Handout

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Europe’s role in tackling the Russia-Ukraine crisis

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

01/21/22 • 35 min

Diplomatic talks about the Russia – Ukraine crisis are increasingly icy. While Europeans continue to gnash their teeth over a patchy security architecture, US president Biden and the Russian president Putin are struggling to come to a peaceful conclusion in their bilateral negotiations. It seems Europeans are caught between the prospect of a “new Yalta” or a full-scale war on the European continent that could easily escalate out of control. To discuss these happenings, Mark Leonard welcomes Marie Dumoulin, director of ECFR’s Wider Europe programme, Kadri Liik, ECFR senior policy fellow at ECFR and Jeremy Shapiro, ECFR's research director and in-house US expert.This podcast was recorded on 19 January 2022.Bookshelf La France dans le bouleversement du monde by Michel DuclosTermination Shock by Neal StephensonХельсинкский процесс (The Helsinki Process) by Andrei Zagorski

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What a Le Pen presidency would mean for Europe and the world

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

04/15/22 • 31 min

Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen will face off against each other in the second round of the French presidential election on April 24. We have a good idea of what a second Macron presidency would look like, but Marine Le Pen is another story all together. How would her presidency affect Europe and the world? Jeremy Shapiro – seizing the reins of the podcast this week from a complaisant Mark Leonard – will explore this question with Agneska Bloch, a senior research assistant at a DC-based think tank, where she works on European affairs.This podcast was recorded on 14 April 2022.Further reading:All ECFR analysis on the French election: https://ecfr.eu/topic/france-2022/ Bookshelf:- East West Street by Philippe Sands - My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

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United West, divided from the rest: Global public opinion one year into Russia’s war on Ukraine

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

02/24/23 • 32 min

A major new public opinion poll from ECFR indicates that, a year into Russia's war on Ukraine, the Western alliance is consolidating – but that there are divisions between the West and other global powers. These divergences range from their views of the conflict to their interpretations of democracy and their ambitions on the world stage. In this week's episode, the authors of the research – Mark Leonard, Timothy Garton Ash, and Ivan Krastev – discuss its main findings and the future of the world order. Does Europe have a strong role to play in a multipolar world, or will it forever live in the United States’ shadow? How can the West use the desire in emerging powers to act on their own terms to its advantage? And what principles should drive Europe’s engagement with those countries?This podcast was recorded on 18 February 2023.Further reading- United West, divided from the rest: Global public opinion one year into Russia’s war on Ukraine by Timothy Garton Ash, Ivan Krastev & Mark Leonard https://ecfr.eu/publication/united-west-divided-from-the-rest-global-public-opinion-one-year-into-russias-war-on-ukraine/ Bookshelf- Homelands: A Personal History of Europe by Timothy Garton Ash - The Frontline by Serhii Plokhy- The Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel Vásquez

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The Clash of Orders with Rana Mitter on China

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

10/07/22 • 39 min

Many Europeans see the war in Ukraine as an attack on the ‘rules-based order’. But to many people in other parts of the world, there is no consensus on a set of rules to govern global affairs – and no sense of order. In this mini-series, Mark Leonard will go on an intellectual tour of the world talking to key thinkers about how order is being defined by different powers. He explores how the clash between these different notions plays into the big shocks facing the world – from climate change and future pandemics to geopolitical struggles and technological disasters – and what this means for national and global politics.--In this first episode, Leonard is joined by Rana Mitter, vice-president of the British Academy and professor of the history and politics of modern China at the University of Oxford, to talk about the Chinese understanding of order. How are economic inequalities and covid-19 challenging Chinese stability? What is the role of multilateralism in the international system? And finally, how do narratives of the past shape understandings of ‘order’ today?Bookshelf•“China’s Good War: How World War II Is Shaping a New Nationalism” by Rana Mitter• “Is the Growing Pessimism About China Warranted?” (2016) ChinaFile Conversation• “In the Name of the People” (2017) TV series

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Tariffs, tensions, and trade: Trump’s gamble on China

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

04/18/25 • 30 min

Two weeks after Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement shook global markets, he has now offered most countries a 90-day reprieve—while simultaneously escalating trade tensions with China by imposing harsher penalties. So far, China has responded by matching each tariff hike with its own response.

This week, Mark Leonard welcomes Agathe Demarais , ECFR senior policy fellow and head of its geoeconomics initiative, and Janka Oertel , director of ECFR’s Asia programme, to delve into the complexities of the China-US trade war. Together, they explore the current tariff landscape, the strategies employed by both nations, and the implications for Europe and other external actors. They also discuss China’s aggressive response, potential trade chokepoints and the potential for regional diplomacy.

Who will blink first, Xi Jinping or Trump? Is this a full decoupling of the American and Chinese economies? And what risks and opportunities does the US-China trade war carry for Europe?

This podcast episode was recorded on April 17th 2025.

Bookshelf:

The Most Dangerous Place: A History of the United States in South Asia by Srinath Raghavan

The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna

GeoTechnoGraphy: Mapping Power and Identity in the Digital Age by Samir Saran and Anirban Sarma

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China’s strategic approach to the Western Balkans

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

05/14/21 • 30 min

China’s formalised, seemingly nonchalant, attitude towards the Western Balkans masks a surprising nimbleness and strategic intent. In the past decade, the country has become the most prominent third actor in this part of the European Union’s neighbourhood. To find out why, host Mark Leonard talks to Majda Ruge, senior policy fellow in ECFR ́s Wider Europe programme with a focus on the Western Balkans, Vladimir Shopov, visiting fellow with ECFR ́s Asia programme, as well as Vessela Tcherneva, deputy director of ECFR and head of ECFR’s Sofia office. Together, they discuss why it is important to take a closer look at Chinese engagement in the region, how much influence China already has in the Western Balkans and how European policymakers should react. This podcast was recorded on 12 May 2021. Further reading: Decade of patience: How China became a power in the Western Balkans by Vladimir Shopov, https://ecfr.eu/publication/decade-of-patience-how-china-became-a-power-in-the-western-balkans/ Bookshelf: War: How Conflict Shaped Us by Margaret MacMillan, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/books/review/war-margaret-macmillan.html The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations by Daniel Yergin, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/a-global-energy-study-that-misses-some-climate-change-realities/2020/09/24/1addeb3e-f2b3-11ea-bc45-e5d48ab44b9f_story.html The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State by Elizabeth C. Economy, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2019/01/15/book-review-the-third-revolution-xi-jinping-and-the-new-chinese-state-by-elizabeth-economy/ Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe by Niall Ferguson, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/may/07/doom-by-niall-ferguson-review-how-to-make-sense-of-catastrophePhoto: REUTERS/Djordje Kojadinovic

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Trends for 2018

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

01/08/18 • 21 min

Mark Leonard and Jeremy Shapiro review the year gone by and predict the 10 foreign policy trends that will define 2018.Picture: Pixabay/Geralt https://pixabay.com/en/users/geralt-9301/

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NATO and beyond: America’s domestic politics and Ukraine

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

06/07/24 • 32 min

How is America’s domestic politics impacting the war in Ukraine? Last week, the Biden administration authorised Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to strike within Russia’s borders – but, beyond July’s NATO Summit, the United States’ long-term strategy is unclear. As well as how the Biden administration’s response to Ukraine might develop, this uncertainty will only grow should the American public elect Donald Trump again in November.

In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes Jeremy Shapiro, director of research and director of ECFR’s US programme, to discuss the next moves in US policy on Russia’s war in Ukraine. What are the motivations behind the Biden administration’s latest decision? What is the American domestic consensus on supporting the war in Ukraine? And is it possible for NATO to protect itself from Trump?

This episode was recorded on 5 June 2024.

Bookshelf

U.S. escalation in Ukraine needs a plan, by Jeremy Shapiro and Samuel Charap

Assyria: The Rise and Fall of the World’'s First Empire, by Eckart Frahm

New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West, by David E. Sanger

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The EU and France in the Sahel

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

07/09/21 • 35 min

In June this year, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the end of Operation Barkhane – a military offensive launched in 2013 against Islamist militants in the Sahel. France has determined, he said, it could no longer maintain a “constant presence” in West Africa. In this week’s episode, host Mark Leonard discusses European interests in the region and what might change after France’s Africa policy shift, together with Emanuela Del Re, former Italian deputy foreign minister and the new EU special representative for the Sahel; Sylvie Kauffmann, editorial director, lead writer, and columnist for Le Monde; as well as ECFR’s Andrew Lebovich. What does the end of Operation Barkhane in its current form mean for the Sahel? What could further European and international engagement in the region look like?This podcast was recorded on 7 July 2021.Further reading:• “After Barkhane: What France’s military drawdown means for the Sahel” by Andrew Lebovich: https://t.co/xxZ11TiM24 Bookshelf• ”La Guerre de vingt ans. Djihadisme et contre-terrorisme au XXIe siècle” by Marc Hecker & Elie Tenenbaum • “Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel” by Alexander Thurston • “Être etudiant au Mali: chroniques d'une vie d'étudiant” by Boubacar Sangaré • “Moral Letters to Lucilius“ by Seneca•“From Empires to NGOs in the West African Sahel. The Road to Nongovernmentality” by Gregory Mann • “Half of a Yellow Sun” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie • “L'Islâm in Europa: riflessioni di un imâm italiano “ by Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini

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FAQ

How many episodes does Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes have?

Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes currently has 565 episodes available.

What topics does Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes cover?

The podcast is about News and Podcasts.

What is the most popular episode on Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes?

The episode title 'The Russian troop build-up near Ukraine' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes?

The average episode length on Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes is 31 minutes.

How often are episodes of Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes released?

Episodes of Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes are typically released every 6 days, 23 hours.

When was the first episode of Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes?

The first episode of Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes was released on Jan 30, 2015.

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Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes

ECFR

Top 10 Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes have?

What topics does Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes cover?

What is the most popular episode on Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes?

What is the average episode length on Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes?

How often are episodes of Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes released?

When was the first episode of Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes?

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