The Arctic and the High North are undergoing rapid transformation. Climate change is reshaping the physical environment, while shifting alliance dynamics and renewed geopolitical competition are altering how states think about security, access, and risk in the region. Yet despite growing attention, the Arctic is often framed through simplified narratives that overstate militarisation, exaggerate commercial…
Dr. Paal Hilde is professor of war studies at the Institute for Defence Studies (IFS), which is part of the Norwegian Defence University College. He earned his DPhil in politics at the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College) in 2003. Paal has previously worked on policy planning and NATO at the Norwegian Ministry of Defence…
This episode with Dr Paal Hilde explores how climate change, alliance dynamics, and geopolitical competition are reshaping the Arctic and the High North, and why this region is becoming increasingly significant in global risk calculations. We examine how melting sea ice is altering maritime access and infrastructure stress, while also challenging long-held assumptions about security, commercial opportunity, and…
Our guest today is none other than a former UK High Court Justice with decades of experience as a historian and a lawman. With the intention to learn more about history and the shifting tendencies in the UK politics, from a two-party system to a more challenging, plural and perhaps populist one, we learn about…
In this episode, Dominic Bowen and Jonathan Sumption discuss the fragility of democratic institutions, the strain on the rule of law, and how electoral systems — particularly First-past-the-post — shape political incentives, polarisation, and ultimately public trust. They unpack why so many citizens feel increasingly disconnected from their leaders, and what this means for the future…
Jonathan Sumption, Lord Sumption, OBE, member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Fellow at the Society of Antiquaries of London, Royal Historical Society Fellow, is one of the most distinguished legal and intellectual figures in Britain. A former Justice of the UK Supreme Court, he joined the bench in 2012 after an exceptional…
Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has systemically targeted Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure–especially its energy systems–as a core part of Russia’s strategy. Since the start of the war, there has been over 2000 air, drone, and artillery attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine. Electricity grids, nuclear power plants, transmission lines, gas facilities,…
Theresa Sabonis-Helf is based in the Georgetown School of Foreign Service Master’s Degree program, teaching and serving as the Chair of the Science, Technology and International Affairs concentration since 2021. Prior to joining Georgetown, she was a Professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College and an international development professional. She has lived…
We continue learning and remembering in this second episode of Lessons Learned 2025 with our host Dominic Bowen and Melanie Meimoun, International Relations Specialist at the podcast.Organizations leveraging risk intelligence as a strategic advantage, decentralized decision-making to better prepare for crises, understanding the special case of gold as a globalized investment, and what it means…
Lev E. Breydo is a scholar of law, finance, and technology whose work examines how credit markets, digital assets and AI shape the world economy and global risk. His research has appeared or is forthcoming in leading journals, including the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, North Carolina Law Review, American Bankruptcy Law Journal, and the…
