Episode 306: Electricity on the Frontlines: Russia’s War Against Ukraine’s Energy Infrastructure with Theresa Sabonis-Helf

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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

Theresa Sabonis-Helf

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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…

Episode 305: Lessons Learned 2025 – Part two with Dominic Bowen and Melanie Meimoun

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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…

Dr Lev Breydo

Dr Lev Breydo

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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…

Episode 304: Debt as Leverage: Sovereign Lending and Geopolitical Influence with Dr Lev Breydo

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*This episode was recorded in October 2025* This episode with Dr Lev Breydo explores how sovereign debt has evolved into a strategic instrument of power in an era of heightened geopolitical risk. We examine how credit markets, financial infrastructure, and legal design now shape state behaviour, constrain autonomy, and function as tools of coercion below the threshold…

Sovereign Debt as Strategy: Credit, Constraint, and the Quiet Reordering of Power

Sovereign Debt as Strategy: Credit, Constraint, and the Quiet Reordering of Power

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Sovereign debt is not new. What is new is the role it now plays at the strategic level. Instruments once treated as technical matters of fiscal management have moved to the centre of international politics, shaping how states exert influence, constrain rivals, and manage risk without overt confrontation. In a recent episode of The International…

Episode 303: Traceability of Critical Raw Material with Romane Dideberg

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Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil This episode with Romane Dideberg explores responsible mineral sourcing in the context of rising geopolitical risk, with a focus on the Sahel. We examine how insecurity, military coups, and shifting alliances are reshaping control over critical minerals, driving resource nationalism, and complicating governance in fragile and conflict-affected states. Moreover, we also look…

Romane Dideberg

Romane Dideberg

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Romane Dideberg is a researcher at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. She works within the institute’s Africa Programme, engaging with policymakers, researchers, private sector, and international organisations on key policy challenges across the African continent. Her research focuses on peace and security dynamics and political developments in West Africa and the…

Traceability and Risk in Africa’s Critical Minerals

Traceability and Risk in Africa’s Critical Minerals

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Written by Elisa Garbil – 29.12.2025 Critical minerals have become the strategic linchpin of the global energy transition. Electrification, battery manufacturing, and digital infrastructure all depend on a steady flow of minerals such as cobalt, lithium, manganese, rare earth elements, and platinum-group metals. As industrialised economies push toward decarbonisation and technological expansion, they are discovering that the…

Episode 302: The memory of Srebrenica and current tensions in the Western Balkans with Aidan Hehir

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In this episode, Dominic Bowen and Aidan Hehir discuss the legacy of the Srebrenica genocide, the politics of remembrance, and why, nearly thirty years later, the region continues to struggle with denial, revisionism, and rising ethnic tensions. Find out more about how competing narratives have shaped post-war identities, the role of international courts in establishing the historical…