Dr Emma Salisbury is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in the National Security Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and an Associate Fellow at the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre. She researches and writes widely on maritime issues, with particular focus on the US Navy and Royal Navy. Listen to Dominic Bowen and Dr Emma…
Sam Goodman is a leading expert on China, Hong Kong, UK-China relations, transnational repression, and the risks posed by authoritarian influence abroad. He is Senior Policy Director at the China Strategic Risks Institute, where his work examines the strategic, political, economic, and security challenges posed by the rise of the People’s Republic of China. He…
Written by Edward Penrose – 29.05.26 When democratic governments talk about China’s global power, the conversation often turns to trade, technology, Taiwan, military modernisation and diplomacy. These are the familiar reference points of great-power competition. Yet a quieter and more intimate form of state power is increasingly shaping the lives of people far from Beijing…
In this episode, we host Sam Goodman to explore China’s global campaign of transnational repression, shadow policing, and pressure against critics abroad. Drawing on his work on Hong Kong, UK-China relations, sanctions, the BN(O) community, and economic transnational repression, Sam explains how Chinese and Hong Kong authorities project power beyond their borders through surveillance, diaspora intimidation, legal…
When a virus linked to a cruise ship begins appearing in global headlines just a few years after the COVID-19 pandemic, public anxiety is almost inevitable. The MV Hondius outbreak had all the ingredients of a modern health scare: an unfamiliar pathogen spreading in a confined space amongst international passengers, requiring quarantine measures, repatriation and contact…
In this episode, we host Dr Giulia Gallo to explore hantavirus, the recent MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak, and why a rare but serious infectious disease can generate global headlines without necessarily becoming a pandemic-style threat. Drawing on her work in molecular virology, viral-host interactions and viral glycoproteins at The Pirbright Institute, Dr Gallo explains what hantaviruses are,…
Dr Giulia Gallo is a postdoctoral scientist in the Viral Glycoproteins Group at the The Pirbright Institute. Her research sits at the intersection of molecular virology, viral-host interactions, viral entry, innate immunity, and zoonotic spillover. Her published work includes research on orthohantaviruses, viral glycoproteins and the mechanisms that shape how viruses interact with human and…
The United Arab Emirates’ decision to leave OPEC marks one of the most significant shifts in Gulf energy politics in recent years. While the move is partly rooted in oil production and market strategy, it also reflects much deeper changes taking place across the Middle East and the international system itself. Why the UAE Left…
Dania Thafer is the Executive Director of the Gulf International Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank focused on political, economic, social, and security developments across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, as well as Iran, Iraq, and Yemen. She also serves as a Professorial Lecturer at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service Center for…
The Gulf is entering a period of profound geopolitical and economic uncertainty. As tensions around the Strait of Hormuz continue and global energy markets face mounting pressure, the United Arab Emirates has taken the extraordinary decision to leave OPEC, raising major questions about the future of energy coordination, regional alliances, and global economic stability. Today…
