Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil From Central Asia’s emerging transport corridors to Iran’s sanctions and water stress, this episode of the International Risk Podcast explores how political risk, geopolitics, and climate change are reshaping the global trade map – revealing why supply chain durability is no longer just an economic question, but a strategic one…
Sophia Nina B-A has lived and worked for over a decade in Central Asia and Afghanistan, conducting geopolitical risk analysis and strategic advisory services in both the public and private sectors. Her particular area of focus is on transport infrastructure, particularly railways. She currently works as a freelance journalist and a consultant for the international…
Written by Elisa Garbil – 12.01.2026 Transport corridors, also known as the arteries of global trade, are often described in terms of engineering feats, freight volumes, and infrastructure investments. Yet the true determinant of whether these grand initiatives thrive or stall lies elsewhere. Beyond tracks, ports, and customs software sits the quieter but more powerful force shaping…
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 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…
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…
Written by Elisa Garbil – 19.12.2025 Scientific, social, and economic systems carry embedded risks when they are built on incomplete or biased information. In the study of human biology and behaviour, one of the most persistent sources of systemic risk arises from failing to account for sex differences and gendered experiences. As Cat Bohannon notes, …
Written by Elisa Garbil – 18.01.2026 Millions of people worldwide are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict, persecution, and systemic violence. Among displaced populations, survivors of torture face particularly complex and enduring risks that extend far beyond immediate physical and psychological harm. The long-term consequences of torture, compounded by the dangers of migration and the…
Written by Elisa Garbil – 10.12.2025 For decades, discussions of extremism in Germany have been dominated by the spectres of right-wing and Islamist violence. The nation’s historical trauma and recent experiences with far-right terror have understandably captured most of the security community’s attention. Yet beneath this focus, another movement has persisted, one that is quieter, more fragmented,…
Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil Our conversation today with Felix Neumann traces the shifting landscape of far-left extremism, beginning with the broader global pressures shaping today’s political climate. We unpack how certain ideological threads have evolved, splintered, and re-formed, creating a movement that is at once fragmented and unexpectedly resilient. Along the way, we examine the role…
