Nuclear weapons are back at the centre of global politics. For much of the post Cold War era, they lingered in the background, casting a long but often ignored shadow over international affairs. Today, that shadow has sharpened. Great power rivalry has returned, arms control agreements are eroding, and emerging technologies are reshaping how states…
In this episode of the International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of The New Nuclear Age: At the Precipice of Armageddon. The conversation moves beyond the hype to examine the structural drivers of today’s nuclear competition,…
Ankit Panda is the Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His research interests include nuclear strategy, escalation, missiles and missile defense, space security, and U.S. alliances. He is the author of The New Nuclear Age: At the Precipice of Armageddon (Polity, 2025), Panda has consulted for the United…
This episode with Elizabeth Bullock examines the lived reality of modern conflict in Ukraine, drawing on her three years providing frontline humanitarian aid. From evacuating civilians under fire to navigating the evolving threats of drones, hypersonic missiles, and weaponised infrastructure, Elizabeth provides an unflinching look at how war shapes both society and strategy and what…
Elizabeth Bullock is one of few Westerners to have spent three continuous years in frontline areas of Russia’s Modern War. Her time in Ukraine evolved into more than 1,000 days spent primarily in the eastern Donbas and the southern (Kherson) front. She founded and led an independent, quick-response unit, executing strategic operations to help civilians…
The war in Ukraine did not begin in February 2022. That date marks the escalation to full-scale invasion, but the conflict itself began in 2014 with Russia’s hybrid warfare in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea. Since February 2022, however, the war has evolved into Europe’s largest conventional conflict since the Second World War….
This episode of the International Risk Podcast explores hypersonic missiles through the lens of global strategy, defense policy, and international security. Host Dominic Bowen interviews Dr. Jacob Parakilas from Rand Europe about what makes hypersonic weapons strategically significant beyond their speed. The International Risk Podcast brings you conversations with global experts, frontline practitioners, and senior decision-makers…
Jacob Parakilas is research leader for Defence Strategy, Policy and Capabilities at RAND Europe. Previously, Parakilas worked on the U.S.–UK defence relationship as a member of the State Department’s Political-Military team at the U.S. Embassy in London. He has also lived in Lagos, Nigeria, where he worked as a consultant and wrote a column focused…
Hypersonic missiles are typically defined as a missile which travels at Mach 5 and above for a sustained period of time and is manoeuvrable during its flight within the Earth’s atmosphere. While speed is often the headline feature, it is the combination of velocity, manoeuvrability, and atmospheric flight that distinguishes these systems from traditional ballistic…
