Episode 316: The Rise of Parallel Financial Systems: Digital Currencies, Sanctions Evasion, and Geoeconomic Influence with Dr Dan McDowell

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with Dr Daniel McDowell examines how digital currencies, financial sanctions, and geopolitical competition are shaping the future of the global monetary system. We explore why the US dollar continues to dominate global finance despite political pressure and technological change, how sanctions influence state behaviour, and why network effects make rapid currency shifts unlikely. The discussion also…

The Dollar, Sanctions, and the Limits of Monetary Power

The Dollar, Sanctions, and the Limits of Monetary Power

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

The US dollar remains the central pillar of the global financial system. It dominates cross-border payments, underpins trade invoicing, and accounts for the majority of official foreign exchange reserves. Yet in recent years, debates about the durability of dollar dominance have intensified, driven by the expanded use of financial sanctions, the emergence of digital currencies,…

Dr Daniel McDowell

Dr Daniel McDowell

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

Daniel McDowell is Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center. He is a former Wilson Center China Fellow. As a scholar, McDowell specializes in the study of financial sanctions, the dynamics of…

Episode 312: The Disorderly Society: Global Governance in an Age of Fragmented Power with Dr Bobo Lo

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with Dr Bobo Lo explores the breakdown of the post-Cold War rules-based international order and what is emerging in its place. We examine why today’s global system is better understood as a condition of disorder rather than a coherent new order, shaped by diffuse power, weakening institutions, and growing mistrust of Western norms, and how the…

Dr Bobo Lo

Dr Bobo Lo

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

Bobo Lo is an independent international relations analyst and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Lowy Institute, Sydney. He was formerly Head of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, and Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Moscow. Past positions and associations have included Director of the China and Russia Programmes at…

Global Disorder and the Limits of the Rules-Based International Order

Global Disorder and the Limits of the Rules-Based International Order

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

The defining feature of today’s international system is not the emergence of a new balance of power, but the absence of a shared framework through which power is exercised. Rather than transition, the system is characterised by fragmentation, uncertainty, and weak consensus over rules, norms, and responsibilities. In a recent episode of The International Risk…

Episode 310: Reengineering Life, Reshaping Risk: Synthetic Biology’s Benefits and Risks for the Global Community with Dr Tae Seok Moon

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with Dr Tae Seok Moon explores how synthetic biology is rapidly transforming medicine, climate innovation, and industrial production, while introducing new layers of international risk, ethical tension, and governance challenges. We examine how engineered biology is already being used to fight disease, reduce emissions, and address pollution, alongside growing concerns about dual-use risk, biosecurity, and…

Synthetic Biology, Global Risks and Benefits, and the Future of Engineering Life

Synthetic Biology, Global Risks and Benefits, and the Future of Engineering Life

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

Synthetic biology is increasingly recognised as one of the most consequential technological domains shaping global risk in the coming decade, with major implications highlighted in recent reports by the OECD and other international policy bodies. Advances in biological engineering are already transforming medicine, industrial production, and climate innovation, a trajectory documented in futures‑oriented assessments of…

Dr Tae Seok Moon

Dr Tae Seok Moon

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

Tae Seok Moon is a YouTuber, director of an NSF global center, professor at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) Council Member, SynBYSS Chair, Moonshot Bio founder, European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) Executive Board Member, and editor of 10 journals, including the New Biotechnology Editor-in-Chief. His 32 funded projects have…

Security, Climate Change, and Risk in the Arctic and the High North

Security, Climate Change, and Risk in the Arctic and the High North

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

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…