This episode with Dr Emma Salisbury explores how the closure of the Strait of Hormuz exposed the vulnerabilities of the global maritime system, revealing how a regional conflict can rapidly become a global economic and security crisis. The conversation examines why critical maritime chokepoints remain central to international trade, energy security, and geopolitical competition, and…
In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Dr Emma Salisbury, a leading expert on maritime security and naval power, about the global implications of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and what it reveals about the vulnerability of modern trade systems. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the narrowest…
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…
Workplace violence is no longer viewed as a rare or isolated risk. Across the United Kingdom, incidents of violence at work have continued to rise, while organisations globally are confronting increasingly complex operating environments shaped by geopolitical tensions, social volatility, insider threats, economic uncertainty, and growing societal polarisation. In this episode of The International Risk…
Michael Julian is the creator of the ALIVE active shooter survival training program and a 30-year veteran of the private security industry. As President and CEO of MPS Security and Protection, he has led executive protection details, workplace violence prevention engagements, behavioral threat assessment teams, and active shooter response training for clients across the United…
This episode with Michael Julian explores the growing realities of workplace violence, active threats, and organisational preparedness in an increasingly volatile security environment. The conversation examines why physical violence is becoming a more pressing concern for companies, schools, and public institutions, and how rising social instability, economic pressure, insider risks, and wider geopolitical tensions are…
In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, host Dominic Bowen speaks with Zsuzsanna Szelényi, foreign policy specialist, former member of the Hungarian Parliament, and Programme Director at the CEU Democracy Institute, about Hungary’s dramatic political transformation following the end of Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule. After 16 years of increasingly authoritarian governance, Hungary has voted…
Zsuzsanna is foreign policy specialist, former politician, author and founding director of the CEU Democracy Institute Leadership Academy. Before joining the CEU Democracy Institute, Zsuzsanna Szelényi was Richard von Weizsäcker fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin and Europe’s Future Fellow of the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen. She is conducting research on…
This episode with Zsuzsanna Szelényi explores Hungary’s dramatic political transformation following the end of Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule, examining how an entrenched illiberal system was dismantled through democratic means and what this reveals about the resilience of liberal democracy in Europe. The conversation traces the structural factors that converged to break Orbán’s grip on power—including economic mismanagement,…
Conflict has traditionally been understood as a transition from peace to war, defined by identifiable actors, geographic boundaries, and military engagements. Increasingly, however, this framework is becoming difficult to sustain. Contemporary conflict is less a discrete event and more a continuous process unfolding across multiple domains simultaneously, from military operations and cyber activity to financial…
