Episode 351: Climate, Infrastructure, and Nuclear Risk: Rethinking Strategic Stability with Dr Florian Krampe

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with Dr Florian Krampe explores how climate change is no longer a peripheral environmental issue but a central factor reshaping global security. The conversation examines how environmental shifts are already degrading critical military infrastructure, from Arctic early warning systems built on melting permafrost to changing ocean conditions that affect submarine detection and strategic…

Dr Florian Krampe

Dr Florian Krampe

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

Dr. Florian Krampe is a German/Swedish political scientist and is the Director of Studies, Peace and Development, at SIPRI. He is also Director of the SIPRI Climate Change and Risk Programme. His particular focus is on peace and conflict research, environmental and climate security, and international security. With over 16 years of experience, Dr. Krampe…

Episode 347: Cartels, State Power, and Security in Mexico with David Mora

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with David Mora examines the evolving landscape of organised crime in Mexico, moving beyond narratives focused solely on drug trafficking to explore the broader systems of control, violence, and economic extraction that underpin cartel activity. We discuss how criminal groups have diversified across sectors, why strategies targeting cartel leaders have often led to fragmentation rather…

Organised Crime in Mexico: Fragmentation, Control, and the Political Economy of Violence

Organised Crime in Mexico: Fragmentation, Control, and the Political Economy of Violence

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

For years, organised crime in Mexico has been framed primarily through the lens of drug trafficking. Cartels are often portrayed as singular entities competing for control over narcotics routes into the United States, with violence understood as a by-product of this competition. Yet this framing obscures a more complex and evolving reality. As David Mora,…

David Mora

David Mora

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

As Senior Analyst for Mexico at the International Crisis Group, David researches organised crime, violence, corruption and conflict in the country, blending fieldwork and investigative reporting tools. He analyses and formulates policy strategies aimed at preventing, mitigating or resolving conflict.Trained as an investigative reporter and documentary producer, David has eight years of journalism experience, working…

North Korea Today: Strategy, Signalling, and the Calculated Logic of Risk

North Korea Today: Strategy, Signalling, and the Calculated Logic of Risk

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

For decades, North Korea has been framed as unpredictable, irrational, and perpetually on the brink of crisis. Missile launches, nuclear tests, and sudden diplomatic reversals often reinforce the perception of a regime driven by impulse rather than strategy. Yet this narrative obscures a more complex reality. Beneath the dramatic headlines lies a system that calibrates…

Rachel Minyoung Lee

Rachel Minyoung Lee

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

Rachel Minyoung Lee is a Senior Fellow for the Stimson Center’s Korea Program and 38 North. She is also co-chair of the North Korea Economic Forum, which is part of the policy program at the George Washington University’s Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS). Lee was a North Korea collection expert and analyst with Open Source…

Episode 334: North Korea: Strategic Signalling, Economic Constraint, and Regional Risk with Rachel Minyoung Lee

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with Rachel Minyoung Lee examines the evolving risk landscape surrounding North Korea, moving beyond headlines focused solely on nuclear escalation to explore the country’s broader strategic behaviour. We discuss how Pyongyang balances military signalling with pragmatic decision making, why weapons tests and military exercises are often calibrated rather than impulsive, and how sanctions, limited trade,…

Episode 330: Current State of Sudan in 2026

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with Hamid Khalafallah examines the current state of Sudan’s civil war beyond shifting battlefield developments. We explore how patterns of territorial control have altered the structure of authority across the country, why governance capacity remains limited even where military advances have occurred, and how elite bargaining and the “political marketplace” logic have become…

Sudan Today: War, Power, and the Fragmentation of Authority

Sudan Today: War, Power, and the Fragmentation of Authority

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

Since April 2023, Sudan’s conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has reshaped not only territorial control, but the deeper structures of governance, authority, and political economy. More than 12 million people have been displaced, and over 21 million face acute food insecurity. Yet beyond these staggering humanitarian figures lies a…