In this episode Dominic Bowen speaks with Shayan Talabany, Senior Analyst and Advisor at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, about shifting U.S. strategies in the Middle East and what they mean for governance, security, and economic opportunity across the region. They explore how the U.S. retreat from interventionism is reshaping regional power balances,…
In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, host Dominic Bowen speaks with Shayan Talabany, Senior Analyst and Advisor at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, about the profound shifts underway in the Middle East. From U.S. retrenchment and recalibrated alliances to the pressures of youth unemployment, nationalism, and the war in Gaza, Talabany…
Written by Elisa Garbil – 14.08.2025 The war on Gaza has moved far beyond the realm of conventional military conflict. What is unfolding is a methodical, prolonged campaign against an entire civilian population. The destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, the mass killing of noncombatants, and the deliberate targeting of essential services reflect a calculated strategy to dismantle not…
Assem Dandashly is an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science at Maastricht University. He is an expert on the EU-MENA relations. Prior to joining Maastricht University in September 2012, Assem was a Research Fellow at the Kolleg-Forschergruppe “The Transformative Power of Europe” Freie Universität Berlin. Assem holds a PhD in Political Science (2012)…
Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil A difficult topic, one that we keep seemingly talking about without our governments doing anything – The ongoing genocide in Gaza. Dominic and Assem Dandashly discuss the paradox of aid and conflict, the reality on the ground in Gaza, the Western (and international) hypocrisy and what the inevitable consequences are…
Joseph Daher, is a Swiss-Syrian academic and activist. He currently teaches at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), and at the University of Ghent (Belgium) and has been an affiliated professor at the European University Institute (EUI). He has worked with the EUI on the conflict in Syria and the aftermath of the war. Herewith Joseph has…
Written by Elisa Garbil – 30.12.2024 Chemical and biological warfare has been in the news lately with countries like Israel and Russia using them on civilians and threats of Iran deploying them would war break out. So what are the differences? Let’s start with chemical warfare. Chemical warfare was first used in World War I,…
Dr. Brett Edwards is currently a Senior Lecturer in Security and Public Policy at the University of Bath. He holds a wide range of interest from technology to governance and security. At the moment he is involved in a number of projects examining the security implications of cutting-edge biotechnology, the governance of biological and chemical…
Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil This week on The International Risk Podcast we discuss Chemical and Biological Warfare with Doctor Brett Edwards. We discuss the history of chemical and biological warfare, explaining that it has been around for longer than we thought, and what the international risks are. Then we move onto the current risks,…
Written by Elisa Garbil – 26.09.2024 A Little History The conflict between Israel and Lebanon is not new. It started with the Arab-Israeli War in 1948, where Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Transjordan (now Jordan), and Iraq declared war on the newly pronounced, state of Israel, which had declared its independence on the 14th of May 1948. On…
