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…
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 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,…
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…
Dr. Paal Hilde is professor of war studies at the Institute for Defence Studies (IFS), which is part of the Norwegian Defence University College. He earned his DPhil in politics at the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College) in 2003. Paal has previously worked on policy planning and NATO at the Norwegian Ministry of Defence…
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…
This episode with Dr Paal Hilde explores how climate change, alliance dynamics, and geopolitical competition are reshaping the Arctic and the High North, and why this region is becoming increasingly significant in global risk calculations. We examine how melting sea ice is altering maritime access and infrastructure stress, while also challenging long-held assumptions about security, commercial opportunity, and…
Lev E. Breydo is a scholar of law, finance, and technology whose work examines how credit markets, digital assets and AI shape the world economy and global risk. His research has appeared or is forthcoming in leading journals, including the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, North Carolina Law Review, American Bankruptcy Law Journal, and the…
*This episode was recorded in October 2025* This episode with Dr Lev Breydo explores how sovereign debt has evolved into a strategic instrument of power in an era of heightened geopolitical risk. We examine how credit markets, financial infrastructure, and legal design now shape state behaviour, constrain autonomy, and function as tools of coercion below the threshold…
Sovereign debt is not new. What is new is the role it now plays at the strategic level. Instruments once treated as technical matters of fiscal management have moved to the centre of international politics, shaping how states exert influence, constrain rivals, and manage risk without overt confrontation. In a recent episode of The International…
