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 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…
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,…
In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Tuana Yazici and Steven Adler about the emergence of shadow fleets as a strategic challenge to global maritime security and the difficulties of building verifiable intelligence across both the ocean and space domains. Bowen opens with unambiguous urgency, describing shadow fleets as “the…
Programme created and produced by Katerina Mazzucchelli Today, Dominic Bowen hosts Tuana Yazici and Steven Adler on The International Risk Podcast to examine the growing challenge of verifiable maritime intelligence in an era shaped by shadow fleets, uneven enforcement and rapidly expanding remote sensing technologies. They discuss why traditional surveillance systems struggle to track unregistered…
Tuana Yazici is the Founder, Chair and CEO of Tuana Group, its subsidiaries AeroAI Voyages and AeroAI DesignLab, and the nonprofit AeroAI Global Solutions, an observer organisation to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS). Across these entities, she works at the intersection of space technologies, artificial intelligence and governance,…
Steven Adler is known for his contributions to data governance, information policy, and ocean sustainability. Over his career he has advanced international standards for responsible data use, pioneered collaborative governance models, and founded initiatives that bridge technology, policy, and environmental stewardship. He is formerly the Chief Data Strategist at IBM Watson and a former member…
Dr. William Potter is Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar Professor of Nonproliferation Studies and Founding Director of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at MIIS. He is the author, co-author, or editor of over 20 books, the most recent of which is Death Dust: The Rise, Decline, and Future of Radiological Weapons Programs (Stanford University Press,…
Produced-and-coordinated-by-Camila-Mateos-Betancourt This week on The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen is joined by Dr. William Potter to explore the escalating risks and eroding norms surrounding nuclear weapons in today’s fractured global order. As traditional arms control mechanisms falter and new technologies complicate deterrence, Dr. Potter outlines the mounting dangers of miscalculation, norm erosion, and geopolitical…
Author: Camila Mateos Betancourt Conventional weapons diversion is one of the most under-recognized yet critical international security threats today. Firearms and ammunition, which begin their lifecycle in legal and regulated markets, too often slip into the illicit sphere, arming criminal networks, destabilizing post-conflict societies, and undermining national and regional security. In Episode 238, we host Nils…
