Sahel

The Sahel at a Crossroads: Mapping the Intersecting Risks of Fragility, Conflict and Resilience

Written by Elisa Garbil – 10.11.2025 Across the dry savannahs that stretch from Mauritania to Chad, the Sahel stands as one of the world’s most fragile regions. A place where political instability, violent extremism, displacement, and climate stress are converging into a perfect storm. Once viewed mainly as a buffer between North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Sahel…

Episode 283: Humanitarian Crisis in the Sahel with Dr. Jessica Moody

Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil The Sahel stands at a crossroad, it is torn by crisis, instability, and shifting power. Join Dr. Jessica Moody and Dominic Bowen as they dive deep into the region’s unfolding humanitarian emergency. What does ECOWAS’s withdrawal mean for the people? How is Russian influence rewriting the rules? And why are jihadist groups gaining ground?…

Dr. Jessica Moody

Dr. Jessica Moody

Dr. Jessica Moody is a political risk, due diligence and peacebuilding consultant in West Africa. She conducts open source and on the ground research into political, economic and security developments in West Africa and provides timely forecasts as well as scenario planning to clients, enabling them to better plan their operations. She also provides detailed…

Resilience, Hybrid Warfare, and the Future of Security: Lessons from Ukraine

Resilience, Hybrid Warfare, and the Future of Security: Lessons from Ukraine

In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, host Dominic Bowen joins live from Kyiv in conversation with one of our international relations specialists to examine how hybrid warfare, authoritarian cooperation, and civilian resilience are reshaping Europe’s security landscape. Speaking from Ukraine as the country endures its most intense wave of drone and missile attacks…

Episode 282: Live from Ukraine with Dominic Bowen: The Frontlines of Resilience and the Future of Leadership

Today, our host Dominic Bowen joins live from Ukraine on The International Risk Podcast for a special episode examining resilience, leadership, and hybrid warfare in the heart of Europe’s most critical conflict. In conversation with one of our international relations specialist, Dominic reflects on daily life in Kyiv amid the largest drone and missile attacks since the full-scale invasion…

Cormac Smith

Cormac Smith

Cormac Smith works at the intersection of authentic leadership & effective communication. He travelled to Ukraine in 2016 to take up a special appointment as the ‘Strategic Communication Advisor’ to Pavlo Klimkin, the then Foreign Minister of Ukraine. Cormac was attached to the British Embassy in Kyiv but was embedded in Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign…

Episode 275: Hybrid Warfare: The New Normal with Cormac Smith

Coordinated and Produced by Elisa Garbil Dive into the ongoing war with Cormac Smith today. Dominic and Cormac discuss Mariupol, whether the war can be considered genocide, the disinformation war, the reality of Russian aggression, war crimes, hybrid warfare, the need for unity, and more! Today we are joined by Cormac Smith. Cormac works at the intersection of…

Ukraine

Ukraine at a Strategic Inflection: Risk, Pressure, and Uncertainty

Written by Elisa Garbil – 16.10.2025 Late in the night of 4–5 October 2025, Russian forces launched one of the more intense combined missile-and-drone assaults of the war. According to Ukrainian officials, more than 50 ballistic and cruise missiles, along with nearly 500 drones, struck nine regions across the country, hitting energy infrastructure, civilian districts, and industrial…

Authoritarian Alliances and the Risks to the Global Order

Authoritarian Alliances and the Risks to the Global Order

In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Doug Livermore, Senior Vice President at CenCore Group and Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command, about the accelerating cooperation between authoritarian regimes and the risks this poses to international stability. Drawing on his extensive experience in special operations, irregular warfare,…

Episode 271: Authoritarian Alliances: Strategic Cooperation in a Fragmented Global Order with Doug Livermore

Today Dominic Bowen hosts Doug Livermore on the podcast to discuss the rise of authoritarian alliances. They dive into the growing cooperation between China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and their proxies, the economic and military dependencies that underpin these relationships, how authoritarian regimes leverage propaganda and “unrestricted warfare,” the role of countries like Venezuela, Sudan, and the…