‘The diminishment of meritocracy is very troubling in the long term for democracies.’   In this episode of the podcast, Manas Chawla talks to Charles Dunst about his new book ‘Defeating the Dictators: How Democracy Can Prevail in the Age of the Strongman’ and the principles for good governance for democracies. During his conversation with Manas, Charles explores the reasons behind a growing disillusionment with democratic societies and discusses the tactics deployed by autocratic leaders to consolidate their influence both domestically and overseas. He also considers what must be done to ..read more

‘Tech companies are the primary architects of digital space where it is not just a question about rules of data flowing, it is about engineering decisions that affect the way people act.’ In this episode of the podcast, Manas Chawla speaks to the Vice President for Europe & Eurasia and Technology Policy at Albright Stonebridge Group Kevin Allison about the collision between geopolitics and technology as governments focus their attention on the rapidly developing technology sector and increasingly seek to weaponise critical mineral and semiconductor supply chains. They also discuss the inf ..read more

‘We need to put security at the centre of everything we do until the current systemic competition is won and until we can begin to rebuild the international governance mechanism.’ In this episode of the podcast, Manas Chawla speaks to the CEO of the Munich Security Conference Benedikt Franke about the re-conceptualisation of security to avoid one-sided dependencies and the importance of collaborating with big tech companies to ensure that freedom does not become a weakness in the Western defence strategy. Benedikt also talks about the value of open-source intelligence once its limitations have ..read more

‘Risk is a core part of how you evaluate anything, but we do not really talk about it in the context of aid even though aid is used in some of the riskiest environments.’ In this episode of the London Political Podcast, Manas Chawla speaks with the Executive Director for Global Policy at the ONE Campaign David McNair. During their fascinating conversation, David shares with Manas his views on the biggest challenges that developing regions of the world are faced with when tackling corruption and discusses the limited reference to risk in conversations about aid. They also talk about the broader ..read more

‘The concept of security is changing dramatically, and it is expanding into areas that were not deemed security sensitive before.’ In this episode of the podcast, Manas Chawla speaks to Assistant Secretary General for Executive Management at NATO Giedrimas Jeglinskas about the value of Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO as well as the traditional and non-traditional security issues that the alliance is presented with on its southern flank and in the Asia-Pacific. Giedrimas also discusses the ways in which NATO is opening itself up to the worlds of investment and technology, which the Assis ..read more

‘Populism has taught us that politics is not just about being technocrats and that politicians cannot just govern through Excel spreadsheets.’ In this episode, Manas Chawla interviews Dr Catherine Fieschi about her encounters with Jean-Marie and Marine Le Pen and the factors that have led to the latter's mainstreaming. She also discusses with Manas the decomposition of the French party system since Emmanuel Macron came to office in 2016, as well as the lessons that populism can teach us about the role of the state and the meaning of politics. Dr Fieschi’s extensive research into populism makes ..read more

‘This new Cold War could signal the transition from the pre-eminence of the US to its decline.’ In this episode of the London Politica Podcast, Manas Chawla interviews former ambassador Alfredo Toro Hardy about the changing international roles of China and the US in the context of China’s increasingly assertive behaviour and a weakened US alliance system. Alfredo also discusses the factors that define the making of foreign policy in both countries as well as the future of China-US relations in a more fragile international system. Alfredo is a former diplomat, scholar, and author from Venezuela ..read more

‘It is the role of intelligence to speak truth to power.’ In this episode, Manas Chawla talks with Justin Crump, the CEO of Sibylline, about the importance of analysing political leaders through a psychological lens, the failure to listen to intelligence warnings about a Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the impact of the war on the intelligence industry. Justin’s discussion with Manas provides an insight into the nature of intelligence environments in countries in the West as well as in Russia. He also shares his thoughts on the future global challenges that risk professionals will be paying m ..read more

‘China is different, China does things differently, but it also learns from, imitates, and takes the very best of the West and incorporates that into China.’ In this episode, Manas Chawla speaks with Brian Wong, the founder of the Oxford Political Review, about the limitations of mainstream Western understanding of China. He also highlights the importance of states learning from one another as well as being more creative and pragmatic in their interactions. Brian Wong is currently completing a PhD in Political Theory at the University of Oxford. He is the founder of the Oxford Political Review ..read more

‘The war will change the ESG discussion from something that was easily dismissed as being about sunflowers and windmills to something that is much more serious and systemic.’ In this episode, Manas Chawla, speaks to Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, the US Business Editor at the Financial Times, about the exodus of Western brands from Russia, the role of companies in the unfolding conflict, and the implications of the war for investor understanding of ESG. Andrew has worked for the FT for more than twenty years and has held both writing and editing positions. He has written extensively on corporate A ..read more