New Thinking for a New World - a Tallberg Foundation Podcast

Russia’s war on Ukraine has set off the largest movement of refugees in Europe since the last World War. At least 2.7 million of these refugees have fled to Poland, a country with a spotty record—at best—when it comes to accepting migrants. But this time is different: even as the country builds a wall on its border with Belarus to keep out migrants from the Middle East, Poles and their government are welcoming the Ukrainians pouring across their border. Why the difference? Will there be limits to the hospitality? Marta Górczyńska, a Polish human rights lawyer, is hopeful. She has seen and dealt with her country’s efforts to close the border with Belarus as well as its enthusiastic opening of the border with Ukraine (at least for Ukrainians). Will the better angels prevail?

One of the many unintended consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the renewed discussion among politicians, as well as in the popular media, of nuclear war. How worried should we be about Russian or Korean or Chinese or prospectively Iranian nukes? Have we suddenly moved from a world of nonproliferation to a world of proliferation? Dr. Tytti Erästö is an expert on nuclear weapons at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). For her, a key assumption has long been that rational leaders would never use nuclear weapons. But now she is asking, what about irrational ones?

Perhaps the biggest known unknown in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is China's role. What does that actually mean? How far will China go to keep Russian troops in the field? Promises aside, are there in fact limits? Tough questions that are very difficult, maybe impossible to answer, but our guest Alicia Garcia-Herrero recently offered some possibilities. Alicia is a senior fellow at the European think-tank BRUEGEL, as well as the chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, a French investment bank.

The only hope for a world awash in troubles is that leaders with vision, universal values, and determination will seize the moment. But just bemoaning the lack of leaders accomplishes nothing. That’s why we established the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize. In 2021, our global jury selected two amazing leaders: Asha de Vos, a Sri Lankan marine biologist and Tero Mustonen, a Finnish climate scientist, fisherman and community leader. Listen as two jurors—David Kiernan and Marthe Reinette—discuss leadership, challenges and hope with the winners.

The whole world really is watching Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Except for audiences in Russia itself, that is. Among the many thousands of Russians reportedly fleeing their country are scores of Russia’s best journalists who have (understandably) given up the good fight. However, at least one has not: Yevgenia Albats. When the government stopped her from publishing and ended her radio show, she found ways to keep talking to her Russian audiences. At great personal peril, Yevgenia tells it like it is—to the Russians who depend on her and to us, who need her.

Arguably, any understanding of the Russian invasion of Ukraine must take into account the Beijing Winter Olympics or, rather, the meeting there of Presidents Xi and Putin. Can there be any doubt that they included Putin’s war plans as well as Xi's willingness to provide support when the much-advertised Western sanctions eventually kicked in? Why did Xi apparently green light Putin's war? What does China potentially gain from war in Europe? How does this war fit into China's long-term strategy? Listen as Jonathan Ward reflects on China’s role in Russia’s war and the implications for the United States and the rest of the West.

The world is transfixed by the tragic images emerging from Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Unfortunately, many modern conflicts never really end. Whether or not that will be the case in Ukraine remains to be seen. We too quickly move on to the next issue, assuming that what's done is done. War correspondents and war photographers know better. Our guest, Janine di Giovanni has spent much of her celebrated career so far reporting from the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East. She has witnessed the worst of what mankind can do to itself, but also the best that people under extraordinary circumstances can do for others. Listen as she discusses her experiences.

Most of us thought the war in the Balkans would be the last conflict in Europe. We were wrong. A revanchist Russia is trying to redraw borders, roll back history, and change Europe’s security reality. It’s impossible to predict how or when this ends. The Tällberg Foundation recently hosted a conversation about the conflict in Ukraine and its implications. This conversation featured Jan Eliasson, former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Pierre Lellouche, former French parliamentarian and minister, and Dalia Bankauskaitė, a strategic communications expert at Vilnius University in Lithuania, and was moderated by Alan Stoga, Tällberg’s chairman.

Wars have cycles: sooner or later, the fighting ends and the negotiations begin. Of course how the fighting ends will shape whatever negotiations ensue. But it is never too early to think about the future contours of the map of Europe. This episode with Emma Ashford, Washington-based Atlantic Council geopolitical expert, was recorded before Russia attacked Ukraine. Nonetheless, Emma's thoughts and speculation about a new security structure for Europe are even more important now than when we discussed them before President Putin chose to go to war.

Joel Kotkin, Executive Director of the Urban Reform Institute, recently published an essay on democracy’s demise. Donald Trump is not the villain of the piece. Rather, he argues that the withering of democratic process and institutions reflects the deeper transformation of our societies: the emergence of a ruling technocracy; the use of the pandemic and the environmental crisis to constrain individual rights; the growing distance between the governing and the governed. All of it made worse by the mind-boggling concentration of economic wealth.

Climate change is the ultimate example of a problem that can only meaningfully be addressed at the global level. Last November, more than 100 countries sent delegations to Glasgow for the 26th United Nations High Level Meeting on Climate. The results were mixed. Many new commitments were made, but not enough to meet the 1.5 degrees goal. And that was the easy part; delivering policies that actually bend the arc of global climate change is quite another. How likely is that? Is the UN process working? No one is better positioned to answer those questions than Denmark's Climate Ambassador Tomas Anker Christensen. Tomas was deeply engaged in the European and global run-up to Glasgow, in the negotiations in Scotland, and in the effort since then to translate words into action.

In many, perhaps most countries in the West, there is a wide and growing gap between citizens and their political leaders. Governments often fail to deliver on basic aspects of the social contract and voters sometimes respond by endorsing extreme solutions on the right or the left. If there is a silver lining, it is that our sorry condition has caused some people to rethink how politics ought to work and try to reinvent, rather than tear down, democratic processes and institutions. Alice Barbe, a French political activist, do exactly that and recently shared her ideas, hopes and solutions.

Hostile troops massing on the border of a Central European democracy. Russia's threats against Ukraine and its demands for new security and arrangements in Europe sound all too familiar. Of course, the huge difference today is that Germany is not only firmly anchored in the West but is a cornerstone of the European Union. What will Germany do? Constanze Stelzenmüller—an expert on Germany, geopolitics and trans-Atlantic relations who is based at the Brookings Institution in Washington—is deeply knowledgeable about all aspects of the crisis. Listen as she shares her views on what is at stake.

The Middle East is changing. New investment and trade relationships are emerging based on economics, not religion. In December more than 700,000 Saudi kids participated in a four-day rave in the Saudi desert with regular intermissions for Islamic prayers. What's going on? Has the Middle East of strict Islam suddenly turned into something more modern? Have the Arabs figured out how to move beyond religious conflict? Neil Quilliam is a deeply knowledgeable, experienced expert in the region. He has been engaged with the politics, economics, and societies of the Middle East and North Africa for decades: today from Chatham House and earlier through his service in the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Whether we like it or not, global politics today is defined by the confrontation between autocracies and democracies. Not surprisingly, as historian and journalist, Anne Applebaum wrote in the Atlantic in November: “The Bad Guys are Winning.” As she put it, "If the 20th century was the story of slow, uneven progress toward the victory of liberal democracy over other ideologies—communism, fascism, virulent nationalism—the 21st century is, so far, a story of the reverse.” Listen as Applebaum discusses how this new world (dis) order might evolve.

We live in a digital society. Unfortunately, some of the results include cybercrime, illegal spying, intimidation and identity theft. It’s bad enough when these activities are aimed at you or me; much worse when they target dissidents, crusading journalists, etc. Ronald Deibert and his colleagues at the Citizen Lab are in the business of fighting back, using cutting-edge technologies to protect citizens and civil society from digital predators. Listen as he explains how they do the voodoo they do so well.

The Taliban's surge to power in Afghanistan is one of those events that will have repercussions for years to come. Jamila Afghani succeeded in getting out with her family. Jamila is an educator and an activist. Her work to elevate the rights and improve the education of women and girls is based on her studies of Islamic law, which she believes is typically misinterpreted to give them second-class status. Listen as she talks about escaping the Taliban, and what she expects for her country.

Under President Xi Jinping, China has shown a growing willingness to act outside the accepted geopolitical, economic and even diplomatic global framework and practices. Australian Kevin Rudd has spent a considerable part of his life thinking about, working on, and negotiating with China — as a diplomat, twice as his country's prime minister, and currently as president of the Asia Society. Arguably no other western leader knows China better. Listen as he assesses where China is today, and where it wants to be tomorrow.

Great leaders may or may not be born that way, but their skills and abilities certainly evolve and mature over time. That is why we established an Emerging Leader category for the TSEGL Prize. The jury selected two leaders. Pashtana Durrani, an Afghan activist and educator. Christian Ntizimira, a Rwandan who champions palliative care in central Africa. Listen as two jurors—Shahidul Alam, photographer and human rights activist and Gouri Mirpuri, a social entrepreneur—discuss leadership with the two winners.

The only hope for a world awash in troubles is that leaders with vision, universal values, and determination will seize the moment. But just bemoaning the lack of leaders accomplishes nothing. That’s why we established the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize. This year, our global jury selected two amazing leaders: Asha de Vos, a Sri Lankan marine biologist and Tero Mustonen, a Finnish climate scientist, fisherman and community leader. Listen as two jurors—David Kiernan and Marthe Reinette—discuss leadership, challenges and hope with the winners.

The Middle East of today is significantly different than the region that has been such a locus of conflict over the past 50 years. Key actors seem to be refocusing their political and diplomatic efforts. In this context Jordan is playing a major role and their diplomacy has kicked into high gear in this search for a new, positive future. Ambassador Dina Kawar, Jordan's ambassador to the United States, is both an observer and participant in this transformation. Listen as she parses the possibilities, good and bad, of this rapidly changing region.

Do you care about the future of the oceans? Seventy percent of the earth is covered by water. If we want a livable planet, we need livable oceans. Can we save the oceans? If failure is not an option—and it should not be—who needs to do what? Oceanographers Sylvia Earle from the United States and Asha de Vos from Sri Lanka talked about water, the oceans, threats, and solutions. Both are explorers, educators, and activists and both are winners of the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize.

We live in a digital society. Unfortunately, some of the results include cybercrime, illegal spying, intimidation and identity theft. It’s bad enough when these activities are aimed at you or me; much worse when they target dissidents, crusading journalists, etc. Ronald Deibert and his colleagues at the Citizen Lab are in the business of fighting back, using cutting-edge technologies to protect citizens and civil society from digital predators. Listen as he explains how they do the voodoo they do so well.

Rapidly accelerating climate change is uniquely modern — but climate change is not. Can indigenous people who understand nature differently than most of us teach us how to cope with today’s terrifying challenges? Tero Mustonen is a climate scholar who combines indigenous knowledge with academic research. He is also a leader of the SnowChange Cooperative and is currently the head of his town of Selkie in North Karelia, Finland. Listen to his insights on how to promote positive change on a damaged planet.

Under President Xi Jinping, China has shown a growing willingness to act outside the accepted geopolitical, economic and even diplomatic global framework and practices. Australian Kevin Rudd has spent a considerable part of his life thinking about, working on, and negotiating with China — as a diplomat, twice as his country's prime minister, and currently as president of the Asia Society. Arguably no other western leader knows China better. Listen as he assesses where China is today, and where it wants to be tomorrow.

The disastrous impacts of climate change are evident. Do we have the technologies in hand to decarbonize economies in ways that are compatible with how people want to live? Can we do this? Saul Griffith, the Australian inventor and engineer, insists that the answer is emphatically yes. We have all the technology we need to transform the United States from laggard to leader in the effort to change the arc of the warming climate. And, if the United States can do it, everyone can.

What is actually being done about climate change? The gap between rhetoric and action is critical. Santiago Gowland, CEO of the Rainforest Alliance has spent years working with businesses, NGOs and citizens around the world to mitigate some of the biggest impacts of climate change. Listen as he discusses urgent efforts to reverse the degradation of rainforests and to create truly sustainable supply chains that are good for people as well as for the planet.

As we in the West become more conscious of inequalities that have been part of our societal fabric for a long time, we're becoming less sure of our identities. If art is a window on the soul of a nation, what does ours look like? Who do we think we are in the sense of identity? What's our mood? Of course, these are questions without answers or, at least, unique answers. Shirin Neshat, an acclaimed Iranian visual artist, and Jonathan Burnham at HarperCollins, discuss our evolving zeitgeist.

Listen as Tomas Anker Christensen, Denmark’s Climate Ambassador, and Daniel Martinez-Valle, Chief Executive Officer of Orbia, a Mexico based global company, discuss the need to develop effective partnerships between government and corporations, to find a better balance between globalism and nationalism, and to innovate solutions that assure the transformation to a low carbon economy creates, rather than destroys, jobs, growth and economic opportunity.

The Taliban's surge to power in Afghanistan is one of those events that will have repercussions for years to come. Jamila Afghani succeeded in getting out with her family. Jamila is an educator and an activist. Her work to elevate the rights and improve the education of women and girls is based on her studies of Islamic law, which she believes is typically misinterpreted to give them second-class status. Listen as she talks about escaping the Taliban, and what she expects for her country.

Rapidly accelerating climate change is uniquely modern — but climate change is not. Can indigenous people who understand nature differently than most of us teach us how to cope with today’s terrifying challenges? Tero Mustonen is a climate scholar who combines indigenous knowledge with academic research. He is also a leader of the SnowChange Cooperative and is currently the head of his town of Selkie in North Karelia, Finland. Listen to his insights on how to promote positive change on a damaged planet.

Over the years Latin America has seen more than its share of coups, dictators, autocrats, and stolen elections. Why hasn't liberal democracy developed deeper roots in Latin America? Why do many Latins seemingly embrace “strong man” rather than democratic solutions to their social, economic, and political problems? Brian Winter, editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly and a journalist who has covered the region for twenty years, has some answers—but also lots of worries.

The Taliban victory in Afghanistan and the abrupt U.S. withdrawal are the most dramatic evidence of a profound realignment in the politics of the Middle East. How are these developments seen in Iran? What kind of Middle East do the leaders, including president Ebrahim Raisi, want and what are they prepared to do to get it? Listen as Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at Princeton University, describes his view of what happens when the U.S. loses a war.

Can Bolsonaro bully his way into reelection? Will the country’s democratic institutions be so damaged by him that Brazil’s future stability could be at risk? Most importantly, what do the Brazilian people want? Sergio Amaral has a long career as a top Brazilian diplomat, presidential policy advisor, and consultant to some of São Paulo’s global companies and has an insider's perspective on how his country actually works. Listen as he discusses the future of Brazilian democracy.

Cyber insecurity is a reality of life in the digital age. We all worry about being hacked, about losing personal or corporate secrets. But what happens when nations do it? Is that war? Who makes the rules of cyber warfare? Are there already cyber powers? Marcus Willet has spent decades thinking about such questions at the UK Government Communications Headquarters, and at London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies. Listen as he discusses the risks and challenges facing us in the digital age

2021 may go down in history as the year of the Great Awakening. Can we really innovate our way out of the mess? Are we smart enough to translate discoveries into tangible benefits for people? And, can we do so faster than pathogens mutate, accumulated emissions change weather or draughts destroy land? Livio Valenti sits at the intersection of cutting-edge science and the demand for innovative solutions in healthcare, biotech, and material sciences. Listen as he discusses why he thinks we can do this.

The world is a mess: climate change in real time, the pandemic, widespread social and political unrest, high pitch geopolitical tensions. In the midst of this firestorm, people are suffering. Climate migrants need to escape fires, hurricanes and floods. Families flee wars and oppression. Where do they go and who will take them? Lawyers Becca Heller and Kristine Rembach are in the business of finding answers, one refugee or migrant at a time.

The 20th century ended when the Berlin Wall fell and the collapse of the Soviet Union. If you've come of age since then, the struggles of The Cold War are the stuff of history books. German millennials who are starting to come to power in society look at the world differently than their predecessors. How will this change the country? What does it mean for Europe and Germany's role in the world? Ulrike Franke, senior policy fellow at ECFR, is a German millennial who has thought about these questions.

Neuroscientists today know more about how the brain works than ever before; unlocking the brain's potential could transform our world. But it could also be abused, with nightmarish consequences. Dr. Rafael Yuste works at the forefront of neuroscience, based at Columbia University. His pioneering work has led him to become a champion for protecting individual neuro-identity and neurorights. In that initiative, he is joined by Jared Genser, a leading international human rights lawyer

What does China—or, China’s leadership and the Chinese Communist Party— want from the rest of the world? Jonathan Ward, an American who is rapidly becoming one of that country's leading China experts, thinks they want victory. Dr. Ward, who has lived and worked in China and has a deep affinity for the Chinese people, recently published a new provocative book, China's Vision of Victory. Listen as he shares his perspective on the issue that could literally change the course of history.

As we in the West become more conscious of inequalities that have been part of our societal fabric for a long time, we're becoming less sure of our identities. If art is a window on the soul of a nation, what does ours look like? Who do we think we are in the sense of identity? What's our mood? Of course, these are questions without answers or, at least, unique answers. Shirin Neshat, an acclaimed Iranian visual artist, and Jonathan Burnham at HarperCollins, discuss our evolving zeitgeist.

By any measure, Latin American democracy is in trouble. From Mexico to Argentina there has been an accelerating erosion of representative democracy. Is the witches’ brew of the pandemic, underperforming economies, weak rule of law, and structural inequalities more than democracy can bear? Eduardo Amadeo, Argentine economist and politician; Sergio Guzman, Colombian political risk analyst and commentator; Patricio Navia, Chilean political scientist and academic have some answers.

Increased poverty and malnutrition; greater inequality; damaged and depleted health care systems; rising social and political tensions. But is this a crisis or opportunity? This week’s guests are dedicated to trying to make the world the kind of place it could and should be. Vidhya Ramalingam is a recognized expert on the use of technology to disrupt violent extremism online. Sarah Durieux focuses on mobilizing citizens online, to help them achieve policies they care about.

Lithuania is a frontline state in the growing confrontation—some think it is already war—between East and West. Dalia Bankauskaitė, a security expert at Vilnius University, and Marius Laurinavičius an analyst at the Vilnius Institute for Policy Analysis, are both in that camp. They insist that Russia’s hostility, partly exercised through its puppet Belarus, is aimed not just at Lithuania, but at Europe and the U.S. Is this what war in the 21st century feels like? What do Putin and Lukashenko wan

2020 will be remembered as the Pandemic Year, when a deadly pathogen somehow moved from bat to human—and the rest is history still being written. Six out of 10 infectious diseases are zoonotic: everything from COVID and the other coronaviruses to rabies, West Nile, even the plague. Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka has a better idea, she believes that zoonotic disease is controllable by simultaneously working to improve the health of humans and animals, at the points where they meet.

Is the Middle East going through a realignment as significant as after World War I or since Israel was created in 1948? New realities are emerging: peace among key Arab countries and Israel and growing confidence that local leaders can best produce peace, prosperity and security in the region. Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, the United Arab Emirates long-serving ambassador to the U.S. s and also a key player in the process of creating this new Middle East, discusses the future of the Middle East.

By any measure, Latin American democracy is in trouble. From Mexico to Argentina there has been an accelerating erosion of representative democracy. Is the witches’ brew of the pandemic, underperforming economies, weak rule of law, and structural inequalities more than democracy can bear? Eduardo Amadeo, Argentine economist and politician; Sergio Guzman, Colombian political risk analyst and commentator; Patricio Navia, Chilean political scientist and academic have some answers.

Agriculture as it is practiced today—industrial scale ranching and farming—is already a huge contributor to the accelerating pace of climate change. Is there a better alternative? Can we produce enough food to meet humanity's growing needs and wants, without further environmental damage? Our guest this week has positive answers to those questions. Didier Toubia is co-founder and CEO of Aleph Farms, a company that grows steaks from cow cells. Real steaks—without the downsides of factory farming.

How is Africa doing? In one sense, that's a nonsensical question to ask about 55 countries and almost 1.4 billion people, but even dumb questions can sometimes have smart answers. In this episode, Michela Wrong, who has spent nearly three decades writing about Africa, as a journalist and author, talks about the people, the politics, and the day-to-day realities. Her book, Do Not Disturb, takes a deep dive into President Kagame’s Rwanda which can be read as a window into Africa’s present and its futur

In this special episode, you will meet two Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership prize winners. Listen as two prize recipients and friends, scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur Fio Omenetto and social innovator and entrepreneur Bright Simons, discuss how great leaders can change everything.