New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy | Podcasts

Lebanon’s Vicious Cycles

In this episode, Heiko Wimmen lays out the factors that have doomed the country to such vicious political cycles since the end of the civil war 33 years ago and shows steps interested domestic and international stakeholders can take to promote change. Lebanon continues to reel from a ruinous economic crisis, but upcoming parliamentary elections appear likely to produce few if any changes in the makeup of the government.

Inside the Lebanese Political System: the Operations of the Anti-Regime Opposition

In this episode of the New Lines Institute’s Contours podcast series, Human Security Unit Director Faysal Itani sits down with Lebanese political activist Alaa Sayeg to discuss Lebanese politics amid the worst economic situation in the country’s history. Viewed through the lens of Sayeg’s personal experience as an opposition politician in the May 2022 national elections, the discussion highlights the difficulties anti-regime activists face in the rigid Lebanese political system, as well as Hezbollah's role in the country.

Great Power Espionage: The US Intelligence Community’s Strategy in Russia’s War on Ukraine

Russia’s war in Ukraine is entering a new phase as forces shift their focus to the country’s east and south, seeking to capitalize on gains in separatist enclaves after numerous losses and shortfalls in the campaign’s initial months. As Russia adjusts its posture, the U.S. — particularly its intelligence community — also wants to shift to a long-term strategy that will deter Russian advances and violations of human security in both Ukraine and Eastern Europe at large.
In this Contours episode, Senior Analyst Caroline Rose sits down with Douglas London, a decorated veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) Clandestine Service, an adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies, and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute.

Civil Resistance to Empire in Putin’s Russia

In this episode of the New Lines Institute's Contours podcast series, host Nicholas Heras is joined by three outstanding experts, Leyla Latypova, Misha Yakovlev, and Jeff Hawn, to discuss the state of Russian civil society and the civil resistance movement against the Putin-led Russian government. The discussion focuses on the current, contentious, and potentially regime-destabilizing dynamic between the Putin's regime and Russia's ethnic and religious minority populations. They also explore how the Russian state targets civil rights – including LGBTQ rights – and how the Putin-led government might remodel its security apparatus in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Midnight’s Borders: Emerging Dynamics on the Indian Subcontinent

In this episode of the New Lines Institute’s Contours podcast series, host Nicholas Heras is joined by two leading experts on the Indian Subcontinent, Dr. Syed Mohammad Ali and Suchitra Vijayan , to analyze the dangerous emerging dynamics on the Indian subcontinent, especially inside India and in the contentious relationship between India and Pakistan. The discussion covers Vijayan’s critically acclaimed book, Midnight’s Borders: A People’s History of Modern India , and assesses how the tortured history of the subcontinent continues to drive India and Pakistan to instability and conflict. The panel also discusses how the United States can approach its policy toward the subcontinent, with a special focus on how the growing Indian-American community is shaping U.S.-India policy in an era of great-power competition.

The Geopolitics of Climate Change on the Indian Subcontinent

In this segment of the Contours podcast series, Nicholas Heras is joined by two leading experts on the Indian Subcontinent and climate change – Dr. Syed Mohammad Ali and Dr. Saleem Ali – to discuss the geopolitics of climate change in India, Pakistan, and South Asia overall. The discussion then dives into the key findings from Dr. Saleem Ali’s forthcoming book, Earthly Order: How Natural Laws Define Human Life (Oxford University Press, 2022) on how the local, regional, and global effects of climate change are impacting human societies. They also highlight what policy actions the United States can take to help mitigate the prospect of climate-induced state collapse, conflict, and other trans-national threats to human security on the Indian Subcontinent.

Pakistan in Crisis

In this episode of the Contours podcast series, Nicholas Heras discusses the tumultuous state of Pakistan with two globally recognized experts on the country: Dr. Syed Mohammad Ali and Raza Rumi Ahmad. They discuss the social and political fallout from the removal of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the geopolitical ramifications of Khan's ongoing effort to weaponize anti-Americanism. The experts also offer a path forward for an uncertain U.S. policy approach to Pakistan and India, and to meet the rising tide of Chinese power on the Indian subcontinent.

Roamings and Reflections: Yemen’s Humanitarian Situation

In this episode of “Roamings and Reflections,” Mercy Corps Senior Policy Advisor Yasmin Faruki joins host Alice Hickson to share what she's learned from her travels to Yemen and her work directing humanitarian policy efforts on there. Faruki discusses obstacles to humanitarian work in Yemen and speaks candidly about the need to partner with local organizations to create a sustainable future.

Putin’s Annexation Push in the Post-Soviet States

In this segment of the Contours podcast series, Nicholas Heras is joined by Eugene Chausovsky, Senior Analyst at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy and a globally recognized expert on Russia, the post-Soviet states, and Eurasia, to discuss Russia’s potential emerging strategy to annex breakaway territories in several post-Soviet states. The discussion dives into the implications of Chausovsky’s most recent essay in Foreign Policy, “Russia May Be Ready to Annex Breakaway Territories,” and what the U.S. policy response should be to countering Russia’s annexation approach. Heras and Chausovsky also debate whether Ukraine can accept former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s assertion that Ukraine should give up some of its territory to Russia in exchange for long-term peace.

Crisis Mode: How the US and Europe Are Addressing Ukraine’s War

In the latest episode of the New Lines Institute’s Contours podcast, Program Head and Senior Analyst Caroline Rose interviews Jim Townsend, Rachel Rizzo, and Eugene Chausovsky on transatlantic security in light of the conflict in Ukraine. Townsend is an adjunct senior fellow in the Center for a New American Security’s (CNAS) Transatlantic Security Program and the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy. Rizzo is an adjunct fellow in the CNAS Transatlantic Security Program. Her research focuses on European security, NATO, and the transatlantic relationship. Chausovsky is a Senior Analyst and Program Head for Training and Analytical Products at the New Lines Institute; his research focuses on Central Asia and Eurasia. Their conversation covers new applicants to NATO, Russia’s perceived threats, and how transatlantic security will be affected by the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine.