The Foreign Desk

As US president Joe Biden’s time in office comes to a close, we consider how to assess the legacies of national leaders. What makes a president great? And why do our views change over time? Andrew speaks with the custodians of these legacies – biographers, presidential library directors and historians – to see how these mythologies are created and maintained. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Mueller explains how likely it is that China is cutting Taiwan’s undersea cables and what’s in it for them. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Mueller talks to Lithuania’s outgoing foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, and Monocle regulars Latika Bourke, Yossi Mekelberg and Charles Hecker about what to keep an eye on as geopolitical risks rise in 2025. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than one billion people headed to the polls, wars turned into regional crises and right-wing parties found new footholds in 2024. Andrew Mueller speaks with electoral expert Tony Banbury, and Monocle regulars Latika Bourke, Charles Hecker and Yossi Mekelberg take stock of the year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The holidays are a time of giving but wealthy nations have not been in a generous mood. Andrew Mueller explores the case for foreign aid and how to turn the concept into a win-win for both donor and recipient. With Mark Lowcock, Andrew Mitchell and Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following the scathing resignation letter of his finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, Andrew Mueller explains why Canada’s prime minister may be about to lose his job and what Trump has in store if he doesn’t. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did the rebels manage to topple Bashar al-Assad’s regime so quickly? How inclusive will any new government realistically be? Who in the region wins and who loses? Andrew Mueller speaks with Syrian-born writer Rime Allaf, counter-insurgency expert David Kilcullen, Middle East security analyst Burcu Ozcelik and Russia expert Mark Galeotti. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Syrians celebrate Assad’s fall, Israel is striking targets across the country. Andrew Mueller explains why. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Against strong resistance, indigenous communities are asserting their right to inclusion in the political systems of their respective nations. Andrew Mueller speaks to Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, the illustrator of ‘When the World Was Soft: Yindjibarndi Creation Stories’, Alex Mankiewicz, and a justice of the Shawnee Tribe Supreme Court and law professor, Kristen Carpenter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol attempts to undo last night’s shock announcement of martial law, Andrew Mueller explains the real reasons behind the attempted coup. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te embarks on his first international tour, we explore this delicate moment for an island that China still claims as a rogue province. Will China really try to reclaim Taiwan? And how would the island – and its allies – go about its defence? Andrew Mueller speaks with journalist, William Yang, and defence expert, Arthur Ding, in Taipei, plus filmmaker Venessa Hope in London. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we wait to hear if Romania will annul its first round of elections, Andrew Mueller explains why the shocking result should not be that shocking. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, households in Sweden received a government pamphlet entitled ‘In Case Of Crisis Or War’, while similar manuals were published across Scandinavia. Some European nations are evidently preparing for war, but are they ready? Andrew Mueller is joined by Monocle’s Gunnar Gronlid to speak with Richard Shirreff, the former Nato Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, former director and CEO of the German Council on Foreign Relations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Mueller explains the origin of the controversial bill New Zealand’s Maori are protesting against. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following Trump’s first cabinet appointments, we consider what his second term might mean for tensions between international powers. Andrew Mueller speaks with Amy Mackinnon, national security reporter for ‘Foreign Policy’; John Herbst, former US ambassador to Ukraine; Stephen Young, former ambassador to China; and Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

African social media has been awash with scandalous videos of Baltasar Ebang Engonga, head of Equatorial Guinea’s National Financial Investigation Agency, filmed by the man himself, in his own office. Andrew Mueller explains the Shakespearian motives behind the leak and what it could mean for nation’s higher office. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the dust settles on what was a shocking election result for some, we ask how Trump’s decisive victory happened and what it means for the US and the world. Andrew Mueller speaks to ‘The Atlantic’ staff writer Tom Nichols, the US’s former deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, Heather Conley, and co-director of the UCL Centre on US Politics, Julie Norman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While we take stock of what Trump’s victory means for the world, one country’s election result has had a more reassuring effect, at least for the EU. This week, Moldova reelected president Maia Sandu. Andrew Mueller explains what it means beyond the country’s borders and why it matters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump the peacemaker, Obama the deporter, George W Bush the foreign aider. Ahead of the election, we interrogate the counterintuitive positions candidates have taken against their party’s (and their own) image, once in office. Why do so many US presidents campaign in one direction and govern in another? Andrew Mueller speaks with former USAID administrator Andrew Natsios. Plus: a roundtable with Leslie Vinjamuri of the US and the Americas programme at Chatham House and Charles Hecker of geopolitical risk consultancy, Control Risks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the US braces itself for next week’s anxiety-inducing vote and Georgians reel at their own controversial ballot result, Andrew Mueller explains why Uruguay has enjoyed a sublimely excitement-free election. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.