logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2023
34m 19s

German foreign policy with Christoph Heu...

ECFR
About this episode
This week, Mark Leonard welcomes Christoph Heusgen, longstanding foreign policy chief during the Merkel years and now chair of the Munich Security Conference. They discuss Western and non-Western reactions to the war in Ukraine – and, in particular, the role of Germany. Should Berlin have taken a harder line against Russia after 2014? How can Scholz realise his vision for the Zeitenwende? And what is stopping Germany from engaging more in developing countries? This podcast was recorded on 13 March 2023. Bookshelf: The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict by Mark Leonard Führung und Verantwortung: Angela Merkels Außenpolitik und Deutschlands künftige Rolle in der Welt by Christoph Heusgen

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
Beyond the battlefield: Europe’s long-term strategy for Ukraine
This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Jana Kobzova, ECFR senior policy fellow, and Camille Grand, ECFR distinguished policy fellow, to discuss ECFR’s new European Security Programme and the war in Ukraine. They take a “beyond the horizon” view of the war, considering what Europe’s ... Show More
26m 25s
Jul 4
Hidden empire: How America wields economic power
This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Henry Farrell, ECFR council member and professor at John Hopkins University, to discuss Henry’s new book “Underground Economy”, co-authored by Abraham Newman. In their take, globalisation has brought interdependence—which is being weaponised a ... Show More
34m 26s
Jun 28
Live from Warsaw: Polling European politics under Trump’s shadow
Recorded live from ECFR’s Annual Council Meeting 2025, this week’s podcast features Mark Leonard in conversation with Ivan Krastev, Chair of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia and permanent fellow at the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna, and Carl Bildt, former prime ... Show More
29m 55s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2022
The Economist Asks: Will Germany succeed in transforming its foreign policy?
Days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, announced a radical shift in the country’s foreign and security policy. Host Anne McElvoy asks Christoph Heusgen, a former advisor to Angela Merkel, whether the Zeitenwende (“turning point”) will be deli ... Show More
22m 37s
Jun 2023
The Re-Militarization of Germany
In the decades after World War II and the atrocities of the Holocaust, Germany deliberately underinvested in its military. But that’s about to change.Katrin Bennhold, a correspondent in Europe and former Berlin bureau chief, explains why Germany is re-entering an era of militariz ... Show More
27m 42s
May 2022
World Questions: Germany
The war in Ukraine has proved a turning point for German policy makers who have pledged to increase defence spending and wean themselves off their dependence on Russian gas and oil. But at what cost to the German public? How deep is the new consensus in Berlin? How will Germany f ... Show More
49m 35s
Sep 2021
Germany, and Europe, After Merkel
After 16 years in power, Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, is walking out of office one of the most popular politicians in the country.In those years, Ms. Merkel has not only served as the leader of Germany, but also as a leader of Europe, facing down huge challenges — su ... Show More
27m 57s
Sep 2021
From Bismarck to Merkel: Why German chancellors always matter more than we expect
As Germany goes to the polls for an historic election this weekend, Jack Blanchard looks back at some of the great pre- and post-war German chancellors and the impact they've had on Europe and on Britain. Sir Christopher Clark, emeritus professor of history at Cambridge Universit ... Show More
46m 42s
Jun 2023
La relation franco-allemande à l'épreuve de la guerre d'Ukraine
Claude Martin est notre invité. Il a partagé sa carrière de diplomate entre la Chine et l’Allemagne. Pendant trois décennies, il a participé à toutes les négociations européennes dans lesquelles « le moteur franco-allemand » a permis à l’Europe d’avancer. Ambassadeur à Berlin de ... Show More
50 m
Apr 2021
After Merkel, What?
We talk to Hans Kundnani about the prospects for German politics in the run-up to September's federal elections, now that the cast list of possible successors to Merkel is known. Can Laschet escape from her shadow and does he want to? Would a Green led government be radically dif ... Show More
47m 11s
Jan 2021
Germany after Merkel
Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union has chosen Armin Laschet to replace Angela Merkel as party leader ahead of September’s federal elections, paving the way for the end of the Merkel era. Gideon discusses what a post-Merkel Germany will look like with Wolfgang Ischinger, ... Show More
18m 29s
Feb 2023
Is Germany ready to back Ukraine's defense for the long-haul?
It's been nearly a year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and there's no end to the war in sight. Today at the Munich Security Conference, President Zelensky said Ukraine was fighting so the west doesn’t have to. As leader of Europe’s economic powerhouse Germany’s Chancellor Ol ... Show More
54m 50s