Sounds Strategic
We are a world-leading authority on global security, political risk and military conflict. We were founded in 1958, and have offices in London, Washington, Singapore and Bahrain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informa...
Podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Air Marshal (Retd) Martin 'Sammy' Sampson, Dr Hasan Alhasan, Wolf-Christian Paes and Asna Wajid to reflect on the IISS Manama Dialogue 2025, which took place in the Kingdom of Bahrain on 31 October–2 November 2025.
Together they discuss how the Dialogue reflected shifting regional alignments, the implications of global power competition for Middle Eastern security, ...
Podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Dr Ben Schreer, Fenella McGerty and Ester Sabatino to reflect on the 2nd IISS Prague Defence Summit, which was held on 3–5 September 2025.
Meia, Ben, Fenella and Esther discuss the major takeaways from the Prague Defence Summit, including:
- Secretary General Mark Rutte’s call for stronger European defence production in the face of closer Russia–China c...
Podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Veerle Nouwens, Morgan Michaels and Darshana Baruah to reflect on the 22nd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, which was held on 30 May–1 June 2025.
Meia, Veerle, Morgan and Darshana discuss key takeaways and topics include:
- US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his landmark speech on the US’ new ambitions for the Indo-Pacific;
- President Macron’s ...
In this Sounds Strategic episode, podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by Veerle Nouwens, Evan A. Laksmana and Nick Childs to discuss the upcoming 22nd IISS Shangri La Dialogue, which will be held in Singapore from 30 May–1 June.
This year’s dialogue is held against the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, an intense US trade and tariff war with China, heightened tensions betwee...
Europe’s defence posture is evolving rapidly — but is the pace of change sustainable? In this episode, IISS experts examine global and regional defence spending trends, the EU’s emerging industrial initiatives and the implications of Germany’s policy shift.
Host Meia Nouwens is joined by Fenella McGerty, Ester Sabatino and Ben Schreer to discuss whether current trends represent a pivot in European s...
Podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by Dr Nigel Gould-Davies, Dr Maria Shagina and Franz-Stefan Gady to discuss the recent developments in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Almost three years to the date of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a new US administration has drastically changed the course of events. President Trump has signaled a desire for the war to end, and for the US’ attention to focus on...
In this episode of Sounds Strategic, we explore the main takeaways from the 20th IISS Manama Dialogue, held in Bahrain from 6 to 8 December 2024. IISS host Meia Nouwens is joined by experts Air Marshal (Retd) Martin ‘Sammy’ Sampson, Dr Irene Mia and Dr Hasan Alhasan to discuss to their views on the themes that emerged from the Dialogue ranging from conflict resolution to post-conflict reconstruction.
The IISS...
In this podcast episode, Meia Nouwens is joined by Dr Ben Schreer, Fenella McGerty, Tom Waldwyn and Ester Sabatino to discuss the status and future trajectory of European defence and look back on the main take-aways from the IISS Prague Defence Summit.
Meia, Ben, Fenella, Tom and Ester analyse the trends in European and NATO defence spending and what’s next given the Trump election victory in the recent US presidenti...
In this episode of Sounds Strategic, podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by Emile Hokayem, Hasan Alhasan and Fabian Hinz to discuss the ongoing developments in the Middle East.
One year after 7 October, the speakers share their insights on the regional developments – from the status of the war in Gaza to the broadening of Israel’s operations in the region. The IISS experts discuss the strategic calculations behi...
In this episode of Sounds Strategic, podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by Douglas Barrie and Timothy Wright to discuss the return of long-range US missiles to Europe.
Amid Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine and following Russian violations of arms control measures, Washington and Berlin have announced they would begin episodic deployments of conventionally-armed surface-to-surface missiles. IISS experts Douglas B...
In this latest episode, host Meia Nouwens, IISS Senior Fellow for Chinese Security and Defence Policy, is joined by IISS experts Henry Boyd, Fenella McGerty and Karl Dewey to dissect the critical outcomes of the NATO Leaders Summit held in Washington DC.
The discussion navigates through the latest trends in NATO defence spending, the need for greater budget transparency, and the pressing challenges the alliance faces...
Host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Dr Bastian Giegerich, Veerle Nouwens, Dr Ben Schreer and Morgan Michaels to discuss the key themes and takeaways from the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue.
The episode delves into the proliferation of new partnership formats amidst the strategic competition between the US and China. The discussion also features analyses of the keynote speeches by President Marcos of the Philippines and Presi...
Podcast host Meia Nouwens is joined by IISS experts Evan A. Laksmana, Julia Voo, Nick Childs and Viraj Solanki to discuss the upcoming IISS Shangri-La Dialogue.
This year's Dialogue comes after a turbulent year in the Indo-Pacific. US-China competition is ongoing and both countries continue to promote their competing offers to the Indo-Pacific region. Small and medium powers in the region remain committed to forging independent ...
In the first Sounds Strategic episode of 2024, host Meia Nouwens is joined by Veerle Nouwens, Dr Evan A. Laksmana and Timothy Wright to discuss the Indo-Pacific security landscape. The IISS experts explore the developments in the US-China relationship, Southeast Asian military modernisation plans in response to growing Chinese assertiveness, and the impact of recent elections in the region. Meia, Veerle, Evan and Tim also discuss t...
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