CSIS

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Channel • 52 Shows

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Every two weeks
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Politics

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4 DAYS AGO

Decoding China's Two Sessions: Politics, Purges, and a New Five Year Plan

In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Neil Thomas, Fellow on Chinese Politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. They discuss the significance of China's recent "Two Sessions," where the National People's Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference come together with great pageantry to announce new policies. Neil unpacks the state of China's elite politics and purges, the highlights of the 15th Five-Year Plan, President Xi's conservative approach to policymaking, and who might rise to important roles during Xi's fourth term.

4 days ago

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49 min
2 DAYS AGO

BONUS EPISODE: What the Iran War Means for Russia

Max sat down with Michael Kimmage for a rapid fire session running over the potential implications of the ongoing war in the Middle East for Russian foreign policy. This conversation was recorded on March 19, 2026.

2 days ago

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19 min
3 DAYS AGO

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur on European Defense and the Eastern Flank

Max is joined by Hanno Pevkur, Minister of Defense of the Republic of Estonia, for a discussion about Estonia’s role in European security. (00:00) Intro (01:40) The war in Iran (04:32) Impact of rising energy prices for Russia (06:49) Impact of Iran war on air defense interceptor stockpiles (10:39) Outlook for Ukraine’s military (14:31) State of the transatlantic alliance (18:39) European support for Ukraine (22:10) Ukrainian deep strikes in Russia (24:22) Concerns over Russia’s military adaptation (27:15) European contributions to NATO (31:21) European views on Russian threat (34:25) European Union’s role in defense procurement (39:30) U.S. burden-shifting agenda for European defense Learn more: Russian Roulette | CSIS Podcasts

3 days ago

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45 min
5 MAR

Understanding Chinese Power

In this episode of Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Zoe Liu, Fellow in China Studies with the Council on Foreign Relations. They discuss Zoe’s new Foreign Affairs piece, China’s Long Economic War: How Beijing Builds Leverage for Indefinite Competition. Zoe offers a new framework for understanding China’s national power, evaluating the country’s evolving capacity, capital, character, and credibility.

5 Mar

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51 min
5 DAYS AGO

Holding the Line: Denial Defense Along the First Island Chain

Mike joins Toshi Yoshihara, Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, D.C., to explore the significance of the First Island Chain in U.S. strategic thinking on Asia. They trace its historical role in achieving a favourable regional balance of power, unpack its enduring relevance under the Trump administration, and assess how China is contesting its limits, before turning to what the United States and its maritime Indo-Pacific allies must do to reinforce credible deterrence across an increasingly contested region.

5 days ago

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44 min
3 DAYS AGO

Transnational Corruption in Foreign Policy Today

Max and Maria spoke with Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon about how authoritarian and illiberal governments leverage transnational corruption as part of their foreign policies and global strategies. This conversation was recorded on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. "The Age of Kleptocracy: Geopolitical Power, Private Gain" by Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon (Foreign Affairs, February 2026) Dictating the Agenda: The Authoritarian Resurgence in World Politics by Alexander Cooley and Alexander Dukalskis (Oxford University Press, 2025)

3 days ago

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53 min
12 MAR

Russian Elite Perceptions of China: A Conversation with Witold Rodkiewicz

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Witold Rodkiewicz joins us to discuss Russian elite assessments of the China‑Russia relationship at the strategic level, how they interpret China’s growing power and the emerging U.S.–China competition, and whether U.S. policy can still influence Moscow’s strategic trajectory.Witold Rodkiewicz is a Senior Fellow in the Russian Department at the Centre for East European Studies.

12 Mar

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31 min
16 MAR

Victor Cha on China's Weaponization of Trade

On this episode of the Trade Guys, Bill and Scott welcome Victor Cha, who is president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea chair at CSIS, as well as a Distinguished Professor at Georgetown University. Victor discusses a series of cases from his new book, China's Weaponization of Trade, which examines how and in what ways the United States and China have deployed economic coercion, focusing on China’s extensive use of this tactic over the past three decades

16 Mar

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28 min
13 MAR

Von der Leyen’s Foreign Policy Power Struggle and the Iran War with Mona Yacoubian

Max and Donatienne discuss the internal power struggle between Ursula von der Leyen and EU member states over who should speak for Europe on foreign policy. They then turn to a conversation with Mona Yacoubian, director and senior adviser of the Middle East Program at CSIS, to discuss the Iran war and Europe’s role in it. (00:00) Intro (01:05) Von der Leyen’s foreign policy power struggle (19:07) Mona Yacoubian Learn more: Russian Roulette | CSIS Podcasts Would Regime Change Solve the Iran Challenge? The Regional Reverberations of the U.S. and Israeli Strikes on Iran

13 Mar

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45 min
26 FEB

Assessing the Scope and Impacts of Xi’s Military Purges

In this special episode of the China Power Podcast, listen to our recent event assessing Xi Jinping’s widespread purges of China’s military and what they reveal about China’s priorities, dynamics within the PLA, and China’s overall military readiness. To discuss these issues, our event brought together six leading experts on China: Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens (Associate Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin), Mr. John Culver (Nonresident Senior Fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings), Mr. Jon Czin (Michael H. Armacost Chair in Foreign Policy Studies and Fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings), Dr. Taylor Fravel (Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Dr. Bonny Lin (Director, China Power Project and Senior Adviser at CSIS). Mr. Brian Hart (Deputy Director and Fellow of the China Power Project at CSIS). For more on the topic, access the China Power dataset and full report here and read our compilation of expert commentaries here.

26 Feb

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1h 29m

CSIS podcasts feature experts & scholars on a range of critical issues surrounding geopolitics, national security, defense, & international affairs topics.