LATO's Podcast LATO

Nearly a year has passed since Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war has not only led to important reforms in Western foreign policy but has also taught us a lot about the Russian government and its perspectives.
Listen to the podcast produced by the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation where Dr. Sandis Šrāders, an expert in foreign policy, interviews Konstantin Eggert, the commentator at Deutsche Welle. Along with providing his thoughts on how to deal with the current regime in Moscow, Konstantin also delivers answers to several other crucial issues. Insights into Russian society, its style of government, and prospects for the near future - including what it will take for Ukraine to win the war - are provided in this episode.


The interview is part of a series developed in the context of the annual Rīga Conferences organised by the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation. The purpose of the series is to keep discussions alive in between consecutive conferences.

There was routine instability on the border between Kosovo and Serbia in the last month of the summer. Insider perspectives on the issues involving Serbia and Kosovo, the challenges and opportunities posed by outside causes, and how the European Union might voice them out are provided in our most recent interview. Many questions need to be addressed, including what impact nationalism, ethnic diversity, and NATO presence have on these tensions.

Listen to the podcast produced by the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation where Dr. Sandis Šrāders, an expert in foreign policy, interviews Emir Abrashi, the vice president of NUOVO and a researcher in foreign policy. A brief history of agreements, the ultimate goals of these talks between Kosovo and Serbia, and the key obstacles will all be covered in this episode.

The interview is part of a series developed in the context of the annual Rīga Conferences organized by the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia. The purpose of the series is to keep discussions alive in between consecutive conferences.

The Three Seas Initiative  is a 12-country regional platform founded six years ago, located between the Baltic, Black, and Adriatic seas. The platform, which was politically motivated but economically driven continues to work towards strengthening the so-called "smart connectivity" from North to South and back. By advancing the discussion about the necessity of addressing the shortcomings in the energy, transport, and digital connectivity challenges, the Three Seas initiative has demonstrated its potential as a mechanism for cooperation and investment that might continue to reduce the gap between Central and Eastern Europe in the future. 

Listen to the podcast produced by the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation where the Foreign Affairs Expert Mārtiņš Vargulis and  Ambassador at Large For Three Seas Initiative at the MFA of Latvia H.E. Edgars Bondars provide the informal follow-up to the discussions of the Riga Summit of the Three Seas Initiative, given these and other crucial topics. The Podcast will offer a brief history, the importance of the initiative for our region, lessons learned, platform pillars and ideas, as well as trends on external actors, and the potential contribution of Latvia. 

The interview is part of a series developed in the context of the annual Rīga Conferences organized by the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia. The purpose of the series is to keep discussions alive in between consecutive conferences. 

The Transatlantic relationship has constantly been important to Europe and the US while going through turbulent waters encouraged by political shifts on a regular basis. Developments with regards to Afghanistan are a good illustration on how sensitive and occasionally unstable the relationship can be. The withdrawal out of Afghanistan did not exactly go according to initial plans. This will certainly have consequences for Europe and its allies in ways that will be costly even if no military troops are based in Afghanistan. What are the new geopolitical challenges that might arise? What is the role of smaller countries such as the Baltics in the larger geopolitical arena? Are Europe and the US ready and able to tackle emerging threats?

Listen to conversation between Sten Rynning, Professor, Danish Institute for Advanced Studies and Vice-Dean for Research, Department of Political Science and Public Management, University of Southern Denmark and Sandis Šrāders, Board Member of Latvian Transatlantic Organisation. 

Listen to Daunis Auers, Professor of EU Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Latvia and Ian Brzezinski Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council discuss "Three Seas Initiative".
“The Three Seas Initiative (3SI) is a Central European lead initiative to accelerate the development of cross- border transport, energy and infrastructure in the region between the three seas- Baltic, Black and Adriatic sea.” The goal of the initiative is about economic growth and development which is in turn an important check mark leading to common and regional security. How does 3SI fit in to EU policies and the goals set by the EU? Can 3SI bring Central Europe up to speed with Western Europe in terms of infrastructure and growth? What is the 3SI investment fund and what will it be used for? What can be expected from the 3SI 2022 summit in Riga?

Burden sharing amongst NATO allies has high importance as it is a distribution of risks and costs towards achieving a common goal. The 2 % budget threshold is only one measure on how NATO members divide their responsibilities. How has burden sharing evolved amongst NATO members? How can the burden and risk sharing concepts be applied to NATO missions such as Afghanistan? How can burden sharing be improved?
Conversation between Louis Wierenga,  Junior Research Fellow in Comparative Politics at Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, Tartu University, and Eoin McNamara,
PhD Candidate, Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu.