The European Leadership Network regularly provides journalists with expert advice and commentary on key international foreign, defence and security issues.
Our work has been covered by a variety of media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Economist, Die Welt, The Guardian, Politico, Newsweek, Deutsche Welle, Aftenposten, The Washington Post, among others.
To request to speak to an expert or network member, please email [email protected].
Check out our podcasts, videos and press releases below.
As Germany enters early elections following the erosion of Olaf Scholz’s coalition, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El is joined by Tanit Koch, journalist, co-host of the Focus Briefing and former editor-in-chief of the popular BILD, for a discussion of the problems facing Germany in terms of its economic ills, political divisions, and the rise of populist extremism.
2024’s US elections saw unprecedented developments— a last-minute democratic candidacy, an attempted assassination, and over $15 billion in campaign spending. These tumultuous events culminated in a decisive win for Trump and the Republican Party. In this episode, Ilana Bet-El is joined by Elena Schneider, Politico US’s National Political Reporter, to explore the election’s dynamics, the fragmented media landscape, and how perceptions of power and strength continue to influence the electorate.
In the wake of suspected interference in Georgia’s recent parliamentary elections, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El is joined by Salome Samadashvili, opposition Member of Parliament in Georgia, and Tinatin Japaridze, member of the Younger Generation Leaders Network (YGLN) and Eurasia Analyst at the Eurasia Group, for a hard-hitting discussion on Georgia, the region, autocracy and democracy.
In this special bonus episode of the NEVER podcast – Ok, Doomer!, we take a deep dive into the ELN’s Nuclear and New Technologies project, which aims to identify the impacts of emerging and disruptive technologies (EDT) on nuclear decision-making and present practical steps to mitigate the potentially disruptive effects. Featuring discussions on why it’s best to explore the aggregate impact of EDTs as well as examining them individually, an introduction to the ELN’s Guardrails and Self-Assessment (GSA) Framework for Emerging and Disruptive Technologies (EDTs), and the history of nuclear fail-safe reviews.
In the disaster zone that is currently the Middle East, Iran looms large. From its missile attacks on Israel to supporting Hizbollah, Hamas and the Houthis — it is perceived to be a malign presence across the region, especially from the Western perspective. To better understand Iran and its place in the world, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El is joined by her colleague, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Dr Roxane Farmanfarmaian of Cambridge University, in a strong and enlightening discussion that touches on the history of Iran and its international position since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, through the Iran-Iraq war of the 1990s, all the way to understanding its regional and global interests today.
One year since Hamas’ invasion of southern Israel, Israel’s consequent offensive in Gaza, and Hezbollah’s initial rocket campaign in northern Israel, it appears as if the violence in the Middle East is only getting worse. In this unique episode, Women Leaders is building a bridge: Fania Oz-Salzberger, Professor of History at Haifa University and renowned public intellectual, and Roula from Beirut — for security reasons, we cannot release her real name — join ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El for an in-depth discussion of Israeli and Lebanese politics, the involvement of women in decision-making, and the hope of one day seeing a new Middle East.
In July, ELN's Policy and Impact Director Jane Kinninmont spoke to Strait Talk, the flagship news programme of TRT World in Turkey, on why Russia has withdrawn from the UN-brokered grain deal and what the implications are for food security and world politics.
The ELN is hosting a conference in London that launches an open-ended programme of work on strengthening Balkans security. The project aims to build a cross-party, cross-regional network that supports best practice in parliamentary oversight of security matters.
ELN Policy Fellow Julia Berghofer made a Bundestag statement on the establishment of a special fund (“Sondervermögen Bundeswehr”).
The ELN has licensed Adarga’s AI-driven software platform to more rapidly gain a comprehensive understanding of emerging threats buried within huge volumes of open-source information.
Sir, Two years ago in a letter to The Times (Dec 8, 2020) we drew to your attention recommendations from more than 100 high-level Russian, US and European experts for our governments on reducing Russia-Nato risks (letter, Dec 8, 2020). Had those recommendations been acted upon we might now be...
With the passing of Robert E. Berls, Jr., the YGLN and its members lost a valued mentor, friend, and role model. Bob Berls passed away on November 10, 2021. Bob Berls, who was a senior advisor for Russia and Eurasia at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, was one of the bright minds who brought...