Latest Balkan Podcast Episodes

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Episode 31: Reinventing Democracy with Ieva Česnulaitytė

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - January 10, 2024 09:00 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In this episode of the Vienna Coffee House Conversations, Ivan Vejvoda hosts Ieva Česnulaitytė, Europe's Futures Fellow of the IWM and ERSTE Foundation, for a discussion of current issues facing the world's democracies. They examine the declining trust in democratic institutions, the rise of pop...

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Episode 30: Navigating Political Currents - The State of Democracy in the EU with Alberto Alemanno

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - December 20, 2023 09:00 - 46 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In this episode of the Vienna Coffeehouse Conversations, host Ivan Vejvoda engages with Alberto Alemanno, a leading voice on Europe's democratization. The discussion focuses on the state of democracy in Europe and the European Union, emphasizing the rise of far-right parties and the challenges o...

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Episode 29: Facing the Past, Building the Future - Culture and cooperation in the Western Balkans with Vladimir Arsenijevic

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - December 06, 2023 09:00 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In this episode of Vienna Coffeehouse Conversations, host Ivan Vejvoda welcomes IWM and ERSTE Foundation's Europe's Futures Fellow Vladimir Arsenijević for an insightful dialogue on the cultural and political landscape of post-Yugoslav Europe. The conversation delves into Arsenijević’s multiface...

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Episode 28: Decoding Russia's Future with Kadri Liik

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - November 22, 2023 09:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In this episode of Vienna Coffeehouse Conversations Ivan Vejvoda hosts IWM and ECFR fellow Kadri Liik for an urgent and pressing discussion of Russia's geopolitical climate as influenced by its historical trajectory and the evolving preoccupations of President Putin. The conversation navigates R...

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Episode 27: Northern Ireland's Uncertain Peace with Katy Hayward

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - November 08, 2023 09:00 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
Twenty-five years after the Good Friday Agreement brought an uneasy peace to Northern Ireland, this episode sees Ivan Vejvoda engage in an enlightening conversation with Queen's University Belfast's Katy Hayward as they examine the fragile stability and uncertain future status of the region in t...

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda artwork

Serbia and Kosovo at a Crossroads with Ilir Deda

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - October 25, 2023 08:00 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In the aftermath of troubling recent violence, this episode sees Ivan Vejvoda host Ilir Deda for a discussion of the uncertain future facing the Western Balkans as the complex Serbian/Kosovan relationship hangs in the balance. Making a strong case for a robust and immediate diplomatic effort to ...

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda artwork

Episode 26: Serbia and Kosovo at a Crossroads with Ilir Deda

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - October 25, 2023 08:00 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In the aftermath of troubling recent violence, this episode sees Ivan Vejvoda host Ilir Deda for a discussion of the uncertain future facing the Western Balkans as the complex Serbian/Kosovan relationship hangs in the balance. Making a strong case for a robust and immediate diplomatic effort to ...

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda artwork

Episode 25: Populism, Trauma, and Polish Democracy with Karolina Wigura

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - October 12, 2023 08:00 - 35 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In this fortnight's episode, Ivan Vejvoda welcomes Karolina Wigura to the podcast for an in-depth look at Poland’s political trajectory. With parliamentary elections looming on October 15th, Karolina analyzes the state of Poland’s democracy amidst the rise of populism. She explains how the rulin...

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Episode 24: On Ukraine and Europe with Hanna Shelest

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - September 28, 2023 12:13 - 40 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
The new season of Vienna Coffee House Conversations opens with Ivan Vejvoda speaking with Hanna Shelest, foreign affairs and security policy expert from Ukraine, for an inside perspective on the Russo-Ukrainian war. As Europe debates how to support Ukraine and potentially extend EU membership, H...

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Episode 23: New Approaches to EU Enlargement with Kristof Bender

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - June 28, 2023 08:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In this week's episode Ivan Vejvoda sits down with European Stability Initiative deputy chairman and Europe's Futures fellow Kristof Bender to discuss a policy that many point to as among the most successful peace projects in the history of the world: EU enlargement. As the Union decides whether...

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Episode 22: Ukraine, Moldova and Europe After the Russo-Ukrainian War with Balázs Jarábik

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - June 21, 2023 08:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In this week's episode Ivan Vejvoda is joined by Balázs Jarábik to consider the future of Ukraine and its neighbours in a Europe forever changed by the full-scale Russian invasion of February 24th, 2022. How will extending the embrace of the EU and NATO as signaled by Western European leaders im...

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Episode 21: Untranslatable Ukrainian Humour and Life in Ukraine Today with Oksana Forostyna

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - June 14, 2023 08:00 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
Writer, editor and prominent intellectual Oksana Forostyna joins Ivan Vejvoda from Lviv to discuss the ongoing situation in Ukraine, her recent essay on Ukrainian jokes and humour and their importance as a shield against trauma and aggression, the political life of the country during wartime; an...

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Episode 20: A Resilient, Independent and Green Europe with Heather Grabbe

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - June 07, 2023 08:00 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
As Europeans reckon once again with the challenges of war on their continent, has the pressing issue of climate change fallen by the wayside as governments have scrambled to contend with even more immediate concerns? How can the EU work toward greater independence and security while still reacti...

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Episode 19: The Past, Present and Future of EU Enlargement with Veronica Anghel

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - May 24, 2023 08:00 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
This week Ivan Vejvoda is joined by Johns Hopkins University - School of Advanced International Studies adjunct professor and former foreign policy advisor to the Romanian presidential administration Veronica Anghel to discuss the state of EU enlargement policy in 2023. As the continent redefine...

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Episode 18: Europe's Future Voters with Ivana Dragičević

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - May 17, 2023 08:00 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
This week Europe's Futures fellow and editor at N1 Television, CNN affiliate for the Adria-Balkans region, Ivana Dragičević talks to Ivan Vejvoda about Europe's youth and the shifting cultural and geopolitical forces that are shaping how young people see the world they are set to inherit. What t...

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Episode 17: The European Reaction to the Russo-Ukrainian War with Nathalie Tocci

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - May 10, 2023 07:00 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In this episode, Director of Rome's Institute for International Affairs and 22/23 Europe's Futures Fellow of IWM and ERSTE Foundation Nathalie Tocci joins Ivan Vejvoda to offer her assessment of the European response to the full-scale Russian Invasion of Ukraine. From the often surprising unity ...

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Episode 16: Assessing the post-soviet space a year on from the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine with Thomas De Waal

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - May 03, 2023 05:00 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In a wide ranging conversation that aims to provide a strategic overview of the former Soviet Union as its constituent countries reconfigure their relationships with each other, with the Russian government and with the rest of the world - Ivan Vejvoda and  Thomas de Waal reckon with the complex ...

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Balkan Leaders: Milorad Dodik

Calling - December 18, 2022 08:00 - 51 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratings
Thought by many to be the most openly nationalist politician in the Balkans, Milorad Dodik is a staunch supporter of Bosnian Serb separatism and continues to threaten with seceding the entity of the Republika Srpska, or what amounts to about half of Bosnia’s territory. For years, the president ...

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Balkan Leaders: Albin Kurti

Calling - December 05, 2022 09:00 - 52 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratings
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti was enthusiastically voted into power two years ago after pushing out entrenched establishment parties, winning by the highest margin in Kosovo's democratic history. Since then, he's become a persistent thorn in the side of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić ...

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Balkan Leaders: Edi Rama

Calling - November 27, 2022 09:00 - 49 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratings
Who better to start the new series off with than the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama? Charming and colorful, sometimes literally, direct yet eloquent, Rama has captured the imagination of those less in the know by telling Brussels like it is, and wearing sneakers while doing it. In the eyes of...

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Episode 15: The European Green Deal and its Implications with Olivia Lazard

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - March 08, 2022 10:55 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In this conversation, Ivan Vejvoda talks to Carnegie Europe visiting scholar and COP26 attendee Olivia Lazard about the European Green Deal - the series of policy initiatives described by Ursula Von Der Leyen as Europe's 'man-on-the-moon moment'. While decarbonisation is unquestionably desirable...

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Episode 14: Deliberative Democracy, its Dangers and the Future of Europe with Wojciech Przybylski

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - March 01, 2022 12:54 - 30 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
The Conference on the Future of Europe - a multi-year consultation that aims to set an agenda for the reform of EU policies and institutions in the medium to long term by inviting participation from EU citizens and civil society - is ongoing following the launch of its digital platform in April ...

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Episode 13: CO₂, China and Economic Competition with Janka Oertel

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - February 22, 2022 10:55 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
This week Ivan Vejvoda is in conversation with the director of the Asia programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations Janka Oertel. Against a backdrop of rising global temperatures and the pledges made at the COP 26 summit in Glasgow last year, Oertel and Vejvoda consider the pivotal ro...

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Episode 12: Abortion Rights and Ultra Conservatism with Amanda Coakley

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - February 15, 2022 14:17 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In this episode Ivan Vejvoda speaks with award-winning international correspondent and Europe's Futures fellow Amanda Coakley about the rollback of women's reproductive rights in Central Europe following abortion's effective outlawing in Poland when a judgement of the country's constitutional tr...

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Episode 11: European Autonomy with Zoran Nechev

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - February 08, 2022 13:31 - 35 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
Zoran Nechev heads the Center for EU integration at the Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis” Skopje, a Macedonian think tank organisation devoted to research and capacity-building in matters related to EU in general, and the enlargement process more specifically. He is an IWM Europe's Futu...

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Episode 10: Democratic Resilience with Oana Popescu-Zamfir

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - February 01, 2022 12:32 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
A renowned public figure and director of the Global Focus Center in Romania, Ivan Vejvoda's guest this week is Oana Popescu-Zamfir. Bringing a wealth of academic and government experience to the Europe's Future's programme, Oana is also the director of the Democratic Resilience Index: the first ...

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Episode 9: China, Europe and the Belt and Road Initiative with Valbona Zeneli

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - January 25, 2022 11:59 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In this episode Ivan Vejvoda talks with Valbona Zeneli, professor of national security studies at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch, Germany. Born in Albania, Dr. Zeneli is an economist with an interest in international economics, good governance and interna...

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Episode 8: America's Pivot to Asia with Soli Özel

Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda - January 18, 2022 12:10 - 34 minutes ★★★★★ - 3 ratings
In this first podcast of our second season, Soli Özel and Ivan Vejvoda discuss the ongoing refocusing of the US's attention on the Indo-Pacific region and the attendant disengagement of the Superpower from the theaters that defined its international relationships during the cold war. Tracing th...

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What's in the Pandora Papers?

Calling - October 25, 2021 08:00 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 5 ratings
Earlier in October, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) began releasing information gathered from the Pandora Papers, the largest leak of financial documents ever made available to journalists. It exposed the secret offshore accounts of hundreds of current and former...

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Becca Stevens & The Secret Trio

TAQS.IM Middle Eastern Music - September 24, 2021 17:40 - 33 minutes ★★★★★ - 30 ratings
Antranig Kzirian sits down with Becca Stevens, Ara Dinkjian, Ismail Lumanovski, and Tamer Pinarbaşi to discuss their new collaboration entitled "Becca Stevens and The Secret Trio". 2021 GRAMMY-nominated Becca Stevens was in awe witnessing The Secret Trio’s performance at the GroundUP Music Fes...