The International Risk Podcast

This episode with Dr Bobo Lo explores the breakdown of the post-Cold War rules-based international order and what is emerging in its place. We examine why today’s global system is better understood as a condition of disorder rather than a coherent new order, shaped by diffuse power, weakening institutions, and growing mistrust of Western norms, and how the erosion of democratic practice within Western societies has undermined their global credibility, and how Russia and China have exploited, rather than created, these weaknesses. We also unpack the limits of concepts such as multipolarity, the strategic differences between Moscow and Beijing, and why global challenges like climate change, pandemics, inequality, and technological disruption cannot be addressed without revitalised forms of international cooperation.
Dr Lo is one of the most respected analysts of global order and great power politics and is widely known for his analysis of global governance, strategic competition, and the structural forces driving international instability. A former deputy head of mission at the Australian Embassy in Moscow, he previously led the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House and is now a Non-Resident Fellow at the Lowy Institute. He is the author of several influential books, including Axis of Convenience: Moscow, Beijing, and the New Geopolitics (2008) and his latest book The Disorderly Society: Rethinking Global Governance in an Age of Anarchy (2026), which covers the topics discussed in this episode extensively.
The International Risk Podcast brings you conversations with global experts, frontline practitioners, and senior decision-makers who are shaping how we understand and respond to international risk. From geopolitical volatility and organised crime, to cybersecurity threats and hybrid warfare, each episode explores the forces transforming our world and what smart leaders must do to navigate them. Whether you’re a board member, policymaker, or risk professional, The International Risk Podcast delivers actionable insights, sharp analysis, and real-world stories that matter.
The International Risk Podcast is sponsored by Conducttr, a realistic crisis exercise platform. Conducttr offers crisis exercising software for corporates, consultants, humanitarian, and defence & security clients. Visit Conducttr to learn more.
Dominic Bowen is the host of The International Risk Podcast and Europe’s leading expert on international risk and crisis management. As Head of Strategic Advisory and Partner at one of Europe’s leading risk management consulting firms, Dominic advises CEOs, boards, and senior executives across the continent on how to prepare for uncertainty and act with intent. He has spent decades working in war zones, advising multinational companies, and supporting Europe’s business leaders. Dominic is the go-to business advisor for leaders navigating risk, crisis, and strategy; trusted for his clarity, calmness under pressure, and ability to turn volatility into competitive advantage. Dominic equips today’s business leaders with the insight and confidence to lead through disruption and deliver sustained strategic advantage.
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In this episode, Dominic Bowen and Ángeles Jiménez discuss the geopolitical significance of Ceuta and Melilla as Europe’s only land borders with Africa, and why these two Spanish cities embody sovereignty disputes and migration pressure between Spain, Morocco, and the European Union. They unpack how these enclaves function as “grey zones” where coercion, leverage, and competition occur below the threshold of armed conflict.
Find out more about how migration has become a tool of geopolitical pressure, how EU border externalisation shapes incentives on both sides of the Mediterranean, and why securitisation has repeatedly failed to prevent humanitarian tragedies at these borders. The discussion highlights how local events in Ceuta and Melilla are embedded in wider regional dynamics involving EU–Morocco relations, Western Sahara, and strategic bargaining.
The conversation also addresses the often-overlooked maritime dimension of the dispute, including continental shelf claims, maritime boundary delimitation, and the role of international law under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Ángeles Jiménez explains how technical legal processes can become politicised and why maritime claims matter for resources, influence, and long-term strategic positioning.
Finally, they explore the concept of grey zone strategy more broadly, examining how states pursue territorial and political objectives through legal acts, narrative framing, migration management, and civilian mobilisation, without triggering open conflict. The episode reflects on what Ceuta and Melilla reveal about modern geopolitics, international risk, and the limits of legal and institutional solutions.
Ángeles Jiménez García-Carriazo holds a Ph.D. in Law, specializing in the Law of the Sea and Public International Law. She is currently a Research Fellow at the University of Cádiz (Spain), where she leads various academic and policy-oriented initiatives on ocean governance and human rights at sea. She also serves as Legal Advisor to the Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and is a member of the Spanish Delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). She is the Director of the Observatory for Migration and Human Rights of the European University of the Seas Alliance (SEA-EU). Her scholarly output includes a monograph, edited volumes, numerous book chapters, and peer-reviewed articles addressing key areas of the law of the sea: the continental shelf, maritime boundary delimitation, underwater cultural heritage, peaceful settlement of disputes, and human rights at sea.
The International Risk Podcast brings you conversations with global experts, frontline practitioners, and senior decision-makers who are shaping how we understand and respond to international risk. From geopolitical volatility and organised crime, to cybersecurity threats and hybrid warfare, each episode explores the forces transforming our world and what smart leaders must do to navigate them. Whether you’re a board member, policymaker, or risk professional, The International Risk Podcast delivers actionable insights, sharp analysis, and real-world stories that matter.
The International Risk Podcast is sponsored by Conducttr, a realistic crisis exercise platform. Visit Conducttr to learn more.
Dominic Bowen is the host of The International Risk Podcast and Europe’s leading expert on international risk and crisis management. As Head of Strategic Advisory and Partner at one of Europe’s leading risk management consulting firms, Dominic advises CEOs, boards, and senior executives across the continent on how to prepare for uncertainty and act with intent. He has spent decades working in war zones, advising multinational companies, and supporting Europe’s bu
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This episode with Dr Tae Seok Moon explores how synthetic biology is rapidly transforming medicine, climate innovation, and industrial production, while introducing new layers of international risk, ethical tension, and governance challenges. We examine how engineered biology is already being used to fight disease, reduce emissions, and address pollution, alongside growing concerns about dual-use risk, biosecurity, and the accessibility of powerful biological tools. The discussion looks at the limits of existing global governance frameworks, including the Biological Weapons Convention, and what it means to regulate technologies that evolve faster than law and policy. We also unpack whether synthetic biology is becoming a new domain of geopolitical competition, and why international collaboration, rather than purely national competition, may be essential to managing risk at scale.
Dr Moon is a leading researcher and practitioner in synthetic biology, working at the intersection of science, policy, and global collaboration. He is a professor, entrepreneur, and Director of a National Science Foundation Global Center, with extensive experience in biomanufacturing, climate applications, and medical innovation. His work focuses on translating cutting-edge biological engineering into real-world solutions, while actively engaging on biosafety, biosecurity, ethical oversight, and the need for inclusive global governance as synthetic biology reshapes the future of risk and opportunity.
The International Risk Podcast brings you conversations with global experts, frontline practitioners, and senior decision-makers who are shaping how we understand and respond to international risk. From geopolitical volatility and organised crime, to cybersecurity threats and hybrid warfare, each episode explores the forces transforming our world and what smart leaders must do to navigate them. Whether you’re a board member, policymaker, or risk professional, The International Risk Podcast delivers actionable insights, sharp analysis, and real-world stories that matter.
The International Risk Podcast is sponsored by Conducttr, a realistic crisis exercise platform. Conducttr offers crisis exercising software for corporates, consultants, humanitarian, and defence & security clients. Visit Conducttr to learn more.
Dominic Bowen is the host of The International Risk Podcast and Europe’s leading expert on international risk and crisis management. As Head of Strategic Advisory and Partner at one of Europe’s leading risk management consulting firms, Dominic advises CEOs, boards, and senior executives across the continent on how to prepare for uncertainty and act with intent. He has spent decades working in war zones, advising multinational companies, and supporting Europe’s business leaders. Dominic is the go-to business advisor for leaders navigating risk, crisis, and strategy; trusted for his clarity, calmness under pressure, and ability to turn volatility into competitive advantage. Dominic equips today’s business leaders with the insight and confidence to lead through disruption and deliver sustained strategic advantage.
The International Risk Podcast – Reducing risk by increasing knowledge.

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From Central Asia’s emerging transport corridors to Iran’s sanctions and water stress, this episode of the International Risk Podcast explores how political risk, geopolitics, and climate change are reshaping the global trade map - revealing why supply chain durability is no longer just an economic question, but a strategic one for governments and companies alike.
Sophia Nina B-A has lived and worked for over a decade in Central Asia and Afghanistan, conducting geopolitical risk analysis and strategic advisory services in both the public and private sectors. Her particular area of focus is on transport infrastructure, particularly railways. She currently works as a freelance journalist and a consultant for the international development sector, with her recent assignment consulting for the IFC based in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
In 2024, she founded Train of Thought, a project that researches, maps and offers strategic analysis on railway development in Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan. She has published over 30 articles on railways and transport infrastructure with bylines in RUSI, The Diplomat, Le Monde, The BBC, and The Economist. Sophia is a native English speaker and fluent in Uzbeki, Russian, Dari and conversational Tajiki. 
The International Risk Podcast brings you conversations with global experts, frontline practitioners, and senior decision-makers who are shaping how we understand and respond to international risk. From geopolitical volatility and organised crime, to cybersecurity threats and hybrid warfare, each episode explores the forces transforming our world and what smart leaders must do to navigate them. Whether you’re a board member, policymaker, or risk professional, The International Risk Podcast delivers actionable insights, sharp analysis, and real-world stories that matter.
The International Risk Podcast is sponsored by Conducttr, a realistic crisis exercise platform. Visit Conducttr to learn more.
Dominic Bowen is the host of The International Risk Podcast and Europe’s leading expert on international risk and crisis management. As Head of Strategic Advisory and Partner at one of Europe’s leading risk management consulting firms, Dominic advises CEOs, boards, and senior executives across the continent on how to prepare for uncertainty and act with intent. He has spent decades working in war zones, advising multinational companies, and supporting Europe’s business leaders. Dominic is the go-to business advisor for leaders navigating risk, crisis, and strategy; trusted for his clarity, calmness under pressure, and ability to turn volatility into competitive advantage. Dominic equips today’s business leaders with the insight and confidence to lead through disruption and deliver sustained strategic advantage.
The International Risk Podcast – Reducing risk by increasing knowledge.

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This episode with Dr Paal Hilde explores how climate change, alliance dynamics, and geopolitical competition are reshaping the Arctic and the High North, and why this region is becoming increasingly significant in global risk calculations. We examine how melting sea ice is altering maritime access and infrastructure stress, while also challenging long-held assumptions about security, commercial opportunity, and militarisation in the Arctic. The discussion looks at NATO’s evolving posture in the European Arctic, the implications of Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, and the realities behind often exaggerated narratives of great power competition. We also unpack the environmental, societal, and operational risks associated with low infrastructure density, fragile ecosystems, and hybrid activity, as well as what the Arctic reveals about escalation management and restraint in contemporary geopolitics.
Dr Hilde is a defence scholar at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, with expertise in Arctic security, Russian and Northern European defence policy, and alliance strategy. His work focuses on how climate transformation, military posture, and geopolitical signalling intersect in the High North, and how risk in the Arctic is shaped as much by misperception and hype as by material capability. He regularly engages with policymakers, defence communities, and researchers on Arctic governance, NATO strategy, and the security implications of environmental change.
The International Risk Podcast brings you conversations with global experts, frontline practitioners, and senior decision-makers who are shaping how we understand and respond to international risk. From geopolitical volatility and organised crime, to cybersecurity threats and hybrid warfare, each episode explores the forces transforming our world and what smart leaders must do to navigate them. Whether you’re a board member, policymaker, or risk professional, The International Risk Podcast delivers actionable insights, sharp analysis, and real-world stories that matter.
The International Risk Podcast is sponsored by Conducttr, a realistic crisis exercise platform. Conducttr offers crisis exercising software for corporates, consultants, humanitarian, and defence & security clients. Visit Conducttr to learn more.
Dominic Bowen is the host of The International Risk Podcast and Europe’s leading expert on international risk and crisis management. As Head of Strategic Advisory and Partner at one of Europe’s leading risk management consulting firms, Dominic advises CEOs, boards, and senior executives across the continent on how to prepare for uncertainty and act with intent. He has spent decades working in war zones, advising multinational companies, and supporting Europe’s business leaders. Dominic is the go-to business advisor for leaders navigating risk, crisis, and strategy; trusted for his clarity, calmness under pressure, and ability to turn volatility into competitive advantage. Dominic equips today’s business leaders with the insight and confidence to lead through disruption and deliver sustained strategic advantage.
The International Risk Podcast – Reducing risk by increasing knowledge.

Follow us on LinkedIn and Subscribe for all our updates!
Tell us what you liked!