Undercurrents
Undercurrents is a regular podcast series featuring interviews with Chatham House experts - and others - about the critical underlying issues which are shaping modern society. Hosted by staff from across the institute, each episode goes in-depth on a topic, looking beyond the news to explore the issues shaping global politics.
Chatham House is an independent policy institute based in London. Our mission is to help build a sustainably secure, prosperous and just world.
Jan 31, 2019
Undercurrents is back for a second season!
This week Agnes and Ben interview two leading academics from the worlds of International Relations and History.
John Mearsheimer (University of Chicago) discusses his new book, The Great Delusion, on the rise and fall of liberal foreign policy. With China's rise and Russia's resurgence the world has returned to a zero-sum balance of power political system. John explains why he's glad to see the back of an era of western interventions, and how the US should respond to the new geopolitical reality.
Margaret MacMillan (University of Toronto) is a renowned historian of the First World War, who gave the BBC Reith Lectures in 2018. A new special issue of International Affairs, guest-edited by Margaret, looks at the state of world politics today in comparison to the aftermath of the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles. Ben and Agnes met with her to discuss why these comparisons can be useful, and how history is used and abused by politicians in the present.
Find the book:
The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities
Read the International Affairs special issue:
World Politics 100 Years After the Paris Peace Conference
Listen to the 2018 Reith Lectures:
The Mark of Cain: War and Humanity
Credits:
Hosts: Ben Horton and Agnes Frimston
Editors: Ben Horton and Agnes Frimston
Sound Editor: Jamie Reed
Record and produced at Chatham House, London