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The Foreign Desk
Monocle’s global-affairs show with Andrew Mueller. Expert guests, in-depth analysis, and sharp commentary on major geopolitical issues.
Latest Episodes
The world in 2018
Andrew Mueller leafs through ‘The Foreign Desk’ archives to tell the story of another turbulent year.
Russia and the Middle East
Russia’s increasing presence is being felt across the Middle East. Not just in Syria, where it has been fighting alongside the Assad regime for almost three years, but also with business, arms and oil deals and numerous diplomatic trips to and from Moscow. Why is Putin so keen to fill…
Does Europe need an army?
A unified European army is not a new idea but whenever it’s raised it’s usually forgotten just as quickly. Will this time be any different? And, if it is, what would a unified military force look like? Andrew Mueller is joined by Elisabeth Braw, Ulrike Franke and Christian Mölling.
How democratic is the DRC?
On 23 December, voters in the Democratic Republic of Congo will choose a new president and hope to witness the country’s first peaceful transfer of power since gaining independence from Belgium in 1960. But the freeness and fairness of the elections are already being called into question. So, what hope…
Europe’s rogue states
When EU member states won’t toe the line should they be punished – at the risk of inflaming populist resentments – or should the EU turn a blind eye and just hope others won’t have similar ideas? Andrew Mueller asks how the likes of Hungary and Poland – and now…
Soft-power special
As Monocle’s annual Soft Power Survey hits newsstands, Andrew Mueller asks what countries can offer their international partners beyond trade and guns – or just the cold shoulder. Whether it’s sport, music, food, technology or a quick trip into space, soft power can (if deployed correctly) win hearts, minds and…
The Trump effect
Last week’s midterms saw the election of record-breaking numbers of women and breakthroughs for minorities. Might Trump’s legacy be turning the US into everything his supporters like least – and fear most? Andrew Mueller is joined by former deputy homeland security adviser Amy Pope, UCL’s Jeffrey Howard and US Naval…
Why ambassadors still matter
Despite being the world’s most powerful country, the US has dozens of vacant ambassadorships in the capitals of some of its most important allies. Does the current administration’s disregard for America’s foreign service signal a shift in global attitudes to diplomacy, when picking up the phone for a direct government-to-government…
Xinjiang: China’s captive province
China does a good job of keeping its Uyghur minority out of international headlines. But, as more stories of huge numbers of Uyghurs incarcerated in detention centres emerge, so do less-than-convincing excuses from Beijing. What do the Uyghurs want that China fears so much? And could this type of persecution…
Saudi Arabia vs the world
When news broke earlier this month of the disappearance and alleged murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi the outcry was appropriately loud. But what about the war in Yemen, the human rights abuses, the support for terrorism around the world? These were seen more as inconveniences to global powers that…
