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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
Explainer 144: Who’s burning the Gävle goat?
It is tradition in the small Swedish town of Gävle to erect a giant straw goat to celebrate Advent. However it is also tradition, or at least it has become so, to try to destroy it in increasingly imaginative ways. Andrew Mueller investigates.
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…
Explainer 143: Why is Asia so behind on LGBT rights?
The results of last weekend’s referendum on equal marriage rights in Taiwan were unexpected – and have wider implications for LGBT rights across the continent. Monocle’s HK bureau chief, James Chambers, explores why Asia is so reluctant to change its conservative views.
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…
Explainer 142: Who are the DUP?
Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party, a Protestant group that wishes to remain part of the UK and separate from its Catholic neighbours to the south, has just 10 elected representatives in the UK’s House of Commons. But, crucially, it also holds the balance of power and is vital in helping…
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…
Explainer 141: Is Merkel’s departure a blow to liberal democracy?
As soon as Angela Merkel announced her exit from politics, international media were reporting the end of democracy as we know it – the final nail in the coffin of political decency. But, as our Berlin correspondent Kati Krause explains, it’s nowhere near that bad. In fact, it’s quite the…
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…
Explainer 140: Floral tributes
Every year the Royal British Legion, a charity that supports members and veterans of the British armed forces, raises money by selling poppies in remembrance of those who have died during service. Andrew Mueller explores how a well-meaning charity fundraiser has become yet another frontline in the 21st century’s culture…
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…
