London Politica Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In our first episode, we talked with Juan Pablo Córdoba, CEO of Nuam Exchange. Nuam Exchange is a platform that aims to integrate the Santiago (Chile), Lima (Perú) and Colombia stock exchanges to co-create a new stock market. With this, Nuam seeks to generate economies of scale that benefit investors, issuers and intermediaries in a broader, deeper and more liquid market, positioning Nuam Exchange as an attractive investment ecosystem. We discussed the vast opportunities an integrated stock exchange will bring to the region, alongside the regulatory hurdles it has faced in the integration process, as well as some prospects for the future of both integrated markets and Latin American markets in general. 

Juan Pablo Córdoba, CEO at Nuam Exchange, holds a Phd in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. Before joining Nuam, Córdoba served for 18 years as the Chairman of the Colombian Stock Exchange, as well as having worked in international financial institutions and government agencies in Colombia. 

Hosts: 

Fernando Prats, Programme Director (Latam Programme) at London Politica. He especialises in political risk analysis, especially within Latin America and with a focus on Southern Cone countries. 

Carlos Cruz Infante is a Consultant at London Politica. He holds a Phd from Sapienza University of Rome, and has over 10 years of experience advising companies, investors and Chilean government agencies.

“The war is going to be won by demonstrating a greater will, a greater commitment than the opposite side”

In this episode, Manas Chawla interviews Fabrice Pothier. As the CEO of Rasmussen Global, Fabrice explains what makes the political consultancy unique in the transatlantic policy space and their particular focus on transformative issues. The pair then outline the current state of the war in Ukraine and critique the lack of aid and confidence characterising the current Western response. Lastly, Fabrice discusses the importance of extending a NATO invitation to Ukraine, before pondering how the US election may affect the conflict.

Fabrice Pothier is the CEO of Rasmussen Global, an international political consultancy which has worked closely with the President's office in Ukraine to ensure long-term security and prosperity in the country. Fabrice was a former strategic advisor to two consecutive NATO Secretary Generals and has a wealth of experience in global public policy.

‘We need to put security at the centre of everything we do until the current systemic competition is won and until we can begin to rebuild the international governance mechanism.’

In this episode of the podcast, Manas Chawla speaks to the CEO of the Munich Security Conference Benedikt Franke about the re-conceptualisation of security to avoid one-sided dependencies and the importance of collaborating with big tech companies to ensure that freedom does not become a weakness in the Western defence strategy. Benedikt also talks about the value of open-source intelligence once its limitations have been taken into consideration.

Benedikt Franke is the CEO of the Munich Security Conference, a leading forum on international security policy. Prior to working for the Munich Security Conference, Benedikt worked as a senior advisor for strategic affairs for the German political party the Christian Social Union (CSU) and as a director for the Global Governance Institute. He holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge in Politics and a master’s degree from the John Hopkins University in International Studies.

‘Risk is a core part of how you evaluate anything, but we do not really talk about it in the context of aid even though aid is used in some of the riskiest environments.’

In this episode of the London Political Podcast, Manas Chawla speaks with the Executive Director for Global Policy at the ONE Campaign David McNair. During their fascinating conversation, David shares with Manas his views on the biggest challenges that developing regions of the world are faced with when tackling corruption and discusses the limited reference to risk in conversations about aid. They also talk about the broader structural evolutions that are causing African countries to view the Western paternalistic approach to aid as obsolete and, subsequently, are pushing them towards strengthening ties with other global powers such as China.

David is the Executive Director for Global Policy at the ONE Campaign, a non-profit organisation that aims to put an end to extreme poverty and preventable disease by mounting grass root campaigns and lobbying world leaders. David ensures that the campaigns run by the charity are grounded in strong and reliable evidence. He has equally played a crucial role in mounting leading policies and campaigns aimed at tackling corruption, such as the charity’s Trillion Dollar Scandal campaign. David is also a Council Member at the European Council on Foreign Relations and a Non-Resident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In 2012 he was named one of the ninety-nine top foreign policy leaders under 33.

‘The concept of security is changing dramatically, and it is expanding into areas that were not deemed security sensitive before.’

In this episode of the podcast, Manas Chawla speaks to Assistant Secretary General for Executive Management at NATO Giedrimas Jeglinskas about the value of Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO as well as the traditional and non-traditional security issues that the alliance is presented with on its southern flank and in the Asia-Pacific. Giedrimas also discusses the ways in which NATO is opening itself up to the worlds of investment and technology, which the Assistant Secretary General’s vast array of professional careers has helped him to understand the importance of.

Giedrimas joined the Lithuanian military in 2003 where he was an officer for five years. On completing his MBA in Finance & Strategy at the Columbia Business School, he then went on to have an extensive career in banking working for Citigroup for over six years. In 2017, he returned to Lithuania to take up the position of Deputy Minister at the Ministry of National Defence before becoming the Assistant Secretary General for Executive Management at NATO just under three years ago.

Giedrimas’ professional experience across a variety of different sectors makes for an incredibly interesting conversation about the importance of approaching today’s challenges with a multisectoral approach and connecting the dots between business, politics and technology.

‘Populism has taught us that politics is not just about being technocrats and that politicians cannot just govern through Excel spreadsheets.’

In this episode, Manas Chawla interviews Dr Catherine Fieschi about her encounters with Jean-Marie and Marine Le Pen and the factors that have led to the latter's mainstreaming. She also discusses with Manas the decomposition of the French party system since Emmanuel Macron came to office in 2016, as well as the lessons that populism can teach us about the role of the state and the meaning of politics. Dr Fieschi’s extensive research into populism makes for a very insightful conversation about the populist wave and the ways in which it alters traditional perceptions of politics.

Dr Fieschi is the founder and executive director of Counterpoint Global, a research and advisory group that helps businesses, governments, and NGOs navigate a new age of social and political risk. She is also a senior advisor at Macro Advisory Partners and a former director of the think tank Demos. Her published work includes Populocracy: The Tyranny of Authenticity and the Rise of Populism and Fascism, Populism and the French Fifth Republic: In the Shadow of Democracy.

‘This new Cold War could signal the transition from the pre-eminence of the US to its decline.’

In this episode of the London Politica Podcast, Manas Chawla interviews former ambassador Alfredo Toro Hardy about the changing international roles of China and the US in the context of China’s increasingly assertive behaviour and a weakened US alliance system. Alfredo also discusses the factors that define the making of foreign policy in both countries as well as the future of China-US relations in a more fragile international system.

Alfredo is a former diplomat, scholar, and author from Venezuela. In the past, he has served as the Venezuelan Ambassador to the US, the UK, Spain, Brazil, Singapore, Chile, and Ireland. He has also worked as the director of the Diplomatic Academy of the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as other Venezuelan academic institutions in the field of international relations. He is the author of twenty-one books and the co-author of fifteen more. His latest book Two Cold Wars: From Hegemony to Decline? was published earlier this year.

‘It is the role of intelligence to speak truth to power.’

In this episode, Manas Chawla talks with Justin Crump, the CEO of Sibylline, about the importance of analysing political leaders through a psychological lens, the failure to listen to intelligence warnings about a Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the impact of the war on the intelligence industry. Justin’s discussion with Manas provides an insight into the nature of intelligence environments in countries in the West as well as in Russia. He also shares his thoughts on the future global challenges that risk professionals will be paying most attention to.

Justin Crump is the CEO of Sibylline, a leading risk and intelligence consultancy, and the President of the Association of International Risk Intelligence Professionals. He has also worked as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs and an army officer for the UK Ministry of Defence.

‘China is different, China does things differently, but it also learns from, imitates, and takes the very best of the West and incorporates that into China.’

In this episode, Manas Chawla speaks with Brian Wong, the founder of the Oxford Political Review, about the limitations of mainstream Western understanding of China. He also highlights the importance of states learning from one another as well as being more creative and pragmatic in their interactions.

Brian Wong is currently completing a PhD in Political Theory at the University of Oxford. He is the founder of the Oxford Political Review, a publication covering current affairs, political science and international relations, as well as co-founder of the Oxford Policy Advisory Group. He is also a columnist for the Hong Kong Economic Journal and TIME, and he writes regularly for publications such as the Financial Times and Foreign Policy on topics such as East Asian politics.

During his discussion with Manas, Brian shares his unique perspectives that seek to fuse current affairs and political theory. He also provides some practical tips for understanding China and its relations with other states.

(Recorded on 18/02/2022)

‘The war will change the ESG discussion from something that was easily dismissed as being about sunflowers and windmills to something that is much more serious and systemic.’

In this episode, Manas Chawla, speaks to Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, the US Business Editor at the Financial Times, about the exodus of Western brands from Russia, the role of companies in the unfolding conflict, and the implications of the war for investor understanding of ESG.

Andrew has worked for the FT for more than twenty years and has held both writing and editing positions. He has written extensively on corporate America and the topics shaping the US business landscape. He also features regularly on the FT News Briefing podcast.

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, Andrew has been following and reporting on the reaction from the corporate world. He shares with Manas his latest analysis concerning the monumental consequences that the war will have for business in Ukraine, Russia, and the rest of the world.