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Welcome to The International Risk Podcast — the premier destination for high-level insights into global risk dynamics. Hosted by Dominic Bowen, an accomplished senior advisor, each episode delivers expert analysis and actionable intelligence on today’s most pressing international risks. From geopolitical tensions and economic upheavals to cybersecurity threats and environmental challenges, we bring clarity to the complex risks shaping our world.
Tailored for CEOs, Board Members, senior managers, and risk professionals, our weekly episodes are essential listening for those making strategic decisions in volatile environments. With distinguished guests from diverse sectors and geographies — including renowned industry experts, policymakers, and thought leaders — we provide a multidimensional perspective, equipping you with insights to stay ahead of emerging threats and capitalize on new opportunities.
Our host, Dominic Bowen, is a senior business leader, and Partner at 2Secure where he is Head of Strategic Advisory and leads a team of senior management consultants and advisors.
Join us for engaging, thought-provoking conversations that go beyond the headlines. Stay informed, stay ahead, and transform the way you perceive and manage international risks. The International Risk Podcast is not just a podcast; it’s is crucial listening for today's leaders.
314 Episodes
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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 e...
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 p...
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 th...
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 ...
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 t...
In this episode, Dominic Bowen and Jonathan Sumption discuss the fragility of democratic institutions, the strain on the rule of law, and how electoral systems — particularly First-past-the-post — shape political incentives, polarisation, and ultimately public trust. They unpack why so many citizens feel increasingly disconnected from their leaders, and what this means for the future of liberal democracies. Find out more about how constitutional norms erode not with dramatic collapse, but thr...
Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has systemically targeted Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure–especially its energy systems–as a core part of Russia’s strategy. Since the start of the war, there has been over 2000 air, drone, and artillery attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine. Electricity grids, nuclear power plants, transmission lines, gas facilities, dams and water supply systems have all been turned into battlegrounds. This week alone, Russia’s overni...
In this episode, Dominic Bowen and Melanie Meimoun discuss how organizations can move beyond static risk registers to leveraging risk intelligence as a true strategic advantage, from decentralizing decision-making to preparing for multiple possible futures rather than trying to predict the next crisis. Find out more about why gold prices have surged to record highs, how central banks are using gold as a geopolitical hedge, and what this reveals about anxiety, sovereignty, and declining trust ...
*This episode was recorded in October 2025* This episode with Dr Lev Breydo explores how sovereign debt has evolved into a strategic instrument of power in an era of heightened geopolitical risk. We examine how credit markets, financial infrastructure, and legal design now shape state behaviour, constrain autonomy, and function as tools of coercion below the threshold of open conflict. The discussion looks at political default, sanctions, and the weaponisation of finance, alongside record glo...
This episode with Romane Dideberg explores responsible mineral sourcing in the context of rising geopolitical risk, with a focus on the Sahel. We examine how insecurity, military coups, and shifting alliances are reshaping control over critical minerals, driving resource nationalism, and complicating governance in fragile and conflict-affected states. Moreover, we also look at corruption, the role of civil society, and the realities of artisanal and small-scale mining. We unpack what traceabi...
In this episode, Dominic Bowen and Aidan Hehir discuss the legacy of the Srebrenica genocide, the politics of remembrance, and why, nearly thirty years later, the region continues to struggle with denial, revisionism, and rising ethnic tensions. Find out more about how competing narratives have shaped post-war identities, the role of international courts in establishing the historical record, and the impact of recent political developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Republika Srpsk...
2025 wasn't just a year with a few bumps, it really was a live fire activity when it comes to leadership, business models, political systems and geopolitics and I think we've had some amazing guests on the International Risk Podcast this year. I'm Dominic Bowen, host of the International Risk Podcast and as wars are dragging on, new ones are flickering at the edges, we've got supply chains being put under stress, significant gaps between the wealthy and those that are struggling to make ends ...
In this episode, Dominic Bowen and Robert Pratten discuss why storytelling is one of the most powerful (and underused) tools in crisis management, which shapes how leaders, their teams, and organisations behave under pressure. Find out more about how immersive, narrative-driven crisis simulations build confidence, reveal real decision-making styles, and change behaviour in ways that traditional plans, policies, and PowerPoint exercises cannot. The conversation also addresses leadership engage...
Today, Dominic Bowen hosts Dr Andrew Mumford on The International Risk Podcast to examine how grey zone warfare, hybrid tactics and strategic ambiguity are reshaping the contemporary security environment. They explore why sub-threshold activity has become a central feature of modern geopolitics, how states exploit ambiguity and deniability to pursue strategic objectives without triggering open conflict, and why these methods increasingly challenge traditional approaches to deterrence, escalat...
In this episode, Dominic Bowen and Hesham Youssef discuss the growing tensions between Egypt and Israel, the fragile state of regional diplomacy, and the pressures placed on long-standing agreements such as the Camp David Accords. Find out more about why Egypt views forced displacement from Gaza as an existential red line, how humanitarian access has become a major point of contention, and the shifting political dynamics inside Israel that are influencing regional instability. The...
Around the world, more and more communities are finding that climate change isn’t only about rising temperatures or shifting weather patterns, but for many communities, the first signs of climate change appear in far more everyday pressures: a harvest that doesn’t come in, a water source that no longer lasts the season, a job that disappears because the land or sea can no longer sustain it. And where pressures stack up, especially in places where institutions are weak, where inequalities run ...
Our conversation today with Felix Neumann traces the shifting landscape of far-left extremism, beginning with the broader global pressures shaping today’s political climate. We unpack how certain ideological threads have evolved, splintered, and re-formed, creating a movement that is at once fragmented and unexpectedly resilient. Along the way, we examine the role of foreign influence and funding, and how these forces complicate efforts to distinguish between genuine activism and the kinds of...
In a world where geopolitical camps are hardening, India continues to play by its own rules on the world stage. It buys oil from Russia, deepens technology and security ties with the US, while trading extensively with China and positions itself as a voice for the Global South – all while tensions simmer across its border, protectionism is on the rise and global power balances shift in an increasingly fractured world. What does strategic autonomy look like in 2025? And can India keep engaging ...
In this episode, we journey into the heart of a cultural battleground shaped by war, identity, and resistance with Olha Mukha. Our conversation unpacks how Ukraine’s cultural resilience has become a force of national survival, even as attempts at cultural erasure intensify. We explore grassroots efforts to preserve language, art, and memory, alongside the quieter, yet powerful, ways communities refuse to let their heritage be rewritten. The discussion also turns to Russia, where artistic expr...
What happens when the world’s hunger for copper collides with a province where 63% live in poverty, most households lack reliable electricity and water, and dissent is met with disappearance? I’m Dominic Bowen, and this is The International Risk Podcast—where we cut through the noise to examine the risks that leaders have to grapple with every day. Today: Reko Diq—one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits on the planet—touted as Pakistan’s ticket to foreign capital and the energy tr...
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