The Fast and the Pistorius

On November 1 2024, the roof of a newly €55 million renovated railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second biggest city, collapsed and killed 15 people. The deaths sparked Serbia’s largest wave of student-led anti-government protests since Yugoslavia’s disintegration in 2000.Mid-March protests in Serbia saw roughly one in twenty Serbians participate. This week Mladen Mrdalj joins host Aaron Schwartzbaum to explore how the tragedy in Novi Sad sparked a mass move

This week on The Continent: FPRI's Eurasia Program Director Maia Otarashvili joins Aaron to talk through recent parliamentary election results in Georgia and delve into an interesting question: how does a broadly pro-EU, Russia-skeptical country wind up with a euroskeptic, Russia-friendly government? 

In the wake of far right gains in recent German state-level elections, German historian and journalist Katja Hoyer joins Aaron to explore the unique regional character of German populism. How has formerly communist Eastern Germany swung to the right? The Continent explores how the war in Ukraine is changing Europe's politics and security. Host  Aaron Schwartzbaum will "visit" a country on each episode, learning about key dynamics and trends from local experts.  Listen to Season 1 and Season 2 here.To be the first to know about new episodes, please subscribe to our mailing list and follow us on Twitter @FPRI.  

The Continent takes a (slight) detour to learn how trends over in Eurasia compare with what we're seeing in Europe. The complicated neighbor is the same; what about the domestic and geopolitical landscape? Temur Umarov offers insights on the effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Kazakhstan's domestic and foreign policy.

How much do Moldovan politics rhyme with some of what we've seen in Ukraine? FPRI Senior Fellow Ecaterina Locoman sheds light on language politics, Ukraine war spillover, and frozen conflict.

Robert Hamilton and Rick Landgraf join Aaron to tackle (almost) every question you were too embarrassed to ask about the defense and security issues central to Ukraine. Term by term, concept by concept, jargon by jargon. No acronym is safe!

On this special double feature, The Continent visits the Balkans. How do we make sense of continued nationalism, the conflict it spurs, and Russia's regional influence? Mladen Mrdalj and Jasmin Munjanovic join to discuss.Related Reading: Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans

Germany announced bold remilitarization plans after Russia's latest invasion of Ukraine. A year later, where do we stand? Minna Ålander returns to The Continent to discuss progress made, and the challenges ahead.

As we return to The Continent, what is the latest on Turkey's upcoming election? Who is running, what is driving Turks to vote, and what does the result mean for Ukraine and beyond? FPRI's Director of Research Jim Ryan and Black Sea Fellow Selim Koru join to discuss. This conversation was recorded on April 25, 2023.

As we drop by Paris, what is president Macron's angle, diplomatically or otherwise, in the Ukraine War? And how do populists on both the right and left play in?This conversation was recorded live on Twitter Spaces on November 23, 2022.