Democracy, Brexit and the war in Ukraine with Anne Applebaum

This year has seen the inauguration of Donald Trump, the first ever UK-EU summit, continued conflict in Ukraine and other parts of the world, severe domestic and foreign policy challenges, as well as a changing political landscape in the UK. As 2025 draws to a close, Anand Menon is joined by UKICE stalwarts Catherine Barnard and Rob Ford for a discussion on the year gone by. They reflect on Trump 2.0 the Labour party's remarkable slump in the polls and the rise of its challengers, how Brexit dividing lines still influence how people vote, how the government's much-vaunted UK-EU reset has really gone, and, of course, some predictions for 2026.

Lord Neil Kinnock on that party conference speech by The UK in a Changing Europe Podcast

Since Donald Trump entered office six months ago, he has cast doubt on the US commitment to the NATO alliance and applied pressure on European countries to increase their defence spending. This dominated June's NATO summit in the Hague which took place during a time of acute global security challenges, from Russia's war in Ukraine to escalating conflict in the Middle East. To explore the complexities of American politics and foreign policy and how it affects Europe, Anand Menon is joined by Constanze Stelzenmüller, a leading expert on German, European, and trans-Atlantic foreign and security policy and strategy and Director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. They reflect on the NATO summit and its remarkably brief summit declaration, the transformation of Article V to 'Article 5%', and whether Europeans can both reach the new 5% spending target and spend the money efficiently. They also discuss whether Europe can rely on the US as a security partner, Trump's foreign policy agenda, and the connection between the MAGA right and populist right parties in Europe and ask whether the UK-US relationship is really all that special.

The first post-Brexit UK-EU summit on Monday 19 May was heralded as a key milestone in UK-EU relations. But what exactly did it achieve? To analyse this in-depth, director Anand Menon is joined by Sir Ivan Rogers, former UK Permanent Representative to the EU, who, in Anand's words, "knows more about the EU than anyone in the world." They discuss what it is like negotiating these deals behind the scenes, why the Defence and Security Pact is important for the UK but a little lacking in substance, the overreaction of parts of the media and political right, what the agreements signed actually mean in terms of dynamic alignment, why energy negotiations were a surprising win, and, crucially, what comes next now that leaders have paved the way to what are likely to be highly difficult and technical negotiations with our European partners. Listen now for everything you need to know about the UK-EU summit and the future of the UK-EU relationship..

The first three months of Donald Trump's presidency have been remarkable. But what are the key differences between Trump 1.0 and Trump 2.0? How have the Democrats and other Republicans responded? As Trump and his team hollow out the US state, why have Congress and the courts not been able to slow his agenda? And what does his willingness to flout judicial orders mean for the checks and balances of democracy in the US? On this episode of The UK in a Changing Europe podcast, director Anand Menon speaks to Scott Lucas, Professor of American Studies at the Clinton Institute at University College Dublin to find out more about the impact Trump is having on the US state and the US. Listen in to hear his expert analysis.

On this episode of The UK in a Changing Europe podcast, leading German journalist and television presenter Theo Koll joins our host Jill Rutter to discuss the upcoming election in Germany that has seen one of the most volatile election campaigns the country has experienced. What can we expect from Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats, currently the frontrunners to win? How much of an impact is the far-right party 'Alternative for Germany' having? And what is the most important issue for German voters? Listen in for all of this and more.

In this episode of the UK in a Changing Europe podcast, Anand Menon sits down with UKICE researchers Sophie Stowers and Zain Mohyuddin to discuss their recently published 'Minorities report: the attitudes of Britain’s ethnic minority population'. Research suggests that ethnic minority voters often have political and social views at variance with those held by the population as a whole, and indeed by other ethnic groups. Yet we often lack the data to examine these attitudes and how they differ. The 'Minorities report: the attitudes of Britain’s ethnic minority population' aims to set that right. It attempts to look at the diversity of political opinion, social values and economic preferences not just between Britain’s white and non-white population, but between different ethnic and religious groups. The report looks not just at voting and elections, but more broadly at questions of identity, tolerance, and experiences of race and discrimination. It covers political views and values at both the 2019 and 2024 elections, questions of identity, being ‘British’, discrimination and prejudice, and economic preferences and social values. Access a PDF copy of the report in full here: https://ukandeu.ac.uk/reports/minorities-report-the-attitudes-of-britains-ethnic-minority-population/

On this special episode of the UK in a Changing Europe podcast, we have a live recording of Michael Gove's in-conversation event with Professor Anand Menon Anand at Bush House on 13 November 2024 as part of UKICE's 'Unlocked' series. Michael Gove has been a key player in British politics during one of its most turbulent periods. A cabinet veteran, he was chosen to be a minister by four out of five Conservative prime ministers during their 14 years in government (with the exception of Liz Truss). Alongside his long ministerial career, Gove is well-known for being a leading figure in the Leave campaign during the 2016 Brexit referendum. Following his decision to stand down in the 2024 election, he has recently taken up the role of Editor at The Spectator. As he transitions from politician to journalist, hear firsthand about his lengthy career in the cabinet, as well as his reflections on both Brexit and on what has been going on with British politics. You can also watch the full video recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy-yK18zS-s

On this episode of The UK in a Changing Europe podcast, the BBC's Chief North America Political Correspondent, Gary O'Donoghue, dials in from Washington DC to discuss the recent US elections and their aftermath with UKICE Director Professor Anand Menon. What was it like covering one of the most decisive - and divisive, US elections in history? What impact will a second Trump presidency have both domestically and internationally? And just how special does Trump feel the UK-US 'special relationship' is? Listen in for all of this and more.

How do borders relate to questions of identity? What can we learn from thinking of Europe as a "made-up continent"? And what is the analytical power of maps? On this episode of The UK in a Changing Europe podcast, Professor Sarah Hall talks to Jonn Elledge, author of 'A History of the World in 47 Borders' and Lewis Baston, author of 'Borderlines: A History of Europe, Told from the Edges' about these questions.