Episode 1: NATO and the prospects of European strategic autonomy

Dr Bastian Giegerich, IISS Director of Defence and Military Analysis, joins Dr Kori Schake for the first episode of Sounds Strategic.This new series aims to highlight the breadth and depth of analytical and intellectual talent at the IISS.In each episode, Kori will interview one of the Institute’s researchers about their area of expertise, and how they first got involved in the study of international security and defence. They share reading recommendations and discuss impactful data visualisations. Kori also offers each researcher the opportunity to debunk an analytical or policy myth within their field.In this episode, Kori and Bastian examine the significance of NATO’s Trident Juncture exercise, Russia’s reaction and the question of burden-sharing between the United States and Europe in the transatlantic Alliance.Bastian debunks the myth that Europe can never gain strategic autonomy and suggests that overcoming the ‘progressive anaemia’ in European military capabilities and mentality is imperative to the future of the Alliance.Favourite data visualisation:Armed unmanned aerial vehicles: production and procurement, IISS Reading recommendations:Paul Gordon Lauren, Gordon A. Craig and Alexander L. George, Force and Statecraft (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983).Heiko Biehl, Bastian Giegerich and Alexandra Jonas (eds), Strategic Cultures in Europe: Security and Defence Policies Across the Continent (Wiesbaden: Springer, 2013).Christopher Coker, Rebooting Clausewitz:‘On War’ in the Twenty-First Century (London: Hurst, 2017).Date of recording: 5 November 2018 Sounds Strategic is recorded and produced at the IISS in London. Theme music: ‘Safety in Numbers’ by We Were Promised Jetpacks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.