Maastricht Diplomat

Food on paintings and glued hands on the highway – you probably have heard of these kinds of protest during the past few months, when reports about the “Last Generation” protest movement went viral. Their protests continue and the opinions on them differ. In this episode, Chiara gives you a background about the origins of the “Last Generation” movement and their latest actions. Critiques will be discussed as well as if their protest actions contribute positively to raising awareness to the climate crisis.

Europe day! Europe day?  What does it even mean? In this episode Brendan and Charelle talk about the significance of Europe Day and the difficulties of forming a Common European Identity. In doing so they are joined by Dr. Aline Sierp, an expert in memory studies, who outlines what studying memory entails and the difficulties that are faced when trying to create a common European memory, and in the process a common European Identity. So if this intrigues you, give it a listen!

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Leen and Hadrian take a deep dive into the world and politics of the 2017 Academy Award nominee Call Me By Your Name (Dir. Luca Guadagnino). Starting from its refreshingly naturalistic cinematography, to exploring the controversies surrounding its plot, cast, and social/ethical responsibility. Everything all the way up to a profile of the most overlooked character in the film, passing through countless other cinematic examples, reflections, debates and experiences.

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In today’s episode Brendan and Charelle wrestle with the concept of strategic autonomy, also referred to as strategic sovereignty and possibly other names. You might have seen the term circulating online in light of Macron’s recent visit to China. But what does it actually mean to be strategically autonomous? Join them as they talk to Dr. Sophie Vanhoonacker, an expert in European external relations, to unpack this concept. 

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What do a crystal piano owned by Miranda Kerr, a painting by Picasso and the Wolf of Wall Street have in common? They were all paid with money from Malaysian citizens. Of course, without them knowing. In this final episode of her series “Crooktocracy”, Chiara tells us the incredible and almost unbelievable story of the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state fund created by then Prime Minister Najib Razak. The scandal ended up squandering 4.5 billion dollars, an enormous amount of debt that will rest on Malaysians for the next 20 years. How did this happen? And who is to blame?

Last week, the French government passed a very controversial pensions reform, against the opinion of 70% of the French people and trade unions. They did so using article 49.3 of the Constitution, allowing them to skip a vote in Parliament. The French have been protesting against this reform and the way it was forced through, culminating on Thursday 23 March. Jonathan was on the scene in Paris with their friend Thalia and interviewed people from different backgrounds on their thoughts on the reform and the future of the 5th Republic.

For a better understanding of French politics, you might be interested in Jonathan's episode from last year, "The Fifth Republic explained: the 2022 French elections".

"Europe will be forged in crisis, and will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises", these were the words of Jean Monnet. But what is a crisis, and how does Europe act when it is confronted by one? Join Brendan and Charelle as they have a conversation with two CERiM experts, Dr. Esther Versluis and Johan Adriaensen PhD, who will lead them through crisis management 101.

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In this second episode, Jonathan takes you on a sonic journey through the life of Lankans in the crisis. Last autumn, they visited their family there and recorded soundbites of how their relatives and people in Lanka are experiencing economic despair, painting a bittersweet picture of a people, albeit pessimistic, showing resilience through their love for music and their sense of humour.

The chorus of the song “Obath Mamath” by Jagath Wickramasinghe, sung and played by Jonathan’s cousins and brother, translates to this:

“You and I, sitting in this world, why are we crying?

You and I, instead of thinking of us as two, let’s think of us as one

Let’s make tomorrow’s world a healthy one for everyone

Let’s make tomorrow’s world a healthy one for everyone”

There are various different forms of government in the world: there’s democracy, aristocracy, technocracy…and crooktocracy, the government of crooks. In this 2nd episode of Crooktocracy, we will fly all over the Atlantic with Chiara to look at a Latin American crooktocracy: Brazil. We will discover the groundbreaking impact of Car Wash. It’s the story of how a small money laundering investigation, which started from a car wash station in Brasilia, led to the election of Jair Bolsonaro in 2018, Lula’s reelection in 2022, and the assault on the Brazilian Congress in 2023.

Car Wash raises many questions: does the noble intention of fighting corruption justify a dubious method of investigation? Is corruption acceptable if it aids in the adoption of policies that reduce poverty, benefit society as a whole, and would otherwise never have seen the light of day?

Credits: 

Host: Chiara Wehlte 

Editor: Jonathan Wijararatne & Chiara Wehlte

Audio Technician: Charelle Abdallah 

In this episode Brendan and Charelle look at the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine one year after it started. Joined by Anna Herranz-Surrallés and Giselle Bosse, both Associate Professors at Maastricht University, they explore how the conflict has affected Ukraine and the EU. They also look at how the relationship between EU-Ukraine and EU-Russia have evolved since the beginning of the conflict, as well as the consequences of the EU’s reaction, and the impact it had on the way the EU operates as a global actor.

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Dr. Giselle’s recommendations:

In this episode Brendan and Charelle take a look at the changing global trade order, while also trying to understand what the World Trade Organisation (WTO) actually is. To this end, they are joined by Clara Weinhardt, Assistant Professor of International Relations at FASoS. Whose recent research explores this topic, specifically the strategies that Brazil, India, and China have adopted when responding to the pressure to change their trade privileges in the WTO by developed countries. If you want to learn more, have a listen!

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There are various different forms of government in the world: there’s democracy. aristocracy, technocracy…and crooktocracy, the government of crooks. In Crooktocracy, her first series with the MD, Chiara tells us the stories of the biggest corruption scandals in the world and of how shedding a light on these crooktocracies, changed these countries, their image and their future forever. Join Chiara in her first episode about the biggest scandal in Italian history, Clean Hands. What was it exactly? Why was it so groundbreaking for Italians? And what did Silvio Berlusconi have to do with it? 

In this episode Leen explores the hype behind analogue and vintage products like paperback books, vinyls and analogue cameras. Why do we choose these options that contradict the rapid development of technology? And what implications does this have on the future of creative industries?

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Digital Sovereignty is an elusive term which can be defined in various ways. In this episode, Brendan and Charelle sat down with Dr. Mariëlle Wijermars, an expert in the field, to discuss the term Digital Sovereignty and the wider ramifications the concept has on the world.

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A major aspect of the climate transition in the EU has been the idea of a ‘Just Transition’, but this leaves us questioning what that actually means. In this episode, Brendan and Charelle explore what the Just Transition means and how it is applied internally in the EU.

With the help of CERiM experts Francesca Colli and Toon van Overbeke, they also explore the role of the Just Transition philosophy in the EU’s policy, identifying COP27 as a major moment where the EU attempts to commit to transitional justice in shouldering the burden of dealing with the damages of climate change. Is the EU ambitious enough in these regards, or does it fail in communicating said ambition?

Secondary sources as suggested by Francesca and Toon:

Understanding Europe is a new podcast series produced by the Maastricht Diplomat, in collaboration with CERiM. Throughout the 10 episodes, Charelle and Brendan will interview experts from CERiM to dig deeper into the various research done on the EU, but also on Europe at large.  The monthly podcast series aims to contextualize and unpack local dynamics within EU member states but also international dynamics between EU and its neighboring regions.

In this pilot episode, All About CERiM, Brendan and Charelle interview the Co-director Dr. Giselle Bosse, Associate Professor in EU external relations at FASoS, to talk about the who, the how, the what, and the why of CERiM.

Sources mentioned in the episode: 

In the third and final episode of Roo & Simon's series Abducted Art & Cultural Theft, they are joined by Neil Curtis the Head of Museums and Special Collections at the University of Aberdeen. Neil discusses his expertise and experience of the process to repatriate a Benin Bronzes back to its ancestral home in the Benin City, located in present day Nigeria as well as the importance of learning from our shared history and making connections. Neil also shares his thoughts on the treatment of human remains in museums and the controversial argument for museums to represent encyclopaedias of the world.

In this episode, Victoria and Jane discuss Hollywoods perpetuation of the fear mongering propaganda against an already marginalised group… SHARKS. Together they outline current laws on the protection of marine biodiversity while simultaneously arguing over Victoria’s rational fears of alligators.

Building on the themes of power and authority from previous episodes, Victoria and Lucrezia present the third episode in their series The Red Line. Together they discuss the potential factors which lead to persistent cases of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, from hierarchy and access to the debate regarding the doctrine of strict clerical celibacy.

In the second episode of Roo & Simon's series Abducted Art & Cultural Theft, they are joined by police expert Leonie Bouwknegt to discuss her efforts to tackle art organised crime here in Limburg, as well as how these lucrative pieces of art are used as pawns in the illegal drug trade. Leonie discusses her operations to police the illicit trading of stolen cultural artefacts at TEFAF, the international art fair that happens here in Maastricht annually in June. 

In this episode, Jonathan reports live from France where the people are choosing a new President and new Members of Parliament. They are joined by Professor Bruno de Witte to give their take on how the French constitution works and discuss how the 2022 elections can reshape French politics. After five years of centrist rule, France is at a turning point: the far-right is stronger than ever, and the left is finally showing signs of unity. 

In this special episode, guest hosts Alexander Safi and Ginevra Figini from the UNSA's Development Committee are joined by Dragomir Radoytsev, a policy officer at an EU energy organisation, to shed light on the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 7: affordable and clean energy. Together they discuss what the EU is currently doing to make the EU carbon neutral through the Green Deal, the role of energy in this transition, and what we can do as individuals to contribute to a cleaner future.

This is the second episode in Victoria & Lucrezia's series The Red Line. Together they discuss the institutional role of the Church from the international and European Union perspective. A distinction is made between the temporal state power exercised by the Vatican City and the spiritual sphere of influence enjoyed by the Holy See. This discussion forms part of a larger conversation revolving around the various sources of the Church’s power and authority in order to later analyse the way such power and authority can be wielded in an abusive manner, ultimately leading to a staggering number of sexual abuse cases involving members of the Catholic clergy.

In this special episode Paula is joined by Professor Elissaveta Radulova, an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Maastricht University, and Emili Stefanova, Head of Marketing at the UNSA, to discuss how and why their home country Bulgaria is currently experiencing a transformation process. By exploring their first-hand experiences, political insights and explanations, this podcast aims to make people outside of Bulgaria aware of the tremendous changes that have been happening in Bulgarian politics and society for more than two years now.

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In this episode Roo and Simon launch their new series “Abducted Art & Cultural Theft” where they will be interviewing experts to discuss the modern fight for the restitution of cultural artefacts and the illicit trafficking of looted objects. In their first episode they will be joined by Professor Donna Yates, an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology at Maastricht University to talk about her research on the global trade of trafficking culture. Together they unpack how these historical and cultural artefacts are effecting a web of organised crime that connects the theft at heritage sites to the elite market of stolen global art.

In this episode Victoria and Lucrezia launch their new series “The Red Line,” a special project done in collaboration with the blue & yellow blog of the European Career Association (ECA). This series aims to better understand the red line of power and authority that runs beneath and perpetuates instances of abuse within the institution of the Catholic Church. In their first episode Victoria & Lucrezia dive into the temporal influence that the Church maintains through a system of hierarchical power over the congregation, despite the process of secularization occurring throughout the past centuries. Through discussion over the ways in which such power and authority can be wielded, they hope to come to a better understanding of how it can be abused. 

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