IFAIR Hot Seat

Hot Seat #3 - Follow the money: Sovereign wealth funds in Africa – a tool for more sovereignty in African states?

This is our third episode of IFAIR's podcast Hot Seat, a show where young people interview & debate with policymakers, academics and journalists about current hot topics in world politics and what it means to work in the field of international affairs. This time, IFAIR Podcast host and Regional Co-Director for EU & Europe Julien Strandt and IFAIR's Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa Gelila Enbaye talked with Thierry Dongala, head of Accountable Africa, where he advises African stakeholders on fiscal accountability, about the state of sovereign wealth funds in Africa. What are the challenges and opportunities of these financial instruments? Which obstacles do African governments face in establishing sovereign wealth funds? How do they fit into the global financial architecture and agendas of international financial institutions and Western partners? Tune into the conversation to find out more from our guest Thierry. After a brief introduction into the topic of sovereign wealth funds by Gelila, we unpacked the variety of sovereign wealth funds across the African continent. We discuss why sovereign wealth funds can enable resource-driven economies to provide for future generations and why governance matters. In our last section, Thierry offered some insights into his career in public finance and in government and shows us that both worlds are not as far apart as it seems. To conclude, he explained to us why he is a Pan-Africanist and how Pan-Africanism can be continent’s way forward. This episode was recorded on June 12, 2021.

Hot Seat #2 - Press Freedom, Estonia's recent Government Crisis & how to think like a journalist with Mihkel Märtens

This is the second episode of IFAIR's podcast Hot Seat, a show where young people interview & debate with policymakers, academics and journalists about current hot topics in world politics and what it means to work in the field of international affairs. This time, IFAIR Podcast Host Louis Mourier and IFAIR's Regional Co-Director EU & Europe Julien Strandt talked with Mihkel Märtens, freelance journalist covering international affairs at Eesti Päevaleht, one of Estonia's major newspapers, as well as student in International Relations at the University of Tartu.  After a commentary on the current state of the freedom of the press, we unpacked the numerous scandals of Estonia's political scene that led up to a government collapse in January 2021, with our guest, Mihkel. After discussing Estonia's political future and place in the EU, Mihkel told us about his work as a reporter and gave a few tips on how to think like a journalist. We first recap the first months of the German Council Presidency to then talk about the situation in Lebanon and the EU's Foreign Policy in the Middle East. To top it off, as a celebration of our 10th anniversary, we discuss how IFAIR was created and what it means to get involved in International Relations as a young person. This episode was recorded on the 27th of February, 2021.

Hot Seat #1 - Review of the German Council Presidency, Europe & the Middle East and 10 Years of IFAIR with Prof. Dr. Hanna Pfeifer

This is the first episode of IFAIR's new podcast Hot Seat, a show where young people interview & debate with policymakers, academics and journalists about current hot topics in world politics and what it means to work in the field of international affairs. For our very first podcast - and because it's the 10th anniversary of IFAIR - we sat down with Prof. Dr. Hanna Pfeifer, co-founder of IFAIR and currently Assistant Professor for Political Science with a Focus on Radicalisation and Violence Research at the Goethe University Frankfurt (and not Assistant Professor of International Relations as we wrongly stated in the podcast).  We first recap the first months of the German Council Presidency to then talk about the situation in Lebanon and the EU's Foreign Policy in the Middle East. To top it off, as a celebration of our 10th anniversary, we discuss how IFAIR was created and what it means to get involved in International Relations as a young person. Small rectification post-recording: In the episode, we wrongly state that Prof. Dr. Hanna Pfeifer has lived in Lebanon for a few years. In fact, she was there for several months. This episode was recorded on the 28th of August, 2020.