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Everything we eat, think, wear, experience and even dream is influenced by global factors, but our news sources are often limited to our own (national) bubble. I am Vincent Hoffmans,...
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Everything we eat, think, wear, experience and even dream is influenced by global factors, but our news sources are often limited to our own (national) bubble.
I am Vincent Hoffmans, and it puzzles me that ‘the international’ receives so little attention in our lives. That’s why I started Radio Vinternational!
In each episode I interview experts and I try to learn something new about the world from them. The topics range from international art restitution to India's elections, and from fairness in AI to sports politics - as long as it's international, I'm up for it.
show less
I am Vincent Hoffmans, and it puzzles me that ‘the international’ receives so little attention in our lives. That’s why I started Radio Vinternational!
In each episode I interview experts and I try to learn something new about the world from them. The topics range from international art restitution to India's elections, and from fairness in AI to sports politics - as long as it's international, I'm up for it.
10 NOV 2024 · Reimagining European Democracy With Professor Kalypso Nicolaïdis on the power of mythology, translators and demoicracy
In this episode of Radio Vinternational, Professor Kalypso Nicolaïdis shares her unique insights on the resilience and challenges facing democracy in Europe today. Report after report declares that “https://www.undp.org/policy-centre/governance/events/democracy-flux-trends-challenges-and-inclusive-solutions” (United Nations Development Program), that https://freedomhouse.org/issues/democracies-decline (Freedom House) and that https://www.economist.com/international/2018/06/14/after-decades-of-triumph-democracy-is-losing-ground (The Economist). But, the real question remains: are we witnessing the fall of democracy?
I asked Professor Nicolaïdis this exact question. She argued (as a true academic, of course) that it’s a bit of both—democracy is in danger, but there are also countless positive examples of hope and optimism. What I enjoyed tremendously from our conversation, is the fact that her personal and professional life is a testament to European development, full of political highs and lows. As a little girl she campaigned in the streets of Paris in 1968 to raise awareness for the political situation in Greece, and later in her life she campaigned passionately against Brexit and became a British citizen …
Furthermore, our conversation is on the transcendent power of mythology, as Professor Nicolaïdis explains how stories from her book Exodus, Reckoning, Sacrifice can illuminate complex political divides, like Brexit, and offer a path toward shared understanding. She also introduces her visionary project, The Democratic Odyssey, a traveling citizens' assembly designed to connect people across Europe in democratic dialogue.
Meet the guest
Professor https://www.eui.eu/people?id=kalypso-nicolaidis is an authority in the fields of European Integration, democratic theory and global governance and has worked with numerous EU institutions and national governments. She fulfils her current role as professorial Chair of Global Affairs at the STG in Florence, whilst she is on leave from the University of Oxford where she has been professor of International Relations. Previously she was professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where she also obtained her PhD.
What I really liked from our conversation, is that she is someone who ‘is’ her work: her international background and her ideas on democracy are in line with her personal background (being ‘freakish’: French, Greek, British). If you want to see all projects on which she is working and see all her publications, you can visit her https://kalypsonicolaidis.com/
Recommendation of the Week
First, she recommends checking out the website of the https://democraticodyssey.eui.eu/home. You can explore the project, subscribe to updates, and learn about the mission and activities of this “travelling circus of democracy.” Beyond that, she suggests two literary recommendations:
- One of the greatest inspirations to reinvent a better future for her, come from the science fiction works of https://www.iain-banks.net/landing-page/iain-banks/iain-banks-about/! His series ‘https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series’ is a science fiction series written and released from 1987 until 2012. The Culture is a utopian, post-scarcity space society of humanoid aliens and advanced superintelligent artificial intelligences living across the Milky Way galaxy. Her words: “if you enter it, you realise how it could be different, how much room there is for imagination”
- Her second recommendation is a classic work of political history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_in_America by the renowned French thinker https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville.. In this work, de Tocqueville reflects on his travels through the greatest governance experiment of that time (and perhaps, of all time…): the United States of America! She specifically notes that, even then, he recognized a key truth—“it’s the economy, stupid!”
Saluti,
Vincent
26 OCT 2024 · This week, Vincent is joined by Huda Ismael, a financial investigator with 12+ years at the Central Bank of Egypt, now a Policy Leader Fellow at EUI. They explore the world of anti-money laundering, from traditional scams to the rise of digital payments and cryptocurrencies. Huda shares personal experiences and highlights the international cooperation needed to stay ahead of modern financial crime.
Meet the guest
Huda Ismael has over 12 years of experience at the Central Bank of Egypt, specialising in money laundering and terrorist financing investigations. Right now, she is at the European University Institute as a https://www.eui.eu/people?id=huda-ismail, where her work focuses on the "Regulation of emerging digital payments to combat Financial Crimes in the Middle East." You can find her contact details here as well, or you can follow her on her https://www.linkedin.com/in/huda-ismail-5b399932.
In our conversation, she also elaborates on her future beyond the EUI: she aspires to be the central point of reference for Middle Eastern countries on how they can counter modern money laundering strategies, and how they can use modern technology to create a robust and safe payment system!
Recommendation of the week
Huda’s first recommendation is actually simply brilliant: it’s financial advice on how to prevent scams for yourself! Beyond this, she recommends two movies on the topic:
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1933667/ (directed by Barry Levinson): a movie on the fall of Bernie Madoff. You can check out the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05HK-z6HoHM here. Even though its cast is full of Oscar-Starts (Robert de Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer I had actually never heard of this movie before!
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596363/ (directed by Adam McKay) is a contemporary classic on the causes of the housing/mortgage market crisis that made the global financial system collapse in 2008. Especially the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw6qAM55REo in a bubble bath explaining the stock market is noteworthy!
12 OCT 2024 · In this episode, Vincent dives into Mario Draghi’s long-awaited report: “https://commission.europa.eu/topics/strengthening-european-competitiveness/eu-competitiveness-looking-ahead_en’.
Draghi argues that Europe’s productivity and competitiveness are seriously in danger, and he urges Europe to heavily invest in its high-tech sectors. Since I am no economist, I wanted to explore the basics: How do we measure productivity or competitiveness on a continental or global scale? What can policymakers do to increase it? To help me with these questions, I invited Sotiris Georgousis, an economist from the European University Institute in Florence.
Sotiris quickly shifted the focus from Europe as a single, unified entity to highlighting the disparities within the European Monetary Union (EMU). Europe doesn’t have a common fiscal policy or a fully integrated market, and these challenges are leading to growing disparities between member states. Some parts might get technical, but I hope there’s something for everyone in the discussion.
Meet the Guest
https://www.eui.eu/people?id=sotirios-georgousis, originally from Greece, shares how his personal experience during the economic crisis inspired him to pursue a career in economics. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Athens and a Master's degree from Bocconi University in Milan. Currently he is a PhD-researcher at the European University Institute in Florence, at the Economic Department. He has visited Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Sciences PO and the European Central Bank (ECB). He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Athens and his Master's degree in Economics and Social Sciences from Bocconi University in Milan.
You can read more about his research, including research on rents in the digital economy, the effect of Monetary Policy on firm investment within the Eurozone on his https://www.sotirios-georgousis.com/research.
Recommendations of the Week
Of course, the https://commission.europa.eu/topics/strengthening-european-competitiveness/eu-competitiveness-looking-ahead_en is a must-read. It is full of sharp analyses across almost all relevant sectors, and is spectacularly well-written. Beyond the report, Sotiris recommends two books:
- ‘https://www.theprofitparadox.com/’, written by Jan Eeckhout (Professor at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona ). I paraphrase from his website: “wages are stagnant and prices are rising, so that everything from a bottle of beer to a prosthetic hip costs more. This is due to a small number of companies exploiting an unbridled rise in market power—the ability to set prices higher than they could in a properly functioning competitive marketplace”
- ‘https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nations-Fail-Origins-Prosperity/dp/1846684307’ (by economists Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson) is a modern classic, many different disciplines, including my own (International Development & History). The fact that the book has its own (extensive) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Nations_Fail tells you something about the impact it has had, and still has.
28 SEP 2024 · Scholars across various traditions have emphasised that asylum seekers with similar persecution stories, requesting asylum in the same country, and under the same legal framework, may still end up with different outcomes. This phenomenon is called ‘refugee roulette’.
In this episode, Vincent speaks with Esteban Octavio Scuzarello, a researcher from the SPS department of the European University Institute. They talk about his research, his passion, and the unique characteristics of the Refugee Status Determination process in Latin- and South-American countries.
Meet the Guest
My guest this week is https://www.eui.eu/people?id=esteban-scuzarello. He is from Argentina, and in his own words he is also ‘legally Italian’... In the episode, he elaborates how his own family formed through a ‘forbidden love’ in Italy, and the first boat that sailed was simply bound for Argentina … Speaking about migration and asylum!
Currently, he is a PhD Researcher at the SPS Department of the European University Institute, in Florence. Before, he studied International Relations in Argentina and Transnational Governance in Florence. Beyond his academic endeavours, he has been active as a consultant and volunteer for various organisations - amongst others, the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls.
Esteban’s research interests revolve around (forced) migration in Latin America and its legal and public policy implications, with a particular focus on gender and sexuality dynamics surrounding it. You can follow him on https://www.linkedin.com/in/esteban-octavio-scuzarello-8135891a4/, or find his email on his https://www.eui.eu/people?id=esteban-scuzarello.
Recommendations of the Week
Esteban recommends one movie, and two books. The movie ‘https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14225838/’ is the fascinating depiction of the story of two senegalese cousins that decide to leave their house cross a quarter of Africa and the mediterranean sea, to try to reach Italy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idErmD0bA_M, you can watch the This movie has already once been discussed in a https://open.spotify.com/episode/7mJr3XYinlxp05GAdvvliz?si=30a002adcac94bcb of Radio Vinternational, on how European films depict migration with Marek Maj as a guest!).
The 2 recommended books, are:
- ‘https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-19631-7_9 is the original ground-breaking and shocking study that shows that life-or-death asylum decisions are too frequently influenced by random factors relating to the decision makers.
- The book https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/455478/how-migration-really-works-by-haas-hein-de/9780241632208, by Hein de Haas, who is Professor of Sociology at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), part of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). His latest book is specifically written for an international, non-scientific public and is already published in more than ten different languages.
7 SEP 2024 · In this episode, Vincent talks with Max Smedes, an editor and researcher at the Dutch radio program Bureau Buitenland - the Dutch radio program known as The Foreign Desk. The radio show covers international news, reports, backgrounds and geopolitics, and also produces podcasts and audio-documentaries.
Max shares his insights on the evolving landscape of foreign news in Dutch media and discusses the role and responsibilities of foreign reporters. The conversation is on the issue of maintaining objective journalism amidst potential budget costs or political pressure, pressures, and how these issues impact global reporting.
Meet the guest
https://nl.linkedin.com/in/max-smedes is an editor and researcher at Bureau Buitenland, which covers international news, reports, backgrounds and geopolitics. He studied political science in Amsterdam and did a Master in Crisis and Security Management: Intelligence and National Security.
Recommendation of the week
Max recommends a book, Will You Care if I Die, by Swedish author Nicolas Lunabba. In this semi-autobiography, he describes how he (a social worker) helps a vulnerable teenager escape his disadvantaged environment. In the book, Lunabba analyses the place of migrants in Swedish society and creates (as this https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/nicolas-lunabba/will-you-care-if-i-die/9781035022571 review says) “ a powerful memoir about social class, race, friendship and unexpected love, and a blazingly topical exploration of social polarisation and the rise of the far right.” You can read another review by the Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/feb/05/will-you-care-if-i-die-nicolas-lunabba-review-memoir-swedish-activist, and you can buy the book through the https://guardianbookshop.com/will-you-care-if-i-die-9781035022571/ or in your local bookshop.
7 JUN 2024 · In this episode, Vincent and Pedro José Mercado Jaén dive into the Human Rights Violations of the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. We talk about athlete’s rights, civil rights, and the way how nature and indigenous people are either neglected by the nature of the Olympic Games. What stands out from this episode, that it’s not only authoritarian regimes that oppress minorities and disregard human rights…
Meet the guest
https://www.eui.eu/people?id=pedro-mercado-jaen is a PhD-researcher at the European University Institute in Florence, at the Law Department. There, he mainly looks at athletes rights and access to remedy. One central question in his research is how we can give justice to people that have been affected by mega sports events and the organising sports federations.
Pedro is an avid runner himself, so you can actually also follow him on Strava too! Before he moved to Florence, he studied law in Granada and he did the Erasmus Mundus Masters In Sports Ethics and Integrity. He has also worked for the Centre for Sports and Human Rights in Geneva.
Recommendation of the week
Pedro firstly recommends people to inform themselves about the topic - and also he urges you to then share the information. If more people realise that the Olympics are not ‘just a beautiful event’, the more eyes will be opened.
A good source of information to inform yourself, is the book ‘https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/what-are-the-olympics-for’, by Jules Boykoff - whose https://julesboykoff.org/olympics/ is an absolute academic delight. The book touches upon a lot of issues that Pedro and I discussed during the pod.
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In each episode of Radio Vinternational, host Vincent Hoffmans dives into one fascinating and hopefully informative international topic with a passionate expert. The mission is to showcase original and interesting perspectives on actual and historic international affairs, and to have fun!
25 MAY 2024 · From the 6th till the 9th of June, citizens across Europe cast their vote to elect the Parliament of the European Union. Millions of those voters will use a so-called Voting Advice Application (VAA) to help them in their voting decision - to see which party matches their political preferences, or to see what parties actually promise. But, what distinguishes a good VAA? And how can you best use it?
In this episode, Vincent talks to two guests that have developed the EU&I Voting Application, which is a Pan-European VAA developed by the European University Institute.
Meet the guestsFor the first time in Radio Vinternational, I interviewed two guests!
The first is https://www.eui.eu/people?id=andres-reiljan. He is a political scientist and currently has a position at the European University Institute as a Max Weber Fellow. He is the Project co-leader of the EU&I voting application.
My other guest is https://www.eui.eu/people?id=angeliki-xafi. She is a communication strategist, and is currently a trainee at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. She is the Communications assistant of the project, and has done her master at the International Hellenistic University.
Recommendation of the week
Obviously, the most important recommendation of the guests was: use the EU&I application! However, both did emphasise something else - which was a bit contradicting…
- Andres urges all of you to not just focus on the ‘final result’ of the EU&I, but to really dive into the answers that parties give. If you take some time, you can cross-validate what different European parties want. If you like to play around with election data and visualisations, you’ll have a great time!
- Angeliki stresses the exact opposite: there are numerous ways you can be updated on elections and political preferences, simply by following the right social media pages. These can be a great source of information, especially if your time is limited. The EU&I, for example, regularly post snippets on the election and the party preferences on their social media accounts.
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In each episode of Radio Vinternational, host Vincent Hoffmans dives into one fascinating and hopefully informative international topic with a passionate expert. The mission is to showcase original and interesting perspectives on actual and historic international affairs, and to have fun!
25 MAY 2024 · In this episode, Vincent speaks to Harpreet Dhody, a communication expert with a background in politics, entrepreneurship and education. Dhody is currently at the European University Institute as a Policy Leader Fellow, where he aims to create a blueprint and advocacy paper to build a digital media observatory in India.
They speak about the Indian elections of 2024, the nation’s media dynamics and about how Western media struggle to keep up with the New India and prime minister Narendra Modi.
Meet the guest
My guest this week is https://www.eui.eu/people?id=harpreet-dhody. He is a communication expert with a diverse background in politics, entrepreneurship and education - and he advised the government of Chhattisgarh on effective communication, regarding public welfare schemes and public policy issues. He has an MBA from Oxford, and is currently at the European University Institute as a Policy Leader Fellow, where he aims to create a blueprint and advocacy paper to build a digital media observatory in India. He will be in Florence until July, after that you can keep up with him through his https://www.linkedin.com/in/harpreetdhody/ profile.
Recommendation of the week
Harpreet Dhody has one crystal clear recommendation: travel, speak, read, translate in such a way that you get to know the real India, with all its diverse regions and languages. Really dive into the vernacular languages and have a deep, intense understanding of India. I can’t expect people to learn Hindu before these elections are done, but I’ve taken a look at some Youtube-channels and translated some of the comments in Hindu - and it was one of the better rabbit holes I’ve gotten myself into, recently! As a more ‘clear’ recommendation, mr. Dhody recommends one Youtube channel, and two books.
- The Youtube Channel is the https://www.youtube.com/@ANIPodcastwithSmitaPrakash. Here, she hosts different people, from all layers and societies in India - this is largely in English Indian so it’s a great way to learn more about the country.
- And if you want to study the old, Oxford-educated India (not my words!) - even though it is a very nuanced version of it - he recommends two books - both written by Rajdeep Sardesai: https://www.amazon.in/Election-That-Changed-India-2014/dp/0670087904 (2014) & https://www.amazon.com/2019-How-Modi-Won-India/dp/9353573920 (2019)
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In each episode of Radio Vinternational, host Vincent Hoffmans dives into one fascinating and hopefully informative international topic with a passionate expert. The mission is to showcase original and interesting perspectives on actual and historic international affairs, and to have fun!
25 MAY 2024 · In this episode, Vincent interviews Jacob Kohnstamm - a former parliamentarian, senator and State Secretary of the Netherlands, about his role in the Dutch art restitution policy, relating to Nazi looted art.
Early in his career, he switched from being a lawyer to being a civil servant because the limitation of the former was that he could only help one person at a time - whereas politics allowed him to change the system. A central theme in his career is the constant assessment of the relationship between the state and the individual citizen, and about the trust that people can have in each other, and in the laws and organisations that influence their lives.
About the exceptional character of art restitution, Jacob Kohnstamm still is crystal clear: “It is not a civil legal case (...) there is a moral basis underneath restitution policy”.
Recommendation of the week Jacob Kohnstamm recommends a story about the iconic artwork of Gustav Klimt, that gives a good impression of the impact and gravity of the historical looting of art. Good news, you can choose whether you prefer a book or a movie to learn all about this Austrian example of art restitution….
- https://www.annemarieoconnor.com/, written by Anne-Marie O'Connor
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404425/ - directed by Simon Curtis
We end the episode with a classic music piece: https://www.muziekweb.nl/Link/U00000666426/CLASSICAL/Aubade from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marius_Flothuis, a Dutch composer, musicologist and music critic. It is played by flautist https://www.eleonorepameijer.com/, who is the founder of the https://leosmitfoundation.org/en/home. The foundation gives composers, who were silenced during the War because of their Jewish descent, their rightful place in music history.
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In each episode of Radio Vinternational, host Vincent Hoffmans dives into one fascinating and hopefully informative international topic with a passionate expert. The mission is to showcase original and interesting perspectives on actual and historic international affairs, and to have fun!
25 MAY 2024 · This episode of Radio Vinternational is about one country in particular: Tunisia! Specifically, Vincent talks to Ben Bracciano about Tunisia's so-called 'exceptionalism' - a term used by academics to describe Tunisia's remarkable political, social and economic status in the Arab world. We discuss how these factors influenced the democratisation process following the Arab Spring, and how Tunisian civil society played a crucial role in this process - culminating in the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet. And Ben looks at whether this positive image is still relevant and accurate - given the country's current economic struggles and the constitutional coup by the current president.
My guest, https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-nicola-bracciano-10218a1a3/, is currently finishing his Masters degree at the Florence School of Transnational Governance, and has a long personal history with Tunisia. He lived there from 2003 until 2014, with his Italian father and English mother. In his own words, he ‘never shuts up about Tunisia’, and he wrote his thesis about the factors that influenced the democratisation process in the country. Beyond his passion for Tunisia, he is broadly interested in international politics. Previously, he has done an internship at the World Bank, and has studied international politics in Bath.
Recommendations of the week
During our conversation, Ben mentioned numerous interesting sources for people that want to learn more about Tunisia or the Arab world in general. One example is the https://www.arabbarometer.org/about/, which is a research network that provides insight into the social, political, and economic values and attitudes of citizens in the Arab world. Another example is the https://freedomhouse.org/, which tracks democracy-indicators across the globe. Both these sources enable you to play around with data for varying countries!
If you want to get a glimpse of ‘the daily life’ in Tunisia, the Al Jazeera Documentary ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxIJPlTls4U&t=16s’ is really impressive as well. If you want to know more about the Arab Spring in general, Ben recommends ‘https://academic.oup.com/book/27599’ by Jason Brownlee as a good explainer. If you want to get a feel for the chaos and abrupt revolution, the BBC has made a truly remarkable mini-documentary about the leaked tapes of former Tunisian president Ben Ali’s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaST3lc0CXw. You can truly hear when the man realises that he will never return to his own country. And, last but not least: if you ever visit Tunisia, Ben recommends visiting his former home town Sidi Bou Said. With the looks of Santorini and the vibes of Tunisia, it’s an ideal place to visit as a tourist! And if you do, make sure that you listen to the Tunisian funk song https://open.spotify.com/track/6tSmqzaXZUOooPfGg3Ibhd?si=044fc49b93374451!
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In each episode of Radio Vinternational, host Vincent Hoffmans dives into one fascinating and hopefully informative international topic with a passionate expert. The mission is to showcase original and interesting perspectives on actual and historic international affairs, and to have fun!
Everything we eat, think, wear, experience and even dream is influenced by global factors, but our news sources are often limited to our own (national) bubble. I am Vincent Hoffmans,...
show more
Everything we eat, think, wear, experience and even dream is influenced by global factors, but our news sources are often limited to our own (national) bubble.
I am Vincent Hoffmans, and it puzzles me that ‘the international’ receives so little attention in our lives. That’s why I started Radio Vinternational!
In each episode I interview experts and I try to learn something new about the world from them. The topics range from international art restitution to India's elections, and from fairness in AI to sports politics - as long as it's international, I'm up for it.
show less
I am Vincent Hoffmans, and it puzzles me that ‘the international’ receives so little attention in our lives. That’s why I started Radio Vinternational!
In each episode I interview experts and I try to learn something new about the world from them. The topics range from international art restitution to India's elections, and from fairness in AI to sports politics - as long as it's international, I'm up for it.
Information
| Author | Vincent Hoffmans |
| Organization | Vincent Hoffmans |
| Categories | Politics , History |
| Website | - |
| vincent@vincenthoffmans.com |
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