The first edition in our special series recorded at the Globsec Forum in Prague. We hear a selection of highlights including an insight into defending a country during active conflict with Ukraine’s former defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov; EU harmony with Czechia’s foreign minister, Jan Lipavský; Nato’s priorities with General Chris Badia; and the struggles of democratic journalism as the far-right rises with editor in chief of ‘SME’ Beata Balogová. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Most of us, if we have a bad day at work, can at least console ourselves that we are playing with stakes significantly more meager than life and death, that the fates of nations do not hinge on our best guesses.
One of our guests this week did not, between February 2022 and September 2023, have that luxury.
The annual Globesec forum has been a fixture of the diplomatic and security conference circuit since two.
This year's was different in one obvious for the first time, it was held not in Bratislava, but in Prague.
For reasons kind of related to Europe's internal ructions about Ukraine and other issues, Slovakia's populist culture warrior, Prime Minister Robert Fico, has repeatedly baited Globsec as a conclave of treacherously liberal globalists.
Globsec called his bluff and headed to the country next door.
In this special episode recorded at the Globsec Forum in Prague, we wrap up a few highlights.
Unsurprisingly, for the third Globsec running, Ukraine's resistance of Russia's invasion was the dominant theme.
And for the third Globsec running, we discovered that the war on Europe's eastern frontier was raising vexing questions about defence and diplomacy.
What is it really like directing a nation at war?
Does Europe yet entirely understand what it might be up against and how much, much of a distraction are Europe's internal squabbles?
This is the Foreign Desk Bible story David and Goliath.
David won this battle against Goliath because he used sling.
So he was brave, creative and smart.
Ukrainians are brave, creative and smart and we have sling from our partners.
History can serve as something which gives you lesson and maybe politically communicate something, but it doesn't mean that if something similar happens to different nations that it will have this outcome.
He learned it from Orban that you don't need to focus on the whole society.
It's just enough to talk to those people who are willing to vote for you and present them as the majority of the society, even though based on parliamentary math and based on the votes in the society, they are not.
You're listening to the Foreign Desk.
I'm Andrew Muller.