The future of the Red Sea

The future of the Red Sea

Two weeks ago, the United States and the United Kingdom launched airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the group’s continued attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. While the intervention degraded some of the Houthis’ military capabilities, the airstrikes were insufficient to sustainably secure the Red Sea and encourage a return of international shipping. Meanwhile, the Houthis have vowed to continue with their attacks, claiming to act in solidarity with Gaza.


In this week’s episode, Mark Leonard welcomes visiting fellow Cinzia Bianco, an expert in the Gulf region, and Theodore Murphy, director of ECFR’s Africa programme. Together, they discuss the crisis in the Red Sea and its escalation potential. What are the Houthis’s motivations? How have countries on the Red Sea reacted to the crisis? What makes the Red Sea such a geopolitical tinderbox, and what should Europe’s role be?


This podcast was recorded on 25 January 2024.


Bookshelf:

Yemen in Crisis: The Road to War | Helen Lackner

To Rule the Waves: How Control of the World's Oceans Shapes the Fate of the Superpowers | Bruce Jones

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(631)

Will Trump bomb Iran?

Will Trump bomb Iran?

Protests across Iran have entered their third week and Donald Trump is said to be considering a military intervention against the Khamenei regime. According to human rights organisations, its brutal c...

16 Jan 35min

The world in 2026

The world in 2026

Following on from January 2nd’s prediction episode, Mark Leonard hosts Julien Barnes-Dacey, ECFR’s Middle East programme director, Alex Vines, ECFR’s Africa programme director, Andrew Small, ECFR’s As...

9 Jan 27min

Trump attacks Venezuela

Trump attacks Venezuela

On January 3rd, the US military struck Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro. Trump has declared that America will now “run” the country, shifting from a narrative which had focused on ...

5 Jan 35min

Predictions and Reckonings: From 2025 to 2026

Predictions and Reckonings: From 2025 to 2026

This week Mark Leonard is joined by Jeremy Shapiro, research director at ECFR, for their annual end-of-year tradition: marking last year’s predictions and making ten bold forecasts for the year ahead....

2 Jan 23min

Made in China: How Europe can tackle economic coercion

Made in China: How Europe can tackle economic coercion

China’s tightening of export controls on rare earths and related technologies across 2025 marked a turning point in Europe’s economic security. Even with Beijing’s partial and momentary rollback after...

26 Des 202535min

After Doha: What’s next for the Arab world?

After Doha: What’s next for the Arab world?

This week, Mark Leonard welcomes Ellie Geranmayeh, senior policy fellow and deputy head of ECFR’s Middle East and North Africa programme, and Hugh Lovatt, senior policy fellow with ECFR’s MENA program...

19 Des 202526min

Trump’s new National Security Strategy

Trump’s new National Security Strategy

America has published its new National Security Strategy (NSS)—and it contains worrying rhetoric about the EU, European values and the transatlantic relationship. Russia, however, is never described a...

12 Des 202545min

China's technological dominance

China's technological dominance

China’s rise has long fascinated policymakers, economists and technologists. But few observers have studied the country’s technological ambitions as closely as Dan Wang, research fellow at the Hoover ...

5 Des 202530min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
popradet
stopp-verden
det-store-bildet
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-gukild-johaug
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-ness
fotballpodden-2
hanna-de-heldige
nokon-ma-ga
aftenbla-bla
rss-dannet-uten-piano
e24-podden
rss-utenrikskomiteen-med-bogen-og-grasvik
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
bt-dokumentar-2