Le dessous des cartes

Mit offenen Karten

Mapping the World

El revés de los mapas

Na rewersie mapy - Geopolityka

Dietro le mappe

Then complex world of geopolitics broken down into ten minute, bite-sized chunks. You'll never sound uninformed at the dinner table ever again.

The Geopolitics Programme

Ever since ex-US President Barack Obama oriented US foreign policy towards Asia under the slogan "Pivot to Asia," Sino-US rivalry has come to the fore. Two major powers collide over trade, military might and diplomacy.

The Pacific: Centre of the World

Two major powers collide over trade, military might and diplomacy.

A land of fire and ice, Iceland has a dynamic economy which provides for its population of only 340,000 people. Mapping the World takes a look at this country of volcanoes, fishing and geothermal energy.

Iceland: 100% Green

A land of fire and ice, Iceland has a dynamic economy which provides for its population of only 340,000 people.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. One year later, the war continues, destroying a country situated on the border between two worlds, between Russia and the European Union. A focus on the geopolitical history of a country now associated with conflict.

Ukraine: A Country at War

 A focus on the geopolitical history of a country now associated with conflict.

After a year of conflict in Ukraine, Mapping the World leaves the studio to visit the Baltic, a cold sea that is heating up with NATO-Russian tensions. Emilie Aubry goes aboard a French navy frigate to understand the challenges of this geostrategically important region.

24 Hours in the Baltic

After a year of conflict in Ukraine, Mapping the World leaves the studio to visit the Baltic, a cold sea that is heating up with NATO-Russian tensions.

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were once little-known countries nestled away in northeastern Europe, but they now have a front row seat to the invasion of Ukraine. Former members of the Soviet Union and neighbours of Russia, they see the war as a threat to their own security. They fear that they'll be next.

Baltic States: On the Edge of War

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania view the Ukraine war as a threat to their own security.

Turkey is a pivotal country at the crossroads of Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and the Middle East. Being at the centre of so many worlds is both a blessing and a curse for Ankara, automatically making it a key player in regional geopolitics whether it would wish to be or not. It's a complex chessboard which Recep Tayyip Erdogan knows how to navigate with skill.

Turkish Geopolitics

Turkey is a pivotal country at the crossroads of Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and the Middle East.

Hungarian Prime Minister Orban has been working on his model of "illiberal democracy" since 2010: restrictions on press freedom, restrictions on the independence of the judiciary, homophobia, and xenophobia. But how far will Budapest go? And up to what point does the EU have to step in, and remind the member state of its commitment to European values?

Hungary: Between East and West

Hungarian Prime Minister Orban has been working on his model of "illiberal democracy" since 2010.

The creation of an independent Palestinian state seemed possible in 1993, but thirty years later it feels like a distant prospect. The two-state solution has yet to materialise, and recent years have been marred by political assassinations, violent uprisings, extremism, terrorist attacks, and police repression.

What Future for Palestine?

The creation of an independent Palestinian state seemed possible in 1993, but thirty years later it feels like a distant prospect.

Huge territories, communist legacies, authoritarian leaders: China and Russia have much in common, as the good personal relations between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin seem to show. Mapping the World demonstrates that behind the façade, the two countries have a much more complex and ambivalent relationship.

China and Russia: Firm Friends?

Behind the façade of friendship, the two countries have a much more complex and ambivalent relationship.

In his memoirs, the founding father of the European project, Jean Monnet, wrote: "Europe will be forged by the crises it faces, and will become the sum of the solutions it finds during those crises." A prescient sentence that has never been more apt than during the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine war. During the bad times, Europe has closed ranks and is more unified than it has been in years.

The EU and Crises

During the bad times, Europe has closed ranks.

Egypt is the country of the pharaohs and Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, at the head of the country for almost a decade, often likes to hark back to this glorious past. This nostalgia is a common thread among the leaders of modern Egypt, from Mehmet Ali, Nasser, Sadat, Mubarak, to Morsi. 

Egypt's Pharaoh Syndrome

Nostalgia for a glorious past is a common thread among the leaders of modern Egypt.

Mapping the World turns towards Qatar, the small gulf state that is hosting the World Cup 2022. One of the richest countries on the planet due to vast oil and gas deposits, Qatar has invested heavily in soft power projects such as education and communication.

Mapping the World turns towards Qatar, the small gulf state that is hosting the World Cup 2022. 

Qatar, World Cup Host

The two main cocoa-producing countries - Ivory Coast and Ghana - aren't reaping the rewards of a growing global taste for sweet treats. On the one hand there are multinational corporations that control the entire value chain, on the other, small cocoa producers trying to support their families.

Cacao: Who Profits from Chocolate?

The main cocoa-producing countries - Ivory Coast and Ghana - aren't reaping the rewards of growing global demand

Qatar has long relied on football to increase its prestige, from buying French club Paris-Saint-Germain to sponsoring Barcelona. With TV rights selling for astronomical amounts, football is much more than just a sport.

Football Power Play

In recent years, great advances have been made in LGBT rights in some countries: many European countries have legislated for same-sex marriages. However, in some parts of the world LGBT communities still face discrimination or persecution.  A focus on LGBT+ rights around the world.

LGBT+ Rights in the World

In recent years, great advances have been made in LGBT rights in some countries, while in others discrimination and persecution remain commonplace.

Places of learning, universities also have another role: to affirm the status of their countries and guarantee their cultural influence. Since the advent of global league tables, the struggle between universities vying for prestige has only intensified; especially between East and West.

Soft Power - Universities at War

Since the advent of global league tables, the struggle between universities vying for prestige has only intensified

With the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party taking place recently, Mapping the World dedicates a special extended episode to an analysis of China today.

Xi Jinping's China

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is in a war zone, and the area has been bombed. Damage to the plant, or cutting off its electricity, could mean a major radioactive leak at Europe's largest nuclear power plant. We take stock of nuclear power generation around the world.

Nuclear Energy - Past or Future?

We take stock of nuclear power generation around the world.

With a wave of strikes this summer and inflation at 10%, the UK seems to be in a febrile mood. Mapping the World examines the state of the British economy after several overlapping crises: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Brexit. How is the decision to leave the European Union affecting the island nation?   

UK: The Impact of Brexit

Mapping the World examines the state of the Britain after several overlapping crises: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Brexit. How is the decision to leave the European Union affecting the island nation?  

Russia views the former Soviet republics as its ‘near abroad’ and a strategic sphere of Russian influence. Mapping the World focuses on the former Soviet space and the Kremlin’s efforts to hold sway in these nations.

Putin: Nostalgia for Empire

Mapping the World focuses on the former Soviet space and the Kremlin’s efforts to hold sway in these nations.

All videos

Panic in Zurich with the collapse of the Credit Suisse bank on the stock exchange, dropped by its main shareholder as it faces difficulties. Also in Swiss news: the country preferred to destroy military equipment bought from the United Kingdom in the 1960s rather than have it sent to Ukraine, due to the country’s neutrality.

Switzerland: Banks and Neutrality

Panic in Zurich with the collapse of the Credit Suisse bank on the stock exchange, dropped by its main shareholder as it faces difficulties.

Mapping the World Essentials

Many governments and organisations are wary of their employers using the social media TikTok. Does the Chinese company really serve Xi Jinping’s regime?

TikTok: A Chinese Threat?

The new Windsor agreement between the EU and the UK is hoped to improve relations and solve the Northern Ireland issue.

Northern Ireland: Windsor Agreement

In Putin’s recent speech he denounced the West as decadent and doubled down on the Kremlin’s anti-gay rhetoric. Mapping the World focuses on countries in the world, including Russia, where homosexuality is not explicitly criminalised, but where life is made very difficult for LGBTQ+ people.

Putin and the Rest of the World

In Putin’s recent speech he denounced the West as decadent and doubled down on the Kremlin’s anti-gay rhetoric. 

Two leaders, two very different speeches. Biden defends Ukraine whilst Putin criticises the West.

Biden in Warsaw - Putin in Moscow

Relations between the two neighbours hit by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake are complex, especially since the war in Syria.

Turkey and Syria: United by the Earthquake?

Focus on Israeli geopolitics as the country elects a new government.

Israeli Elections

Rishi Sunak comes to Number Ten during a time of great economic, social and geopolitical upheaval. He replaces Liz Truss, whose time in office can't even be measured in months, let alone years. It was her slash and burn approach to taxation, without a plan to fund those cuts, that rocked financial markets and sent the cost of borrowing for normal British people soaring. Mapping the World recaps the many problems Sunak will have to tackle. 

Rishi Sunak: A New PM

Rishi Sunak comes to Number Ten during a time of great economic, social and geopolitical upheaval.

OPEC+ countries have decided to cut their oil production by 2 million barrels per day. The expected consequences: a surge in prices that will help the Kremlin's coffers and make life difficult for households.

Geopolitics of Oil

OPEC+ countries have decided to cut their oil production by 2 million barrels per day. The expected consequences: a surge in prices that will help the Kremlin's coffers and make life difficult for households

The bridge linking Crimea to Russia has been hit, railway cables have been cut in Germany, gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea have been sabotaged: Mapping the World looks at how infrastructure has become a target in the war in Ukraine.

Bridges, Rail, Cables: Targets in War

 Mapping the World looks at how infrastructure has become a target in the war in Ukraine.

A ballistic missile, fired from North Korea over Japan and into the Pacific, shows that the Kim dynasty is continuing its nuclear rocket power-play with the USA.

North Korea: Nuclear Threat

The protest movement in Iran is entering its third week. A focus on the geographical situation of the revolt.

Iran: Protests Continue

As Brazil has presidential elections this October, Mapping the World focuses on the world’s fourth largest democracy.

What Next for Brazil?

Europe ‘s eyes are on the Baltic after gas leaks that, in the context of the war in Ukraine, are unlikely to be an accident. A focus on Europe’s network of gas pipelines.

Gas Pipelines: Sabotage in the Baltic?

Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni will be Italy’s next leader in a coalition with other right-wing parties.

Italy: Far-Right Takes Power

As Russia is occupied with its Ukrainian offensive, the conflict in between Armenia and Azerbaijan, that in 2020 left 7,000 dead, is flaring up again. In a region that Russia considers its sphere of influence, other regional powers, Iran and Turkey are taking an interest.

Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict

Is this a turning point in the war in Ukraine? In Russia, critics of Putin are raising their voices as the Russian military experiences setbacks and Putin meets Xi Jinping at the OCS summit.

OCS Summit: Putin and Xi Jinping

The death of Elizabeth II has become a geopolitical event. The “funeral of the century” will be attended by heads of state from across the world. Is this a symbol of British soft power and the power of the English language?

Elisabeth II - British Soft Power

The death of Elizabeth II has become a geopolitical event. The “funeral of the century” will be attended by heads of state from across the world. 

As Queen Elizabeth II has passed away, a look at the organisation that she proudly headed, the Commonwealth.

Queen and Commonwealth

As Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 70 years on the throne, we take a look at the organisation that she heads, the Commonwealth.

Will there be a nuclear disaster in Zaporizhia? Targeted by the Russian army since March 2022, Europe's most powerful nuclear plant is now under its control. A short tour of the world of nuclear power plants.

Zaporizhia: A Weapon of War?

Regular bite-sized shorts focusing on different aspects of the war in Ukraine from a geopolitical perspective.

A special series of Mapping the World focusing on the geopolitics of the coronavirus pandemic.