Podcasts
OSTpolitik Studio & "Across the Caucasus"
OSTpolitik Studio
OSTpolitik Studio
OSTpolitik Studio examines the politics and geopolitics of Eastern Europe, the Black Sea region, and the South Caucasus. Each episode explores conflicts, diplomatic dynamics, and shifting power configurations in the post-Soviet space and beyond, combining analytical rigor with attention to the lived realities of the region. The podcast is produced and hosted by: Bidzina Lebanidze: Political scientist, Associate Professor at Ilia State University and an Associated Fellow at the Caucasus Institute; Natso Beridze: Literary scholar at the University of Tübingen. Disclaimer: The editorial responsibility for the podcast content lies solely with the hosts.
Episode 7: Interview with Dr. Marcel Dirsus
Interview with Dr. Marcel Dirsus
Graphic: FreepikNew Episode: Marcel Dirsus on Why Dictatorships Fall.
In this episode of OSTpolitik Studio, political scientist and author Marcel Dirsus discusses why authoritarian regimes often appear more stable than they are, and why they can collapse suddenly. The conversation explores authoritarian survival, coercive security institutions, protest movements, repression, Iran, Trump’s foreign policy, and the future of the liberal international order. It also reflects on how Europe’s engagement with dictatorships can shape democratic politics within Europe itself. The episode draws on Dirsus’s book How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive.
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Episode 6: Interview with Prof. Matteo Capasso
Interview with Prof. Matteo Capasso
Graphic: FreepikNew Episode: Prof. Matteo Capasso on the Middle East, Empire, and the Crisis of the US-Led Order.
In this episode of OSTpolitik Studio, Prof. Matteo Capasso (Northwest University Xi’an; Editor-in-Chief of Middle East Critique) analyses the geopolitical and political-economic dynamics of the Middle East in the context of the US-Iran confrontation, the petrodollar system, Israel’s strategic role, sanctions, and the wars in Libya, Syria, and Gaza. Drawing on historical materialism and critical international political economy, the conversation situates these conflicts within the broader transformation of the US-led international order and the emergence of a more contested multipolar world.
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Episode 5: Interview with Prof. Thomas Risse
Interview with Prof. Thomas Risse
Graphic: FreepikNew Episode: Prof. Thomas Risse on the Iran Conflict and the Future of the Liberal International Order.
In this episode of OSTpolitik Studio, Prof. Thomas Risse (Freie Universität Berlin) analyses the geopolitical implications of the Iran conflict, the strategic limitations of American power, and the shifting dynamics among major powers. The conversation covers asymmetric warfare, the erosion of US-led multilateralism, China's role as a beneficiary of the liberal order, and Europe's emerging defence imperatives — drawing on themes from his latest edited volume, Deep Contestations of the Liberal International Order (Oxford University Press, open access).Autor
Episode 4: Interview with Prof. Volodymyr Dubovyk
Interview with Prof. Volodymyr Dubovyk
Graphic: FreepikNew Episode: Prof. Volodymyr Dubovyk on Ukraine, Drone Warfare, and Europe’s Security Order.
In this episode of OSTpolitik Studio, Prof. Volodymyr Dubovyk (University of Odesa / CEPA) analyses Ukraine’s wartime transformation, the growing role of drones in modern warfare, and the future of European security. The conversation addresses security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe’s role after possible changes in US policy, and the wider implications of Middle Eastern escalation for Ukraine, energy security, and the European security architecture.
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Episode 3: Interview with Dr. Giorgi Khatiashvili
Interview with Dr. Giorgi Khatiashvili
Graphic: FreepikIs the U.S. Entering Another "Endless War"?
The military escalation around Iran has sparked intense debate in Washington and beyond. What began as a claim of self-defense has rapidly evolved into a broader campaign aimed at restoring regional deterrence — but at what cost? In this episode of OSTpolitik Studio, hosts Natso Beridze and Bidzina Lebanidze are joined by Dr. Giorgi Khatiashvili (University of Mississippi) to examine the strategic, economic, and domestic dimensions of the conflict. The conversation covers the financial burden of the campaign, growing divisions within the Republican base, the resilience of the Iranian state apparatus, the distinction between preventive and preemptive military action in IR theory, and the broader implications for U.S. energy prices and domestic politics.Autor
Episode 2: Interview with Prof. Diana Forker
Interview with Prof. Diana Forker
Graphic: FreepikThe Caucasus is one of Eurasia's most linguistically dense regions: roughly 60 languages, five language families, and millennia of contact—all surviving wave after wave of imperial pressure. In this episode, Prof. Diana Forker (University of Jena) joins us to break down the geopolitics of speech and the struggle for linguistic survival. 🔍 What’s Inside: The Three Pillars: A deep dive into the indigenous families: West Caucasian, East Caucasian, and Kartvelian. Imperial Scars: How the Russian conquest and the Circassian genocide reshaped the Northwest Caucasus. Alphabets as Weapons: How Soviet policy used Arabic, Latin, and Cyrillic scripts as tools of power. Vanishing Voices: A look at the Sanzhi Dargwa community and what happens when a language begins to shift.
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Episode 1: Interview with Dr. Bidzina Lebanidze
Interview with Dr. Bidzina Lebanidze
Graphic: FreepikMixed Signals from Washington: What Does the U.S. Actually Want in Iran? The U.S.-led military escalation against Iran has produced a striking gap between tactical success and strategic clarity. Different voices within the administration are sending contradictory messages — and allies, rivals, and observers are struggling to read Washington's endgame. In this episode of OSTpolitik Studio, host Natso Beridze is joined by Dr. Bidzina Lebanidze (Friedrich Schiller University Jena / Ilia State University / BIG) for a headline-by-headline analysis of the conflict. The conversation examines the European response — from the EU's declaratory diplomacy to Germany's concerns over energy prices, refugee flows, and domestic political fallout. It then turns to Turkey's positioning as a mediator, Ukraine's efforts to link the conflict to its own war, and the broader geopolitical dimension, including the role of U.S.–China rivalry and control over the Strait of Hormuz. The episode closes with three possible endgame scenarios — none of them optimistic.
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'Across the Caucasus'
Across the Caucasus
Image: Nvard YerkanianThe podcast 'Across the Caucasus' is a monthly series curated and produced by members of the Institute for Caucasus Studies in Jena, Germany. The podcast aims to disseminate insights on the North and South Caucasus and to provide young researchers a platform to present and discuss their research projects. Furthermore, the podcast wants to digitalize knowledge on the Caucasus. Topics which are represented are politics, social dynamics, history, linguistic and cultural forms.
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Episode 1 - Departure
Learn moreExternal linkIn this very first episode we introduce ourselves and the institute, as well as the head of the department Prof. Dr. Diana Forker and our colleague Dr. Bidzina Lebanidze who both tell us about their research, current projects, and the importance of studying the Caucasus.
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Episode 2 - War and peace
Learn moreExternal linkIn this episode we talk about the war in Ukraine and its possible impact on Georgia. Our guests this time are Liza Shcherbakova who is currently studying in Jena but originally from Kyiv, and our colleague Irena Gonashvili who talks about the Georgian perspective.
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Episode 3 - Being left alone (in the Caucasus)?
Learn moreExternal linkdeIn this episode we talk about left movements in the Caucasus. Our colleague Veronika Pfeilschifter tells us about the (non-)existence of left political parties in the South Caucasus, and left movements that emerged outside the political party system.
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Episode 4 - Iron woman
Learn moreExternal linkIn this episode of "Across the Caucasus" we talk about language. Linguist Emine Şahingöz tells us about her fieldwork, identity, and how to end up on North Ossetian television.
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Episode 5 - Food for thought
Learn moreExternal linkIn this episode of "Across the Caucasus" we talk about food and identity. Ila Sikharulidze tells us about Abkhazians in the Georgian Adjara region and how traditional foods can function as identity markers.
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Episode 6 - Distractions from academia and where to find them
Learn moreExternal linkIn this episode we talk with interdisciplinary researcher David Leupold. He tells us about his work in the Caucasus and beyond, about the struggles in the academic life and how to find ways to escape it from time to time.
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Episode 7 - Nobody is Kung Fu Fighting
Learn moreExternal linkdeIn this episode of "Across the Caucasus" we talk about Mixed Martial Arts in the North Caucasus. Loujaine Laamal from the University of Paris tells us about her research on MMA in Chechnya and Dagestan, and how sports can be used as a political tool.
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Episode 8 - Leaving (on a midnight boat to Georgia)
Learn moreExternal linkdeIn this episode of "Across the Caucasus" we talk about Germans in Georgia. Oliver Reisner, professor in European and Caucasian Studies at the Ilia State University in Tbilisi, tells us about German settlers in Georgia in the early 19th century and about the heritage they left behind.
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Episode 9 - Everything happens for a region
Learn moreExternal linkdeIn this episode of "Across the Caucasus" we talk about national identity and brokenness in the South Caucasus. Our guest and current research fellow at our institute, Nazrin Gadimova, tells us about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, its impact on the region, and resistance to brokenness.