Bronwen Maddox is joined by Marc Weller, Director of Chatham House's International Law Programme; Laurel Rapp, Director of the US and North America Programme; and Christopher Sabatini, Senior Fellow for Latin America.

They discuss the failure of regional diplomacy that preceded the 3 January 2026 attack by the US on Venezuela, the tentative response of the international community in its aftermath, the domestic impact on American politics, historic precedents like the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and how it is likely to influence Russia and China's actions in their regions.

Read our latest:

The US capture of President Nicolás Maduro – and attacks on Venezuela – have no justification in international law

President Trump's ambition to rebuild Venezuela's oil sector will be challenging, especially if prices continue to fall

Trump's Venezuela attack should serve as a warning even to US allies

US intentions towards Greenland threaten NATO's future. But European countries are not helpless

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Stephen Farrell.

Read the Winter issue of The World Today

Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧

Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧

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In the last Independent Thinking podcast of 2025, host Bronwen Maddox is joined by David Lubin, Senior Research Fellow with Chatham House's Global Economy and Finance Programme; Marion Messmer, Director of the International Security Programme; and Yu Jie, a senior research fellow on China in Chatham House's Asia-Pacific Programme.

For further analysis read 'The economics of the new Monroe Doctrine' by David Lubin, examining how President Trump's actions seem to indicate the emergence of a hemispheric US foreign policy.

Read our latest:

Global security continued to unravel in 2025. Crucial tests are coming in 2026

The 'Trump Corollary' in the US security strategy brings a new focus on Latin America – but it is a disordered plan

Russia is weakened, but its influence in the Middle East should not be underestimated

Presented by Bronwen Maddox. Produced by Stephen Farrell.

Read the Autumn issue of The World Today

Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast 🎧

Listen to Africa Aware podcast 🎧

Subscribe to Independent Thinking wherever you find your podcasts - please listen, review, and subscribe.

This is a special edition of Chatham House's Independent Thinking international affairs podcast, recorded at the Doha Forum 2025.

Many of the official and backroom discussions at Qatar's annual gathering of more than 5,000 world leaders, policymakers, dialogue, corporate and humanitarian organizations from 162 countries were dominated by discussions of President Donald Trump's National Security Strategy, which was released on the eve of the forum. At one of the first events in the Doha Forum, Chatham House Director Bronwen Maddox questioned US Ambassador to NATO Mathew Whitaker about it.

The podcast examines the implications for Europe, Asia, the Middle East and US foreign policy generally of the NSS document, which reinforces the Trump administration's 'America First' strategy, and contains stark language about Europe, talking about its 'economic decline' and 'the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure'. It also says: 'The days in which the Middle East dominated American foreign policy in both long-term planning and day-to-day execution are thankfully over.'

Joining host Bronwen Maddox in Doha were: Leslie Vinjamuri, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and Yu Jie, a Senior Research Fellow on China in Chatham House's Asia-Pacific Programme, and Renad Mansour, a Senior Research Fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme.

Produced by Stephen Farrell and John Pollock.