The corona outbreak has put the world’s leaders and the way they communicate to their people, to the test. Each country wants to project a positive self-image, portraying itself as a strong and capable crisis manager. In these past months, there have been attempts to discredit other countries, their political systems, and their responses to the pandemic. Also, scientific facts have been under scrutiny and challenged by “alternative facts” and disinformation. This week’s host, Susi Dennison, director of ECFR’s European Power programme is joined by ECFR Council Members Christine Ockrent and Julia De Clerck-Sachsse to talk about what HR/VP Josep Borrell called a “global battle of narratives and a struggle for geopolitical influence.” This podcast was recorded on 10 December 2020. Further reading: “La guerre des récits. Xi, Trump, Poutine: la pandémie et le choc des empires” by Christine Ockrent “From Brussels with love: How the European Union can win the battle of narratives” by Julia De Clerck-Sachsse: https://buff.ly/3kj6Uxy “Together in trauma: Europeans and the world after covid-19” by Susi Dennison & Pawel Zerka: https://buff.ly/37qdxel Bookshelf: • The magic mountain by Thomas Mann • Love in the Blitz by Eileen Alexander • A country for dying by Abdellah Taïa • Ghana must go by Taiye Selasi • The world of yesterday by Stefan Zweig • Impossible by Erri De Luca