Originally published on Feb 1, 2026.

Does being in NATO really feel that different from being in the Warsaw Pact for those who lived through both? And is it possible for a group of Eastern European nations to actually force peace by acting as a "buffer zone" from within the alliance?To explore these ideas, I turned to someone who has watched the world shift from the deck of a ship. Captain Ivo Yotsov is a former captain in the Bulgarian Navy and currently a professor at the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy. With his unique mix of military experience and academic work on "New Structural Realism," he offers a view from the Black Sea that challenges how we usually think about power, culture, and the future of Europe.Links:Neutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudies

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