Frontlines and Backrooms

Climate change is no longer only an environmental issue. It is becoming a geopolitical, economic, and security crisis capable of reshaping migration, conflict, and political stability across entire regions.

In Part I of our special two-part series “Climate Wars: The Conflicts of the Future,” environmental journalist and researcher Peter Schwartzstein explains how drought, water scarcity, collapsing agricultural systems, and weak governance are already fueling instability from the Middle East to the Sahel.

From Syria and Afghanistan to resource competition and mass displacement, this conversation examines what happens when environmental stress collides with fragile political systems.

Peter Schwartzstein is an environmental journalist, researcher, and advisor focused on environmental peacebuilding and climate conflict. He has reported from more than thirty countries for National Geographic and is the author of “The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence.”

Further reading:

— Peter Schwartzstein’s official website:
www.pschwartzstein.com “The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence”
by Peter Schwartzstein:
The Heat and the Fury | Princeton University Press

The Gulf is no longer stable — but it hasn’t collapsed either.

In this conversation with Kristin Diwan, we examine how Gulf states are recalculating their position between the United States, Iran, and Israel, and what that means for the future of the region.

We discuss the transformation of the Abraham Accords, the growing fragmentation inside the Gulf, and the competing strategies shaping regional politics today.

At the center of the episode is a simple question:
are we looking at a new regional order — or the slow collapse of the old one?

Subscribe on Substack to follow full conversations and analysis:

Frontlines & Backrooms | Substack

The ongoing war between the United States and Iran is not just a conflict between two states.

In this conversation with Hussein Banai, we examine how political leaders justify escalation without ever naming it, why deterrence can become a self-fulfilling logic of war, and what this conflict reveals about power and decision-making inside the United States.

From the limits of the “madman theory” to the role of narrative dominance in modern warfare, this episode breaks down how crises are shaped — and why they are so difficult to contain.

This week, the line between religion, politics, and power blurred in ways that go beyond headlines.

A public clash between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV.
Rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
And a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon.

These are not isolated events — they are part of a broader pattern.

In this Brief, we look beyond the spectacle and examine the strategic choices shaping what comes next.

The war was expected to last days. Instead, it is reshaping the entire Middle East.

In this episode, Mouin Rabbani examines how a conflict that was never meant to escalate is now expanding across the region — from the Strait of Hormuz to Lebanon, and from Washington to Tehran.

We discuss how the war began, why it was expected to end quickly, and what went wrong. From failed assumptions and the absence of a clear strategy to the risks of miscalculation between regional and global powers, this conversation explores the deeper logic behind the current escalation.

As the conflict continues, the question is no longer how it started — but who, if anyone, can still control what happens next.

Full episode and analysis available on Substack:

Frontlines & Backrooms | Substack

This is one of the most revealing analyses of Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Iran you will hear today.

Randa Slim breaks down how Hezbollah operates beyond the “proxy” label, why Lebanon is under pressure from both war and internal fractures, and how Iran’s regional strategy shapes the conflict.

From Israel’s military approach to the collapse of the old regional order — this episode looks at what is actually happening beneath the surface, and what may come next.

Direct Iran–US talks have begun in Islamabad.

This Brief breaks down what is on the table — from the Strait of Hormuz and sanctions to nuclear limits — and whether this is a real path to peace or just a pause before the war resumes.

At the same time, tensions between the United States and its NATO allies are exposing deeper fractures inside the alliance.

In a candid and open conversation, Dr. Roger Higginson challenges some of the most deeply held assumptions in Western policy and thinking.

From Iran to Russia, he argues that what the West sees as aggression is often perceived on the other side as defense — shaped by history, invasion, and long-term insecurity.

He explains why de-escalation has become so difficult, pointing to entrenched political narratives, institutional inertia, and a system that increasingly defaults to confrontation.

We discuss:

– why Western policymakers misunderstand Iran
– how historical interventions still shape today’s conflicts
– the role of Israel in escalating tensions with Tehran
– whether the UK is still an independent actor — or aligned by default
– how double standards on Ukraine and the Middle East are eroding Western credibility
– why soft power has always depended on hard power
– and whether Europe’s fear of Russia reflects reality — or perception

Dr. Higginson also raises uncomfortable questions:

Is the West capable of de-escalation — or structurally locked into conflict?
Is credibility already lost — or still recoverable?
And what happens when perception replaces understanding in global politics?

This is not a conversation about headlines.
It is about how wars start — and why they become so difficult to end.

In this episode of Frontlines & Backrooms, we speak with Professor Oona Hathaway (Yale Law School), one of the leading experts on international law and the use of force, and a former advisor at the Pentagon.

At a moment when the foundations of the post-1945 international order are being openly challenged, we examine whether the United States is violating the rules — or rewriting them in real time.

We discuss the legality of the Iran war, the absence of an imminent threat, and what it means when powerful states act outside the UN Charter without meaningful response from the international community.

From the silence of allies, to the role of Israel in shaping reactions, to the risks of returning to a world where the use of force is left to states — this is a conversation about power, law, and the future of the global order.

Learn more about Professor Oona Hathaway’s work:
https://law.yale.edu/oona-hathaway

00:00 Call to Support
00:23 Introduction

01:46 U.S. — violating the rules or rewriting them
02:38 No imminent threat from Iran
03:11 Iran war as a violation of the UN Charter

03:56 Venezuela, nuclear strikes & Ukraine — pattern of violations
04:26 China and the South China Sea

05:10 UN failure to respond
05:58 Why states are afraid to call out Trump
06:43 The role of Israel
07:14 Why there is little sympathy for Iran
08:01 Unpredictability of U.S. leadership

10:11 The post-WWII system explained
11:42 Why we cannot return to a world of unrestricted force
13:12 Why major powers supported the ban on war
14:40 Power and the system
15:10 Rules must apply to everyone
16:03 Law vs power

16:54 Why this is not lawful self-defense
17:32 Threats against civilian targets
18:39 Inside the U.S. Department of Defense
19:32 Military culture and the law
20:04 Can that culture survive?

22:34 Internal tensions within the Pentagon
24:07 What is collateral damage?
25:01 Military mistakes and responsibility
27:12 When collateral damage is lawful

27:56 Technology and the changing definition of civilians
29:39 Israel’s interpretation of participation in conflict

34:09 UN Security Council and veto power
35:16 Why the system was designed this way
36:05 Structural paralysis

39:19 Why veto reform is unrealistic
41:10 “Board of Peace” explained
41:58 Fear of parallel institutions
42:10 Can new institutions replace the UN?
43:03 Rethinking global governance

44:47 Failure to respond enables escalation
47:23 Is the system still viable?
48:26 Why unilateral force leads to disaster
49:08 The role of middle powers

50:46 Five quick questions
51:46 What comes next

The president of the most powerful country in the world addressed the nation.

The message was meant to project control.
Instead, it revealed something else.

No clear strategy.
No defined objective.
No realistic endgame.

But this week is not just about one speech.

It is also about a law that redraws the line between people — and what justice looks like when it is no longer equal.

And finally, a reminder that even in moments of crisis, humanity is still capable of something else.

00:00 Intro
00:29 Trump’s Iran war speech
03:04 Economic crises of our times
05:03 Message from allies — don’t talk every day
07:11 New Israeli death penalty law — death by ethnicity
09:40 Artemis 2 — fly me to the Moon

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