Neutrality Studies

Reporting from Moscow, Larry Johnson describes his dinner with Sergei Lavrov and explains why he believes Russia has lost faith in negotiations with Washington. He and Pascal discuss Ukraine, Europe’s confrontation with Russia, and the danger of wider war. Johnson assesses American weapons production, missile shortages, Iran and Yemen, and the economic consequences of energy disruption. They debate whether Western strategy reflects deliberate attrition or an overestimation of American power, and consider the prospects for prolonged conflict and diplomatic stalemate.Larry's Links:Sonar21: https://sonar21.comLarry C. Johnson’s Substack: https://larrycjohnson....Neutrality Studies Links:Neutrality Studies Substack: https://pascallottaz.s...Support Neutrality Studies: https://neutralitystud...Neutrality Studies shop: https://neutralitystud...Time Stamps00:00 Larry Johnson reports from Moscow02:48 Dinner with Lavrov and the Ukraine negotiations08:38 Why Johnson distrusts Washington’s diplomacy18:16 Russia, Europe and the danger of wider war23:40 Weapons production and military preparedness30:40 Iran, Yemen and the limits of American air power38:40 Debt, fuel shortages and economic pressure45:52 Attrition strategy and the limits of US powerChapters

And suddenly, the underdog flips the table: Yemen is destroying US Middle-East Strategy and there is nothing the US can do about it.Laith Marouf, a Canadian-Syrian journalist based in Lebanon, discusses Yemen’s advancing front lines, Saudi Arabia’s strategy, Ansar Allah’s goals, Oman’s mediating role, US involvement, Saudi internal pressures, the wider regional war, nuclear risks, and Egypt’s decision to remain outside the conflict.Links:https://freepalestine....Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.s...Merch: https://neutralitystud...Donation: https://neutralitystud...Timestamps:00:00:00 Yemen’s Front Lines Are Moving00:02:57 The Trigger Behind the New Offensive00:06:11 Saudi Strategy and Yemen’s History00:09:03 Territory, Population and Ansar Allah00:12:08 The Strategy Around Ma’rib and Aden00:15:20 Aden’s Geostrategic Importance00:21:20 Oman’s Role in Yemen00:26:53 US Support for Saudi Arabia00:30:17 Saudi Arabia’s Internal Crisis00:38:42 Regional War and Nuclear Risks00:47:30 Egypt’s Position and the Regional Shif

Neocons never give up. As project Ukraine is faltering, the forces of war are working on the next battlefield with Finland in their cross-hairs. Sakari Linden, a board member of Finland’s Freedom Alliance Party and its foreign policy board, discusses Finland’s abandonment of neutrality, NATO membership, growing military tensions, economic consequences, media pressure, and the prospects for an independent and neutral Finnish foreign policy.Links:https://vapaudenliitto.fihttps://x.com/Vapauden...  / vapaudenliitto  Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.s...Merch: https://neutralitystud...Donation: https://neutralitystud...Timestamps:00:00:00 Finland’s NATO path and security risks00:02:35 Freedom Alliance and Finnish neutrality00:05:25 Finland’s postwar neutrality success00:08:55 The Western pivot and media influence00:14:45 NATO accession and great-power politics00:18:45 Finland as a potential frontline state00:23:44 Russia hysteria and shifting public opinion00:30:39 Sanctions, welfare, and economic decline00:36:28 Party backlash and the new political divide00:42:04 Stubb, peace diplomacy, and Russia’s defeat00:48:24 The future of Finland’s neutralist movement

If you kill someone, they call you a murderer. If you kill a few people, they call you a mass-murderer. If you kill millions, they call you a great statesman. But how are we constantly tricked into supporting mass-murder AND applaud the sick monsters that lead us to do it? Well, turns out, there are some tricks.Jay Shapiro, filmmaker, writer, and host of The Dilemma Podcast, discusses his book Insufficient Rewards and its critique of consequentialist morality. The conversation explores cognitive dissonance, moral integrity, political systems, propaganda, objective reality, justice, peace, and how people rationalize participation in violence and injustice.Links:What Jay Thinks: https://whatjaythinks.comInsufficient Rewards: https://www.simonandschuster.net/book...Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.comMerch: https://neutralitystudies.com/shopDonation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateTimestamps:00:00:00 Introducing Jay Shapiro and the book00:01:02 Why Jay wrote Insufficient Rewards00:04:32 History, morality, and consequentialism00:08:06 The flexibility of consequentialist thinking00:09:15 The actor’s moral dilemma00:12:06 Moral integrity and unjust systems00:16:30 Ukraine, sanctions, and moral certainty00:18:12 Cognitive dissonance and insufficient rewards00:27:07 Moral integrity, self-deception, and complicity00:32:11 First-order and second-order desires00:43:06 Objective reality and moral truth00:49:09 Justice, peace, and international violence00:57:34 Where to find Jay’s work

Professor Anuradha Chenoy joins Pascal Lottaz to examine BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and their evolving role in a multipolar world. They discuss India’s relations with Russia, diplomatic engagement between rivals, and the legacy of Bandung and nonalignment. Chenoy explains proposals for national currency trade, alternative payment systems, and financial reform. The conversation explores sanctions, strategic autonomy, and the differences between military alliances and cooperative forums, asking how diverse countries can pursue competitive coexistence while maintaining engagement with the West.Anuradha's Links:Articles at Scroll: https://scroll.in/author/27251India’s Foreign Policy and the Luxury of Strategic Autonomy: https://www.epw.in/journal/strategic-...The BRICS Plan for a New Financial Architecture (article record): https://pure.jgu.edu.in/id/eprint/8836/Transnational Institute profile: https://www.tni.org/en/profile/anurad...Neutrality Studies Links:Neutrality Studies Substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.comSupport Neutrality Studies: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateNeutrality Studies shop: https://neutralitystudies.com/shopTime Stamps00:00 BRICS and the SCO in a changing world06:52 India, Russia and Western pressure10:13 The BRICS declaration and diplomacy17:00 Bandung and the legacy of nonalignment23:25 Sanctions, tariffs and financial reform25:27 National currencies and alternative payments28:40 Coexistence beyond military alliances40:29 Iran, sanctions and international law

Yakov Rabkin discusses Artyom Kirpichenok’s reported detention in Israel, stressing the scarcity of confirmed information. He examines unequal legal protections, Western support for Israel, and the relationship between Zionism, colonialism, and Christian Zionism. Rabkin challenges claims of inevitable Western decline, arguing that regional fragmentation may serve strategic objectives. The conversation also explores Israeli education, surveillance exports, restrictions on dissent, and the limits of electoral change, before considering public pressure, diplomatic assistance, and Jewish opposition to Zionism through his published books.Yakov's Links:Yakov Rabkin’s website: https://yakovrabkin.ca/Yakov Rabkin’s Substack: https://yakovrabkin.substack.com/Zionism Decoded in 101 Quotes: https://www.ipgbook.com/zionism-decod...Israel in Palestine: Jewish Rejection of Zionism: https://israelpalestinebook.com/Neutrality Studies Links:Neutrality Studies Substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.comSupport Neutrality Studies: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateNeutrality Studies shop: https://neutralitystudies.com/shopTime Stamps00:00 Artyom Kirpichenok’s detention05:29 Security courts and unequal justice17:06 Western support and double standards28:30 Colonial pride and the “new Hebrew”35:44 Britain and Christian Zionism39:42 Israel’s hidden victory and Western decline46:56 Security laws and shrinking civil liberties53:36 Helping Kirpichenok and finding Rabkin’s work

25 years after the 9/11 incident in the USA, many are beginning to catch up with what those events really kicked off: The global war on the non-West and the multipolar world. Watch professor Irfan Ahmad in this talk deconstruct the narrative the transatlantic club has built to justify a quarter of a century of violence against the Global South.Professor Irfan Ahmad, Professor of Anthropology-Sociology at Ibn Haldun University, discusses his book Terrorism in Question: Decolonizing Anthropology and the Study of Islam. The conversation examines the neocolonial construction of terrorism, Islamophobia, enemy-making, the Global War on Terror, epistemic whitewashing, and the need to understand political violence through a more humane and decolonized anthropology.Links:Irfan Ahmad: https://fs.ihu.edu.tr/cv/academicians...Terrorism in Question: https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/A...Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.comMerch: https://neutralitystudies.com/shopDonation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateTimestamps:00:00:00 Terrorism in Question00:03:07 Decolonizing the terrorism question00:06:40 Securitization and the enemy00:08:25 From communism to Islamic terrorism00:15:27 Good Muslims, bad Muslims00:21:17 Manichaean thinking and Islamophobia00:27:38 The Global War on Terror00:31:28 Epistemic whitewashing00:40:55 Terrorism as ideology and theology00:49:59 War, neoliberalism and academia00:51:35 The anti-conclusion and rehumanizing terrorism00:57:04 Final thoughts and book recommendation

The AfD just won local elections in Germany. Why? Well, not only Ukraine is currently going under, Germany is following, with its economy and social structure in deep dive. This is what explains the rise of the AfD—something the Pro-War Parties in the German establishment try to deny so hard, they rather tarnish AfD voters as "racists" rather than looking into their actual grievances.Dr. Stefan Ebner, an international lawyer working across the US, Germany, and Taiwan, discusses the AfD’s rise in Saxony, Germany’s political and economic decline, immigration, war with Russia, the EU, energy policy, the judiciary, and why professionals and businesses are leaving Germany.The law office of Dr. Stephan Ebner: https://lanaapma.ch/unser-team/Our Links:Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.comMerch: https://neutralitystudies.com/shopDonation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateTimestamps:00:00:00 AfD victory and Germany’s decline00:08:43 AfD as opposition to the political class00:10:33 Verfassungsschutz and German democracy00:12:07 Election outlook and direct democracy00:18:05 Nazi comparisons, war and Ukraine00:23:03 Leaving Germany and brain drain00:27:13 The EU, Brexit and sovereignty00:36:20 War anxiety, arms exports and the SPD00:41:09 Energy policy and Germany’s economic future00:45:32 Immigration, Iran and Israel00:50:14 Rule of law and Germany’s future

Stanislav Krapivnik discusses Europe’s food and energy pressures, arguing that fertilizer costs, drought and disrupted Ukrainian exports could deepen hardship. He and Pascal Lottaz examine Germany’s AfD, divisions within European opposition parties, and the limits of renewed diplomacy with Moscow. Turning to Ukraine, Krapivnik assesses manpower shortages, Russian advances, seasonal fog and the changing role of drones. He argues that new defensive technologies may restore battlefield mobility, while Pascal questions whether local breakthroughs could develop into a broader military collapse.Stas’s YouTube:    / @mrslavikman  Stas’s Substack: https://zmeigarinich.substack.comNeutrality Studies Substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.comDonation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateMerch: https://neutralitystudies.com/shop00:00 Introduction00:52 Europe’s food and fertilizer pressures06:35 Strikes on Ukraine’s ports and railways12:20 Germany’s AfD and Russia relations18:24 Energy policy and its trade-offs22:48 Diplomacy and Moscow’s ceasefire stance29:54 Weather, manpower and Russia’s next advance35:39 Tanks, drones and battlefield mobility

Dr. Ladislav Zemánek examines Russia’s relations with Japan, Europe’s sanctions policies, and the changing balance of global power. They discuss Europe’s limited strategic autonomy, the economic costs of confrontation, and Russia’s growing cooperation across Eurasia. Zemánek describes BRICS and other partnerships as expanding countries’ options rather than forming a unified bloc against the West. The conversation explores emerging alternative payment systems, the rising confidence of middle powers, and prospects for a more pragmatic and inclusive international order.Ladislav's Links:RT articles: https://www.rt.com/op-ed/authors/ladi...Parlamentní listy: https://www.parlamentnilisty.cz/redak...Valdai Discussion Club: https://valdaiclub.com/about/experts/...Our Links:Neutrality Studies Substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.comSupport the channel: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateNeutrality Studies merch: https://neutralitystudies.com/shop00:00 Russia, Japan and the legacy of 194505:17 Energy ties and the limits of sanctions10:18 Pragmatism versus confrontation16:18 Russia’s Eurasian pivot and a divided Europe24:23 European security and Eurasian integration30:03 Europe’s strategic autonomy dilemma40:41 BRICS and the rising global majority47:38 Sanctions blowback and Europe’s future