Neutrality Studies

Originally published on 27 Apr 2025.

NEW (!) Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...As we are nearing Donald Trump’s 100th day in office on April 30th, it‘s worth assessing the last three months of his eclectic policies. Today I’m talking again to Cameron Macgregor, a US entrepreneur who founded a free speech platform, a fellow youtuber with a channel on finance and geopolitics, and a Substack writer. Cameron‘s channel: ‪@Neo-Masculinity‬

Originally published on 26 Apr 2025.

What are the erratic policy decisions of the Trump administration about? And why do the Russians seem so keen on going along with a diplomatic process that seems not conducive toward solving the Ukraine war? Even though Zelensky has already rejected the US framework for a negotiated settlement with Russia, Witkoff still went to Moscow and met with V. Putin. Sergey Lavrov is still talking well about the US president on US TV. What's going on? We might seeing the contours of a process that will not necessarily lead to peace in Eastern Europe, but to a general understanding of Great Power Politics. The linkage between the Ukrainian and Iranian conflict theatres are a clear sign that both, the USA and Russia seem to agree that more is on the table than "just" Ukraine. Also China is at least in part involved in this process, as the Iranian Foreign minister just visited also Beijing. Multipolar Great Power diplomacy is now in full swing and it seems that all three, Washington, Moscow, and Beijing are understanding that this is crucial time to define the rules of engagement between them for the decades to come.

Originally published on 25 Apr 2025.

Why is the West so hell-bent on solving all its problems through warfare? What happened to those lofty goals and ideals of peaceful coexistence in Europe and the world? What happened to the visions of non-violent international relations and Europe as a peace project?Dr. Oberg is a Danish Peace Researcher in Sweden who recently wrote a noteworthy Substack article about the ongoing deterioration of peace research Europe, specifically about the gradual transformation of “Peace” into “Security”, most notoriously exemplified by SIPRI, the “Stockholm International Peace Research Institute” which today more or less exclusively works on “security” rather than peace. In Memoriam: Jan Oberg and Pascal Lottaz dedicate this conversation to Alva Myrdal - who chaired the Commission that proposed the establishment of the SIPRI, the real peace research institute, with a vision in 1966 and in 1982 received the Nobel Peace Prize - and nuclear physicist Frank Barnaby, director of SIPRI 1971-1981, and advocate of nuclear abolition.Neutrality Studies Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...Dr. Oberg's Substack Article on SIPRI: https://substack.com/home/post/p-1614...

Originally published on 24 Apr 2025.

NEW (!) Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...Today I’m talking to two colleagues in the US, James Carden and Lasha Kasradze. James is the editor of the Realist Review on Substack. And Lasha is the Liaoson officer for Sokumi state University in the US.We discuss the complexities of Trump's foreign policy as his administration nears its 100th day, and how the changing multipolar world and internal factors might check US power. We also discuss the influence of neoconservatism in Trump's approach.

Originally published on 23 Apr 2025.

NEW (!) Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Will BRICS rescue small states from the predatory politics of the neocolonial West or is this just the latest itineration of yet another era of global „might makes right“?

Today I’m talking to Dr. Asoka Bandarage.

Dr. Bandarage is a Sri Lankan political scientist and the author of the book “Crisis in Sri Lanka and the World” in which she analyses colonial and neoliberal origins of her country’s economic and political problems. She that the same mechanisms keep much of the developing world in a state of poverty and constant internal struggle.

I talked to Dr. Bandarage nearly two years ago about her book, and today we want to do an update on what has been happening in and around South Asia and the uncertain promises of the new multipolar world for small states.

Originally published on 21 Apr 2025.

NEW (!) Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...Today I’m talking for the second time to Ambassador Jose Zorrilla .Ambassador Zorilla joined the Spanish Diplomatic Service in 1973, becoming Consul General to Milano, Shanghai, and Moscow and finally Spain’s Ambassador to Georgia in 2011. Today we want to discuss Trump's tariffs and his “Diplomacy” since becoming president.

Originally published on 20 Apr 2025.

NEW (!) Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...All the talk about the "unbreakable" transatlantic bond between the USA and Europe is nothing but smoke and mirrors. In reality, the USA has been using Europe the way a pimp uses his mistresses. The greatest victim of US contempt is of course Ukraine who is now even asked to pay for its gang-rape in precious minerals. But the rest of the continent is not far behind. When will EU leaders wake up? The good news is, a few Europeans see right through the dirty game. First among them is Malta.Today I’m talking to Evarist Bartolo, a labor politician of the beautiful island state of Malta. Mr. Bartolo was a member of Malta’s parliament for 30 years, and he served as Minister of European and Foreign Affairs, between 2020 and 2022. Since Malta is an EU member with a neutrality clause in its constitution and Mr. Bartolo was in office right around the time when the Russia-Ukraine-NATO conflict came to its horrible boil, I thought we should talk about Malta’s experience of that.Publications: Times of Malta: [https://timesofmalta.com](https://timesofmalta.com/) (search for Evarist Bartolo)Facebook:   / evarist.bartolo  Website: https://evaristbartolo.mt/

Originally published on 19 Apr 2025.

NEW (!) Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...„Fighting to the last Ukrainian“ — the US and European core strategy on the Ukrainian battlefield — was always predicated on their abhorrence for both, Russian AND Ukrainian lives. Using the men and women of one former Soviet Republic to eradicate as many as possible of another, is a neocon dream come true.The glee with which a recent New York Times articles speaks about the „ingenious ways“ in which the US has enabled Ukrainians to kill Russians, and how their own losses on the battlefield are due to Ukrainian incompetence (rather than Russian military abilities) shows how insanely racist the entire proxy war narrative is constructed. These attitudes are not new at all, and are a core-driver of US proxy warfare.Today I’m talking to Rob Urie, an artist and political economist. His book Zen Economics is published by CounterPunch Books and he regularly publishes on the Counter Punch online magazine as well as on his own Substack. Links:Rob's book “Zen Economics”: https://www.counterpunch.org/product/...Rob's Substack: https://substack.com/@roburie

Originally published on 18 Apr 2025.

Today I’m talking to Dr. Geoffrey Roberts, an Emeritus Professor form the University College Cork, in Ireland. Geoff is a British historian, biographer, and political commentator, a specialist in Russian and Soviet foreign and military policy, and an expert on Stalin and the Second World War. His most recent work is the book titled “Stalin's Library: A Dictator and his Books.”Geoff is one of the critical western historians who also dears to speak his mind when it comes the War in Ukraine, something that he has been critisized for strongly. So, today we want to discuss Ukraine and academic Freedom in the West.

Originally published on 15 Apr 2025.

If someone offered you money to write about the "heroic deeds" of war criminal in the Balkans, would do you so? Do you think people would fall for it? Well, here's the thing: one man's war criminal is another man's war hero...Joe Tripician is an Emmy award-winning Producer / Writer / Director and a Published Author. His work has been broadcast across America, Europe and Japan, has shown at the Cannes Film Festival, and is part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Joe also once was paid good money to produce a hagiography of Franjo Tudjman, the Croat leader during the Yugoslav wars. Today we discuss the ins and outs of his experience as being a paid propagandist for a darling of the western narrative about the Balkan Wars.Links:Joe’s memoir “Balkanized at Sunrise”: https://www.amazon.com/Balkanized-at-...Joe’s documentary (in production) “I Was a Paid Propagandist” Trailer: https://vimeo.com/693242604Donation link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/joetr...Joe’s website: https://joetripician.comFollow Joe on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/joetrip.bsky...