An international relations scholar explains why his country still needs a global order it has long criticized.

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Brazil has long relied on diplomacy, international law and multilateral institutions to protect its independence from more powerful countries. What happens when the United States, the principal architect of the so-called rules-based order, begins operating by different rules?

My guest on this week’s podcast episode is Antonio Ramalho, a professor of international relations at the University of Brasília whose public service has included positions at the Ministry of Defense. This season, I’m bringing you perspectives from key countries on how they are adapting to the changing international system.

We begin with the latest tensions between Washington and Brasília: new U.S. tariffs on Brazilian imports and accusations that the Trump administration is interfering in Brazil’s upcoming presidential election.

In late July, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva denied entry visas to two State Department political appointees, saying they intended to “cast doubt on the credibility of Brazil’s electoral system.”

Yesterday, the Trump administration said it had revoked the U.S. visa of Brazil’s ambassador to Washington, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti. It accused Brasília of delaying approval for Trump’s nominee to serve as U.S. ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Perez, a Florida state lawmaker with no foreign-policy experience.

Revoking a visa doesn’t necessarily require its holder to leave the United States but Viotti couldn’t re-enter the country if she left. A host-government can expel a foreign diplomat by declaring that official persona non grata (PNG).

The Trump administration hasn’t PNGed — in diplomatic jargon — Viotti yet and said it would reinstate her visa if Brazil granted formal approval, known as agrément, to Perez.

I spoke with Ramalho shortly before the visa revocation. He explains why Trump’s tariffs and vocal support for Lula’s opponent in the October election, Flávio Bolsonaro, may actually help Lula win — and how Trump’s actions are pushing Brazilian businesses, students and tourists away from the United States.

We then turn to the larger picture. How are the Trump administration’s actions affecting Brazil more broadly, including its politics, economy and society, and how is the country responding? What might replace the rules-based order if it doesn’t survive?

As always, my guest’s opinions don’t necessarily represent my own views.

Watch or listen to the episode above, or on one of these platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

A pro-American former minister and ambassador worries about the U.S. trade retreat's global impact.

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When Americans consider how the upheavals of the Trump era affect the rest of the world, they usually think of Europe, Canada or perhaps Japan.

Yet few countries have benefited more from a stable, rules-based international system than New Zealand. And few people have observed that system more closely than Tim Groser — a former trade, climate change and conservation minister, former ambassador to the United States, Indonesia and the World Trade Organization, and one of New Zealand’s most experienced diplomats.

On this season of The Diplomacy Podcast, I’m introducing you to some of the policymakers, diplomats, journalists and scholars I meet as I travel to more than 20 countries researching a book on the shifting international system. They share how U.S. actions are changing their countries.

Unapologetically pro-American, Groser offers a sober assessment of where U.S. leadership is retreating, why trade concerns him more than any other area, and why New Zealand’s instinct in today’s geopolitical climate is remarkably simple: keep your head down.

If you appreciate thoughtful, highly informed and expertly analytical insight from a longtime practitioner, I think you’ll enjoy this conversation.

As always, my guest’s opinions don’t necessarily represent my own views.

Watch or listen to the episode above, or on one of these platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

An American-turned-European journalist decries the old continent's longtime addiction.

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Almost 20 years ago, an American journalist packed his bags, moved to Europe and decided he would never go back. Today, he argues that the old continent has a problem few Europeans recognize: it can’t overcome its unhealthy dependence on the United States.

That American is Dave Keating, Brussels correspondent for France 24, the French international news network, and author of the book “The Owned Continent.” He is my first guest on the new season of “The Diplomacy Podcast.”

This season will be different. As I’ve noted before, I’m traveling to more than 20 countries to research a book on the profound changes reshaping the international system. I’ll introduce you to some of the policymakers, diplomats, journalists and scholars I’ve met to discuss how they see the world — and where they think it’s headed.

Keating, whom I met recently in Brussels, has a message to Americans contemplating a move to Europe. “Don’t think you can escape the United States by moving to Europe,” he says. “Europeans’ daily lives are so dominated by American culture, you really feel like you’ve never actually left. They can’t stop talking about America and consuming its culture and its news.”

He also poses a thought experiment: Take everything the Trump administration has done to Europe over the past year and a half and imagine it had come from Xi Jinping’s China instead. How would the European Union have reacted?

If you’ve ever wondered whether the transatlantic relationship is an alliance of equals — or something else entirely — you’ll enjoy this conversation.

As always, my guest’s opinions don’t necessarily represent my own views.

Watch or listen to the episode above, or on one of these platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

Guest: Marc Grossman, former U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs and ambassador to Turkey

The world looks very different at the end of 2025 compared to the beginning of the year. How did diplomacy contribute to that difference, and what were the major diplomatic successes and failures?

On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss the Trump administration’s diplomacy, its highs and lows, and their impact on the world. My guest is Marc Grossman, former U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, assistant secretary for European affairs, director-general of the Foreign Service and ambassador to Turkey. He spent 32 years in the Foreign Service.

Having served as the State Department’s third-ranking official under Secretary of State Colin Powell, Grossman talks about what he learned during their daily 5 p.m. meetings. He also discusses the recent loss of expertise in the department, as a result of mass firings.

As always, my guest’s opinions don’t necessarily represent my own views.

Watch or listen to the episode above, or on one of these platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

Guest: Kate Byrnes, former U.S. ambassador to North Macedonia and deputy chief of mission in Greece

The Institute of International Education reported last month that new enrollments of foreign students at U.S. colleges and universities decreased by 17 percent this fall compared to the same time last year.

On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss what that means for the future of U.S. education, science, economy and soft power. My guest is Kate Byrnes, former U.S. ambassador to North Macedonia and deputy chief of mission in Greece. She spent 32 years in the Foreign Service, most recently as a senior foreign policy adviser to the commandant of U.S. Europe Command in Stuttgart, Germany.

Byrnes also talks about the tension between free speech and visa policies. She explains the historical role of educational and cultural exchanges in U.S. public diplomacy, and their impact on foreign publics’ perceptions of and trust in the United States.

As always, my guest’s opinions don’t necessarily represent my own views.

Watch or listen to the episode above, or on one of these platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

Guest: Charles A. Ray, former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe and former deputy assistant secretary of defense.

The U.S. military and the Foreign Service are two parts of the same national-security apparatus, but that may be where their similarities end. Their cultures, missions and approaches to those missions are very different — and often exactly the opposite.

On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss those differences with someone who has experienced both — first as a soldier in the U.S. Army for 20 years, and then as a career diplomat for three decades.

My guest is Charles A. Ray, a former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe, and former deputy assistant secretary of defense. He now teaches at the Washington International Diplomatic Academy and chairs the Africa program of the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Ray also talks about the U.S. strikes that have killed dozens of civilians on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, which the Trump administration claims are smuggling drugs to the United States, though it hasn’t provided proof.

As always, my guest’s opinions don’t necessarily represent my own views.

Watch or listen to the episode above, or on one of these platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.

To support the podcast with a donation, click here.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

Guest: Tom Countryman, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation

The Trump administration has done an excellent job inundating us with all kinds of news, pronouncements and orders. But lately, I’ve found myself wondering what sleeper threats to U.S. and global security are not making headlines. So I asked an expert.

On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss hidden risks for both the United States and the world. My guest is Tom Countryman, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation. He spent 34 years in the Foreign Service and currently chairs the board of the Arms Control Association, a Washington think tank.

Countryman worries that we are not practicing the diplomacy necessary to avert an armed conflict with China, and to preempt an erratic reaction by Russian President Vladimir Putin should he lose his war against Ukraine. Countryman is also concerned about the Trump administration’s air strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific without evidence to back its claim that they were smuggling drugs.

As always, my guest’s opinions don’t necessarily represent my own views.

Watch or listen to the episode above, or on one of these platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

The Trump administration has won much praise for brokering a deal between Israel and Hamas to stop the war in Gaza. The ceasefire has proven very fragile, and three senior U.S. officials are currently in Israel to bolster it, following Trump’s visit there last week.

On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss the deal’s chances of full success, and what it means for the future of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. My guest is Danielle Pletka, distinguished senior fellow in foreign policy and defense studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

“By itself, architecturally, it’s a great deal,” Pletka says. “Execution-wise, there is nothing to it. But of course, that’s not Donald Trump’s problem. That’s the problem with every single deal that’s ever taken place in the Middle East that has involved the Palestinians, that has involved terrorist organizations, which is, execution doesn’t happen. The ceasefire is already falling apart. I suspect that the rest of this goes in fits and starts — fundamentally nowhere.”

She also believes that the deal would not have happened had Israel not bombed a site in Qatar where it thought Hamas leaders had gathered.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

Educated everyday people, not members of the elite or foreign-policy experts, share their views.

The United States still receives more attention by the world’s media than any other country, and the average citizen on every continent is fairly well informed about what happens in Washington. What do they think about the Trump administration’s actions in the last nine months, and how are they affected by those actions?

During a recent trip to Europe, I posed these questions to people in several countries, and you can hear the responses of some of them on this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast.” Not everyone I spoke with agreed to go on the record, and those interviews weren’t recorded.

My conversations took place before Trump announced on Oct. 9 that Israel and Hamas had accepted the first phase of his proposed deal to end the war in Gaza, for which he has won much praise. The Europeans — and one American who has made Austria his home for the last quarter-century — focused on developments in the United States and Trump’s handling of Europe, and didn’t discuss his Middle East policies.

I plan to travel to the Middle East and other parts of the world in the coming months, as I wrote in September, so you will hear from people there as well on future episodes.

Watch or listen to this episode above, or on one of these platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com

Guest: Michael O'Hanlon, chair in defense and strategy at the Brookings Institution.

Understanding the relationship between diplomacy and military force is essential in designing and implementing national security policy. At a time of domestic deployments of armed service members and a breakdown of the traditional interagency policy process created after World War II, what are the dynamics in that relationship?

On this episode of “The Diplomacy Podcast,” we discuss the state of the U.S. defense posture more than seven months into the second Trump administration. My guest is Michael O’Hanlon, director of foreign policy research and chair in defense and strategy at the Brookings Institution.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nicholaskralev.substack.com