The Global Agora

Happy Birthday to Arnold Schwarzenegger! Born on July 20, 1947, in Austrian Thal, he is 75 years young. The star of The Terminator, Predator, BTW, probably my favorite Arnolds's movie, Conan the Barbarian, Red Heat, Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop, Twins or True Lies, and the former Republican Governor of California has never been far from the spotlight. How was he able to achieve what he has achieved? Schwarzenegger had a master plan. This is what Michael Blitz explained to me. He is a co-author of the books Arnold Schwarzenegger: A Biography and Why Arnold Matters: The Rise of a Cultural Icon and a Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at the City University of New York. So why is Arnold a cultural icon? How influential is he these days? Can he or his movies predict the future? And would Arnold Schwarzenegger be able to beat Donald Trump if they would politically face each other? Listen to our conversation. And if enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

Complex or complicated? What is the legacy of murdered Japan's ex-PM Shinzo Abe? Was he a nationalist who globalized Japan? The killing of the longest-serving Japanese Prime Minister on July 8th shocked the country and the world. How will Mr. Abe be remembered? I talked to Joshua Walker, President, and CEO of Japan Society in New York who had a chance to interact with the late Japanese PM. Listen to our conversation. And if enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

How much should we be surprised by the scale and quickness of the demonstrations in Sri Lanka? What has led to such turmoil? I talked to Ashok Swain. He is a Professor and Head of the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at the Uppsala University. We have also discussed what's next for Sri Lanka's powerful Rajapaksas' family and if the Russian war against Ukraine contributed to the country's problems. And does Professor Swain think that Sri Lanka's protests are just a prelude to similar events around the world? This podcast was recorded on July 13th before the resignation of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his travel from the Maldives to Singapore. Listen to our conversation. And if enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

"If the current amount of support from the West to Ukraine was present in 2014 over the annexation of Crimea, we could have avoided a lot of people being killed. But I'm glad that Ukraine is receiving support, and hopefully, there will be more support and long-term support." This is what Anton Barbashin said to me during our debate. He is an editorial director of Riddle, which is a website about Russia I can only wholeheartedly recommend. We discussed if we can compare Russian President Vladimir Putin to historical figures like Peter the Great, Hitler, or Stalin.  Anton pointed out that Putin connected his fate to the war against Ukraine. So how would the Russian President define victory or loss? Listen to our conversation. And if enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

Ben Hodges is a former commanding general, United States Army Europe. He believes Ukraine can win the war Russia started on February 24th. Why does he believe this? How should the West help Ukraine? Should it send troops? "I would say right now we have the best strategic advantage over Russia we have had in the last 70 years," General Hodges told me. What does he mean by this and why does he think that the West should communicate to Russia that it will support Ukraine forever? And we also talked about the NATO summit that is taking place this week in Madrid. Listen to our conversation. And if enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

Do the conservative Justices at the Supreme Court impose their religious beliefs on America? The Supreme Court overturned the Roe vs Wade verdict that was the law of the land for almost 50 years. Prior to this decision, I talked to Diana Carlin. She is a Professor Emerita of Communication at Saint Louis University. We had a debate about how the Supreme Court works, past precedents, culture wars, and also if the US is approaching The Handmaid's Tale world, and if the US can become a religious tyranny. Listen to our conversation. And if enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

Toni Alaranta is a Senior Research Fellow in the European Union Research Programme at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA). His areas of expertise include Turkey’s domestic and foreign policies, in particular Turkey’s relations with the EU, the US and Russia. According to him, Ankara has the maximalist and the minimalist position toward the Finnish and Swedish NATO bid. We also talked a bit about Turkish domestic politics and about how President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been poisoning relations with the allies for over a decade. And does Turkey also have some justified demands related to Finland and Sweden's NATO applications? Listen to our conversation. And if enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

We have started our conversation talking about Germany and about what German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is doing or not doing regarding Ukraine. But, and perhaps inevitably, we have moved our discussion to what is going on in America and what might happen. And the question is: Does Russian President Vladimir Putin only need to survive until Donald Trump will be back in the White House? At the annual GLOBSEC conference in Bratislava, I talked to Rachel Rizzo. She is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center where her research focuses on European security, NATO, and the transatlantic relationship. Listen to our conversation. And if enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

Would Russia be willing to use nuclear weapons? And what about the West, especially the US? I talked to Alexander Bollfrass, a Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - ETH Zurich. Why does he think that it seems that Russia makes a whole class of nuclear weapons exclusively for television? We also discuss if the risk of a nuclear incident is higher now and if we should get rid of nuclear weapons. Listen to our conversation. And if enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. https://ko-fi.com/amatisak

As CNN pointed out, it's the third time in recent months that American President Joe Biden has said the US would protect Taiwan from a Chinese attack, only to have the White House walk back those remarks. Over a few decades, the US has intentionally maintained a position characterized as strategic ambiguity when asked whether it would come to Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack by China. But the fact is that the American President creates the debate as it seems he is clearer about US intentions in regard to Taiwan than his predecessors. Does Biden want to have Taiwan's cake but also eat it? Is everything somewhat the same, but different? But still the same? Of course, China reacted furiously to Biden's statements but it's pretty sure that Beijing has to take them into account when thinking about Taiwan. So what's going on? Would the US defend Taiwan militarily if China would attack? Are there some scenarios under which America wouldn't react? Those questions were answered by China watcher and publisher of the China Neican Adam Ni. We also discussed how Russia's war against Ukraine affects China and its plans related to Taiwan and how far would Beijing go to help Moscow. And is Chinese communist chief Xi Jinping nervous? Listen to our conversation. And if enjoy what I do, please support me on Ko-fi! Thank you. https://ko-fi.com/amatisak