God Mode: The Technological Battle for Global Domination | Bruno Maçães

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Aug 11, 2025

Bruno Maçães, a geopolitical strategist and former Minister of European Affairs for Portugal, shares insights from his book "World Builders". He introduces a provocative theory framing geopolitics as a competition in world building rather than mere territorial control. The discussion highlights the shift in global order as the U.S. steps back and China rises, shaping a new technological landscape. Topics include the implications of AI on global governance and the evolving nature of power, raising critical questions about individual freedom and international relations.

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ANECDOTE

Minister Role Gave Pan‑Government View

Bruno Maçães describes being European affairs minister with visibility across ministries.
The role offered oversight without decision power, giving him a panoramic view of government policy.

INSIGHT

Power As World Building

Bruno Maçães argues power builds artificial worlds others must inhabit.
Whoever builds the world sets the rules and can change the state of reality.

INSIGHT

Trump Turns Away From System Building

Bruno Maçães says Trump transforms US power from system-building to coercion.
This shift replaces structural influence with direct physical and transactional tactics.

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In Episode 434 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Bruno Maçães, a geopolitical strategist and the former Minister of European Affairs for Portugal, whose latest book titled "World Builders" explores the intersection of technology and geopolitics.

In the first hour, Bruno puts forward a radical new theory of geopolitics and technology that no longer views the world as a neutral battlefield between great powers to control territory and resources, but rather as a contest in world building that will afford the most powerful states back-doors into all aspects of our lives that they can use to alter the state of the world at any time or place of their choosing.

In the second hour, Kofinas and Maçães explore why the United States has ceased building the global order it once championed, paving the way for China to construct a new world according to its own technological standards and ideological blueprints. We discuss what this means for the nature of the international order, individual freedom, the form that governance is likely to take in an increasingly virtualized world, and what is in store for all of us if things remain on their current trajectory and the United States recedes from its world building project, or perhaps, even worse, decides to destroy it entirely.

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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

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Episode Recorded on 08/04/2025