Multipolarity Special Edition: Japanese Bonds and the Unwinding of the Global Financial System
Jan 29, 2026
Discussion of a visible fracture in the Transatlantic Alliance and its fallout at Davos. Exploration of how political rupture could spill into global finance. A worrying sell-off in Japanese bonds and the risk that rising rates force large Treasury liquidations. Concerns about cascading market stress and a potential crisis window around 2026.
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Episode notes
Greenland Signaled A Permanent Alliance Break
- The Greenland episode revealed a deeper rupture in the transatlantic alliance beyond memes and rhetoric.
- Philip Pilkington argues the souring is likely permanent and reshapes geopolitical finance relationships.
Greenland Was Largely Political Theatre
- Pilkington recounts his American Conservative essay and his view that Greenland likely leads to no tangible action.
- He frames the episode as theatre that nonetheless produced durable diplomatic consequences.
Press Coverage Can Catalyse Financial Cascades
- Media narratives (e.g., Financial Times pieces) may push extreme scenarios like coordinated Treasury dumping.
- Pilkington doubts a full European sell-off but says the rhetoric catalyses market cascades.