Neutrality Studies

Originally published on 5 Oct 2025.While the West is trapped in a self-imposed fantasy world regarding Russia, clinging to outdated views of Moscow while simultaneously abandoning international norms in acts of "piracy," the US domestic structure is undergoing a revolutionary shift toward American-style autocracy. Is this internal decay making US foreign policy even more reckless and divorced from reality?Today I’m talking again to Dr. Michael Brenner. Michael is a Professor Emeritus of International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh and a Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at John Hopkins.We explore why there is far more continuity than change in American foreign policy, tracing the strategy back to the 1991 Wolfowitz Blueprint for global hegemony. We analyze the nature of Donald Trump—described as a fascist and clinical psychopath incapable of coherent planning—and how his administration is merely stripping away the pretense of American constitutional democracy. Furthermore, we break down the collective delusion shared by Western leaders, who ignore Russia’s stated strategic needs while pursuing dangerous confrontations that risk catastrophic outcomes.Links:Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com Neutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudiesGoods Store: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Originally published on 31 Jul 2025. Today I’m talking to the Australian author and historian, Michael Pembroke.Michael is based in Sydney, has written several books and for various outlets, including Time Magazine, Al Jazeera, the South China Morning Post. He was also a Supreme Court Judge (2010–20) for Australia’s state of New South Wales.His most recent work came out this July and carries the title, “Silk, Silver, Opium: The Trade With China that Changed the World”Links:Silk, Silver, Opium: The Trade With China that Changed the World: https://www.amazon.com/Silk-Silver-Op...Neutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitysNeutrality Studies Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Originally published on 29 Jul 2025.Today I’m talking to Dr. Benjamin Abelow, the author of the book „Ho the West Brought War to Ukraine“ which I have reviewed on this channel before. Dr. Abelow graduated from the Yale School of Medicine, where he also served as Lecturer in Medicine.Links:Free PDFs in English, German, and French:https://benjaminabelow.com/download/Translation versions available at AMAZON (English also available in all countries):United States:https://www.amazon.com/How-West-Broug...United Kingdom:https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-West-Bro...German:https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Benjamin-A...Neutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudiesOur Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Originally published on 4 Oct 2025.I’ve always felt uneasy calling the period after the Soviet Union’s collapse the “Post–Cold War.” To me, it was a temporary label—anything “post” must eventually become “pre” to something else. History never really stops. Even when 9/11 and the “War on Terror” seemed to change everything, I sensed that the world’s basic structure hadn’t shifted. Despite the chaos and destruction in West Asia and North Africa, global politics still revolved around a single dominant power.Looking back now, it feels clear that the Post–Cold War era truly ended with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Scholars and policymakers increasingly describe the new reality as multipolar—a world with several centers of cultural, technological, and military power no longer bound to Western leadership.I find it useful to think of the years between 1991 and 2022 as the “Unipolar Moment.” Realist thinkers like John Mearsheimer had long warned that unipolar systems never last—power always attracts counterbalances. And they were right.Still, I see this reinterpretation with some optimism. Maybe what comes next won’t be a new world war or another cold war. Perhaps, if we’re fortunate, we’ll enter a “New Concert System,” a more cooperative balance among great powers.Neutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudiesOur Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Originally published on 28 Jul 2025 Today I’m talking to Stanislav Krapivnik, a former US Army officer, supply chain executive and military-political expert.Links:Stanislav Krapivnik's YouTube Channel: ‪@MrSlavikman‬ Stanislav Krapivnik's Telegram: https://t.me/stastydaiobratnoNeutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudiesNeutrality Studies Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Prof. Warwick Powell, an Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology and Senior Fellow at the Taihe Institute, dives into Australia and Japan's evolving geopolitical strategies. He discusses the symbolic outcomes of Australian PM Albanese's China visit and explores whether Australia is shifting its China policy. Warwick reveals ASEAN's potential as a stabilizing force and raises concerns about grassroots neutrality movements. He critiques recent US-Japan investment announcements, highlighting their limited economic impact amid rising regional tensions.

Originally published on 26 Jul 2025.The military tensions at the Thai-Cambodian border have exploded this week into all-out artillery warfare. Military personnel and civilians have died and the political fallout in Thailand has cost the prime minister her job. What is going on? To discuss this, I'm joined today by Dr. Digby J. Wren. Based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Dr. Wren has been connected to the region for decades. He runs a geopolitical risk advisory firm and is a former External Relations Advisor to the President of the Royal Academy of Cambodia. He is also the publisher of the very successful Substack Analysis, “the long Mekong”.Dr. Wren's Susbtack: https://longmekong.substack.comOur Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Pietro Shakarian, an Armenian historian, joins Lasha Kasradze, a Georgian international relations analyst, to delve into the complex dynamics of the Caucasus. They discuss Armenia's crackdown on the Armenian Church and its implications for national identity. The role of the EU in regional politics comes under scrutiny, particularly as it praises Armenia despite these tensions. The two also explore Azerbaijan's strategic gains and the emerging split between the Turkic bloc and the Russia-Iran axis, making for a lively analysis of the geopolitical landscape.

Originally published on 23 Jul 2025. Today I’m talking to Dr. Ivana Nikolic Hughes, the Director of Frontiers of Science and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at Columbia University. Dr. Hughes is also the President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and has been working with her students for many years on issues of nonproliferation and disarmament.Links:Nuclear Age Peace Foundation: www.WagingPeace.OrgFind more info at ICAN: https://www.icanw.org/Neutrality Studies Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Originally published on 22 Jul 2025.Today I'm talking again to Romans Sklenniks, a former Latvian journalist in Riga, who pointed out to me that there is another very scary ongoing case of a EU citizen, a Latvian citizen, Tatiana Andriets, who is being prosecuted for basically having a connection to Russia. This kind of occurrences is now happening more and more inside the European Union, and we want to discuss this today.Links:Tatiana’s Case: https://baltija.eu/2025/05/08/v-latvi...https://www.sool.lv/tatyana-andriets-...Roman’s YT:    / @romanssklenniks  Roman's Telegram: https://web.telegram.org/k/#@perspekt...Our Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...