Neutrality Studies

Originally published on 30 Apr 2025.Today I’m talking to Ali Borhani, a Geopolitical Strategist and the cohost of the BRI-Diaolgue podcast on which he talks to, experts, decision makers, and academics about all thins geopolitics and especially China’s Belt Road Initiative. In fact, Ali has been watching China very closely and included his findings in a report entitled “The Rise of Chinese Multinationals”. His insights are business focused and business relevant, so that’s what we want to discuss today.Links:Ali's China Report: https://chinareport.mediapad.eu/enAli's advisory firm: https://www.3sixtystrategicadvisors.c...My Interview on BRI-Dialogue:    • D52 w/ Pascal Lottaz #Neutrality Unle...  Chapters:00:00 Intro02:05 Ali's view on the current geopolitical landscape07:17 China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)19:48 The west's narrative of China's impending housing market implosion26:44 China's still modest response to Trump's tariffs33:17 Will John Mearsheimer's prediction about China come true?45:03 Why is China able to invest more than USA into infrastructure?52:33 Advice to companies for the coming months

Originally published on 29 Apr 2025.Neutrality is much more than fence-sitting. It's a strategic way of approaching world affairs and it's not reserved for smalls states like Switzerland or Austria only. Want proof? Here is a short analysis of the Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact during the Second World War and some of Russia's modern use of the concept even beyond Ukraine.00:00 When Neutrality Becomes Popular05:04 How Neutrality Works11:20 Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact17:07 Russian-North Korean Neutrality ClauseExtract of a presentation given via video to an International Relations conference, April 2025.Check out our new Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Originally published on 27 Apr 2025.NEW (!) Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...As we are nearing Donald Trump’s 100th day in office on April 30th, it‘s worth assessing the last three months of his eclectic policies. Today I’m talking again to Cameron Macgregor, a US entrepreneur who founded a free speech platform, a fellow youtuber with a channel on finance and geopolitics, and a Substack writer. Cameron‘s channel: ‪@Neo-Masculinity‬

Originally published on 26 Apr 2025.What are the erratic policy decisions of the Trump administration about? And why do the Russians seem so keen on going along with a diplomatic process that seems not conducive toward solving the Ukraine war? Even though Zelensky has already rejected the US framework for a negotiated settlement with Russia, Witkoff still went to Moscow and met with V. Putin. Sergey Lavrov is still talking well about the US president on US TV. What's going on? We might seeing the contours of a process that will not necessarily lead to peace in Eastern Europe, but to a general understanding of Great Power Politics. The linkage between the Ukrainian and Iranian conflict theatres are a clear sign that both, the USA and Russia seem to agree that more is on the table than "just" Ukraine. Also China is at least in part involved in this process, as the Iranian Foreign minister just visited also Beijing. Multipolar Great Power diplomacy is now in full swing and it seems that all three, Washington, Moscow, and Beijing are understanding that this is crucial time to define the rules of engagement between them for the decades to come.

Originally published on 25 Apr 2025.Why is the West so hell-bent on solving all its problems through warfare? What happened to those lofty goals and ideals of peaceful coexistence in Europe and the world? What happened to the visions of non-violent international relations and Europe as a peace project?Dr. Oberg is a Danish Peace Researcher in Sweden who recently wrote a noteworthy Substack article about the ongoing deterioration of peace research Europe, specifically about the gradual transformation of “Peace” into “Security”, most notoriously exemplified by SIPRI, the “Stockholm International Peace Research Institute” which today more or less exclusively works on “security” rather than peace. In Memoriam: Jan Oberg and Pascal Lottaz dedicate this conversation to Alva Myrdal - who chaired the Commission that proposed the establishment of the SIPRI, the real peace research institute, with a vision in 1966 and in 1982 received the Nobel Peace Prize - and nuclear physicist Frank Barnaby, director of SIPRI 1971-1981, and advocate of nuclear abolition.Neutrality Studies Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...Dr. Oberg's Substack Article on SIPRI: https://substack.com/home/post/p-1614...

Originally published on 24 Apr 2025.NEW (!) Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...Today I’m talking to two colleagues in the US, James Carden and Lasha Kasradze. James is the editor of the Realist Review on Substack. And Lasha is the Liaoson officer for Sokumi state University in the US.We discuss the complexities of Trump's foreign policy as his administration nears its 100th day, and how the changing multipolar world and internal factors might check US power. We also discuss the influence of neoconservatism in Trump's approach.

Originally published on 23 Apr 2025. NEW (!) Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...Will BRICS rescue small states from the predatory politics of the neocolonial West or is this just the latest itineration of yet another era of global „might makes right“? Today I’m talking to Dr. Asoka Bandarage.Dr. Bandarage is a Sri Lankan political scientist and the author of the book “Crisis in Sri Lanka and the World” in which she analyses colonial and neoliberal origins of her country’s economic and political problems. She that the same mechanisms keep much of the developing world in a state of poverty and constant internal struggle.I talked to Dr. Bandarage nearly two years ago about her book, and today we want to do an update on what has been happening in and around South Asia and the uncertain promises of the new multipolar world for small states.

Originally published on 21 Apr 2025. NEW (!) Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...Today I’m talking for the second time to Ambassador Jose Zorrilla .Ambassador Zorilla joined the Spanish Diplomatic Service in 1973, becoming Consul General to Milano, Shanghai, and Moscow and finally Spain’s Ambassador to Georgia in 2011. Today we want to discuss Trump's tariffs and his “Diplomacy” since becoming president.

Originally published on 20 Apr 2025.NEW (!) Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...All the talk about the "unbreakable" transatlantic bond between the USA and Europe is nothing but smoke and mirrors. In reality, the USA has been using Europe the way a pimp uses his mistresses. The greatest victim of US contempt is of course Ukraine who is now even asked to pay for its gang-rape in precious minerals. But the rest of the continent is not far behind. When will EU leaders wake up? The good news is, a few Europeans see right through the dirty game. First among them is Malta.Today I’m talking to Evarist Bartolo, a labor politician of the beautiful island state of Malta. Mr. Bartolo was a member of Malta’s parliament for 30 years, and he served as Minister of European and Foreign Affairs, between 2020 and 2022. Since Malta is an EU member with a neutrality clause in its constitution and Mr. Bartolo was in office right around the time when the Russia-Ukraine-NATO conflict came to its horrible boil, I thought we should talk about Malta’s experience of that.Publications: Times of Malta: [https://timesofmalta.com](https://timesofmalta.com/) (search for Evarist Bartolo)Facebook:   / evarist.bartolo  Website: https://evaristbartolo.mt/

Originally published on 19 Apr 2025. NEW (!) Goods Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...„Fighting to the last Ukrainian“ — the US and European core strategy on the Ukrainian battlefield — was always predicated on their abhorrence for both, Russian AND Ukrainian lives. Using the men and women of one former Soviet Republic to eradicate as many as possible of another, is a neocon dream come true.The glee with which a recent New York Times articles speaks about the „ingenious ways“ in which the US has enabled Ukrainians to kill Russians, and how their own losses on the battlefield are due to Ukrainian incompetence (rather than Russian military abilities) shows how insanely racist the entire proxy war narrative is constructed. These attitudes are not new at all, and are a core-driver of US proxy warfare.Today I’m talking to Rob Urie, an artist and political economist. His book Zen Economics is published by CounterPunch Books and he regularly publishes on the Counter Punch online magazine as well as on his own Substack. Links:Rob's book “Zen Economics”: https://www.counterpunch.org/product/...Rob's Substack: https://substack.com/@roburie