Neutrality Studies

Pascal Lottaz is joined by former Maltese foreign minister Evarist Bartolo to discuss the UN vote on slavery reparations, Western abstentions and opposition, the link between slavery, colonialism and present power, compensation for slave owners, Haiti, Africa-Europe ties, rising pressure from the global majority, and the wider fight over dominance, debt, war, and solidarity. ([evaristbartolo.mt](https://evaristbartolo.mt/blog/the-eus-pretence-of-equality/))Links:Evarist Bartolo website: https://evaristbartolo.mtEvarist Bartolo on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evarist.bartolo/Times of Malta: https://timesofmalta.comNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comDonation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateTimestamps:00:00:00 Introduction and UN vote00:01:50 Slavery and colonial power00:10:01 EU abstentions and reparations00:15:17 Guterres and legal excuses00:21:27 UN majority and world shift00:25:48 Dominance decline and artifacts00:29:09 Debt traps and new alliances00:32:54 Iran war and Western decline00:39:48 Social solidarity and closing

Pascal Lottaz speaks with retired Colonel Douglas Macgregor about the Iran ceasefire, Trump’s threats, Iran’s missile strength, damaged US bases, Israeli pressure on Washington, the risk of wider economic shock, and Europe’s weak place in NATO. Macgregor argues Iran kept the strategic edge, the US needed the pause, and Israel remains the main block in any wider settlement.Links:Douglas Macgregor Substack: https://macgregorwarrior.substack.com/Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comDonation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateTimestamps:00:00:00 Introduction00:00:13 Ceasefire claims and strategic balance00:06:31 Iran media view and missile power00:13:00 Iran resilience and regime change limits00:17:25 US bases hit and Gulf withdrawal00:26:41 Israel under strain and ceasefire anger00:31:35 Two week pause and global shock risk00:38:47 Europe NATO and American control00:49:01 Where to follow Douglas Macgregor

Iran managed to coerce the US into accepting its 10-point plan as a basis for negotiations. Here is what we can infer from this.Substack article with full text: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/p/iran-declares-interim-victorySupport us here:Donations & Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.com

Pascal Lottaz is joined by former US Army officer and military analyst Stanislav Krapivnik to discuss Trump’s threats toward Iran, the claimed rescue mission, risks to Gulf energy routes and power systems, the danger around nuclear sites, Israel’s role, and whether Iran, Russia, and China can raise the cost of a wider war.Links:Stanislav Krapivnik YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MrSlavikmanStanislav Krapivnik on X: https://x.com/StasKrapivnikNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comDonation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateTimestamps:00:00:00 Introduction and Trump threats00:03:11 Failed rescue or covert raid00:11:20 US limits and losses in Iran00:14:14 Trump outburst and energy targets00:22:03 Retaliation and nuclear danger00:27:19 Can Iran force a US stop00:29:54 Russia China and wider war00:33:03 Pressure on Israel and US costs00:38:30 Deterrence and the nuclear line

Felix Marquardt speaks with physician and trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté about anti-Semitism claims, Zionism, colonialism, Gaza, French and European politics, censorship, Israeli dissent, and the push to criminalize anti-Zionism. They also discuss trauma, propaganda, victimhood, media silence, and the wider crisis inside Western power and public debate.Links:Felix's Channel: https://youtube.com/@theblackelephantexperienceNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comDonation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateTimestamps:00:00:00 Introduction00:00:52 Gabor Maté on Zionism00:10:07 US Europe and colonial denial00:20:12 Anti Semitism and state interests00:33:13 Rima Hassan and French repression00:40:10 Colonial power and imperial decline00:52:37 Speaking out and paying the price00:57:24 Trauma identity and propaganda

US alliances now look less like protection and more like danger. Pascal Lottaz speaks with international human rights lawyer Saul Takahashi about living through the UAE missile alerts, the Gaza genocide, US bases turning allies into targets, Japan’s risks, failed deterrence, and the breakdown of the old order.Links:Saul Takahashi Researchmap: https://researchmap.jp/saul_takahashiNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comDonation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateTimestamps:00:00:00 Saul Takahashi and UAE experience00:07:36 Gaza genocide and Gulf fallout00:12:13 Neutrality law and legal gray zones00:17:40 US bases as magnets in Gulf and Japan00:26:08 Takaichi Trump and Japan China ties00:37:44 Proxy war risk and old order collapse00:44:18 Regional security and multipolar shift00:49:14 Colonialism clarity and public pressure

US power looks trapped, brittle, and in decline. Pascal Lottaz speaks with political economist Radhika Desai about Trump’s Iran war speech, a deepening Middle East quagmire, oil shock, NATO strain, lost US credibility, imperial decline, domestic decay, and the risk of an AI and debt crash.Links:Radhika Desai website: https://radhikadesai.com ([radhikadesai.com](https://radhikadesai.com/?utm_source=openai))Radhika Desai Substack: https://radicaldesai.substack.com ([sidestack.io](https://sidestack.io/directory/substack/radicaldesai))Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comDonation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateTimestamps:00:00:00 Introduction00:00:49 Trump speech and war trap00:05:00 Middle East quagmire and lost control00:08:15 Gulf bases oil shock and allies00:12:45 Iran war and imperial decline00:16:37 US revolution capitalism and empire00:24:51 Global backlash against US power00:31:32 Trump antiwar brand collapse00:39:14 AI bubble and crash risk00:44:28 Where to follow Radhika

Western views of Iran are deeply distorted. Patrick Ringgenberg, EPFL lecturer and longtime Iran researcher, discusses media bias, Iran’s social and religious complexity, failed regime change thinking, war misreading, internal power factions, and the gap between diaspora narratives and life inside Iran.Links:Patrick RinggenbergWebsite: https://patrickringgenberg.com/home/Academia: https://unil.academia.edu/PatrickRinggenbergArticle: https://forumgeopolitica.com/fr/article/la-guerre-contre-liran-un-tournant-pour-teheran-et-lordre-internationalNeutrality Studies substack:https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch:https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comDonation:https://neutralitystudies.com/donateTimestamps:00:00:00 Introduction and war assessment00:03:55 Real life inside Iran00:09:40 Wine tradition and private life00:13:13 Military misread and war delusion00:21:32 Media bias and missing experts00:28:30 The mullah regime label00:35:09 Minorities and national identity00:40:03 Power factions and state structure00:53:56 Closing critique of Iran coverage

This is a grave case of political punishment without due process. Pascal Lottaz speaks with journalist Hüseyin Doğru, who says EU sanctions turned him into a non-person inside Germany. The discussion covers the lack of trial or hearing, the struggle to challenge sanctions in court, frozen bank access, the seizure of his wife’s accounts, and the danger this creates for his children. They also discuss the silence of major media and unions, the wider use of sanctions and debanking against dissent, and the need for public protest and political pressure.Links:Hüseyin Doğru on X: https://x.com/hussedogru Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comDonation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateTimestamps:00:00:00 Introduction00:00:59 Sanctioned inside Germany00:07:07 German court and blocked payments00:12:02 Wife accounts frozen00:22:23 Fear and the test case claim00:26:31 Media unions and silence00:33:06 Courts politics and no remedy00:42:13 Wider crackdown across Europe00:46:05 Political resistance and final appeal

Iran looks far harder to break than many in the West assumed. Pascal Lottaz talks with Dr. Pietro Shakarian and Eldar Mamedov about Iranian Azerbaijan, Armenia, Israel, Turkey, failed diplomacy, and the wider South Caucasus fallout from the war.Links:Eldar Mamedov at Quincy Institute: https://quincyinst.org/author/eldar-mamedov/Eldar Mamedov on X: https://twitter.com/EldarMamedov4Dr. Pietro A. Shakarian at AUA: https://people.aua.am/team_member/dr-pietro-a-shakarian/Pietro A. Shakarian at The Nation: https://www.thenation.com/authors/pietro-shakarian/Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comDonation: https://neutralitystudies.com/donateTimestamps:00:00:00 Guests and Iran background00:04:43 Iranian Azerbaijan reality00:13:26 Soviet myths and deep integration00:16:11 Armenians and Christians in Iran00:22:16 Iran as a civilizational state00:27:05 Gaza Israel and failed diplomacy00:36:46 Azerbaijan Turkey and war risks00:55:21 Armenia politics and corridor fallout01:00:34 Regional solutions and closing

Not just Cuba, but the entire Caribbean region is under intense US threat from blockade, hunger, bombing, and old colonial habits dressed up as foregin policy. Today, I speak with Dr. Richard Byron-Cox, a Caribbean-born author with a PhD in public international law, about Cuba’s deep crisis, Haiti’s long suffering, and the wider struggle of small states facing raw power. The discussion moves from the history of the Monroe Doctrine and the Cuban Revolution to present claims about sanctions, energy shortages, intervention, and fear across Caribbean waters. I also push the question of whether change can come from law, diplomacy, public pressure, or reform inside the West itself. The result is a hard exchange on justice, sovereignty, resistance, and the future of shared human life.Dr. Byron-Cox's Links:Were Mama’s Tears in Vain?: https://www.abebooks.com/9781969368486/Mama%E2%80%99s-Tears-Vain-Byron-Cox-Richard-1969368489/plpLiving in wisdom – an examination of human nature: https://www.abebooks.com/9781970749342/Living-wisdom-examination-human-nature-1970749342/plpThe Story of Paulene Bramble: Book One: https://www.amazon.com/Story-Paulene-Bramble-Springs-Blossoms-ebook/dp/B0DDVN4JJ9Neutrality Studies substack:https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings:https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch & Donations:https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comTimestamps:00:00:00 Cuba under blockade00:01:07 Caribbean politics and US pressure00:08:30 Conditions inside Cuba00:11:00 Haiti and Caribbean neocolonialism00:20:13 Resistance history and African roots00:31:51 Regional alliances and coercion00:38:29 Reform power and imperial decline00:52:09 Common humanity and final reflections

Former CIA analyst, Larry Johnson is quite sure; there is no "grand strategy" or "4D Chess" going on. The US/Israeli coalition war against Iran is just a rolling disaster (academics would call it "path dependent) in which one bad decision leads to the next and by now a ground invasion with US boots on the ground is basically inevitable because they already went through the built up of the forces—so you gotta use'm. But what can they do? And what will happen once Iran then obliterates them? Well, buckle up because this is ain't gonna be pretty. However, the noble men and women in Washington still manage to game the markets and make a lot of money while we are waiting for the troop build up to be completed. What a horror show.Support Larry: https://sonar21.comSupport us by subscribing on substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com Shop & Donations: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.com

This conversation is a direct challenge to the moral claims of Western philosophy in the face of Gaza. I speak with Professor Dr. Irfan Ahmad, professor of anthropology and sociology at Ibn Haldun University in Istanbul. The discussion looks at Habermas as a major German public intellectual, then moves into Western Marxism, colonial blind spots, and the way Palestine is pushed out of the moral frame. I also press the question of universalism, and the exchange shows how claims of reason, consensus, and humanism can turn into cover for power, war, and selective silence. In the end, the episode is both a critique of Habermas and a wider critique of the West’s refusal to face colonialism as a living structure.Links:DOI of Irfan's article on Habermas: https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2025.2466001Website: https://www.irfanahmad.org/Academia page: https://ibnhaldun.academia.edu/ProfIrfanAhmadResearchGate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Irfan-Ahmad-24Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.comOpt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academicMerch & Donations: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comTimestamps:00:00:00 Introduction00:01:22 Habermas and German public life00:06:22 Western Marxism and imperial blind spots00:11:14 Gaza and the erasure of history00:18:54 Colonialism missing from Western thought00:32:06 Habermas as an ethnic thinker00:42:06 Consensus talk and support for war00:58:35 Final reflections and guest links

The old Western order looks more brittle, more violent, and more desperate than at any point in recent memory. In this conversation, I speak with German author and playwright Fabian Scheidler about his book "The End of the Megamachine" and the deeper system of militarism, capital, media power, and linear force that he argues is driving ecological collapse, war, and political decay. Fabian lays out his view of a declining American empire, Europe’s turn toward militarization, and the way welfare, rights, and diplomacy are being pushed aside in favor of permanent conflict. The discussion also moves through Gaza, Iran, Ukraine, China, and the Gulf states, with a strong focus on the risks that come with a fading hegemon that still has huge power to destroy. In the end, the key point is stark: a failing system can become far more dangerous as it loses control.Links:Fabian Scheidler website: https://fabianscheidler.comThe End of the Megamachine: https://www.megamachine.orgFabian Scheidler on Substack: https://fabianscheidler.substack.comNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch & Donations: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comTimestamps:00:00:00 Introduction and book thesis00:05:07 The mega machine framework00:08:06 End of Western hegemony00:10:49 China and the global shift00:15:14 Europe Iran and double standards00:25:53 Colonial extraction and backlash00:37:46 Nuclear danger and Gulf realignment00:44:23 Limits of the US war machine00:48:23 Europe on the warfare path

So long and thanks for nothing. Despite the fanfare around a ground invasion of Iran, the troop withdrawals from the region speak a different langauge. Iran is on the verge of driving the americans out of the entire Gulf region, proofing that the US/Israeli War of Aggression against Iran is built on bad judgment and false confidence. I speak again with Rainer Rupp, a former German intelligence officer and spy for East Germany inside NATO. We discuss the military, political, and energy fallout now unfolding across the Gulf region. We also cover earlier US stand-down moments,, the strike and counterstrike logic around gas infrastructure, and the way Gulf bases can turn from shields into targets. We also look at Iraq, the limits of American power on the ground, and the claim that real intelligence often gets bent or blocked before it reaches top decision makers. The final part focuses on surveillance, analysis, and the deeper problem of policy being driven by goals first and facts second.Links:Rainer Rupp: https://reinerupp.deNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch & Donations: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comTimestamps:00:00:00 Introduction and Iran resilience00:05:25 Earlier US stand downs on Iran00:07:29 Carrier damage and US unreadiness00:11:47 Gas strikes and LNG power shift00:20:09 Folly or cold strategy in Washington00:29:50 Iraq fallout and regional backlash00:38:39 Special forces and pressure at home00:44:35 Intelligence gaps and policy distortion

What if the world at the moment seems insane because the people running its conflicts are in fact clinically psychotic? This is what I discuss today with the retired psychiatrist Dr. Niall MacLaren. We talk about his biocognitive model and how a craving for dominance dictates the actions of modern empires. His book, Narcisso-Fascism, explains why nations act like playground bullies and why we keep electing narcissists who love the rush of power. It is a deep dive into the testosterone economy and the biological reasons why peace is so hard to find in a world obsessed with being number one.Links:Niall MacLaren Substack: https://niallmclaren.substack.comNiall MacLaren Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001JOY002Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch & Donations: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comTimestamps:00:00:00 The biocognitive model of politics00:03:14 The testosterone economy and dominance00:07:22 Psychology versus offensive realism00:14:10 American psyche and the colonial mindset00:21:30 How hierarchies attract the wrong people00:28:00 Treating the narcissism of a nation00:36:50 The fatal flaw of human competition00:51:30 Replacing elections with random lotteries00:54:30 Setting limits on global power struggles

Crime in the united states is not a bug, it’s a feature. That explains actually a lot also about its illegal foreign policies. The US as a political entity is deeply intertwined with crime syndicates and explicitly illegal acts under international and local law. Epstein was not at all an exception. These shady dealers are part and parcel of how US politics works. Luckily, there are great academics who work on the hidden power structures. One of them is with me today. Dr. Aaron Good, author of American Exception: Empire and the Deep State.Links:[Book] American Exception: https://www.amazon.com/American-Exception-Empire-Deep-State/dp/1510769137Aaron Good on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/americanexceptionAaron Good on Substack: https://americanexception.substack.comNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch & Donations: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comTimestamps:00:00:00 Tripartite state and deep state00:11:14 Drugs crime and state power00:19:00 Capitalism empire and early roots00:31:22 Israel networks and US power00:38:13 Indonesia coups and resource grabs00:43:00 Elite rule and criminalized empire00:46:34 Blackmail lobbies and covert control01:08:20 Closing and where to follow Aaron

The Iran War is going horribly. If Donald Trump knows this or not and which type of information he is being fed we don't know. But the idea of sending ground troops to occupy islands in front of Iran is either utter disregard for reality or a desperate move to somehow turn the tide of the war around. Here to discuss this is Prof. Steven Starr, an Emeritus Professor of the University of Missouri and Associate of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.Prof. Starr's Homepage: https://nuclearfamine.org/about-steven-starr/Support us on Substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com Or on our shop with a donation: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.com

Donald Trump seems to think that "signalling deescalation" by announcing that hits on Iranian gas facilities have been further suspended until April 6 would lull Iran into believing they are safe for now. But we know that the US is finishing its troop amassment in the region. The logical conclusion: the US is planning another sneak attack over a weekend with the hope that once markets are closed the troops would have two days to capture either some important economic infrastructure that will calm the oil traders or even create the fundament for gaining control over the Strait of Hormuz. What a folly!I'm discussing today with Ambassador Chas Freeman, a former top official in the Department of Defence and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Ambassador Freeman's many valuable essays: https://chasfreeman.netSupport us on substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com Shop and Donations: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.com

The scale of the strategic mistake the US made in attacking Iran is slowly becoming apparent, and it is leading to ever more desperate moves by the US-Israeli axis. Dr. Arta Moeini, who is intimately familiar with both the Iranian and US political systems, explains the extent of these miscalculations and their impact on the regional balance of power, while Lasha Kasradze examines the facts on the ground as they relate to the South Caucasus.Links:Institute for Peace and Diplomacy: https://peacediplomacy.orgNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)Merch & Donations: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comTimestamps:00:00:00 Introduction00:00:33 Khamenei killing and war outlook00:06:19 Peace chatter and US setbacks00:16:24 Iranian state and social resilience00:24:19 Symmetrical war and strategic strain00:30:03 End of unipolar order00:40:00 Lessons for allies and Georgia00:52:08 Final forecasts and Trump options