Neutrality Studies

Pascal speaks with Professor Ulrike Guérot about the new book Germany Neutral, the push for German rearmament, shrinking space for peace voices, NATO’s role in Europe, missed chances for a neutral security order, and the case for a neutral Germany and a neutral Europe. They also discuss the European Peace Project and the May 9 peace action. Links: European Peace Project: https://europeanpeaceproje...

Pascal Lottaz speaks with Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi of the University of Tehran about conditions in Iran, the risk of a new US and Israeli attack, sanctions and shipping pressure in the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf state exposure, OPEC, ideology and resistance, and the lessons of past nuclear talks. Marandi argues Iran now wants mutual steps, tougher terms, and no more one sided deals. Links: Sey...

Pascal Lottaz speaks with Professor Steven Starr about claims of US and Israeli failure in Iran, the drain on missile stocks, damage to bases, oil shock, and risks of wider war. They also discuss Gaza and Lebanon, religion inside US war politics, nuclear danger, Russia and Ukraine, drone warfare, and what modern conflict says about American military limits. Links: Nuclear Famine https://nuclearfam...

Pascal Lottaz speaks with Leith Marouf of Free Palestine TV about Palestine as part of a wider region shaped by colonial borders, the role of empire and Israel, the link between history, geography, and resistance, the place of Iran in the region, and the limits of Western politics. The talk also covers anti-Zionism, armed struggle, media work, and paths toward liberation. Links: Free Palestine TV...

Pascal Lottaz speaks with clinical psychologist Benjamin Schöndorf of Resistance is Fertile about material analysis and psychology, the making of identity and consciousness, narcissism and supremacy in imperial power, mental suffering, collective identity, revolutionary consciousness, liberation psychology, and the social roots of war. The talk also looks at China, Iran, capitalism, and whether vi...

Pascal Lottaz and Felix Marquardt speak with scholar Norman Finkelstein about Gaza after two years of war, Israeli goals, genocide claims, Tucker Carlson and the right, Zionism and Jewish identity, the New York Times, the fading use of Holocaust framing, the UN’s loss of legitimacy, and Finkelstein’s upcoming book Gaza’s Gravediggers, including his critique of the October 7 rape narrative. Links:...

Felix speaks with award-winning British filmmaker and journalist Richard Sanders about the campaign against Jeremy Corbyn, the use of antisemitism claims against Palestine supporters, Peter Mandelson and the Epstein story, Gaza documentaries after October 7, media cover-up, Palestine Action, and the wider crackdown on speech in Britain and France. Links: Double Down News YouTube https://youtube.co...

David Pyne, former U.S. Army officer and Deputy Executive Director for the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security, joins Pascal Lottaz to assess the Iran war, the ceasefire extension, the blockade, Israel’s role, damage to Trump and MAGA, pressure on JD Vance, global fallout for U.S. power, and the Ukraine war’s likely path toward collapse and settlement. Links: David Pyne Substack The R...

Pascal Lottaz speaks with Dr. Joanna Lei, a Taiwanese businesswoman, media executive, and former KMT lawmaker, about the KMT chair’s visit to Beijing, the new party channel with China, the 10 cross-strait measures announced after the trip, DPP and KMT election pressure, US arms and TSMC issues, the Iran war as a warning for Taiwan, and possible paths to peace instead of war. Links: Joanna Lei on Y...

Pascal Lottaz is joined by former Swiss intelligence officer and military analyst Colonel Jacques Baud for a discussion on EU sanctions against Baud, frozen bank access, legal appeals, and the wider effect on free speech. They then examine the Israel Iran war, Western military limits, Iran’s deterrence, the move from Cold War logic to civilizational conflict, and the deeper crisis in Western leade...

Pascal Lottaz speaks with Algerian YouTuber Fethi Sahraoui of Jazair Hope about Algeria’s foreign policy, the legacy of French colonization, the war of independence, the long crisis with France, language and identity, Western Sahara, Palestine, the Algerian diaspora in France, and the need for honest history, respect, and a healthier Algeria-France relationship. Links: Jazair Hope: https://jazairh...

Pascal Lottaz speaks with Stanislav Krapivnik from Moscow about the US blockade around Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, the risk of a wider war, and the limits of US naval power. They also discuss ceasefire politics, pressure from Israel on Washington, the danger of a ground invasion, and Europe pushing the Russia Ukraine war toward a larger clash. Links: Verified guest links are listed below. ([x.com]...

Israel blew up a synagogue during the Jewish holiday of Passover. The synagogue was standing in Tehran and either intentionally or by accident became a victim of the US/Israeli war of aggression against Iran. The episode stands paradigmatically for the grave threat that Israel and Zionism pose to the life and safety of Jews (and non-jews) around the world. While we mostly think of Zionism as a dan...

Pascal Lottaz speaks with Carlos García Hernández, author of Fiat Socialism. ([lolabooks.eu](https://www.lolabooks.eu/products/fiat-socialism?utm_source=openai)) They discuss modern monetary theory, fiat money, debt, inflation, Japan, job guarantees, public deficits, national debt, and monetary sovereignty. The talk also looks at Argentina, BRICS, Marx, and the case for full employment, basic need...

Pascal is joined again by Professor Said Marandi of the University of Tehran to discuss the Islamabad talks, threats against the Iranian delegation, US demands over Iran’s nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz, the ceasefire with Lebanon, Western media claims, and the risk of more war, economic shock, and a wider regional crisis. Links: Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi on X: https://x.com/s_m_m...

Pascal talks with Australian historian and activist Vern Hughes, founder of the Australian Association for Armed Neutrality in 1988, about renewed interest in Australian neutrality. They discuss the US alliance, war and deterrence, public opinion, left and right support, social cohesion, immigration, ties to Asia, and the political path toward a more independent Australian foreign policy. Links: V...

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](h...

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...

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-victory Support 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/@MrSlavikman St...

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.co...

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_takahashi Neutrality Stud...

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_so...

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 Ringgenberg Website: https://patrickringgenberg.com/home/ Academia: https://unil...

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 discu...