Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast Robert Skidelsky: Europe is lost in the Multipolar World
Feb 27, 2026
Robert Skidelsky, British House of Lords member and Keynes biographer, critiques Europe’s strategic confusion. He discusses propaganda, media-driven war narratives and the shrinking space for dissent. He examines NATO expansion, rearmament dilemmas and how Europe struggles to find a coherent role in a rising multipolar world.
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Media Manipulation Prolongs War
- Media manipulation shapes wartime narratives and prolongs conflict.
- Robert Skidelsky says Western self-censorship and symbiosis between politicians and media made negotiation with Russia nearly impossible for years.
Propaganda Replaces Complexity With Moral Stories
- Propaganda exploits in-group/out-group psychology to replace nuanced reality with moral narratives.
- Glenn Diesen and Robert Skidelsky reference Edward Bernays and Goebbels to show how 'good versus evil' framing silences complexity.
Cold War Victory Shaped Western Hubris
- Western elites treat post–Cold War rivals as permanently illegitimate because they interpret the Cold War as a decisive victory.
- Skidelsky argues that NATO expansion reflected hubris and ignorance about other cultures and created a narrative of perpetual Western triumph.