Neutrality Studies

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