Neutrality Studies

Originally published on 7 Nov 2025. I've been hearing whispers about a profound shift in Europe's industrial heartland. Why are Germany's famed 'hidden champions'—the backbone of its peaceful economy—suddenly pivoting to serve the US war machine? The answer is more shocking than I imagined.To understand this transatlantic shift, today I’m talking to Dr. Stephan Ebner. As an international lawyer working in the US, Germany, and Taiwan, he advises clients on precisely these geopolitical questions and sees the contracts being signed firsthand.Our conversation uncovers the astonishing 400% profits driving this re-militarization and a disturbing truth: the US is now using German soil for weapons tests deemed too dangerous for America itself. This isn't just business; it's a fundamental reshaping of Europe's economy for war.Links:Neutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudiesOur Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Originally published on 5 Nov 2025.Is international law collapsing under the weight of powerful nations that blatantly ignore it? How can we use this crisis as a catalyst to build a system that actually holds everyone, not just the weak, accountable?To explore these critical questions, today I’m talking again to Dr. Alfred de Zayas, a Professor at the Geneva School of Diplomacy, who used to work as a senior lawyer in the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and later became the first UN Independent Expert on International Order.Together, we dissect the systemic hypocrisy of the "rules-based order," the rise of the Global South as a new center of power, the potential for BRICS to forge alternative legal tribunals, and the information war we must win to restore faith in global justice.Links:Homepage: https://www.alfreddezayas.com/Alfred de Zayas' Human Rights Corner (Blog): https://dezayasalfred.wordpress.com/X (Twitter): https://x.com/AlfreddezayasCounterPunch: https://www.counterpunch.org/author/a...Alfred's latest article at Covert Action: https://covertactionmagazine.com/2025...Neutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudiesNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com Goods Store: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Originally published on 3 Nov 2025.What if a major academic program was designed not for open inquiry, but to create "professors of propaganda"? How does the EU's Jean Monnet Programme turn academics into "ambassadors" for its agenda, and how deeply does this corrode independent thought in our universities?To explore these questions, today I’m talking again to Thomas Fazi, an Italian journalist with a fantastic substack and Twitter/X (link below). A few weeks ago, Thomas published an important report entitled: “Professors of Propaganda: How the EU’s Jean Monnet Programme Corrodes Academia,” and this is what we want to discuss today.Our conversation uncovers the program's explicit goals, its place within the EU's wider propaganda matrix, and the chilling effect this "funding with strings attached" has on academic freedom and critical thought.Links:Report mentioned in video: https://brussels.mcc.hu/uploads/defau...Thomas' Substack: https://www.thomasfazi.com/Thomas' X (Twitter): https://x.com/battleforeuropeNeutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudiesOur Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

In this insightful discussion, Nel Bonilla, a researcher and Substack analyst, explores the complex dynamics of Western power projection. She argues that instead of retreating, transnational elites are reconfiguring their strategies towards multi-domain warfare. Nel uncovers colonial mindsets entrenched in NATO documents and highlights the urgent framing of competition as a perpetual battle. The risks of escalation, the militarization of society, and the benefits to elites are all critically examined, prompting a call for grassroots organizing as a countermeasure.

Originally published on 31 Oct 2025.How does a society go from peaceful neighbors to bitter enemies? What if nationalism wasn't a sleeping giant but a tool deliberately awakened by capitalism? And what happens when global powers actively prevent a country from forming a unified identity?To explore these questions, today I’m talking to Professor Zlatko Hadžidedić, the Director at the Center for Nationalism Studies located in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.We uncover the manufactured nature of ethno-religious identities, the geopolitical games that fragment nations, and a chilling prediction for the future: a global rise of "authoritarian nationalism" designed to serve a new hyper-capitalist order. This is a fundamental rethink of how nations are made and unmade.Links:Center for Nationalism Studies: https://nationalismstudies.org/Nations and Capital (Book): https://www.routledge.com/Nations-and...Neutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudiesNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com Goods Store: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Originally published on 30 Oct 2025.What if the decisive factor in the Ukraine war isn't willpower or wonder weapons, but simply money? Are we overlooking a looming economic collapse in Kyiv that could fundamentally alter the conflict's trajectory when the funding finally dries up for good?To explore this critical angle, today I’m talking to Dr. Nicolai Petro, a Professor for Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.We unpack the stark financial realities facing Ukraine and debunk the myths surrounding game-changing weapons. Our discussion navigates the shifting global attention, Europe's political corner, and Russia's surprisingly patient long-term strategy, offering a forecast of the war's next, and perhaps final, phase.Links:Nicolai's Homepage: http://npetro.net/Neutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudiesNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com Goods Store: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

In this insightful discussion, Koji Imaki, a former pilot and senior leader in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, delves into Japan's unique defense challenges. He explores the delicate balance of Japan’s pacifist constitution while seeking a more 'normal' military role. Imaki highlights the impact of U.S. alliances, the constraints on overseas deployments, and the need for diversified partnerships beyond the U.S. He also shares perspectives on military dialogues with China and Japan's support for Ukraine, all while navigating operational limits facing Japan's Self-Defense Forces.

Originally published on 28 Oct 2025.This is a Webinar of the Multipolar Peace Network Initiative. Count Michael von der Schulenburg, who worked decades in conflict resolution for the United Nations and is now a European Parliament member for Germany's left-wing party BSW, discusses with Professor Jeffrey Sachs the reasons and extend of EU elite madness and institutional failures. Not only war propaganda is on an all-time high, also the political process is so captured by Russo-phobic pro-war narratives that the ideologists within the bureaucratic structures of the Brussel's behemoth don't even understand the extend and consequences of their irresponsible war policies. Coupled with the inability for long-term planning and disregard of national interest, the fate of the European continent is set for another dark chapter. The worst is yet to come.Links:Neutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudiesOur Shop: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Originally published on 26 Oct 2025.How do we make sense of a world on the brink of new wars in places like Venezuela and Iran, while simultaneously witnessing the rise of multipolar institutions like BRICS? Is the United States a wounded giant lashing out, or is its military might still the ultimate force shaping our future?To grapple with these questions, I’m talking again to the always brilliant political scientist and author, Dr. Vijay Prashad, the director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research.We explore the true nature of American power—is it a paper tiger incapable of winning wars, or a wounded beast still capable of immense destruction? We dive into the information war, the failure of European intellectuals to grasp reality, and why a holistic view is essential to understanding today's interconnected crises.Links:Tricontinental: https://thetricontinental.orgNeutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudiesNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com Goods Store: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...

Originally published on 19 Sept 2025.The West champions a 'rules-based order' while supporting a genocide in Gaza and fueling a proxy war in Ukraine. Has this hypocrisy shattered its global moral standing for good? And are rising powers actually trying to restore the international law the West has abandoned?To discuss this and more, today I’m talking again to Ambassador Chas Freeman, a former US diplomat, and Assistant Secretary of Defense.We explore the alarming rebranding of the US Department of Defense to the "Department of War" and its historical roots in the Monroe Doctrine. We also break down the escalating tensions with Venezuela, the moral bankruptcy of Western policy on Israel-Palestine, and why Ambassador Freeman calls Europe's approach to Ukraine the "coalition of the deluded." Finally, we discuss the collapse of US diplomacy and the rise of a 'Global Majority' seeking to conserve the very international order the West now undermines.Links:Neutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudiesNeutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com Goods Store: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourth...