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Switzerland with Tom Switzer

Tom Switzer

A new program about politics, modern history and international relations with host Tom Switzer. 

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  • 30 episodes
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  • Avg 39 min
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  • #49
    Sunday · 43 min

    Robert Pape: Iran Is Escalating — Is Trump Losing Leverage?

    Iran is escalating its war with the United States — not only through direct attacks, but through its Shia allies and proxies across the Middle East. The Iran-backed Houthis have seized key territory on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, including the strategically important Perim Island at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, giving them a growing ability to threaten shipping and Saudi oil exports. At the same time, an attack launched from Iraqi territory has forced Saudi Arabia to shut down its crucial East-West oil pipeline, a key alternative route for exporting oil around the Strait of Hormuz. What is Iran trying to achieve? Are Tehran and its allies successfully shifting the balance of power in their favour? And can this strategy force Donald Trump to reconsider the war? Oil prices have already surged as the conflict disrupts key energy routes. But will prices continue to rise? And what does this mean for the argument that a prolonged crisis over the Strait of Hormuz would trigger a global economic crisis and force Washington to back down? Robert Pape is professor of political science at the University of Chicago.

  • #48
    Friday · 39 min

    Jeffrey Sachs: 911, Iran & Ukraine

    This week on Switzerland, Tom Switzer is joined by Professor Jeffrey Sachs from Columbia University. Subjects include the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks: what did America learn –- and what did it fail to learn? How much of the foreign-policy thinking that emerged from that moment still shapes the Trump administration? When will US leaders recognise limits to military and economic power in a messy world that won’t conform to America’s expectations? When will Washington, to use a neoconservative phrase, get mugged by reality? Plus, is the tide turning against Tehran? After all, Iran has failed to shut Hormuz completely. The global economy has proved remarkably resilient. And the American naval blockade is severely restricting Iran’s oil exports, placing mounting pressure on its already fragile economy. And is Ukraine really winning the war against Russia, as several western commentators allege? Or are Moscow’s strategic gains in eastern Ukraine irreversible?

  • #47
    September 6 · 43 min

    Has Iran lost? Trita Parsi & Stephen Wertheim

    It’s been more than six months into the war with Iran, and the question that matters is becoming harder to avoid: who is actually losing this war? The conventional wisdom has been that Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran was a catastrophic strategic blunder — that Tehran could absorb the punishment, close the Strait of Hormuz and inflict enormous economic costs on America and its allies. But the picture now looks rather more complicated. Iran has failed to shut Hormuz completely, the global economy has proved remarkably resilient, and the American naval blockade is severely restricting Iran’s oil exports and squeezing its already fragile economy. Is the strategic clock now ticking against Tehran? Has the balance of the war begun to shift? Is Iran running out of time? Or does Washington still face the greater strategic and political costs? And what does this war tell us about the future of American power, the Middle East and the cycle of military intervention that has defined U.S. foreign policy since the 9/11 terror attacks 25 years ago? Trita Parsi is from the Quincy Institute and Stephen Wertheim is from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Both are based in Washington, DC.

  • #46
    September 2 · 34 min

    Mearsheimer: Has the War Turned Against Iran?

    The conventional wisdom holds that the US war on Iran has been a massive strategic blunder. As John Mearsheimer has repeatedly argued, Washington went to war with four principal objectives: regime change, ending Iran’s uranium-enrichment program, destroying its ballistic-missile capabilities, and dismantling its network of militia proxies. None has been achieved. Add to this the damage inflicted on America’s alliance structure and the risks to US military bases across the region, and it is easy to see why Mearsheimer’s assessment -- that President Trump has presided over a foreign-policy debacle -- has gained such a wide following. But what if it is the Islamic Republic of Iran that is now in serious trouble? The US naval blockade is inflicting economic pain on Iran, while Tehran’s attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz has so far failed to produce the global energy crisis that many predicted. The world economy has proved surprisingly resilient, while Iran’s ability to export its oil is being severely constrained. What if, as the American scholar and columnist Walter Russell Mead has suggested, President Trump can keep as much energy as possible flowing through and around the Strait while simultaneously tightening the economic screws on Tehran? Could Iran’s rulers have overplayed their hand? John Mearsheimer is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and the author of The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001).

  • #45
    August 30 · 34 min

    Iran at six months: Cockburn

    Six months after Donald Trump launched his war on Iran, the regime survives, the Strait of Hormuz remains contested, and Washington is struggling to turn military might into a political victory. Trump and his supporters can make a credible case that Iran has been severely damaged. Its air force and much of its navy have been destroyed; its nuclear program has been set back; senior leadership has been decapitated; its economy is in terrible shape. But none of that necessarily translates into political leverage. What happens next? Tehran remains defiant and Washington faces dangerous questions: how do you end a war when military power cannot deliver political capitulation? And has America reached its limits in Iran? Has the Iran conflict fundamentally changed the strategic equation in Ukraine? Patrick Cockburn is columnist with the I paper in London. Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and News24 (formerly Sky News), where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.

  • #44
    August 25 · 39 min

    Eberstadt: Trump, Asia & the Koreas

    President Donald Trump is seeking to revive his personal diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while substantially reducing US military exercises with South Korea. What does this mean for the future of the US–South Korean alliance -- and for deterrence on the Korean Peninsula? But the stakes extend far beyond the Korean Peninsula. The war with Iran has raised fresh questions about whether the US is becoming overstretched militarily, particularly as Washington shifts resources towards the Middle East while asking its Asian allies to shoulder more of the burden for their own defence. What does this mean for South Korea, Japan and the wider US security presence in East Asia? Will a perceived weakening of American commitment encourage China to become more assertive around Taiwan and elsewhere? Could Trump’s approach ultimately produce greater burden-sharing among America’s allies, or could it undermine confidence in US leadership and accelerate an arms race across East Asia? And as North Korea’s nuclear arsenal grows and China’s military power expands, what should America’s long-term defence posture in the Indo-Pacific look like? Nicholas Eberstadt holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, where he researches and writes extensively on international security in the Korean Peninsula and Asia, demographics, and economic development. Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and News24 (formerly Sky News), where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.

  • #43
    August 23 · 52 min

    Mearsheimer & Kelanic: economic D-day on Iran

    Donald Trump has pledged to intensify the U.S. campaign of economic warfare on Tehran, but he faces serious challenges. Iran maintains its ability to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. And there are growing strains on US naval and munitions stockpiles. Time is not on Trump’s side -- and the war will continue to expose serious limits to America’s ability to sustain its traditional military posture in the region. John Mearsheimer is professor of political science at the University of Chicago. Rosemary Kelanic is the director of the Middle East program at Defense Priorities in Washington.

  • #42
    August 16 · 49 min

    Iran, Syria, Shia update: Joshua Landis

    The U.S. naval blockade is costing Iran’s regime dearly in terms of lost economic activity, sky-high inflation, unemployment and a collapsing Iranian currency. President Trump says that the regime “is in very bad shape” economically and unable to pay its troops. Could the Islamic Republic of Iran still collapse? To what extent does the new Sunni-run, pro-US Syria complicate Tehran’s effort to assert a Pax Iranica in the region? Has Iran’s Shia crescent -- the vast region stretching from southern Lebanon to southern Iraq and the Houthi parts of Yemen -- come unstuck? Bashar al-Assad was not just an ally of Tehran’s but also Moscow’s. Russia long maintained a military presence in Syria, dating to the Soviet era. What kind of deal has Syria and Russia now reached? And what to make of the recent trials of Assad and his family? Is Syria on the path to becoming a viable democratic state? Joshua Landis is the head of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

  • #41
    August 14 · 6 min

    Tom Switzer: Why WW3 is closer than you think

    For decades, the prevailing assumption was that nuclear weapons had made a Third World War almost unthinkable. Yet an increasing number of serious strategists, historians and commentators are now asking whether that confidence is still justified. While Donald Trump’s temperament has undoubtedly heightened concerns about miscalculation, it is too simplistic to blame one man for the world’s growing instability. The deeper story is the steady erosion of the post-Cold War international order, the return of great-power rivalry, and the convergence of multiple geopolitical flashpoints stretching from Ukraine and the Middle East to the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula. Nuclear deterrence continues to impose powerful constraints on the major powers, just as it has for much of the past eight decades. The real risk is not that world leaders deliberately seek global conflict, but that separate crises begin to reinforce one another in ways that even experienced statesmen struggle to contain. For more, read Tom Switzer’s essay “The Guns of August: Are We on the Brink of World War III?” in The Spectator magazine: https://spectator.com/article/brink-world-war-three-guns-august/ Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and News24 (formerly Sky News), where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.

  • #40
    August 13 · 46 min

    Stephen Walt: Why the US keeps losing wars

    It’s become increasingly clear that the Iran war has been a spectacular failure. There is just no plausible military outcome that produces the political result Washington says it wants. Which raises an important question: If the United States has overwhelming military superiority, why has it become so difficult for Washington to turn military power into political victory? The sad reality is that time and again the U.S. chooses objectives that are either unattainable, poorly defined, or disconnected from the political realities of the country it is fighting. For Washington has a long record of fighting the wrong war for the wrong objective. Why does this keep happening? Stephen Walt is a columnist at Foreign Policy magazine and professor of international relations at Harvard University. Read his latest column here: https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/08/05/iran-trump-lost-wars-us-military-history-strategy-geopolitics/

  • #39
    August 9 · 51 min

    Mearsheimer, Nasr: What Comes Next in Iran?

    Hardly a day goes by without another indication that the international order is in flux. But as the war in Iran enters a new phase, some questions are becoming increasingly urgent. What do we know about the emerging Iranian-Omani discussions over the Strait of Hormuz? What might they mean for the future control and security of the strait? And what more can Donald Trump do to secure an outcome that could plausibly be called an American victory? Then there is the internal struggle within Iran. How deep is the divide between hardliners, who oppose negotiations with Washington and favour pursuing complete victory, and supporters of President Masoud Pezeshkian and the powerful parliamentary speaker who is also serving as Iran’s chief negotiator? Who currently has the upper hand? And is the regime in danger of overplaying its hand? Finally, what should we make of the new joint defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan? Three of the world’s most powerful Sunni Muslim nations -- one of them a NATO member -- have agreed that an attack on one would be treated as an attack on all. What lies behind the pact, and what does it tell us about the emerging balance of power in the Middle East? And what to make of Israel’s rejection of a US-backed plan aimed at a phased disarmament of Hamas in Gaza? John Mearsheimer is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and author, most recently, of How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy. Vali Nasr is Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, and author of Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History.

  • #38
    August 3 · 48 min

    Trump's latest Iran 'deal' | John Mearsheimer & Paul Kelly

    Over the past week, the world appeared to be edging towards another dangerous military escalation in the Persian Gulf, with both Washington and Tehran issuing fresh threats. But this weekend Donald Trump abruptly called off the planned attack on Iran. The President says diplomacy has made further military action unnecessary. But are Washington and Tehran genuinely prepared to reach a meaningful peace agreement? Or is this merely a temporary pause before the next crisis? And what has the conflict done to American credibility, prestige and influence around the world? John Mearsheimer is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and author, most recently, of How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy. Paul Kelly is Editor-at-Large of The Australian and author, most recently, of The Twilight of Exceptionalism: The Liberal and Conservative Era. John Mearsheimer is professor of political science at the University of Chicago and author of The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001).

  • #37
    July 31 · 39 min

    Peter Oborne: “America Is Far More Dangerous Than Iran”

    The war against Iran, launched by President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu on February 28, was meant to last four to six weeks. It is now in its twenty-second week. Peter Oborne has spent more than two decades arguing against Western military intervention in the Middle East -- he was one of the very few British conservative columnists to oppose the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He argues that this war is illegal under international law, that it was launched without serious deliberation, and that it is accelerating a geopolitical shift already well underway: the rise of China and the unravelling of American authority. He also takes the case for the war head on. Was Iran ever close to a nuclear weapon, or did the 2015 agreement hold until Washington walked away from it? Are Western objections to Tehran's human rights record consistent with its silence on Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE? And what does it say that three days before he launched the war, President Trump delivered a two-hour State of the Union address and devoted just thirty seconds to Iran? In the second half, Tom and Peter turn to cricket. Full Circle argues that the game began in the eighteenth century as a commercial entertainment run by brewers, bookmakers and gambling aristocrats; was reinvented by the Victorians as a system of ethics fit to run an empire; and has now returned to where it started, dominated by private equity and franchise money. Along the way: the first overseas match, played in Aleppo in 1676; racism as cricket's original sin, decades before apartheid; how Afghan refugees learned the game in Pakistan and carried it home; and whether India's dominance of world cricket is something to celebrate or something to watch closely. Peter Oborne is Associate Editor of Middle East Eye and a former chief political commentator of The Daily Telegraph. He is the author of Complicit: Britain's Role in the Destruction of Gaza and, most recently, Full Circle: A History of Cricket, co-written with Richard Heller. Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.

  • #36
    July 27 · 43 min

    Is the Cockroach Party India's Arab Spring? | Salvatore Babones

    Last weekend, thousands of young Indians took to the streets in support of the Cockroach Junta Party, or CJP -- a satirical movement that became a serious vehicle for growing frustration with India’s education system. After weeks of demonstrations, the Modi government relented, culminating in the resignation of India’s Education Minister. The political drama comes at a time when India’s democratic credentials are under increasing international scrutiny. Global democracy rankings have downgraded the world’s largest democracy, while critics accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP government of eroding liberal institutions. How significant is this moment? Is Modi facing his most serious political challenge in more than a decade in office? Are these protests part of a broader generational revolt sweeping South Asia -- like the student uprising in Bangladesh in 2024 that brought down Sheikh Hasina’s government, or the Gen Z demonstrations in Nepal in 2025 that forced the resignation of that country’s prime minister? Or is India fundamentally different? Salvatore Babones is associate professor of Sociology at the University of Sydney and author of Dharma Democracy: How India Built the Third World’s First Democracy. Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.

  • #35
    July 27 · 36 min

    Will Trump chicken out (again)? | Trita Parsi

    Follow Trita here: https://tritaparsi.substack.com/ Follow Tom here: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer This week marks 150 days since US and Israeli air strikes hit Iran. Back then, President Donald Trump predicted the campaign would be over within four to six weeks. The Iranian regime would be humbled, perhaps even overthrown. Its missile and drone capabilities would be shattered. Its nuclear ambitions would be set back for at least a generation. And its regional proxy network -- from Hamas and Hezbollah to the Houthis -- would be gravely weakened. Five months on, the picture looks very different. Tehran has proved far more resilient than many expected. US stockpiles of precision munitions have been depleted. The global economy is under strain. Petrol prices have climbed, America’s Gulf allies are increasingly anxious, and President Trump’s approval ratings have fallen sharply. What now? Washington lacks the appetite to commit the blood and treasure required for a decisive military victory. Yet it cannot simply disengage without risking a major strategic setback. Is there a realistic pathway to ending this war? Why has Trump appeared to halt his recent military escalation which helped end the ceasefire a fortnight ago? Trita Parsi is co-founder and Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and author of A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran.

  • #34
    July 20 · 36 min

    Trump, Iran and ground troops? | John Mearsheimer

    Fighting between the United States and Iran has entered a dangerous new phase. Over the past week, the U.S. military has expanded its campaign, striking a broader range of targets deep inside Iran, including bridges and other critical infrastructure, in an apparent effort to increase pressure on Tehran and force an end to attacks on commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf. Iran has responded with fresh missile and drone attacks across the Gulf, killing and wounding U.S. service personnel and raising fears of a wider regional conflict. Where does this leave the crisis? Are we witnessing another temporary escalation -- or the beginning of a much larger war? John Mearsheimer is professor of political science at the University of Chicago and author of The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001). Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.

  • #33
    July 12 · 36 min

    IRAN WAR UPDATE| Stephen Walt & Joshua Landis

    The renewed cycle of U.S. and Iranian air strikes has replaced the earlier phases of the confrontation, which began with the U.S. bombing campaign from late February to early April and was followed by the U.S. naval blockade from mid-April to mid-June. The central question now is whether the Trump administration can compel Tehran to allow commercial shipping to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without requiring the Iranian regime’s permission. Iran has categorically rejected that proposition, insisting that all vessels transiting the Strait must do so with Tehran’s explicit approval. Is there any realistic prospect that Iran will back down? Or does Washington have a credible military strategy capable of changing the Islamic Republic’s position? Guests are Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at Harvard University, and Joshua Landis, Professor of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

  • #32
    July 11 · 46 min

    Escalation (again) | Robert Pape

    The past week has shattered whatever faith remained in that Memorandum of Understanding. The United States and Iran have once again exchanged strikes, with the U.S. military saying it hit 90 military targets, though Tehran claims many of those sites were civilian. The Iranian military, meanwhile, says it has retaliated by targeting U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan. What’s now likely to happen? Has the renewed fighting vindicated Professor Robert Pape’s escalation trap? On Ukraine, Professor Pape contends that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s campaign has become a strategic failure and that Ukraine is gaining the upper hand, including in Crimea. We put to Professor Pape the counterarguments advanced by Professors John Mearsheimer and Jeffrey Sachs, both of whom argue that Russia retains the strategic advantage and is likely to prevail in a prolonged ground war of attrition. Robert Pape is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and author of the Substack The Escalation Trap. His forthcoming book is Our Own Worst Enemies: America and the Age of Violent Populism. Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.

  • #31
    June 28 · 38 min

    Are we heading back to war? | John Mearsheimer & Doug Bandow

    No one expected diplomacy to proceed without setbacks. But there was hope that the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the United States and Iran in late June, vague though it was, would create enough political space to allow commercial shipping to resume through the Strait of Hormuz. The events of the past few days have been a reminder of just how fragile that ceasefire remains. What kind of challenge does this pose to efforts to turn that initial memorandum into a more durable peace agreement? To what extent has the U.S. foreign policy establishment been, to coin a neoconservative phrase, mugged by reality? Will the Iran debacle encourage Washington policy elites to place less emphasis on not just the Persian Gulf but also Europe and Asia? Today’s guests are John Mearsheimer from the University of Chicago and Doug Bandow from the Cato Institute, the leading libertarian think tank in Washington.

  • #30
    June 22 · 40 min

    Can the US-Iran peace deal hold? | John Mearsheimer & Trita Parsi

    Whether the memorandum of understanding ultimately survives political opposition in Tehran, Washington and Jerusalem remains to be seen. What is clear is that the latest tensions over the Strait of Hormuz is a reminder of how fragile the situation remains in the Persian Gulf and how uncertain the prospects are for a durable peace. Will Donald Trump follow through on his threats that the United States could become the “guardian angel” of the Strait of Hormuz? Could recent White House criticism of the Jewish state mark the contours of an effort to de-specialise the US-Israel relationship? Such a stance no doubt causes panic in much of Washington, but will it resonate with Middle America, especially among younger demographics? Today’s guests are John Mearsheimer from the University of Chicago and Trita Parsi from the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

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