For this episode of Talking Geopolitics, we turn our attention to China, where President Xi Jinping has been busy intensifying a crackdown on high-ranking officials. But although China's president may seem like a permanent feature on the global stage, a shaky Chinese economy and circling rivals means that his rule is far from secure. Geopolitical Futures analyst and China expert, Victoria Herczegh, has been writing about this issue for GPF subscribers on our website, and now she joins host Christian Smith to discuss what lies behind Xi's purges, what keeps him up at night, and what might happen when Xi leaves office.
On Saturday US time, 7 B2 Spirit Bombers dropped more than a dozen Bunker Buster Bombs on Iran as part of a coordinated strike on three nuclear sites inside the country. It came just over a week after Israel began its own strikes on Iran, which it said was approaching the point of no return in the development of a nuclear weapon. But it has left the world asking: is this a turning point, the start of a new conflict in the Middle East? Or the end of another one?
The similarities between Ukraine’s attack on Russian bombers and the Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear sites have been noted. But the parallels don’t stop there. The U.S. is involved in both conflicts and the script for each is flexible on a daily basis. The influence upon each is U.S. President Donald Trump. George Friedman joined host Leighton Smith to discuss both wars, employing the theory of geopolitical cycles as explained in his book “The Storm Before the Calm”.
On this episode of NewstalkZB's Leighton Smith Podcast, GPF Senior Analyst Antonia Colibasanu discusses Romania’s position and future influence in Europe and analyses the difficulties the country is faced with, including energy and security. She also summarizes the country’s relationship between Russia, Ukraine, Poland and the rest of Europe.
The U.S. decision to recuse itself from European security has created something of a crisis on the continent. America wants European countries to pick up their own defense spending and focus on their own region, following Vladimir Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
So what’s the feeling in Europe about the risks countries there face from Russia? How are they navigating those threats? And do Americans and Europeans see them in the same way?
The US-Ukraine minerals deal is done but a Russia-Ukraine peace deal is seemingly out of reach. Now the US is looking to scale back its involvement in mediating an end to the conflict. So what's next for the war in Ukraine? In this episode of Talking Geopolitics, GPF Chairman George Friedman considers how the fighting might end, why Vladimir Putin might be running out of room, and why Eastern Europe is now the pivot point for European defense.
It has been a tumultuous couple of weeks since U.S. President Donald Trump announced his sweeping tariffs, pushing the world's two biggest economies, the United States and China, into an ever-escalating trade war. The radical shifts taken by the administration have us at GPF wondering, could this be one of the most consequential months for global economics in the 21st century? And are the tariffs meant to disrupt the global economic system of free trade that's been in place since WWII? In this episode of Talking Geopolitics, Geopolitical Futures Chairman George Friedman joins host Christian Smith to examine just how we got here and to predict how long the tit for tat will continue.
Hidden Forces host Demetri Kofinas speaks with Geopolitical Futures Chairman George Friedman about the pivotal institutional and socioeconomic cycles that shape historical events—and how their convergence is driving the economic and political crises of the 2020s.
George and Demetri examine critical turning points in American history, including Andrew Jackson’s abolition of the Second Bank of the United States, the consumer-driven growth wave following FDR’s 1930s reforms, and the neoliberal era sparked by the Reagan Revolution.
As we edge over the halfway point of Donald Trump's first 100 days in his second term in office, it's possible we're seeing the start of America’s terminal decline or its regeneration, depending on which side of the line you're on. While the US has been busily announcing the end of the post-World War II global order abroad, at home, the president seems to be even more rapidly trying to upend the status quo. In this episode of Talking Geopolitics, Geopolitical Futures Chairman George Friedman joins host Christian Smith to discuss what to make of Trump’s first 50 days in office in the wider context of American history.
After Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Oval Office bust up, you might think the war in Ukraine is going rather well for Vladimir Putin. But, according to Geopolitical Futures Chairman George Friedman, the Russian president has already lost the war. Tune in to this new podcast from Geopolitical Futures as Friedman explains Russia’s failure, why he thinks Trump is buttering up Putin, and what he thinks of the press conference heard round the world and the decision to pause U.S. military aid for Ukraine.
One month into Donald Trump’s second term, even those who closely followed his first time in office have struggled to keep up. Foreign policy shifts alone include tariffs, attacks on allies, and a proposed takeover in Gaza. Now, an apparent rapprochement with Russia has the potential to revolutionize US strategy. What is the US trying to achieve in its negotiations with Russia? And is this all just the new norm for a world without an anchor?
Over the past few decades, Poland has seen its economy grow and its military expand. With Donald Trump returning to the White House next month and the former president having made his feelings about European security contributions clear, the Eastern European nation is set to become one of the most important players in Europe. Senior Analyst Antonia Colibasanu joined host Christian Smith in our recent Podcast+ episode for ClubGPF members to discuss the current state and potential future of the Polish nation.
