Switzerland with Tom Switzer

Jaksot

• 
  Is Ukraine winning the war? Lieven 17.09.2026 33min

  Western coverage says the tide is turning in Ukraine. Anatol Lieven on what is actually happening on the battlefield as the war enters its fifth year, whether Russia can consolidate the Donbas, and how much the Iran war has drained the weapons stocks Kyiv depends on.
• 
  Robert Pape: Iran Is Escalating — Is Trump Losing Leverage? 14.09.2026 43min

  The Houthis have seized Perim Island at the Bab el-Mandeb, and an attack from Iraqi territory has shut Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline. Robert Pape on what Iran is trying to achieve through its proxies, and whether the strategy can force Trump to reconsider the war.
• 
  Jeffrey Sachs: 911, Iran & Ukraine 12.09.2026 39min

  Twenty-five years after September 11, Jeffrey Sachs asks what America learned -- and what it refused to. Plus: is the tide finally turning against Tehran, and are Moscow’s gains in eastern Ukraine now irreversible?
• 
  Has Iran lost? Trita Parsi & Stephen Wertheim 07.09.2026 43min

  Six months in, the question is getting harder to avoid: who is actually losing this war? Trita Parsi and Stephen Wertheim on Iran’s failure to close Hormuz, the blockade squeezing its oil exports, and whether the strategic clock is now ticking against Tehran or Washington.
• 
  Mearsheimer: Has the War Turned Against Iran? 03.09.2026 34min

  Washington went to war with four objectives and has achieved none of them -- but what if Tehran is the one in serious trouble? John Mearsheimer on the case that Iran has overplayed its hand, and why he still thinks Trump has presided over a foreign-policy debacle.
• 
  Iran at six months: Cockburn 31.08.2026 34min

  Six months into Trump’s war, Iran’s air force is destroyed, its nuclear programme set back and its economy in ruins -- yet the regime survives and Tehran remains defiant. Patrick Cockburn on how you end a war when military power cannot deliver political capitulation.
• 
  Eberstadt: Trump, Asia & the Koreas 26.08.2026 39min

  Trump is reviving his personal diplomacy with Kim Jong Un while scaling back exercises with South Korea. Nicholas Eberstadt on what that means for deterrence on the peninsula, whether the Iran war has left America overstretched in Asia, and how Beijing is reading it all.
• 
  Mearsheimer & Kelanic: economic D-day on Iran 24.08.2026 52min

  Trump has promised to intensify the economic war on Tehran, but Iran can still threaten the Strait of Hormuz and US naval and munitions stockpiles are under strain. John Mearsheimer and Rosemary Kelanic on why time is not on Washington’s side.
• 
  Iran, Syria, Shia update: Joshua Landis 17.08.2026 49min

  The US naval blockade has left Iran with soaring inflation, a collapsing currency and troops it reportedly cannot pay. Joshua Landis on whether the Islamic Republic could still fall, what a Sunni-run Syria means for the Shia crescent, and the deal Damascus has struck with Moscow.
• 
  Tom Switzer: Why WW3 is closer than you think 15.08.2026 6min

  For eighty years, nuclear weapons made a Third World War almost unthinkable. Tom Switzer on why that confidence is now being questioned -- and why the real danger is not that leaders seek global conflict, but that separate crises from Ukraine to the Taiwan Strait begin to reinforce one another.
• 
  Stephen Walt: Why the US keeps losing wars 14.08.2026 46min

  The Iran war has been a spectacular failure -- but it is only the latest. Stephen Walt on why the United States, for all its overwhelming military superiority, keeps choosing objectives it cannot reach and keeps fighting the wrong war for the wrong reasons.
• 
  Mearsheimer, Nasr: What Comes Next in Iran? 10.08.2026 51min

  John Mearsheimer and Vali Nasr on the Iranian-Omani talks over the Strait of Hormuz, the widening split between hardliners and the Pezeshkian camp in Tehran, and what the new Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani defence pact reveals about the emerging balance of power in the Middle East.
• 
  Trump's latest Iran 'deal' | John Mearsheimer & Paul Kelly 03.08.2026 48min

  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).
• 
  Peter Oborne: “America Is Far More Dangerous Than Iran” 01.08.2026 39min

  Peter Oborne on why he believes the war against Iran is illegal, why he considers America a more dangerous actor on the world stage than the Islamic Republic, and how cricket went from gambling entertainment to imperial ethics and back again.
• 
  Is the Cockroach Party India's Arab Spring? | Salvatore Babones 27.07.2026 43min

  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.
• 
  Will Trump chicken out (again)? | Trita Parsi 27.07.2026 36min

  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.
• 
  Trump, Iran and ground troops? | John Mearsheimer 20.07.2026 36min

  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.
• 
  IRAN WAR UPDATE| Stephen Walt & Joshua Landis 13.07.2026 36min

  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.
• 
  Escalation (again) | Robert Pape 11.07.2026 46min

  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.
• 
  Are we heading back to war? | John Mearsheimer & Doug Bandow 29.06.2026 38min

  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.