Pax Trumpicana

The first episode of The Focus for 2026 opens with a wide-ranging and hard-edged conversation with political theorist and commentator Roy Casagranda.
As global politics enters a period of heightened uncertainty, Dr Bruni and Casagranda examine the strategic, political, and moral pressures shaping the international system — from the Americas to Europe and the Middle East. The discussion explores the return of transactional politics, the limits of moral clarity in foreign policy, and how domestic political shifts are reshaping global decision-making.

This episode sets the tone for The Focus in 2026: analytical, unsentimental, and grounded in strategic reality.

Topics Covered

Transactionalism, power, and the erosion of norms in international affairs
Venezuela, energy politics, and strategic leverage
Europe’s strategic unease and leadership fatigue
Public opinion, populism, and the changing voter landscape
What 2026 reveals about the durability — or fragility — of the global order

Why This Episode Matters

As governments grapple with overlapping crises — political, economic, and security-related — this conversation cuts through surface-level narratives to examine how power is actually being exercised, justified, and contested.
For policymakers, analysts, and engaged citizens alike, this episode offers a sobering but necessary assessment of where the world is heading.

About the Guest

Roy Casagranda is a political theorist and commentator specialising in political philosophy, leadership, and the intersection of power and morality in modern politics.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(100)

Strategy in the 21st Century

Can military superiority compensate for bad strategy? In this special episode of The Focus, Dr John Bruni speaks with Sir Lawrence Freedman—one of the world’s foremost authorities on strategy and war—...

24 Sep 56min

The Multicultural Myth

Australia is one of the world’s most ethnically diverse societies—but is it truly multicultural? In Episode 116 of The Focus, Dr John Bruni speaks with Associate Professor Salvatore Babones, political...

17 Sep 1h 8min

25 YEARS AFTER 9/11

On September 10, 2001, the United States stood at the height of its power. Twenty-five years later, what happened to the American moment? In this special 25th-anniversary episode of The Focus, Dr John...

10 Sep 1h 54min

RUSSIA’S REAL THREAT TO NATO: How Far Can Putin Go?

What if Russia’s most dangerous weapon isn’t the one that starts a war — but the one that keeps us permanently on the edge of one? From drones over European airports and sabotage to cyberattacks, disi...

3 Sep 1h 13min

INDIA’S IRAN DILEMMA: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia & the New Strategic Order

India has spent decades pursuing strategic autonomy. But what happens when the world around it begins choosing sides? In this episode of The Focus Podcast, Dr John Bruni is joined by LTGEN (Ret.) Ravi...

20 Aug 1h 16min

Seeing Around Corners - Why Strategic Surprises Keep Catching Us Off Guard

From pandemics and wars to artificial intelligence, geopolitical rivalry, and presidential candidates, the pace of change has never been faster. Yet governments, businesses and intelligence agencies c...

6 Aug 1h 43min

How Colombia defeated the FARC | Part 2

How did Colombia defeat the FARC—and what can other democracies learn from its experience? In Part 2 of my conversation with General Alberto José Mejía Ferrero, former Commander of the Colombian Armed...

24 Juli 1h 15min

How Colombia Defeated the FARC

How does a democracy defeat one of the world's longest-running insurgencies? For more than fifty years, Colombia fought a brutal conflict against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)—a wa...

17 Juli 1h 9min