Worlds Apart

Establishment extremism? Milan Uhrik, Member of the European Parliament for Slovakia

For more than three centuries, ever since the Peace of Westphalia, European powers agreed that identity and sovereignty came hand in hand. Countries didn’t need to like or approve of each other, but they could live side by side. Yet the end of the Cold War called that principle into question, allowing some nations, or some ideologies, to claim that they are inherently better than others and therefore have the right, even the responsibility to re-make them in their image. Where is that leading Europe, the West and the world? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Milan Uhrik, Slovak Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Republic Movement.

Attrition of dominance? SB Asthana, Retired Major General in the Indian Army

Wars of choice have long become the US’ preferred way of securing geopolitical dominance and feeding its insatiable military-industrial complex, but never before has it had a partner so eager and willing to host the bloodshed on its territory. Ukraine volunteered to be the scene of the clash of major geopolitical doctrines, but how much longer is the West ready to avail of and pay for this sacrifice? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by SB Asthana, a Retired Major General in the Indian Army.

No sense for sense? Hall Gardner, Professor Emeritus, Department of History and Politics, American University of Paris

The expression “reality check” entered the geopolitical vocabulary from the field of psychiatry and it still carries some of its maddening ambiguity. What is reality to one nation, is a total distortion to another or a complete horror to a third. Is the international system still capable of sane and respectful conversation about what is actually going on in the world? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Hall Gardner, Professor Emeritus, in the Department of History and Politics at the American University of Paris.

No energy for change? Harjeet Singh, global engagement director at the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative

It may sound esoteric, but in the final analysis, we are all children of the Earth, though our access to its riches and our exposure to its wrath differ immensely. And not only because of sheer luck – for the past few centuries, the planet’s resources have been eagerly and often wastefully exploited by the so-called developed countries, leaving the rest to pick up the pieces. The toll of this approach is broadly recognized, but why has it not yet materialized into any practical form of environmental accountability? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Harjeet Singh, a climate activist and global engagement director at the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.

Identity of against? Guy Mettan, Swiss politician

To many in the West, Russia is a country to be scorned, loathed, and above all, feared. For today’s guest, this isn’t a recent phenomenon, but something that Western elites have cultivated and weaponized since the Great Schism. Why? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Guy Mettan, a Swiss politician and author of ‘Creating Russophobia: From the Great Religious Schism to Anti-Putin Hysteria’.

Great crossroads? Pravesh Gupta, Associate Fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation in New Delhi

For centuries, Central Asia has been both a coveted prize and a battleground for great power rivalries, serving as a graveyard of empires yet struggling to develop and prosper on its own terms. As the focal point in the struggle for Eurasia moved westwards, to Ukraine, with devastating consequences for the latter, how do the Central Asian nations manage being at the crossroads of global politics? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Pravesh Gupta, Associate Fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation in New Delhi.

This interview was held on the sidelines of the Fourth Central Asian Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club in Ufa.