Geopolitical analyst John Mearscheimer returns to the Inside Politics podcast to talk to Hugh Linehan about his view of geopolitics and global security in 2026.
Mearsheimer has courted controversy by arguing that fault for the war in Ukraine lies with Nato for failing to understand Russia’s security concerns as the alliance expanded eastward.
The Chicago-based academic’s ‘neorealist’ theory of international relations predicts that powerful nations will naturally seek to dominate their neighbours and control their regions.
But while that view of geopolitics may be pleasing to the US president, Mearsheimer is also strongly critical of Donald Trump’s erosion of international norms and institutions.
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He talks to Hugh about Trump’s unilateralism, the security architecture of Europe, the consequences for Europe of the war in Ukraine, US Middle East policy and threats to liberal democracy.
Mearsheimer argues that without US leadership Europe will become increasingly destabilised as its nations diverge on how to deal with external threats.
The outspoken analyst paints a pessimistic picture, warning that the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza will have poisonous long-term consequences that most people fail to grasp.
Prof John Mearsheimer is a political scientist and geopolitical analyst at the University of Chicago.
