We are back from our summer break and what a summer break that was. Joe Biden drops out of the US elections and Kamala Harris takes his place. In the meantime, Israel has been invading Lebanon while the Western Media is still waiting for Iran to throw the Middle East into a large-scale conflict. Time for us to analyse the world again, through the lens of the Western Bubble!

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA NOW gUG but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com

After weeks of hyping it up we are finally delivering on our promise to deliver some broad solutions to the problems of the Western Bubble. Can you think of any others? Feel free to share them with us!

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Over the weekend all of Europe went crazy over the European Song Contest - Eurovision. As a weekend full of scandals comes to an end, the biggest of which is "obviously" France not winning, we analyse Eurovision as a case study for the Western Bubble and particularly the role of Israel. Oh, and as you can imagine, Balder is "furious" that the Netherlands were disqualified...

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Today we analyse the United Kingdom's agreement with Rwanda to fly asylum seekers and migrants to Rwanda to process them. We talk about how this is a perfect example of Western decay and also rant a little.

Here is the video of Chris Philp https://youtu.be/Olk61SGPb-o?si=bmojFxSL_L0I0zYx

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Haiti is always in the news for negative reports, the country is governed by a failed state. Today we discuss failed states from the Western Bubble perspective and use Haiti as a case study of destructive Western behaviour.

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Multinational corporations undermine and harm the West in various ways. But why does the West not do anything to control their power and influence? Because these MNCs are inherently Western and a Western product - find out how exactly in this episode!

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

To discuss the Easter-West or non-Nato Western Bubble we invited someone from the Eastern-West. In this episode, we are talking to Daniel Bloch from Australia about Australia and to what extend we can or cannot apply the concept of the Western Bubble to Australia. Oh, ... and we also discuss how big Australia actually is, very big.

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

As a special Easter-Ramadan-Purim Episode, we had an informal talk about religion. What's the role of religion in the Western Bubble? How do we personally see and interpret religion? What is the role of religion in societies? And is the Western Bubble a substitute religion for people living in the West?

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Almost six months after the 7th of October Attacks, Israel is largely isolated on the world stage and in the West - driving it further into the arms of the West. We examine why this is the case and to what extend the West is to blame?

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

What is the role of the military in the Western Bubble? Does it add to it? Does it intensify it? How come NATO has a military budget many times the ones of China or Russia? All questions we answer in this episode!

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

"Northern European arrogance vs Southern European ingratitude" ... Europeans have their stereotypes for each other. But what does this have to do with the Western Bubble and its origins?

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Two years ago Russia invaded Ukraine, since then a lot has happened in the Western Bubble, but basically very little has changed on the battle fronts, except 500000 casualties. Is the West partially responsible for this suffering because it blocked negotiations in the summer of 2022?

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-february-24-2024

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Our 4th season is coming to an end, which provides us with an opportunity to look back at some of the topics we have discussed in the past months and see how they have developed. Is there still war in Ukraine and Gaza? How close is Iran this time to the nuclear bomb? How can Labour win two-thirds of the seats in the UK elections with only one-third of the voted? And finally, is Joe Biden too old to be US President?

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Donald Trump has very good chances to become US President once again. Today we analyse what the Foreign Policy of a second Trump term would look like, based on the concept of the Western Bubble. 

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

The Republican Party in the US is a great case study of Western behaviour in the past decades. Particularly recently, the Party has provided us with many things to analyse. 

DISCLAIMER: Dario’s audio is a little messed up in this episode, we apologise for this. 

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

The International Court of Justice issued an emergency ruling on a case of South Africa brought forward against Israel over Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip. Today we look at the relevance of international law for the Western Bubble and the world of international relations. Is it relevant at all?

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Today we discuss Cancel Culture! Where does it come from? And where is it going? Also, why is this unique to the Western World? Join us as we kick off our fourth season!

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Two days after we recorded our episode on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine Denmark dropped its investigation into the Nordstream Bombing and Macron speculated sending troops to Ukraine. Oh, and Putin threatened to deploy nuclear weapons if NATO were to send troops.

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

It is the end of 2023 and we are awarding the bubble awards once again! Who will win the bubble blooper, bubble booster, bubble burster, bubble blower and the best bubble? - Biden, Putin, von der Leyen, many others or the fan favourite Liz Truss?

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported with research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Geert Wilders, Javier Milei, Donald Trump, Boris Johnson! Crazy hair populists are on our minds and we want to understand why the West is so vulnerable to these right-wing populists. What aspects of the Western Bubble led to larger and larger parts of society voting right-wing populists parties?

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Usama Ghanem but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported with research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

How many times per week do we think about the Roman Empire? Balder thinks about it twice a week, Dario prefers the Egyptians… But what does this mean for the Western Bubble? Well, the Romans are an essential part of the Western identity as we like to idealise them.

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Usama Ghanem but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported with research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

David Cameron is back in the politics of the United Kingdom and so is our need to talk about the UK. The last time we did so was one year ago and the name of the Prime Minister was Liz Truss. This week we talk about the reasons that have led British party politics to be focused around individuals rather than ideas and whether the UK should be an example of Western liberal democracy for the world…

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Usama Ghanem but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported with research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Contrary to popular belief or media attention, the Israel-Hamas and the Russia-Ukraine conflicts are not the only ones in the world. Lives are also lost and destroyed in many other places in this world, some of which we highlight in this episode. What are the reasons we care so much about some conflicts, and so little about others.

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Usama Ghanem but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported with research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

The US Supreme Court has been the talk of the town this week. There are plenty of impactful cases to look at from the past weeks. Donald Trump basically reveiving imunity from his actions as President, bribery being legalised and the courts centralising power around itself. Plenty of actions that are in line with a further decay of institutions in the West, and plenty of matters to analyse for us!

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

After popular demand, we are back with this topic and the situation on the ground still has not improved. Since our last episode, the West has further isolated itself on this topic on the global stage after a vote in the UN General Assembly. And, we introduce a new category in our podcast: “International Relations Perspective” where we quickly analyse what Russia, Saudi Arabia and China are saying about this conflict.

NOTE: We recorded this episode on November 5th, but due to technical issues we can only publish it today. Please bear this in mind when we mention numbers.

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

This is our first interview episode of season three and we could not have started it with a better guest but our editor Usama Ghanem. We talk to him about his experiences in the West and with the Western. Listen to the episode to find out what obscure laws there are in the United Kingdom, the Arab Spring in Egypt and why Usama's name is spelled the way it is. This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Usama Ghanem but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

With the BRICS and G20 summit taking place last week, Western countries and media are panicking over new members to the BRICS and interpreting China’s absence from the G20 summit as a difficult relationship with India. This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Usama Ghanem but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

During the recording of our last episode, right-wing populism, Dario went on a rant about society’s treatment of the youth during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was too long to keep in the original episode, but also too honest and important to fully cut it. So we decided to upload it as an EXTRA Episode, enjoy!

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Usama Ghanem. Still, it is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Can we blame the average voters for their votes for destructive policies? To what extend are they victims or the establishment? To what extend should voters see through false promises? Today we are discussing a disagreement between us to what extend individuals in the West can be held accountable for their decisions.

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

It is inherently human to act and to try anything in our power to stop bad things from happening. But is that always the best option? In this episode, we analyse the Art of Doing Nothing and how the Western Bubble could really benefit from it in its foreign policy choices.

The article by Susanne Klatt on American vs German firefighters: https://www.fireengineering.com/health-safety/an-international-comparison-training-standards-and-fireground-safety-susanne-klatt/#gref

The article Balder wrote during the pandemic on the art of doing nothing: https://raiagroup.org/the-art-of-doing-nothing

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

In this episode, we analyse the concept of peace, in particular how it influences Western Bubble mentality. Typically Europeans and North Americans think of their societies as peaceful. This perception is often backed up by misleading statistics. Today we analyse one of these, namely the Global Peace Index. You can find the report we talk about here: https://www.economicsandpeace.org/reports/

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

In this episode we analyse the Western bubble mentality of Guardian writer Simon Tisdall. Tisdall has been writing about foreign policy for 40 years now. Much of his analysis serves as a good case study of the Western delusions we discuss in our episodes.Here are the articles we quote from: China, Myanmar and now Darfur ... the horror of genocide is here again (July 2nd 2023)Defeat for Ukraine would be a global disaster. Nato must finally step in to stop Russia (July 8th 2023)Nato faces an all-out fight with Putin. It must stop pulling its punches (March 5th 2023)The world still needs a policeman. Let’s hope the US doesn’t quit the job (March 26th 2023)The uncounted: how millions died unseen in America’s post-9/11 wars (May 21st 2023)This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Usama Ghanem but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Today we analyse three developments in the West as a result of the Western Bubble. First, we look at Donald Trump on trial, second, we examine Boris Johnson stepping down as member of Parliament and, lastly, we are upset with the German police arresting a climate activist for wanting to protest. This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Usama Ghanem but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

This June, US President Biden said that “Russia will not stop at Ukraine, and “All of Europe will be threataned”. Where is this fear of war coming from? Why is the West so afraid of it? How does this influence our foreign policy thinking?

This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Julia Ohm but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. This episode was supported by research from Yu Jie Law and Aston Roth. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Today we analyse how to understand the influence of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, on the Western Bubble. In our previous two episodes we talked about Huntington and Fukuyama whose ideas were turned into practice by the Bush administration. This led, for example, to the disastrous War on Terror. This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Usama Ghanem but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats

Today we analyse the rise and fall of the Middle Class in the Western Bubble. It has been a fundamental pillar in Western success over the past 400 years and has been the driving force behind core Western values. In the 21st century however, the Middle Class is threatened by an increasingly corrupt system that it created itself.This podcast is published with the help of RAIA and edited by RAIA member Usama Ghanem but is an individual project between the Director of RAIA Dario Hasenstab and Balder Hageraats. If you would like to get in touch with us write us an email at thewesternbubble@gmail.com or connect with us on Twitter via @JD_Hasenstab and @BHageraats