Odd Arne Westad
The Strategist
The long view, patient, analytical, playing several moves ahead.
Odd Arne Westad is a distinguished professor with a focus on international relations and history. This interview reveals his strategic thinking as he navigates the complexities of global tensions and emphasizes the importance of understanding structural factors in international affairs.
“So I think with regard to Iran, I think the Chinese point of view is almost entirely connected to the fact that so much of China's energy needs come out through the Straits of Homo. So they need that blockade in all of its forms to end and set up a free flow of oil and gas out of the Gulf. I think that is the key aim for China.”
“With taking over Greenland. So this is going to be significant. Will it be in terms of potential the cause for a greater conflagration? At the moment, it doesn't look like that.”
“National economic development. And I think that's what we I think there are lots of things we can learn from China when it comes to long term planning in terms of how they have over a very short period of time been able to catapult the biggest country in the world in terms of population out of poverty. They are proud of that.”
“Within an echo chamber to a much higher extent than any other international leader that I know of. And Putin, of course, although I think his circle in many ways is actually wider than what Xi Jinping says, is caught in some of the same trap because of his insistence on the war in Ukraine.”
The Rest Is Politics: Leading — 192. Are We On The Brink Of World War III? (Odd Arne Westad)
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