This article examines Nicholas J. Spykman’s scholarship beyond geopolitics and International Relations (IR). Because his works have mainly been studied through these prisms, I argue that we have overlooked the most important underlying current of his work: historical sociology. As a result, the prevailing view of him is overtly narrow. When Spykman’s scholarly output is examined from the 1920s to 1940s, an entirely different view of Spykman emerges.

Re-thinking Nicholas J. Spykman: from historical sociology to balance of power
BY Antero Holmila

Jensen Huang needs a moment.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned Russia will come for the rest of Europe if its warmongering is not checked now, just moments before Ukraine’s allies gathered to discuss US President Donald Trump’s peace push.

“We need to be crystal clear about the threat,” the military alliance leader said in a speech in Berlin on Thursday. “We are Russia’s next target. And we are already in harm’s way.”

Rutte painted a stark picture of what’s at stake for the Continent as Moscow continues to press its maximalist demands for territory and NATO restrictions in return for a vague promise to end its full-scale invasion, currently heading into its fourth winter.

“Russia has brought war back to Europe,” Rutte said. “And we must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured.”

Australia's nationwide ban on social media accounts for children under the age of 16 took effect on Wednesday.

The country passed the law, that blocks minors from having social media accounts on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Reddit, last year.

Australia's social media ban for users under 16 takes effect
Kalika Mehta AFP, Reuters, dpa

In the hours before the cutoff, some children posted goodbye messages to their online audiences, using tags such as "#seeyouwhenim16."

PRESENTLY THERE IS A LOT OF NOISE ABOUT THE DEATH OF NATO. THE US IS THREATENING TO GET OUT OF THE ALLIANCE, THE EUROPEANS ARE DIVIDED AND UKRAINE (NATO's PROXY) IS LOSING THE WAR.

THOUGH THE DEMISE OF THE USSR WAS SWIFT AND PAINFUL TO RUSSIA, THE DEMISE OF NATO, THE WESTERN COUNTERPART, IS ONLY A MIRAGE.

GUS THE DECEIT EXPERT COULD BE WRONG, BUT NATO, DESPITE APPEARANCES OF DISUNITY, IS STRONGER THAN EVER. LATENT LIKE A CANCER IN REMISSION, NATO IS A FASCIST ORGANISATION DEVISED AS THE MAIN WEAPON OF THE GEOPOLITICAL WESTERN DISEASE (MAINLY USA) TO CONQUER THE ENTIRE WORLD. 

WHEN FORCE IS MATCHED BY AN OPPONENT, THEN TRICKERY BECOMES THE TACTIC — WHILE STILL MAINTAINING A STRONG GRIP... 

WE BELIEVE THAT PUTIN KNOWS THIS... NATO IS NEFARIOUS, DANGEROUS AND ALIVE.

SURE, SOME OF THE NATO MEMBERS ARE TROUBLED....

The US is secretly planning to create a five-nation power bloc with Russia, China, India and Japan to sideline the Western-dominated G7, several media outlets have reported.

The idea was reportedly outlined in a longer unpublished draft of the US National Security Strategy released by the administration of President Donald Trump last week. According to the Defense One news portal, that version circulated before the White House published the unclassified document and reportedly proposed a new group, dubbed the ‘Core 5’, as a forum for dialogue among major powers outside the G7 framework.

Under the reported plan, the five-nation format would hold regular summits, similar to the G7, each focused on a specific theme, with Middle East security – and the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia in particular – said to be first on the agenda.

Throughout Europe, the drums are beating, the media trumpets are blaring. Warmongers are hammering away with a continuous stream of belligerent propaganda. The entire media-political system is mobilised for this purpose. The rhetoric and arguments upon which this belligerent campaign is based give pause for thought regarding what they reveal about the crisis Europe is experiencing.

Europe: the warmongers are running rampant.

BY Djamel Labidi

Let's examine these arguments.

A year defined by bullying power politics, media cowardice and moral failure – alongside rare but vital acts of courage that point to a different future.

Throughout 2025, nations and policies have been preoccupied with questions about how best to respond to intimidation by President Trump. The performance is nightly: intimidation by tariffs, by tearing up international treaties, by ridiculing the UN, by declaring climate change a hoax, by boasting of respect for dictators.

Stuart Rees

Last week the Pentagon, under “War Secretary” Pete Hegseth, carried out yet another military attack on a boat in the high seas that the Administration claims is smuggling drugs. That makes 23 boats blown up by the US military in the waters off Latin America – most near Venezuela – and nearly 100 persons killed.

by Ron Paul 

There is an EU document in which it is stated there “is a problem with the financing of Ukraine”. No shit. The real problem actually comes with a new lack of confidence from EU member states in this “financing” following recent unconfirmed reports that Donald Trump has told the EU in blunt terms that they can’t dip into the supposed 300 bn USD in Russian “frozen” assets held by the West.

EU summit to decide Zelensky’s fate

BY Martin JAY

When the war started, Russia’s central bank held around $207 billion in euro assets, $67 billion in U.S. dollar assets and $37 billion in British pound assets.

US negotiators have given Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky days to respond to a peace proposal requiring Kiev to accept territorial losses to Russia in exchange for unspecified security guarantees, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing officials familiar with the matter.

One person told the FT that US President Donald Trump was hoping to reach a deal by Christmas. Zelensky reportedly told US envoys that he needed time to consult with Kiev’s European backers.

Although Trump had said last month that he would like to see an agreement by Thanksgiving, he later told journalists that he did not have a specific timeline.

Russia hawks in Congress and their allies in corporate media have been on the warpath against the Trump administration’s 28-point peace plan for ending the Ukraine war, dubbing the plan a “Russian wish-list.” The MSNBC host Rachel Maddow went so far as to hold it up as proof that “the Kremlin runs U.S. foreign policy.” Those cable news narratives have proceeded almost entirely without reference to the actual text of the plan, which—as noted in TAC—is hardly a one-sided victory for Moscow.

Bannon, Mearsheimer: Trump’s Ukraine Plan Won’t End the War

Establishment Ukraine hawking has largely drowned out restraint-oriented criticisms of the 28-point plan.

From being custodians of public knowledge, governments are turning to architects of manufactured ignorance. Amid disappearing evidence, citizens are struggling to hold power to account.

Around the world, governments are quietly deleting, manipulating, or withholding public data at an unprecedented scale, which is a direct threat to democratic accountability.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Pope Leo XIV at Castel Gandolfo, located outside Rome.

According to a Vatican statement, the Pope reiterated the need for the continuation of dialogue and "expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace."