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Switzerland with Tom Switzer: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Tom Switzer
A new program about politics, modern history and international relations with host Tom Switzer.
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- 3 days ago43 min
Is the Cockroach Party India's Arab Spring? | Salvatore Babones
Last weekend, thousands of young Indians took to the streets in support of the Cockroach Junta Party, or CJP -- a satirical movement that became a serious vehicle for growing frustration with India’s education system. After weeks of demonstrations, the Modi government relented, culminating in the resignation of India’s Education Minister. The political drama comes at a time when India’s democratic credentials are under increasing international scrutiny. Global democracy rankings have downgraded the world’s largest democracy, while critics accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP government of eroding liberal institutions. How significant is this moment? Is Modi facing his most serious political challenge in more than a decade in office? Are these protests part of a broader generational revolt sweeping South Asia -- like the student uprising in Bangladesh in 2024 that brought down Sheikh Hasina’s government, or the Gen Z demonstrations in Nepal in 2025 that forced the resignation of that country’s prime minister? Or is India fundamentally different? Salvatore Babones is associate professor of Sociology at the University of Sydney and author of Dharma Democracy: How India Built the Third World’s First Democracy. Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.
- 3 days ago36 min
Will Trump chicken out (again)? | Trita Parsi
Follow Trita here: https://tritaparsi.substack.com/ Follow Tom here: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer This week marks 150 days since US and Israeli air strikes hit Iran. Back then, President Donald Trump predicted the campaign would be over within four to six weeks. The Iranian regime would be humbled, perhaps even overthrown. Its missile and drone capabilities would be shattered. Its nuclear ambitions would be set back for at least a generation. And its regional proxy network -- from Hamas and Hezbollah to the Houthis -- would be gravely weakened. Five months on, the picture looks very different. Tehran has proved far more resilient than many expected. US stockpiles of precision munitions have been depleted. The global economy is under strain. Petrol prices have climbed, America’s Gulf allies are increasingly anxious, and President Trump’s approval ratings have fallen sharply. What now? Washington lacks the appetite to commit the blood and treasure required for a decisive military victory. Yet it cannot simply disengage without risking a major strategic setback. Is there a realistic pathway to ending this war? Why has Trump appeared to halt his recent military escalation which helped end the ceasefire a fortnight ago? Trita Parsi is co-founder and Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and author of A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran.
- 1 weeks ago36 min
Trump, Iran and ground troops? | John Mearsheimer
Fighting between the United States and Iran has entered a dangerous new phase. Over the past week, the U.S. military has expanded its campaign, striking a broader range of targets deep inside Iran, including bridges and other critical infrastructure, in an apparent effort to increase pressure on Tehran and force an end to attacks on commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf. Iran has responded with fresh missile and drone attacks across the Gulf, killing and wounding U.S. service personnel and raising fears of a wider regional conflict. Where does this leave the crisis? Are we witnessing another temporary escalation -- or the beginning of a much larger war? John Mearsheimer is professor of political science at the University of Chicago and author of The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001). Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.
- 2 weeks ago36 min
IRAN WAR UPDATE| Stephen Walt & Joshua Landis
The renewed cycle of U.S. and Iranian air strikes has replaced the earlier phases of the confrontation, which began with the U.S. bombing campaign from late February to early April and was followed by the U.S. naval blockade from mid-April to mid-June. The central question now is whether the Trump administration can compel Tehran to allow commercial shipping to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without requiring the Iranian regime’s permission. Iran has categorically rejected that proposition, insisting that all vessels transiting the Strait must do so with Tehran’s explicit approval. Is there any realistic prospect that Iran will back down? Or does Washington have a credible military strategy capable of changing the Islamic Republic’s position? Guests are Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at Harvard University, and Joshua Landis, Professor of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
- 2 weeks ago46 min
Escalation (again) | Robert Pape
The past week has shattered whatever faith remained in that Memorandum of Understanding. The United States and Iran have once again exchanged strikes, with the U.S. military saying it hit 90 military targets, though Tehran claims many of those sites were civilian. The Iranian military, meanwhile, says it has retaliated by targeting U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan. What’s now likely to happen? Has the renewed fighting vindicated Professor Robert Pape’s escalation trap? On Ukraine, Professor Pape contends that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s campaign has become a strategic failure and that Ukraine is gaining the upper hand, including in Crimea. We put to Professor Pape the counterarguments advanced by Professors John Mearsheimer and Jeffrey Sachs, both of whom argue that Russia retains the strategic advantage and is likely to prevail in a prolonged ground war of attrition. Robert Pape is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and author of the Substack The Escalation Trap. His forthcoming book is Our Own Worst Enemies: America and the Age of Violent Populism. Join Tom's Exclusive Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cff5e11f69a3/switzerland-with-tom-switzer Read Tom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomswitzer Tom Switzer is a journalist and broadcaster who has been a prolific commentator on politics and international affairs. His writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times (international), The Australian, and across ABC and Sky News, where he has been a regular presenter and panellist. For 30 years, since 1995, he has worked at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, the Australian Financial Review, The Australian, the London-based Spectator magazine, and the Sydney-based Centre for Independent Studies, which he headed from 2017 to 2025. He is the host of Switzerland, a long-form interview series exploring global politics, modern history, and the ideas shaping the world.
- Jun 28, 202638 min
Are we heading back to war? | John Mearsheimer & Doug Bandow
No one expected diplomacy to proceed without setbacks. But there was hope that the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the United States and Iran in late June, vague though it was, would create enough political space to allow commercial shipping to resume through the Strait of Hormuz. The events of the past few days have been a reminder of just how fragile that ceasefire remains. What kind of challenge does this pose to efforts to turn that initial memorandum into a more durable peace agreement? To what extent has the U.S. foreign policy establishment been, to coin a neoconservative phrase, mugged by reality? Will the Iran debacle encourage Washington policy elites to place less emphasis on not just the Persian Gulf but also Europe and Asia? Today’s guests are John Mearsheimer from the University of Chicago and Doug Bandow from the Cato Institute, the leading libertarian think tank in Washington.
- Jun 22, 202640 min
Can the US-Iran peace deal hold? | John Mearsheimer & Trita Parsi
Whether the memorandum of understanding ultimately survives political opposition in Tehran, Washington and Jerusalem remains to be seen. What is clear is that the latest tensions over the Strait of Hormuz is a reminder of how fragile the situation remains in the Persian Gulf and how uncertain the prospects are for a durable peace. Will Donald Trump follow through on his threats that the United States could become the “guardian angel” of the Strait of Hormuz? Could recent White House criticism of the Jewish state mark the contours of an effort to de-specialise the US-Israel relationship? Such a stance no doubt causes panic in much of Washington, but will it resonate with Middle America, especially among younger demographics? Today’s guests are John Mearsheimer from the University of Chicago and Trita Parsi from the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
- Jun 19, 202632 min
Bolton & Izadi on the US-Iran Memo
President Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran has been hailed by supporters as a diplomatic breakthrough and denounced by critics as a strategic retreat. But what does the agreement actually achieve, and who, if anyone, emerges stronger from months of conflict? Tom Switzer speaks with two guests with profoundly different perspectives: former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, one of Washington’s most prominent foreign-policy thinkers, and Professor Foad Izadi, Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Tehran and a leading Iranian commentator on U.S.-Iran relations. Together they offer sharply contrasting assessments of the agreement, its implications for the Middle East, and whether it brings the region any closer to a durable peace.
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