The recent accord between Saudi Arabia and Iran, facilitated by China, signifies a seismic shift in geopolitical dynamics. This was followed by a three-day summit between the presidents of China and Russia in Moscow where they signed agreements that deepen their cooperation. China has established itself as a force for creating peace and stability in the world, replacing the US as a power broker. Clearing the FOG speaks with Patrick Lawrence, a journalist and professor with expertise in Asia, about what good relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran mean for countries in the region that have been destabilized by the US, for Israel and for the US’s military presence. Lawrence also discusses de-dollarization and why Russia and China are acting with urgency to create a global order that respects international law.
Listen here:
Review us on iTunes! Click here … Then click on “View in iTunes … Then click “Ratings and Reviews.”Guest:
Patrick Lawrence is a writer and columnist. He has published five books and is now at work on his sixth, “Journalists and Their Shadows,” out soon on Clarity Press. He served as a correspondent abroad for many years and is also an essayist, editor, and critic. Lawrence has taught at universities in the U.S. and abroad and lectures widely. He currently produces two commentaries (weekly and bi-weekly), primarily on foreign affairs and the media.
Lawrence was a correspondent and subsequently a columnist overseas for nearly thirty years, chiefly for the honorable and now defunct Far Eastern Economic Review, the (also honorable, also defunct) International Herald Tribune, and The New Yorker. He covered nearly every country in the region, a number of them extensively over many years. He won an Overseas Press Club Award for his reportage from Korea during the last years of the dictatorships. Lawrence served as News Editor of the Herald Tribune’s Asian edition before returning to the United States, in 2010.
Apart from his staff work, Lawrence’s reportage, commentary, essays, criticism, and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, Business Week, TIME, The Washington Quarterly, World Policy Journal, The Globalist, The Nation, Asian Art News, and numerous other publications. He is a foreign affairs columnist at The Nation and publishes regularly on Consortium News and Scheer Post. He has newsletter on Substack called The Scrum. He makes frequent television and radio appearances.