The first episode of The Focus for 2026 opens with a wide-ranging and hard-edged conversation with political theorist and commentator Roy Casagranda.
As global politics enters a period of heightened uncertainty, Dr Bruni and Casagranda examine the strategic, political, and moral pressures shaping the international system — from the Americas to Europe and the Middle East. The discussion explores the return of transactional politics, the limits of moral clarity in foreign policy, and how domestic political shifts are reshaping global decision-making.

This episode sets the tone for The Focus in 2026: analytical, unsentimental, and grounded in strategic reality.

Topics Covered

Transactionalism, power, and the erosion of norms in international affairs
Venezuela, energy politics, and strategic leverage
Europe’s strategic unease and leadership fatigue
Public opinion, populism, and the changing voter landscape
What 2026 reveals about the durability — or fragility — of the global order

Why This Episode Matters

As governments grapple with overlapping crises — political, economic, and security-related — this conversation cuts through surface-level narratives to examine how power is actually being exercised, justified, and contested.
For policymakers, analysts, and engaged citizens alike, this episode offers a sobering but necessary assessment of where the world is heading.

About the Guest

Roy Casagranda is a political theorist and commentator specialising in political philosophy, leadership, and the intersection of power and morality in modern politics.

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