Ian Bremmer on the Risks America Poses to the World

June 2, 2026

Guests: Ian Bremmer

Ian Bremmer is a political scientist and the founder and president of Eurasia Group, a political-risk research and consulting firm; he coined the term 'G-zero' to describe a world without global leadership.

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About this episode

Klein interviews political scientist Ian Bremmer, founder of Eurasia Group, who argues America — not China or Russia — is now the world's biggest source of geopolitical risk. Bremmer contends Trump's transactional, norm-breaking foreign policy has shattered allies' trust in U.S. commitments, from NATO to trade deals, accelerating a G-zero world with no global leader. They discuss the AI arms race with China, the fragmenting global economy, and why multinational firms now treat U.S. policy volatility as their primary risk. Bremmer is more sanguine than many critics about American resilience, arguing the system can absorb Trump; Klein pushes him on whether the institutional damage is reversible. They close debating whether the postwar order can be rebuilt or must be replaced.

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