In this episode I talk with geostrategist Martin Skold. We initially focus on his book, The Race with No Finish Line — what powers compete over, the difference between Alpha and Beta powers, and how all this applied to the naval arms race between Britain and Germany prior to WWI. We then move on to the current situation of the US as global hegemon facing the rising power of China. This includes the possibility of US reindustrialization, the weird effects of the petrodollar, and whether the US has any core competencies left to leverage.

You can follow Martin on X and learn more at his personal web site.

His post on the Triffin Dilemma is on J. Daniel Sawyer’s blog Unfolding the World: “The Dollar, the Debt, and the Decline of American Power.”

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