I am a philosopher, neuroscientist, geostrategist, and futurologist with a deep interest in the exponential growth of disruptive technologies and how they have the potential to both foster and hinder the progress of human civilisation. My mission is rooted in Transdisciplinary Philosophy and finding transdisciplinary, equitable, and sustainable solutions to identify, predict, and manage frontier risks and geopolitical fractures, both here on earth and in Outer Space. My work at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, St. Antony’s College (Oxford), and the WEF (as a member of various Global Future Agenda Councils) focuses on the interplay between philosophy, neuroscience, strategic culture, applied history, disruptive technologies, grand strategy, IR theory, and security.
I wrote...
Symbiotic Realism: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Understanding International Relations
Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio dismantles the false divide between biology and culture.
He shows how emotions and the biological drive for balance are at the core of human behavior, values, and institutions. He helps us understand the hidden architecture of global affairs: beneath ideology and strategy lie emotional imperatives that shape cultures and geopolitics.
Damasio affirms the centrality of human dignity as an evolved need rather than a political abstraction. His insights help illuminate why rational actors on the world stage often behave in ways that reflect fear, pride, or hope more than calculated interest.
His work also aligns with my belief that humans are Emotional Amoral Egoists: human behaviour is driven by emotional impulses, amoral actions, and egoism, in which individuals or states make decisions based on personal self-interest and power rather than ethical principles.
'Damasio undertakes nothing less than a reconstruction of the natural history of the universe ... [A] brave and honest book' The New York Times Book Review
The Strange Order of Things is a pathbreaking investigation into homeostasis, the condition of that regulates human physiology within the range that makes possible not only survival but also the flourishing of life.
Antonio Damasio makes clear that we descend biologically, psychologically and even socially from a long lineage that begins with single living cells; that our minds and cultures are linked by an invisible thread to the ways and means of ancient unicellular…
I recommend A Philosopher Looks at Architecture by Paul Guyer because it illuminates how the built environment reflects the deeper forces that also shape international relations: identity, ethics, technological change, and our evolving understanding of human dignity.
Guyer’s exploration of architectural principles (good construction, utility, and beauty) reveals why societies design the spaces they do and how those choices mirror political power, cultural values, and collective aspirations. In an era when emerging technologies and new strategic domains are reshaping global order, understanding architecture as a philosophical and ethical practice becomes essential.
Guyer’s book reminds us that the structures we build, on Earth or beyond it, are expressions of what we prioritise and how we negotiate competing interests – making it a valuable lens on the forces driving world politics today.
What should our buildings look like? Or is their usability more important than their appearance? Paul Guyer argues that the fundamental goals of architecture first identified by the Roman architect Marcus Pollio Vitruvius - good construction, functionality, and aesthetic appeal - have remained valid despite constant changes in human activities, building materials and technologies, as well as in artistic styles and cultures. Guyer discusses philosophers and architects throughout history, including Alberti, Kant, Ruskin, Wright, and Loos, and surveys the ways in which their ideas are brought to life in buildings across the world. He also considers the works and words…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
In this meticulously researched book, Farrell and Newman explore how the U.S. has reshaped the global economic system, using financial networks, supply chains, and digital infrastructure as instruments of geopolitical influence.
The book does a good job at highlighting the ways in which global systems are manipulated to serve strategic ends, often with profound implications for sovereignty and dignity.
I recommend this book because it provides a compelling look at how economic interdependence—a cornerstone of global cooperation—has become a subtle yet powerful mechanism for exerting influence and control. It echoes my long-held conviction that the complex web of global relationships is a dynamic arena for power struggles, where economic dependencies can be weaponised to serve political interests and strategic dominance.
A Responsible Statecraft best foreign policy book of 2023
A deeply researched investigation that reveals how the United States is like a spider at the heart of an international web of surveillance and control, which it weaves in the form of globe-spanning networks such as fiber optic cables and obscure payment systems
America’s security state first started to weaponize these channels after 9/11, when they seemed like necessities to combat terrorism―but now they’re a matter of course. Multinational companies like AT&T and Citicorp build hubs, which they use to make money, but which the…
This is a timeless – and timely – account of the war between Athens and Sparta.
Thucydides explores power, fear, security, and human nature—forces still central to international relations today. The concept of the "Thucydides Trap", where a rising power threatens an established one, is often cited in current discussions of U.S.-China relations.
While offering a foundational realist view of power politics and the cyclical nature of conflict, Thucydides also prompts us to ask whether such outcomes are inevitable. I find his work especially relevant today as we seek ways to temper zero-sum thinking and foster a more stable international order.
Understanding the neurochemical and neuropsychological drivers of dominance and insecurity is essential if we are to escape the trap – not by repeating history, but by learning from it.
'With icy remorselessness, it puts paid to any notion that the horrors of modern history might be an aberration - for it tells of universal war, of terrorism, revolution and genocide' Tom Holland
The long life-and-death struggle between Athens and Sparta plunged the ancient Greek world into decades of war. Thucydides was an Athenian and achieved the rank of general in the earlier stages of the war, and in this detailed, first-hand contemporary account he writes as both a soldier and a historian. He applies a passion for accuracy and a contempt for myth and romance in compiling a factual…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
The book is a visionary meditation on the geopolitical and ethical dimensions of space infrastructure.
Published in the 1970s, the novel’s space elevator foreshadows today’s debates on lunar governance and orbital access. As I have long argued, if outer space becomes critically unsafe, it will not be selectively unsafe, but will be unsafe for all states and private corporations, without exception.
That is why Arthur C. Clarke’s story touches a nerve for me: it reminds us that access to space must be anchored in multi-sum security and sustainable governance. In an age when the Moon and low-Earth orbit are emerging theatres of strategic competition, this novel is a powerful reflection on the need for collective stewardship of our shared celestial environment. Transformational capabilities and disruptive technologies must be globally inclusive.
My peer-reviewed paper presents a new lens for interpreting the complex dynamics of today’s global order. My Symbiotic Realism framework moves beyond conventional theories by incorporating transdisciplinary insights from neuroscience, philosophy, and geopolitics to explain why states act as they do.
At its core are seven interdependent forces that collectively shape the international system: (1) technological innovation, (2) new strategic domains, (3) the rise of non-state actors, (4) civilisational frontier risks, (5) weaponisation of economic interdependence, (6) growing supranational and transcultural schisms, and (7) neuroscientific predispositions of human nature. In the paper, I argue that acknowledging emotional, amoral and egoistic impulses, the NeuroP5 state motivations, universal dignity needs, non-conflictual competition, and absolute gains is key to promoting long-term global stability and equitable peace and prosperity for all.
