{"podcast":{"title":"The IR thinker","slug":"the-ir-thinker-6691770","podcast_index_feed_id":6691770,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/655776911a7d7e0012cbc914","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/irthinker","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/cover/1700230788592-f97a89c769205262be6d5629fc306022.jpeg","author":"Martin Zubko","episode_count":122,"summary":"The IR thinker features in-depth interviews with leading experts in international relations. The IR thinker is an independent, non-partisan and non-aligned platform. It hosts a wide range of perspectives on international relations but does not endorse any political party, government or ideological position. Since its first episode in 2023, The IR thinker has produced more than 100 episodes as a pro bono initiative established by Martin Zubko, an international relations scholar and lecturer. Available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ir-thinker-6691770"},"episode":{"title":"New Zealand's Geopolitics - Reuben Steff | Ep. 2 (2026)","slug":"new-zealand-s-geopolitics-reuben-steff-ep-2-2026","published_at":"2026-03-03T13:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ir-thinker-6691770/new-zealand-s-geopolitics-reuben-steff-ep-2-2026","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ir-thinker-6691770","url":"https://www.irthinker.com/new-zealand-geopolitics-reuben-steff","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/655776911a7d7e0012cbc914/e/69a23a7bf8755e109dac5b47/media.mp3","summary":"In this episode, together with Dr Reuben Steff, we explore how New Zealand’s geographic isolation, colonial legacies, and small-state status have shaped a distinctive strategic culture; one that combines alliance cooperation with a persistent commitment to autonomy, non-nuclear norms, and multilateralism. Reuben Steff Reuben Steff  is a Senior Lecturer at Mendel University in Brno whose scholarship engages some of the most pressing questions in contemporary international relations and security. His research spans the implications of artificial intelligence for the global balance of power, the interaction between nuclear deterrence theory and ballistic missile defence within the security dilemma, New Zealand and United States foreign policy, and the dynamics of great-power competition between the United States and China.  Publications: New Zealand’s Geopolitics and the US-China Competition ‘Our region is now a strategic theatre’: New Zealand’s balancing response to China The strategic case for New Zealand to join AUKUS Pillar 2 US Foreign Policy in the Age of Trump: Drivers, Strategy and Tactics Emerging Technologies and International Security: Machines, the State, and War Examining the immanent dilemma of small states in the Asia-Pacific: The strategic triangle between New Zealand, the US and China Hard Balancing in the Age of American Unipolarity: The Russian Response to US Ballistic Missile Defense during the Bush Administration (2001–2008) Content 00:00 – Introduction: Conceptualising New Zealand’s Strategic Posture 02:03 – Geographic Isolation and the Evolution of New Zealand’s Strategic Culture 13:56 – From the South Pacific to the Indo-Pacific: Regional Order and Strategic Repositioning 18:06 – The Treaty of Waitangi and Its Implications for External Pa…","meta_description":"In this episode, together with Dr Reuben Steff, we explore how New Zealand’s geographic isolation, colonial legacies, and small-state status have shaped a…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3968,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ir-thinker-6691770/episodes/new-zealand-s-geopolitics-reuben-steff-ep-2-2026/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ir-thinker-6691770/new-zealand-s-geopolitics-reuben-steff-ep-2-2026.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}