How the Iran War Is Shaping a Post-American World

How the Iran War Is Shaping a Post-American World

From The Foreign Affairs Interview by Foreign Affairs Magazine

April 16, 2026 · 1h 29m

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of the Iran War on global geopolitics and American power, featuring insights from two experts.

The shockwaves of the ongoing war in Iran are being felt far and wide. The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sparked a global energy crisis, one that could be accentuated by a U.S. naval blockade. Countries as disparate as Chile, South Korea, and Zambia have been forced to take extraordinary measures to deal with shortages and surging prices. But the war’s effects are not just material. Washington’s decision to attack Iran is accelerating a process already underway: the receding of both the inspiration and the reality of American power. That, at least, is the view of our two guests in this episode. Matias Spektor is a professor of Politics and International Relations at Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo. Kishore Mahbubani is a distinguished fellow at the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore and a veteran Singaporean diplomat, who served as his country’s ambassador to the United Nations for over a decade. In their essays for Foreign Affairs, both Spektor and Mahbubani have sought to alert readers to changes in geopolitics that may be hard to see from Western capitals. The war on Iran, in their view, is misguided in its motivations and its…

People in this episode

Guests: Matias Spektor, Kishore Mahbubani

Topics covered

  • Iran War
  • American power
  • geopolitics
  • energy crisis
  • international relations

Keywords

  • Iran
  • geopolitics
  • American power
  • energy crisis
  • naval blockade
  • international relations
  • Matias Spektor
  • Kishore Mahbubani

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fundação Getulio Vargas, Asia Research Institute, United Nations

Places: Iran, United States, Chile, South Korea, Zambia, Strait of Hormuz

More episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Foreign Affairs Interview podcast page.