Kari Odermann

December 10, 2025

10 AM ET, a new CEPA podcast episode with General Philippe Lavigne goes live. We talk about the future of NATO, what the next decade of European defence might look like, and how the Alliance is adapting to Russia, China, and new technologies.

You can find the episode on CEPA’s website here:
cepa.org/podcast/general-philippe-lavigne-on-the-f…

If you are interested in security, strategy, or how NATO is changing in real time, this conversation is a good place to start.

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

Kari Odermann

300K people follow me across platforms to understand the world a little better. But, there’s more than what fits into 120 seconds. Substack is what’s behind the videos: context, accessible sources, and the political terms you hear in the news.

There is no public evidence that the new #NSS was drafted or co-written by Russian officials. But the timing, the quiet release, and the policy echoes of the earlier #28PointPeacePlan have fuelled political suspicion and debate.

#UnitedStates #Россия #Україна #ForeignPolicy #Diplomacy #Geopolitics #SecurityPolicy #TransatlanticRelations

open.substack.com/pub/kariodermann/p/who-wrote-ame…

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

Kari Odermann

The three major federal tax packages of 2001, 2003, and 2017 did more than change the structure of the US budget. They also helped reshape what it meant to be a Republican on foreign policy.

American voters are often described as not caring about foreign policy unless there is a direct, visible cost at home – higher fuel prices, lost jobs, or soldiers killed or wounded. This allows politicians to sell international commitments either as cheap or as someone else’s responsibility.

The new national security strategy’s insistence on burden‑shifting inside NATO and ending the era of the US “propping up the entire world order like Atlas” fits neatly into this pattern. It allows leaders to claim they are protecting Americans from both higher taxes and distant wars, while still invoking the language of strength and military superiority. In practice, it is the strategic expression of two decades in which Republican governments locked in lower tax revenues, relied more heavily on debt, and then responded to growing public fatigue by narrowing the definition of what is worth paying for abroad – even as they continued to present themselves as guardians of American military power and global leadership.

Fitting a look at how the Republican party has changed and looking at the risks of political backlash in Europe as some see their social model in danger, all into three minutes clip is tough - my latest "short" chould have been a "long" - on Substack I show the background, context, sources and what ended up on the cutting room floor.

open.substack.com/pub/kariodermann/p/americas-debt…

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 2

Kari Odermann

New interview with Prof. Dr. Eberhard Sandschneider recorded on 26 November 2025.
Prof. Sandschneider is a German political scientist who has spent decades studying China, changing forms of government, and the balance between authoritarian and democratic systems. In this conversation, he explains why democracies are struggling with trust, how technology strengthens authoritarian control, and why Europe and the United States need to adjust to a world where Western power is no longer taken for granted.

1 month ago | [YT] | 2

Kari Odermann

Putin’s war isn’t just tanks and trenches. It’s “accidents”, outages, and threats that never quite look like war at all.

cepa.org/comprehensive-reports/war-without-end-rus…

⬆️ A new CEPA report, “War Without End: Russia’s Shadow Warfare”, tracks how Russian security agencies use sabotage, cyberattacks, pressure on exiles, and information campaigns to keep Europe under constant low-level pressure without crossing the line into open conflict. It argues this isn’t a one-off tactic but a whole system that treats power grids, undersea cables, borders, and social media as part of the battlefield.

❤️ The Center for European Policy Analysis was one of the first think tanks to take digital creators seriously, collaborating with them to get expert analysis and evidence-based research out to more people, faster. I became CEPA’s first Fellow based on their professional work on social media, bringing complex geopolitical and security issues into people’s everyday scrolls.

A November 2025 Reuters Institute report found that around 85% of news content creators are men—highlighting major gender imbalances even as more research institutes, think tanks, and government ministries are using social media to put facts and solid analysis in people’s feeds. For me, and with CEPA, the goal is to show how innovative outreach can help support democracy, because informed people make resilient societies.

open.substack.com/pub/kariodermann/p/the-war-that-…

1 month ago | [YT] | 3

Kari Odermann

Read more about how populist leaders, digital platforms, and the erosion of old norms are reshaping foreign policy—and what it means for accountability, transparency, and the future of international relations.

substack.com/home/post/p-179815691

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Kari Odermann

Social media posts give you the headline; on substack you get the sources, resources, and extra context. Free to read in 2025.

open.substack.com/pub/kariodermann/p/gen-z-rising-…

2 months ago | [YT] | 1

Kari Odermann

Is Russia’s Foreign Minister Missing Because of Trump? And Is he back Because of India?

kariodermann.substack.com/p/is-russias-foreign-min…

2 months ago | [YT] | 4

Kari Odermann

Want Trump to negotiate your peace deal?
Take note so your experience is more like Cambodia & Thailand's, not Venezuela, Greenland or even Ukraine's

4 Points ⬇️

1. Public praise & clear alignment with US interests go far (pro tip: mention the Nobel Peace Prize).

2. Show economic value—commit to buying US products or supporting key industries.

3. Make it easy: connect at a big summit or tag him on social media.

4. Offer something tangible, like exchanging 47 prisoners or naming a border crossing or transit route after him.

On Oct 26, I spoke with ARISE News about the contrasts in diplomacy and much more: Full interview here ⬇️

2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 0

Kari Odermann

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll6-L...

What do you ask someone who’s already been declared dead?

That was my first thought getting ready for the CEPA Podcast, hosted by the ‪@cepa_org‬ where I spoke with Irina Borogan and Andrei Soldatov, co-authors of Our Dear Friends in Moscow.
These investigative journalists left Moscow in 2020 after Russian authorities canceled the license for their website, Agentura.ru, claiming Andrei was “dead.” Their story is more than personal survival—it’s a window into how authoritarian systems consolidate control and manipulate narratives.
In this episode:
✅ How Russia’s modern repression draws on Soviet-era practices amplified by digital technology.

✅ Why international partners continue cooperation despite these methods.

✅ The personal and moral complexities faced by dissidents in exile.

✅ Parallels between Moscow’s media landscape and emerging global trends in censorship and propaganda.

The conversation isn’t just about Russia—it’s about understanding how complexity shapes societies, decisions, and resistance in the face of authoritarian pressure.

🎧 Listen to witnesses of one of the world’s most opaque media landscapes, and what that means for democracy, dissent, and international responsibility today.

2 months ago | [YT] | 2