Bruno Maçães is a former Minister of European Affairs in Portugal and represented his country in Brussels during the eurozone crisis, the first Ukraine war and Brexit. He has published four books since 2018, mostly focused on geopolitics, China, Russia, and technology. Bruno has a doctorate in political science from Harvard and has recently held fellowships at Renmin University in China and the Hudson Institute in Washington. Since 2020 he is a fellow at the Wilfried Martens Centre in Brussels. His latest book, Geopolitics for the End Time, was published in September. He specialises in technology policy, the European Union and Chinese and Russian foreign policy
no
961345
00:00
start listening
Episode 467
Bruno Maçães
When Empires Stop Building: The Iran War and the End of American Soft Power | Bruno Maçães
Bruno Maçães is a former Minister of European Affairs in Portugal and represented his country in Brussels during the eurozone crisis, the first Ukraine war and Brexit. He has published four books since 2018, mostly focused on geopolitics, China, Russia, and technology. Bruno has a doctorate in political science from Harvard and has recently held fellowships at Renmin University in China and the Hudson Institute in Washington. Since 2020 he is a fellow at the Wilfried Martens Centre in Brussels. His latest book, Geopolitics for the End Time, was published in September. He specialises in technology policy, the European Union and Chinese and Russian foreign policy
In Episode 467 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Bruno Maçães — geopolitical strategist, former Minister of European Affairs for Portugal, and author of World Builders — about the Iran War, what it reveals about the Trump administration’s strategic logic, and how the decision to initiate what may prove to be the most destructive American-led war in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq is reshaping the global order.
Kofinas and Maçães examine the competing explanations for why the campaign was launched when it was — from the argument that Washington was drawn into the conflict by Israel, to the question of whether Trump’s own instincts and political calculations were the decisive factor — including a close reading of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s public comments about the role Israel played in precipitating American military involvement.
They also discuss what Washington and Tel Aviv’s strategic visions may be for the post-conflict order, the fractures emerging within Trump’s own political base, and how early battlefield developments are already complicating the administration’s attempts to construct a coherent narrative around the war.
The conversation closes with a broader assessment of where this conflict fits within Bruno’s framework of world building and American decline — how the United States appears to be abandoning soft power in favor of unbridled military force, what that shift signals to capitals around the world, and why Beijing may be the most important audience of all for everything that is now unfolding.
Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe.
If you’d like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe.
If you enjoyed today’s episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by:
Bruno Maçães is a former Minister of European Affairs in Portugal and represented his country in Brussels during the eurozone crisis, the first Ukraine war and Brexit. He has published four books since 2018, mostly focused on geopolitics, China, Russia, and technology. Bruno has a doctorate in political science from Harvard and has recently held fellowships at Renmin University in China and the Hudson Institute in Washington. Since 2020 he is a fellow at the Wilfried Martens Centre in Brussels. His latest book, Geopolitics for the End Time, was published in September. He specialises in technology policy, the European Union and Chinese and Russian foreign policy
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
