Jan Øberg : NATO and the Betrayal of Peace

In this episode, Thabo Motsieloa speaks with peace researcher Jan Øberg, director of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research. Øberg offers a fundamental rethinking of the war in Ukraine, one that challenges the dominant narrative in Sweden. He argues that the conflict is less a Russia–Ukraine war than a long-building confrontation between NATO and Russia, shaped by NATO expansion, failed diplomacy, and the systematic marginalization of peacebuilding. Øberg talks about the Minsk and Istanbul talks, the logic of deterrence and militarism, Europe’s role in prolonging the war, and what he believes a credible peace process would actually require: vision, negotiation, and societies that are allowed to shape their own future.

HERE you can find more about Jan Øberg and his work