Die Sprengung von Nordstream - 4 Jahre danach | Dr. Daniele Ganser

Summary

Interview and central argument

In an interview with Politics Special host Helmut Reinhardt, Swiss historian and peace researcher Daniele Ganser discusses his new book, Clash of the Giants: Why China and Russia Reject US Global Dominance, which Reinhardt says reached number four on the Spiegel bestseller list.

Ganser argues that the world is moving from the US-led unipolar order that followed the Cold War toward a multipolar system. He dates a major turning point to the February 2022 meeting between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, which he says signalled closer alignment between Russia and China. He describes the war in Ukraine as a proxy conflict between the United States and Russia, while also calling Russia’s invasion illegal and attributing the conflict’s origins to NATO’s eastward expansion and Western policy.

China’s development and influence

A substantial part of the interview concerns China’s development and growing influence. Ganser presents modern China as a hybrid system that combines Communist Party rule with market economics. He traces its transformation from Mao-era poverty through Deng Xiaoping’s reforms and argues that the West underestimates China’s economic and technological rise.

Ganser also emphasizes China’s history of foreign intervention and humiliation, urging Western governments to treat both China and Russia with greater respect.

Nord Stream and Germany’s position

Ganser argues that the United States was responsible for the September 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions. He endorses Seymour Hersh’s account, which alleges that President Joe Biden ordered the operation and that US divers planted explosives during the BALTOPS naval exercise, later triggered by a sonar signal. Ganser says Hersh’s anonymous CIA source supplied technical details that MIT professor Theodore Postol checked.

He rejects the account involving the sailing yacht Andromeda as unconvincing and suggests that it distracts from the allegation against the United States. These are presented as Ganser’s conclusions; the interview does not establish them as proven facts. Ganser acknowledges that there is no definitive public resolution of responsibility.

Ganser connects the pipeline attack to his broader claim that US policy has weakened Germany by cutting off access to relatively cheap Russian gas and encouraging closer Russia–China ties. He argues that Germany’s military support for Ukraine, intelligence cooperation, and weapons supplies increase its risk of being drawn into a wider conflict.

He recommends that Germany maintain friendly relations with the United States but leave NATO, end the US military presence, and resume peaceful trade with Russia and China.

COVID-era policies and public trust

The speakers also discuss COVID-era restrictions, vaccine safety, and the World Health Organization’s pandemic definition. Ganser supports critical scrutiny of the period and says vaccine injuries should be taken seriously. He agrees with some concerns about pharmaceutical profits and public mistrust, but rejects the idea that a single world government directed every country. He points to differences in national policies as evidence that states retained varying degrees of sovereignty.

US power and signs of strain

Ganser describes the United States as an empire in decline, while stressing that it remains militarily powerful. He identifies the closer Russia–China partnership, attacks on US military bases during the conflict with Iran, reported shortages of Patriot interceptor missiles, the redeployment of aircraft carriers, and rising US national debt as signs of strain.

He presents these examples as evidence that the United States is overextended and less able to protect its global position.

A hopeful conclusion

The conversation closes on a more hopeful note. Ganser says people should recognize improvements in everyday life, including food security, modern appliances, medical anesthesia, travel, and access to music. He argues that cooperation can help address current dangers and expresses hope that future generations can avoid a world war and find solutions to international conflicts.

Presenters and contributors

• Helmut Reinhardt: Host
• Daniele Ganser: Guest