Originally published on Dec 30, 2025.

In 2014 and 2022, the EU initiated sanctions regimes against Russia. The lists of entities and individuals were originally supposed to target Russia’s econmic and political elites only. But since 2024, the list has been expanded to include “disinformation” and is being used to target journalists and academics even in EU and Schengen-state areas, like the German nationals Alina Lipp and Hüseyin Dogru, or my countrymen, Jacques Baud, and Nathalie YambIt’s a dystopian reality but certainly not the first time something like this happens. To discuss the historical precedents I’m joined today agin by Professor David Gibbs, a professor of history at Arizona State University.Links:For an interview with Professor Gibbs, see Sadiq S. Baht, "Trump-Zelenskyy spat — 'Under Trump 2.0, foreign policy will never be business as usual,'" TRT World, February 28, 2025,https://www.trtworld.com/article/7d92... Neutrality Studies Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudies

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