📰 Subscribe to UnHerd today at: https://bit.ly/3Qdkd5y UnHerd's Freddie Sayers meets John Bew. Watch it on the UnHerd website: https://unherd.com/watch-listen/the-davos-world-is-over/ Listen to the podcast: https://plnk.to/unherd?to=page Advertise on UnHerd @ zoe.white@unherd.com In this exclusive interview, UnHerd’s Freddie Sayers speaks with Professor John Bew - leading historian and chief foreign policy advisor to the last four UK Prime Ministers – about the friction caused by the Trump administration's push to acquire Greenland and the resulting panic within the Western alliance. Set against the backdrop of the 2026 Davos summit, the conversation confronts the 'break glass' moment facing Western leaders and explores the uncomfortable reality of our current era: Will the UK shift from economic dependency toward restoring its own national power to navigate a scary new era of ‘bully powers’? Is the Western alliance truly over, or can a nuanced and multi-layered approach preserve the core security frameworks that have defined the last 80 years? How should middle powers respond when the United States - the traditional guarantor of global norms - begins to operate under a pre-1945 logic of annexation and unilateral tariffs? And could a new Northern European alliance provide the necessary leverage to protect sovereign interests in an increasingly bipolar world? Follow UnHerd on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/unherd Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unherd/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unherd/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unherdtv //TIMECODES// 00:00 - 00:31 - Intro 00:31 - 01:29 - Davos, Panic Among Elites, and the Rules-Based Order 01:29 - 02:59 - Introducing Professor John Bew 02:59 - 05:49 - Global Power Shifts 05:49 - 10:00 - Myths, Hypocrisy, and the Value of Norms in International Relations 10:00 - 14:56 - The Western Alliance: Fractures and Rising Discontent 14:56 - 18:54 - Trump’s Approach to Europe and the Special Relationship 18:54 - 24:13 - The Greenland Crisis: US, Denmark, and NATO Implications 24:13 - 25:05 - Historical Precedents and the US Approach to Territorial Power 25:05 - 30:00 - Dependence on the US and European Leverage Options 30:00 - 33:49 - Economic and Trade Tools for European Solidarity 33:49 - 34:49 - Potential Futures: Right-Wing Block and Shifting Alliances in Europe 34:49 - 40:02 - Geopolitics of Europe and Dilemmas for the UK and NATO 40:02 - 42:27 - UK’s Northern European Strategy and Internal European Divergence 42:27 - 44:58 - Europe’s Structural Complexity vs. US/China Unity 44:58 - 50:07 - UK Policy, Defence Spending, and National Power / Closing Thoughts 50:07 - 51:05 - Outro #UnHerd #Davos #Greenland