Prof. Warwick Powell discusses his thermoeconomic view of world politics, where energy, money, and information form a single system. We connect the war on Iran to declining U.S. energy efficiency, the limits of airpower, de-dollarization, and the rise of alternative financial and information architectures. We also bring the conversation back to Armenia, asking what TRIPP, SMRs, and large AI data centers could mean for a small state trying to protect its energy and information sovereignty. We close by reflecting on considerations for Armenia in implementing centralized data infrastructure, more distributed computing, and focusing on larger nuclear power plants to generate the electricity needed for such information infrastructures.
Warwick Powell’s Book: Thermoeconomics in a Time of Monsters: Rethinking Theory, China and International Geopolitical Economy
Topics
ThermoEconomics and global power
Iran war and energy
De-dollarization and sovereignty
Armenia: AI data centers, SMRs, and imperialism
Guest
Hosts
Episode 533 | Recorded: April 21, 2026
SHOW NOTES:https://podcasts.groong.org/533
