Ambassador Jack Matlock - Did the West Fumble the Post-Cold War Peace? | Ep 580, Aug 28, 2026
Chapters
Episode Summary
In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Ambassador Jack Matlock, the last US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, about whether the West missed a historic opportunity to integrate Russia into Western security architecture after the Cold War. We discuss the internal collapse of the Soviet Union, Reagan-Gorbachev diplomacy, NATO expansion and Russian backlash, and how Cold War-era decisions shape Armenia’s geopolitical choices today, including Matlock’s firsthand observations of Soviet Armenia during glasnost and the Nagorno Karabakh movement.
Groong Links:
Guest(s):
Topics:
- Recollections from Soviet South Caucasus
- Why the Soviet Union collapsed
- How the Cold War ended
- Reagan and Gorbachev’s diplomacy
- America’s post-Cold War triumphalism
- NATO expansion and Russian backlash
- Great-power rivalry in the Caucasus
- Armenia’s geopolitical choices today
Episode 580 | Recorded: Aug 27, 2026
#JackMatlock #ColdWar #SovietUnion #Reagan #Gorbachev #NATO #Russia #SouthCaucasus #Armenia
