About The Neomedieval Ledger
A weekly newsletter on the transatlantic developments in the neomedieval era.
Democracy is under attack. Whether you're in Kyiv, Maastricht, Gettysburg, or Ottawa, global, transatlantic, or national security feels like it has taken on new dimensions—ones that surpass the conventional threats of the past few decades. And they have.
Since the turn of the century, the rules-based international order and the primacy of sovereign states have been in decline. We are living in the neomedieval era—an age defined by fiscal, physical, and ideological conflict, no longer bound by traditional borders or national identities but instead driven by kleptocratic interest groups.
The greatest threats to our livelihoods, rights, and security today are not rooted in the border struggles of nation-states or the ideologically motivated non-state actors of the past. Rather, they come from connections of convenience among a self-interested global elite—figures like Putin and his cronies, Trump and Elon, Xi and the CCP, and others.
They are not aligned by geography or even ideology—but by two shared constants:
They are more interested in their own gain than the well-being of the general population.
That interest includes placing self above nation.
This isn’t about left or right—it’s about unaccountable, self-interested power that corrodes democratic systems.
And to be clear, the conventional threats of the past have not ceased to exist—they’ve grown, now fueled by disinformation, corruption, and power vacuums.
That is the essence of the neomedieval age:
A chaotic, loosely connected web of malign actors seeking to erode the Westphalian model of state-based order—the very model the transatlantic relationship was built to defend, and which NATO exists to protect.
What This Substack Covers
Each week, I publish brief and accessible analyses on the global fight for democracy and the dynamics of the neomedieval world. Topics include:
Transatlantic affairs
U.S. government and foreign policy
Neomedievalism today
NATO/EU and Eurasian security
Central & Eastern Europe
Timely responses to global events affecting democratic resilience
Posts typically do not exceed 1,000 words, making them readable in 5–10 minutes.
If you're looking to understand the threats we face—not as abstract theories, but as real forces shaping today's global power struggles—The Neomedieval Ledger is for you.
Samuel C. S. Dempsey is a transatlantic policy professional with experience across the U.S. government and in key European capitals, including Prague, Brussels, Madrid, and Pristina. He has held roles in the U.S. Congress, the Department of State, and the Department of Commerce, culminating in his appointment as a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of State.
In Brussels, Samuel served as Editor at The Mainichi Newspapers Europe Bureau, where he was an internal expert on EU and NATO affairs.
He has authored over two dozen articles on transatlantic relations, featured in publications and think tanks such as the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), the Wilson Center, New Eastern Europe, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), and the Transatlantic Policy Quarterly, among others. His work has been cited in outlets including the Financial Times and the Huffington Post.
Samuel holds an M.A. in Geopolitics and Strategic Studies from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), graduating summa cum laude, and a B.A. in Journalism and Communications (International Relations concentration) from Anglo-American University in Prague (AAU).
In addition to his native English, he holds competencies in Spanish (B2), Czech (A2), French (A1), Ukrainian (A1), German (A1), and Mandarin (A1).