The Psychological Challenge of Strategic Competition

The Strategy Sessions is a limited-run podcast hosted by Emma Ashford, a senior fellow with the Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program at the Stimson Center. Today, Emma talks with Ali Wyne, a senior advisor for U.S.-China relations at the International Crisis Group. Emma and Ali discuss the psychological challenges posed by a resurgent China, why anxiety is a harmful driving force for foreign policy discussions, and how the rise of China might actually present U.S. policymakers with opportunities. 

Emma and Ali’s discussion is part of the New Visions for Grand Strategy Project, a collection of essays, videos, and podcasts in which out-of-the-box thinkers discuss the future of U.S. foreign policy.

*The  Strategy Sessions Podcast is hosted by the Stimson Center and produced by University FM.

Show Links:

• Emma Ashford, First Among Equals: U.S. Foreign Policy for a Multipolar World (Yale University Press, 2025)
• Ali Wyne, America’s Great-Power Opportunity: Revitalizing U.S. Foreign Policy to Meet the Challenges of Strategic Competition (Polity Press, 2022)
• Michael Beckley, “A Free World That Works” in New Visions for Grand Strategy, edited by Emma Ashford and Nevada Joan Lee,The Stimson Center. Washington, D.C., USA

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