Season 2 Episode 4 - First Among Equals: U.S. Foreign Policy in a Multipolar World with Emma Ashford

Today on Coffee & Conflict, Joshua Huminski is joined by Emma Ashford, author of First Among Equals: U.S. Foreign Policy in a Multipolar World, to unpack what it means for the United States to operate in an international system it no longer dominates alone. Ashford traces how post–Cold War triumphalism gave way to today’s multipolar reality, explains when the U.S. unipolar moment truly began to fade, and lays out her case for a more pragmatic grand strategy rooted in what she calls “realist internationalism.” The conversation explores how this framework differs from both traditional realism and liberal internationalism, and what it would ask Washington to prioritize—and reconsider—as global power continues to diffuse.

What would realist internationalism look like in practice for U.S. policymakers? Can the United States pursue a narrower, interest-based foreign policy while maintaining an open economic strategy with allies and partners? And as Washington adjusts to a world among equals, how should it engage Europe and rising second-tier powers like India, Turkey, and Germany?

You can learn more about First Among Equals, and purchase a copy of the book, here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300279542/first-among-equals/. 

Check out today’s experts on Twitter:

@joshuachuminski 

@EmmaMAshford

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*Note: This episode was recorded November 18, 2025

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