The Foreign Affairs Interview

The Return of Political Violence

Nov 7, 2024

Robert Pape, a political scientist from the University of Chicago and expert on political violence, dives into the alarming resurgence of violence both in the U.S. and globally. He highlights how domestic endorsement of political violence correlates with rising terrorism and discusses the implications of demographic shifts for political polarization. Pape also covers historical military interventions and their unintended consequences, questioning the effectiveness of air power in modern warfare, especially in the Israel-Gaza conflict.

31:06

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Episode guests

Robert Pape

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Quick takeaways

The resurgence of political violence in the U.S. is linked to growing support for violent actions among segments of the population.

Global patterns of political violence mirror domestic trends, with demographic shifts fueling resistance and conflict across various regions.

Deep dives

The Rise of Political Violence in the United States

Recent trends indicate a significant increase in political violence across the United States, which is historically unprecedented compared to recent decades. Factors such as the January 6 Capitol attack and threats against political figures highlight a disturbing shift in the political landscape, where violent rhetoric has permeated daily discourse. Surveys conducted indicate that support for political violence has remained high among certain segments of the population, which can embolden individuals who might previously have acted without political motivation. Incidents of violence, such as assassination attempts and threats against officials, are alarmingly linked to public sentiment that perceives such actions as socially sanctioned.

Intro

5min

The Surge of Political Violence in America

9min

Examining Political Violence and Legitimacy in Governance

5min

The Unintended Consequences of Military Interventions

5min

The Counterproductive Nature of Air Power in Modern Warfare

7min

If there’s a thread that connects unsettling trends across domestic and international affairs today, it’s the return of forms of violence that we once thought were more or less obsolete. That’s true of the return of political violence in the United States. It’s also true of the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

Robert Pape is a political scientist at the University of Chicago and the founding director of the Chicago Project on Security & Threats. He has made a career of studying these types of violence—whether carried out by American extremists, by suicide bombers, or by Russian or Israeli fighter jets. In a series of pieces in Foreign Affairs, he explains why all of these phenomena are likely to endure—including, in the wake of the U.S. presidential election, with what he calls an era of violent populism here at home.

He spoke with Foreign Affairs editor Dan Kurtz-Phelan on October 30 about the resurgence of these forms of violence—and the consequences for the United States and the world.

You can find transcripts and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview.

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The Foreign Affairs Interview

The Return of Political Violence

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Rise of Political Violence in the United States

Understanding Violent Populism

Global Patterns of Political Violence

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts