Christopher Chivvis, director of the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discusses the work of renowned realist thinker Reinhold Niebuhr. He explores Niebuhr’s views on war, politics, and American Exceptionalism, and argues that Niebuhr's restraint-oriented ideas are just what is needed in contemporary debates about U.S. foreign and national security policy, particularly with respect to the rivalry with China.  Show NotesChristopher Chivvis bioChristopher S. Chivvis, “The Humility of Restraint: Niebuhr’s Insights for a More Grounded Twenty-First-Century American Foreign Policy,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace working paper, November 22, 2021.Christopher S. Chivvis, “Some Politicians Seem Comfortable with the Idea of a New Cold War. They Shouldn’t.” The Guardian, February 22, 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Justin Logan, Cato’s director of defense and foreign policy studies, and Jon Hoffman, a foreign policy analyst at Cato, discuss the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas and the imperative of avoiding further U.S. entanglement in the Middle East. They talk about the deep problems with the Abraham Accords, Biden's misguided bid for a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal, how client states employ "reverse leverage" on their U.S. patron, whether Israel can avoid America's post-9/11 mistakes, and the prospects for a genuine change in U.S. policy towards this region, among other issues.  Show NotesJustin Logan bioJon Hoffman bioJon Hoffman and Justin Logan, “Time to Change Course in the Middle East,” National Interest, October 21, 2023.Justin Logan, “The Hamas-Israel War,” Cato at Liberty, October 14, 2023.Jon Hoffman, “Pariah or Partner? Reevaluating the U.S.-Saudi Relationship,” Cato Institute policy analysis no. 961, September 20, 2023.Jon Hoffman, “A Shaky Foundation,” Cato Institute policy analysis no. 939, December 20, 2022.Justin Logan, “The Case for Withdrawing from the Middle East,” Defense Priorities, September 30, 2020. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The U.S.'s frequent use of force abroad erodes the international order's most fundamental principles of sovereignty and non-intervention. Yale Law School professor Oona Hathaway discusses the erosion of domestic constraints on presidential war powers and the increasing official resort to untenable self-defense doctrines to justify its military actions under international law. She also explains why chipping away at the prohibition on the use of force undermines international order, among other topics.Show NotesOona Hathaway bioOona A. Hathaway, “How the Expansion of ‘Self-Defense’ Has Undermined Constraints on the Use of Force,” Just Security, September 18, 2023.Oona A. Hathaway and Scott J. Shapiro, The Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to Outlaw War Remade the World (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017).Oona A. Hathaway et al., “Yemen: Is the U.S. Breaking the Law?” Harvard National Security Journal 10 (2019).Oona Hathaway, “National Security Lawyering in the Post-War Era: Can Law Constrain Power?” UCLA Law Review 68, rev. 2 (2021). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rose McDermott, Professor of International Relations at Brown University, argues that dominant theories of nuclear brinkmanship lack a nuanced understanding of the crucial factor of human psychology. She discusses the psychology of political leaders, the rational actor model, Thomas Schelling's notion of "threats that leave something to chance," the psychology of revenge, the coercive utility of nuclear weapons, and why nuclear deterrence may not be as stable as many people think, among other topics. Show NotesRose McDermott bioReid B.C. Pauly and Rose McDermott, “The Psychology of Nuclear Brinkmanship,” International Security 47, no. 3 (2023): pp. 9-51.James W. Davis and Rose McDermott, “The Past, Present, and Future of Behavioral IR,” International Organization 75, no. 1 (2022): pp. 147-177.Rose McDermott, Anthony C. Lopez, and Peter K. Hatemi, “’Blunt Not the Heart, Enrage It’: The Psychology of Revenge and Deterrence,” Texas National Security Review 1, no. 1 (November 2017): pp. 68-88. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarang Shidore discusses why countries in the Global South are dissatisfied with the international order. He also explores China strategy, the role of BRICS, and the tepid response from the Global South to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The podcast explores the emergence of newly independent states in the 1950s and highlights the diverse governance models within BRICS. It also examines the negative impact of performative actions and rhetorical judgments on international issues. Lastly, there is a discussion on competing with China and Russia, understanding the limits of US power, and the importance of the US leading and adapting to global problems.

Texas A&M associate professor John Schuessler discusses the different ideological pathways to a grand strategy of restraint. He examines realist, conservative, and progressive restrainers and speculates that the rise of great power competition will be a stress test for the survival of this coalition on foreign policy. He also discusses the foreign policy changes in the GOP and restraint differences over China policy, among other topics. Show NotesJohn Schuessler bioJohn Shuessler and Jasen Castillo, “Building Foreign Militaries and Learning the Right Lessons from Afghanistan,” Newsweek, August 17, 2021.John Schuessler, Joshua Shifrinson, and David Blagden, “Revisiting Insularity and Expansion: A Theory Note” Perspectives on Politics, November 12, 2021. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Tripwire” forces are deployed overseas to bolster the credibility of America’s threats and promises. New research shows this key feature of U.S. foreign policy is misguided. Professors Paul Musgrave of University of Massachusetts Amherst and Steven Ward of University of Cambridge explain the logic of tripwires as a deterrent and showcase public opinion surveys that undermine that logic.Show NotesPaul Musgrave bioSteven Ward bioPaul Musgrave and Steven Ward, “The Tripwire Effect: Experimental Evidence Regarding U.S. Public Opinion,” Foreign Policy Analysis 19, no. 4 (October 2023).Paul Musgrave and Steven War, “Testing Tripwire Theories Using Survey Experiments,” working paper, American Political Science Association, 2021.Doug Bandow, Tripwire: Korea and U.S. Foreign Policy in a Changed World(Washington DC: Cato Institute, 1996). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United States sells arms to almost any country willing to pay for them, but many recipients are risky, unstable, undemocratic, and liable to misuse the weapons. Cato defense and foreign policy studies policy analyst Jordan Cohen explains why the U.S. government sells arms to risky countries, why it doesn't give the U.S. strategic leverage, the costs and consequences of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, the problem of cluster munitions, U.S. support for the Nigerian military (which recently executed a coup d'état), and how to reform U.S. arms sales policies.  Show NotesJordan Cohen bioJordan Cohen and A. Trevor Thrall, “2022 Arms Sales Risk Index,” Cato Institute policy analysis no. 953, July 18, 2023.Jordan Cohen and Jonathan Ellis Allen, “When our Weapons Go Missing,” Reason, July 31, 2023.Barry R. Posen, “Ukraine’s Implausible Theories of Victory,” Foreign Affairs, July 8, 2023.Jordan Cohen and Jonathan Ellis Allen, “Cluster Munitions May Win a Battle but not Ukraine’s War,” Inkstick Media, July 13, 2023.Jordan Cohen and Jonathan Ellis Allen, “Did the Pentagon Just Make a $3 Billion Accounting Error – or Did It Do Something Even Worse?” Reason, May 19, 2023.Jordan Cohen, “Coups Are Just An Arms (Sale) Length Away: US Weapons Equip Niger’s Military,” Cato at Liberty, August 3, 2023.Jordan Cohen, “Deal or No Deal: Explaining Congressional Restrictions on Arms Transfers,” PhD diss (George Mason University, 2023).Jon Hoffman, Jordan Cohen, and Jonathan Ellis Allen, “Biden Steamrolls toward Disaster in the Middle East,” The Hill, August 2, 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael C. Desch, professor of international relations at University of Notre Dame, discusses the disconnect between political science scholarship and policymaking and offers solutions for how to bridge the gap.  Show NotesMichael C. Desch bioMichael C. Desch, Cult of the Irrelevant: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019).Paul C. Avey, Michael C. Desch, Eric Parajon, Susan Peterson, Ryan Powers, and Michael J. Tierney, “Does Social Science Inform Foreign Policy? Evidence from a Survey of US National Security, Trade, and Development Officials,” International Studies Quarterly 66, no. 1 (March 2022).Benjamin H. Friedman and Justin Logan, “Why Washington Doesn’t Debate Grand Strategy,” Strategic Studies Quarterly 10, no. 4 (Winter 2016): pp. 14-45. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sameer Lalwani, Senior Expert at the United States Institute for Peace, discusses India's place in global politics, the advantages and drawbacks of deepening U.S.-India relations, India's illiberal turn, Indian relations with Russia, Pakistan, and China, and related topics. He also discusses more restrained alternatives to U.S. naval strategy.Show NotesSameer Lalwani bioSameer Lalwani and Joshua Shifrinson, “Whither Command of the Commons? Choosing Security over Control,” MIT Political Science Department Research Paper No. 2013-15 (April 1, 2013).Sameer Lalwani and Vikram J. Singh, “A Big Step Forward in U.S.-India Defense Ties,” The Hindustan (New Delhi), April 6, 2023.Sameer Lalwani et al., “What to Watch in 2023: India’s Pivotal Year on the Global Stage,” United States Institute of Peace, February 8, 2023.Sameer Lalwani and Happymon Jacobs, “Will India Ditch Russia?” Foreign Affairs, January 24, 2023.Sameer Lalwani and Heather Byrne, “Great Expectations: Asking Too Much of the US-India Strategic Partnership,” The Washington Quarterly 42, no. 3 (2019): pp. 41-64. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.