CNAS adjunct senior fellow Elsa B. Kania breaks down the military and political implications of artificial intelligence. She discusses the scope of military applications, battlefield "singularity" and the speed of decision-making, human vs autonomous weapons systems, AI competition with China, public-private partnerships, governance of AI, and how AI should affect strategy, among other topics. Show NotesElsa B. Kania bioElsa B. Kania and Lorand Lasaki, “A Sharper Approach to China’s Military-Civil Fusion Strategy Begins by Dispelling Myths,” Defense One, February 4, 2021.Elsa B. Kania and Joe McReynolds, “The Biden Administration Should Review and Rebuild the Trump Administration’s China Initiative From the Ground Up,” Lawfare, February 22, 2021.Elsa B. Kania and Lorand Lasaki, “Myths and Realities of China’s Military-Civil Fusion Strategy,” Center for a New American Security, January 28, 2021.Elsa B. Kania and John Costello, “Quantum Hegemony? China’s Ambitions and the Challenge to U.S. Innovation Leadership,” Center for a New American Security, September 12, 2018. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Show DescriptionChristopher Layne, distinguished professor at Texas A&M University, provides historical context around the Russian invasion of Ukraine and questions direct U.S. intervention on Ukraine's behalf. He discusses the U.S. strategy in Europe following WWII and following the end of the Cold War, NATO expansion, tensions in U.S.-Russian nuclear policies, Russian perspectives and motivations, potential resolutions to the conflict, and what could exacerbate the war. Show NotesChristopher Layne bioChristopher Layne, The Peace of Illusions: American Grand Strategy from 1940 to Present(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2007).Benjamin Schwarz and Christopher Layne, “Why Are We in Ukraine?” Harper’s Magazine (June 2023). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quincy Institute director of East Asia, Michael D. Swaine explains how to manage the rise in China's power and influence through a restrained grand strategy, rather than through confrontation and primacy. He discusses Chinese diplomacy on the global stage, the problem with Washington's current strategy to contain and confront Beijing, how to alleviate the security dilemma, managing US alliances and altering US force posture in East Asia, and handling the problem of Taiwan, among other topics.  Show NotesMichael D. Swaine bioMichael D. Swaine and Andrew Bacevich, “A Restraint Approach to U.S.-China Relations: Reversing the Slide Toward Crisis and Conflict,” Quincy Institute paper no. 11, April 18, 2023.Michael D. Swaine, “The Worrisome Erosion of the One China Policy,” The National Interest, February 27, 2023.Michael D. Swaine, “What the U.S. Gets Wrong About Taiwan and Deterrence,” The Diplomat, January 23, 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Notre Dame associate professor Eugene Gholz discusses U.S. strategy, the low costs of neutrality in war, global oil markets and why the U.S. does too much militarily in the Middle East. He also advises a “defensive defense” strategy in East Asia, the ineffectiveness and overuse of economic sanctions, and decoupling from China.  Show NotesEugene Gholz bioEugene Gholz and Daryl G. Press, “The Effects of Wars on Neutral Countries: Why it Doesn't Pay to Preserve the Peace,” Security Studies 10, no. 4 (2001): pp. 1-57.Eugene Gholz and Daryl G. Press, “Protecting “The Prize”: Oil and the U.S. National Interest,” Security Studies 19, no. 3 (2010): pp. 453-485.Eugene Gholz, “Nothing Much to Do: Why America Can Bring All Troops Home From the Middle East,” Quincy Paper No. 7, June 24, 2021.Eugene Gholz, Benjamin Friedman, and Enea Gjoza, “Defensive Defense: A Better Way to Protect US Allies in Asia,” The Washington Quarterly 42, no. 4 (2019): pp. 171-189. Eugene Gholz and Llewelyn Hughes, “Market Structure and Economic Sanctions: The 2010 Rare Earth Elements Episode as a Pathway Case of Market Adjustment,” Review of International Political Economy 28, no. 3 (2021): pp. 611-634. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

King’s College professor Richard Ned Lebow discusses his vast body of work on international politics. He talks about his cultural theory of international politics, Thucydides, realism, deterrence, Russia and the causes of the Ukraine war, and hegemonic stability theory, among other topics. Show NotesRichard Ned Lebow bioRichard Ned Lebow, The Quest For Knowledge in International Relations (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2022).Richard Ned Lebow, A Cultural Theory of International Relations(Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009).Richard Ned Lebow, Why Nations Fight: Past and Future Motives for War (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010).Richard Ned Lebow, Avoiding War, Making Peace (Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017).Robert Jervis, Richard Ned Lebow, and Janice Gross Stein, Psychology and Deterrence (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989).Richard Ned Lebow, Between Peace and War: The Nature of International Crisis (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981).Simon Reich and Richard Ned Lebow, Good-Bye Hegemony! Power and Influence in the Global System (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2014). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Japan has realized that they need to take more responsibility for their security in response to China’s rise, but there remain disagreements among U.S. allies about how to confront China. Dartmouth College professor Jennifer Lind discusses the threat environment in East Asia, Japan’s military spending and relations with its neighbors, and how collective narratives about historical baggage between countries can shape policy.  Show NotesJennifer Lind bioElbridge Colby and Jennifer Lind, “Japan Must Disavow Pacifism and Embrace Collective Defense,” Nikkei Asia, June 18, 2021.Jennifer Lind, “Japan Steps Up,” Foreign Affairs, December 23, 2022.Jennifer Lind, “With U.S. Help, Japan’s Position towards China Hardens,” Financial Times, April 21, 2021.Jennifer Lind, “Narratives and International Reconciliation,” Journal of Global Security Studies 5, no. 2 (2020): pp. 229-247.Jennifer Lind, Sorry States: Apologies in International Politics (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2010).Jennifer Lind and Daryl G. Press, “Reality Check,” Foreign Affairs 99, no. 2 (March/April 2020).Jennifer Lind, “Great Power Drives Great-Power Narratives,” Asia Policy 16, no. 3 (July 2021): pp. 142-147.Jennifer Lind and Chikako Kawakatsu Ueki, “Is Japan Back? Measuring Nationalism and Military Assertiveness in Asia’s Other Great Power,” Journal of East Asian Studies 21 (2021): pp. 367-401. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, explains how China's impartial approach to diplomacy gives it an edge against America's more Manichean tendencies. He also discusses what US troops are doing in the unauthorized war in Syria, Beijing's diplomatic mediation of negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Iran -- and potentially between Ukraine and Russia, and what accounts for the slow pace of change in America's posture in the Middle East, among other topics.  Show NotesTrita Parsi bioTrita Parsi and Kalid Aljabri, “How China Became a Peacemaker in the Middle East,” Foreign Affairs, March 15, 2023.Trita Parsi, “The U.S. Is Not an Indispensable Peacemaker,” New York Times, March 22, 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can we learn from the great empires of history? Tulane professor and Cato adjunct scholar Christopher Fettweis is the author of The Pursuit of Dominance: 2000 Years of Superpower Grand Strategy. He discusses grand strategy, balancing means and ends, the wisdom of restraint, the temptation to overextend, and other lessons to draw from the history of empires. Show NotesChristopher Fettweis bioChristopher J. Fettweis, The Pursuit of Dominance: 2000 Years of Superpower Grand Strategy(New York: Oxford University Press, 20222).Christopher J. Fettweis, “Restraining Rome: Lessons in Grand Strategy from Emperor Hadrian,” Survival 60, no. 4 (August-September 2018): pp. 123-150. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over time, U.S. foreign policy has become increasingly activist, interventionist, and hostile despite facing fewer direct national security threats. These military interventions have also gradually become less connected to the national interest. Tufts University professor Monica Toft and Bridgewater State University assistant professor Sidita Kushi explain their quantitative research on US interventionism and explore alternative strategies.  Show NotesMonica Toft bioSidita Kushi bioMonic Duffy Toft and Sidita Kushi, Dying by the Sword: The Militarization of US Foreign Policy(New York City: Oxford University Press, 2023). Forthcoming.Sidita Kushi and Monica Duffy Toft, “Introducing the Military Intervention Project: A New Dataset on US Military Interventions, 1776–2019,” Journal of Conflict Resolution (2022).Monica Duffy Toft and Sidita Kushi, “The Roots of Washington’s Addiction to Military Force,” Foreign Affairs, January 10, 2023.Monica Duffy Toft, “Getting Religion Right in Civil Wars,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 65, no. 9 (2021): pp. 1607-1634.Sidita Kushi, “Selective Humanitarians: How Region and Conflict Perception Drive Military Interventions in Intrastate Crises,” International Relations (2022).Sidita Kushi, “Regional Bias Too Obvious in Western Response to Humanitarian Atrocities,” EURACTIV, September 27, 2022.Monica Duffy Toft, “America’s Modern Addiction to the Big Stick,” Responsible Statecraft, June 21, 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United States has sent a vast amount of aid to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s invasion. Defense Priorities’ Rajan Menon and Daniel DePetris explain that while the war is likely to end in a negotiated agreement, neither side is motivated to negotiate right now. They also discuss the need for European defense autonomy.  Show NotesRajan Menon bioDaniel DePetris bioRajan Menon and Daniel DePetris, “Europe Doesn’t Need the United States Anymore,” Foreign Policy, January 30, 2023.Lessons from Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Symposium at Defense PrioritiesRajan Menon and Daniel DePetris, “We Can’t Keep Treating Talk of Negotiations to End the Ukraine War as Off Limits,” The Guardian, November 3, 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.