The increasingly competitive U.S.-China relationship is subject to various perverse incentives and negative feedback loops. Jessica Chen Weiss, Cornell University Professor for China and Asia-Pacific Studies, discusses China’s rise and how to avoid a zero-sum and conflict-prone great power relationship.Show Notes:Jessica Chen Weiss bioJessica Chen Weiss, “The China Trap: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Perilous Logic of Zero-Sum Competition,” Foreign Affairs 101, no. 5 (September/October 2022).Thomas Pepinsky and Jessica Chen Weiss, “The Clash of Systems? Washington Should Avoid Ideological Competition with Beijing,” Foreign Affairs, June 11, 2021.Alistair Iain Johnston, “China in a World of Orders: Rethinking Compliance and Challenge in Beijing's International Relations,” International Security 44, no. 2 (Fall 2019): pp. 9-60. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, many cyber security analysts expected Russia to rely far more heavily on cyber tactics. Marine Corps University distinguished senior fellow Brandon Valeriano discusses the pitfalls of cyber security policy and research.  Show Notes:Brandon Valeriano bioBrandon Valeriano, “The Failure of Offense/Defense Balance in Cyber Security,” The Cyber Defense Review (Summer 2022).Brandon Valeriano, “Why Can’t Cyber Security Experts Move beyond the Basics?” The National Interest, August 7, 2022.Brandon Valeriano, “War Is Still War: Don’t Listen to the Cult of Cyber,” The National Interest, May 30, 2022.Erica D. Lonergan, Shawn D. Lonergan, Brandon Valeriano, and Benjamin Jensen, “Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine Didn’t Rely on Cyberwarfare. Here’s Why.” The Washington Post, March 7, 2022.Brandon Valeriano and Benjamin Jensen, “The Myth of the Cyber Offense: The Case for Restraint,” Cato Policy Analysis No. 862, January 15, 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Award winning journalist Peter Beinart discusses the messy U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan one year later and questions the wisdom of entering the war in the first place. He conjectures about why U.S. foreign policy does not seem to evolve much or reflect popular opinion as much as domestic policy.Show Notes:Peter Beinart bioPeter Beinart, “Lessons from Afghanistan a Year Later,” The Beinart Newsletter, August 15, 2022.Stephen van Evera, “Why States Believe Foolish Ideas: Non-Self-Evaluation by States and Societies,” in Perspectives in Structural Realism, edited by Andrew K. Hanami (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002): pp. 163-198. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Defense Priorities fellow Bonnie Kristian discusses the Beijing’s reaction to Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the risks of escalation in America’s Ukraine policy, continued U.S. presence in the Middle East, the overuse of national emergency declarations, and unchecked executive war powers.Show Notes: Bonnie Kristian bioBonnie Kristian, “Pelosi’s Trip to Taiwan Might Be Good for Her Legacy, but It’s Bad for Everyone Else,” Reason, August 2, 2022.Bonnie Kristian, “Don’t Let Russia’s Regime Change Plans Draw the U.S. Into War,” Reason, July 28, 2022. Bonnie Kristian, “Not Everything is a National Emergency,” Reason, July 19, 2022. Bonnie Kristian, “The Biden Administration is Taking Steps to Stay in Iraq Forever,” Defense One, February 22, 2021. Bonnie Kristian, “Trump’s Dangerous Expansion of Executive War Powers,” Politico, April 3, 2017.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Robert Wright discusses the post-Cold War history of US policies, particularly in Europe, that increased the likelihood of today's ongoing war in Ukraine and the psychological factors influencing the climate of discourse in a time of war.  Show NotesRobert Wright bioRobert Wright, “Anti-War Think Tank Attacked,” Nonzero Newsletter, July 11, 2022.Robert Wright, “Earthling: Was Obama Right About Russia-Ukraine?” Nonzero Newsletter, July 15, 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite campaign promises to re-enter the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, also known as the JCPOA, President Joe Biden has yet to show the political will required to make progress. Quincy Institute co-founder and executive vice president Trita Parsi discusses why the Biden administration has been slow to act and what the consequences will be.Show NotesTrita Parsi bio“On Iran, the Biden Presidency Has Been Trump’s Second Term: An Interview with Trita Parsi,” interviewed by Branko Marcetic, Jacobin, June 29, 2022.Trita Parsi, “In the Middle East, Biden Walks in Trump’s Footsteps and Will Repeat His Failure,” MSNBC.com, June 18, 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the current state of transatlantic relations, how they shifted during the Trump administration, the need for European defense autonomy, the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine, and why US foreign policy has a prioritization problem.Show NotesJeremy Shapiro bioJeremy Shapiro, “Does America Need a Foreign Policy?” in New Voices in Grand Strategy, Michael J. Zak Lecture Series (Washington, DC: Center for New American Security, 2019).Majda Ruje and Jeremy Shapiro, “The Exaggerated Death of European Sovereignty,” European Council on Foreign Relations, April 27, 2022.Majda Ruge and Jeremy Shapiro, “Don’t Mention the War in Ukraine: Germany’s Deteriorating Image in Washington,” European Council on Foreign Relations, February 15, 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lyle Goldstein, Director of Asia Engagement at Defense Priorities and visiting professor at Brown University, discusses strategies toward Russia and China in this so-called era of great power competition, with a focus on the territorial disputes each rival has with its neighbors. Lyle Goldstein bioLyle Goldstein, “Raising the Minimum: Explaining China’s Nuclear Buildup,” Defense Priorities, April 22, 2022.Lyle Goldstein, “Russia’s Progress In Donbas Means Ukraine Likely Won’t Win The War,” 1945, May 10, 2022.  Lyle Goldstein, “Joe Biden’s Taiwan Declaration is a Mistake,” Unheard, May 24, 2022.    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Georgia Tech associate professor Jon R. Lindsay discusses the role and ethics of AI in war, the risks and dangers in developing military and national security applications, and how AI applications will alter the nature of international conflict.  Notes:Jon R. Lindsay bioJon R. Lindsay, Information Technology and Military Power (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2020).Avi Goldfarb and Jon R. Lindsay, “Prediction and Judgment: Why Artificial Intelligence Increases the Importance of Humans in War,” International Security 46, no. 3 (2022): pp. 7-50.Jon R. Lindsay, “Cyber Conflict vs. Cyber Command: Hidden Dangers in the American Military Solution to a Large-Scale Intelligence Problem,” Intelligence and National Security 36, no. 2 (2021): pp. 260-278. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joshua Landis, professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oklahoma, discusses the civil war in Syria, the fragmentation of the country, the history of US interventions in the conflict, how America's strategy there works against itself, and how best to stabilize and potentially resolve what has become a protracted quagmire. NotesJoshua Landis bioSteven Simon, Joshua Landis, and Aiman Mansour, “How to Win the Influence Contest in the Middle East,” Foreign Affairs 100, no. 1 (February 3, 2021). Joshua Landis and Steven Simon, “The Pointless Cruelty of Trump’s New Syria Sanctions,” Foreign Affairs 99, no. 4 (August 17, 2020).  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.