Retired CIA officer Paul R. Pillar discusses the tensions between the intelligence community and policymakers, concerns over domestic abuses of the CIA and NSA, the continuing legacy of post-9/11 policy mistakes, the Russian war in Ukraine, the Biden administration's diplomacy with Iran, and how hyper-partisanship undermines national security policy. Show Notes:Paul R. Pillar bioPaul R. Pillar, “The Role of the Villain: Iran and U.S. Foreign Policy,” Political Science Quarterly 128, no. 2 (Summer 2013): pp. 211-231. Paul R. Pillar, Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy: Iraq, 9/11. And Misguided Reform (New York City: Columbia University Press, 2014).Paul R. Pillar, “Guantanamo Bay Remains a Moral Stain on America,” The National Interest, April 18, 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tulane University associate professor and Cato adjunct scholar Christopher Fettweis discusses political psychology on the international and domestic levels, explains how misperceptions drive conflict, and argues that "enemy images" can be subdued by greater exposure to adversaries and political opponents.  Christopher Fettweis bioChristopher J. Fettweis, Psychology of a Superpower: Security and Dominance in U.S. Foreign Policy (New York: Columbia University Press, 2018). Christopher J. Fettweis, “After Trump: Enemies, Partisans, and Recovery,” Political Science Quarterly 136, no. 4 (September 23, 2021).Christopher J. Fettweis, “After Rome: Lessons in Grand Strategy from Emperor Hadrian,” Survival 60, no. 4 (July 16, 2018): pp. 123-150. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The image of public harmony between elected officials and an entrenched national security bureaucracy collapsed in the Trump years, according to Tufts University professor Michael Glennon. Glennon discusses the massive transfer of power from the Madisonian institutions of government to a behemoth national security bureaucracy, the problems this poses for policymaking, and how our politics have become a fight over prevailing "myth systems."  Show NotesMichael Glennon bioMichael J. Glennon, “Populism, Elites, and National Security,” Humanitas 31, nos. 1 and 2 (2018): pp. 35-45. Michael J. Glennon, National Security and Double Government (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2014).Michael J. Glennon, Gene Healy, Jeremy Shapiro, and Justin Logan, “National Security and Double Government,” Cato Event, November 21, 2014. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The war in Ukraine has prompted calls for armed neutrality as a resolution to the conflict. Audrey Kurth Cronin outlines the history of neutral states and why it is a promising solution in Ukraine. Show Notes:Audrey Kurth Cronin bioAudrey Kurth Cronin, “Could Ukraine Become Neutral, Like Switzerland? Five Things to Know,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022. Patrick M. Cronin and Audrey Kurth Cronin, “The Great Realignment: Russia’s Invasion Leaves Few Sitting on the Fence,” The Hill, March 2, 2022.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Atlantic Council senior fellow Emma Ashford discusses how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has played out so far, what the broader implications for international security and the global economy will be, and what comes after the conflict for the United States, Europe, Russia, and China. Emma Ashford bioEmma Ashford, “It’s Official: The Post-Cold War Era Is Over,”New York Times, February 24, 2022.Emma Ashford and Matthew Burrows, “Reality Check #4: Focus on Interests, not on Human Rights with Russia,” Atlantic Council, March 5, 2021.Emma Ashford and Matthew Kroenig, “Is Belarus Putin’s Next Target?”Foreign Policy, August 14, 2020. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MIT professor Barry Posen joined the show to discuss the crisis in Ukraine, the origins of the conflict, what diplomatic approaches are available, and how US strategy is pushing China and Russia together. Barry R. Posen bioBarry Posen, “Unleashing the Rhetorical Dogs of War,”Just Security, February 15, 2022.Barry R. Posen, “A New Transatlantic Division of Labor Could Save Billions Every Year!”Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, September 7, 2021.Barry R. Posen,Restraint: A New Foundation for U.S. Grand Strategy(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2014). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should the United States classify as much information as it does? Yale Law School professor Oona A. Hathaway explains how the U.S. government overclassifies information, why incentives generate more secrecy, the threat to democracy this system poses, and what to do about it.Oona Hathaway bioOona A. Hathaway and Scott J. Shapiro, Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to Outlaw War Remade the World (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018). Oona A. Hathaway, “Keeping the Wrong Secrets: How Washington Misses the Real Security Threat,” Foreign Affairs 101, no. 1 (January/February 2022).Oona A. Hathaway, “Secrecy’s End,” Minnesota Law Review 106 (2021): pp. 691-800. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard Hanania argues that the existence of a consistent, top-down, overarching U.S. grand strategy is an illusion. Instead of a unitary actor adhering to a coherent strategy over time, the state is subject to a set of concentrated interests that have outsize influence on U.S. foreign policy. Show Notes:Richard Hanania bio Richard Hanania, Public Choice Theory and the Illusion of Grand Strategy: How Generals, Weapons Manufacturers, and Foreign Governments Shape American Foreign Policy (New York: Routledge, 2021).Richard Hanania, “’Just Trust the Experts,’ We’re Told, We Shouldn’t,” New York Times September 20, 2021.Richard Hanania, “Ineffective, Immoral, Politically Convenient: America’s Overreliance on Economic Sanctions and What to Do about It,” Cato Institute Policy Analysis no. 884, February 18, 2020. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quincy Institute Senior Fellow Anatol Lieven discusses the origins of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Russia's strategic perspective, the mistakes of NATO enlargement, and why the Biden administration has options to defuse tensions but is not pursuing them. Post-withdrawal Afghanistan policy and strategic competition with China are also covered. Anatol Lieven bioAnatol Lieven, “Russia Is Right on the Middle East,” Foreign Policy, November 30, 2021.Anatol Lieven, “Ukrainian Neutrality: A ‘Golden Bridge’ Out of the Current Geopolitical Trap,” Responsible Statecraft, January 3, 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 What do quantum mechanics have to do with international relations? Ohio State University professor Alexander Wendt lays out a theory of the physical world based on quantum effects and explains how it might inform our approach to social science, including international politics. Show NotesAlexander Wendt bioAlexander Wendt, Quantum Mind and Social Science: Unifying Physical and Social Ontology, (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2015).Alexander Wendt, Social Theory of International Politics, (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999)Alexander Wendt, “The Mind-Body Problem and Social Science: Motivating a Quantum Social Theory,” Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior 48, (2018): pp. 188-204. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.