Conversations with Bill Kristol

In a recent article, Judge J. Michael Luttig warns that the last presidential election was a dry run for the next. As he explains, since 2020, our political leaders have yet to do what is necessary to protect against future efforts to overturn elections. In this Conversation, Luttig, a former United States Circuit judge, discusses the role that he played in January 2021, when he advised Vice President Pence on the Constitutional arguments for resisting President Trump’s pressure to overturn the election results. As Luttig wrote and posted on Twitter on January 5, and Vice President Pence cited in his letter on January 6, The only responsibility and power of the Vice President under the Constitution is to faithfully count the electoral college votes as they have been cast... and The Constitution does not empower the Vice President to alter in any way the votes have been cast, either by rejecting certain votes or otherwise. But Luttig stresses that serious dangers and threats remain. Given potential loopholes that might be exploited in the Constitution and the Electoral Count Act of 1887, it is possible or even likely that future candidates will engage in efforts to subvert elections. Luttig calls for a national effort to protect the integrity of our electoral system, and explains the urgent need to reform the Electoral Count Act to make efforts to overturn elections less likely to succeed.

Two months into the war, where do things stand in Ukraine? What explains the Russian military's failures on the battlefield—and the brave and intelligent resistance of the Ukrainians? How should we grade the response of the US and NATO allies? What geopolitical lessons can we draw from the war? To discuss these questions, we are joined by Fred Kagan, director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute. To explain the complex dynamics of the war, Kagan highlights both the structural failures of the Russian military and the poor decisions of its leadership. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military has responded courageously and dynamically, which reflects the benefits of a years-long effort to de-Sovietize its army. But many dangers remain, and Kagan calls for the US and its allies to ramp up support for Ukraine. Finally, Kristol and Kagan reflect on the broader geopolitical implications of the war and how the US should prepare for other military threats.

Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine has put the dangers of European reliance on Russian oil and gas into sharp focus. The debate on energy policy in the West is, however, too often built on wishful thinking—particularly regarding our ability to make a transition to a carbon-neutral economy in the next few decades. According to Mark Mills, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and faculty fellow at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, it simply is inconceivable that the world could move away from hydrocarbons on the time frame casually advanced by politicians in the West. Mills explains—from the vantages of science and economics—that attempting to do so would pad the coffers of the world’s most dangerous regimes, like Putin’s, without meaningfully reducing carbon emissions. Instead, Mills calls for a two-pronged strategy: In the short term, America and its allies should dramatically ramp up production of oil and gas to increase geopolitical strength. While doing so, we should be more ambitious with investment in R&D for better methods of production and extraction, more efficient consumption of energy, and new technologies.

Vladimir Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. We need to be prepared to respond to Putin's threats—and to do so effectively we have to understand the role of nuclear weapons in Russian strategy, in American foreign policy, and in the current global order. To consider these questions, we are joined by Harvard professor of government Stephen Rosen. Drawing on his profound knowledge of the Cold War, Rosen explains the role nuclear weapons have played since the Soviet era. Then as now, Russia’s threat to deploy nuclear weapons aims to deter its adversaries from intervening to defend an ally. Though we must be judicious in our actions, Rosen explains why the West cannot afford to give in to nuclear blackmail. Beyond the potentially disastrous consequences for Ukraine, he contends that surrendering to Putin’s threats would embolden other nuclear states to pursue wars of conquest. Rosen also outlines approaches we should consider to counter Putin’s other potential escalations.

Nearly a month into the war, where do things stand in Ukraine? What have we learned from the Ukrainian resistance, the response of America and NATO allies, Putin’s ambitions, and China’s decisions? To discuss these questions, we are joined by Aaron Friedberg, Princeton professor and author of the new book, Getting China Wrong. Beginning with an assessment of the military and political situation of Russia and Ukraine, Friedberg goes on to explain how the war might lead to fundamental changes in the global political order. Friedberg argues that there likely will be no going back to the post-Cold War international system—in which the West considered Russia and China as potentially responsible stakeholders. According to Friedberg, the war in Ukraine will compel America and its allies to dramatically reinforce strategic and economic resilience in the face of threats posed by Beijing and Moscow. Friedberg calls for America to lead a concerted effort to build an alliance of liberal democracies that can deter the authoritarians.

Paul Cantor (1945 - 2022) was one of the preeminent Shakespeare scholars of our time as well as a great popular culture appreciator, critic, and teacher. We were fortunate to host Paul Cantor ten times on Conversations with Bill Kristol, covering the whole range of his interests. We are pleased to re-release his very first Conversation, in which Cantor explains why Shakespeare is a political thinker. Though we mourn his loss, we take some comfort in the fact that his work will continue to reach students of all ages, now and in the future.

In this Conversation, released originally in 2018, former world chess champion and human rights activist Garry Kasparov shares his perspective on threats to Western democracies from dictators abroad and illiberal movements at home. Analyzing the geopolitical situation, Kasparov argues that the challenge to the West posed by dictators like Putin remains immense. Turning to Western societies themselves, Kasparov diagnoses a dangerous complacency about the effort required to sustain political liberty. Finally, Kristol and Kasparov discuss how America can recapture the will necessary to defend itself and its principles. Kasparov was extremely prescient at the time, and the insights he offers here are worth revisiting now in light of Putin's war on Ukraine.

How should the U.S. and others in the West respond to Putin’s war on Ukraine? What dangers and opportunities might we face in the days and weeks ahead? How might the war reshape geopolitics? Less than a week into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, much remains unknown. To help us get a better sense of where things might go, we are joined by Eric Edelman, former ambassador to Turkey and Finland and undersecretary of Defense. Edelman and Kristol consider where things stand—the impressive Ukrainian resistance, Putin’s difficulties, and the response from Europe, the US, and other allies. Edelman argues it is imperative that the West continue to support the Ukrainian resistance to ensure that Putin does not succeed in destroying Ukraine. Looking more broadly, Edelman and Kristol consider what dangers and opportunities may follow from a geopolitical event which already is causing major shifts in how countries in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere view their geopolitical position.

What is driving Vladimir Putin? What wider ramifications might follow from the war? Why should the fate of Ukraine concern us all? To discuss these questions, we are joined by Anne Applebaum, a leading historian and commentator on Ukraine, Russia, and Eastern Europe. As she argues, Vladimir Putin’s fear that Ukraine had been advancing toward democracy lies at the root of the conflict. Drawing on her deep knowledge of the region and its history, Applebaum presents a bracing account of the origins of the war and its possible consequences.

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address is considered one of history's most compelling examples of political rhetoric. In this Conversation, Diana Schaub, a preeminent scholar of American political thought and author of His Greatest Speeches: How Lincoln Moved the Nation, argues that while Lincoln’s Second Inaugural deserves its reputation, often its true character has not been appreciated. Over the course of her line-by-line interpretation of the dialogue, Schaub draws out some remarkable, counterintuitive, and little-appreciated aspects of Lincoln’s March 1865 address. Schaub and Kristol pay particular attention to the theological-political themes, and how the magnificent and subtle rhetoric of the speech presses the nation toward racial reconciliation and a politics of true moderation and greater humanity.