The Un-Diplomatic Podcast

What's the difference between good strategy and bad strategy? Why is understanding strategy as a theory of success so powerful? What is a framework for good strategy? And how grand is grand strategy? Dr. Van Jackson sits down with Dr. Jeff Meiser (University of Portland) to discuss. They also talk about Richard Rumelt's classic book, Good Strategy/Bad Strategy.

The deep dive on the Philippines presidential election and what it means that they elected Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. Have Democrats become the party of war? Yes, but maybe not for long. Is the right running a restraint foreign policy?  Hell no.  The prospects of a Putin nuclear war.  Why new hip-hop is not as good as the old stuff.  Military Keynesianism is a sucker's bet.  Feminism and intersectional struggles for progressive--what the Handmaid's Tale is good for (and not).Contributors: Gaby Magnuson, Celia McDowall, Alex Auty, Hunter Marston

The realists versus leftists thing, again. Re-imagining international cooperation. Why peace and anti-militarism should be non-partisan. Oligarchs like Elon Musk will be the end of us all.  The curious case of Kamala Harris's restrainer space policy. Our new YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_42j11ZVmlF5jVbqdVcdogMatt Duss Tweet: https://twitter.com/mattduss/status/1516046414723399680Eric Van Rythoven Tweet: https://twitter.com/EricVanRythoven/status/1517588528250724352Good Politic Guy Tweet: https://twitter.com/GoodPoliticGuy/status/1518318360005599232?t=16MadbdXfjW00QYCzo9RuQ&s=19James Palmer Tweet: https://twitter.com/BeijingPalmer/status/1514682777513377797?t=u55XQ1dALYpdSZaHqEP6xg&s=19Sam Haselby Tweet: https://twitter.com/samhaselby/status/1518906179711385602Tiziana Stella and Campbell Craig on international cooperation: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/04/18/is-international-cooperation-possible/Contributors: Tejas Menon, Gaby Magnuson, Hunter Marston, Ciara Mitchell

What Singapore's Prime Minister has to say about post-primacy Asia. The global peace dividend initiative. War as the enemy of progress. The problem with securitizing the climate crisis. MAGA militarism and the problem of red-brown alliances. Why there is no economic equality without political equality.  The Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_42j11ZVmlF5jVbqdVcdogGlobal Peace Dividend Initiative: https://peace-dividend.orgTobita Chow and Ben Lorber on MAGA militarism: https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/carlson-russia-nationalism-far-right/Matt Duss Tweet: https://twitter.com/mattduss/status/1511310386636771335Chloe Farad Tweet: https://twitter.com/ChloeFarand/status/1511307959292334084Ginny Hogan Tweet: https://twitter.com/ginnyhogan_/status/1511400718627975168Hope Hodgeseck Tweet: https://twitter.com/HopeSeck/status/1513555823699574796?t=V-G49W3oa8KZBa6zxtgK-g&s=19Alex Dobrenko Tweet: https://twitter.com/Dobrenkz/status/1513632588241334272?s=20&t=P4s0Pk7QqeCAYXt6R8YrGgContributors: Celia McDowall, Jake Dellow, Alex Auty, Hunter Marston  

In this episode of the Un-Diplomatic Podcast, Dr. Van Jackson interviews Dr. Mark Beeson about his new book, Environmental Anarchy: Security in the 21st Century. They talk about doing international relations in an era of climate crisis, Asian security, the promise and perils of Marxist theory, the problem of neoliberalism, progressive alliances with realists, democracy on the back foot, and much more.Environmental Anarchy: Security in the 21st Century: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/environmental-anarchyOur conversation on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0-TyJ6HJnU&t=2519s

What security studies was like in the utopian '90s.  The West's sphere-of-influence reaction to the China-Solomon Islands agreement.  What the Kanye West documentary teaches us about the bygone hustle culture.  That time when The History Channel pitted game theory against Nostradamus, and brought in John Mearsheimer to attack Bruce Bueno De Mesquita.  Why Republicans are lost on Russia-Putin.Rob Farley Tweet: https://twitter.com/drfarls/status/1508944926268133386Koryo Dynasty Tweet: https://twitter.com/koryodynasty/status/1508246571766677508?s=20&t=T5F5Gy8YZqv_UHE4rEkawQWoke Global Times Tweet: https://twitter.com/wokeglobaltimes/status/1505902135300481026?t=jonk7lIDIuGEGRvg_i4LSg&s=19Armchair Analysis Segment: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS8yeHpVaUh4dw/episode/YWQ5MzM2N2YtMjAwYS00OGQ4LTljYzYtNWU2NjQwM2YxZDgz?ep=14Contributors: Gaby Magnuson, Alex Auty, Hunter Marston, Ciara Mitchell

In the first ever reveal of his forthcoming book, Pacific Power Paradox: American Statecraft and the Fate of the Asian Peace, Dr. Van Jackson attempts to untangle the politics, economics, security, and strategic statecraft in an Asia-Pacific region experiencing accelerated change. Jackson focused on how regional change can affect U.S. alliance partners such as South Korea while shedding some light on U.S. strategy-making in the Asia-Pacific region. The conversation was moderated by Asia Society Korea Senior Contributor Dr. Mason Richey. Asia Society on YouTube: http://AsiaSociety.org/YouTube Support Asia Society today: http://AsiaSociety.org/Donate Asia Society Korea Webpage: https://asiasociety.org/korea/meet-author-whither-asian-peace-future-politics-economics-and-security-asia-pacific

In our first ever roundtable edition of the podcast, Dr. Van Jackson was joined by Korea watchers Dr. John Delury (Yonsei University), Minseon Ku (Ohio State University), and Karl Friedhoff (Chicago Council on Global Affairs) to discuss the closest presidential election in South Korean history, in which conservative Yoon Seok-youl won by a razor-thin margin.  The crew talks about the popular politics of anti-feminism in South Korea, the geopolitics of a conservative victory, and the myths that Beltway Korea watchers had built up about outgoing President Moon Jae-in.Articles mentioned during the episode: https://imnews.imbc.com/replay/2022/nwdesk/article/6348703_35744.htmlhttp://www.keaf.org/book/EAF_Policy_Debate_Making_Sense_of_the_Gender_Debate_in_South_Korea?ckattempt=1https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/south-korea/2022-02-08/south-korea-needs-stepContributors: Gaby Magnuson, Alex Auty

Thomas Piketty's answer for fighting China: Democratic socialism! Is grand strategy a theory of national success, or a story? How the national security community fetishized its own paranoia about gray zones and hybrid war. How corporations woke-wash capital. The John Mearsheimer controversy and what it means for realism. Pompeo's Taiwan grift. Favorite Marvel superhero movies.Jeffrey Meiser Tweet: https://twitter.com/jwmeiser/status/1497695031380955136?t=Kn1hvrM15UM3dSNsw0mhAQ&s=19Seva Gunitsky Tweet: https://twitter.com/SevaUT/status/1498025192697647110?t=973liSesC-AO8PEhfX4vBQ&s=19Tom Malinowski Tweet: https://twitter.com/Malinowski/status/1500958491250417667?t=IUstpiURlYt8C7kWowRtQg&s=19Chris Clary Tweet: https://twitter.com/clary_co/status/1501179350175170561Jeet Heer Tweet: https://twitter.com/HeerJeet/status/1499850044396257284Adam Tooze in the New Statesman: https://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2022/03/john-mearsheimer-and-the-dark-origins-of-realismContributors: Gaby Magnuson, Hunter Marston, Ciara Mitchell

The Australian right's red-baiting flop on China. New Zealand's trucker protests have morphed into a mob.   Dwayne Johnson could actually be the next president because America loves unqualified "cool bros."  How Van has evolved on China rivalry stuff.  Progressives debate Russia-Ukraine.  South Korean nukes.  The limits of Ben & Jerry's theory of peace.  Jake Grumbach Tweet: https://twitter.com/JakeMGrumbach/status/1493277842062209025Graham Webster Tweet: https://twitter.com/gwbstr/status/1495458935565742084Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Tweet: https://twitter.com/benandjerrys/status/1489393235655106562Evan Laksmana Tweet: https://twitter.com/EvanLaksmana/status/1495191322738962432?s=20&t=M23YweHXACSR7Iiew3tN5gEric Gomez Tweet: https://twitter.com/EricGomezAsia/status/1490182380572839938?t=wr-Vv7hpPTTBaBahsqNF2w&s=19Terrell Jermaine Starr Piece on Progressive Russia-Ukraine Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/11/progressives-defend-ukraine/?utm_source=PostUp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Editors%20Picks%20OC&utm_term=39416&tpcc=Editors%20Picks%20OCContributors: Jake Dellow, Hunter Marston, Gaby Magnuson, Ciara Mitchell