The Un-Diplomatic Podcast

How does one get into the think tank game? Van explains. How does one use war-games to manipulate policy? Van explains. Why is our historical imagination limited to Greek and Roman history? Again, Van explains. What happens to the US-South Korea alliance when Trump threatens troop withdrawal?  You get it.  Chicago Council on Global Affairs Report: https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/publication/troop-withdrawal-likely-undermine-south-korean-public-support-alliance-united-statesJames Palmer on the Thucydides' Trap: https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/28/oh-god-not-the-peloponnesian-war-again/Matt Duss Tweet: https://twitter.com/mattduss/status/1289162903124418561Jeffrey Meiser Tweet: https://twitter.com/jwmeiser/status/1290431319030165505Yuna Wong Tweet: https://twitter.com/YunaHuhWong/status/1290287068149616640?s=20Contributors: Jake Dellow, Pete McKenzie, Ciara Mitchell, Gaby Magnuson

The good, bad, and ugly of Biden picking Susan Rice for Vice President.  Why progressives need sanctions too, and how a new think tank report sheds light on how it might work.  The Pentagon has militarized the Coronavirus response and yet can't win a war.  And America's closest allies are hedging in reasonable--and dangerous way.  South Korea is the latest.Jeet Heer tweet: https://twitter.com/HeerJeet/status/1287561065526489088Yakov Feygin tweet: https://twitter.com/BuddyYakov/status/1287037655700529152Tsai Ing Wen tweet: https://twitter.com/iingwen/status/1288422813183827969?s=19Eduardo Saravelle on sanctions: https://twitter.com/esaravalle/status/1288549638908379137Contributors: Jake Dellow, Ciara Mitchell, Gaby Magnuson, Pete McKenzie

The US is going to withdraw troops from South Korea--you heard it here first.  The Democratic Party platform throws a bone to progressives, mostly.  Pompeo rejects Nixon, and shows himself to be worse than him too.  Gestapo come to Portland, and why the mayor needs strategy advice.  Also the this episode: The myth of China strategy, Quislings, and decoupling for real.Matt Duss Tweet: https://twitter.com/mattduss/status/1286281992145907715Ken Schultz Tweet: https://twitter.com/kschultz3580/status/1285599806317105158?s=21Patrick Iber Tweet: https://twitter.com/PatrickIber/status/1286052109666988033James Palmer Tweet: https://twitter.com/beijingpalmer/status/1286038960725200896?s=21Inkstick Media piece: https://inkstickmedia.com/the-myth-of-chinese-strategic-genius/

A foreign policy reckoning is coming for the establishment Democrats in Congress.   Kanye West can't be president, but he can mess it up for Biden.  If China invades Taiwan, the real press it will pay comes during occupation.  Why broad anti-fascist coalitions are good.  Contributors: Pete McKenzie, Ciara Mitchell, Jake Dellow, Gaby MagnusonDavid Klion Tweet: https://twitter.com/DavidKlion/status/1283047130433822726Blak Herzinger Tweet: https://twitter.com/BDHerzinger/status/1282493494850809857Dan Nexon Tweet: https://twitter.com/dhnexon/status/1282848860994449408Chris Hayes Tweet: https://twitter.com/chrislhayes/status/1280624770674032647?s=19Bonnie Glaser Tweet: https://twitter.com/bonnieglaser/status/1281968219901890561?s=21Sheri Berman in Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy-com.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/2020/07/04/coronavirus-crisis-turning-point-change/Kate Kizer in Inkstick Media: https://inkstickmedia.com/america-is-ready-for-human-security-is-congress/

As I officially launch a new book project, I'm also launching a new occasional series within The Un-Diplomatic Podcast called Writer's Room.  It's going to track my journey of writing my third book with occasional mini-episodes.  I'll also use the Writer's Room episodes to intermittently check in with other writers working on books to learn about their experiences.  

The Democratic Party's foreign policy is controlled by unipolar-moment hawks.  Australian strategists are making plans for conflict with China without the US.  New Zealand has a China policy that looks awfully janus-faced, but there's method (and risk) to the madness.  And if Democrats' plan to fight Trump is to "win big in November" and nothing else, then the game is already lost.  Contributors: Pete McKenzie, Gaby Magnuson, Jake DellowAnne-Marie Brady Tweet: https://thediplomat.com/2020/06/new-zealands-quiet-china-shift/?fbclid=IwAR15ssAj0Lfh0elwaFyAC69vOX2P-uCmHzWIey3aGYeH4Pfn-9TAHEKbSJEMike McFaul Tweet: https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1278757751947014144?s=19Sophia McDougall Tweet: https://twitter.com/McDougallSophia/status/1276538425395630081?s=20Andrew Carr Tweet: https://twitter.com/AOCarr/status/1277853262650019840

There's NOTHING progressive about working with the MAGA right.  Why the arguments for US military superiority keep changing but the demand stays the same.  Also this episode: Does Taiwan need nukes?  Why did Kim Jong Un publicly restrain his military from attacking the South?  And what's wrong with imagining Korea as a maritime defense perimeter?Yakov Feygin Tweet: https://twitter.com/BuddyYakov/status/1276219280816656385Dan Nexon Tweet: https://twitter.com/dhnexon/status/1275601160381104131Weijia Jiang Tweet: https://twitter.com/weijia/status/1275422015059615750?s=21Tom McTague on American decline: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/06/america-image-power-trump/613228/Contributors: Pete McKenzie, Gaby Magnuson, Ciara Mitchell, Jake Dellow 

Deterrence is not failing in Asia, America is.  A little advice about how NOT to network in Washington.  What's more dangerous, the Sino-Indian conflict or North Korea?  Also this episode: how international relations theory can be used in practice, and why China hawks are actually Trump's useful idiots.Susan Hennessy Tweet: https://twitter.com/Susan_Hennessey/status/1273392725937790979?s=20Rachel Rizzo Tweet: https://twitter.com/RachelRizzo/status/1271416729424535552Matt Duss Tweet: ttps://twitter.com/mattduss/status/1273356008337870854Contributors: Gaby Magnuson, Pete McKenzie, Jake Dellow, Ciara Mitchell

In this episode, Van sits down with Matt Duss, senior foreign policy adviser to former presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders.  Matt shares his backstory, including his pathway into foreign policy, his relationship to the Washington establishment, and how he ended up working working for Senator Sanders.  He dishes about how the Sanders presidential campaign organized its foreign policy team, as well as how he thinks a Biden presidency ought to approach foreign policy on a range of issues--China decoupling, Space Force, Saudi Arabia-Iran rivalry, and much more.  Matt also goes on the record about where Transformers rates relative to The Usual Suspects in the pantheon of great movies.

Can liberals and Marxists find common cause?  The left often weighs in on China, but is silent on the biggest strategic question of our time: Should the United States seek to decouple its economy from China?  Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong forecasts a more zero-sum world, but is anyone listening?  Australia has put itself in a bad place strategically, and it's a warning to small states everywhere.  John Glaser Tweet: https://twitter.com/jwcglaser/status/1270722911410638851John Carl Baker Tweet: https://twitter.com/johncarlbaker/status/1270360182686732291Paul Poast Tweet: https://twitter.com/ProfPaulPoast/status/1269620204289568769?s=19Duyeon Kim Tweet: https://twitter.com/duyeonkim/status/1270682908978581504?s=19Fred Kaplan on Civ-Mil Relations: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/06/milley-trump-esper-civil-military.htmlContributors: Pete McKenzie, Gaby Magnuson, Jake Dellow, and Ciara Mitchell