The Un-Diplomatic Podcast

This is the first of two episodes interviewing Dr. Dan Nexon, a former adviser to Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign, a proponent of progressive internationalism, scholar of empires, and much more.  In this episode, Part I, we talk about how he found his way into academia, got interested in international relations, and flirted with the practice of foreign policy.Dan's blogging: https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/author/dnexonDan's forthcoming book w/ Alex Cooley (Exit from Hegemony): https://global.oup.com/academic/product/exit-from-hegemony-9780190916473?cc=us&lang=en&Dan's influential Foreign Affairs piece on progressive foreign policy: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2018-09-04/toward-neo-progressive-foreign-policy

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders converge on foreign policy way more than Twitter thinks. Democratizing foreign policy is a noble goal but is it possible? Millennials are freaked out about World War III and Trump is to blame. The "Phase I" trade deal with China is fake reality TV. Deterrence by escalation is dumb. Breaking the political assassination taboo will prove costly. And why the policymaker literacy gap on artificial intelligence is a career opportunity for the next generation of mandarins.Notes and Sources:Mike Pilger on Ian Bremer: https://twitter.com/mikepilger/status/1215076257362337792Matt Duss on political assassination: https://twitter.com/mattduss/status/1213471599841677312Jess McIntosh on Bernie Bros: https://twitter.com/jess_mc/status/1217470071402123265?s=20Whitney McNamara on AI literacy: https://twitter.com/Whitney_McN/status/1217509704433389571?s=20Howard French in World Politics Review:https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/28470/china-s-policies-toward-hong-kong-and-taiwan-are-driving-a-slow-motion-catastropheWorld Politics Review on the China trade deal: https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/28474/what-does-the-phase-one-u-s-china-trade-deal-actually-accomplishSubscribe to the World Politics Review Newsletter: wpr.pub/undiplomatic 

What do Democrats think about foreign policy and national security? The recent democratic debate was stunningly superficial on foreign policy, yet the most revealing to date. It covered Iran, defense spending, troops in the Middle East, trade deals, North Korea, and China (sort of). Van offers his take, where there's daylight between candidate, and what's wrong going forward.New York Times Weighs the Winners and Losers in the Debate: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/15/opinion/democratic-debate-who-won.html 

Does 'bothsidesism' threaten democracy?  Gary Kasparov thinks so and so does Van.  Fareed Zakaria and the Washington establishment disagree about China.  Van thinks they're both wrong.  Dan Drezner throws shade at the incoherence of US foreign policy.  Taiwan's democracy under pressure.  And what North Korea's Christmas gift silence really tells us.  Also this episode: Advice for young writers.  Dan Drezner's tweet: https://twitter.com/dandrezner/status/1210748831731572739Gary Kasparov's tweet: https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1210280850094526464Vipin Narang's tweet: https://mobile.twitter.com/NarangVipin/status/1209861487251951617Fareed Zakaria's Foreign Affairs piece: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2019-12-06/new-china-scare

Why did the Trump administration just assassinate an Iranian senior military leader?  What will it lead to?  Lots of questions about deterrence stupidity and diversionary foreign policy in this quick Raw Uncut episode.

In this special New Year's episode with the BBC Dad, Dr. Robert Kelly, we get his predictions about a range of foreign policy issues for 2020:--Will North Korea conduct a nuclear test?--Will Kim Jong Un meet with Trump again?--Will Trump leave office before the end of the year?--Will there be any wars anywhere?--Will the US withdraw any troops from South Korea? 

Is Buttigieg a foreign policy hawk?  Is international relations really just about Russian foreign policy?   Van points out the obvious--Tulsi Gabbard is not a Democrat, and not progressive.  Why America sucks up to India (hint: it’s all about China), and why it shouldn’t.  The Pod implores Bernie Sanders to weigh in on the Transformers v. Usual Suspects debate that Matt Duss started.  And finally, is ‘Chained Globalisation’ here to stay, and what can we do about it? Predictions:Will Ankara (Turkey) follow up on their threat to shut down the U.S controlled Incirik AFB before the end of 2019? | NoWill Congress pass any resolutions addressing the New START treaty (which expires in 2021) before February 2020? | NoWill the U.S resume peace talks with the Taliban before the end of 2019? | NoLinks:Benjamin R. Young on North Korea and Time - https://www.nknews.org/2019/12/the-need-for-speed-time-as-a-political-tool-in-north-korea/Daniel Larison on Pete Buttigieg’s Foreign Policy - https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/buttigiegs-increasingly-hawkish-foreign-policy/Jason Kander on Tulsi Gabbard - https://twitter.com/JasonKander/status/1207487212234969088Tom Nichols on Gabbard - https://twitter.com/RadioFreeTom/status/1207476464356143104Tim Draper on India and Religious Freedom - https://twitter.com/TimDraper/status/1207674025616519173Paul Poast on Russia and Foreign Affairs - https://mobile.twitter.com/ProfPaulPoast/status/1204745930144174080Journal of Global Security Studies special issue on American Bias -https://academic.oup.com/jogss/article-abstract/4/3/299/5521930Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman on Chained Globalisation - https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2019-12-10/chained-globalization

National security Republicans' "theory of security" might just kill us all in the name of deterrence.  House Democrats pass a defense budget that George W. Bush would be proud of.  China is decoupling from the US whether we like it or not.  Arms control is unravelling because the Trump administration is all neocons, ethno-nationalists, and multi-millionaires.  Also this episode: What the heck do foreign policy advisers do on presidential campaigns?  World Politics Review Newsletter: https://about.worldpoliticsreview.com/undiplomatic/ Prediction Market:Will the U.S place meaningful sanctions on Turkey in response to their purchasing of Russian arms before the end of 2019? | No. Following the Russian-Ukraine peace deal, will Russia withdraw active duty troops before the end of 2019? | Not a peace deal - it’s a ceasefire. No. Will North Korea test an ICBM before the end of 2019? | No Notes and Sources:Ross Douthat on Republican foreign policy credibility: https://twitter.com/DouthatNYT/status/1201574412018950147Ankit Panda on international institutional revisionism: https://mobile.twitter.com/nktpnd/status/1204986200228089856Shadi Hamid on meritocracy and McKinsey: https://twitter.com/shadihamid/status/1203416084189196288Goose Lee on the Hong Kong protests and sex: https://twitter.com/Lee_Cobaj/status/1202209651665723396?fbclid=IwAR128MOLpR3C-YSKmnmN6Wn1Mwp_MqPwtL7grJwArCP68I_O0kn4-UWpVA4Jeffrey Lewis on nuclear weapons treaty: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/inside-the-new-global-arms-race-washington-us-russia-china-nuclear-weapons-cyberwarfare

What would a Mayor Bloomberg foreign policy look like (some concerning clues in his past)?  The wisdom of French realpolitik.  Why Trump will sell out Taiwan but the rest of Washington should keep the faith.  Why neoliberalism is the new neoconservatism.  Why Iran policy reveals Trump to be a neocon minus the love of democracy bit.  And why Van Jackson backs a no-first use nuclear policy.  Also this episode: Van reveals the presidential campaign he's been volunteering for as a foreign policy adviser.  Notes and Sources:Mehdi Hasan on Michael Bloomberg: https://theintercept.com/2019/11/25/michael-bloombergs-right-wing-views-on-foreign-policy-make-him-a-perfect-candidate-for-the-republican-nomination/Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump: https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1202008446083698689Ilan Goldenberg on the JCPOA: https://mobile.twitter.com/ilangoldenberg/status/1202343502501339136Gérard Araud on realpolitik: https://twitter.com/GerardAraud/status/1201071186626502656Matt Duss on neoliberalism:  https://twitter.com/mattduss/status/1201179005912854530

Nukes, missiles, and being oblivious to risk. The Indo-Pacific strategy is freaking some people out. Allies worry that the US doesn't know what it's doing in Asia, and a nuclear Japan and South Korea may just be a matter of time.  Trump doesn't care about Hong Kong.  Also this episode, why it sucks to have a liberal foreign policy in the Second Nuclear Age. When New Zealand will start developing nukes. And why post-INF missiles are the Christmas present no ally wants. In Ask Me Anything: Why Van Jackson is a good example of how not to build a career in foreign policy.Stay Off Twitter:David Frum on honorable resignations - https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1199528319483596800Brett McGurk on the Trump/Erdogan bromance - https://twitter.com/brett_mcgurk/status/1199041509317701632Mike Mazarr on the INF Treaty and missiles in Kansas - https://twitter.com/MMazarr/status/1197011144759595008Vipin Narang on a new nuclear age - https://twitter.com/NarangVipin/status/1197924400428810241Armchair Analysis:Mira Rapp-Hooper on decoupling and the new nuclear age - https://warontherocks.com/2019/11/decoupling-is-back-in-asia-a-1960s-playbook-wont-solve-these-problems-2/