The Un-Diplomatic Podcast

This special episode was recorded live from Seoul, South Korea in late November.  Dr. Van Jackson gave a talk at the East Asia Foundation in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament.  Have a listen to learn the unintended dangers of pursuing North Korean denuclearization, and why a credible arms control process is the only way to stabilize Korea.Center for a New American Security Report: https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/risk-realism

Who supports military bases in South Korea? Surprising majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Also this episode, why some neoliberals are hostile to democracy. Why sphere-of-influence diplomacy is gross and destabilizing. Why the left needs to do better on Hong Kong. The State Department’s clash-of-civilizations problem. What North Korea means by its end-of-year deadline. Coercion with Chinese characteristics. And mental health in national security.Van’s Predictions: 1)   Will Bolivia’s interim president (Jeanine Añez Chavez) remain in power until elections can be held in 90 days? | Yes 2)   Will Erdogan fully implement the anti-aircraft system they purchased from Russia (in violation of NATO regulations) by the end of 2020? | Yes3)   Will China/Hong Kong police acknowledge deaths at the hands of police before the end of 2019? | No 4)   Will Presidents Putin and Zelensky meet before the end of 2019? | No           Notes and Sources:·      Karl Friedhoff on JCS: https://twitter.com/KarlFriedhoff/status/1194303256949927937·      Jonathan Allen on impeachment talking points: https://twitter.com/jonallendc/status/1194706489438621697·      Kyle Bass on American silence on Hong Kong: https://twitter.com/Jkylebass/status/1194590176078704640·      Van Jackson on progressives and Asia policy: https://thediplomat.com/2019/10/how-american-progressives-think-about-asian-security/·      Quinn Slobodian on economic freedom and democracy: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/11/democracy-defenders-economic-freedom-neoliberalismVan’s Recommended IR Reads (Part I):-       James Mann – ‘Rise of the Vulcans’ -       James Mann – ‘About Face’ -       Fred Kaplan – ‘The Wizards of Armageddon’ -       Sagan & Waltz – ‘The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate’ -       Yuen Khong – ‘Analogies at War’ -       Paul MacDonald – ‘Networks of Domination’ -       John Ikenberry – ‘Liberal Leviathan’ Music: "Van is Meta" by Tre' Hester

Jared Kushner's North Korea doctrine sucks, and Kim Jong Un's job is way too easy these days. What universities can do to cope with Chinese influence. India tries (and fails) to get a far-right alliance to whitewash Kashmir. Trump continues to channel the Biff Tannen school of imperialism and the Pod has a fever-dream about a smarter, sinister Ted Cruz presidency. Also this episode: An Assistant Secretary of State learns the wrong lesson from Van Jackson’s first book - not everything is a bluff.  Van's Predictions1)   Will the RCEP trade deal come into force by 2020? | No2)   Will India lift the state of emergency in Kashmir by the end of 2019? | No3)   Will Russia, China, Europe remain party to the JCPOA through 2020? | Yes4)   Will America fully withdraw from the Paris Agreement in 2020? | Yes, but it won’t matter.Notes and Sources:Huffington Post: "What if the World Treated the U.S like a Rogue State?" https://www.huffpost.com/highline/article/sanctions/(Note: Huffington Post, not Buzzfeed)Aaron Stein tweet on Trump & Oil: https://twitter.com/aaronstein1/status/1192191364055875584Ryan Evans tweet on Boomers: https://twitter.com/EvansRyan202/status/1192196752318894091Ezra Klein tweet on American Constitutionalism: https://twitter.com/ezraklein/status/1191857312543064064?s=21ChinaFile – ‘How Should Universities Respond to China’s Growing Presence on Their Campuses?’ http://www.chinafile.com/conversation/how-should-universities-respond-chinas-growing-presence-their-campusesVan's Recommended Lefty Websites:Dissent - https://www.dissentmagazine.orgThe New Republic - https://newrepublic.com/The Baffler - https://thebaffler.com/n+1 - https://nplusonemag.com/ 

In the latest episode of our "Hustle" series, Van Jackson sits down with Suzanne DiMaggio to discover how she does it all. How did she end up as a foreign policy adviser to the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign? What was it like to live in downtown Manhattan on 9/11? What did a jazz musician have to do with her leaving business school?  How did she build herself into one of America's pre-eminent experts in Track 1.5 and Track 2 diplomacy without ever serving in the US government? And how did she find time to become a co-founder and Chairman of the Board for a new think tank, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft?Quincy Institute: https://quincyinst.orgSuzanne DiMaggio: https://carnegieendowment.org/experts/1592Music: "Van is Meta" by Tre' Hester

Should the US isolate countries that isolate Taiwan? The US Senate just passed the TAIPEI Act of 2019, a bipartisan bill that authorizes the State Department to take measures against countries who isolate or abandon Taiwan. In this Raw Uncut episode, Van Jackson weighs the pros and cons, arguing that it's great solidarity but questionable strategy.TAIPEI Act of 2019: https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/s1678/BILLS-116s1678es.pdf.Music: "Van is Meta" by Tre' Hester

In this episode, we get on a soapbox about "greenlanternism." Van and Pete debate what to make of Twitter's Jack Dorsey throwing shade at Facebook. We shine light on a new conservative-progressive consensus: Trump is a cartoon imperialist. We also discuss Extinction Rebellion and why the climate crisis does not warrant white privilege or targeted assassinations. Also this episode: the rules-based order is falling apart, but it may be recoverable. How many kills is Iran responsible for? Why does Obama hate wokeness? And the Van Jackson philosophy on why national security needs more progressive voices.Van’s Predictions1) Will John Bolton testify in the impeachment inquiry? | Yes2) Will Benny Gantz be form a government in Israel? | Yes3) Will Iraq’s Prime Minister be ousted before the end of 2019? | YesVan’s Podcast Recommendations:- Dissent’s ‘Know Your Enemy’ | https://www.dissentmagazine.org/blog/know-your-enemy-a-new-podcast-about-the-right- Crooked Media’s ‘Pod Save The World’ | https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-the-world/- The Diplomat’s ‘Asia Geopolitics’ | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-diplomat-asia-geopolitics/id852773346- Insert generic dry but informative think tank podcasts- War on the Rocks’ ‘Bombshell’ | https://warontherocks.com/category/podcasts/bombshell/Notes and Sources- NY Times on Sea Level Rise | https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/29/climate/coastal-cities-underwater.html- Extinction Rebellion’s White Privilege | https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/19/extinction-rebellion-white-faces-diversity- Rebecca Davis Gibbons on the World International Order | https://twitter.com/RDavisGibbons/status/1188891448126652419- Jack Dorsey on Twitter Banning Political Ads: | https://twitter.com/jack/status/1189634360472829952?s=21- The American Conservative on Cartoon Imperialism | https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-cartoon-imperialist-president/?wpisrc=nl_todayworld&wpmm=1- Obama on Woke Culture | https://www.victoria.ac.nz/hppi/about/staff/jon-fraenkelMusic: "Van is Meta" by Tre' Hester

In this Raw Uncut episode, Van Jackson breaks down what it takes to render a bad take on China. Using a recent hot take from Prof. Stephen Walt as the example, Van identifies at least three ways of not only getting China wrong, but getting it wrong badly.One: Mischaracterize Chinese behaviorTwo: Promote China's preferred narrative for its misdeedsThree: Draw false equivalencies with the United States (Or, use China observations to throw shade at the US)Walt's take on China: https://twitter.com/stephenWalt/status/1188911798759645184Music: "Van is Meta" by Tre' Hester

If you think fighting climate change is expensive, maybe you haven't seen the bill for endless war. Why Trump's parallel universes of diplomacy is a problem for foreign policy analysis. Van gets a little choked up talking about why America needs more Laura Coopers. Giuliani self-incriminates via  tweet, collapsing Trump’s impeachment defense. What the Treaty of Versailles can teach us about poison pill diplomacy today. Van goes hard in the paint on Disney's Bob Iger.  And in Asia, American credibility is vanishing and no amount of Pentagon money can fix it. Van’s Predictions:Will there be a British election before the end of the year? | No If there was, what would it elect? | Conservative majority government. Will Turkey expand out of the Russian-negotiated buffer zone in Syria? | NoWill the US stop the Korean/Japan trade war before 2020? | No, but the trade war will stopLinks:Marty Lederman on Rudy Giuliani: https://twitter.com/marty_lederman/status/1187170574562484226Kelsey Atherton on Climate Change: https://twitter.com/AthertonKD/status/1187211215279251456Kathleen Hicks on Laura Cooper:https://twitter.com/kath_hicks/status/1187043980787236867The Peacemakers of 1919 a Century On - Jay Winter: https://carnegieeurope.eu/2019/10/14/peacemakers-of-1919-century-on-pub-79970How To Halt Global Warming for $300 Billion - Bloomberg:https://tinyurl.com/yxhx9y6kTrump’s Parallel Universe of Diplomacy - Adam Taylor: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/10/24/trumps-parallel-universe-diplomacy/What Happened to Rudy Giuliani? - Ken Frydman:https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/opinion/giuliani-trump-ukraine.htmlIndicted Giuliani Associate Ties Case to Trump - NYT:https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/23/nyregion/lev-parnas-igor-fruman-campaign-finance.htmlMusic: "Van is Meta" by Tre' Hester

We live in an age of foreign policy pluralism and congressional Democrats ought to take heed. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quietly led a congressional delegation to Afghanistan and Jordan over the weekend. In this Raw Uncut edition of the Un-Diplomatic podcast, I explain why I hope the trip was part of a Democratic Party shadow foreign policy.  Pelosi tweeting the CODEL: https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1186766247670599680Music: "Van is Meta" by Tre' Hester

Silicon Valley might be turning against China. Steven Pinker is wrong about violence and needs to take a security studies course. There are no more US officials with gravitas. Trump's 5-dimensional chess is going to end with a Kurdish-Iranian alliance. Career advice for an aspiring China hand.  And will Van Jackson ever move back to Washington?  Van's Predictions:Will Pompeo survive until 2020? NoWill China sacrifice Carrie Lam by 2020? YesWill Giuliani be arrested by the end of 2019? NoWill China and the US sign a grand bargain deal by the end of 2020? NoWill US troops withdraw from Syria by 2020? NoShelly Banjo's Bloomberg tweet thread: https://twitter.com/sbanjo/status/1184070619693907968Michael Weiss tweet thread: https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/1184139398507585536?s=20Tanisha Fazal and Paul Poast Foreign Affairs article: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2019-10-15/war-not-overMusic: "Van is Meta" by Tre' Hester