The Foreign Affairs Interview

Former Israeli security chief Ami Ayalon discusses the importance of having a clear political goal and addressing security failures to achieve lasting peace in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The podcast explores the Israeli government's internal disagreements, political turbulence in Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu's strategy, and efforts to advocate for a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Amaney Jamal, dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, discusses a recent survey revealing low support for Hamas and their leader among Palestinians. The podcast explores the declining confidence in existing Palestinian regimes, viability of Israel's objective to eliminate Hamas, proposals for extending authority over Gaza, and promoting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Dara Massicot, an expert on the Russian military, discusses how Russia's treatment of its soldiers is affecting the war in Ukraine. The podcast covers topics such as Russia's perception of the conflict, their military objectives, potential missile launches, recruitment strategies, and understanding an adversary's military power.

The podcast discusses the recent turmoil in the Middle East, including the shattered hopes of normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the impact of normalization on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran's involvement in the region, political dynamics in the Middle East, the APEC CEO Summit, and the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Journalist Ian Johnson returns to China and finds a country in stagnation, with a focus on control and security. He explores dissent and the underground historians battling for China's future. The podcast also explores China's deviation from successful policies, the fallout of its zero COVID policy, youth unemployment, counterhistorians challenging China's narrative, and the need for alternative perspectives in the China debate.

Ashley Tellis, observer and shaper of the U.S.-Indian relationship, discusses the need for Washington to understand Indian interests. He explores India's changing approach to China and the implications for India-US relations. The podcast also examines the Biden administration's stance on India and the limits and convergence in US-India collaboration on the China issue. It explores the evolution of the Quad and highlights the challenges and constraints in India's relationship with the United States.

AI's transformative power and its impact on the power balance between states and companies are discussed. Rapid advancements in AI, implications for society, and risks are highlighted. The concept of the Technopolar Order and its implications are explored. The direct effects of AI on geopolitics, policymaker's role, and AI regulation are examined. The analogy between AI and nuclear weapons in terms of containment and regulation is discussed.

Explore the changing view of interdependence in global trade, including the economic effects and reduction in poverty. The Director General of the World Trade Organization discusses geopolitical tensions and the erosion of consensus around trade. Also, the importance of building resilience and inclusivity in supply chains and the challenges faced by the multilateral trading system due to strained US-China relations.

There’s a near consensus today that U.S. foreign policy has entered a new era. But how to define and navigate this new era is much less clear.  Richard Fontaine, the CEO of the Center for a New American Security, has held senior positions across the U.S. government—in the Senate, at the State Department and National Security Council, and as an adviser to John McCain, the Republican senator and presidential candidate. There are few people who can offer as informed and comprehensive a view of U.S. foreign policy, especially at a moment when the United States is rethinking its own strategic objectives and sometimes struggling to find new ways of pursuing them. We discuss the objectives behind the United States’ China policy, democratic backsliding in India, and a potential Republican foreign policy platform.  Sources: “Election Interference Demands a Collective Defense” by Richard Fontaine “The Myth of Neutrality” by Richard Fontaine  “Washington’s Missing China Strategy” by Richard Fontaine “The Case Against Foreign Policy Solutionism” by Richard Fontaine   If you have feedback, email us at podcast@foreignaffairs.com.    The Foreign Affairs Interview is produced by Kate Brannen, Julia Fleming-Dresser, and Molly McAnany; original music by Robin Hilton. Special thanks to Grace Finlayson, Nora Revenaugh, Caitlin Joseph, Asher Ross, Gabrielle Sierra, and Markus Zakaria. 

With the fighting in Ukraine well into its second year, the question of the war’s endgame has become if anything, more complicated. Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s short-lived mutiny has raised doubts about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power. Yet Ukraine’s counteroffensive is not going as well as many had hoped, as Ukrainian forces have yet to make a major breakthrough across heavily defended Russian lines. In this episode, you can listen to a July 17 conversation with Samuel Charap, Fiona Hill, and Andriy Zagorodnyuk, who joined Foreign Affairs editor Daniel Kurtz-Phelan for a live event. Charap is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. Hill is a senior fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution and the author of There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century. From 2017 to 2019, she was the senior director for Europe and Russia on the U.S. National Security Council. Zagorodnyuk is the former Ukrainian minister of defense and a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council.  We discuss what’s happening on the battlefield, the state of Putin’s power, and possible endgames to the war. You can find transcripts and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview.