None Of The Above

The fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine has disrupted the global energy market and hiked the price of fuel nearly everywhere around the world. In Europe, which finds itself caught between efforts to cut itself off from Russian oil and Moscow's firm grip on energy exports, the repercussions of today's energy crisis are acute. While in the United States, which experienced high prices at the pump, efforts have been underway to resolve the crisis. But how much control does the United States have, and does it require the United States to lean on the shoulder of illiberal partners like Saudi Arabia? Often referred to as "black gold," oil plays an important role in international affairs. Still, according to Emma Ashford, an oil and international relations expert, its role is frequently misunderstood. Emma joins the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah to discuss her new book Oil, the State, and War and complicate commonly held misconceptions on oil's influence on foreign policy. Mark and Emma also break down America's efforts to address the energy crisis, green energy's potential impact on geopolitics, and the tangled web that is the global energy market. Emma Ashford is a senior fellow at the New American Engagement Initiative at the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point. She is the author of Oil, the State, and War: The Foreign Policies of Petrostates (2022).

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created at the dawn of the Cold War to stop the expansion of the Soviet Union. But in the 1990s, when NATO intervened in the Balkan wars, it assumed a new role for itself. Our guest this week was responsible, more than two decades ago, for explaining the NATO campaign in Kosovo to the international press. Now as NATO member countries assist Ukraine in its defense against Russia, can the alliance continue to provide security on the European continent? In this episode, the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah is joined by Jamie Shea, a former NATO official who last served as Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges. As NATO unveiled its strategic concept last week in Madrid, what lessons can the alliance learn from the past and what purpose will it serve in the future? Jamie Shea worked for NATO for 38 years, including as a spokesperson during the Kosovo campaign in 1999 and retired from the alliance as Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges.

The United Nations estimates around half of Afghanistan's population – nearly 20 million people – faces acute hunger. The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan follows the end of America's twenty-year war and the withdrawal of all US troops in August 2021. In February, the Biden administration decided to freeze nearly $10 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank in order to prevent money going into the hands of the Taliban. Are US policies exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and what does freezing of assets mean to accomplish? This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah is joined by freelance journalist Matthieu Aikins and the co-founder of Unfreeze Afghanistan Masuda Sultan to better understand the current state of Afghanistan, President Biden's decision to freeze Afghanistan assets in response to the Taliban's takeover, and the ongoing plight of Afghans. Matthieu Aikins is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, and the author of The Naked Don't Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees. Masuda Sultan is an Afghan-American women's rights activist and entrepreneur who has been working for over 20 years in support of women and girls in education, vocational training, and protection from violence. Show notes: "Afghanistan: Nearly 20 million going hungry" (UN News, May 9, 2022) The Naked Don't Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees (Matthieu Aikins, February 22, 2022)

General George Marshall occupies a central place in the pantheon of American heroes. He helped lead the Allies to victory in World War II, and as the secretary of state, he championed the plan to rebuild Europe which would be named for him: The Marshall Plan. But Marshall's record as a statesman wasn't perfect. Tapped by President Truman to negotiate an end to China's civil war, he proved unable to broker a lasting settlement and prevent the country's Communist takeover. In this episode, the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah concludes Season 3 of None Of The Above with a discussion of Marshall's legacy with Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, the editor of Foreign Affairs and the author of The China Mission: George Marshall's Unfinished War, 1945-1947. As the United States deals with competing global challenges, from Ukraine to Taiwan, Daniel's depiction of Marshall's career—for all its triumphs and failures—holds important lessons on the limits of American power. Have a listen, and stay tuned for when we return in June for Season 4. To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter. Daniel Kurtz-Phelan is the editor of Foreign Affairs magazine and host of the upcoming podcast, The Foreign Affairs Interview. Previously, he served in the US Department of State, where he was a member of Secretary Hillary Clinton's policy planning staff. He is also the author of The China Mission: George Marshall's Unfinished War, 1945-1947 (2018).

From the Crimean War of 1853 to Russia's invasion of Ukraine this year, journalists, reporters, and the media have shaped the public's understanding of war. But do the stories we read and the photos we see provide an impartial picture of the wars they document? As the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah recently explained in Foreign Policy, certain aspects of American war coverage—reliance on government sources and incentives to simplify geopolitics as battles between good and evil—have long compelled news organizations to tilt toward military action. In this special episode of None Of The Above, host of WNYC's On The Media Brooke Gladstone and Slate's "War Stories" columnist Fred Kaplan, are interviewed by Mark at the American Academy in Rome. Together, in these excerpts from that conversation, they unpack the media's coverage of Russia's war on Ukraine and the biases which influence how the media understand and depict these conflicts. To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter. Brooke Gladstone is a journalist and host of On the Media, a Peabody Award-winning podcast by WNYC Studios. Brooke is also the Rea S. Hederman Critic in Residence at the American Academy in Rome and the author of The Influencing Machine (2011) and The Trouble with Reality: A Rumination on Moral Panic in Our Time (2017). Fred Kaplan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and columnist for Slate, where he authors the "War Stories" column. Fred's most recent book is The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War (2020).

The Russian military withdrew from Bucha at the end of March, a suburb of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. Soon after, photos and stories revealed Russian atrocities, including the apparent intentional killing of civilians. This is sadly characteristic of the Russian way of war in other conflicts beyond Ukraine. Some, including President Biden, have accused Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine. But even if Putin's military is guilty of acts of genocide and war crimes, will the world actually be able to hold it accountable? In this episode of None Of The Above, the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah looks back at history with New York Times columnist Max Fisher to understand the roots of the Russian military's targeting of civilians and past efforts to bring war criminals to justice. Though prosecuting those in power is difficult, Max argues justice might come in other forms. To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

In October 2021, the United States and Mexico put an end to the Mérida Initiative—a thirteen-year, $3 billion security assistance package central to a new "war on drugs." Despite years of weapons sales, military training, and intelligence sharing, the initiative failed to reduce crime and drug trafficking. Instead, violence and homicides increased throughout Mexico. Why? Our guests this week, Mexican movie star Diego Luna and scholar Ernesto López Portillo, argue America's and Mexico's militarized approach to security is to blame. Recently back from Mexico where she explores the consequences of the Mérida Initiative, Eurasia Group Foundation senior researcher and producer Caroline Gray speaks with Diego and Ernesto about the US-Mexico drug war, the accountability problems that plague both countries, and what non-military solutions to insecurity in Mexico might look like. Diego Luna is an actor, director, and producer who has starred in Narcos: Mexico, Rogue One: A Star War Story, and Y tu mamá también. He is a co-founder of Corriente De Golfo, a Mexico-based production company. Ernesto López Portillo is the coordinator of the Citizen Security Program at Ibero-American University in Mexico City, where he researches policing and militarism. To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Saturday marked the nineteenth anniversary of the beginning of the second Iraq War—a war Congress never formally declared. Instead, just like with America's invasion of Afghanistan, Congress passed an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Together, these AUMFs provide the legal basis for the ongoing war on terror and have been loosely interpreted by every president since 2001 to authorize military action anywhere with little to no Congressional oversight. Though these AUMFs remain on the books today, the past year has seen a push by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to reclaim Congress's role in matters of war and peace—an issue that extends beyond America's post 9/11 wars. Questions of Congressional oversight remain pertinent as the United States debates how to respond to Russia's war in Ukraine. This week, we're revisiting our season two conversation with ​​Heather Brandon Smith and Rita Siemion, both experts on AUMFs and advocates for their repeal. They discuss the history of these AUMFs, prospects for reform under the Biden administration, and why repealing them is necessary to end America's post-9/11 wars.

It is day fourteen of Russia's war on Ukraine. Ukrainian resistance and Russian logistical issues have together denied Moscow a quick victory, but the fighting continues—and intensifies. Meanwhile, despite several rounds of diplomatic talks, a peaceful settlement does not seem to be in sight. However, our guest this week, Russia expert Anatol Lieven, offers proposals that he thinks could end the war. Days before Ukrainian and Russian officials met for the third time for negotiations, Anatol joined the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah to discuss Russia's invasion, Ukraine's and Russia's interwoven history, and what a peace deal might look like. As the costs of war mount, Anatol makes it clear that compromise, though painful, is in the interest of both countries. Anatol Lieven is a senior research fellow on Russia and Europe at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and author of several books including, Ukraine and Russia: A Fraternal Rivalry. To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter. Show Notes: "How to get to a place of peace for Ukraine," (Anatol Lieven, Responsible Statecraft, March 3, 2022) "It's time to ask: what would a Ukraine-Russia peace deal look like?" (Anatol Lieven, The Guardian, March 4, 2022)

This episode contains explicit language. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into eastern Ukraine. This follows months of tensions precipitated by Russia's mobilization of its military on the Ukrainian border. Putin's order came shortly after a gruff speech in which he accused Ukraine of rejecting its historical links to Russia and asserted the independence of two breakaway regions — the self-declared People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In the week before the Kremlin's orders, the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah spoke with journalists Nataliya Gumenyuk and Peter Pomerantsev, who help us better understand the history behind today's crisis, Ukraine's perseverance under the threat of invasion, and Putin's seeming obsession with Ukraine. To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.