Fault Lines

The Olympics came to a close this past week, and all eyes are on Beijing in 2022. Loren, Jamil, Rob, and Les discuss the political highlights of the Tokyo games and what it would take for the U.S. to take a stand in 2022. What lessons have we learned in Tokyo? Should we be linking international sporting events like the Olympics to global politics? Has Russia skirted their ban by being able to have their athletes participate under the name “Russian Olympic Committee”? All these questions and more answered in this week’s Fault Lines.If you like what we're doing, be sure to like, rate, and subscribe to Fault Lines. If you have ideas for future episodes, be sure to email us at nsi@gmu.edu or tweet us at @MasonNatSec. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fault Lines welcomes Dr. Christopher Ford, NSI Advisory Board member and Former Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation. Dr. Ford recently wrote a paper for NSI titled Principled Conservatism in America’s Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy. What are the core tenets of principled conservatism in national security and foreign policy? What does a principled conservative approach to China look like? Dr. Ford and host Jamil Jaffer answer these questions and more on the latest episode of Fault Lines! Dr. Ford’s full paper can be found here.If you like what we're doing, be sure to like, rate, and subscribe to Fault Lines. If you have ideas for future episodes, be sure to email us at nsi@gmu.edu or tweet us at @MasonNatSec. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cuba is currently experiencing its largest anti-government demonstrations since 1994, fueled by disdain for the authoritarian government, widespread poverty, and mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Les, Mike, Grant, and first time guests Fred Turner, former Chief of Staff to Bob Menendez, and Carrie Filipetti, Executive Director of the Vandenberg Coalition, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cuba and Venezuela, and the Deputy Special Representative for Venezuela at the U.S. State Department, discuss protests and unrest in Cuba and the most recent string of cyberattacks. Is the Biden Administration doing enough to show support for Cuba? How can social media be used creatively against authoritarian regimes? What impact could the Microsoft Exchange hack have on U.S.-China relations? These questions and more are answered on the latest episode of Fault Lines! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fault Lines welcomes Dmitri Alperovitch, NSI Advisory Board member, Executive Chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, and Co-Founder of CrowdStrike.  How should America respond to Chinese aggression in cyberspace? Does cyber insurance exacerbate cyber ransomware attacks? What should we be worried about next?  Dmitri and host Lester Munson, answer these questions and many more on this week’s episode of Fault Lines! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Haiti is thrown into chaos after an assassination, John Kerry is in Russia talking about the Climate, and the Afghanistan withdrawal is going more rapidly than anyone anticipated. Les, Rob, Jamil, Grant and returning guest Amira Valliani discuss how the United States should approach each these precarious situations. How should America think about stabilization efforts in Haiti? Is Climate Change national security? Has the train and equip mission in Afghanistan failed? All these questions and more answered in this week’s Fault Lines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fault Lines welcomes Dan Currell, NSI Visiting Fellow and former Deputy Under Secretary and Senior Advisor at the Department of Education. Dan recently wrote a backgrounder for NSI titled China’s Influence in U.S. Higher Education as well as a number of opinion pieces for NSI’s blog The SCIF. How is China censoring speech in the United States? How big is China's influence in U.S. Higher Education? What even is a Confucius Institute?   Dan and host Lester Munson, answer these questions and many more on this week’s episode of Fault Lines! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iran "elected" a hardliner President and the United States bombed Iran backed militias in Iraq and Syria. Les, Mike, Jodi, and first time guest Martha Miller, NSI Visiting Fellow and former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush discuss how these events will impact the larger effort to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and how President Biden has done in democracy promotion around the world. Does the President of Iran really matter? What is the best strategy to bring Iran to the negotiating table? Can President Biden stand up for democracy in Europe, Central America, and Hong Kong? All these questions and more answered in this week’s Fault Lines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fault Lines welcomes Zach Graves, NSI Visiting Fellow, Head of Policy at the Lincoln Network, and author of the latest NSI Law and Policy Paper Understanding the Techlash: Implications for U.S. Innovation Policy.  What is the Techlash? What should we make of the recent bills introduced on these issues? What does Section 230 have to do with any of this?  Zach and host Les Munson, answer these questions and many more on this week’s episode of Fault Lines! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Biden travels to Europe on his first foreign trip as President, but, before he left, he released a memo raising corruption to a national security concern.  Les, Jamil, Loren, and Rob discuss what we can expect Biden will take away from european adventure and what a corruption focused foreign policy looks like.  Can Biden get Europe to live up to their NATO commitments? What can be done about Russia? Is the fight against corruption just a talking point? All these questions and more answered in this week’s Fault Lines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fault Lines welcomes FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to discuss the national security work the FCC is doing.  What is the FCC's role in pushing back against the threat posed by China? What is the FCC doing on O-Ran? How will competition with China impact technology policy in the next five years?  Commissioner Carr and guest host Megan Brown, answer these questions and many more on this week’s episode of Fault Lines! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.