Security Dilemma

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and Michael D. Culp interview Brandan P. Buck, a historian of right-wing opposition to U.S. foreign policy and the national security state through the Cold War.

We talk about the origins of the "Old Right" through the first World War, the perspective they offered in the rise of American internationalism in the second World War, their decline around the Vietnam War and the state of right-wing opposition to U.S. imperialism through the Global War on Terror.

Brandan P. Buck is a Ph.D. candidate at George Mason University. He’s previous served with the U.S. Army and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay interviewed James A. Siebens, a Fellow at the Stimson Center's Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy program. He leads Stimson's Defense Strategy and Planning project and he’s the editor of China’s Use of Armed Coercion, a 2023 study on China’s use of military and paramilitary forces. Our conversation covers the South China Sea and China’s use of “military operations other than war”.

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and A.J. Manuzzi interviewed John Ramming Chappell, an Advocacy and Legal Fellow at the Center for Civilians in Conflict's U.S. program. Our conversation today ranged from the laws that regulate arms sales and security assistance and how often the United States follows its own laws in practice.

This week on Security Dilemma, we spoke with Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee representing Ohio's 8th District. Rep. Davidson is a veteran of the Army Rangers and the 101st Airborne. Our conversation today covered his perspective on aid to Israel, American strikes on Houthis in Yemen, the on-going conflict over aid to Ukraine and more.

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay interview Dr. Christopher Preble, Director of the Reimagining Grand Strategy Program at the Stimson Center. We discuss the reasons why the assumptions of liberal internationalism are unsustainable and we talk about Dr. Preble's upcoming paper on redeveloping U.S. foreign policy for an uncertain future.

Christopher Preble is the Senior Fellow and Director of the Reimagining US Grand Strategy program at the Stimson Center. Prior to joining the Stimson Center, he served as Co-Director of the Atlantic Council’s New American Engagement Initiative. In his role, he leads a team of scholars who challenge prevailing assumptions surrounding US foreign policy, and who offer a range of policy options that go beyond the use of force and coercion. His own work focuses on the history of US foreign policy, contemporary US grand strategy and military force posture, alliance relations, and the intersection of trade and national security.

Preble is the author of four books, including Peace, War, and Liberty: Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy (Cato Institute, 2019); and The Power Problem: How American Military Dominance Makes Us Less Safe, Less Prosperous, and Less Free (Cornell University Press, 2009). He co-authored, with John Glaser and A. Trevor Thrall, Fuel to the Fire: How Trump Made America’s Broken Foreign Policy even Worse and How We Can Recover (Cato Institute, 2019), and he has also co-edited several other books and monographs, including A Dangerous World? Threat Perception and U.S. National Security (Cato Institute, 2014), with John Mueller. His work has appeared in major publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Financial Times, Survival, Foreign Policy, National Review, and The National Interest, and he is a frequent guest on television and radio.

In addition to his work at the Stimson Center, Preble co-hosts the “Net Assessment” podcast in the War on the Rocks network, and he teaches the US Foreign Policy elective at the University of California, Washington Center. He has also taught history at St. Cloud State University and Temple University. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Preble was vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute from 2011 to 2020, and director of foreign policy studies from 2003 to 2011. Preble was a commissioned officer in the US Navy, and served aboard the USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) from 1990 to 1993.

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay discuss the conflict in Gaza and American strategy in the Middle East with Michael DiMino of Defense Priorities.

Michael is a former career CIA military analyst and counterterrorism officer, serving in operational assignments overseas and authoring key strategic intelligence assessments for the President’s Daily Brief. He has advised the Joint Chiefs of Staff, United States European Command and Sen. John McCain. Michael is going to be speaking with us about the conflict in Gaza and American strategy in the Middle East.

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay discuss the politics of Iran and it's influence on the Middle East with Iran expert Negar Mortazavi. Negar is a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy, an award-winning journalist and host of the Iran podcast. Our conversation was recorded on November 20th, 2023. This conversation covers Iran's relationship with its proxies, how Iran views the conflict in Gaza and the state of Iranian politics.

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay discuss weapons systems in the air, sea and land with former Marine Dan Grazier. Dan is a Senior Defense Policy Fellow at the Project on Government Oversight where he analyzes defense procurement, and our conversation covers naval shipbuilding, next generation air dominance, Marine Corps combined arms doctrine and more!

This week, Patrick C. Fox and John Allen Gay interview Doug Bandow, a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. As a young lawyer, he worked as a Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan. Doug Bandow began working with the Cato Institute in 1982 and he is a Senior Fellow there today. He is widely published; he’s written at least three books focused on the Korean Peninsula and today he has a weekly column at The American Conservative. 

Our conversation today covers South Korean politics, East Asia's balance of power, the future of America's role in Europe, the foreign policy legacy of Ronald Reagan and the pursuit of religious liberty in policymaking.

This week, Patrick C. Fox and guest host Scott McCann interview Dr. Brian Finucane, a Senior Adviser at International Crisis Group and a former Legal Adviser for the State Department.

This episode was recorded on October 19th, 2023 and discusses war powers as they affect the Gaza conflict, intervention in Mexico and strategic ambiguity in Taiwan. We also address specifics like the Geneva convention's Protocol 1, the 127 echo program, foreign policy's "supreme court" and more!

This week, Patrick C. Fox and John Allen Gay interview Elizabeth Beavers, a Vice President at the Quincy Institute, an experienced advocate for progressive foreign policy reform and an expert on national security law.

In this conversation, we cover the legacy of Sen. Feinstein, legal justifications for proxy wars, American strategy in North Korea, Congress's role in foreign policy and the threat of the climate crisis.

This week, Patrick C. Fox and John Allen Gay interview Daniel DePetris, a fellow at Defense Priorities and a syndicated foreign affairs columnist at the Chicago Tribune.

In this conversation, we cover the prospect of intervening in Mexico, tensions between India and Canada, America's role in Somalia and the Abraham Accords.

This week, Patrick C. Fox and John Allen Gay interview Dr. Alexander Thurston, an expert on conflicts, jihadism and stability in West Africa. Dr. Alex Thurston is a professor at the University of Cincinnati and a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute. This conversation covers sources of instability ranging from the French presence to the American intervention in Libya along with a conversation about the politics of the region, ranging from Niger's path to dictatorship, Nigeria's new leadership and the comparatively stable situations in Senegal and Chad.

This week, Patrick C. Fox and co-host John Allen Gay interview Dr. Stephen Wertheim, a diplomatic historian and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Dr. Wertheim is a leading voice on foreign policy for the left, with essays in the New York Times and Foreign Affairs and appearances on programs including CNN and NPR. Our conversation covers the left's relationship with realism, Dr. Wertheim's research on America's changing perception of their role in the world and progressive interpretations of the rise of great power competition and BRICS.

This week, Patrick C. Fox and guest co-host A.J. Manuzzi interview Dr. Paul Heer, a decorated former intelligence official and National Intelligence Officer for East Asia from 2007 to 2015. Now a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Dr. Heer's book Mr. X and the Pacific was just released in paperback. Our conversation covers how China and Xi Jinping think, the foreign policy legacy of George F. Kennan and the role that the intelligence community should play in foreign policy.

This week, Patrick C. Fox and guest co-host A.J. Manuzzi interview Elizabeth Shackelford, a Senior Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Our conversation covers the practice of diplomacy in U.S. foreign policy, conflict in Somalia, the coup in Niger and tensions in Southern Africa.

For a bonus episode, Security Dilemma interviewed Dan Caldwell, a VP at the Center for Renewing America and a conservative veteran foreign policy advocate. We recorded this episode on August 24th, the morning after the first GOP primary debate. Our conversation covers the foreign policy of a second Trump administration, conservative rhetoric about Europe and the southern border, the foreign policy legacy of Ronald Reagan and engagement with China.

This week, Security Dilemma interviewed Dr. David Kang, a professor at the University of Southern California. Our conversation covers the application of realism to the Asian peace, China's current and future role in the world, tensions on the Korean Peninsula, what the Philippines teaches us about alliances, India's position in Asia and soccer diplomacy.

This week, Security Dilemma interviewed Dr. Sumantra Maitra of The American Conservative and the Center for Renewing America. Our conversation covers the European tradition of realism, a conservative realist approach to competition with China and a critical perspective on India.

Dr. Maitra on pivoting from Europe - https://americarenewing.com/issues/policy-brief-pivoting-the-us-away-from-europe-to-a-dormant-nato/

Dr. Maitra on India - https://www.theamericanconservative.com/indias-majoritarian-turn/

This week, Security Dilemma interviewed the Stimson Center's Dr. Emma Ashford, a key advocate for realism and restraint in U.S. foreign policy. Emma spoke about energy politics, grand strategy and advice for future foreign policy practitioners.

This week, Security Dilemma interviewed the the Cato Institute's director of defense and foreign policy studies - Justin Logan. Justin is a highly regarded voice in the foreign policy thinktank space, and he offered his analysis on China policy, NATO expansion and fentanyl.

Join dissident foreign policy academic Dr. Van Jackson for a conversation about the Indo-Pacific, nuclear policy and progressive foreign policy. Dr. Jackson is a Senior Lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington, the host of the Un-Diplomatic Podcast and the author of Pacific Power Paradox.

Jason Beardsley, a former U.S. military veteran and Director of Veterans Affairs at Stand Together, shares his insights on a range of national security issues. Beardsley's diverse background and experiences in the military provide a unique perspective on the challenges and complexities facing the United States in the realm of national security. The non-conventional footprint of SOF provides advantages in certain situations, but it is crucial to ensure that their use is nested under regional or higher-level commanders and connected to the grand strategy of the United States. Strategic alignment and clear objectives are key to maximizing the effectiveness of special operations while avoiding the perception that they are a substitute for broader strategic planning.

Join legendary foreign policy academic Dr. Stephen Walt in a tour of modern national security issues. Dr. Walt is a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School, a columnist at Foreign Policy, and the author of The Origin of Alliances, The Hell of Good Intentions, and many more books.

Lyle Jeremy Rubin deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 as a committed neoconservative. His experience serving there brought him face to face with the realities of war and empire. His book Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body: A Marine's Unbecoming tells the story of how he changed and came to support restraint in U.S. foreign policy. The Society's Patrick C. Fox interviews Rubin.

What does 2023 hold for the war in Ukraine? Does Russia have the will and ability to slog on another year? Can Ukraine regain its lost territory? Will Western states remain relatively unified on providing aid? Is peace possible?  We spoke with Christopher Chivvis, director of the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former National Intelligence Officer for Europe.

While all eyes are on Iran's protests, the country has advanced closer than ever to a nuclear weapon. Safeguards on the program are weak in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. Where do things stand, and where are they going? We hear from Kelsey Davenport, Director for Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association, where she focuses on the nuclear and missile programs in Iran, North Korea, India, and Pakistan and on international efforts to prevent proliferation and nuclear terrorism.