Yale Journal of International Affairs

TJ Brennan, one of the authors of Shooting Ghosts, joins us for a candid conversation about his own reentry after his time in the US Marine Corps. We discuss the human aspects of service and reentry as well as some of the services that are provided for military service people upon their return. We also discuss TJ Brennan's online news platform, the War Horse, which broke the Marine's United story which detailed systematic sexual harassment of service women through the sharing of elicit photographs. We talk about that controversy as well as the importance of transparency in the military. Please note that our host Will and many of our guests throughout the series are active duty military officers. The views presented in these podcasts are exclusively those of the individuals and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Government, the DoD, or any of its component organizations.

Retired General Stanley McChrystal, a Senior Fellow at the Jackson Institute, joins us for a conversation about his avocation since his military retirement. He's increasingly committed to the idea that our nation could be better off if every young person served for a year in some capacity. He's not talking about military service, or any kind of service in particular, just the idea that committing yourself to a collective cause can make you a stronger, more civically-minded young adult. We talk in this episode about his hopes for the future of the project.

In this episode, we are joined by Lieutenant General L. Robert Caslen Junior, the current Superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point. We discuss how the military sees leadership, specifically considering the personal characteristics that lead to promotion in the military. We take into account diversity and how the military considers identity for recruitment and promotion. General Caslen considers that the most important part of diversity is that the military should reflect its population at all ranks. Please note that our host Will and many of our guests throughout the series are active duty military officers. The views presented in these podcasts are exclusively those of the individuals and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Government, the DoD, or any of its component organizations.

We are joined this week by Colonel Bryan Price from West Point's Combating Terrorism Center. We discuss what civilians understand about counterterrorism. We put special emphasis on the way decisions are made and potential for collateral damage when fighting insurgency. Please note that our host Will and many of our guests throughout the series are active duty military officers. The views presented in these podcasts are exclusively those of the individuals and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Government, the DoD, or any of its component organizations.

We talk with national security expert Dr. Kori Schake about the gap between civilians and the US military. We discuss what people understand well about the military, why the gap exists, and what can be done about it. Dr. Kori Schake is the co-author, along with Secretary of Defense Jim Matthis of Warriors and Citizens, which examines Americans' perspectives on the civil-military gap across demographics, ideologies, and military experiences. Please note that our host Will and many of our guests throughout the series are active duty military officers. The views presented in these podcasts are exclusively those of the individuals and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Government, the DoD, or any of its component organizations.

The first episode of this miniseries offers me and my cohost Army Major Will Wright to explain how this podcast came about. We discuss why we think the civil-military gap is so important as part of understanding both US national security and civil society. We also provide a bit of an overview of the miniseries. Please note that our host Will and many of our guests throughout the series are active duty military officers. The views presented in these podcasts are exclusively those of the individuals and do not necessarily represent the views of the US Government, the DoD, or any of its component organizations.

Almost 7 years on, how is the Syrian refugee crisis still affecting Syria’s neighbouring countries? Lebanon has been a primary destination for people fleeing the conflict and it has become home to almost 1.5 million Syrian refugees, which now constitute almost a quarter of the population of Lebanon. In this episode, I engage Annabella Skof and Bastien Revel, who worked on livelihoods and crisis response for the United Nations, in a discussion about the significant policy dilemmas and noteworthy policy solutions that have come to light during this crisis. In what ways can the crisis response in Lebanon be described as the nexus between humanitarian and development work? What key obstacles to access to work, livelihoods and income for Syrians in Lebanon have been witnessed? In what ways can a crisis such as this be converted into an economic dividend?

Francis Wade is the author of Myanmar's Enemy Within, the book that debuted just 10 days before violence erupted in the Rakhine state against the Rohingya population. We discuss the political factors that led up to the outbreak as well as the history of the country which makes it much more vulnerable to this kind of ethnic violence.

Looking at and beyond American foreign policy on DPRK. How is this moment different? How does this moment involve international actors? And what's the best way to diffuse the situation?

For Rita Sciarra, Project Manager for the United Nations Development Programme disaster response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, preparation for disasters is key to effective response. She talks about the critical steps to creating a good disaster response program, multilateral coordination efforts with local governments, and the role of technology in ongoing disaster response. She talks about how the increasing number of hurricanes in the Caribbean could make affected islands increasingly vulnerable to more damage and the importance of preparing communities not traditionally affected by hurricanes as they become increasingly common in the Atlantic. "The statistics say we are going to have more and more disasters and less and less money," she says. But there's still hope. With better public sector planning in advance of disasters, governments like Mexico are learning to avoid loss of life on the scale of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

YJIA discusses internal Iranian politics and human rights with women's rights expert Dr. Nina Ansary and democratic organizer Vahid Abedini.

Philosopher and political scientist Seyla Benhabib discusses immigration, the refugee crisis, and the fate of liberalism around the world. How does the current refugee crisis compare to others in history? Which countries have shown the best response to the refugee question? What do the US election, Brexit, and the rise of nativist factions across Europe mean for liberalism and the global protection of the rights of the individual?

YJIA spoke to Professor Daniel Magaziner about the role of history in understanding African politics today, drawing on the examples of post-apartheid South Africa and post-1994 Rwanda. Professor Magaziner discussed the recent student activism in South Africa and what the current struggles of the ANC reflect about the failures of the post-apartheid liberation movement. He also examined the extent to which western attitudes to 'Africa' as a continent are changing.

"'The old international order is at an end. We will look back and see that it was Iraq war that brought that order to an end." In the aftermath of the presidential election, Emma Sky speaks to YJIA about the Iraq War, the legacy of Barack Obama in the Middle East, and what to expect from a Donald Trump Presidency.

YJIA discuss the future of employment with Stephen Roach, former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia. Roach reflected on the impact of technology and why he is optimistic that humans will not go the same way as horses. He discusses changes in the way we work and whether current slow growth rates represent a "new normal".

Description: YJIA sat down with former Governor of Vermont and candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination Howard Dean to discuss the US election. With just over two weeks to go, Governor Dean reflects on this explosive campaign and explains why the Democrats cannot be complacent. Governor Dean explains the huge challenges that this election has to revealed to both parties and the media. Whatever the result, he believes this election will be transformative.