Podcast appearances and mentions of Michael C Desch

This week, we have a live recording of one of our JQAS summer conference sessions - "Redteaming Restraint with Dr. Eugene Gholz and Dr. Michael Desch". In it, John Allen Gay and our conference participants asked some of the most challenging questions they had about restraint in U.S. foreign policy and Dr. Gholz and Dr. Desch answered them. Note: This is our first live recording, so there are a few audio issues. Additionally, to preserve the anonymity of conference participants and their questions, we're dubbing their question with Patrick's voice but trying to ask the question verbatim. Dr. Michael C. Desch is Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at the University of Notre Dame and Brian and Jeannelle Brady Family Director of the Notre Dame International Security Center. Dr. Eugene Gholz is an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. He co-wrote a well-known International Security article that coined the term “restraint” as a proposed grand strategy for the United States. From 2010-2012, he served in the Pentagon as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy.

On this edition of the Parallax, we go over the life and career of controversial diplomat Henry Kissinger, who passed away at the age of 100 on November 29th, 2023. Although hailed by many in the U.S. Establishment as one of the most important minds in international relations and diplomacy through the 20th century, many on the Left (and even, as we shall see, some on the Right) take a more critical view of Kissinger. Namely, many left-wing activist and commentators, including, most famously, the late Christopher Hitchens, have argued Kissinger was a war criminal. In the first segment of the show, Michael C. Desch, Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at the University of Notre and founding director of the Notre Dame International Security Center, discusses Kissinger from an realist perspective. Kissinger, as anyone familiar with him will know, is often considered one of the prememinet realist school of international relations figures of the 20th century. Desch, however, argues otherwise making the case that Kissinger was only an "occassional realist". In this conversation we delve into what realism is, the rift between Kissinger and his realist mentor Hans Morgenthau over Vietnam, why Desch thinks realist's should look towards Morgenthau more than Kissinger for foreign policy realism, the accusation that realism is social darwinism applied to nation-states, conservatism and realist thought, a realist perspective on the overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende, the conflict between big L Liberalism and realism, the Thucydides quote "the strong do what they cand and the weak suffer what they must", balance of powers and realism as a theory of peace rather than war, and much, much more.  In the second segment, journalist Tim Shorrock, Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing, returns to discuss Henry Kissinger and his bloodstained legacy in international relations and foreign policy from an anti-imperialist perspective, Tim offers a scathing critique of Kissinger's life and career from Kissinger's involvement in Vietnam, the bombing of Cambodia, the overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende, the East Timor massacre, and more. We'll also delve into Kissinger and President Richard Nixon opening up the U.S.-China relationship in the 1970s, which many assess as one of the more positive moments in Kissinger's career. We also delve into why Kissinger is so well-regarded in the U.S. Establishment. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views.

Michael C. Desch, professor of international relations at University of Notre Dame, discusses the disconnect between political science scholarship and policymaking and offers solutions for how to bridge the gap. Show NotesMichael C. Desch bioMichael C. Desch, Cult of the Irrelevant: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019).Paul C. Avey, Michael C. Desch, Eric Parajon, Susan Peterson, Ryan Powers, and Michael J. Tierney, “Does Social Science Inform Foreign Policy? Evidence from a Survey of US National Security, Trade, and Development Officials,” International Studies Quarterly 66, no. 1 (March 2022).Benjamin H. Friedman and Justin Logan, “Why Washington Doesn't Debate Grand Strategy,” Strategic Studies Quarterly 10, no. 4 (Winter 2016): pp. 14-45. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, host Justin Logan is joined by Michael C. Desch, who is Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at the University of Notre Dame, as well as Jonathan Askonas, Professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America.

Many have read and debated “How Political Science became Irrelevant” in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The author of that piece is Michael C. Desch and much it comes from his recent book Cult of the Irrelevant: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security (Princeton University Press, 2019). Desch is the Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at University of Notre Dame. In Cult of the Irrelevant, Desch traces the history of the relationship between the Washington and the academy across the 20th century. He shows that social science research became most oriented toward national security problem-solving during times of war and that scholars shifted to other topics during peacetime. This pattern has caused tension between national security planners and university-based researchers over independence, resources, and rewards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many have read and debated “How Political Science became Irrelevant” in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The author of that piece is Michael C. Desch and much it comes from his recent book Cult of the Irrelevant: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security (Princeton University Press, 2019). Desch is the Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at University of Notre Dame. In Cult of the Irrelevant, Desch traces the history of the relationship between the Washington and the academy across the 20th century. He shows that social science research became most oriented toward national security problem-solving during times of war and that scholars shifted to other topics during peacetime. This pattern has caused tension between national security planners and university-based researchers over independence, resources, and rewards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many have read and debated “How Political Science became Irrelevant” in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The author of that piece is Michael C. Desch and much it comes from his recent book Cult of the Irrelevant: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security (Princeton University Press, 2019). Desch is the Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at University of Notre Dame. In Cult of the Irrelevant, Desch traces the history of the relationship between the Washington and the academy across the 20th century. He shows that social science research became most oriented toward national security problem-solving during times of war and that scholars shifted to other topics during peacetime. This pattern has caused tension between national security planners and university-based researchers over independence, resources, and rewards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many have read and debated “How Political Science became Irrelevant” in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The author of that piece is Michael C. Desch and much it comes from his recent book Cult of the Irrelevant: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security (Princeton University Press, 2019). Desch is the Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at University of Notre Dame. In Cult of the Irrelevant, Desch traces the history of the relationship between the Washington and the academy across the 20th century. He shows that social science research became most oriented toward national security problem-solving during times of war and that scholars shifted to other topics during peacetime. This pattern has caused tension between national security planners and university-based researchers over independence, resources, and rewards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many have read and debated “How Political Science became Irrelevant” in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The author of that piece is Michael C. Desch and much it comes from his recent book Cult of the Irrelevant: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security (Princeton University Press, 2019). Desch is the Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at University of Notre Dame. In Cult of the Irrelevant, Desch traces the history of the relationship between the Washington and the academy across the 20th century. He shows that social science research became most oriented toward national security problem-solving during times of war and that scholars shifted to other topics during peacetime. This pattern has caused tension between national security planners and university-based researchers over independence, resources, and rewards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many have read and debated “How Political Science became Irrelevant” in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The author of that piece is Michael C. Desch and much it comes from his recent book Cult of the Irrelevant: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security (Princeton University Press, 2019). Desch is the Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at University of Notre Dame. In Cult of the Irrelevant, Desch traces the history of the relationship between the Washington and the academy across the 20th century. He shows that social science research became most oriented toward national security problem-solving during times of war and that scholars shifted to other topics during peacetime. This pattern has caused tension between national security planners and university-based researchers over independence, resources, and rewards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many have read and debated “How Political Science became Irrelevant” in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The author of that piece is Michael C. Desch and much it comes from his recent book Cult of the Irrelevant: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security (Princeton University Press, 2019)....