Podcasts about Policy Planning Staff

We Must Save the Books. That's Michael Kimmage's SOS message from Trumpian Washington in this issue of Liberties Quarterly. Kimmage, former director of the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center, describes the surreal experience of being hired in January 2025 only to see his institution shuttered by Trump's administration three months later. He reflects on the "American ruin" created as a consequence of abandonment of the Wilson Center's 30,000 book library. And Kimmage connects the rapid destruction of foreign policy institutions like USAID and the U.S. Institute of Peace to a broader assault on expertise and nonpartisan learning, warning that without such institutions, "an abyss opens" in American governance and international relations. Five Key Takeaways* Institutional Destruction was Swift and Unexplained - The Wilson Center, USAID (reduced from 10,000 to 15 employees), and U.S. Institute of Peace were shuttered within months with no clear rationale provided, creating a "nightmare-like" quality where decisions happened without accountability.* America's First Modern Ruin - Kimmage describes the abandoned Wilson Center library as unprecedented in American experience - a functioning institution in the heart of Washington D.C. suddenly left as a tomb-like ruin, unlike anything seen in a country never defeated on its own soil.* Books Were Saved, But Expertise Was Lost - While the 30,000-volume library was eventually rescued and distributed to universities, the real loss was the destruction of nonpartisan expertise and institutional knowledge that took decades to build.* Echoes of 1950s McCarthyism - The assault on expertise mirrors McCarthyism, with direct connections through Roy Cohn's mentorship of Trump, but differs in scale since it's driven by a president rather than a senator.* The Death of Learning in Government - The shutdowns represent a fundamental rejection of the idea that careful, nonpartisan study of international affairs is essential to effective policymaking, potentially creating an "abyss" in American foreign policy capacity.Michael Kimmage is Director of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute. Prior to joining the Kennan Institute, Michael Kimmage was a professor of history at the Catholic University of America. From 2014 to 2017, he served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He has been a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and at the German Marshall Fund; and was on the advisory board of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. He publishes widely on international affairs and on U.S. policy toward Russia. His latest book, Collisions: The War in Ukraine and the Origins of the New Global Instability, was published by Oxford University Press in March 2024. He is also the author of The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy, published by Basic Books in 2020, and The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism, published by Harvard University Press in 2009.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Mr. Edward Fishman joins us to discuss the evolving landscape of economic warfare and the United States' strategic use of economic tools against China and other global actors. Drawing from his new book, Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare, he explains how sanctions, tariffs, and export controls have become central to great power competition and explores how today's hyper-globalized economy has created chokepoints—critical areas where one state holds a dominant position, allowing for few alternatives. He examines the most potent weapons in the U.S. economic arsenal, and how their use—or mere threat—can compel adversaries to shift behavior. Mr. Fishman provides an insider's account of the Trump administration's economic warfare strategy against China and the rationale behind its approach. He also analyzes China's dual-track approach to economic warfare, the Biden administration's use of economic warfare against Russia, and the role of U.S. firms in carrying out Washington's policies. He concludes with recommendations for how the U.S. can refine its strategy to more effectively compete with China. Edward Fishman is a leading authority on economic statecraft and sanctions. He teaches at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and is a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy. He also advises companies on geopolitical strategy and invests in early-stage technology startups. Previously, he served at the U.S. State Department as a member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff, at the Pentagon as an advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and at the U.S. Treasury Department as special assistant to the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. His writing and analysis are regularly featured by outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Politico, and NPR. He holds a BA in History from Yale, an MPhil in International Relations from Cambridge, and an MBA from Stanford.

The international community has focused on the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas following Hamas’ massacre of civilians and taking of hostages on October 7th, 2023. However, after Hezbollah joined Hamas’ attack “in solidarity” by launching rockets and artillery at Israelis on October 8th, a second front opened. Fighting raged along Israel’s northern border through much of the past year, displacing large civilian populations for months. Innovative Israeli tactics – including the use of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies and the targeted killing of Hassan Nasrallah and other senior figures – captured the world’s attention, garnering condemnation from some and admiration from others. Our panel of experts will discuss these developments, with a specific focus on the principles of the law of armed conflict and the prospects for peace in an evolving regional landscape.Featuring: Dr. Peter Berkowitz, Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Former Director of Policy Planning Staff, U.S. Department of StateProf. Diane Desierto, Professor of Law and Global Affairs Faculty Director, LL.M. in International Human Rights Law; Global Director, Notre Dame Law School Global Human Rights Clinic, Notre Dame Law SchoolModerator: Daniel G. West, Managing Director, SCF Partners

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Michael Kimmage of the Kennan Institute about the dynamics of, and potential problems with, the burgeoning strategic alliance between Vladimir Putin's Russia and Xi Jinping's China. BIO: Michael Kimmage is the director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He was previously a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America and a Non-resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. From 2014 to 2016, he served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he handled the Ukraine/Russia portfolio. His most recent book is Collisions: The War in Ukraine and the Origins of the New Global Instability (Oxford University Press, 2024). 

Andrew Walworth, Tom Bevan, and White House correspondent Phillip Wegman discuss the upcoming confirmation hearings of Robert F. Kennedy, Kash Patel, and Tulsi Gabbard.  Then they discuss the White House's plans for sweeping deportations of illegal immigrants, and this weekend's row between Columbian president Gustavo Petro and Donald Trump over the return of roughly 160 illegal migrants from the U.S. to Columbia. Then, a conversation about JD Vance's first interview as Vice President of the United States with Margaret Brennan of CBS News. Finally, Andrew Walworth talks with Peter Berkowitz, former Director of the Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department, about Trump's plan to resettle Palestinians, which represents a radical departure from past U.S. policy.

This week, Kelly looks back on the major events of 2024 with Amy Mackinnon and Ellen Laipson. Amy Mackinnon is an award-winning national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy. She has reported from across Eastern Europe and was previously based in Moscow and in Tbilisi, Georgia, as senior editor for the crisis reporting site Coda Story. Mackinnon is a recipient of the duPont-Columbia award for her reporting on homophobic vigilantes in Russia. She is a regular commentator for BBC World Service radio and television and her work has been published and broadcast by Coda Story, Slate Magazine, Vice News, and CNN among others. Ellen Laipson is the Director of the International Security Program at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. She joined GMU after a distinguished 25-year career in government and as President of the Stimson Center (2002-2015). Her last post in the US government was Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council (1997-2002). She also served on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, the National Security Council staff, and the Congressional Research Service. She was a member of the CIA External Advisory Panel from 2006 to 2009, President Obama's Intelligence Advisory Board from 2009 to 2013, and the Secretary of State's Foreign Affairs Policy Board from 2011 to 2014. Ellen currently serves on the ISD board of advisers. Amy and Ellen's recommended books for the holidays: The Ecology of Nations by John M. Owen IV The Achilles Trap by Steve Coll The Cure of Troy by Seamus Heaney The opinions expressed in this conversation are strictly those of the participants and do not represent the views of Georgetown University or any government entity. Produced by Freddie Mallinson and Theo Malhotra. Recorded on December 16, 2024. Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world. Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. For more, visit our website, and follow us on Linkedin, Twitter @GUDiplomacy, and Instagram @isd.georgetown

An Interview with Peter Berkowitz The US Constitution is one of the greatest governing documents in history. No other charter has so deliberately advanced the belief that the government's main purpose is to protect the individual rights of its citizens. The founders, recognizing the natural rights of mankind, created a seminal document that protects an individual's unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.   Despite the exceptionalism of the Constitution and its battle-tested endurance, there are grave threats that could severely undermine and weaken it.  As we continue our 20th anniversary celebration of Bradley Prize winners, our guest on this episode of Voices of Freedom is Peter Berkowitz, one of the country's leading political thinkers and Constitutional scholars. Berkowitz warns that a decades long movement to distort the meaning of rights, the weaponization of the legal system, and a general lack of understanding of our rights, pose serious challenges to the preservation of the Constitution.     Topics Discussed on this Episode:  ·         What drew Berkowitz to the study of the Constitution and America's founding principles  ·         Current threats to the Constitution  ·         Politicization of the Supreme Court  ·         Expansion of the administrative state  ·         Differences on the right about the role of government and foreign policy  ·         America's role in the world  ·         Pro-Palestinian protests and anti-American sentiment  ·         Opportunity for higher education reform  ·         Will the Constitution endure?  Peter Berkowitz is the Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He previously served as the Director of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, executive secretary of the department's Commission on Unalienable Rights, and senior adviser to the Secretary of State. Berkowitz is a columnist for RealClear Politics and is a 2017 Bradley Prize winner.   

Daniel Pipes taught history at Harvard University and the University of Chicago, served on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff under President Reagan, administered Fulbright Fellowships, and founded the Middle East Forum. Israel Victory is his nineteenth book. A decent Gaza is possible, but first, the Palestinians must lose" - NEW BOOK - Israel Victory

Jared Cohen is Co-Head of the Office of Applied Innovation and President of Global Affairs at Goldman Sachs. He also serves on the Management Committee of the firm. Jared is also the most senior Goldman executive to visit Israel since October 7. But Jared did not just visit Israel – and meet with a range of senior Israeli political leaders and security officials – he also was in Ramallah, in the West Bank to meet Palestinian Authority officials and Jordan – just before Jordan participated in the extraordinary multi-national defense of Israel, despite tense relations between the Israeli and Jordanian governments. And since then, Jared has traveled extensively throughout the Persian Gulf States, where he has a long history of deep relationships. It was interesting to get a fresh take from Jared on this region in transition. Prior to joining Goldman, Jared was an executive at Alphabet, before which he was Google's first Director of Ideas and Chief Advisor to Google's then CEO and Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. From 2006 to 2010, he served as a member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff and as a close advisor to both Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton. Jared is a New York Times bestselling author of six books, including "One Hundred Days of Silence: America and the Rwanda Genocide," "Children of Jihad," "The New Digital Age: Transforming Nations, Business, and our Lives," which he co-authored with Eric Schmidt, and, most recently, "Life After Power: Seven Presidents and their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House," which you can order here: https://tinyurl.com/5xm8v7ft OR https://tinyurl.com/2ua6mzjd Paper discussed in this episode: "The rise of geopolitical swing states" -- https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/the-rise-of-geopolitical-swing-states.html

Dr. Peter Berkowitz is the Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, former Director of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, executive secretary of the department's Commission on Unalienable Rights, and senior adviser to the Secretary of State. Naturally we talk about princess Kate. But we also cover additction to technology, the growing tensions between secular and religious Israelis, and the bad and worse options in Gaza. Joing the AAJ conversation on Susbtack! askajew.substack.comEmail us your questions askajewpod@gmail.com ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Want to help us grow? Rate and review us 5 stars on Apple podcasts and Spotify ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

In late July 2013, Vladimir Putin visited Kiev. There he celebrated the 1,025th anniversary of Christianity coming to the Kievan Rus. There he and Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych stood shoulder to shoulder and celebrated the unity of Russia and Ukraine. At that moment–my guest Michael Kimmage writes– Putin and Yanukovych, Russia and Ukraine, seemed to be “twin protagonists of the same story.” Seven months later things were very different indeed. This was because of what my guest Michael Kimmage describes as a series of collisions which resulted in the war that began in 2014, and which accelerated in 2022. The first collision was between Russia and Ukraine; the second between Russia and Europe; and the third between Russia and the United States. Michael Kimmage is Professor of History at the Catholic University of America where is chair of the department. From 2014 to 2016, he served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the US Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He was last on Historically Thinking in Episode 165 to discuss his book The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy. His most recent book is Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability, and it is the subject of our conversation today.   For Further Investigation The list of Historically Thinking conversations either directly connection or tangentially related to this conversation with Michael Kimmage is vast. Here are just a few... Episode 211: The (Quiet) Russian Revolution Episode 212: The Perennial Russian Pivot to Asia Episode 284: The Greatest Russian General, in War and Peace Episode 345: The Ecology of Nations

In Collisions, Michael Kimmage, traces the origins of the Russia-Ukraine war. He unpicks the development of Ukraine and Russia's fractious relationship back to the end of the Cold War, through the central events that led to Vladimir Putin seizing Crimea in 2014 and, eight years later, initiating the most intensive and widescale military confrontation of the post-WWII era. This conflict ushers in a new age of global instability, and a collision between Russia and the Western alliance that is far hotter than confrontations during the Cold War. ---------- Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America. Michael is author of books and articles about international affairs, Soviet and Russian politics, and the European-American relationship. From 2014 to 2016, he served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State. He is a senior non-resident associate at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. ---------- CHAPTERS: 00:01:55 The fractious relationship with Russia never really went away 00:04:21 External peace and internal Terror during the interwar period 00:07:18 Impact of Putin's speech at the 2007 Munich Security Conference 00:10:25 Were the signs of impending conflict accumulating in 2021? 00:14:36 Putin has used distraction and lying to fool West since 2014 00:16:57 The stages of Putinism with increasing internal repression 00:23:35 Grienance and victimhood that underpins Putin's worldview 00:29:24 The European contradiction - wealth but low defence investment 00:32:04 Lack of strategy and a concept of victory among the allies 00:34:29 Is there a chance in Europe's attitude to the war and Ukraine 00:40:05 Is 'Bidenism' just as risky for Ukraine as 'Trumpism'? 00:43:44 Is there a problem in Washington with the idea of taking Crimea? 00:49:35 Are we paying too little attention to weakness in Russian economy? ---------- LINKS: https://twitter.com/mkimmage https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-kimmage-66654a5/ https://www.csis.org/people/michael-kimmage https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/michael-kimmage https://history.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/kimmage-michael/index.html https://global.oup.com/academic/product/collisions-9780197751794?cc=gb&lang=en& https://www.gmfus.org/find-experts/michael-kimmage ---------- ARTICLES: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/michael-kimmage https://www.americanpurpose.com/authors/michael-kimmage/ ---------- BOOKS: Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (2024) The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020) ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- LINKS: https://twitter.com/general_ben https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hodges https://cepa.org/author/ben-hodges/ https://warsawsecurityforum.org/speaker/hodges-ben-lt-gen/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-hodges-1674b1172/ ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube's algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Do we really need more jeremiads exposing the Randian greed of Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg & Travis Kalanick? Rob Lalka's THE VENTURE ALCHEMISTS is about how big tech turned profits into power. but this has been the alchemy of American economic life for two hundred years. What isn't clear to me is how we are supposed to distinguish good big tech guys like Bill Gates, Pierre Omidyar, Craig Newmark, & Reid Hoffman from the evil Peter Thiel, Travis Kalanick and Elon Musk. Lalka's fetishization of “ordinary people” might be well meaning, but it doesn't really address today's alchemic challenge of democratizing the economic benefits of technological innovation. Rob Lalka is Professor of Practice in Management and the Albert R. Lepage Professor in Business at Tulane University's A.B. Freeman School of Business and the Executive Director of the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He has twice received the A.B. Freeman School's Excellence in Intellectual Contributions Award and is the author of a forthcoming book, The Venture Alchemists: How Big Tech Turned Profits Into Power, from Columbia University Press. Lalka moved to New Orleans from Washington, DC, where he was a director at Village Capital and a senior advisor at the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. Prior, he served in the U.S. Department of State's Office of Global Partnerships and was on the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff, for which he was recognized with the State Department's Superior Honor Award and its Meritorious Honor Award. Lalka currently serves on the boards of Public Democracy, Inc., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, and Venture For America in New Orleans. He graduated from Yale University, cum laude with distinction in both history and English, holds his master's degree in public policy from Duke University, and earned executive education certificates from Harvard Business School.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown childrenKeen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

One war, three collisions: Russia with Ukraine, Europe, and the US. On the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Michael Kimmage analyses the disparate factors that led to war in Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (OUP Press, 2024). "After a few anomalous years of peace, Europe became in 2022 what it has always been, an epicentre of conflict, the fault line around which the biggest and worst geopolitical earthquakes tend to occur". A member of the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department where he handled the Ukraine/Russia portfolio from 2014-2016, Michael Kimmage is now a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. *The authors' book recommendations are Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan (Random House, 2002) and The Russo-Ukrainian War by Serhii Plokhy (Allen Lane, 2023). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

One war, three collisions: Russia with Ukraine, Europe, and the US. On the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Michael Kimmage analyses the disparate factors that led to war in Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (OUP Press, 2024). "After a few anomalous years of peace, Europe became in 2022 what it has always been, an epicentre of conflict, the fault line around which the biggest and worst geopolitical earthquakes tend to occur". A member of the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department where he handled the Ukraine/Russia portfolio from 2014-2016, Michael Kimmage is now a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. *The authors' book recommendations are Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan (Random House, 2002) and The Russo-Ukrainian War by Serhii Plokhy (Allen Lane, 2023). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

One war, three collisions: Russia with Ukraine, Europe, and the US. On the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Michael Kimmage analyses the disparate factors that led to war in Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (OUP Press, 2024). "After a few anomalous years of peace, Europe became in 2022 what it has always been, an epicentre of conflict, the fault line around which the biggest and worst geopolitical earthquakes tend to occur". A member of the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department where he handled the Ukraine/Russia portfolio from 2014-2016, Michael Kimmage is now a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. *The authors' book recommendations are Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan (Random House, 2002) and The Russo-Ukrainian War by Serhii Plokhy (Allen Lane, 2023). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

One war, three collisions: Russia with Ukraine, Europe, and the US. On the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Michael Kimmage analyses the disparate factors that led to war in Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (OUP Press, 2024). "After a few anomalous years of peace, Europe became in 2022 what it has always been, an epicentre of conflict, the fault line around which the biggest and worst geopolitical earthquakes tend to occur". A member of the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department where he handled the Ukraine/Russia portfolio from 2014-2016, Michael Kimmage is now a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. *The authors' book recommendations are Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan (Random House, 2002) and The Russo-Ukrainian War by Serhii Plokhy (Allen Lane, 2023). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

One war, three collisions: Russia with Ukraine, Europe, and the US. On the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Michael Kimmage analyses the disparate factors that led to war in Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (OUP Press, 2024). "After a few anomalous years of peace, Europe became in 2022 what it has always been, an epicentre of conflict, the fault line around which the biggest and worst geopolitical earthquakes tend to occur". A member of the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department where he handled the Ukraine/Russia portfolio from 2014-2016, Michael Kimmage is now a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. *The authors' book recommendations are Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan (Random House, 2002) and The Russo-Ukrainian War by Serhii Plokhy (Allen Lane, 2023). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

One war, three collisions: Russia with Ukraine, Europe, and the US. On the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Michael Kimmage analyses the disparate factors that led to war in Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (OUP Press, 2024). "After a few anomalous years of peace, Europe became in 2022 what it has always been, an epicentre of conflict, the fault line around which the biggest and worst geopolitical earthquakes tend to occur". A member of the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department where he handled the Ukraine/Russia portfolio from 2014-2016, Michael Kimmage is now a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. *The authors' book recommendations are Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan (Random House, 2002) and The Russo-Ukrainian War by Serhii Plokhy (Allen Lane, 2023). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies

One war, three collisions: Russia with Ukraine, Europe, and the US. On the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Michael Kimmage analyses the disparate factors that led to war in Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (OUP Press, 2024). "After a few anomalous years of peace, Europe became in 2022 what it has always been, an epicentre of conflict, the fault line around which the biggest and worst geopolitical earthquakes tend to occur". A member of the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department where he handled the Ukraine/Russia portfolio from 2014-2016, Michael Kimmage is now a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. *The authors' book recommendations are Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan (Random House, 2002) and The Russo-Ukrainian War by Serhii Plokhy (Allen Lane, 2023). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One war, three collisions: Russia with Ukraine, Europe, and the US. On the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Michael Kimmage analyses the disparate factors that led to war in Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (OUP Press, 2024). "After a few anomalous years of peace, Europe became in 2022 what it has always been, an epicentre of conflict, the fault line around which the biggest and worst geopolitical earthquakes tend to occur". A member of the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department where he handled the Ukraine/Russia portfolio from 2014-2016, Michael Kimmage is now a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. *The authors' book recommendations are Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan (Random House, 2002) and The Russo-Ukrainian War by Serhii Plokhy (Allen Lane, 2023). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One war, three collisions: Russia with Ukraine, Europe, and the US. On the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, Michael Kimmage analyses the disparate factors that led to war in Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (OUP Press, 2024). "After a few anomalous years of peace, Europe became in 2022 what it has always been, an epicentre of conflict, the fault line around which the biggest and worst geopolitical earthquakes tend to occur". A member of the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the US State Department where he handled the Ukraine/Russia portfolio from 2014-2016, Michael Kimmage is now a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. *The authors' book recommendations are Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret MacMillan (Random House, 2002) and The Russo-Ukrainian War by Serhii Plokhy (Allen Lane, 2023). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

In this week's episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Michael Kimmage to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled, "For a War of Worlds" Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and chair of the Advisory Council for the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. From 2014 to 2017, Kimmage served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. Dr. Kimmage is the author of: The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism (2009); In History's Grip: Philip Roth's Newark Trilogy (2012); The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020). His forthcoming book is Collisions: The Origins of the War in Ukraine and the New Global Instability (2024).

This podcast episode is a joint and cross-over episode between the CSIS ChinaPower Podcast and the German Marshall Fund's China Global Podcast. We are joined by Bonnie Glaser, Jessica Chen Weiss, and Thomas Christensen to discuss their recently released article titled “Taiwan and the True Sources of Deterrence.” The authors underline the article's key point, that assurances, alongside threats, are an integral part of effective deterrence. They emphasize that in order for deterrence to work, the threat of punishment must be not only credible but also conditional. Finally, the authors outline what actions each of the three actors- the U.S., China, and Taiwan- should take to effectively convey assurances to one another. Ms. Bonnie Glaser is the managing director of the German Marshall Fund's Indo-Pacific program. She is also a nonresident fellow with the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia, and a senior associate with the Pacific Forum. She was previously senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at CSIS. Ms. Glaser has worked at the intersection of Asia-Pacific geopolitics and U.S. policy for more than three decades. Dr. Jessica Chen Weiss is a professor for China and Asia-Pacific Studies in the Department of Government at Cornell University. She was previously an assistant professor at Yale University and founded the Forum for American/Chinese Exchange at Stanford University. Formerly, Dr. Weiss served as senior advisor to the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. State Department on a Council on Foreign Relations Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars. Dr. Thomas Christensen is a professor of Public and International Affairs and Director of the China and World Program at Columbia University. Prior to this, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs with responsibility for relations with China, Taiwan, and Mongolia. His research and teaching focus is on China's foreign relations, the international relations of East Asia, and international security.

This podcast episode is a joint and cross-over episode between the CSIS ChinaPower Podcast and the German Marshall Fund's China Global Podcast. We are joined by Bonnie Glaser, Jessica Chen Weiss, and Thomas Christensen to discuss their recently released article titled “Taiwan and the True Sources of Deterrence.” The authors underline the article's key point, that assurances, alongside threats, are an integral part of effective deterrence. They emphasize that in order for deterrence to work, the threat of punishment must be not only credible but also conditional. Finally, the authors outline what actions each of the three actors- the U.S., China, and Taiwan- should take to effectively convey assurances to one another.Ms. Bonnie Glaser is the managing director of the German Marshall Fund's Indo-Pacific program. She is also a nonresident fellow with the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia, and a senior associate with the Pacific Forum. She was previously senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at CSIS. Ms. Glaser has worked at the intersection of Asia-Pacific geopolitics and U.S. policy for more than three decades.Dr. Jessica Chen Weiss is a professor for China and Asia-Pacific Studies in the Department of Government at Cornell University. She was previously an assistant professor at Yale University and founded the Forum for American/Chinese Exchange at Stanford University. Formerly, Dr. Weiss served as senior advisor to the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. State Department on a Council on Foreign Relations Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars.Dr. Thomas Christensen is a professor of Public and International Affairs and Director of the China and World Program at Columbia University. Prior to this, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs with responsibility for relations with China, Taiwan, and Mongolia. His research and teaching focus is on China's foreign relations, the international relations of East Asia, and international security. 

RealClearPolitics president and co-founder Tom Bevan, Washington bureau chief Carl Cannon, Peter Berkowitz, former director of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and Mary Kissel, Executive Vice President at the global financial firm Stephens Incorporated and former senior addvisor to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, join Andrew Walworth on today's RCP Takeaway podcast.

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Dr. Michael Kimmage to discuss the current state of the Ukraine War, and potential paths for it going forward. Zachary sets this scene with his poem entitled, "For Yegor." Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and chair of the Advisory Council for the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. From 2014 to 2017, Kimmage served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. Kimmage is the author of: The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism (2009); In History's Grip: Philip Roth's Newark Trilogy (2012); The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020). He writes frequently for Foreign Affairs and other major publications. He has a forthcoming book on the history of the Ukraine War, Collisions.

Professor Russell A. Berman joins the Psychedelic Podcast to explore the captivating life and works of controversial German writer Ernst Jünger. Find episode links, summary, and transcript here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-201-russell-a-berman-phd/ Jünger's initial career as a German officer shaped his early books examining war and politics. After the war, Jünger continued writing prolifically, exploring genres like science fiction and nature. He remained a contentious figure due to his conservative and military background. However, in his later years, Jünger became interested in drugs and altered states of consciousness. His book “Approaches,” later edited by Professor Berman, serves as an autobiography through the lens of his experiences with mind-expanding substances. As the episode unfolds, Professor Berman and Paul F. Austin unpack the book “Approaches” and Jünger's psychedelic perspectives. Russell A. Berman is the Walter A. Haas Professor in the Humanities at Stanford and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he co-directs the Working Group on the Middle East and the Islamic World. He formerly served as Senior Advisor on the Policy Planning Staff of the United States Department of State, focusing on transatlantic relations, and as a member of the Commission on Inalienable Rights. He is also a member of the National Humanities Council. Berman has been awarded a Mellon Faculty Fellowship at Harvard and an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for research in Berlin. He has also been honored with the Federal Service Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany. His books include The Rise of the Modern German Novel: Crisis and Charisma and Enlightenment or Empire: Colonial Discourse in German Culture—both of which won the Outstanding Book Award of the German Studies Association. He has edited several translations of works by Ernst Jünger and Carl Schmitt. Highlights: Dr. Berman frames Jünger's life; world wars, political activism, and literary works. Professor Berman reflects on the history of drug culture. Jünger's writings on psychedelics, including LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and more. How altered states impacted Jünger's religious life and philosophy. Jünger's relationship with Albert Hofmann, the man who first synthesized LSD. Examining Jünger, Hofmann, Timothy Leary, & Richard Alpert's (Ram Dass) shared history and psychedelics perspectives. Jünger's nuanced place in German political history. Why Dr. Berman is fascinated with Jünger's life and writings. Dr. Berman reads selections from Junger's book Approaches. Links: Professor Berman's website: https://profiles.stanford.edu/russell-berman Jünger's Book, “Approaches: Drugs and Altered States” (edited by Russell A. Berman): https://amzn.to/3XfccPH Jünger's Book, “The Storm of Steel”: https://amzn.to/44bdzRS Jünger's Book, “The Adventurous Heart”: https://amzn.to/42PuzMi Jünger's Book, “On the Marble Cliffs”: https://amzn.to/3phqXF9 Jünger's Book, “Forest Passage”: https://amzn.to/44t2CLF Jünger's Book, “Eumeswil”: https://amzn.to/3CKMcC9 “The Decadent Society” byRoss Douthat: https://amzn.to/42Vdhxg Book, “The Air-Conditioned Nightmare “ by Henry Miller: https://amzn.to/3peswDL Eleusinian Mysteries: https://amzn.to/3pd485B (Blog) The History of LSD: From Hero to Villain & Back Again: https://thethirdwave.co/the-history-of-lsd/ These show links contain affiliate links. Third Wave receives a small percentage of the product price if you purchase through the above affiliate links. Episode Sponsors: CURED Nutrition's Serenity Gummies. Get 15% off by using coupon code “THIRDWAVE” at checkout.

With the Ukrainian counter offensive underway, we've brought on Michael Kimmage to discuss the ins and outs of the Ukraine War, Putin & Zelensky, Nuclear War,  and finally what the future of the war will look like. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history and department chair at the Catholic University of America. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund. From 2014 to 2017, he served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. His latest book, The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy, was published by Basic Books in April 2020. He is the chair of the Kennan Institute Advisory Council.TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 The Ukraine War and Russia's Shifts3:38 Paradoxical War in Ukraine and Russia10:28 Putin and Zelensky in Ukraine Conflict22:16 Ukraine and Russia Situation32:11 Russian-Ukrainian Conflict and Consequences40:26 The War in UkraineSupport the show:https://www.patreon.com/TheAftermathDailyAftermath Daily Social Media:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJPpxQ0gV0jiO-IcObsv4CAhttps://www.instagram.com/afterpoddaily/https://www.instagram.com/theaftermathdaily/https://twitter.com/DaiIyAftermathSupport the show

Dr. William Inboden discusses President Reagan's strategy and approach to defeating the Soviet Union towards the end of the Cold War. About the Lecture: With decades of hindsight, the peaceful end of the Cold War seems a foregone conclusion. But in the early 1980s, most experts believed the Soviet Union was strong, stable, and would last into the next century. Ronald Reagan entered the White House with a different view. Rather than seeing the Soviet Union as a rival superpower to be contained, Reagan viewed Soviet Communism as a vile idea to be defeated. Accordingly, he developed a comprehensive strategy designed to deter Soviet strengths, exploit Soviet weaknesses, and bring Soviet communism to a negotiated surrender. About the Speakers: Dr. William Inboden is Executive Director and William Powers, Jr. Chair at the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas-Austin. He also serves as Associate Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and Editor-in-Chief of the Texas National Security Review. Inboden's other roles include Associate with the National Intelligence Council, Member of the CIA Director's Historical Advisory Panel, and member of the State Department's Historical Advisory Council. Previously he served as Senior Director for Strategic Planning on the National Security Council at the White House, at the Department of State as a Member of the Policy Planning Staff, as a staff member for Representative Tom DeLay and Senator Sam Nunn, and as a Civitas Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and his commentary has appeared in numerous outlets including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, National Review, NPR, CNN, and BBC. Inboden is the author or co-editor of four books. His most recent book is The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink (Dutton, a Penguin Random House imprint 2023). Inboden received his Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in history from Yale University and his A.B. in history from Stanford University. ***Learn more about IWP graduate programs: https://www.iwp.edu/academic-programs/ ***Make a gift to IWP: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E231090&id=18

The early 1980s was a time of great political uncertainty. With the threat of nuclear destruction seemingly imminent, the emergence of global terrorism, and the rise of proxy conflicts in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, Ronald Reagan entered the White House with many global security problems on his hands, and very few clear solutions. He wasn't alone, though. Throughout the end of the Cold War, Reagan was supported by a national security team with competing ideals to solve these looming crises. Recently declassified documents and interviews with many of these senior Reagan administration officials have revealed a new storyline toward the peaceful conclusion of the Cold War and the remaking of the world order. Guiding us through today's conversation is Dr. William Inboden. William Inboden is a historian of national security and professor at the UT Austin LBJ School of Public Affairs. Prior to joining the UT faculty, he has served as senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council, worked on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff and served as a congressional staff member. He also served as head of the London-based Legatum Institute, and as a Civitas Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Dr. Inboden's commentary has been featured in op-eds in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and more. As a professor, he has been awarded the “Texas 10” Award by the Texas Exes Alumni Association, selected as “Lecturer of the Year” at the LBJ School, and his classes Presidential Decision-making in National Security and Ethics and International Affairs have been voted as "Best Class in the LBJ School" and “Class Most Likely to Challenge Your Assumptions.”He is the author of The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink and Religion and American Foreign Policy, 1945–1960: The Soul of Containment. Visit his pages on the University of Texas at Austin website and on the Clements Center website.  

This week, Mike and Jude are joined by Kurt M. Campbell, Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs in the National Security Council, and Mira Rapp-Hooper, Senior Adviser on China at the U.S. Department of State's Policy Planning Staff.  They begin by discussing educational and professional experiences that build the groundwork for successful careers in international relations.  They then discuss the recent one-year anniversary of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy, noting that the approach reflects the recognition of “a new strategic era” in the region. They underline the Strategy's focus on alliances and emphasize the importance of promoting broader regional engagement and shared interests beyond the framework of competition with China. Next, they discuss the implications of China's evolving diplomatic approach towards the United States and regional partners. They conclude the conversation by exploring recent narratives of China's overreach, and how U.S. strategy might react to a course correction in Beijing that would present China as a stronger, more reliable partner in the Indo-Pacific.

For the past 20 years, Richard Haass has led the Council on Foreign Relations, building on his national security experience in government and his related work in academia and think tanks. Although his efforts have focused overwhelmingly on foreign policy, his central concern has turned to something closer to home: the decline of democratic norms in the United States. He's even written a new book about this problem and something we all can do about it, “The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens.”David Priess and Haass discussed the State Department's Policy Planning Staff and Haass' experiences leading it, reflections on his service in the Bush 41 and Bush 43 administrations, the mission of the Council on Foreign Relations and Haass's longest-ever tenure of leading it, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its many implications, the roles of China and India in this shifting strategic landscape, democratic decline in the United States, the ten habits that American citizens can adopt to heal our divisions and safeguard representative democracy in the U.S., and more.Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced and edited by Noam Osband and Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the past 20 years, Richard Haass has led the Council on Foreign Relations, building on his national security experience in government and his related work in academia and think tanks. Although his efforts have focused overwhelmingly on foreign policy, his central concern has turned to something closer to home: the decline of democratic norms in the United States. He's even written a new book about this problem and something we all can do about it, The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens.David Priess and Haass discussed the State Department's Policy Planning Staff and Haass' experiences leading it, reflections on his service in the Bush 41 and Bush 43 administrations, the mission of the Council on Foreign Relations and Haass's longest-ever tenure of leading it, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its many implications, the roles of China and India in this shifting strategic landscape, democratic decline in the United States, the ten habits that American citizens can adopt to heal our divisions and safeguard representative democracy in the U.S., and more.Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced and edited by Noam Osband and Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad.Works mentioned during this episode:The book The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens by Richard HaassThe book Foreign Policy Begins at Home by Richard HaassThe movie History of the World: Part IThe book Thinking in Time by Richard E. Neustadt and Ernest R. MayThe TV show Full Swing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by guest Dr. Michael Kimmage to discuss The Russo-Ukrainian War. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled, "A Year After the War Began." Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and chair of the Advisory Council for the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. From 2014 to 2017, Kimmage served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. Kimmage is the author of: The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism (2009); In History's Grip: Philip Roth's Newark Trilogy (2012); The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020). He writes frequently for Foreign Affairs and other major publications.

It seems like the past century has been least kind to Ukraine, of all the countries in Europe. Fought over repeatedly in WWII by rampaging armies, which came off the back of revolution, civil war, terror, and genocide in the Holodomor. Ukraine has bene plagued with monumental events — wars, famines, political upheavals. But there's a recurring theme – its struggle to break away from Russia – which, like an abusive husband, refuses to let Ukraine go, while threatening to destroy everything in retribution. Putin is just the latest incarnation of a leaders pursuing a monstrous policy of imperialism, domination, and genocidal action whenever they felt Ukraine slipping out of their control. Andrew S. Weiss is James Family Chair and Vice President for Studies at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC. There he leads an international team of experts on Russia, Ukraine, and the wider region. He has previously been a Director at the RAND Centre for Russia and Eurasia. Andrew's career has spanned both public and private sectors. He served as director for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian Affairs on the National Security Council staff, as a member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, and as a policy assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defence for Policy during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush.

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by William Inboden, author of The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink, and Chris Stirewalt of the American Enterprise Institute. -William Inboden joined the LBJ School faculty after many years of working as a policymaker in Washington, DC, and directing a foreign policy think tank overseas. He is the William Powers, Jr. executive director of the Clements Center for National Security and a distinguished scholar at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law. He is also a National Intelligence Council associate and serves on the CIA's Historical Advisory Panel and State Department's Historical Advisory Committee.Dr. Inboden previously served as senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council, worked on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff and served as a congressional staff member. His think-tank experience includes the American Enterprise Institute and running the London-based Legatum Institute. He is a Council on Foreign Relations life member and a contributing editor to Foreign Policy magazine, and his commentary has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Affairs, The Weekly Standard and USA Today, and on NPR, CNN and BBC. His classes, "Ethics & International Relations" and "Presidential Decision-Making in National Security," have been selected in recent years as the Best Class in the LBJ School. His most recent book, on the Reagan administration's national security policies, is The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan in the White House and the World (2022).-Chris Stirewalt is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he focuses on American politics, voting trends, public opinion, and the media. He is concurrently a contributing editor and weekly columnist for The Dispatch. Before joining AEI, he was political editor of Fox News Channel, where he helped coordinate political coverage across the network and specialized in on-air analysis of polls and voting trends.Before joining Fox News Channel, Mr. Stirewalt served as political editor of the Washington Examiner, where he wrote a twice-weekly column and led political coverage for the newspaper. He also served as political editor of the Charleston Daily Mail and West Virginia Media. Mr. Stirewalt began his career at the Wheeling Intelligencer in West Virginia.A well-known political commentator, Mr. Stirewalt wrote about his personal experience of the 2020 election in the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of “Every Man a King: A Short, Colorful History of American Populists” (Twelve Books, 2018), in which he looks at American populism through the history of seven famous populists.Mr. Stirewalt is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, where he studied history.-Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com

In this special end of the year episode of .think Atlantic, our host Thibault Muzergues is joined by special guest, none other than IRI President Dr. Daniel Twining to review the transatlantic space's most influential events of the year. Dr. Twining's expertise regarding political parties, autocracies, and strategies as we enter the New Year will be the center of this episode's discussion. Dr. Daniel Twining joined the International Republican Institute as President in 2017, where he leads the Institute's mission to advance democracy and freedom around the world. He heads IRI's team of over 800 global experts to link citizens and governments, motivate people to engage in the political process, and guide politicians and government officials to be responsive to citizens. Previously, Dr. Twining served as counselor to the president and director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund, as a member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff, as the foreign policy advisor to U.S. Senator John McCain, and as a staff member of the U.S. Trade Representative. He has been an associate of the National Intelligence Council, taught at Georgetown University, and served as a military instructor associated with the Naval Postgraduate School. He serves on the Bush Institute's Human Freedom Advisory Council and the Wilson Center's Asia Advisory Board. He has been a columnist for Foreign Policy and Nikkei and served as an advisor to six presidential campaigns. From 2004-7, he was the Fulbright/Oxford Scholar at Oxford University. Find Dan on Twitter: @DCTwining Find IRI on Twitter: @IRIglobal Find Thibault on Twitter: @tmuzergues Visit IRI's website at www.iri.org

Who is Vladimir Putin? In the West's collective imagination, Putin is a deceitful cartoon villain, constantly plotting to destroy his enemies not only in Ukraine but around the world. But how did a mid-level KGB officer become one of the most powerful leaders in Russian history? In a unique graphic novel format, Russian expert Andrew Weiss chronicles Putin's political rise and reveals the truth behind the persona that Putin has spent his career cultivating. Weiss offers a compelling look at the myths surrounding Putin as a take-no-prisoners political mastermind and exposes who is really behind the façade. Andrew Weiss is the James Family Chair and vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees research in Washington and Moscow on Russia and Eurasia. He previously served as director for Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian Affairs on the National Security Council staff and was a member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime Russia watcher Andrew Weiss took an unconventional approach to his new biography, Accidental Czar: The Life and Lies of Vladimir Putin. Teaming up with illustrator Box Brown, Weiss wrote a graphic novel that tells the story of Putin's rise from an impoverished childhood in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) to the undisputed authoritarian ruler of Russia. A big theme of the book is how Putin imagined an idea of himself as a strongman through spy movies and pulp novels that he devoured as a young person. The graphic novel seems a particularly fitting format for exploring Putin, who has successfully cultivated a caricature of himself in the West as a cunning, sophisticated, hyper-masculine leader. But, as Weiss writes, “seeing Putin as he wants us to see him, rather than as he is,” makes it harder to confront the challenge Russia poses to Western interests and security in Europe. Shane Harris talked to Weiss about his own childhood in California and why he was drawn at an early age to studying Russia. Weiss previously served as director for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian Affairs on the National Security Council staff, as a member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, and as a policy assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush. He's now the James Family Chair and vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment, where he oversees research on Russia and Eurasia. Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced and edited by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad.Among the works mentioned in this episode:Andrew Weiss' graphic novel on Putin: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250760753/accidentalczar Weiss' bio: https://carnegieendowment.org/experts/824 Weiss on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewsweiss?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Illustrator Brian “Box” Brown: https://www.boxbrown.com/ Other graphic novels that inspired Weiss:Maus by Art Spiegelman: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/171065/the-complete-maus-by-art-spiegelman/ On Tyranny Graphic Edition by Timothy Snyder, Illustrated by Nora Krug https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/653012/on-tyranny-graphic-edition-by-timothy-snyder-illustrated-by-nora-krug/Movies and TV shows discussed in this episode: The Shield and the Sword: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166790/ Seventeen Moments of Spring: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069628/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Executive Director and William Powers, Jr. Chair, Clements Center for National Security; Associate Professor at the University of Texas, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public AffairsWilliam Inboden joined the LBJ School faculty after many years of working as a policymaker in Washington, DC, and directing a foreign policy think tank overseas. He is the William Powers, Jr. executive director of the Clements Center for National Security and a distinguished scholar at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law. He is also a National Intelligence Council associate and serves on the CIA's Historical Advisory Panel and State Department's Historical Advisory Committee.Dr. Inboden previously served as senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council, worked on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff and served as a congressional staff member. His think-tank experience includes the American Enterprise Institute and running the London-based Legatum Institute. He is a Council on Foreign Relations life member and a contributing editor to Foreign Policy magazine, and his commentary has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Foreign Affairs, The Weekly Standard and USA Today, and on NPR, CNN and BBC. His classes, "Ethics & International Relations" and "Presidential Decision-Making in National Security," have been selected in recent years as the Best Class in the LBJ School. His most recent book, on the Reagan administration's national security policies, is The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan in the White House and the World (2022).

This week, Jeremi and Zachary talk with Dr. Michael Kimmage about how the Ukraine War has developed over the course of the year, and how they predict things will progress in the future. Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and chair of the Advisory Council for the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. From 2014 to 2017, Kimmage served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. Kimmage is the author of: The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism (2009); In History's Grip: Philip Roth's Newark Trilogy (2012); The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020). He writes frequently on the Ukraine War and related topics for Foreign Affairs.

In Washington, there is a growing fatalism that a confrontation with China is unavoidable—and perhaps even necessary. What does success look like in a world where the United States is reflexively countering China's every move? Is catastrophic conflict the only acceptable destination? Jessica Chen Weiss, a professor of China and Asia-Pacific studies at Cornell University, believes today's debate over how best to deal with China is far too narrow. She recently completed a yearlong post working on the Policy Planning Staff at the State Department. She observed that in policy circles in Washington, debate is often stifled as no one wants to appear “soft” on China. As she writes in the most recent issue of Foreign Affairs, the result is that “the instinct to counter every Chinese initiative, project, and provocation remains predominant, crowding out efforts to revitalize an inclusive international system that would protect U.S. interests and values.” We discuss how U.S.-Chinese relations have become especially fraught, the potential consequences of zero-sum competition, and what the costs are to American democracy.  You can find transcripts and more episodes of “The Foreign Affairs Interview” at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview.

This week, we discuss what organizations like the International Republican Institute are doing to help curb the malicious actions of states who repress their people. What are the roles of interests and values in the context of America's foreign policy? What can democratic countries do to counter authoritarian regimes? What is the role of the U.S. Congress in shaping foreign policy, and how this arrangement uniquely American? Dr. Daniel Twining is President of the International Republican Institute. Previously, Dr. Twining directed the German Marshall Fund's Asia program, was a member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff and served as a foreign policy advisor to the late U.S. Senator John McCain. We are thrilled to have him join to answer these questions! Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, we are joined by Dr. Jon B. Alterman to unpack the relationship between China and the Middle East. Dr. Alterman begins with an overview of China's role in the region, detailing China's varied individual relationships with different countries. He states that China's growing presence in the region is mostly motivated by Chinese self-interest and China is not willing to commit large sacrifices to deepen its relations with the region or with particular countries like Iran. Dr. Alterman concludes that the future of China-Middle East relations is unpredictable, and the United States should not overestimate China's power in the region. Dr. Jon B. Alterman is a senior vice president, holds the Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and is director of the Middle East Program at CSIS. Prior to joining CSIS in 2002, he served as a member of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State and as a special assistant to the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and from 2009-2019 he served as a member of the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel.

Dr. Amy Searight is a leading U.S. expert on Southeast Asia and U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific region. Dr. Searight served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia from 2014 to 2016, before which she served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, USAID, and on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff. Today, Amy is a senior associate for Asia at CSIS. On this episode, Amy offered a preview of the historic U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit, which U.S. President Joe Biden will host in Washington on May 12-13. In addition to expectations for the summit, we discussed the challenges facing ASEAN, its members' views on the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy and economic framework, China's relations with the bloc, the Philippines election, and more.

Dr. Amy Searight is a leading U.S. expert on Southeast Asia and U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific region. Dr. Searight served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia from 2014 to 2016, before which she served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, USAID, and on the State Department's Policy Planning Staff. Today, Amy is a senior associate for Asia at CSIS. On this episode, Amy offered a preview of the historic U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit, which U.S. President Joe Biden will host in Washington on May 12-13. In addition to expectations for the summit, we discussed the challenges facing ASEAN, its members' views on the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy and economic framework, China's relations with the bloc, the Philippines election, and more.

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by a fantastic lineup of guests. First, Anna Giaritelli of the Washington Examiner brings us the story of the US fentanyl crisis. Later in the show, Lingling Wei of the Wall Street Journal breaks down Shanghai's Omicron lockdowns. Finally, Professor Michael Kimmage of the Catholic University of America gives us an expert look at the Russia's war in Ukraine.-Anna Giaritelli is the homeland security reporter for the Washington Examiner, covering the department, U.S. border, and policies related to cybersecurity, immigration, and transportation. She joined in 2015 after reporting for CQ Roll Call and Cox Media Group, as well as a communications role at an immigration policy organization. Giaritelli has broken stories on leadership turnover within Border Patrol, corruption and infighting within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the effects of Trump administration policies on migrants. She is a commentator on national radio and TV outlets, including C-SPAN, Fox News, Sky News, and Sirius XM. Her work has appeared in RealClearInvestigations, Yahoo! News, the Oregonian, and Equine Journal. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Asbury University.-Lingling Wei is the chief China correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and co-author of “Superpower Showdown.” She covers China's political economy, focusing on the intersection of business and politics. Born and raised in China, she has a M.A. in journalism from N.Y.U., got her start covering U.S. real estate, and has won many awards for her China coverage. In 2021, she's among a team of reporters and editors whose work was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Follow her on Twitter: @Lingling_Wei-Michael Kimmage is a professor of history and department chair at the Catholic University of America. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund. From 2014 to 2017, he served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. His latest book, The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy, was published by Basic Books in April 2020. He is the chair of the Kennan Institute Advisory Council.-Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Michael Kimmage to discuss the Ukraine conflict. Zachary sets the scene with his poem: "For Mariupol" Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and chair of the Advisory Council for the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. From 2014 to 2017, Kimmage served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. Kimmage is the author of: The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism (2009); In History's Grip: Philip Roth's Newark Trilogy (2012); and The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020). He writes frequently on Ukraine, Russia, and U.S. foreign policy in Foreign Affairs and other major publications. This Episode was Mixed and Mastered by Karoline Pfeil, Oscar Kitmanyen, and Will Shute

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Dr. Charles Edel joins us to unpack the relationship between Australia and China. Dr. Edel begins by navigating key moments of closeness and tension in the China-Australia relationship. In terms of policies towards China, he highlights the moderate approach of the Australian business community versus the more forward-leaning approach from the Australian government and the public. He notes that when faced with great economic pressure, “Australian businesses were able to diversify and find other markets quickly”. Dr. Edel also examines Australia's participation in AUKUS and the Quad. He explains that Australia believes it needs to build up power projection capabilities, especially as China increases its presence in the Indo-Pacific. He adds that Australia's response to Chinese coercion demonstrates to China that not all countries will fold to its pressure. Additionally, he explains that China's closeness to Russia amid the invasion of Ukraine propels an overarching negative sentiment towards China and prompts the Australian government to consider potential responses if China attacks Taiwan. Lastly, Dr. Edel asserts that despite the current downward trend in China-Australia relations, the relationship will eventually stabilize. Charles Edel is the inaugural Australia Chair and a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He previously taught at the University of Sydney, where he was also a senior fellow at the United States Studies Centre. Prior to that, Dr. Edel was a professor of strategy and policy at the U.S. Naval War College and served on the U.S. secretary of state's Policy Planning Staff from 2015 to 2017. In that role, he advised the secretary of state on political and security issues in the Indo-Pacific region.