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Power Problems

Reconsidering US Strategy in Europe & Asia

Ep. 200
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Miranda Priebe, senior political scientist at RAND, discusses US strategy towards Europe and Asia and how to manage relations with Russia and China. She talks about changes to US posture towards Europe and Russia following the Ukraine war, NATO strategy, how to manage the Russia-China relationship, and potential changes to US posture in Asia, particularly towards Taiwan. She also touches upon the ‘isolationist’ label, the complicated politics of restraint, and how to put diplomacy at the forefront of US foreign policy, among other topics. 


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  • 203. India’s Quest for Major Power Status

    49:20||Ep. 203
    T.V. Paul, professor of international relations at McGill University, talks about his recent book Unfinished Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi. Paul discusses India’s international status, the push for permanent membership on the UN Security Council, India’s military capabilities and “reactive grand strategy,” India’s complex relations with Russia and China, how some of India’s domestic problems hamper its international ambitions, and strategic management of the U.S.-Indian relationship, among other topics. Show NotesT.V. Paul, Unfinished Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi, (Oxford University Press, 2024). 

  • 202. Strategic Empathy & the Roots of the Ukraine War

    50:49||Ep. 202
    Barry Posen, professor of political science at MIT, argues that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 qualifies as a preventive war and was motivated in part to thwart U.S.-led efforts to expand NATO in Europe. He responds to detractors from this view and also discusses the partial political responsibility of U.S. leaders, the difference between explaining the war and justifying it, the lack of strategic empathy in U.S. foreign policy, how best to negotiate the end of the war, and whether the U.S. is making a similar mistake in incentivizing preventive war logic in Beijing with respect to Taiwan.Show NotesBarry R. Posen, “Putin's Preventive War: The 2022 Invasion of Ukraine,” International Security 2025; 49 (3): 7–49.

  • 201. The Return of Bipolarity

    45:20||Ep. 201
    Jennifer Lind, Associate Professor at Dartmouth College, argues that China’s rise now means the world is back to a bipolar balance of power. She provides insight into how U.S. foreign policy should manage this new reality and discusses why polarity is important, how to measure the balance of power, how stable unipolar, bipolar, and multipolar systems are, the major points of conflict between the US and China, and what to do about Taiwan, among other topics. Show NotesJennifer Lind, “Back to Bipolarity: How China's Rise Transformed the Balance of Power,” International Security 2024; 49 (2): 7–55.

  • 199. Trump, Conquest, & the Laws of War

    42:10||Ep. 199
    Oona Hathaway, professor of international law at Yale University, addresses President Trump’s plans to expand US territory into Greenland, the Panama Canal, and Canada. She discusses international law, the causes of the decline in interstate war, the difference between norms and laws, the problem of enforcement, tensions between norms against conquest and the need for a negotiated peace in the Russia-Ukraine war, among other topics. Show NotesOona A. Hathaway, Scott J. Shapiro, The Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to Outlaw War Remade the World, Simon & Schuster, 2017.

  • 198. The AI Competition with China

    44:15||Ep. 198
    Sam Bresnick, Research Fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, discusses artificial intelligence in the context of the US-China relationship. He explains how AI will be used by states in coming years and compares different obstacles and advantages that both the US and China have in their competition to develop AI and its various applications. Among other topics, he also discusses diplomatic pathways for the US and China to avoid dangerous AI scenarios. Show NotesSam Bresnick, “The Obstacles to China’s AI Power,” Foreign Affairs, December 31, 2024Sam Bresnick, et al., “Which Ties Will Bind?” CSET Issue Brief, February 2024

  • 197. Perverse Incentives in the Permanent War Economy

    39:46||Ep. 197
    Julia Gledhill, Research Associate for the National Security Reform Program at the Stimson Center, discusses the “permanent war economy” and ongoing efforts to increase military spending. She also talks about perverse incentives for defense contractors, the myth that military spending is properly construed as a jobs program, and the lack of strategic thinking in policy debates on how to confront China, among other issues. Show NotesJulia Gledhill, “The Truth about the Permanent War Economy,” Stimson Center Issue Brief, December 2, 2024.

  • 196. Negotiating Peace in Ukraine

    42:42||Ep. 196
    Anatol Lieven, Director of the Eurasia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, discusses how the international politics of the Ukraine war have changed since Trump’s election win, how to move towards negotiations to end the war, and the various issues - from territory to NATO membership - to be resolved in any peace deal. Show NotesAnatol Lieven, “Three Conditions for a US-Backed Peace Agreement in Ukraine,” UnHerd, November 30, 2024.Anatol Lieven, George Beebe, “The Diplomatic Path to a Secure Ukraine,” Quincy Paper #13, February 16, 2024.

  • 195. The Fall of Assad & Syria's Uncertain Future

    46:55||Ep. 195
    Joshua Landis, professor of Middle East studies at the University of Oklahoma, discusses the recent rebel advances in Syria, the causes and conditions that paved the way for the fall of the Assad regime, the many mistakes of US policy since the start of the civil war, and the regional politics wrapped up in Syria’s future.