Shield of the Republic

Eric and Eliot are joined by Isabel Kershner, the New York Times Jerusalem correspondent and author of The Land of Hope and Fear: Israel's Battle for Its Inner Soul (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2023). They discuss the division and polarization in Israeli society and the cleavages between the Ashkenazi and Mizrahi populationns, as well as between secular and Haredi Jews, the emergence of identity politics and populism in Israel and, of course, the current struggle over judicial reform. They consider the judicial crisis in the context of Bibi Netanyahu's political predicament and ruminate on whether Israel's greatest challenges in the future will come from within the country or from the external security environment. https://www.amazon.com/Land-Hope-Fear-Israels-Battle/dp/1101946768 Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com Learn more about y...

Eric and Eliot welcome Financial Times Ukraine correspondent Christopher Miller, author of The War Came to Us: Life and Death in Ukraine (London: Bloomsbury, 2023). Chris describes his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bakhmut and his transition to journalism as a reporter for the Kyiv Post exposing corruption and self-dealing in Ukraine before the "revolution of dignity" at the Euromaidan in 2014. He talks about his coverage of the fall of Ukrainian President Yanukovych, the Russian seizure of Crimea, the outbreak of the 2014 war in Donbas, his encounters with Igor "Strelkov" Girkin (now under arrest in Moscow for criticizing Putin's conduct of the current war) and the "Cossack Bomb Squad," the wartime leadership of Volodymyr Zelensky and the dilemmas that await him as well as the course of the current Ukrainian counter-offensive. Shield of the Republic will be on a short summer break next week. https://www.amazon.com/War-Came-Us-Death-Ukraine/dp/139940685X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_e...

Eric welcomes Eliot back from Edinburgh where it was not all Walter Scott tourism and Scotch sipping. They discuss the project that Eliot and Phillips O'Brien have undertaken to analyze the failures of Russia experts to correctly assess the run up to and the course of the war in Ukraine, the ongoing state of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, the lingering political repercussions in Russia of the Prigozhin mutiny and how it might affect the battlespace, the Biden Administration's nomination of Derek Chollet as Under Secretary of Defense for policy and the current hold that Sen. Tommy Tuberville has placed on the confirmation of senior military and civilian defense officials, as well as the troubling state of Israeli democracy. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eliot and Eric welcome former President of Estonia (and SotR fan) Toomas Ilves to the show. They do a post-mortem on the Vilnius NATO Summit. How did the Biden team perform? What are the prospects for European security with a revanchist Russia? How should NATO approach Ukraine's future association with Alliance? They also discuss the importance of Finland and Sweden in NATO and much more. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eliot and Eric welcome Michael Vickers, the author of By All Means Available: Memoirs of a Life in Intelligence, Special Operations and Strategy (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2023). They discuss his role in overseeing the CIA's covert assistance program to the Afghan resistance in the war against Soviet occupation in the 1980s, how his experiences as a Green Beret impacted his approach to policy making as a senior official, his academic work at the Office of Net Assessment and CSBA on the revolution in warfare, his return to government in the Bush 43 Administration orchestrating the intensification of the war against Al Qaeda and his role in the bin Laden raid, as well as his thoughts on the endgame in Afghanistan and the lessons of earlier proxy wars for the current fight in Ukraine. They also discuss the delicacy of working with nuclear land mines as a special forces officer. https://www.amazon.com/All-Means-Available-Intelligence-Operations/dp/1101947705/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encod...

Eric and Eliot dig in to Eliot’s recent travels to Poland and Ukraine. They discuss the future of European security relations with Ukraine, Kyiv’s understandable neuralgia about steps short of NATO membership, the meaning and impact of Prigozhin’s rebellion in Russia and on the battlefield, the prospects for Ukraine’s counter-offensive and Ukraine’s ongoing requirements for long range strike, short-range air defenses and cluster munitions. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric welcomes back Eliot to host Stephen Sestanovich, the George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the Council on Foreign Relations and Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor at the School of International Political Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University to discuss the short-lived semi-farcical mutiny in Russia led by Evgeniy Prigozhin, the proprietor of the Wagner Group private military company. They discuss the backstory of Wagner and the legal limbo in which it operates, how its business model benefits members of Putin’s kleptocratic elite, whether Putin has emerged weaker or stronger from this affair and the impact that Prigozhin’s actions may have on the stability of Russia and the ongoing war effort on Ukraine. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/three-logics-russias-prigozhin-putsch/674538/ https://www.congress.gov/116/meeting/house/110854/witnesses/HHRG-116-FA14-Wstate-MartenK-20200707.pdf Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast ...

With Eliot still on the road, Eric welcomes back Hal Brands, the Henry A. Kissinger Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and introduces Thomas Mahnken, the President and CEO of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) to discuss The New Makers of Modern Strategy, published by Princeton University Press in May. They discuss the backstory of the Makers of Modern Strategy franchise, the purpose and themes of the current volume, arms races and arms control in peacetime competition between nations, the Anglo-German naval arms race before WWI, the US-Soviet arms race in the Cold War, the role of Andrew Marshall as both a strategist and patron of strategy and much more. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices....

With Eliot on the road again Eric hosts Andrew Hoehn, Senior VP and Director of Research at the RAND Corporation, and Thom Shanker (formerly New York Times national security reporter and editor) Director of the Project for Media and National Security at George Washington University. The authors of Age of Danger: Keeping America Safe in an Era of New Superpowers, New Weapons, and New Threats (New York: Hachette Books, 2023) discuss why we are entering an age of greater danger than we have known since the end of the Cold War, the nature of the government's machinery for warning and action in the national security realm, the feasibility and desirability of "whole-of-government" and "whole-of-society" solutions to these looming national security challenges, the legacy of Andrew Marshall (the director of the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment for 40 years), the role of cost-imposing strategies and the use of attritable unmanned aircraft and sensors for deterring the PRC in the Taiwan St...

Eric and Eliot welcome back friend of the show Kori Schake, the Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and a veteran of government service at the White House, Defense Department and State Department (where she served as Deputy Director of Policy Planning). They discuss Kori's recent visit to Ukraine, the Biden Administration's management of escalation dynamics in the Russo-Ukrainian war and whether the administration's rhetoric has undercut their professed objectives. They also discuss the appointment of a new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the controversy over the Marine Corps' recent overhaul under Commandant General David Berger, as well as the importance of diversity of service views in senior DoD leadership. They wrap up with a discussion of Kori's essay on "Strategic Excellence" that examines the strategy of Tecumseh and the Shawnee Confederation and which was recently published in The New Makers of Modern Strategy (Princeto...

Eric and Eliot share reflections on Memorial Day (and the proper way to observe it), analyze the Turkish election results and Turkey's future course as a regional power, discuss the rise of religious authoritarianism and populism around the globe, and mark Henry Kissinger's one hundredth birthday with a discussion of his complex and complicated legacy as a statesman. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric and Eliot mark the latter’s return from his European travels with dark musings about why they have not yet been sanctioned by the Russian government. They also discuss Finland’s adaptation to NATO membership, the differing perspectives of the Nordic and Baltic states, whether or not the neutrality of the “global south” in the Russo-Ukraine war is consequential, and Ukraine’s post-Bakhmut prospects. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/05/ukraine-victory-russia-defeat/674112/ Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will Inboden, the Executive Director of the William Clements Center for National Security and Associate Professor of Public Affairs at the University of Texas Austin (and editor of the Texas National Security Review) joins Eric to discuss the alleged "October Surprise" in 1980 -- the long bruited charge that Reagan campaign manager Bill Casey colluded with Iranian intermediaries to forestall the release of the U.S. hostages until after the election. The original allegation, made by former Carter NSC staffer Gary Sick, resurfaced this spring after former Texas Lt. Governor Ben Barnes gave an interview to Peter Baker of the New York Times alleging that he and the late John Connally travelled the Middle East in 1980 to pass the word to the Iranians that they would get a better deal from Reagan than they would from Carter. One month later Gary Sick (along with Jonathan Alter, Kai Bird, and Stuart Eizenstat) argued in The New Republic that the matter is "All But Settled." Will and Eric d...

While Eliot is still in Europe, Eric welcomes former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (1998-2000) Stephen Pifer to the show. Steve is affiliated with the Stanford Center on International Security and Cooperation and is a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution. He has served at the US Embassies in Warsaw, Moscow and London, was senior director at the NSC and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Russia and Ukraine, as well as an advisor to Amb. Paul Nitze during the INF Treaty negotiations. They discuss VE Day in Europe, the drone attack on the Kremlin, the prospects for the Ukrainian counter-offensive and the types of military equipment that would be most useful for the Ukrainians. They also discuss the promise (or lack thereof) of potential Chinese mediation of the conflict and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict.  https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Trident-U-S-_Ukraine-Relations-Turbulent/dp/0815730403 Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsore...

A solo Eric welcomes Gönül Tol, the founding Director of the Turkey Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC to discuss her new book, Erdogan's War: A Strongman's Struggle at Home and in Syria, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2023) and her perspective on the upcoming Turkish elections on May 14. They discuss the complex inter-relationship between Erdogan's foreign policy and his domestic aspirations to move Turkey in an authoritarian direction, Erdogan's thirst for power and his pragmatism in pursuing Islamist, socially conservative and Nationalist constituencies as circumstances have changed, the impact of 20 years of AKP rule on Turkish society, and the prospects for the united opposition "Table of Six" in the election. They also touch on the potential for election fraud and Erdogan refusing to leave office despite the outcome of the vote. Finally, they touch on the reaction of civil society and the mess that the opposition will inherit if they win the elections. ...

With Eliot traveling for both business and family celebrations, Eric hosts historian, journalist and novelist Owen Matthews whose new book, Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin and Russia's War Against Ukraine, has just been published in the US by Harper Collins. Owen has been a journalist with The Moscow Times and served as the Newsweek Bureau Chief in Moscow and Istanbul. He is author of several works of history about Russia and the thrillers, Black Sun, Red Traitor, and White Fox. They discuss Owen's family connections to Russia and Ukraine, the backstory of the war, Putin's decision to invade in 2022, the role of the intelligence services in Putin's rise, and the prospects for war termination. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com https://www.amazon.com/Overreach-Inside-Russias-Against-Ukraine/dp/0008562741/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TUERNR9...

While Eliot is on travel Eric welcomes LTG Sami Sadat whose poignant op-ed in the New York Times in August 2021 about the fall of Afghanistan described his personal feelings of betrayal by the US. He is a major figure in the National Geographic documentary Retrograde now airing on Disney+. They discuss the Biden Administration's recent "Interim Report on Lessons Learned from the Afghanistan Withdrawal" and the contrast between it and the report of the Special Inspector General on Afghanistan, the relative responsibility of the Trump and Biden Administrations, the flaws in the Doha Agreement and the role that contractors played in sustaining Afghan National Security Forces. They also discuss the current humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan and the country's future prospects. Lt. Gen Sami Sadat's 2021 Op-Ed: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/opinion/afghanistan-taliban-army.html Biden Administration Interim Report the Afghanistan Withdrawal: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uplo...

Eliot and Eric welcome Francis Fukuyama, the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI). One of America's most distinguished public intellectuals he is the author of several books including the End of History and the Last Man and, more recently, Liberalism and its Discontents. They discuss the impact of the war on Ukraine on the future of liberal democracy and the rules based international order, the drivers of populism and nationalism, the rise of illiberalism in both theory and practice, as well as the state of the academy and the situation in Georgia under the influence of Georgian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. https://www.ft.com/content/d0331b51-5d0e-4132-9f97-c3f41c7d75b3 https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/10/francis-fukuyama-still-end-history/671761/ https://thebulletin.org/premium/2022-11/its-a-different-kind-of-world-were-living-in-now-interview-with-political-scientist-francis-fukuyama/ Shi...

Eric and Eliot host Melvyn P. Leffler, the Edward Stettinius Professor of History at the University of Virginia to discuss his new book, Confronting Saddam: George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq. Mel describes why he decided to write the book and his findings that Bush rather than a cabal of neoconservatives was that key decision maker and that he adopted a strategy of coercive diplomacy to deal with the ongoing threat of Saddam's regime. He discusses the Bush team's motivations which he ascribes to fear, power, and hubris. He provides a critique of the decision-making and discusses the difficulty of writing contemporary history and alternative courses of action that Bush ought to have considered. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/bush-911-and-roots-iraq-war https://www.amazon.com/Confronting-Saddam-Hussein-George-Invasion/dp/0197610773/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1YI8C4LFC6B4E&keywords=mel+leffler+book&qid=1680643956&sprefix=Mel+Leffler%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-2 Shield of the Republic is...

Eliot and Eric welcome back Duke Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and Director of the Program on American Grand Strategy, Peter Feaver, pinch-hitting for Meghan O'Sullivan (whose illness prevented her from joining us) to discuss Hand Off, a book that Peter and Meghan (along with SOTR guest Will Inboden) edited consisting of all the Bush 43 Administration's NSC transition memos prepared for the Obama Administration. They touch on Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia and China and whether or not "the Freedom Agenda" serves as a coherent framing of the Bush Administration foreign policies, the opportunity costs with Russia and China that resulted from the focus on the War on Terror, and much more. https://www.amazon.com/Hand-Off-Foreign-Policy-George-Passed/dp/081573977X https://halbrands.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/12___20___2017_The-case-f.pdf Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email u...

Eric flies solo in this episode (while Eliot is traveling in Europe) and hosts guest Paul D. Miller, Professor of Practice in International Affairs at Georgetown University and former NSC Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Bush 43 Administration. They discuss the recent Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report on the collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in August of 2021 and attempt to assess the roles of the Trump and Biden Administrations in the debacle. They cover the diplomatic malpractice involved in reaching and implementing the Doha Agreement between the US and the Taliban, the repeated failure of US efforts to train foreign military forces to be self-sustaining, and the possible alternatives that might have been pursued to hold the Taliban at bay. They also discuss Paul's new book, The Religion of American Greatness: What Is Wrong WIth Christian Nationalism? (InterVarsity Press, 2022) and touch on Americ...

Eliot and Eric welcome retired Australian Major General Mick Ryan, author of The Future of Warfare, Futura Doctrina newsletter on Substack, and former head of the Australian War College. They discuss the ongoing fighting around Bakhmut, the prospects for both the Russian and Ukrainian militaries respectively in the weeks and months ahead, how this conflict might end, and the utility of science fiction for understanding the evolving character of war. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Mick Ryan’s War Transformed (https://www.amazon.com/War-Transformed-Twenty-First-Century-Competition-Conflict/dp/168247741X) Mick Ryan’s Twitter: @WarInTheFuture (https://twitter.com/WarintheFuture/) Mick Ryan’s Substack, Futura Doctrina (https://mickryan.substack.com/p/the-battle-of-bakhmut) Mick Ryan’s Substack Post, “The Battle of Bakhmut” (https://...

Eliot and Eric chew over the developments in Ukraine. They consider divisions within and among West European governments, the question of what defeat of Russia and victory for Ukraine means in practical terms, the lingering overestimation of Russian possibilities and underestimation of Ukrainian potential on the battlefield, and the potential role of China providing lethal aid to Russia. They conclude with a discussion about making the U.S. the arsenal of democracy in the West and globally and the use and abuse of historical analogies. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. HMS Belfast “NATO’s Biggest European Members Float Defense Pact With Ukraine” by Wall Street Journal “How Putin blundered into Ukraine — then doubled down” by Financial Times Timothy Snyder’s Essay Debunking Vladimir Putin’s Essay Written After Consuming Hallucinoge...

Eric and Eliot are joined by former New York Times reporter and editor Philip Taubman, current lecturer at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation, and the author of In The Nation's Service: The Life and Times of George P. Shultz (Stanford University Press, 2023). They discuss the character of George Shultz, his role in executing the Reagan Administration's strategy towards the Soviet Union, the internecine bureaucratic infighting that characterized the Reagan years, the Shutlz-Weinberger and Shultz-Kissinger relationships, and the end of the Cold War. In the Nation’s Service: The Life and Times of George P. Shultz by Philip Taubman (https://www.amazon.com/Nations-Service-Times-George-Shultz/dp/1503631125) The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb by Philip Taubman (https://www.amazon.com/Partnership-Five-Warriors-Their-Quest/dp/0061744077) The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War by James Mann (ht...

Eliot and Eric host Henri Barkey, the Bernard and Betha Cohen Professor of International Relations at Lehigh University and adjunct fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. They discuss Henri's recent article on Turkey's forthcoming election, the nature of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s authoritarianism, the impact of the recent earthquake on Erdogan's standing with the Turkish electorate, the mismanagement of earthquake relief, and Henri's own more than Kafkaesque treatment by the AKP government with regard to the attempted military coup in 2016 against Erdogan's government. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. “Turkey Is Out of Control. Time for the U.S. to Say So.” By Eric and Jake Sullivan (https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/13/turkey-us-trump-policy-syria-216972/) “Fight for these State Department...

Eric and Eliot are on their own. They talk about Ukraine, the China Balloon episode, and developments in Turkey and whether or not that relationship is a harbinger of a new day in U.S multilateralism. They ask if the U.S. find new mechanisms like AUKUS to supplement its bilateral relationships in the Indo-Pacific and will it resort to "mini-lateralism" in Europe with countries in the East who are becoming more influential in NATO? They conclude with talking about the ongoing protests in Iran. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. NATO’s Electoral Message for Erdogan by John Bolton (https://www.wsj.com/articles/natos-electoral-message-for-erdogan-elections-president-membership-russia-middle-east-weapons-expulsion-11673903724) Turkey’s Turning Point by Henri Barkey (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/turkey/turkeys-turning-point-erdogan) Ir...

Eliot and Eric host Robert W. Kagan, the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of Of Paradise and Power, The Return of History, The World America Made, and The Jungle Grows Back to discuss his new book The Ghost at the Feast: America and the Collapse of World Order, 1900-1941. They discuss the irresponsibility of American policy making after World War I, whether or not a more robust U.S. commitment to European security could have produced the kind of security order that the U.S. helped create after 1945, the ambivalence of American thinking about the necessity of global order and a reluctance to play a leading role in securing it, and the role of moral and ideological impulses in U.S. policy making. They also assess Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt as statesmen and the state of the study of diplomatic history in the academy today. Dangerous Nation by Robert Kagan (https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Nation-Americas-Earliest-Twentieth/dp...

Eliot and Eric welcome Constanze Stelzenmuller, the Director of the Center on the United States and Europe and the Fritz Stern Chair on Germany and Transatlantic Relations at the Brookings Institution. They discuss the current row over Germany providing Leopard Tanks to Ukraine, the political constraints on German Chancellor Olof Scholz, the role of Cold War ostpolitik on contemporary policy debates, the intellectual impact of Carl Schmitt and Victor Klemperer on elite German thinking, and the Hitler-Putin comparison. They end with a discussion on the late Judith Shklar as a political philosopher and teacher of political theory and her writings on power and cruelty. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Bloodlands by Timothy Snyder (https://www.amazon.com/Bloodlands-Europe-Between-Hitler-Stalin/dp/0465031471) “Scholz is a wartime chan...

Eric and Eliot welcome John Maurer, Professor of Strategy and Security Studies at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies at Air University in Alabama and author of Competitive Arms Control, Nixon, Kissinger and SALT, 1969-1972 (Yale University Press, 2022). They discuss the competitive and cooperative approaches to arms control, interagency deliberations and conflicts in the Nixon Administration, the motivations and policies of Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and especially Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. They also talk about the action-reaction model of the arms races and the role of arms control in providing arms race stability and crisis stability to the superpower nuclear arms competition. They conclude with a discussion about how the Nixon Administration's experience with arms control illuminates the subsequent history of Cold War arms control, as well as how that history augurs for the future of arms control in the very different circumstances of today's great power c...

Eric and Eliot welcome their SAIS colleague Michael Mandelbaum to talk about his recent book, The Four Ages of American Foreign Policy. Among other topics, they discuss realism and idealism in U.S. policy, the historical origins of American policymakers’ traditional reliance on the economic instruments of national power, the prospects for U.S. policy towards Russia-Ukraine, China, and Iran, baseball, and mystery fiction. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Links: The Four Ages of American Foreign Policy: Weak Power, Great Power, Superpower, Hyperpower by Michael Mandelbaum The Age of Reinterpretation by C. Vann Woodward Five Days in London by John Lukacs The Rise and Fall of Peace on Earth by Michael Mandelbaum The Meaning of Sports by Michael Mandelbaum Hercule Poirot Peter Diamond Series by Peter Lovesey Bernie Gunther Ser...

Eliot and Eric welcome the husband and wife team of Peter Baker of New York Times and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker to discuss their new book, The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2022. They discuss the chronic dysfunction of the Donald Trump national security team, the relationships among James Mattis, H.R. Master, John Kelly, John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and other senior officials, Trump’s fixation on Vladimir Putin and other strongmen, and civil-military relations under Trump. They conclude with discussing Trump’s foreign policy legacy. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. The Divider by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser (https://www.amazon.com/Divider-Trump-White-House-2017-2021/dp/038554653X) Sarah Longwell’s Focus Group Podcast (https://thefocusgroup.thebulwark.com/) Tom Wright’s Politico Essay on Trump and Bob Taft (https://...

Eliot and Eric look forward to the holidays and review the last year. They talk about the historical significance of the war in Ukraine, the current situation, and possible outcomes. They discuss whether or not this has been a good year for authoritarians around the world and review the situation in China, the prospects for U.S.-China relations (specifically concerning Taiwan), and the popular uprising and revolutionary situation in Iran. They also thank their production team for a great year of Shield of the Republic. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Financial Times’s Report about Iranians’ Harassments of the Clerics (https://www.ft.com/content/3b6c241c-e792-4970-957b-556a1088d9a8) Lawry Freedman’s Substack Post on Security Guarantee for Russia (https://samf.substack.com/p/who-can-guarantee-russian-security?utm_source=profile&ut...

Eric and Eliot welcome William Inboden to discuss his new book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War and the World on the Brink. They discuss the existing historical literature on Reagan's Presidency and foreign policy, this new book's contribution to the literature, the complexity of the world that Reagan and his colleagues faced in the 1980's, the role of individuals like Secretaries of State Alexander Haig and George Shultz, as well as National Security Advisor Judge William Clark in advancing the Reagan agenda, and the role of ideas—especially democracy promotion in Reagan's approach to national security as well as his nuclear abolitionism. All three reflect on the nature of the relationship between policy process and policy outcomes. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Eric’s tribute to George Shultz (https://thedispatch...

Eric and Eliot welcome Georgetown Professor Emeritus Robert Lieber to discuss his new book, Indispensable Nation. They discuss the nature of the "rules-based" international order, the unique role that U.S. policy plays in sustaining the order, the true disruptive challenges to the order, the nature of political opposition to a robust U.S. foreign policy, political "realism" and its flaws, as well as the increasing challenges for teaching of international relations in the academy. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Eliot's “Cut the Baloney Realism” or “Stop Talking About Talking" (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/11/russia-ukraine-negotations-mark-milley/672198/) Robert Lieber’s Indispensable Nation (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B5MH82TV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0) Robert Lieber’s Retreat And Its Consequence...

Eric and Eliot welcome Council on Foreign Relations Fellow Ray Takeyh to discuss the ongoing popular uprising in Iran. They talk about Ray’s article on Iran’s next revolution in the current issue of Commentary, the state of play in the protests, the weaknesses of the regime, comparisons between the 1979 Revolution, the 2009 election protests, and the current situation. Along with political dissident from Iran and SotR producer Shay Khatiri, they also touch on the prospects for regime change, Iran’s role as a weapons supplier to Russia, and what the Biden Administration should do about all this. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. The Last Shah by Ray Takeyh (https://www.amazon.com/Last-Shah-America-Pahlavi-Relations/dp/030021779X) "Iran’s Hard-Liners Are Starting to Crack" by Ray and Reuel Marc Gerecht (https://www.wsj.com/articles/...

Eric and Eliot welcome Duke University professor, Peter Feaver, to discuss the state of civil-military relations, the recent statement on the subject by former Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretaries of Defense, the damage done to civil-military relations under Trump, and how to repair the damage. They also discuss with Peter, who drafted the 2006 National Security Strategy document issued by the Bush 43 Administration for his views on the Biden National Security Strategy as well as the utility of publicly published strategy documents as a genre. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Statement by Former Chairmen of the Join Chiefs of Staff and the Secretaries of Defense (https://warontherocks.com/2022/09/to-support-and-defend-principles-of-civilian-control-and-best-practices-of-civil-military-relations/) The Soldier and ...

Eric and Eliot discuss Ukraine’s birthday gift to Vladimir Putin, likely Russian responses, and Eliot’s Atlantic article on Putin’s nuclear threats. Eric eats his words about Liz Truss, and they discuss the relative merits of Nero Wolfe and Daniel Silva for escapist reading. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Eliot's Essay (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/10/putin-nuclear-weapons-threat-us-sanctions-military/671642/) Orlando Figes’s The Story of Russia (https://www.amazon.com/Story-Russia-Orlando-Figes/dp/125079689X) Yulia Latynina’s The Hill Article, “Will Putin use tactical nukes?" (https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/3673163-will-putin-use-tactical-nukes/) NUKEMAP (https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/) Stephen Kotkin’s Stalin Biography, Volume 1 (https://www.amazon.com/Stalin-Paradoxes-1878-1928-Stephen-K...

Eric welcomes Eliot back from his sojourn in Poland and Ukraine. They discuss U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss’s early appointments on national security and the review of Britain’s defense policy she has ordered, Biden’s appointment of a new Ambassador to Russia, Eliot’s impressions of Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky. They also analyze Vladimir Putin’s speech and mobilization order and discuss Eric’s testimony on nuclear strategy to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Eric and Frank Miller’s testimony written before the Senate (https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Edelman-Miller%20Opening%20Statement%20SASC%20Hearing%20Sept.%2020%2020229.pdf) Their article on the second nuclear era for The Bulwark (https://www.thebulwark.com/is-the-united-states-ready-for-the-next-nuclear-era/) Eliot’s...

Eric and Eliot discuss what they have been writing lately (links below), the situation in Ukraine, the reasons for why Russia analysts got things wrong while military historians got them right, prospects for a renewed Iran nuclear agreement, and whether or not the the United States can handle two near peer adversaries at the same time. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Links: Eliot’s Rough Magic Lecture Series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lfcEzFWztU) First Makers of Modern Strategy (https://www.amazon.com/Makers-Modern-Strategy-Military-Machiavelli/dp/0691069077) Second Makers of Modern Strategy (https://www.amazon.com/Makers-Modern-Strategy-Machiavelli-Nuclear/dp/0691027641/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ALK0J51PARKY&keywords=paret+makers+of+modern+strategy&qid=1662946787&s=books&sprefix=paret+makers+of+modern+strategy%2Cstripbooks%2C58&s...

Eric welcomes back Eliot from travels and illness to host John Herbst who was the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine during the Orange Revolution. They discuss Russia’s imperial past and present, the Biden Administration’s 3 billion dollar military assistance package, the course of the war, the assassination of Darya Dugina, and the prospects for diplomacy and grade the Administration’s efforts to manage the Ukraine crisis. Links: Eric’s article co-authored with Daniel Fata, David Kramer, and Stephen Biegun The open letter organized by John Herbst and signed by Eric Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While Eliot is away on vacation, Eric hosts authors Hal Brands and Michael Beckley whose new book, Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China, drops next week. They discuss the concept of "peak China," why conflict with China may be coming sooner than we think, and what lessons for strategic competition with China we can learn from the U.S.-Soviet Cold War experience, and they evaluate the Biden team's approach to China. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric and Eliot host long time friend and colleague Professor Aaron Friedberg of Princeton to discuss Aaron’s new book Getting China Wrong. They cover why we have persistently underestimated China’s rise as a revisionist power, the failures of the West’s “engagement” strategy, the elements of a different approach to China, dividing Russia and China, and the sorry state of academic political science. Getting China Wrong by Aaron Friedberg The China Reckoning by Kurt Campbell and Ely Ratner Friedberg’s Response to Campbell and Ratner: Did America Get China Wrong? Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric and special guest host Bill Kristol discuss the war in Ukraine with former Ambassador to Poland and former Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Daniel Fried. They assess the military situation, the economic dimension of the conflict, what more can be done on sanctions, the prospects for European unity, and the danger of Putin deploying nuclear weapons to Belarus and the stakes of the conflict. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric and Eliot return with special guest David Kramer, the Managing Director of Global Policy at the George W. Bush Institute and former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and who incidentally has just been sanctioned by the Russian government (wear it as a badge of honor David!). They discuss the status of the war in Ukraine, the nature of the Russian regime, the prospects for change in Russia, the economic state of the war, and much more. Email us with your feedback at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric and Eliot will be taking a short hiatus to travel. In the meantime, please send us your feedback and suggestions at shieldoftherepublic@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric and Eliot welcome Guardian columnist and Spectator blogger Nick Cohen (no relation to Eliot) and author of the several books including What's Left? They discuss the impact of Putin's war on Ukraine on European politics, the role of anti-Communism and anti-Fascism in post-war Europe, the transformation of the Labour Party under Keir Starmer, why Russian money in London was unable to purchase durable policy outcomes from the Conservative government under Boris Johnson, the prospects for democratic politics, and the likely outcome of the war in Ukraine. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric and Eliot dissect the war in Ukraine and discuss Eliot's articles in the Atlantic and Foreign Affairs. What is the new phase of the war? Are Russian forces exhausted, what is their strategy? How will the Ukrainians counter? Is the Biden package enough? Eliot asks Eric about the lessons of Ukraine for other parts of the world and his Bulwark article on ending the policy of strategic ambiguity for Taiwan. Should we settle in for a long war of attrition? Articles Discussed: The Return of Statecraft: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2022-04-19/return-statecraft This Is the War’s Decisive Moment: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/04/ukraine-russia-war-consequences/629541/ The Lessons of Ukraine for Taiwan—and the U.S.: https://www.thebulwark.com/the-lessons-of-ukraine-for-taiwan-and-the-u-s/ Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices...

Eliot and Eric welcome Charlie Edel, Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to discuss security in the Indo-Pacific, the role of Australia, the AUKUS partnership, John Quincy Adams and U.S. foreign policy—do the "restrainers" read Adams correctly?—and the role of literature in understanding history. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eliot and Eric host Professor Elizabeth Samet of the US Military Academy to discuss her new book Looking for the Good War: American Amnesia and the Violent Pursuit of Happiness. They examine the role of mythology in justifying US military action. Was World War II the "Good War" and was the "Greatest Generation" different from subsequent generations of Americans caught up in fighting the nation's wars? Does de-mythologizing war lead to moral equivalence? Is there a role for myth-making in democracies in wartime to inspire the sacrifices necessary to fight wars and to console the families of the fallen? A spirited discussion of very difficult topics. Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. The views Elizabeth Samet expresses on this podcast do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. Learn more about your ad choices...

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Eliot and Eric talk with ancient historian extraordinaire Barry Strauss. They discuss his new book on Antony, Cleopatra, Octavian, and the Battle of Actium which served as the foundation of the Roman Empire. They discuss what a study of the ancients can tell us about statecraft in general and specifically how it can illuminate statecraft today as well as the current state of intellectual life in the academy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric and Eliot consider the first month of Russia-Ukraine War and Eliot's Atlantic article on why it has been so hard for some observers to admit that Ukraine is winning. They also talk about how the Russian military's failures to achieve its objectives might lead to stalemate, and how we should think about the risks of escalation and what is a theory of victory. Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric and Eliot host British author and historian Andrew Roberts and discuss his revisionist account of King George III and how a good man was nonetheless the monarch under whom the American colonies were lost. They discuss his new podcast Secrets of Statecraft, the most important characteristics of leadership in wartime, and the role Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is playing today and its Churchillian and Reaganite overtones. They also talk about Vladimir Putin, the role of individuals in history, and more. Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric and Eliot host Kori Schake of the American Enterprise Institute. They discuss civil-military relations, Joe Biden as a war President, the struggle over foreign policy in the GOP, and the impact of the war in Ukraine on the trajectory of U.S. national security policy. All three endorse a trillion dollar defense budget. Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric and Eliot discuss Putin's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, what Eliot heard at the Munich Security Conference and in Poland last week, as well as what the West's theory of victory should be in the conflict over Ukraine, and how should the U.S. and the West more broadly should treat Russia now that it has become a pariah state. Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eliot and Eric host CSIS's Jude Blanchette to discuss Neo-Maosim in China, the impact of Xi Jinping's personalistic authoritarianism on China's domestic and foreign policy, the Xi-Putin joint statement last week, and prospects for Sino-Russian relations, as well as Chinese science fiction and what it might tell us about Chinese society. Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eliot returns from travels to discuss the secret origin story of the Shield of the Republic podcast, a review of the Biden administration's national security policy in its first year, the difficulties that the President has faced in articulating a foreign policy, the deficiencies of his national security apparatus, the impact of the catastrophic departure from Afghanistan, the AUKUS decision, and the effort to deter Russian President Putin. Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mystery guest host (Bill Kristol) joins Eric for a discussion with Johns Hopkins SAIS Professor Hal Brands about his new book the Twilight Struggle. They discuss the lessons of America's cold war strategic competition with the USSR for today's era of strategic competition with China and Russia—the role of strategy, economic competition, political warfare, and more. Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historian, journalist, and essayist Anne Applebaum joins Eric and Eliot from Poland. They discuss Vladimir Putin's grand strategy, the conflict between democracy and authoritarianism, why the "bad guys are winning," as well as the state of American democracy and the January 6 insurrection. We hope all our listeners had a safe, healthy and happy holiday season and a happy new year. Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Guest Brian Katulis of the Middle East Institute and Center for American Progress joins Eric and Eliot to discuss public opinion and foreign policy, the lack of support for policies of "restraint" in polling, American exceptionalism, connecting policy debates to the concerns of everyday Americans, the deficiencies of the Biden Administration's "technocratic managerialism" and the need for a new inclusive narrative to frame strategic competition with China. Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric and Eliot discuss three dangerous men (Russian General Valeriy Gerasimov, the late Iranian IRGC leader Ghassem Soleimani and PRC Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia) with Seth Jones who has written a new book on irregular or, if you prefer, political warfare. They discuss the active conflict in this domain in which the US finds itself with Russia, China, and Iran as Russia's use of private military companies to serve as proxies in conflicts around the world. They examine what alternative options existed to the Biden Administration's approach to Afghanistan, the role of public opinion and the future trajectory of the country. Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former National Security Council Senior Director for Europe (and star impeachment witness) Fiona Hill is this week's guest discussing her book, There is Nothing For You Here, her service in the Trump Administration, the mortification of Trump's press conference with Putin at Helsinki (and transient thoughts of faking a seizure to make it stop) as well as the causes of and remedies for authoritarian populism. Eric Edelman's essay for the Ronald Reagan Institute: The Great Communicator and the Beginning of the End of the Cold War Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode Eliot and Eric explore why Woodrow Wilson was unable to end World War I in 1916 despite the exhaustion of Britain, France, and Germany (the main combatants on the Western Front), how the lack of an adequate staffing may have contributed, the rise of a staffing culture inside the US government and the more recent loss of staffing and strategic competence, the role of reviewing past policy failures, the work of the House January 6 Committee investigation, and prospects for an Afghanistan and COVID-19 independent commissions. Our special guest is Philip Zelikow, the White Burkett Miller Professor of History at the University of Virginia, the former Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission and author of the recent book, The Road Less Travelled: The Secret Battle to End the Great War, 1916-1917 (New York: Public Affairs Press, 2021). Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Learn more about your ad cho...

A discussion of why the war in Afghanistan was in General Mark Milley’s words “a strategic failure,” why the Afghan government failed to inspire Afghans to fight for their own country, and the legacy of former ambassador and peace agreement negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad. Our special guest is Carter Malkasian, who was a political advisor to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Commanding General of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and is the author of The American War in Afghanistan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2021). Shield of the Republic is co-sponsored by the Miller Center. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices