None Of The Above

Many have argued that NATO, the transatlantic alliance forged at the dawn of the Cold War, is merely a vestige of another era. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine thrust NATO back into the spotlight, and reignited debates about the value and strategic imperatives of America’s alliances. With a distinguished career of over three decades in the United States Navy, Admiral James Stavridis (Ret.) was the 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. He oversaw operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and the Balkans. He has since become an author of 10 nonfiction books and two novels. 

In this episode, Admiral Stavridis talks about his motivations for venturing into the world of fiction, and the value of his novels as cautionary tales about the threats facing the nation. Drawing on historical parallels and his professional experience, he offers lessons for foreign policy leaders, discusses the value of NATO, and explores the transformative impact of technology on warfare.

In December 2023, South Africa brought human rights law into the fold of the Israel-Hamas war when it filed a genocide case against Israel in the World Court. South Africa’s unprecedented move sparked conversation surrounding the line between collateral damage and indiscriminate bombing campaigns.

In this extended cut of a recent episode of None of the Above, the Institute for Global Affairs’ Mark Hannah sits down with Kenneth Roth, who was executive director of Human Rights Watch for more than three decades. He shares his perspectives on Israeli violence enacted against Gazans, South Africa’s arguments to the World Court, the legal application of genocide, and international law.

The Houthis continue to attack commercial vessels in the Red Sea amid Israel’s assault in Gaza. This Yemen-based political and military organization says its disruption of international shipping is a response to Western support for Israel. It likely also hopes its attacks will revitalize flailing domestic support within war-torn Yemen. 

The United States is no stranger to the Houthis. Since the start of Yemen’s civil war in 2014, Washington has backed a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed organization. More recently, the United States has launched airstrikes against the Houthis to try to deter future Red Sea attacks — though President Biden acknowledges the bombing to be ineffective. In this episode of None of the Above, the Institute for Global Affairs’ Mark Hannah sits down with Alexandra Stark to help us better understand the Houthis, the illogic of America’s approach to Yemen, and the lessons for dealing with the Houthis in the future.

Alexandra Stark is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her research focuses on Middle East security and cooperation. Prior to that she was a senior researcher at New America. Her book, The Yemen Model: Why US Policy Has Failed in the Middle East is set for release in April by Yale University Press.

Show Notes

Last month the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take measures to prevent acts of genocide, and protect the human rights of Gazans. Almost everything about the case has generated controversy, from South Africa’s invocation of the Genocide Convention to the court’s decision not to order a ceasefire.

In this episode of None Of The Above, the Institute for Global Affairs’ Mark Hannah sits down with Kenneth Roth, who was executive director of Human Rights Watch for more than 30 years, and Dr. Mia Swart, an expert in international law, transitional justice, and human rights law. They share their perspectives on this landmark case, the role of South Africa and the United States in upholding international law, and the challenges of enforcement.

Next month will mark two years since Russia invaded Ukraine after amassing over 100,000 troops at the border. As we look ahead, we ask: What has victory in Ukraine come to symbolize for the Biden administration’s foreign policy? Are Ukraine and its partners making full use of diplomacy to bring an end to the war? And how might the 2024 Presidential election shift the conversation around US interests in Ukraine? 

In this episode of None Of The Above, the Institute for Global Affairs’ Mark Hannah consults with Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation and Alex Ward, national security reporter and anchor of POLITICO’s “National Security Daily” newsletter. They discuss the trajectory of the war, how President Biden and his team have approached it, and the stakes involved for all parties.

It’s always difficult to gather and verify information in times of armed conflict. But recently that task has gotten much harder. From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza, journalists and consumers alike are inundated with intentionally misleading images, information, and narratives. The media ecosystem has become increasingly treacherous, with old photos and quotations taken out of their original context and offered as evidence in conflicts today.

In this episode of None Of The Above, the Institute for Global Affairs’ Mark Hannah sits down with Dr. Claire Wardle, an expert on misinformation, and Steven Lee Myers, a veteran foreign and national security correspondent for The New York Times currently covering misinformation. Together they discuss how misinformation and disinformation spread, and the challenges they pose for accessing accurate information in times of conflict.

Instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been making headlines in Western newspapers for months. Since the fall of Mobuto Sese Seko’s 30 year dictatorship in 1997, the cobalt rich Congo has dealt with civil war, insurgencies from bordering nations, and government corruption. But before Mobuto, there was another charismatic leader. 

Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo, was ousted, imprisoned, and eventually assassinated thanks to CIA intervention. It would be the first time a US president greenlighted the assassination of a foreign head of state. In this episode of None Of The Above, the Institute for Global Affairs’ Mark Hannah sits down with executive editor of Foreign Affairs Stuart Reid to discuss his new book The Lumumba Plot and the legacy of wanton intervention.

The United States military is one of the most advanced and best funded militaries in the world. But critics argue this has helped make US foreign policy overly reliant on the use of military force. Over the past several decades, the US has grappled with blowback and retaliation, a ballooning defense budget, and a decline in traditional diplomacy.

For the 100th episode of None Of The Above we’re revisiting our very first episode. In 2019, IGA’s Mark Hannah sat down with defense and foreign policy expert Chris Preble to discuss how big military spending might actually make us less safe. Four years later, as the US weighs the wisdom of continuing to aid the armed conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, the paradox of America’s military might remains as relevant as ever.

Today marks one month since the Palestinian militant organization Hamas launched a brutal terrorist attack on Southern Israel. Before October 7th, the Biden administration’s foreign policy had largely centered on Europe and Asia. Issues of Palestinian self-determination and self rule appeared to be something the administration (and Israel) were eager to avoid. Now, in the wake of Hamas’ attacks, Palestine’s political future and the United States’ long term strategy for the Middle East have become increasingly unclear.

In this episode of None Of The Above, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah sits down with political analyst and public opinion expert Dahlia Scheindlin, and US Program director of the International Crisis Group, Michael Wahid Hanna to discuss the immediate causes of the war, and evaluate Israeli and US strategic objectives. Effective policy, they argue, will require clear-eyed consideration of the longstanding conflicts at the root of today’s violence.

With the 2024 presidential election on the horizon, the Biden administration’s foreign policy decisions will face increasing scrutiny. Some think foreign policy decisions should be exempt from regular public debate. To gain a better understanding of the concerns and priorities of voting age Americans, we at the Eurasia Group Foundation compiled our sixth annual survey of Americans’ foreign policy views. 

In this episode of None Of The Above, Mark is joined by his EGF colleagues, Zuri Linetsky and Lucas Robinson, as well as media consultant Deepika Choudhary to dive into our annual report of Americans’ foreign policy views. Across partisan, age, and racial differences, our survey reveals a public attentive to global realities, and supportive of recalibrating America’s international activities. Though this survey data was collected before the outbreak of violence in Israel and Gaza, we think the discussion provides useful context for how Americans’ view their country’s role in this turbulent time.

The United Nations, founded in the aftermath of history’s most destructive war, is the world’s premier forum for international diplomacy. But is the UN a vestige of a bygone era? This year’s session of the UN General Assembly, which today closes general debate, has been the site of much frustration over the war in Ukraine, the stalled progress of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and the lack of representation for the global south.   

The world has changed since the end of World War II, and as this episode’s guest, Suzanne Nossel, argues, so too must the UN. Currently CEO of PEN America, Suzanne served in the UN under both the Clinton and Obama administrations as Deputy to the US Ambassador for UN Management and Reform and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations. Suzanne joins the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to reimagine the UN to better address these challenges and others.

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Suzanne Nossel currently serves as the CEO of PEN America, a leading human rights and free expression organization. Her prior career has spanned roles in both the Clinton and Obama administrations as part of the US Mission to the United Nations.

Yesterday’s anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States has us turning to the legacy of America’s post-9/11 wars. As veterans reflect on their time in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as the country contemplates the impact of these wars on the morale of the US military and America’s standing in the world, literature offers a powerful way to make meaning from war’s experience.

From Ernest Hemingway to Kurt Vonnegut and J.D. Salinger, the author-soldier has long been a fixture in American literature. In this episode of None Of The Above, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by two of his favorite contemporary novelists, veterans Elliot Ackerman and Phil Klay. Books, they argue, are more than a medium to unpack trauma and untangle the web of emotions war provokes: war stories have implications for the battles we have yet to fight.

Elliot Ackerman is a veteran of the US Marine Corps who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Elliot is the author of several novels, including Halcyon (2023) and 2034 (2021), which he co-wrote with Admiral James Stavridis. 

Phil Klay is a veteran of the US Marine Corps who served in Iraq. Phil is the author of the novels Redeployment (2014) and Missionaries (2020). His most recent book is Uncertain Ground: Citizenship in the Age of Endless, Invisible War (2022).

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

We here at the Eurasia Group Foundation are very curious about the extent to which US foreign policy reflects the interests of the American public. In today’s episode, we turn our attention to an important group: Black Americans. Black Americans make up 12 percent of the national population. They are over-represented in the rank and file of the US military, but still under-represented in foreign policy circles. What are their perceptions of America’s role in the world? Recent polling shows 80 percent of Black Americans have favorable views of the US military, but are far less supportive than the general public of deploying those forces abroad. Why? We dig into this and more with historian Chris Shell and former State Department deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter. 

Jalina Porter served as Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the Department of State under the Biden-Harris Administration. Originally hailing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jalina is also a graduate of Howard University, Georgetown University, and the University of Oxford. 

Christopher Shell is a fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. At Carnegie, Christopher leads a project that examines the attitudes and opinions of Black Americans on US foreign policy since the end of the Cold War.

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Last week, the Biden administration agreed to share evidence with the International Criminal Court of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. President Biden insists Vladimir Putin has “clearly committed war crimes.” But however atrocious Russia’s tactics are, is there a version of this war – or any act of war – that is not? In this week’s episode of None Of The Above, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah speaks with historian Samuel Moyn about the evolution of America’s thinking on war. From the interwar period to today, war has gone from being something that should be prevented to something that should be made more humane. Through this transformation, Moyn argues, American politicians might face less pressure to avert or end wars. So, while there is an argument to be made for Putin’s arrest, Moyn pushes us to think about whether focusing on the distinctions between “humane” war and battlefield atrocities might make the atrocity that is war itself more likely. 

Samuel Moyn is Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. His most recent book is Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War (2021). His forthcoming book is Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times (2023).

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

As President Biden meets this week with America’s NATO allies at the Vilnius Summit, attention has turned to Sweden’s and Ukraine’s prospects for the Atlantic alliance. Europe is not the only continent where America’s military commitments are up for debate, however. On this episode of None Of The Above, we look further east to America’s alliance in the Asia-Pacific. More specifically, its often fraught relationship with one of its longest-standing allies — the Philippines.

Caught between the United States and China, Manila — which edged closer to Beijing during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte — has recently doubled down on its alliance with Washington. Earlier this year, it expanded the US military’s access to bases there. It is fast becoming the focal point of America’s efforts to counter China in the South China Sea. But is this such a good idea? This week’s guest, the Quincy Institute’s Sarang Shidore, tells the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah this alliance — and America’s military footprint across Asia in general —  may be a liability worth reconsidering.

Sarang Shidore is the director of studies and senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. His research focuses on Asia, the Global South, and the geopolitics of climate change.

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

This week, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi traveled to the United States in his first official state visit as prime minister. Once denied entry into the United States for inciting communal violence in the Indian state of Gujarat, Modi is now being given one of the highest honors for foreign dignitaries by addressing a joint session of Congress. Modi’s trip to Washington intends to celebrate, as well as strengthen, the already strong partnership between the United States and the world’s largest democracy. And this is all despite Modi’s controversial human rights track record as well as India’s reluctance to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with targeted sanctions. 

What makes the US-India partnership so important to America’s interests that the Biden administration is willing to overlook such contradictions?  EGF’s senior researcher and producer, Caroline Gray, sits down with someone who knows India’s strategic thinking best: former national security advisor to India’s prime minister and foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon. Shivshankar argues there is far too much to be gained for both India and the United States for differences – domestic or international – to stand in the way.

Shivshankar Menon is a visiting professor of international relations at Ashoka University. He has served in many roles in India’s government, including as national security advisor to the prime minister, foreign secretary, and ambassador to Israel, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and China. His latest book is India and Asian Geopolitics; The Past, Present.

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Over the weekend, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosted the annual G7 summit in Hiroshima. Nuclear proliferation, Russia’s war on Ukraine, and the rise of China dominated conversation between the leaders of the world’s most advanced democratic economies. Kishida hosting the summit is significant: Japan is reinventing its role on the global stage, what TIME Magazine recently called “Japan’s Choice.” The country must choose between maintaining its decades-old pacifist foreign policy or pursuing a more assertive role. This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah sits down with Japan security experts Yuki Tatsumi and Professor Tom Le to unpack the importance of the US-Japan relationship and discuss why, despite Tokyo and Washington’s desire for a more assertive Japan, cultural and demographic factors complicate the buildup of Japan’s military.

Yuki Tatsumi is Senior Fellow, Co-Director of the East Asia Program, and Director of the Japan Program at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC

Tom Le is Associate Professor of Politics at Pomona College in Claremont, California. He is the author of Japan's Aging Peace: Pacifism and Militarism in the Twenty-First Century.

On April 15, violence erupted across Sudan between the Sudanese Army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces, led by Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan–known also as Hemedti. As the warring factions compete for control of resource-rich Sudan, regional leaders like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, as well as the United States and the United Nations are figuring out how to respond to help mitigate the catastrophic violence. But as this week’s guest reminds us, peacebuilding efforts from external actors like the U.S. and the UN, however well-intentioned, have unintended consequences. This week, guest host and EGF research fellow Zuri Linetsky speaks with Sudan expert Justin Lynch to help us make sense of the conflict playing out today and how attempts at peacebuilding and diplomacy by the West helped embolden the military leaders bringing the country to the brink of collapse.

Justin Lynch is a researcher and analyst living in Washington DC. He formerly worked as a reporter and United Nations official in Sudan. He is a co-author of Sudan’s Unfinished Democracy: The Promise and Betrayal of a People's Revolution.

When TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress, he was grilled on whether the popular short form video hosting app used by an estimated 150 million Americans has links to the Chinese government. The Biden administration and several members of Congress from both parties want to ban TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech firm ByteDance, claiming it threatens US national security. But is TikTok really a national security threat, or are these hearings just the latest example of the anti-China hysteria sweeping Washington? To help us make sense of this, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by tech journalist and self-proclaimed national security junkie Kara Swisher. They break down the arguments for and against banning the app, get real about the threats coming from China, and discuss whether Kara would have been better suited for a career in military intelligence.

Kara Swisher has covered issues of power, media, and the tech industry for decades, and has been called “Silicon Valley’s most feared and well-liked journalist.” She is the host of Pivot, On With Kara Swisher, and the official companion podcast for the HBO show Succession.

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

We recently marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Many are wondering: how does this seemingly intractable conflict end? On Friday, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Vladimir Putin’s arrest. On Monday, Putin and Xi Jinping met to discuss China’s peace proposal for Ukraine. The United States and its allies in Europe continue to support Ukraine’s defense with military assistance and aid. Will any of this finally put an end to the war? This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah sits down with possibly the best person positioned to answer this question: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. They dive into the causes of and potential ways to end the war, and also discuss: the prospect of US-China conflict, the technology shaping the future of war, and the national security risk posed by sharks. 

General Mark A. Milley is the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, and the principal military advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council.

To listen to more episodes of None Of The Above and to read transcripts, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

President Biden traveled to Poland in February after his surprise visit to Kyiv to encourage NATO countries' continued support for Ukraine as the war enters its second year. “Democracies of the world will stand guard over freedom today, tomorrow and forever,” Biden said. The United States reiterated its commitment to defend countries throughout Europe by remarking on the NATO charter: “It’s absolutely clear: Article 5 is a sacred commitment the United States has made. We will defend every inch of NATO.”

While the Bucharest Nine summit focused on the importance of alliances, back at home, their costs and benefits are being debated. One such debate took place at The College of William & Mary’s Global Research Institute between None Of The Above veterans Barry Posen and Kori Schake, with Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah as moderator. Are America’s security commitments a good thing, or are they overextending the United States and its finite resources? Should our alliances be permanent, or should they change based on the security environment? We dive into all of this and more on this week’s special episode of None Of The Above. 

Barry Posen is the Ford International Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the director of MIT’s Security Studies Program. He is an expert on grad strategy and national security. 

Kori Schake is Senior Fellow and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy at the American Enterprise Institute. She has had a long and distinguished career in national security roles in government. 

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

A year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war grinds on. Early Russian advances were successfully rolled back, but intense fighting continues in the east, where a renewed Russian offensive looms. The United States and many of its European allies remain resolute in their support for Ukraine. In a sign of their commitment, the United States and Germany recently overcame their initial reluctance and decided to provide Ukraine with tanks.

But with neither a victory nor a peace settlement on the horizon, can the United States sustain its assistance indefinitely? Even if its interests diverge from Ukraine’s war aims? Even if the threat of nuclear weapons use becomes more plausible? These are some of the questions which likely weigh on President Biden as he prepares for tonight’s State of the Union address. In this episode of None Of The Above, The Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah sits down with CNN White House reporter Natasha Bertrand and nuclear weapons expert James Acton. They discuss Washington’s efforts to support Ukraine under the nuclear shadow.

Natasha Bertrand is a CNN White House and National Security Reporter. Previously, Natasha was a correspondent for POLITICO and Business Insider.

James Acton is the Jessica T. Mathew Chair and Co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. James is a physicist by training and is the author of the recent War on the Rocks article, “The Case for Caution on Crimea.”

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, observers anxiously watched China’s reactions as many feared a similar conflict would break out in the Taiwan Strait. In recent years, it appears China has been increasingly determined to enforce its One-China policy, first against Hong Kong and now against Taiwan. From afar, the United States is caught between deterring China from an all-out military conflict and supporting a democratic Taiwan. 

A few months ago, President Joe Biden broke away from America’s traditionally ambiguous stance and said the US would defend Taiwan if China attacks. However, Eurasia Group Foundation’s annual survey found that the number of Americans who support US intervention to help Taiwan is waning. So, how likely is it that a conflict between China and Taiwan breaks out? Is it possible for the US to navigate conflicting interests without resorting to involving itself in another war? In this episode, EGF senior fellow Mark Hannah sits down with Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund to discuss the state of US-China relations and the future of Taiwan. 

Bonnie Glaser is the managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund. Glaser has worked at the intersection of Asia-Pacific geopolitics and US policy for more than three decades. 

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to be sworn in as Israel’s 15th prime minister in the coming days. Israel’s government, which is expected to be the most right-wing in the country’s history, has raised questions about the role the United States should play, if any, in what could be a high consequence and volatile year for Israelis and Palestinians. But before we can begin to think about America’s current role, we wanted to explore what role the United States has played historically in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Has the United States always been an ardent supporter of Israel? Has it ever taken meaningful steps to help de-escalate the conflict? In this week’s bonus episode, Eurasia Group Foundation research fellow and guest host Zuri Linetsky sits down with historian Rashid Khalidi to unpack over a century of American relations with Palestine and Israel. 

Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. His latest book is The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017.

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

In early December, just weeks after Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party won Israel’s parliamentary election (again), US Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked that America’s commitment to Israel has “never been stronger.” The incoming governing coalition that Netenyahu is forming is expected to be the most right-wing in Israeli history. What does this mean for Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Does this change US policy vis-à-vis one of its closest partners in the Middle East? This week, guest host and EGF research fellow Zuri Linetksy speaks with journalists Neri Zilber and Muhammad Shehada who help us break down what affect Bibi’s new government might have on Israeli-Palestinian relations, and offer thoughts on what the United States can do to mitigate potential violence coming from both sides of the Green Line.  

Neri Zilber is an Israeli journalist and analyst living in Tel Aviv, and host of the Israel Policy Pod.  

Muhammad Shehada is a Palestinian journalist and analyst from the Gaza Strip.

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Last month, President Biden warned of “nuclear Armageddon” as tensions with Russia reached their highest point since the Cuban Missile Crisis. While the Biden administration appears to be working around the clock to prevent this kind of nuclear catastrophe, the American public has been largely kept in the dark about how the United States would respond if Russia used a tactical nuclear weapon against Ukraine. 

To help us make sense of all of this, and to walk us through what options are on the table for the United States to de-escalate tensions with Russia, we are joined by none other than Rose Gottemoeller. Rose was the chief negotiator of New START, the last remaining strategic arms control treaty between the two nuclear-armed countries. With the treaty set to expire in 2026, and recent news of Russia delaying talks on a potential New START renewal, is there hope for the easing of tensions via diplomacy? Or, is a new arms race to out-compete Russia (and other nuclear-armed countries like China) the answer to avoid nuclear war?

Rose Gottemoeller is the Steven C. Házy Lecturer at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and its Center for International Security and Cooperation. Rose recently served as Deputy Secretary General of NATO and the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the U.S. State Department. She is the author of Negotiating the New START Treaty (2021).

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

It’s Election Day in the U.S. Americans across the country head to the polls to cast their vote in this year’s midterm elections. Much is at stake for the Biden administration: Republicans are  poised to take control of the House of Representatives, if not both houses of Congress. 

What are the issues motivating Americans to vote (or not)? A month after we at the Eurasia Group Foundation released its annual survey of Americans’ foreign policy views, EGF’s Caroline Gray and Lucas Robinson traveled to Pennsylvania, the site of one of this year’s fiercest Senate races. Caroline and Lucas spoke with Pennsylvanians in Kennett Square, the self-proclaimed mushroom capital of the world, and West Chester to hear about the issues they care about most. Though foreign policy is not at the top of most Americans’ minds when they cast their ballot, they have a lot to say about the war in Ukraine and how much of America’s tax dollars should be spent on defense.

Iran is in upheaval. The death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Iran’s “morality police” has sparked an uprising throughout the country. Protesters have turned the current regime’s revolutionary iconography against it. Faced with what might be the biggest test to its legitimacy since 1979, the Iranian government has imposed a brutal crackdown on dissent. 

Countries and human rights organizations around the world condemn the government’s violence. In the United States, President Biden has paused nuclear negotiations and expressed his administration’s support for the protesters. But there is little consensus on how and whether this support should transform into official U.S. policy. This week on None Of The Above, EGF’s Mark Hannah speaks with Assal Rad and Reza Aslan, two experts on Iranian politics and culture. They discuss Iran’s history of uprisings and revolutions, the importance of international solidarity, and why  Iran’s future is ultimately in Iranian hands. 

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Assal Rad is the research director at the National Iranian American Council and the author of The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran (2022).

Reza Aslan is a scholar, writer, and television producer. He is the author of numerous books including his most recent, An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville (2022). Reza is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside.

Brazilians head to the polls Sunday to elect their next president and other key legislators in Brazil’s general election. If neither presidential candidate – Brazil’s current right wing president Jair Bolsonaro or Brazil’s former left wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – wins a majority of the vote, a runoff election will take place on October 30th. Election watchers worry Bolsonaro will contest the election results should he lose, prompting a violent insurrection which might look even worse than the January 6th protests in the US. 

What is the likelihood Bolsonaro and his supporters will stage a coup-like event in Brazil? And, how has the Brazilian right been inspired or influenced by the events of January 6th? Is America’s example, for good and bad, really that powerful in Brazil? Foreign Policy’s Catherine Osborn joins the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to dig into all of this and more as the world awaits the election results of the Western hemisphere's second largest democracy. 

Catherine Osborn is the writer of Foreign Policy’s weekly Latin America Brief. She is a print and radio journalist based in Rio de Janeiro.

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

In early August, the FBI seized boxes of classified documents, some suspected to contain nuclear secrets, from former president Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago. News of the FBI’s raid ignited a political firestorm but it also shed light on an obscure aspect of US foreign policymaking — America’s “nuclear secrecy regime.”

From its WWII origins in the development of the atomic bomb to the latest controversy miring Trump, nuclear secrecy has cast a shadow over the development and execution of US national security policy. In this episode, historian Alex Wellerstein joins the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to help us make sense of America’s byzantine classification system, the bureaucratic process that makes it work, and its inherent tensions with democracy. Alex also explains how a president’s ability to declassify information is more complicated than some would have us think. 

Alex Wellerstein is an associate professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, where he is the director of Science and Technology Studies in the College of Arts and Letters. Alex is the author of the book, Restricted Data: The History of Nuclear Secrecy in the United States (2021), and the creator of NUKEMAP, an online nuclear weapons effects simulator.

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world and home to some of the world’s most critical developing economies. But historically, US foreign policy has treated the continent as a monolith and a site for great power competition, ignoring the role of African nations in deciding their own future. This week, None of the Above is joined by Horn of Africa expert Michael Woldemariam, and journalist Robbie Gramer, to discuss America’s relationship with Sub-Saharan Africa. 

How should Washington balance the often conflicting priorities of human rights and security in the region? Can Washington develop productive partnerships with African states, outside the prism of competition with Russia and China? And is there even room for coexistence on the continent between the United States and these competitors? As the Biden administration begins to reveal its strategy, guest host and Eurasia Group Foundation research fellow Zuri Linetsky asks Michael and Robbie whether Biden’s Africa strategy represents something new, or is more of the same. 

To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.​​

Michael Woldemariam is an associate professor of international relations at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies, who focuses on security and politics in the Horn of Africa. Michael is the author of the book, Insurgent Fragmentation in the Horn of Africa: Rebellion and its Discontents (2018).

Robbie Gramer is a diplomacy and national security reporter at Foreign Policy, who covers the US State Department, the Pentagon, and most recently the Biden administration’s new US-Africa strategy.

The fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine has disrupted the global energy market and hiked the price of fuel nearly everywhere around the world. In Europe, which finds itself caught between efforts to cut itself off from Russian oil and Moscow’s firm grip on energy exports, the repercussions of today’s energy crisis are acute. While in the United States, which experienced high prices at the pump, efforts have been underway to resolve the crisis. But how much control does the United States have, and does it require the United States to lean on the shoulder of illiberal partners like Saudi Arabia?

Often referred to as “black gold,” oil plays an important role in international affairs. Still, according to Emma Ashford, an oil and international relations expert, its role is frequently misunderstood. Emma joins the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to discuss her new book Oil, the State, and War and complicate commonly held misconceptions on oil’s influence on foreign policy. Mark and Emma also break down America’s efforts to address the energy crisis, green energy’s potential impact on geopolitics, and the tangled web that is the global energy market. 

Emma Ashford is a senior fellow at the New American Engagement Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point. She is the author of Oil, the State, and War: The Foreign Policies of Petrostates (2022).

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created at the dawn of the Cold War to stop the expansion of the Soviet Union. But in the 1990s, when NATO intervened in the Balkan wars, it assumed a new role for itself. Our guest this week was responsible, more than two decades ago, for explaining the NATO campaign in Kosovo to the international press. Now as NATO member countries assist Ukraine in its defense against Russia, can the alliance continue to provide security on the European continent? 

In this episode, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by Jamie Shea, a former NATO official who last served as Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges. As NATO unveiled its strategic concept last week in Madrid, what lessons can the alliance learn from the past and what purpose will it serve in the future?

Jamie Shea worked for NATO for 38 years, including as a spokesperson during the Kosovo campaign in 1999 and retired from the alliance as Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges.

The United Nations estimates around half of Afghanistan’s population – nearly 20 million people – faces acute hunger. The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan follows the end of America’s twenty-year war and the withdrawal of all US troops in August 2021. In February, the Biden administration decided to freeze nearly $10 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank in order to prevent money going into the hands of the Taliban. 

Are US policies exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and what does freezing of assets mean to accomplish? This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by freelance journalist Matthieu Aikins and the co-founder of Unfreeze Afghanistan Masuda Sultan to better understand the current state of Afghanistan, President Biden’s decision to freeze Afghanistan assets in response to the Taliban’s takeover, and the ongoing plight of Afghans. 

Matthieu Aikins is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, and the author of The Naked Don’t Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees. 

Masuda Sultan is an Afghan-American women’s rights activist and entrepreneur who has been working for over 20 years in support of women and girls in education, vocational training, and protection from violence.

Show notes:

“Afghanistan: Nearly 20 million going hungry” (UN News, May 9, 2022)

The Naked Don't Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees (Matthieu Aikins, February 22, 2022)

General George Marshall occupies a central place in the pantheon of American heroes. He helped lead the Allies to victory in World War II, and as the secretary of state, he championed the plan to rebuild Europe which would be named for him: The Marshall Plan. But Marshall’s record as a statesman wasn’t perfect. Tapped by President Truman to negotiate an end to China’s civil war, he proved unable to broker a lasting settlement and prevent the country’s Communist takeover. 

In this episode, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah concludes Season 3 of None Of The Above with a discussion of Marshall’s legacy with Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, the editor of Foreign Affairs and the author of The China Mission: George Marshall’s Unfinished War, 1945-1947. As the United States deals with competing global challenges, from Ukraine to Taiwan, Daniel’s depiction of Marshall’s career—for all its triumphs and failures—holds important lessons on the limits of American power. Have a listen, and stay tuned for when we return in June for Season 4. 

To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Daniel Kurtz-Phelan is the editor of Foreign Affairs magazine and host of the upcoming podcast, The Foreign Affairs Interview. Previously, he served in the US Department of State, where he was a member of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s policy planning staff. He is also the author of The China Mission: George Marshall’s Unfinished War, 1945-1947 (2018).

From the Crimean War of 1853 to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this year, journalists, reporters, and the media have shaped the public’s understanding of war. But do the stories we read and the photos we see provide an impartial picture of the wars they document? As the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah recently explained in Foreign Policy, certain aspects of American war coverage—reliance on government sources and incentives to simplify geopolitics as battles between good and evil—have long compelled news organizations to tilt toward military action.

In this special episode of None Of The Above, host of WNYC’s On The Media Brooke Gladstone and Slate’s “War Stories” columnist Fred Kaplan, are interviewed by Mark at the American Academy in Rome. Together, in these excerpts from that conversation, they unpack the media’s coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine and the biases which influence how the media understand and depict these conflicts.

To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Brooke Gladstone is a journalist and host of On the Media, a Peabody Award-winning podcast by WNYC Studios. Brooke is also the Rea S. Hederman Critic in Residence at the American Academy in Rome and the author of The Influencing Machine (2011) and The Trouble with Reality: A Rumination on Moral Panic in Our Time (2017). 

Fred Kaplan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and columnist for Slate, where he authors the “War Stories” column. Fred’s most recent book is The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War (2020).

The Russian military withdrew from Bucha at the end of March, a suburb of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. Soon after, photos and stories revealed Russian atrocities, including the apparent intentional killing of civilians. This is sadly characteristic of the Russian way of war in other conflicts beyond Ukraine. Some, including President Biden, have accused Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine. But even if Putin’s military is guilty of acts of genocide and war crimes, will the world actually be able to hold it accountable? 

In this episode of None Of The Above, the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah looks back at history with New York Times columnist Max Fisher to understand the roots of the Russian military’s targeting of civilians and past efforts to bring war criminals to justice. Though prosecuting those in power is difficult, Max argues justice might come in other forms.

To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

In October 2021, the United States and Mexico put an end to the Mérida Initiative—a thirteen-year, $3 billion security assistance package central to a new “war on drugs.” Despite years of weapons sales, military training, and intelligence sharing, the initiative failed to reduce crime and drug trafficking. Instead, violence and homicides increased throughout Mexico. Why? Our guests this week, Mexican movie star Diego Luna and scholar Ernesto López Portillo, argue America’s and Mexico’s militarized approach to security is to blame. 

Recently back from Mexico where she explores the consequences of the Mérida Initiative, Eurasia Group Foundation senior researcher and producer Caroline Gray speaks with Diego and Ernesto about the US-Mexico drug war, the accountability problems that plague both countries, and what non-military solutions to insecurity in Mexico might look like. 

Diego Luna is an actor, director, and producer who has starred in Narcos: Mexico, Rogue One: A Star War Story, and Y tu mamá también. He is a co-founder of Corriente De Golfo, a Mexico-based production company. 

Ernesto López Portillo is the coordinator of the Citizen Security Program at Ibero-American University in Mexico City, where he researches policing and militarism. 

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Saturday marked the nineteenth anniversary of the beginning of the second Iraq War—a war Congress never formally declared. Instead, just like with America’s invasion of Afghanistan, Congress passed an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Together, these AUMFs provide the legal basis for the ongoing war on terror and have been loosely interpreted by every president since 2001 to authorize military action anywhere with little to no Congressional oversight. Though these AUMFs remain on the books today, the past year has seen a push by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to reclaim Congress’s role in matters of war and peace—an issue that extends beyond America’s post 9/11 wars. Questions of Congressional oversight remain pertinent as the United States debates how to respond to Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

This week, we’re revisiting our season two conversation with ​​Heather Brandon Smith and Rita Siemion, both experts on AUMFs and advocates for their repeal. They discuss the history of these AUMFs, prospects for reform under the Biden administration, and why repealing them is necessary to end America’s post-9/11 wars. 

It is day fourteen of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Ukrainian resistance and Russian logistical issues have together denied Moscow a quick victory, but the fighting continues—and intensifies. Meanwhile, despite several rounds of diplomatic talks, a peaceful settlement does not seem to be in sight.

However, our guest this week, Russia expert Anatol Lieven, offers proposals that he thinks could end the war.  Days before Ukrainian and Russian officials met for the third time for negotiations, Anatol joined the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to discuss Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s and Russia’s interwoven history, and what a peace deal might look like. As the costs of war mount, Anatol makes it clear that compromise, though painful, is in the interest of both countries.

Anatol Lieven is a senior research fellow on Russia and Europe at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and author of several books including, Ukraine and Russia: A Fraternal Rivalry.

To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Show Notes: 

“How to get to a place of peace for Ukraine,” (Anatol Lieven, Responsible Statecraft, March 3, 2022)

“It’s time to ask: what would a Ukraine-Russia peace deal look like?” (Anatol Lieven, The Guardian, March 4, 2022)

This episode contains explicit language. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into eastern Ukraine. This follows months of tensions precipitated by Russia’s mobilization of its military on the Ukrainian border. Putin’s order came shortly after a gruff speech in which he accused Ukraine of rejecting its historical links to Russia and asserted the independence of two breakaway regions — the self-declared People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In the week before the Kremlin’s orders, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah spoke with journalists Nataliya Gumenyuk and Peter Pomerantsev, who help us better understand the history behind today’s crisis, Ukraine’s perseverance under the threat of invasion, and Putin’s seeming obsession with Ukraine. 

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are underway and more than just athletic competition has drawn international attention. Amid calls for a complete boycott due to China’s crackdown on Hong Kong and its persecution of the Uyghurs and other vulnerable populations, the United States has issued a diplomatic boycott of the games.   

On this episode of None of The Above, we revisit an important conversation between Isaac Stone Fish and Stephen Orlins, two China experts with divergent points of view on the US-China relationship. Against the backdrop of protests in Hong Kong and the Trump administration’s trade war with China in 2019, we discussed many of the issues and questions currently accentuated by the Olympics: How should the United States approach China, and how should the US respond to China’s human rights violations?

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Stephen Orlins is the president of the National Committee on United States-China Relations. Prior to that, he was the managing director of Carlyle Asia and the chairman of one of Taiwan's largest cable television and high-speed internet providers.

Isaac Stone Fish is the founder and CEO of Strategy Risks. He is also a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Council, and an adjunct instructor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs.

Eight years after it annexed Crimea and instigated a civil war in Eastern Ukraine, Russia has mobilized 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border. With the threat of a Russian invasion looming, negotiations between Washington and Moscow are at an impasse. Moscow’s demands, which call for a transformation of the US-backed security order in Europe, were summarily dismissed by Washington. But according to our guests this week, the authors of the recent Politico article, “How to Get What We Want From Putin,” there is still room for a diplomatic resolution.

On this episode of None Of The Above, The Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by Thomas Graham and Rajan Menon, who provide a roadmap for negotiation which, combined with shrewd strategic thinking and skilled diplomacy, could not only quell the immediate crisis but lay the foundations for a more stable Europe. 

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Thomas Graham is a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior advisor at Kissinger Associates, Inc. During the George W. Bush administration, he was the senior director for Russia on the National Security Council.

Rajan Menon is the director of the grand strategy program at Defense Priorities. He is also the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Professor of International Relations at City College of New York and a senior research scholar at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace at Columbia University.

World War II is nostalgically remembered throughout American culture as the “good war”––a conflict where Americans idealistically banded together to free the world from tyranny. Of course there is more to this story, but is this simplified popular understanding dangerous?

In this week’s episode of None Of The Above, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah talks with West Point English professor Elizabeth Samet about the importance of literature for preparing America’s future officer corps for life in and out of uniform, and about Americans’ collective memory of the Second World War. Elizabeth shows how our romanticized reading of history has led US policymakers to overstate the effectiveness and righteousness of military force.  

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Elizabeth Samet is the author of Looking For the Good War: American Amnesia and the Violent Pursuit of Happiness and a Professor of English at West Point. The views Elizabeth expresses here do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the US Government.

Speaking at the United Nations Climate Conference this November, President Biden called climate change “the existential threat to human existence.” And in October, the Department of Defense issued its own warning, noting the effects of climate change are “exacerbating existing risks and creating new security challenges for U.S. interests.” But while the Pentagon takes climate change’s risks seriously, it remains one of the worlds largest emitters of greenhouse gasses. This week, we’re revisiting another favorite episode from season 1 with Murtaza Hussain, a political and national security reporter for The Intercept, who helped us understand the ecological and health ramifications of America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how the military’s expansive footprint exacerbates the climate crisis.

Murtaza Hussain is a journalist for The Intercept whose work focuses on national security, foreign policy, and human rights. He is the author of the 2019 article, “Industrialized Militaries Are a Bigger Part of the Climate Emergency Than You Know.”

President Joe Biden argues the contest between democracy and autocracy will be the defining challenge of the twenty-first century. Meanwhile, Freedom House observes democracy around the world has experienced its steepest drop in its fifteen-year decline. Seeking to reverse this trend, the United States is hoping to “set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal” this week when it brings together 110 countries for a two-day virtual Summit for Democracy. But can the US effectively lead this charge when, as Freedom House has shown, America’s own democracy is in decline?

This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by Freedom House president Michael Abramowitz, who guides us through the 2021 edition of his organization’s flagship report, “Freedom in the World.” Along the way, Abramowitz discusses the democracy summit’s challenges and opportunities, and America’s nonmilitary tools for supporting democracy and human rights around the globe.

Michael Abramowitz is president of Freedom House. Previously, he was a White House correspondent for the Washington Post before becoming director of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Levin Institute for Holocaust Education.

To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

As the United States competes for influence around the globe, and as authoritarianism gains ground in places like Brazil, what will US engagement in the region look like? US intervention and influence in the region is nothing new, especially in Brazil, which this week’s guest walks us through. Professor Riordan Roett takes us on his journey as a young Fulbright Scholar living in northeast Brazil during the Cold War, to becoming one of America’s leading experts on the country. Seeing firsthand the consequences of US intervention, Roett argues that Washington should take a more grassroots approach to development support, bolster its diplomatic corps, and invest more in cultural engagement to strengthen ties with the region. 

Riordan Roett is Professor and Director Emeritus of the Latin America Studies Program at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. 

To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

This week we bring back a timely episode from season 1 with journalist Amanda Sperber and anthropologist Catherine Besteman, who helped us understand an important, yet underreported topic: America’s military involvement in Somalia. Since we last spoke to Catherine and Amanda, The New York Times has reported that the terrorist organization, Al Shabab, is at its “strongest in years” and that the Biden administration may be debuting a new Somalia policy in the coming weeks. But will the administration, which has prided itself on ending “relentless war,” pursue a policy less reliant on drone strikes than its Republican and Democratic predecessors? 

Though much is still to be seen, airstrikes in July and the Biden administration’s touting of its “over-the-horizon capabilities” to attack a globally “metastasized” terrorist threat doesn’t augur much change. Catherine and Amanda explore the history of Al Shabab and America’s involvement in Somalia and argue that the human costs of current policy lay bare the strategic and moral failings of America’s global war on terror.

Amanda Sperber is a Nairobi-based award-winning investigative journalist, foreign correspondent, and multimedia storyteller. Her work focuses on East Africa, specifically on Somalia, and the consequences of U.S. drone strikes.

Catherine Besteman is Francis F. Bartlett and Ruth K. Bartlett Professor of Anthropology at Colby College in Maine. Her work focuses on U.S. militarism in Somalia. She is the author of The Costs of War in Somalia from Brown University’s Costs of War Project, and Militarized Global Apartheid (2020). 

To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

What impact did Colin Powell, America’s 65th secretary of state under President George W. Bush, who passed away last week, make on US foreign policy? What is the legacy he leaves behind, and how does it inform where the United States is headed? This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by Ravi Agrawal, Editor in Chief of Foreign Policy magazine to discuss Powell’s lasting impact. Though much remains to be seen, Agrawal assesses the defining attributes of an emerging Biden doctrine -- from confronting China’s ascendence and the spread of autocracy, to a focus on domestic issues and a possible revival of Powell’s professed -- if not actualized -- principles of judicious prudence.

Ravi Agrawal is Editor in Chief of Foreign Policy magazine. Previously, he worked for CNN in various roles on three different continents, and is the author of India Connected: How the Smartphone Is Transforming the World’s Largest Democracy.

To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Although President Biden has ended the war in Afghanistan, America’s twenty-year global war on terror has not yet drawn to a close. Initiated by the Bush administration, and waged in various forms under four presidents, the war on terror has shaped not just US foreign policy, but many aspects of American life. This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by Spencer Ackerman, whose new book, Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump contends that the Trump administration was no aberration. Charting the war on terror through the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, Ackerman shows how this war inflamed America’s nativist impulses  and spurred authoritarian tools of domestic surveillance. 

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter. 

Spencer Ackerman is the author of Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump and the Substack, Forever Wars. He is also a contributing editor at the Daily Beast, where he was a senior national correspondent from 2017 to 2021.

Tensions have been high on the Korean Peninsula this past month. In mid-September, both North and South Korea tested ballistic missiles just hours apart. And though Pyongyang had signaled interest in convening discussions to formally end the Korean War, it launched a short-range missile on Tuesday. This week on None Of The Above, we’re bringing back another one of our favorite episodes from Season 1 with Korea expert Sue Mi Terry. When we sat down with Sue in 2019, Donald Trump was president, and the United States was engaged in talks with North Korea on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Though talks have since stalled, Sue’s analysis of the discussions and her case for a unified Korea, remain just as thought-provoking today.

Sue Mi Terry is the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and a contributor to NBC News and MSNBC. She previously served as a senior analyst on Korean issues at the CIA and as a member of the National Security Council. You can follow Sue on Twitter at @SueMiTerry.

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter. 

Since the end of World War II, policymakers have puzzled over the proper way to approach Russia. U.S.-Russia relations have arguably deteriorated to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War as a myriad of issues strain the relationship. From election interference to cyberattacks and Russia’s military expansion Westward, is America’s response effective? Or, does the United States need to consider a new approach? This week, Eurasia expert Terrell Jermaine Starr joins us to discuss the future of U.S.-Russia relations. According to Terrell, the U.S. strategy is hobbled by racism, groupthink, neoliberalism, and military primacy. Terrell advocates for a more inclusive strategy that emphasizes diversity of thought and securing domestic institutions at home. 

Terrell Jermaine Starr is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and Senior Reporter at The Root, where he writes about U.S.-Russia politics and race in America. He is the founder and host of the Black Diplomats podcast.

To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter. 

In April, President Biden announced he would withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Within months, Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, fell to the Taliban. The Biden administration’s evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats and Republicans, including one of this week’s guests, Representative Peter Meijer (R-MI-3). But Meijer is also a critic of America’s twenty-year war in Afghanistan, something he shares with our second guest, Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA-17).

On this week’s episode of None Of The Above, you’ll listen to our conversations from back in May with Representatives Meijer and Khanna, conversations which help us reflect on the current debate over America’s global role. As the heartbreaking events in Afghanistan unfold, their reflections on how the U.S. has found itself perpetually at war can serve as a guide for current and future policymakers who wish to avoid the mistakes of the last twenty years. These two Congressmen agree on very little, but are united in their belief of a less interventionist U.S. foreign policy. 

Congressman Ro Khanna represents California’s 17th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He sits on the House Armed Services Committee and is the Congressional Progressive Caucus Vice-Chair.

Congressman Peter Meijer represents Michigan’s 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives and is a veteran of the Iraq War. He also sits on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Additional: Reps From Both Political Parties Deliver Anti-War Message (NowThis and Eurasia Group Foundation, June 9, 2021)

This week, we’re bringing back an episode from Season 1 with journalist and political analyst Peter Beinart. When we spoke with Peter last spring, we discussed the questionable value of America’s extensive overseas military network and the limits of America’s global role.

From Taiwan to Afghanistan, what price are Americans willing to pay to pursue stability and security around the globe? Does American expansionism around the globe make the U.S. more powerful and influential? While some suggest the threat or use of military intervention promotes American interests around the world, our guest insists a lack of humility in U.S. foreign policy undermines America’s values, credibility, and security. From discussing the potential American withdrawal from Afghanistan to the crisis of illiberalism in Israel, and pandemic preparedness, our conversation foreshadowed some of 2021’s most pressing foreign policy concerns.

On July 1, the Communist Party of China celebrated its 100th anniversary. General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a speech that unsettled some China watchers with provocative comments about the existing world order. Symptomatic of increasing U.S.-China tensions, Xi’s speech comes amid efforts in both countries to decouple these two large and intertwined national economies. But is decoupling in either country’s best interests? This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by China experts Ryan Hass and Susan Thornton, who suggest a different approach. While competition may define the U.S.-China relationship for decades to come, Hass and Thornton argue that leaders would be wise to not overlook areas of cooperation or become so focused on the other that they put their domestic aspirations at risk.

Ryan Hass served in the Obama White House and is now Senior Fellow and the Michael H. Armacost Chair at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of the book, Stronger: Adapting America’s China Strategy in an Age of Competitive Interdependence. You can follow Ryan on Twitter at @ryanl_hass.

President Biden campaigned on a swift return to the Iran nuclear deal. But with Iran freezing what have become laborious negotiations until the new hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, takes office next month, the prospect for a revitalized agreement remains uncertain. Is Tehran solely to blame for this impasse? This week, Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by Barbara Slavin and John Glaser to make sense of U.S.-Iran relations and the implications of Raisi’s election. While a deal may be closer than headlines might lead you to believe, Barbara and John argue that prospects for détente continue to remain hindered by hardliners on both sides of the negotiating table — and decades of deep-seated animosity.

Barbara Slavin is a career journalist and the director of the Atlantic Council’s Future of Iran Initiative. She is the author of the book, Bitter Friends, Bosom Enemies: Iran, the U.S., and the Twisted Path to Confrontation. You can follow Barbara on Twitter at @barbaraslavin1.

John Glaser is the director of foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. He is also the host of the Power Problems Podcast and coauthor of the book, Fuel to the Fire: How Trump Made America's Broken Foreign Policy Even Worse (and How We Can Recover). You can follow John on Twitter at @jwcglaser.

This week, we’re bringing back another one of our favorite episodes from Season 2. When we sat down with Bishop Garrison last summer, he was directing national security outreach at Human Rights First. Today, Bishop’s new role has become the center of much discussion in Washington, as he attempts to tackle white supremacy and racism in the ranks of the U.S. military as Senior Advisor to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. 

America’s institutions continue to reckon with their roles in legacies of slavery and racism, a year after the mass protests surrounding the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The U.S. military is no exception. This week, Bishop Garrison, a U.S. Army veteran and former homeland security and defense official, joins None Of The Above to discuss this reckoning. From the renaming of Army bases named after Confederate figures to the recruitment of veterans by white nationalist organizations and the importance of diversity in the enlisted and officer ranks, Bishop delves into the moral and strategic importance of representation in America’s most vital national security institutions. 

Bishop Garrison is Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon on a range of issues concerning Human Capital and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) throughout the department. You can follow Bishop on Twitter @BishopGarrison.

For many, America’s Cold War victory validated the country’s self-image as a “shining city upon the hill,” whose democratic ideals were worthy of emulation. More than thirty years later, as authoritarianism and ultranationalism surge around the world, it is worth asking whether a dark undercurrent of America’s international conduct is somehow responsible. This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah sits down with Ben Rhodes, President Obama’s deputy national security advisor. Ben grapples with this in his new book, After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made. Though America in many ways remains a worthy exemplar of democracy, Ben identifies several trends in the United States, which eerily echo in Hungary, Russia, and China. 

Ben Rhodes is the author of the New York Times bestseller, The World as It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House, co-host of the podcast, “Pod Save the World,” and a contributor to MSNBC. He served in the Obama administration as Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @brhodes.

This week, we're bringing back one of our favorite episodes from Season 1. When we caught up with Rosa Brooks two summers ago, Donald Trump was president, and despite his stated desire to end endless wars, the conclusion of America's war in Afghanistan was not yet in sight. 

What happens when the distinction between war and peace starts to disappear? Together, Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah and Rosa Brooks explore the causes and consequences of this alarming trend, and discuss its antecedents in other cultures. As the seemingly never-ending War on Terror is used to justify increasing government power and intrusions on civil liberties, are we sacrificing too much freedom in the name of security?

Rosa Brooks is the Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Policy at Georgetown University where she runs a program on innovative policing. She is the author of Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City and How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales from the Pentagon.

In 2015, following Myanmar's first free election in a quarter-century, Western governments, including that of the United States, staked their hopes for democracy on Myanmar’s de facto civilian leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Once regarded as a nascent democracy, Myanmar has sharply backslid in recent years. Suu Kyi’s denial of what the United Nations deems a genocide of the country’s Rohingya population coupled with her fall from power in February’s military coup, shows the limits, and perhaps naivety, of Western-backed democracy promotion. 

This week, guest host and Eurasia Group Foundation research fellow Caroline Baxter speaks with journalist Francis Wade. They discuss America's attempts to curb the humanitarian and political crises in Myanmar, and the options (or lack thereof) confronting the Biden administration.

Francis Wade is a freelance journalist with extensive experience reporting on South and South-East Asia. He is also the author of Myanmar’s Enemy Within: Buddhist Violence and the Making of a Muslim ‘Other’. You can follow Francis on Twitter at @Francis_Wade.

After the Cold War, many in the United States believed democracy was fait accompli around the world. Thirty years later, it is on shaky ground. U.S. allies such as Turkey, Hungary, and Poland are sliding into authoritarianism .In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, dreams of economic and social stability are finding renewed purchase over more liberal values. President Biden plans to host a global summit for democracies to restore American alliances and revive democracy’s competitiveness. But is this the wisest or best response? On this week’s episode of None Of The Above, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by James Goldgeier and Elmira Bayrasli to dig into the history of America’s alliance building strategy, a history which is shaped more by shared security interests than by shared values.

James Goldgeier is a Robert Bosch senior visiting fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. He is also a professor of International Relations at American University's School of International Service. You can follow Jim on Twitter at @JimGoldgeier

Elmira Bayrasli is the founder and CEO of Foreign Policy Interrupted. She is also the director of the Bard Globalization and International Affairs program, and the host of Project Syndicate's podcast “Opinion Has It.” You can follow Elmira on Twitter at @endeavoringE

On September 14th, 2001, Congress passed a 60-word joint resolution granting President George W. Bush nearly unchecked authority to fight a “War on Terror." Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California was the sole vote against that resolution. She warned that the broad authorities granted by its Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) would be abused by the executive branch. Nearly twenty years later, Representative Lee's concerns have tragically been validated, as the war authorizations passed in 2001 and 2002 have been used to justify military action from North Africa to the Philippines, far beyond what the authorities for which the AUMF was intended. 

On today’s episode of None Of The Above, Eurasia Group Foundation senior fellow Mark Hannah is joined by Representative Lee to discuss the legacy of these authorizations. They discuss Lee's 20-year fight, and her transformation from a lone voice of dissent to a leader of what is now a bipartisan movement to restore Congressional war authorities. Will the Biden administration follow through on its promise to respect Congress’s constitutional role? And, might the "forever wars" which have been fought across the globe for nearly two decades finally come to an end?

Congresswoman Barbara Lee has represented California's 13th district in the United State House of Representatives since 1998. In Congress she sits on the Budget and Appropriations Committees, and is the chair of the State and Foreign Operations subcommittee. She also serves as the co-chair of the Policy and Steering Committee in Democratic leadership, and led efforts to place limiting executive authority over military forces in the Democratic Party’s platform last year. 

President Biden came into office vowing to restore America’s longstanding alliances across the Atlantic. However, while Europe’s security relationship with the United States remains relatively strong, Europe’s economic ties to China have surged. Will Europe keep growing closer to America's strategic rival? If so, what are the consequences for American security and prosperity? This week, Ian Bremmer, the political scientist and founder of the Eurasia Group Foundation, joins host Mark Hannah to discuss the battle for influence in Europe. Are America’s current policies curbing  China’s economic and technological influence effectively, or will America’s “new Cold War” approach backfire, strengthening China’s ties to a part of the world in which America has long enjoyed a dominant influence? 

Ian Bremmer is a political scientist and is the founder and board president of the Eurasia Group Foundation. You can follow Ian on Twitter @ianbremmer.

Mexico ought to occupy a prominent place on the list of America’s foreign policy priorities, given its proximity. Yet political leaders in the United States historically devote resources and attention to further reaches of the globe, neglecting their Southern neighbor and downplaying the ways in which the two countries' histories and futures are intertwined. That might be changing with President Biden. This week, Jorge Castañeda, who was Mexico’s foreign minister, joins the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to discuss U.S.-Mexico bilateral relations, and Castañeda's new book, America Through Foreign Eyes. Their discussion spans the intensifying migration crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how foreign publics view the US to broader questions about America’s role in the world. 

Jorge Castañeda served as Mexico’s minister of foreign affairs under President Vincente Fox from 2000-2003. He has authored fourteen books, the most recent of which is America Through Foreign Eyes. He holds a Ph.D. in Economic History from the University of Paris (Panthéon-La Sorbonne), and is a visiting professor of politics and Latin America studies at New York University. You can follow Jorge on Twitter at @JorgeGCastaneda.

Few places in the world symbolize America’s “War On Terror” as poignantly as Guantanamo Bay. Opened in January 2002, the detention center has extrajudicially imprisoned terrorism suspects without due process throughout four presidencies. One such prisoner was Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a man from Mauritania, who was kidnapped, tortured, and detained without charges, for fourteen years. While imprisoned, Mohamedou wrote a memoir about his confinement. After a lengthy review process, the book was published in 2015, quickly became a best-seller, and was adapted into the film The Mauritanian, released last month. This week, Mohamedou speaks with the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to reflect on his experience, his newfound freedom, and America's role in the world today.

Mohamedou Ould Slahi is a Mauritanian writer. In 2001, Mohemadou was detained through the United States' extraordinary rendition program under suspicion that he was a member of the terrorist group Al Qaeda, and later imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay without charge. While imprisoned, Mohamedou was subjected to what the United States refers to as enhanced integration techniques, described by many as torture. Mohamedou published Guantanamo Diary, a memoir of his imprisonment, and he successfully petitioned for his own release in 2016. He now lives in Nouakchott, Mauritania where he is still waiting to be reunited with his family in Germany. His latest book is The Actual True Story of Ahmed and Zarga (2021). 

In just two months, U.S. troops are slated to withdraw from Afghanistan per an agreement with the Taliban. It’s unclear whether President Biden will adhere to the terms of the agreement, or whether he’ll try to extend the withdrawal deadline and keep American troops in Afghanistan. Many are calling on the president to prolong the troop deployment until Afghanistan stabilizes -- or perhaps indefinitely. Others argue the May 1 deadline is the best chance in two decades for the U.S. to finally end America’s longest war. This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah brings you into this debate. Joined by two leading experts, Laurel Miller and Adam Weinstein, Mark explores the stakes of President Biden’s decision to follow through on, attempt to modify, or walk away from, the agreement made during the previous administration.

Laurel Miller is the director of the International Crisis Group's Asia Program. An experienced diplomat, Miller served as deputy and then later as the acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the State Department. Laurel has taught at Georgetown University and was an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. She holds a JD from the University of the Chicago School of Law. @LaurelMillerICG

Adam Weinstein is a research fellow at the Quincy Institute. His research focuses on security and the rule of law in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Adam served as a U.S. Marine in Afghanistan in 2012 and is a member of the American Pakistan Foundation's Leadership Council. He holds a JD from Temple University's Beasley School of Law. @AdamNoahWho

President Biden promises to restore and renew America’s commitment to NATO and its European allies. Supporters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization argue Russian aggression compels continued American military engagement on the continent. But is Russia really so threatening and is Europe really so weak? Professor Barry Posen of MIT joins the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to discuss the future of the alliance and America’s security interests in Europe. They cover Posen’s recent piece for the journal Survival, in which he insists - and demonstrates how - Europe can defend itself. 

Barry Posen is the Ford International Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A leading proponent of the realist approach to international relations, Posen is the author of Restraint: A New Foundation for U.S. Grand Strategy. His work regularly appears in International Security and The American Interest.

As the Biden administration takes shape, many wonder whether it will implement a truly progressive foreign policy agenda. President Biden’s early action to freeze arms sales to Saudi Arabia has given progressives hope. However, several key national security and foreign policy appointments project a more complicated picture. Katrina vanden Heuvel, long-time editor and part owner of The Nation, joins Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to unpack early indications of whether President Biden will follow through on the realistic and humble foreign policy on which he campaigned. If, as the adage goes, “personnel is policy,” what do his cabinet nominees and early appointments tell us about the president’s vision and agenda? Finally, vanden Heuvel explores what might be done to curb some of the interventionist impulses starting to play out among Biden’s inner circle.

The so-called war on terror will soon be twenty years old -- and there is no end in sight. The legal basis for this endless war is grounded in two authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs), passed in 2001 and 2002. AUMFs are designed to keep presidents accountable to Congress, stopping short of formal declarations of war. However, the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs specify no geographic bounds or sunset provisions. They have been interpreted by every president since 2001 to authorize military action anywhere. Congress fails to challenge this expansive interpretation of executive authority. In this episode, host Mark Hannah is joined by Heather Brandon Smith (from the Friends Committee on National Legislation) and Rita Siemion (from Human Rights First), both experts on AUMFs and advocates for their repeal. They discuss the history of these AUMFs, why repealing them is necessary to end America’s endless wars, and the prospects for reform under the Biden administration.

Heather Brandon Smith is the legislative director for militarism and human rights at the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington, DC. She teaches law at Georgetown University and was formerly the advocacy counsel for national security at Human Rights First. She holds LL.M.s from the Georgetown University Law Center and the University of New South Wales in Sydney Australia. You can follow Heather on Twitter at @HBrandonSmith.

Rita Siemion is the director for national security advocacy at Human Rights First in Washington, DC. She teaches law at the Georgetown University Law Center and American University's Washington College of Law. Formerly Rita was senior counsel at the Constitution Project. She holds an LL.M. in National Security Law from the Georgetown University Law Center. You can follow Rita on Twitter at @ritasiemion.

After the violent riots on Capitol Hill last Wednesday left America’s democratic institutions shaken, foreign policy leaders in Washington grappled with America’s credibility on the world stage. The next day, the Atlantic Council’s Emma Ashford wrote a provocative piece in Foreign Policy arguing, “It’s a sign of how broken U.S. foreign-policy debates are that the primary reaction from many commentators was to worry about America’s moral authority and global leadership.” 

Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah spoke with Emma about her frustrations with the foreign policy community’s response. Emma argues that America must first shore up its ability to protect democracy at home before trying to promote it abroad.

Emma Ashford is a resident senior fellow with the New American Engagement Initiative in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council and a columnist at Foreign Policy. @EmmaMAshford

As Washington prepares to transition from a Trump to a Biden presidency, how might we expect America’s global role to change in the years ahead? This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah speaks with Inkstick Media’s Laicie Heeley and The Washington Post’s Ishaan Tharoor to suss out the possible consequences for U.S. foreign policy. From the Middle East to China, this week’s episode explores what’s in store for the future of the international order (such as it is). 

Laicie Heeley is the CEO and founder of Inkstick Media and is the host of Inkstick Media and Public Radio International’s national security and foreign policy podcast “Thing That Go Boom!”

Ishaan Tharoor is a columnist on the foreign desk of The Washington Post and authors the Today's WorldView newsletter and column.

Multiple promising vaccines for the coronavirus are nearing FDA approval, and the United States is gearing up for widespread vaccination. While the beginning of the end of the coronavirus crisis is in sight, the effect of the virus on international politics remains less clear.  This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by defense procurement and national security expert Dr. Eugene Gholz. They discuss what role the military should (and shouldn’t) play in distributing the vaccine and the complicated history of the Defense Production Act. They also explore the geopolitical impact of the coronavirus on the U.S.-China relationship, and its implications for a more restrained U.S. foreign policy. 

Dr. Eugene Gholz is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame and Adjunct Scholar at CATO’s Defense and Foreign Policy Initiative. From 2010-2012, he served in the Pentagon as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy. Gholz co-authored “Come Home, America,” a seminal article making the case for a restrained American foreign policy.

President-elect Joe Biden sees the world very differently than President Trump. He’s promised to reinvigorate diplomacy, and his approach to a range of pressing national security challenges – from Afghanistan to Iran to China – will likely diverge starkly from that of the current president. Biden has also begun to assemble his foreign policy team. State Department senior staffers and long-time Biden aides Anthony Blinken and Jake Sullivan will reportedly be nominated as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor (respectively), and Pentagon veteran Michelle Flournoy will be Biden's pick for Secretary of Defense.  Who are these people and what does their selection mean for Biden's approach to international relations? Do these choices augur a confrontation between Biden and his progressive critics on foreign policy? Vox national security writer Alex Ward joins host Mark Hannah for a conversation on the last two months of the Trump administration, and the future of American foreign policy under President-elect Biden.

Alex Ward is a staff writer for Vox on international security and defence, and co-host of Vox’s Worldly podcast on international affairs. He formerly was an associate director at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security and holds an MA from American University in International Relations. Follow him on Twitter at @AlexWardVox.

In February 2020, the U.S. government and the Taliban signed an agreement with steps to end the war in Afghanistan. With Intra-Afghan talks also underway between the Taliban and the Afghan government, the end to the war is in sight… though it’s not without complications. In recognition of Veterans Day and the election of a new president who will now inherit America’s longest war, Mark Hannah speaks with retired Army general Donald Bolduc and Kabul-based journalist Ali Latifi. What do we know about Joe Biden’s plans for the Afghanistan war, and what challenges does a new administration face in — and possibly pose to — the peace process?

General Donald Bolduc served 10 tours in Afghanistan and is a former Green Beret. He was a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire earlier this year. In 2001, he commanded the special forces that the United States inserted into the South of Afghanistan after 9/11. He is a prominent advocate for veterans and mental health. You can follow Don on Twitter @GenDonBolduc.

Ali Latifi is a journalist based in Kabul. Born in Kabul, Ali grew up in California before he returned to Afghanistan in 2013 to cover the on-going war. Ali has written extensively on the Taliban’s presence and diplomacy in Doha. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera English, Los Angeles Times, VICE, The New York Times, and CNN. You can follow Ali on Twitter at @alibomaye.

The 2016 U.S. presidential election may have been the most divisive election in modern memory. The aftermath has left the United States in a period of “agonizing reappraisal” over America’s role in the world. Four years later, the United States appears to still be at a crossroads between Donald Trump’s vision of an “America First” foreign policy and Joe Biden’s promised restoration of a “liberal international order.” This week, host Mark Hannah is joined by Margaret Hoover and David Eisenhower, prominent descendants of two American presidents, to discuss what is at stake for foreign policy in next week’s election. Does Donald Trump represent a paradigm shift in American foreign policy? Is the restoration which Joe Biden seeks possible? They also discuss America's relationship with China, a topic which looms large in American foreign policy today. Does China’s emergence as a competitor augur a coming conflict or can we avoid a second cold war? Margaret Hoover is the host of PBS’s “Firing Line,” a conservative political commentator, and a regular contributor for CNN. She is the great-granddaughter of President Herbert Hoover and serves on the board of overseers at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Follow her on Twitter: @MargaretHoover. David Eisenhower is an author, public policy fellow, and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is the Director of the Institute for Public Service. He is also the host of “The Whole Truth with David Eisenhower,” on American Public Television (APT). He is the grandson of President Dwight Eisenhower and the son-in-law of President Richard Nixon.

Historian Stephen Wertheim traces America’s decision for global military dominance back to World War II in a widely anticipated book published this month. Some anticipated Donald Trump would follow through on a campaign promise to end America’s endless wars, and finally break the United States from the globe-spanning role in which it cast itself. But Wertheim points out that President Trump is as conventional in his quest for military dominance as most other presidents before him. This week, host Mark Hannah sits down with Wertheim to discuss the origins of American military supremacy, the upcoming U.S. presidential election, and what it all means for the future of America’s global role.

Stephen Wertheim is a historian of American foreign relations and the co-founder and deputy director of research and policy at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. His forthcoming book is Tomorrow, The World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy. You can follow Stephen on Twitter @stephenwertheim. 

Commentators describe the first presidential debate of the 2020 general election as a "hot mess inside a dumpster fire," "a bad reality TV show," and "a complete disaster." What insights on American foreign policy might we – and the rest of the world – draw in its aftermath? In this episode, host Mark Hannah is joined by Doug Wilson, the national security policy advisor for Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s erstwhile presidential campaign. Doug also served in the Obama administration as the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.

We reflect on the first presidential debate in the context of U.S. national security policy, and on how the politics of American foreign policy is interpreted by America’s friends and foes. Doug discusses his involvement in the Buttigieg campaign, the importance of democratic legitimacy for statecraft, and the most recent survey of American public opinion on foreign policy from the Eurasia Group Foundation's Independent America project

The United States has been mired in endless war for more than a generation. This week, journalist Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept sits down with the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to discuss the true costs of America’s militarized foreign policy. 

Are journalists so used to reporting on the polarization of the American electorate that they miss the close collaboration between Democrats and Republicans in Congress to pursue pro-war policies? Ultimately, Glenn argues, “the policies that both parties endorse, a posture of endless war, of militarism, of aggression, of blind support for Israel, not only are amoral, but are actually contrary to the interest of the American people.”

Glenn Greenwald is co-founder of The Intercept. He is a journalist, constitutional lawyer, and author of four New York Times best-selling books. Glenn has won numerous awards for his reporting on mass surveillance and human rights abuses against the backdrop of the War on Terror. You can listen to his new show System Update and follow him on Twitter @ggreenwald.

In the wake of protests surrounding the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, America’s institutions are reckoning with their roles in legacies of slavery and racism. The U.S. military is no exception. This week, Bishop Garrison, a U.S. Army veteran and former homeland security and defense official, joins None Of The Above to discuss this reckoning. From the renaming of Army bases named after Confederate figures to the recruitment of veterans by white nationalist organizations and the importance of diversity in the enlisted and officer ranks, Bishop delves into the moral and strategic importance of representation in America’s most vital national security institutions.

Bishop Garrison is the director of national security outreach at Human Rights First and is president and co-founder of the Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy. His most recent article is “Challenges to Improving Racial Representation in the Military.” You can follow Bishop on Twitter@BishopGarrison.

The U.S. bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 75 years ago this month. Although nuclear weapons haven’t been used in combat since, they continue to proliferate across the globe. This week, two activists from New Mexico explain the lesser known costs of the production of nuclear weapons, from the devastation inflicted on indigenous communities by impact testing and mining around the Los Alamos National Laboratory, to the risks modernization poses to national security. As the U.S. prepares to embark upon a major nuclear modernization program, will the impact on civilians worsen? 

Beata Tsosie-Pena is the environmental health and justice program coordinator at Tewa Women United and a Los Alamos National Laboratory downwinder. 

Jay Coghlan is the executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico and has worked on nuclear weapons and environmental issues for the past 25 years.

In May 2020, the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor touched off some of the largest protests in U.S. history and shone a spotlight on police militarization. This week, the ACLU's Hina Shamsi explains the connections between brutal police tactics and the ongoing War on Terror, from the Insurrection Act to drone strikes overseas. More than fifty years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. warned of the interconnected evils of racism and militarism, can America overcome police violence at home and endless war abroad?

Hina Shamsi is the director of the ACLU’s National Security Project and an adjunct lecturer at Columbia Law School. She previously served as senior advisor to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions. You can follow Hina on Twitter @HinaShamsi.

This episode marks the end of the first season of the Eurasia Group Foundation podcast, None Of The Above. We conclude our season with a topic that gets far too little attention in the mainstream media: the history of the U.S. military’s involvement in Somalia, a country deeply mired in terrorism, poverty, and war. Mark sits down with Nairobi-based journalist Amanda Sperber and anthropologist Catherine Besteman to unpack why the United States is waging an unofficial drone war in Somalia and explores the history and human costs of this conflict. They discuss the evolution of Al-Shabaab (an affiliate of Al-Qaeda), civilian casualties from U.S. airstrikes, and how Somalia exemplifies what many consider to be the strategic and moral failings of America’s global war on terror. Have a listen, let us know what you think, and we’ll see you in August when we return for Season 2.

Amanda Sperber is a Nairobi-based award-winning investigative journalist, foreign correspondent, and multimedia storyteller. Her work focuses on East Africa, specifically on Somalia, and the consequences of U.S. drone strikes. She is the author of “Ilhan Omar Demands Answers on Civilian Deaths in Somalia” in The Daily Beast. @hysperbole

Catherine Besteman is Francis F. Bartlett and Ruth K. Bartlett Professor of Anthropology at Colby College in Maine. Her work focuses on U.S. militarism in Somalia. She is the author of The Costs of War in Somalia from Brown University’s Costs of War Project, and the upcoming book Militarized Global Apartheid (2020). 

In February, the Taliban and U.S. government signed a peace deal. The U.S. would draw down its troop presence and persuade the Afghan government to release Taliban prisoners in exchange for a ceasefire. However, since the agreement was signed, the Afghan government’s release of prisoners has stalled and Taliban attacks on Afghan forces have surged. Now, coronavirus spreads from neighboring Iran to the war-torn country just as the prospects for peace dim. How and when will the longest war in American history finally end? 

Peter Bergen and Kiana Hayeri weigh in on the U.S.’ inconclusive and four-decade-long involvement in Afghanistan. They discuss whether the war was worth fighting and whether people in Afghanistan are better off today than they were before the U.S. invasion in 2001. What impact has American intervention had, and what new challenges does this country face as the coronavirus spreads across the region and world? 

Peter Bergen is vice president at New America, a CNN national security analyst, professor, author, and documentary film producer. His latest film The Longest War is streaming now on Showtime. Twitter: @peterbergencnn

Kiana Hayeri is an Iranian-Canadian photographer, focusing on migration, identity, and sexuality in societies dealing with oppression or conflict. View her latest work “Afghanistan’s Next War” in New York Times Magazine. Instagram: @kianahayeri

Donald Trump ran his 2016 presidential campaign on ending America’s endless wars. But throughout his presidency, he has increased military deployments in the Middle East and threatened conflicts with Iran, Venezuela, China, and North Korea. And now, he has declared war on the coronavirus. Does this make Trump a hawkish commander-in-chief? Or, has he lived up to his promise to wind down wars and not start new ones? What kind of national security leader is he? This week, Mark Hannah digs into Trump’s foreign policy legacy with Vox reporter Alex Ward. According to Alex, while Trump’s foreign policy record may seem two-sided, there is an abiding ideology. In fact, Alex argues Trump’s foreign policy legacy may even prove to be a political strength in the 2020 presidential election. 

Alex Ward is the staff writer for international security and defense at Vox and co-hosts its “Worldly” podcast. He is based in Washington, DC. @AlexWardVox

Since 1997, Hong Kong has been a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China. The freedoms China promised the people of this semi-autonomous region are slowly eroding. Throughout the year, Hongkongers have taken to the streets to protest mainland China’s encroaching influence. The protests persist today, even amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. In January, as the coronavirus began its global spread, Mark Hannah traveled to Hong Kong to meet with a leader of the protests, and he returned to speak with another organizer from Hong Kong who is based in New York City. These two young activists offer different views on Hong Kong's political struggle, especially when it comes to the West's role in supporting the pro-democracy movement. What should Hong Kong be seeking, if anything, from the international community? And, does outside support strengthen or undermine the legitimacy of Hong Kong’s movement?

Wilfred Chan is a writer, organizer, and courier based in New York City and is a founding member of the internationalist left publication Lausan. @wilfredchan

Joshua Wong is a student activist and politician based in Hong Kong who serves as secretary-general of the pro-democracy party Demosistō. @joshuawongcf

In December 2019, The Washington Post obtained and published internal documents, now known as The Afghanistan Papers, from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). These documents revealed top political and military leaders systematically lied to the American public about the war in Afghanistan’s progress, and continued its mission despite knowing victory was unachievable. Why do both Democratic and Republican administrations continue misleading us, and what is at stake? Mark Hannah sits down with Kelley B. Vlahos this week to discuss a culture in Washington which leads to a perpetual investment in unnecessary war. They discuss the military-industrial complex, military restraint, and where conservatism fits into it all.  What is the conservative case against these wars, and how can we break the blob mentality which perpetuates America’s troubling cycle of miring itself in unnecessary wars? 

Kelley B. Vlahos is a national security and foreign policy writer and columnist in Washington, DC and is the executive editor of The American Conservative magazine. @KelleyBVlahos

Does American expansionism around the globe make the U.S. more powerful and influential? Does the U.S. gain by flexing its military muscle, or would it benefit more from preserving its resources? This week, Mark Hannah sits down with journalist Peter Beinart to discuss the limits of America’s global role.

From Taiwan to Hong Kong, what price are Americans willing to pay to pursue stability and security around the globe? While some suggest the threat or use of military intervention promotes American interests around the world, our guest insists a lack of humility in U.S. foreign policy undermines America’s values, credibility, and security.

Peter Beinart is a contributor to The Atlantic and an editor-at-large of Jewish Currents magazine. He is the author of The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris and The Crisis of Zionism. @PeterBeinart

On Monday, President Donald Trump and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi inked a new defense deal as violence escalated in response to Modi’s controversial Citizen Amendment Act. Over 3 billion dollars’ worth of American-made helicopters and military equipment will go to the Indian armed forces. What interests are being served by this defense deal, and how will India use this new weaponry? Mark Hannah sits down with two leading experts on US-India relations to unpack American and Indian security interests in the region, including shared concern about a rising China in the Indo-Pacific. Is India a reliable security partner for the United States? And will we see any blowback in nearby Pakistan, China, or Kashmir, as a result of this deal? 

Dhruva Jaishankar is the director of the US Initiative at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation. He is the author of the 2019 report, “Acting East: India In The Indo-Pacific.”

Aparna Pande is the director of the Hudson Institute’s Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia. Her latest book is titled From Chanakya to Modi: Evolution of India’s Foreign Policy.

The conventional wisdom in Washington is that the typical American voter doesn’t know or care much about foreign policy. We at the Eurasia Group Foundation questioned this. So we traveled to New Hampshire in advance of last night’s Democratic primary to hear for ourselves what voters there have to say about foreign policy. The degree of knowledge and strength of opinions might surprise you, and help explain the victory of Bernie Sanders.  

As Congress debates the limits of the president’s war powers, presidents are, these days, mostly constrained by public opinion and its expression on election day. EGF recently released a study, “Indispensable No More? How The American Public Sees U.S. Foreign Policy,” to better understand the foreign policy preferences of American voters nationwide. By and large, Americans desire a less aggressive foreign policy. In this episode, we see if that holds true in one of America’s first primary states.

In October, two China experts joined None Of The Above to discuss Washington’s response to the rise of China. Today’s episode digs deeper and unpacks the very notion of great power competition, and whether America requires this strategic framework to succeed as a global hegemon. Jacob Stokes and Ali Wyne sit down with Mark Hannah to evaluate Washington’s obsession with great power competition and the strategic purpose of America confronting a rival like China. Is America in the throes of a new Cold War? Or does the U.S.-China conflict distract from what will always be an entangled, complicated, yet necessary, relationship?

Jacob Stokes is a senior policy analyst in the China Program at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He previously worked on the national security staff of Vice President Joe Biden. 

Ali Wyne is an international and security policy analyst at RAND Corporation. He is a coauthor of Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World (2013) and a contributing author to Power Relations in the Twenty-First Century: Mapping a Multipolar World? (2017). 

As the Cold War ended, many in the national security establishment thought history had ended: American-style democracy and capitalism were triumphal and terminal. What implications would this have for U.S. foreign policy? Andrew Bacevich, the president of the newly launched Quincy Institute, observes how America has attempted to make the world in its image through coercion and excessive military power -- and continues to do so today. This policy, Bacevich argues, has led to a series of military interventions that are often unjustified and counterproductive. How did U.S. foreign policy fail to learn from its history? And what are organizations such as the Quincy Institute going to do about this worrisome trend?

Andrew Bacevich is president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He is Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at Boston University and the author of many books, most recently The Age of Illusions: How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory.

What does the end of the "American empire" look like? What are other tools America can invest in? Kate Kizer joins EGF’s Mark Hannah to explore the principles which drive progressive U.S. foreign policy. Kate dives into what those principles look like in practice: a human centered economy, ending America’s involvement in foreign conflicts humanely, and building policy around transnational, people-centered movements. How does America achieve this while maintaining its own national security? And what is the likelihood these policies will get implemented come 2021? 

Kate Kizer is policy director at Win Without War, a diverse network of activists and organizations working for a more peaceful, progressive U.S. foreign policy. 

Nuclear weapons are the forgotten existential threat. Yet, they can alter the course of history in an afternoon. Leading nuclear policy expert, Joe Cirincione, joins Mark Hannah to discuss the dangers of a policy orientation geared toward maintaining, modernizing, and growing a large nuclear arsenal. According to Joe, proliferation of nuclear weapons in the U.S. makes us less safe as other countries rush to compete with this great power or develop new nuclear capabilities as a deterrent against U.S. intervention. How can the U.S. scale its nuclear capabilities back, and what’s at stake?

Joe Cirincione is president of Ploughshares Fund. He is the host of Press The Button, a weekly podcast dedicated to nuclear policy and national security, and the author of Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late.

The foreign policy establishment sees America locked in a fierce and strategic competition with China. With the ongoing trade war, the protests engulfing Hong Kong, and China’s rising geopolitical influence, are Washington’s fears and hardliner policies justified? Two China experts, Isaac Stone Fish and Stephen Orlins, join None Of The Above to discuss and debate Washington’s appropriate response to this rising power and offer new and divergent ways of thinking about the U.S.-China relationship. 

Isaac Stone Fish is a journalist, contributing columnist for The Washington Post, and a senior fellow at the Asia Society's Center on U.S.-China Relations.

America continues its unwavering devotion to Saudi Arabia, despite the gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the humanitarian catastrophes in Yemen. What is behind this resolute support to America's undemocratic ally in the Middle East? Bill Hartung dives into the history of the U.S.-Saudi relationship, U.S. arms sales, and just how much of the arms trade actually benefits America's defense companies.

How is the war in Yemen being supported by America's arms dealers, and are U.S. defense contractors really benefiting the American economy as President trump insists? Bill pushes us to evaluate this relationship, and the costs taxpayers are willing to accept for the benefit and profit of the American arms lobby.

Bill Hartung is Director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy. You can read his recent report titled U.S. Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia: the Corporate Connection.

The Pentagon identifies climate change as a threat multiplier and links climate change to rising instability and insecurity around the globe. But what about the inverse? Murtaza Hussain, political and national security reporter for The Intercept, explores the forgotten costs to America’s endless wars: climate change. How does warfare contribute to and exacerbate the climate crisis? What are the ecological and health effects of industrialized war, and what can American society do to curb the climate emergency? Murtaza Hussain is a journalist for The Intercept whose work focuses on national security, foreign policy, and human rights. His most recent article is Industrialized Militaries Are a Bigger Part of the Climate Emergency Than You Know.

What happens when the distinction between war and peace starts to disappear? Rosa Brooks, a law professor and former top Pentagon official, explores the causes and consequences of this alarming trend, and discusses its antecedents in other cultures. As the seemingly never-ending War on Terror is used to justify increasing government power and intrusions on civil liberties, are we sacrificing too much freedom in the name of security?