None Of The Above
117 episodes - English - Latest episode: 21 days ago - ★★★★★ - 62 ratingsAs the United States confronts an ever-changing set of international challenges, our foreign policy leaders continue to offer the same old answers. But what are the alternatives? In None Of The Above, the Eurasia Group Institute for Global Affairs' Mark Hannah asks leading global thinkers for new answers and new ideas to guide an America increasingly adrift in the world.
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Episodes
Anchored Insight: Admiral James Stavridis on Fiction, History, and Service
April 02, 2024 08:30 - 36 minutes - 49.6 MBMany 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 ...
Bonus Episode: Israel’s Complicated Relationship with Human Rights
March 22, 2024 09:00 - 43 minutes - 59.5 MBIn 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...
Who are the Houthis? Inside America's Undeclared Air War
March 12, 2024 09:00 - 33 minutes - 25.5 MBThe 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 Ira...
The Case Against Israel: South Africa's Genocide Suit at the World Court
February 20, 2024 11:00 - 41 minutes - 56.7 MBLast 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 ...
Ukraine at Two Years: Sam Charap and Alex Ward on US Aid and Interests
January 30, 2024 10:30 - 45 minutes - 62.2 MBNext 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 H...
Information Battleground: Disinformation in War with Claire Wardle and Steven Lee Myers
January 09, 2024 10:30 - 38 minutes - 52.3 MBIt’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 epis...
Targeting Lumumba: Stuart Reid on the CIA-backed Destabilization of the Congo
December 19, 2023 10:30 - 29 minutes - 41 MBInstability 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 assassinate...
The Problem of Our Power (from the archive)
November 28, 2023 12:00 - 21 minutes - 29.5 MBThe 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 ...
The Struggle for Stability: Israel, Hamas, and US Policy in the Middle East
November 07, 2023 12:00 - 31 minutes - 42.7 MBToday 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 b...
Worldviews: Data-Backed Discoveries on Americans’ Opinions
October 17, 2023 20:30 - 29 minutes - 40.4 MBWith 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 Linet...
Beyond Superpowers: Global “Swing States” and the Need for UN Reform
September 26, 2023 14:30 - 27 minutes - 38.3 MBThe 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 ...
Authors at War: How War Stories Shape the American Psyche
September 12, 2023 10:30 - 29 minutes - 41.3 MBYesterday’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 Foreign Policy’s Diversity Problem
August 22, 2023 19:19 - 32 minutes - 44.6 MBWe 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...
What is the Opposite of a War Crime? Samuel Moyn on Making War More “Humane”
August 01, 2023 13:08 - 33 minutes - 46 MBLast 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 ...
Toward a Pacific NATO? A Critical Look at America’s Indo-Pacific Alliances
July 12, 2023 09:30 - 30 minutes - 42.8 MBAs 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 ...
Modi’s Trip to Washington: Shivshankar Menon on How India Sees the World
June 21, 2023 09:00 - 28 minutes - 39.5 MBThis 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 l...
Why Japan Passes The Buck - Japan’s Military Buildup Faces Resistance
May 23, 2023 13:29 - 26 minutes - 37 MBOver 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 ...
Sudan and the Limits of Western Peacebuilding
May 02, 2023 09:30 - 25 minutes - 34.9 MBOn 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 gue...
Kara Swisher Talks TikTok Ban & National Security Fears
April 12, 2023 11:47 - 18 minutes - 26.1 MBWhen 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-...
How the War in Ukraine Ends: A Conversation with General Mark Milley
March 21, 2023 09:30 - 31 minutes - 42.8 MBWe 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 Eur...
Defending Europe: How the Transatlantic Alliance Protects and Imperils American Security
February 28, 2023 20:28 - 32 minutes - 45.1 MBPresident 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 in...
Russia’s Red Lines: Where the Russia-Ukraine War Stands at One Year
February 07, 2023 14:58 - 31 minutes - 43.7 MBA 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 settlemen...
Is a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Inevitable? The Future of Cross-Strait Relations and Washington’s Commitments to Taipei
January 18, 2023 19:03 - 27 minutes - 37.5 MBAfter 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 Amer...
Bonus Episode: America’s Past, Present, and Future Role in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
December 27, 2022 10:00 - 40 minutes - 55.7 MBBenjamin 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 Isra...
Bibi’s Back: What the New Hardline Government Means for Israel, Palestine, and the United States
December 20, 2022 19:33 - 35 minutes - 48.9 MBIn 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 E...
Avoiding Armageddon: Rose Gottemoeller on the Potential for Nuclear War
November 30, 2022 19:48 - 36 minutes - 49.7 MBLast 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 ...
Of Mushrooms and Midterms: How Pennsylvania Voted on Foreign Policy
November 08, 2022 15:35 - 15 minutes - 21.4 MBIt’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 ...
When Does an Uprising Become a Revolution? Reza Aslan and Assal Rad on the Protests in Iran
October 25, 2022 12:12 - 36 minutes - 49.6 MBIran 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, Presi...
Another January 6th?: Catherine Osborn on Brazil’s Election & Political Violence
September 27, 2022 17:27 - 24 minutes - 34.2 MBBrazilians 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...
America’s Secrecy Regime: Alex Wellerstein on Donald Trump and Nuclear Secrets
September 07, 2022 09:00 - 30 minutes - 42.4 MBIn 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 e...
Partner of Choice? Michael Woldemariam and Robbie Gramer on Biden’s Sub-Saharan Africa Strategy
August 16, 2022 14:02 - 25 minutes - 35 MBSub-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. ...
The Crude Truth: Emma Ashford on the Global Energy Crisis
July 26, 2022 13:46 - 25 minutes - 35 MBThe 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 h...
From Kosovo to Kyiv: Jamie Shea on NATO Then and Now
July 05, 2022 09:00 - 28 minutes - 39.6 MBThe 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...
From Kosovo to Kyiv: Jamie Shea on NATO’s Past, Present, and Future
July 05, 2022 09:00 - 28 minutes - 39.6 MBIn 1999, NATO planes began bombing Yugoslavia to stop the ethnic cleansing of Albanians. This followed other interventions by the alliance in the Balkans wars, a far cry from NATO’s original mission: to stop the Soviet Union from expanding westward. Our guest this week, Jamie Shea, helped explain this shift during the Kosovo campaign over two decades ago as NATO’s spokesperson and later served as Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges. Last week, NATO held a sum...
Brink of Catastrophe: Matthieu Aikins and Masuda Sultan on the Plight of Afghans
June 14, 2022 11:30 - 29 minutes - 40.7 MBThe 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 humanitar...
Losing China: Daniel Kurtz-Phelan on George Marshall’s Less Glorious Mission
May 24, 2022 10:00 - 23 minutes - 32.3 MBGeneral 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 episo...
War Stories: Brooke Gladstone and Fred Kaplan on the Media, War, and Ukraine
May 05, 2022 10:00 - 36 minutes - 50.5 MBFrom 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 ...
Tactical Brutality: Max Fisher on the Russian way of war
April 21, 2022 13:24 - 19 minutes - 26.6 MBThe 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 ...
Tactical Brutality: Max Fisher on the Russian Way of War
April 21, 2022 13:24 - 19 minutes - 26.6 MBThe 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 a...
Fuel to the Fire: Diego Luna and Ernesto López Portillo on the Rise of Militarism in Mexico
April 05, 2022 10:00 - 32 minutes - 44.3 MBIn 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 milit...
War Power Politics (from the archive): Heather Brandon Smith & Rita Siemion on the rise and stall of AUMFs
March 22, 2022 13:13 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBSaturday 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 ...
Winter in Ukraine: Anatol Lieven on the Case for Ukrainian Neutrality
March 09, 2022 19:07 - 28 minutes - 39.4 MBIt 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, Anat...
Big Daddy Moscow: Nataliya Gumenyuk and Peter Pomerantsev Get Inside Putin’s Mind
February 22, 2022 17:11 - 32 minutes - 59.3 MBThis 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 Kre...
China Rising Part 1 (from the archive): Isaac Stone Fish & Stephen Orlins on How the US Should Respond
February 08, 2022 17:04 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBThe 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 vi...
How to End the Ukraine Crisis: Thomas Graham and Rajan Menon on Negotiating with Russia
January 25, 2022 17:13 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBEight 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...
The Myth of the Good War: Elizabeth Samet on American Nostalgia
January 11, 2022 16:48 - 19 minutes - 44.8 MBWorld 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...
The Footprint of Industrialized War (from the archive)
December 21, 2021 11:00 - 25 minutes - 23 MBSpeaking 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 revi...
Can a Summit Save Democracy? Michael Abramowitz on the Democracy Recession
December 07, 2021 18:44 - 25 minutes - 34.6 MBPresident 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 le...
Lessons from Recife: Riordan Roett on America’s Intervention in Brazil
November 23, 2021 10:30 - 31 minutes - 43.3 MBAs 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 firstha...
Episode 17: Lessons from Recife
November 23, 2021 10:30 - 31 minutes - 43.3 MBChina is South America’s largest trading partner. Brazil, the region’s largest economy and the Western Hemisphere's second-largest democracy, has recently deepened relations with China. As the United States competes for influence with China 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. Pro...