Stay ConnectedAs 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’ Jonathan Guyer asks leading global thinkers for new answers and new ideas to guide an America increasingly adrift in the world.
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Copyright: © Copyright 2019, Eurasia Group Foundation
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 an era of intense political polarization, how can we bring people together and effect political change? This week, actor and comedian Kal Penn joins None Of The Above to discuss how he got involved in public service and public engagement. He shares lessons learned from working on comprehensive immigration reform in the Obama White House, reflections on his cultural diplomacy work, and the inspiration behind his new series Sunnyside, which features one of the most diverse casts on television. Kal Penn is an actor and comedian, and also served as the White House Associate Director of Public Engagement under President Barack Obama. He produced and stars in the American television series Sunnyside on NBC.
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.
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