Security Dilemma

Latest Episodes:

Why Democracies Fight Dictators with Madison Schramm Aug 19, 2025

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On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Madison Schramm about why liberal democracies often initiate wars against dictatorships.Dr. Schramm is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto and a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Stimson Center’s Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy Program. Her research focuses on international security, the domestic politics of foreign policy, political psychology, and gender and foreign policy. She was previously an Assistant Professor at the U.S. Army War College and is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In this episode, we discussed her book Why Democracies Fight Dictators, whether there is global competition between democracies and autocratic states, and threat inflation.

Special: Discussing John Quincy Adams' "Monsters to Destroy" Speech Aug 13, 2025

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On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Gay conducts a full reading of John Quincy Adams' July 4, 1821 "Monsters to Destroy" speech (which warned the United States against overreach abroad in the name of liberty), followed by a discussion with co-host A.J. Manuzzi about the enduring relevance of Adams' words for U.S. statecraft. You can read the full speech for yourself here.

What Would a Global Posture Review Look Like Under Restraint? with Dan Caldwell and Jennifer Kavanagh Jul 29, 2025

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On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Dan Caldwell and Jennifer Kavanagh about their recent Defense Priorities explainer on U.S. defense posture under a grand strategy of restraint.

Dan Caldwell is a former senior adviser to the Secretary of Defense and worked on the Trump 2024 transition team. He is a veteran of the Marines and a former Capitol Hill staffer. Jennifer is a senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities. She previously was a senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment and a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, where she directed RAND’s Army Strategy program for three years. Kavanagh’s research focuses on U.S. military strategy, force structure and defense budgeting, the defense industrial base, and U.S. military interventions.

In this conversation, we discussed how the United States can realign its defense posture with realist core national interests and objectives, and what obstacles such a realignment would face. You can read their full paper here: https://www.defensepriorities.org/explainers/aligning-global-military-posture-with-us-interests/.

Regime Change and Spheres of influence with Lindsey O'Rourke Jul 09, 2025

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On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, A.J. Manuzzi and Michelle Newby spoke with Dr. Lindsey O'Rourke, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Boston College and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. She’s the author of Covert Regime Change: America’s Secret Cold War, which catalogues and analyses Cold War-era U.S. regime change efforts.

We discussed why American regime change efforts are often futile, take a closer look at spheres of influence as a fact of life, and examined how an American regime change war in Iran would transpire, and why it would likely fail to achieve American interests.

East Asia: Balancing or Bandwagoning? with Kyuri Park Jul 01, 2025

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On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, A.J. Manuzzi and new guest co-hostMichelle Newby, Programs Director at Defense Priorities and a 2024 JQAS Strategic Leaders Fellow, spoke withKyuri Park. Dr. Park is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Security and Foreign Policy Initiative at the Global Research Institute and a faculty affiliate of the Public Policy Program at the College of William & Mary. She studies international security and cooperation, with a regional focus on the Asia-Pacific.

We discussed her book project on the behavior of Asia-Pacific secondary states diversify their partnerships amid U.S.-China competition and its implications for U.S. policymakers. We also discussed the future of the U.S.-South Korea alliance in the wake of the election of new President Lee Jae-myung and whether nuclear diplomacy with North Korea is viable.

Our listeners should also check out Dr. Park's new article on South Korea's strategic autonomy in The National Interest co-authored with former SD guest Dave Kang: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/korea-watch/south-korea-will-not-choose-between-the-us-and-china

Israel-Iran War Update and the Politics of War with Iran with John Gay Jun 20, 2025

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On this off-cycle episode of Security Dilemma, John Gay sat down with A.J. Manuzzi to discuss Iran's 6/20 missile attacks on Israel, why deeper U.S. involvement could lead to mission creep and shifting goals, and congressional efforts to block unauthorized U.S. entry into the war.

Sarah Streyder on Why Restraint Matters for Military Families Jun 17, 2025

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On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Sarah Streyder, the Executive Director of the Secure Families Initiative, a national organization that mobilizes military families to advocate for a less militarized foreign policy. Sarah is the spouse of an active-duty service member in the Space Force and was nationally recognized for her leadership. Before founding SFI, Streyder worked at the White House and the United Nations.

Our conversation covered a lot of ground, including SFI's work on war powers reform and ending the war in Afghanistan.

Iran War Expert John Gay on What's Next After Israeli Strikes Jun 13, 2025

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On this impromptu episode of Security Dilemma, the Society's Executive Director John Gay sat down with SD cohost A.J. Manuzzi to discuss Israel's June 12 strikes on Iranian nuclear and regime targets, and several potential decisions the Iranians could make to retaliate, as well as what it all means for U.S. policy.

Khurram Dastgir Khan on Conflict in South Asia and US-Pakistan Relations Jun 10, 2025

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On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Khurram Dastgir Khan. Mr. Khan is a former member of Pakistan's cabinet, having led the ministries of Energy, Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Commerce since 2014. He served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan between 2008 and 2023.

Our conversation covered the recent conflict between India and Pakistan, as well as Pakistan's relationships with the United States and China.

Michael Brenes on Great Power Rivalry's Threat to Peace and Democracy May 28, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Michael Brenes. Dr. Brenes is Co-Director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy and Lecturer in History at Yale University. His research interests include United States foreign policy, political history, and political economy.

He is the author of For Might and Right: Cold War Defense Spending and the Remaking of American Democracy, published by University of Massachusetts Press in 2020, as well as the co-author (with fellow former Security Dilemma guest Van Jackson) of The Rivalry Peril: How Great-Power Competition Threatens Peace and Weakens Democracy.

Our conversation focused on why a framework of "great power competition" is unlikely to reinforce peace and democracy, Cold War liberalism, and the principles of a progressive foreign policy.

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