Security Dilemma

Latest Episodes:

John Schuessler on Offshore Balancing and Presidential Wartime Deceit Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview John Schuessler, Associate Professor in the Department of International Affairs and Co-Director of the Albritton Center for Grand Strategy at Texas A&M University's Bush School of Government and Public Service. Dr. Schuessler is the author of Deceit on the Road to War: Presidents, Politics, and American Democracy. Our conversation explored whether offshore balancing is a viable grand strategy, examined the prospects of Iranian or Chinese regional hegemony and its impact on U.S. security, and discussed cases of presidential deceit during war.

Jeremy Shapiro on Competing GOP Foreign Policy Visions Feb 11, 2025

Show notes

On this week's episode ofSecurity Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Shapiro was previously a fellow at the Brookings Institution, as well as a member of the State Department's policy planning staff, where he advised the Secretary of State on U.S. policy in North Africa and the Levant. He also served as a senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs during the Obama Administration. This week's conversation discusses Dr. Shapiro's piece describing the three main foreign policy factions in the Republican Party, European security, and the foreign policy legacy of the Biden Administration.

"Polarised power: The three Republican ‘tribes’ that could define America’s relationship with the world"

Rose Kelanic on Syria and Energy Security Feb 05, 2025

Show notes

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Rose Kelanic, Director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities, discussing why Washington should take a "wait-and-see" approach to Syria's new government, President Trump's new Executive Orders on energy security, and whether the U.S. military needs to be in the Persian Gulf for oil.

This episode was recorded on January 30, 2025.

Dr. Kelanic's Defense Priorities explainer: https://www.defensepriorities.org/briefs/wait-and-see-a-post-assad-syria/

The Society Forecasts Foreign Policy in 2025 Jan 14, 2025

Show notes

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi discuss their expectations for foreign policy in 2025, including how the incoming Trump Administration could approach the Middle East, China, Europe, Latin America, and more.

Link to Matt Duss's piece in The Guardian

Recorded 1/10/2025

Janet Abou-Elias and Lillian Mauldin on Arms Transfers and the "Imperial Boomerang" Dec 20, 2024

Show notes

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Janet Abou-Elias and Lillian Mauldin, co-founders of Women for Weapons Trade Transparency and Research Fellows at the Center for International Policy. Janet is also an alumna of the Society's Marcellus Policy Fellowship, for which she wrote a policy analysis on the War Reserve Stockpile Allies-Israel.

Our conversation, recorded in mid-November 2024, focused on arms transfers under the Trump Administration, the Biden Administration's arming of Israel in the Gaza conflict, and how War on Terror/War on Drugs era DoD authorities contribute to the militarization of the police.

Furthermore, we are now accepting applications for the upcoming Spring 2025 cohort of the Marcellus Policy Fellowship through January 13. This program is intended for students and early-career professionals interested in realism and restraint and looking to advance in the national security career space. The program bolsters the policy analysis and writing skills of participants, as well as unites them with a cohort of like-minded professionals under the tutelage of JQAS staff and expert guest speakers. Apply today!

Dan Spokojny on Reforming American Diplomacy Dec 17, 2024

Show notes

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Dan Spokojny, a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer and the founder of fp21, a think tank devoted to promoting more evidence and learning based foreign policy processes. This conversation discussed knowledge management, groupthink, U.S. policy processes, and efforts at State Department reform.

You can learn more about fp21 here: https://www.fp21.org/

Jennifer Kavanagh on the Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East Dec 13, 2024

Show notes

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Jennifer Kavanagh, a Senior Fellow and the Director of Military Analysis at Defense Priorities, discussing the state of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

This episode was recorded on October 25, 2024

Kelly Grieco on the Future of Air Power and the Indo-Pacific Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Kelly Grieco, a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center's Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program, discussing geography and the regional balance of power in East Asia, proposals for an "Asian NATO," the Air Force's ongoing modernization efforts, and more.

Christopher Shell on the 2024 Election and Foreign Policy Nov 20, 2024

Show notes

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Christopher Shell, a Fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Un-Diplomatic episode

Carnegie survey on "Race, Foreign Policy, and the 2024 Presidential Election"

Ari Tolany on Arms Sales and Oversight Oct 30, 2024

Show notes

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Ari Tolany, Director of the Security Assistance, Technology and the Arms Trade program at the Center for International Policy.

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