Security Dilemma

Latest Episodes:

Peter Harris on Retrenchment, Taiwan and the Chagos Islands Oct 14, 2024

Show notes

AJ Manuzzi and John Allen Gay have a conversation with Peter Harris, Associate Professor of Political Science at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and Non-Resident Fellow at the think tank Defense Priorities. Dr. Harris’s teaching and research focuses on international security and U.S. foreign policy. He received his PhD in Government from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was also a graduate fellow of the Clements Center for National Security. His work has appeared in journals including Asian Security, Chinese Journal of International Politics, International Affairs, Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, Survival, and Political Science Quarterly. He is also the author of the forthcoming book Why America Can’t Retrench (And How it Might).

Note - this episode was recorded September 26th, before the news about the Chagos islands.

Dr. Harris's "Broken Nest" Taiwan article

Dr. Harris on the Chagos Islands

Will Ruger on Realism and Restraint Aug 19, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay have a conversation with Dr. William Ruger – the President of the American Institute for Economic Research and the Chair of the Board of Directors of the John Quincy Adams Society. Dr. Ruger is a long-time advocate for realist foreign policy, a decorated veteran of the war in Afghanistan and an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves, in addition to being President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan in 2020. Dr. Ruger was previously the Vice President of Research and Policy at the Charles Koch Institute, where he played a big role in building the realism and restraint movement. Our conversation today ranges from alliances to grand strategy principles to the war in Afghanistan and military Keynesianism. Dr. Ruger's recent article on the national debt

LIVE: Eugene Gholz and Michael Desch on Restraint Aug 09, 2024

Show notes

This week, we have a live recording of one of our JQAS summer conference sessions - "Redteaming Restraint with Dr. Eugene Gholz and Dr. Michael Desch". In it, John Allen Gay and our conference participants asked some of the most challenging questions they had about restraint in U.S. foreign policy and Dr. Gholz and Dr. Desch answered them.

Note: This is our first live recording, so there are a few audio issues. Additionally, to preserve the anonymity of conference participants and their questions, we're dubbing their question with Patrick's voice but trying to ask the question verbatim.

Dr. Michael C. Desch is Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at the University of Notre Dame and Brian and Jeannelle Brady Family Director of the Notre Dame International Security Center.

Dr. Eugene Gholz is an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. He co-wrote a well-known International Security article that coined the term “restraint” as a proposed grand strategy for the United States. From 2010-2012, he served in the Pentagon as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy.

Jake Johnston on Haiti Jul 26, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and A.J. Manuzzi spoke about Haiti with Jake Johnston, Senior Research Associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington DC. Jake is the lead author of CEPR's Haiti: Relief and Reconstruction blog and the author of the book Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism and the Battle to Control Haiti. We spoke about the humanitarian military intervention there, the state of the island and international efforts to promote democracy in Haiti.

Mike DiMino and Dan Caldwell Return - Ukraine and the Middle East Jul 14, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay spoke with Mike DiMino and Dan Caldwell of Defense Priorities. Mike is a fellow at Defense Priorities, a former career CIA military analyst and counterterrorism officer who’s worked on everything from operational assignments overseas to the EUCOM to the President’s Daily Brief. Dan is a public policy advisor at Defense Priorities and a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, having deployed to Iraq and conducted operations in Al Anbar and Ninawa provinces. Today, we’re going to be talking about the state of democracy in Ukraine, manpower issues and the Kherson front, demographics in Ukraine, escalation between Israel and Hezbollah and the pathway out of American primacy in the Middle East.

Check out Mike's recent explainer on Ukraine

Check out the letter John and Dan signed

Check out the EU studies on Ukraine's demographics

Nathaniel Powell on West Africa Jul 13, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Dr. Nathaniel Powell, West Africa Analyst at Oxford Analytica. Dr. Powell is the author of France’s Wars in Chad: Military Intervention and Decolonization in Africa, an honorary researcher at Lancaster University’s Centre for War and Diplomacy. Our conversation today ranges from France's history in the region to intelligence failures in Niger to the reality about Russian involvement in the region.

Recent WOTR Essay on Washington and Niger

Recent WOTR Essay on France and Mali

Ali Wyne on Great Powers and Cold Wars Jul 06, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and AJ Manuzzi spoke with Ali Wyne, Senior Research and Advocacy Advisor on U.S.-China at International Crisis Group. Ali analyzes the development of U.S. policy toward China and formulates ICG recommendations for managing crises and preventing conflicts between Washington and Beijing. He has previously worked at the Carnegie Endowment, State Department, RAND Corporation and Eurasia Group. He’s the author of several books, including a biography of Lee Kuan Yew and most recently America’s Great Power Opportunity: Revitalizing U.S. Foreign Policy to Meet the Challenges of Strategic Competition. Check out America's Great Power Opportunity

James Acton on Nuclear Targeting and Escalation Jun 18, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay spoke with Dr. James Acton, co-director of the Carnegie Endowment’s Nuclear Policy Program.

Dr. Acton has a PhD in theoretical physics from Cambridge and he’s testified to the House Armed Services Committee, House Appropriations Committee and US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. He’s an expert in hypersonic weapons and he’s currently writing a book on the nuclear escalation risks of advanced non-nuclear weapons.

Our conversation touches on the nuclear escalation risks of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the state of U.S. nuclear targeting policy, the role of the "three body problem" on nuclear proliferation in a multipolar world and proliferation risks with American allies. Dr. Acton's essay on counterforce

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Julia Gledhill on the Defense Budget Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay spoke with Julia Gledhill, a Research Associate at the Stimson Center and a former JQAS chapter leader who's a rising star in DC tracking Pentagon spending, military contracting and weapons acquisition. She's appeared on NPR, More Perfect Union and she's now a co-host on the newest version of the Un-Diplomatic Podcast. She joins us to talk about Pentagon budget flexibility reform, behavior from U.S. defense contractors, the relationship between the defense budget and strategy and more!

Further Reading

Julia's reporting on defense contractor finances

Julia's reporting on Congress and defense acquisition

Julia's essay on PPBE Reform

Julia's essay on the Pentagon audit

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Brandon Valeriano on Cyberwarfare and Sci-Fi Soft Power Jun 04, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay spoke with Dr. Brandon Valeriano, a professor at Seton Hall University. Dr. Valeriano is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Marine Corps University as a Senior Advisor to the Cyberspace Solarium Commission 2.0 and he’s additionally written a number of books on the subject, including CyberStrategy: The Evolving Character of Power and Coersion in 2018. Today, we talk about the state of modern cybersecurity, hackers as proxy-forces, K-pop's role in Asian geo-politics and what a Netflix series can teach us about the state of Chinese soft power.

Article on Boy Bands

Article on The 3 Body Problem

Article on De-Escalation and Cyber