Security Dilemma

Latest Episodes:

Josh Shifrinson on Ukraine, Thucydides and Realism May 28, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay spoke with Dr. Joshua Shifrinson, a professor at the University of Maryland, non-resident senior fellow at the Cato Institute and author of Rising Titans, Falling Giants. This was a great conversation about the rise and fall of great powers, American involvement in the war in Ukraine and the future of U.S. European politics.

Dr. Shifrinson's essay on Ukraine with Ashford & Wertheim

Dr. Shifrinson's essay on multipolarity in Foreign Affairs

Christopher McCallion on Grand Strategy May 21, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay had a conversation with Christopher McCallion, a Fellow at Defense Priorities. We talk all about grand strategy, from hegemonic stability theory to reckless driving from allies and more.

Read Shield of the Republic

Read The Balance of Power

Stephen Wertheim Returns: Restraint and Retrenchment May 15, 2024

Show notes

On this episode of Security Dilemma, we have our first return guest on the show - Dr. Stephen Wertheim. Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay joined him at his offices at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to discuss Ukraine, NATO, restraint, "retrenchment" and the foreign policy implications of the 2024 elections. After the release of this episode, Dr. Wertheim released an essay in Foreign Policy on Ukraine, so you can check that out as well! Tune in for a great episode!

Reid Smith on Restraint in U.S. Foreign Policy May 07, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay spoke with Reid Smith, Vice President of Foreign Policy at StandTogether. Reid is an important advocate for realism and restraint in U.S. foreign policy, coordinating support for many of the researchers, and academics featured on this show. This episode dives into the premises of restraint, the recent congressional fight over aid to Ukraine, the concept of a "new Cold War" and more.

Reid's article on Ukraine aid

Reid's article on "anti-strategy"

Brandan Buck on Old Right Opposition To Empire Apr 30, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and Michael D. Culp interview Brandan P. Buck, a historian of right-wing opposition to U.S. foreign policy and the national security state through the Cold War.

We talk about the origins of the "Old Right" through the first World War, the perspective they offered in the rise of American internationalism in the second World War, their decline around the Vietnam War and the state of right-wing opposition to U.S. imperialism through the Global War on Terror.

Brandan P. Buck is a Ph.D. candidate at George Mason University. He’s previous served with the U.S. Army and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

Osamah Khalil on A World Of Enemies Apr 23, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay interviewed Dr. Osamah Khalil, the author of the new book A World Of Enemies: America's Wars at Home and Abroad from Kennedy to Biden. This book covers the history of how endless wars have affected American domestic policy, from Vietnam and COINTELPRO to the Global War on Terror.

Dr. Khalil is a history professor at Syracuse University and the author of America's Dream Palace: Middle East Expertise and the Rise of the National Security State, which was named the Best Book of 2017 by Foreign Affairs magazine. This is his second book and it came out recently on April 16th.

This episode is also announcing a new JQAS reading group - if you're eligible and sign up in time, we'll send you a copy of A World Of Enemies. If you're in DC, join us for a group conversation over dinner. If not, hop on a zoom call to discuss the book.

Purchase A World Of Enemies.

Purchase America's Dream Palace.

John Byrnes and Tyler Koteskey on Veterans, Reservists and Warships Apr 16, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and Patrick Carver Fox talk with John Byrnes and Tyler Koteskey of Concerned Veterans for America. This episode covers how veteran communities have been affected by the Global War on Terror, the use and misuse of reservists and national guardsmen, naval procurement and more.

John Byrnes is strategic director for Concerned Veterans for America. He joined the marine corps in 1991 out of high school and served four years, deployed to Somalia in 1993. He joined the New York National Guard, serving at ground zero after the September 11th terrorist attacks and was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan before retiring from the National Guard in 2018.

Tyler Koteskey is policy director for Concerned Veterans for America, a Fall 2020 Marcellus Policy Fellow with JQAS and now writes about key national security issues including Ukraine Aid, naval policy and more.

Tyler's article on Navy VLS Systems Tyler's article on Ukraine Aid

(This is the first time we've had two guests and the first time we've recorded in the same room with them, so apologies for any audio inconsistencies.)

Special: Iran's Retaliation and the National Interest Apr 12, 2024

Show notes

This afternoon, John Allen Gay sat down to give his thoughts on recent developments in the Middle East and the threat of Iranian retaliation.

John Allen Gay is the Executive Director of The John Quincy Adams Society, Security Dilemma host and co-author of War With Iran: Political, Military and Economic Consequences, published in 2013.

Gregory Brew on Oil, Energy and the Red Sea Apr 09, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and Patrick Carver Fox speak with Dr. Gregory Brew about the changing paradigms of energy markets, from "the great de-risking" to the green energy transition, and what all this means for U.S. national security. Dr. Brew is an analyst at the Eurasia Group and a researcher on the formation of the global oil economy and contemporary energy transition.

Dr. Brew's new piece in War on the Rocks. Apply to the JQAS Summer Conference by May 7th!

Paul Pillar on Gaza and Israeli Politics Apr 04, 2024

Show notes

This week on Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and Patrick Carver Fox spoke with Dr. Paul R. Pillar, a 28-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency who served as the National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia from 2000 to 2005.

A Vietnam veteran, he rose to serve as the Executive Assistant to CIA Director William Webster, the Deputy Director of the CIA Counterterrorism Center and now is a valuable critic of U.S. foreign policy as a non-resident fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies.

Today, we’re going to talk about Israeli airstrikes on Iranian diplomatic facilities in Damascus, tensions with Hezbollah, the Biden Administration's approach to the offensive in Gaza, the prospect of Israeli elections and more.

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