Security Dilemma

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 Apply to Progressive Talent Pipeline Apply to KAP

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 Apply to the Progressive Talent Pipeline Apply to the Koch Associate Program

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

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

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

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!

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"

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.

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. Sign up for the JQAS reading group. Purchase A World Of Enemies. Purchase America's Dream Palace.

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.)

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.

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!

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.

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and A.J. Manuzzi interview Dr. Jon Hoffman, a policy analyst in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute. He holds a PhD in political science from George Mason, part of the Middle East Policy Council’s “40 under 40” and he writes about Middle East geopolitics in publications like Foreign Policy, The Washington Post and The National Interest. In this episode, we cover the state of the war in Gaza, the politics of surrounding countries like Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia and the future of U.S. policy in the Middle East. Dr. Hoffman's most recent essay in Foreign Policy

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay interview Dr. Dale Copeland, a professor at the University of Virginia. Dr. Copeland recently published a new book called A World Safe for Commerce: American Foreign Policy From The Revolution To The Rise of China. At UVA, Dr. Copeland studies the impact of the rise and decline of economic and military power on state behavior. He’s additionally authored Economic Interdependence and War (2015) and The Origins of Major War (2000). You can order A World Safe For Commerce here.

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay interview Murtaza Hussain, a writer at The Intercept. He's broken major stories about America's involvement in Pakistani politics and we talk about that along with humanitarian aid in Gaza, airstrikes on the Houthis, the Iranian dissident group MEK and the FBI's entrapment of teenagers. You can check out Murtaza's reporting here. The original report on the Pakistani "cypher". The arrest of Humzah Mashkoor.

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and John Allen Gay interviewed James A. Siebens, a Fellow at the Stimson Center's Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy program. He leads Stimson's Defense Strategy and Planning project and he’s the editor of China’s Use of Armed Coercion, a 2023 study on China’s use of military and paramilitary forces. Our conversation covers the South China Sea and China’s use of “military operations other than war”.

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and A.J. Manuzzi interviewed Derek Davison of Foreign Exchanges and American Prestige. We talk about his analysis of American policy in the Middle East, from the true intentions of the Obama Administration in the Arab Spring to the current relationship between the United States and the Pakistani military.

This week on Security Dilemma, Patrick Carver Fox and A.J. Manuzzi interviewed John Ramming Chappell, an Advocacy and Legal Fellow at the Center for Civilians in Conflict's U.S. program. Our conversation today ranged from the laws that regulate arms sales and security assistance and how often the United States follows its own laws in practice.

This week on Security Dilemma, we spoke with Dr. Jon Askonas about the technology of warfare, the state of the defense industry and war in Eastern Europe. Dr. Askonas is a professor of Political Science at Catholic University of America and a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation. Dr. Askonas's article on the Discord Leaks Dr. Askonas's article on Secrecy and Government