On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interviewed Sabreena Croteau. Sabreena is a Research Fellow at Defense Priorities and recently defended her dissertation to earn her doctorate in Political Science from the University of Chicago. Her dissertation, titled “Security the Seas: The Political Economy of Naval Force Structure,” uses an economic approach to examine the variance in the development of naval power across states, and intends to draw policy-relevant implications for U.S. grand strategy, the pivot to Asia, and competition with China as a rising economic power. Our conversation discussed how economic considerations influence how great powers construct their navies, how U.S. policymakers should think about sea lanes, and China and Russia's Arctic ambitions.
On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Aude Darnal, a Research Analyst and Project Manager at the Stimson Center, and the founder and leader of the Global South in the World Order Project — hosted by the Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program. Prior to joining Stimson, Aude served as an associate director at the Atlantic Council’s New American Engagement Initiative. She is originally from Martinique, in the French Caribbean.
Our conversation discussed how Global South countries are responding to the Trump Administration in light of its recent tariffs and foreign aid cuts, as well as how U.S. grand strategy can meet the moment in an increasingly multipolar world.
"Order of Oppression" by Tim Murithi
Stimson's Global South in the World Order Project site
Is a career in political risk right for you? On March 13, JQAS recorded a webinar about careers in the private geopolitical risk sector with several alumni of the Society. The panelists and co-hosts John Allen Gay and Julie Thompson-Gomez discussed what a typical day in the life for someone in the industry looks like, how prospective applicants can be competitive candidates for roles in the space, and various tips and tricks for navigating careers in this emergent sector. Panelist bios are as follows:Natalie Armbruster is a Senior Middle East Intelligence Researcher at Seerist. She is a former Research Associate at Defense Priorities.John Goodnight is the Chief of Staff at John Hulsman Enterprises. Prior to this role, he was the Southern Regional Director at JQAS.Scarlett Kennedy is an Analyst at Valens Global, as well as an alumna of the Society's Marcellus Policy Fellowship.
On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Spencer Ackerman, a Pulitzer Prize and National Magazine Award-winning reporter, who has covered the War on Terror and U.S. foreign policy for The New Republic, Wired, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, and Zeteo. He is also the author of Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump and the Forever Wars newsletter, and he is currently writing the new Iron Man series for Marvel Comics and The Torture and Deliverance of Majid Khan. Our conversation discussed the impact of the GWOT on U.S. politics, whether the GWOT is actually over, and the Biden Administration's foreign policy legacy.
On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Sarang Shidore, the director of the Global South Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Our conversation discussed whether interests, ideology, or both drive the policies of some Global South states, whether China is part of the Global South, and what a better approach to the U.S.-Philippines alliance might look like.
Sarang Shidore's new Quincy Institute explainer on the U.S.-Philippines alliance: https://quincyinst.org/research/defending-without-provoking-the-united-states-and-the-philippines-in-the-south-china-sea/
On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Skip Shelton, a career foreign policy professional with experience in defense, diplomacy, and development about the unique career journey that brought him from coordinating elections in Iraq and building roads in Afghanistan to working on Somalia's security assistance and conflict monitoring in Ukraine. The conversation also touches on how those experiences shaped Shelton's own views on American foreign policy.
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.
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.
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/
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
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!
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/
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
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.
John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Christopher Shell, a Fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Carnegie survey on "Race, Foreign Policy, and the 2024 Presidential Election"
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.
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
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
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.
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.
