In this special cross-over episode, Dr. Van Jackson speaks with Future Tense host and director of research for Diplomat Risk Intelligence, Abhijnan Rej. They talk about scenario-based planning, intelligence failures, the perils of net assessment, and why it all matters in the context of the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Future Tense pod: https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-2jvmc-10bacc2?utm_campaign=w_share_ep&utm_medium=dlink&utm_source=w_share Diplomat Risk Intelligence: https://d...
Aug 19, 2021•19 min•Ep. 98
What's going on with the Quincy Institute v. liberal internationalism debate? How neoliberalism gave us the far right. What's a master's in IR really worth? Can you have too many national security experts (yes)? How anti-hegemonist politics gives rise to campism within the left. Also this episode: China's empire-building in Tibet and Bhutan. Nathan Robinson Tweet: https://twitter.com/NathanJRobinson/status/1418357218450214921 Peter Dombrowski Tweet: https://twitter.com/PeterDombrowsk6/status/141...
Aug 12, 2021•55 min•Ep. 97
In this special crossover episode with the NK News podcast, Dr. Van Jackson has a wide-ranging discussion with its host, Jacco Zwetsloot. Van and Jacco talk about Van's writing process, how close we got to nuclear war in 2017, what the Biden administration is missing on North Korea, the East Asian peace, and his political evolution.
Aug 03, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 96
Why Chinese influence in New Zealand is an opportunity to pioneer an anti-CCP and antiracist policy. Why the Roosevelt Doctrine is really an attempt to save Woodrow Wilson. Writing about objects too big to write about. Republicans are using China to kill democracy. The problem with "punching left" on Cuba. Also this episode: What's wrong with international relations? Chris Clary Tweet: https://twitter.com/clary_co/status/1415084925481627655 Robbie Shilliam Tweet: https://twitter.com/RobbieShilli...
Jul 22, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 95
Guam's anti-militarist plight exposes Sino-US competition as clashing spheres of influence. How America did the Philippines dirty for a hundred years...and is still. The promise and perils and the Progressive International's strategy. Why boomers are hoarding real estate. And is academia for poor people? Evan Feigenbaum Tweet: https://twitter.com/EvanFeigenbaum/status/1403805400009486351 Ken Klippenstein Tweet: https://twitter.com/kenklippenstein/status/1402342616772055046?s=19 Emily Brier Tweet...
Jun 18, 2021•58 min•Ep. 94
Is it possible to push back on China's many forms of aggression without rivalry or racism? What Wu-Tang teaches us about solidarity and capitalist critique. Israel's occupying Palestine, so let's talk about terrorism. Why alliance reassurance rarely makes sense. Chris Clary Tweet: https://twitter.com/clary_co/status/1395448568983523328 Seva Gunitsky Tweet: https://twitter.com/SevaUT/status/1393827799652261892 Jamaal Bowman Tweet: https://twitter.com/JamaalBowmanNY/status/1393705229842014209?s=20...
Jun 02, 2021•53 min•Ep. 93
Why socialists aren't "very liberal." The far right's war on critical race theory is a bigger deal than you think. Why everyone loves to throw shade at New Zealand. The histrionics of the Taiwan debate. The truth about Van's interview on the Quincy Institute. North Korea policy is going nowhere. Ken Schultz Tweet: https://twitter.com/KSchultz3580/status/1387963382452477954 David Roberts Tweet: https://twitter.com/drvolts/status/1386766470831493120?s=19 John Carl Baker Tweet: https://twitter.com/...
May 12, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 92
Why the Biden administration is performing its rivalry with China. What the Afghanistan withdrawal decision says about global punditry. Why UFOs might not be as sexy as Van hopes they are. Theories for avoiding war. Winners may write history, but that doesn't make it right. Creating a talent pool for progressive technocrats. How to think about the UK/EU jumping into the China-competition game. Also this episode: Why "Foreign policy for the middle class" is the right goal with the wrong implement...
Apr 27, 2021•46 min•Ep. 91
P. Diddy is an oligarch who was bad for hip-hop...and now he's exploiting BLM. How Washington pundits became Xi Jinping's hype man. Why FONOPs are a silly way to send a message. Favorite feminist movies. Also this episode: Why is there no DMZ in international relations? Tanvi Madan Tweet: https://twitter.com/tanvi_madan/status/1380552263589113858?s=19 Ben Young Tweet: https://twitter.com/DubstepInDPRK/status/1380965755743694849?s=19 Daniel Denvir Tweet: https://twitter.com/DanielDenvir/status/13...
Apr 17, 2021•51 min•Ep. 90
The Global North owes the Global South progressive economic policies, not aid. The essential (?) fascism of security clearances. Why it's wrong to make international-relations paradigms into ideologies. The tragic history and propagandizing about the third offset strategy--or, the origins of American militarism today. The China Cold War question. Jason Hickel Tweet: https://twitter.com/jasonhickel/status/1377545871223586817?s=19 Gerald Brown Tweet: https://twitter.com/GeraldC_Brown/status/137854...
Apr 09, 2021•54 min•Ep. 89
If an "Indo-Pacific strategy" can't cope with the Syria risk in Myanmar, then what good is it? Why the history of Cold War liberalism tells us not to pin domestic renewal on the China threat. Why Chinese air incursions against Taiwan DO NOT signal invasion. What's going on in Asian studies at Georgetown. Japan's role in a Taiwan conflict. The lost history of the WTO anti-globalization protests. Matt Duss Tweet: https://twitter.com/mattduss/status/1375934723701243908?s=20 Blake Herzinger Tweet: h...
Apr 02, 2021•43 min•Ep. 88
Which QAnon congresswoman thinks Guam is a foreign country? Why Asia is not the Indo-Pacific. Think tank infighting. Wasting time before writing. Rachel Rizzo: https://mobile.twitter.com/RachelRizzo/status/1370776048183435264 Spencer Ackerman: https://twitter.com/attackerman/status/1371127805296189446?s=19 JD Vance: https://mobile.twitter.com/JDVance1/status/1370873282824667136 Laicie Heeley: https://mobile.twitter.com/laicie/status/1370075526262632462 Van Jackson on America's Indo-Pacific Folly...
Mar 20, 2021•32 min•Ep. 87
Why American strategic culture is so obsessed with "capable dildos." Why native Hawaiians don't want federal recognition to whitewash an illegal land grab. What it means to declare oneself a "China hawk" and why it matters. Why North Korean defectors want to go back to North Korea. Also this episode: Is the US-China rivalry an ideological conflict? Branco Milanovic Tweet: https://twitter.com/BrankoMilan/status/1368219420645093379 Vipin Narang Tweet: https://twitter.com/NarangVipin/status/1367656...
Mar 14, 2021•52 min•Ep. 86
What happens when think tankers become tankies. Alliance domino theory nonsense--why Taiwan is not like the others. Why Japan's the real leader of Asia's liberal order. The US doesn't need Saudi Arabia. James Palmer Tweet: https://twitter.com/BeijingPalmer/status/1365381504629669891 Mike McFaul Tweet: https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1365424739196362752?s=19 Michael Kofman Tweet: https://twitter.com/KofmanMichael/status/1364021794513047552?s=19 Cheng Che on Japan's Liberal Foreign Policy Realis...
Mar 05, 2021•39 min•Ep. 85
Why Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "white moderate" threat dominates Washington today. The dilemma of militarist thinking about strategy. New Zealand's beef with Australia. Southeast Asia wants a more progressive US foreign policy. Foreign policy's career ceiling problem. Caroline Baxter Tweet: https://twitter.com/CarolineCBaxter/status/1362163234426544128?s=19 John Lee Tweet: https://twitter.com/koreanforeigner/status/1360752886322327553?s=19 Zachary Keck Tweet: https://twitter.com/zacharykeck/statu...
Feb 27, 2021•50 min•Ep. 84
A rope-a-dope strategy for China. How a liberal plays the anti-China card (for better or worse). The truth about Asia's Democracy divide. Why Micronesia gave up on the Pacific Islands Forum. Also this episode: What would it be like if Netflix's Emily in Paris took place in Washington, D.C.? Alex McCoy Tweet: https://twitter.com/AlexanderMcCoy4/status/1358206091964915714?s=19 Michael Mazza Tweet: https://twitter.com/mike_mazza/status/1357335849004916743?s=19 Rachel Rizzo Tweet: https://twitter.co...
Feb 17, 2021•37 min•Ep. 83
The debate about South Korean illiberalism that nobody wants you to hear. Why bro culture incubates fascism. The coup in Myanmar is NBD compared to genocide. QAnon is no friend of the left. And why hustling is nonpartisan. Emma Ashford, Kate Kizer, and TX Hammes debating Grand Strategy: https://inkstickmedia.com/after-the-apocalypse-us-grand-strategy/ Dan Nexon Tweet: https://twitter.com/dhnexon/status/1356334701733150721 Tom Pepinsky Tweet: https://twitter.com/TomPepinsky/status/135624202358666...
Feb 10, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 82
Why the threat of our time is the global far right, and what it has in common with the protestant reformation. What's wrong and right about the Indo-Pacific and the Quad. Dark money in think tanks. Kim Jong Un's authoritarian savvy. The real meaning of the Third World--or, is Marco Rubio a white supremacist? Also this episode: Why Trump has changed how we teach international relations. Sensible Human 96 Tweet: https://twitter.com/sensiblehuman96/status/1351296226235453442?s=11 Patrick Iber Tweet...
Feb 03, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 81
Futures studies versus moneyball--the problem with prediction. A supply-side theory of Obama's drone strike addiction. Telling lies about a Galactic Federation with aliens. Should Japan join the Five-Eyes intelligence-sharing partnership? How to get out of Afghanistan. Why the Indo-Pacific is too big for a single strategy. Also this episode: The movies that made Van Jackson and the team. Jeffrey Lewis's Tweet: https://twitter.com/ArmsControlWonk/status/1334533169547075584?s=19 Annette Joseph: ht...
Dec 17, 2020•58 min•Ep. 80
Does President Biden need an Asia Tsar? Why McDonalds peace theory is over. The truth about liberal international relations theory. Israel's grass-mowing theory of deterrence. The difference between Taiwan and China. Also this episode: What does Denzel Washington's Training Day have to do with Asian security? Paul MacDonald Tweet: https://twitter.com/pkmacdonald/status/1333778364151238657 Sarah Cooper Tweet: https://twitter.com/sarahcpr/status/1333639291902300161 Caitlin Talmadge Tweet: https://...
Dec 09, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 79
Why is the State Department's Office of Policy Planning so obsessed with George Kennan...and China's ideology? The untold story of how America lost economic primacy in Asia, and why nobody talks about it now. What is IR theory good for? Why cancelling student debt matters. The non-interview at Australian National University. Also this episode: what should we think about the Free Chosun movement against North Korea? Alexander Lanoszka Tweet: https://twitter.com/ALanoszka/status/132843168481196851...
Nov 25, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 78
Australians are getting economically coerced by China but not everyone knows why. Militarism is bad, but militarists who've never been in a fight are the worst. What North Korea has in store for Biden in 2021. A hypersonic missile arms race is coming to Asia, but is anyone paying attention? And if Trump were throw a coup, how would we know in advance? Also this episode: Van recommends some reading for budding IR scholars. John Culver Tweet: https://twitter.com/JohnCulver689/status/13263234174365...
Nov 18, 2020•53 min•Ep. 77
What it's like to interview at Stanford University (!). What Veep's Jonah Ryan can teach aspiring Washington technocrats. On Trumpian fascism. Why elite think tanks are ripe for corruption. And what Larry David's "spite store" idea has to do with Trump's lame-duck foreign policy. Also this episode: What are international-relations theories good for? Dan Nexon Tweet: https://twitter.com/dhnexon/status/1322939398044950530 Timothy Simon Tweet: https://twitter.com/timothycsimons/status/1323512882055...
Nov 11, 2020•55 min•Ep. 76
What makes Elon Musk a wannabe totalitarian? A new book on space expansionism paints a dark picture. Why Taiwan is the O.G. China. How to fit Milton Friedman and LL Cool J in the same sentence. Stanford University's Hoover Institution controversy. And resisting China's civil war narrative. Paul Musgrave Tweet: https://twitter.com/profmusgrave/status/1321163306296659968 Paul Musgrave Tweet: https://twitter.com/profmusgrave/status/1321113451540979714?s=19 Ruben Gallego Tweet: https://twitter.com/R...
Nov 02, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 75
What's 50 Cent's beef with Franz Fanon? And what makes Ice Cube different than 50 Cent? What to make of China's escalation of wolf-warrior diplomacy. The progressive debate about American foreign policy--opposing US power or US militarism? Also this episode--questioning Taiwan's future and how American hegemony ends. Alex Cooley and Dan Nexon Tweet: https://twitter.com/CooleyOnEurasia/status/1319027614305181699 Rabbi Jill Jacobs Tweet: https://twitter.com/rabbijilljacobs/status/13190242721746247...
Oct 28, 2020•44 min•Ep. 74
How Washington punishes those who support peace. What real diversity in foreign policy looks like. Why rivalries make people stupid, especially great-power ones. Why Vietnam is probably not Asia's next economic "miracle." And who needs a literary agent? Depends what you're trying to publish, and where. Hunter Marston Tweet: https://twitter.com/hmarston4/status/1316198014747197440?s=19 Kirk Serpes Tweet: https://twitter.com/KirkSerpes/status/1315942319825121281?s=19 Stephen Walt Tweet: https://tw...
Oct 21, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 73
Why does Judd Apatow have a better grasp on the China problem than Washington does? How should we understand the Indo-Pacific Quad, and what's a "speech-act institution?" Does Turkey have an imperial foreign policy? And why is nobody paying attention to India's sphere of influence? Also this episode: What principles should guide East Asia policy? The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft takes a decent crack at answering. Dan Nexon Tweet: https://twitter.com/dhnexon/status/1312922875574341...
Oct 14, 2020•56 min•Ep. 72
The Black Panther Party's intersection with North Korea is fascinating and surprising. Van sits down with Dr. Benjamin Young to talk about North Korea's relationship to radical leftist movements, the Black Panther Party, the travails of trying to work in academia, and Ben's upcoming book--Guns, Guerrillas, and the Great Leader.
Oct 07, 2020•37 min•Ep. 71
Black self defense is essential to minimize state violence. Good strategy isn't infinite. The war-game might be rigged, but it can still be fun. Is the China-US relationship a security dilemma, or nah? Klaus Schwab says neoliberalism is dead, but the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist. Also this episode: Why is everything breaking and nothing working except for military procurement and missile development? Corruption! Astra Taylor Tweet: https://mobile...
Sep 30, 2020•50 min•Ep. 70
Don't believe the hawks--Biden has no credibility problem in Asia. India shows China how democracies do trolling better. The convergences and divergences of Marxist and progressive foreign policy. The East Asian mind and the Western mind--wut? Also this episode: Why activists and strategists need to work together toward nuclear disarmament. India Today Tweet: https://twitter.com/IndiaToday/status/1305495069693079553 Nicholas Miller Tweet: https://twitter.com/Nick_L_Miller/status/1305280247034785...
Sep 23, 2020•59 min•Ep. 69
