None Of The Above

Over the weekend, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosted the annual G7 summit in Hiroshima. Nuclear proliferation, Russia’s war on Ukraine, and the rise of China dominated conversation between the leaders of the world’s most advanced democratic economies. Kishida hosting the summit is significant: Japan is reinventing its role on the global stage, what TIME Magazine recently called “Japan’s Choice.” The country must choose between maintaining its decades-old pacifist foreign policy or pursuing a more assertive role. This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah sits down with Japan security experts Yuki Tatsumi and Professor Tom Le to unpack the importance of the US-Japan relationship and discuss why, despite Tokyo and Washington’s desire for a more assertive Japan, cultural and demographic factors complicate the buildup of Japan’s military. Yuki Tatsumi is Senior Fellow, Co-Director of the East Asia Program, and Director of the Japan Program at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC Tom Le is Associate Professor of Politics at Pomona College in Claremont, California. He is the author of Japan's Aging Peace: Pacifism and Militarism in the Twenty-First Century.

On April 15, violence erupted across Sudan between the Sudanese Army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces, led by Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan–known also as Hemedti. As the warring factions compete for control of resource-rich Sudan, regional leaders like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, as well as the United States and the United Nations are figuring out how to respond to help mitigate the catastrophic violence. But as this week’s guest reminds us, peacebuilding efforts from external actors like the U.S. and the UN, however well-intentioned, have unintended consequences. This week, guest host and EGF research fellow Zuri Linetsky speaks with Sudan expert Justin Lynch to help us make sense of the conflict playing out today and how attempts at peacebuilding and diplomacy by the West helped embolden the military leaders bringing the country to the brink of collapse. Justin Lynch is a researcher and analyst living in Washington DC. He formerly worked as a reporter and United Nations official in Sudan. He is a co-author of Sudan’s Unfinished Democracy: The Promise and Betrayal of a People's Revolution.

When TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress, he was grilled on whether the popular short form video hosting app used by an estimated 150 million Americans has links to the Chinese government. The Biden administration and several members of Congress from both parties want to ban TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech firm ByteDance, claiming it threatens US national security. But is TikTok really a national security threat, or are these hearings just the latest example of the anti-China hysteria sweeping Washington? To help us make sense of this, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by tech journalist and self-proclaimed national security junkie Kara Swisher. They break down the arguments for and against banning the app, get real about the threats coming from China, and discuss whether Kara would have been better suited for a career in military intelligence. Kara Swisher has covered issues of power, media, and the tech industry for decades, and has been called “Silicon Valley’s most feared and well-liked journalist.” She is the host of Pivot, On With Kara Swisher, and the official companion podcast for the HBO show Succession. To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

We recently marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Many are wondering: how does this seemingly intractable conflict end? On Friday, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Vladimir Putin’s arrest. On Monday, Putin and Xi Jinping met to discuss China’s peace proposal for Ukraine. The United States and its allies in Europe continue to support Ukraine’s defense with military assistance and aid. Will any of this finally put an end to the war? This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah sits down with possibly the best person positioned to answer this question: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. They dive into the causes of and potential ways to end the war, and also discuss: the prospect of US-China conflict, the technology shaping the future of war, and the national security risk posed by sharks. General Mark A. Milley is the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, and the principal military advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council. To listen to more episodes of None Of The Above and to read transcripts, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

President Biden traveled to Poland in February after his surprise visit to Kyiv to encourage NATO countries' continued support for Ukraine as the war enters its second year. “Democracies of the world will stand guard over freedom today, tomorrow and forever,” Biden said. The United States reiterated its commitment to defend countries throughout Europe by remarking on the NATO charter: “It’s absolutely clear: Article 5 is a sacred commitment the United States has made. We will defend every inch of NATO.” While the Bucharest Nine summit focused on the importance of alliances, back at home, their costs and benefits are being debated. One such debate took place at The College of William & Mary’s Global Research Institute between None Of The Above veterans Barry Posen and Kori Schake, with Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah as moderator. Are America’s security commitments a good thing, or are they overextending the United States and its finite resources? Should our alliances be permanent, or should they change based on the security environment? We dive into all of this and more on this week’s special episode of None Of The Above. Barry Posen is the Ford International Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the director of MIT’s Security Studies Program. He is an expert on grad strategy and national security. Kori Schake is Senior Fellow and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy at the American Enterprise Institute. She has had a long and distinguished career in national security roles in government. To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

A year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war grinds on. Early Russian advances were successfully rolled back, but intense fighting continues in the east, where a renewed Russian offensive looms. The United States and many of its European allies remain resolute in their support for Ukraine. In a sign of their commitment, the United States and Germany recently overcame their initial reluctance and decided to provide Ukraine with tanks. But with neither a victory nor a peace settlement on the horizon, can the United States sustain its assistance indefinitely? Even if its interests diverge from Ukraine’s war aims? Even if the threat of nuclear weapons use becomes more plausible? These are some of the questions which likely weigh on President Biden as he prepares for tonight’s State of the Union address. In this episode of None Of The Above, The Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah sits down with CNN White House reporter Natasha Bertrand and nuclear weapons expert James Acton. They discuss Washington’s efforts to support Ukraine under the nuclear shadow. Natasha Bertrand is a CNN White House and National Security Reporter. Previously, Natasha was a correspondent for POLITICO and Business Insider. James Acton is the Jessica T. Mathew Chair and Co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. James is a physicist by training and is the author of the recent War on the Rocks article, “The Case for Caution on Crimea.”

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, observers anxiously watched China’s reactions as many feared a similar conflict would break out in the Taiwan Strait. In recent years, it appears China has been increasingly determined to enforce its One-China policy, first against Hong Kong and now against Taiwan. From afar, the United States is caught between deterring China from an all-out military conflict and supporting a democratic Taiwan. A few months ago, President Joe Biden broke away from America’s traditionally ambiguous stance and said the US would defend Taiwan if China attacks. However, Eurasia Group Foundation’s annual survey found that the number of Americans who support US intervention to help Taiwan is waning. So, how likely is it that a conflict between China and Taiwan breaks out? Is it possible for the US to navigate conflicting interests without resorting to involving itself in another war? In this episode, EGF senior fellow Mark Hannah sits down with Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund to discuss the state of US-China relations and the future of Taiwan. Bonnie Glaser is the managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund. Glaser has worked at the intersection of Asia-Pacific geopolitics and US policy for more than three decades. To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to be sworn in as Israel’s 15th prime minister in the coming days. Israel’s government, which is expected to be the most right-wing in the country’s history, has raised questions about the role the United States should play, if any, in what could be a high consequence and volatile year for Israelis and Palestinians. But before we can begin to think about America’s current role, we wanted to explore what role the United States has played historically in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Has the United States always been an ardent supporter of Israel? Has it ever taken meaningful steps to help de-escalate the conflict? In this week’s bonus episode, Eurasia Group Foundation research fellow and guest host Zuri Linetsky sits down with historian Rashid Khalidi to unpack over a century of American relations with Palestine and Israel. Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. His latest book is The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017. To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

In early December, just weeks after Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party won Israel’s parliamentary election (again), US Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked that America’s commitment to Israel has “never been stronger.” The incoming governing coalition that Netenyahu is forming is expected to be the most right-wing in Israeli history. What does this mean for Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Does this change US policy vis-à-vis one of its closest partners in the Middle East? This week, guest host and EGF research fellow Zuri Linetksy speaks with journalists Neri Zilber and Muhammad Shehada who help us break down what affect Bibi’s new government might have on Israeli-Palestinian relations, and offer thoughts on what the United States can do to mitigate potential violence coming from both sides of the Green Line. Neri Zilber is an Israeli journalist and analyst living in Tel Aviv, and host of the Israel Policy Pod. Muhammad Shehada is a Palestinian journalist and analyst from the Gaza Strip. To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Last month, President Biden warned of “nuclear Armageddon” as tensions with Russia reached their highest point since the Cuban Missile Crisis. While the Biden administration appears to be working around the clock to prevent this kind of nuclear catastrophe, the American public has been largely kept in the dark about how the United States would respond if Russia used a tactical nuclear weapon against Ukraine. To help us make sense of all of this, and to walk us through what options are on the table for the United States to de-escalate tensions with Russia, we are joined by none other than Rose Gottemoeller. Rose was the chief negotiator of New START, the last remaining strategic arms control treaty between the two nuclear-armed countries. With the treaty set to expire in 2026, and recent news of Russia delaying talks on a potential New START renewal, is there hope for the easing of tensions via diplomacy? Or, is a new arms race to out-compete Russia (and other nuclear-armed countries like China) the answer to avoid nuclear war? Rose Gottemoeller is the Steven C. Házy Lecturer at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and its Center for International Security and Cooperation. Rose recently served as Deputy Secretary General of NATO and the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the U.S. State Department. She is the author of Negotiating the New START Treaty (2021). To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

It’s Election Day in the U.S. Americans across the country head to the polls to cast their vote in this year’s midterm elections. Much is at stake for the Biden administration: Republicans are poised to take control of the House of Representatives, if not both houses of Congress. What are the issues motivating Americans to vote (or not)? A month after we at the Eurasia Group Foundation released its annual survey of Americans’ foreign policy views, EGF’s Caroline Gray and Lucas Robinson traveled to Pennsylvania, the site of one of this year’s fiercest Senate races. Caroline and Lucas spoke with Pennsylvanians in Kennett Square, the self-proclaimed mushroom capital of the world, and West Chester to hear about the issues they care about most. Though foreign policy is not at the top of most Americans’ minds when they cast their ballot, they have a lot to say about the war in Ukraine and how much of America’s tax dollars should be spent on defense.

Iran is in upheaval. The death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Iran’s “morality police” has sparked an uprising throughout the country. Protesters have turned the current regime’s revolutionary iconography against it. Faced with what might be the biggest test to its legitimacy since 1979, the Iranian government has imposed a brutal crackdown on dissent. Countries and human rights organizations around the world condemn the government’s violence. In the United States, President Biden has paused nuclear negotiations and expressed his administration’s support for the protesters. But there is little consensus on how and whether this support should transform into official U.S. policy. This week on None Of The Above, EGF’s Mark Hannah speaks with Assal Rad and Reza Aslan, two experts on Iranian politics and culture. They discuss Iran’s history of uprisings and revolutions, the importance of international solidarity, and why Iran’s future is ultimately in Iranian hands. To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter. Assal Rad is the research director at the National Iranian American Council and the author of The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran (2022). Reza Aslan is a scholar, writer, and television producer. He is the author of numerous books including his most recent, An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville (2022). Reza is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside.

Brazilians head to the polls Sunday to elect their next president and other key legislators in Brazil’s general election. If neither presidential candidate – Brazil’s current right wing president Jair Bolsonaro or Brazil’s former left wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – wins a majority of the vote, a runoff election will take place on October 30th. Election watchers worry Bolsonaro will contest the election results should he lose, prompting a violent insurrection which might look even worse than the January 6th protests in the US. What is the likelihood Bolsonaro and his supporters will stage a coup-like event in Brazil? And, how has the Brazilian right been inspired or influenced by the events of January 6th? Is America’s example, for good and bad, really that powerful in Brazil? Foreign Policy’s Catherine Osborn joins the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to dig into all of this and more as the world awaits the election results of the Western hemisphere's second largest democracy. Catherine Osborn is the writer of Foreign Policy’s weekly Latin America Brief. She is a print and radio journalist based in Rio de Janeiro. To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

In early August, the FBI seized boxes of classified documents, some suspected to contain nuclear secrets, from former president Donald Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago. News of the FBI’s raid ignited a political firestorm but it also shed light on an obscure aspect of US foreign policymaking — America’s “nuclear secrecy regime.” From its WWII origins in the development of the atomic bomb to the latest controversy miring Trump, nuclear secrecy has cast a shadow over the development and execution of US national security policy. In this episode, historian Alex Wellerstein joins the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to help us make sense of America’s byzantine classification system, the bureaucratic process that makes it work, and its inherent tensions with democracy. Alex also explains how a president’s ability to declassify information is more complicated than some would have us think. Alex Wellerstein is an associate professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, where he is the director of Science and Technology Studies in the College of Arts and Letters. Alex is the author of the book, Restricted Data: The History of Nuclear Secrecy in the United States (2021), and the creator of NUKEMAP, an online nuclear weapons effects simulator. To listen to more episodes or learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world and home to some of the world’s most critical developing economies. But historically, US foreign policy has treated the continent as a monolith and a site for great power competition, ignoring the role of African nations in deciding their own future. This week, None of the Above is joined by Horn of Africa expert Michael Woldemariam, and journalist Robbie Gramer, to discuss America’s relationship with Sub-Saharan Africa. How should Washington balance the often conflicting priorities of human rights and security in the region? Can Washington develop productive partnerships with African states, outside the prism of competition with Russia and China? And is there even room for coexistence on the continent between the United States and these competitors? As the Biden administration begins to reveal its strategy, guest host and Eurasia Group Foundation research fellow Zuri Linetsky asks Michael and Robbie whether Biden’s Africa strategy represents something new, or is more of the same. To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter.​​ Michael Woldemariam is an associate professor of international relations at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies, who focuses on security and politics in the Horn of Africa. Michael is the author of the book, Insurgent Fragmentation in the Horn of Africa: Rebellion and its Discontents (2018). Robbie Gramer is a diplomacy and national security reporter at Foreign Policy, who covers the US State Department, the Pentagon, and most recently the Biden administration’s new US-Africa strategy.

The fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine has disrupted the global energy market and hiked the price of fuel nearly everywhere around the world. In Europe, which finds itself caught between efforts to cut itself off from Russian oil and Moscow’s firm grip on energy exports, the repercussions of today’s energy crisis are acute. While in the United States, which experienced high prices at the pump, efforts have been underway to resolve the crisis. But how much control does the United States have, and does it require the United States to lean on the shoulder of illiberal partners like Saudi Arabia? Often referred to as “black gold,” oil plays an important role in international affairs. Still, according to Emma Ashford, an oil and international relations expert, its role is frequently misunderstood. Emma joins the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah to discuss her new book Oil, the State, and War and complicate commonly held misconceptions on oil’s influence on foreign policy. Mark and Emma also break down America’s efforts to address the energy crisis, green energy’s potential impact on geopolitics, and the tangled web that is the global energy market. Emma Ashford is a senior fellow at the New American Engagement Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point. She is the author of Oil, the State, and War: The Foreign Policies of Petrostates (2022).

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created at the dawn of the Cold War to stop the expansion of the Soviet Union. But in the 1990s, when NATO intervened in the Balkan wars, it assumed a new role for itself. Our guest this week was responsible, more than two decades ago, for explaining the NATO campaign in Kosovo to the international press. Now as NATO member countries assist Ukraine in its defense against Russia, can the alliance continue to provide security on the European continent? In this episode, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by Jamie Shea, a former NATO official who last served as Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges. As NATO unveiled its strategic concept last week in Madrid, what lessons can the alliance learn from the past and what purpose will it serve in the future? Jamie Shea worked for NATO for 38 years, including as a spokesperson during the Kosovo campaign in 1999 and retired from the alliance as Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges.

The United Nations estimates around half of Afghanistan’s population – nearly 20 million people – faces acute hunger. The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan follows the end of America’s twenty-year war and the withdrawal of all US troops in August 2021. In February, the Biden administration decided to freeze nearly $10 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank in order to prevent money going into the hands of the Taliban. Are US policies exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and what does freezing of assets mean to accomplish? This week, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah is joined by freelance journalist Matthieu Aikins and the co-founder of Unfreeze Afghanistan Masuda Sultan to better understand the current state of Afghanistan, President Biden’s decision to freeze Afghanistan assets in response to the Taliban’s takeover, and the ongoing plight of Afghans. Matthieu Aikins is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, and the author of The Naked Don’t Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees. Masuda Sultan is an Afghan-American women’s rights activist and entrepreneur who has been working for over 20 years in support of women and girls in education, vocational training, and protection from violence. Show notes: “Afghanistan: Nearly 20 million going hungry” (UN News, May 9, 2022) The Naked Don't Fear the Water: An Underground Journey with Afghan Refugees (Matthieu Aikins, February 22, 2022)

General George Marshall occupies a central place in the pantheon of American heroes. He helped lead the Allies to victory in World War II, and as the secretary of state, he championed the plan to rebuild Europe which would be named for him: The Marshall Plan. But Marshall’s record as a statesman wasn’t perfect. Tapped by President Truman to negotiate an end to China’s civil war, he proved unable to broker a lasting settlement and prevent the country’s Communist takeover. In this episode, the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah concludes Season 3 of None Of The Above with a discussion of Marshall’s legacy with Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, the editor of Foreign Affairs and the author of The China Mission: George Marshall’s Unfinished War, 1945-1947. As the United States deals with competing global challenges, from Ukraine to Taiwan, Daniel’s depiction of Marshall’s career—for all its triumphs and failures—holds important lessons on the limits of American power. Have a listen, and stay tuned for when we return in June for Season 4. To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter. Daniel Kurtz-Phelan is the editor of Foreign Affairs magazine and host of the upcoming podcast, The Foreign Affairs Interview. Previously, he served in the US Department of State, where he was a member of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s policy planning staff. He is also the author of The China Mission: George Marshall’s Unfinished War, 1945-1947 (2018).

From the Crimean War of 1853 to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this year, journalists, reporters, and the media have shaped the public’s understanding of war. But do the stories we read and the photos we see provide an impartial picture of the wars they document? As the Eurasia Group Foundation’s Mark Hannah recently explained in Foreign Policy, certain aspects of American war coverage—reliance on government sources and incentives to simplify geopolitics as battles between good and evil—have long compelled news organizations to tilt toward military action. In this special episode of None Of The Above, host of WNYC’s On The Media Brooke Gladstone and Slate’s “War Stories” columnist Fred Kaplan, are interviewed by Mark at the American Academy in Rome. Together, in these excerpts from that conversation, they unpack the media’s coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine and the biases which influence how the media understand and depict these conflicts. To listen to previous episodes and learn more about None Of The Above, go to www.noneoftheabovepodcast.org. To learn more about the Eurasia Group Foundation, please visit www.egfound.org and subscribe to our newsletter. Brooke Gladstone is a journalist and host of On the Media, a Peabody Award-winning podcast by WNYC Studios. Brooke is also the Rea S. Hederman Critic in Residence at the American Academy in Rome and the author of The Influencing Machine (2011) and The Trouble with Reality: A Rumination on Moral Panic in Our Time (2017). Fred Kaplan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and columnist for Slate, where he authors the “War Stories” column. Fred’s most recent book is The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War (2020).