American Prestige

Danny and Derek discuss COVID-19 and how vaccine colonialism reflects longer-term trends in U.S. history, the recent coup in Guinea, the formation of the new Afghanistan government, and the upcoming German elections. The boys then speak with Alexander Aviña, an assistant professor of history at Arizona State University, about the history of Mexico and U.S.-Mexican Relations from the 1810 Mexican War of Independence to the "drug war" of today.

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Timothy Gill, assistant professor in the department of sociology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, joins Danny and Derek for a discussion of how the US has attempted to undermine foreign governments, particularly Venezuela, by way of democracy promotion. They discuss the role of government groups like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and parastatal actors like the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the history of US-Venezuelan relations and how they deteriorated, the two-party consensus in the US around democracy promotion interventions, how this tactic has also been used by the US in other regions, and more.

Be sure to grab a copy of Tim’s book Encountering US Empire in Socialist Venezuela: The Legacy of Race, Neo-Colonialism, and Democracy Promotion: https://shorturl.at/aiEIN

Danny and Derek welcome back Christopher McKnight Nichols, Wayne Woodrow Hayes Chair in National Security Studies and professor of history at Ohio State University, to the program for a chat about rethinking American grand strategy. They talk about what exactly “grand strategy” is, grand strategy vs. first principle, the role of WWII and the end of the Cold War in US grand strategy, PEPFAR and the Bush administration, climate change vs other low-success grand strategies, technology and grand strategy, and more.

Be sure to check out the volume Christopher co-edited, Rethinking American Grand Strategy!

Séamus Malekafzali once again joins Danny and Derek, this time to talk about Iran's lack of a retaliation (so far) to Israel's strike this weekend, what Israel might be hoping to get out of that and its invasion of Lebanon, the effect of the latter on Lebanese Americans, Iran's grand strategy, and more.

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The bi-monthly collaboration between AP and Nonzero Newsletter continues! Our dear paid subscribers also get access to the additional "Overtime" conversation and a discounted membership to Nonzero, so subscribe now for that and much more content!

Video

0:00 What could go right with Trump’s foreign policy?

7:47 Trump’s Bibi-pleasing Middle East path

13:25 How would Europe-led defence of Europe work?

15:31 What most miss about the Oval Office blowup

19:20 Has relying on America doomed Ukraine?

26:29 Heading to Overtime

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