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Power Problems

Power Problems

Cato Institute

Power Problems is a bi-weekly podcast from the Cato Institute. Host John Glaser offers a skeptical take on U.S. foreign policy, and discusses today’s big questions in international security with distinguished guests from across the political spectrum. Podcast Hashtag: #FPPowerProblems.

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Top 10 Power Problems Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Power Problems episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Power Problems for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Power Problems episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Power Problems - After Coronavirus III: Great Powers and COVID
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08/11/20 • 26 min

In the third of our series on the world after the coronavirus, we talk about great power politics and U.S.-China relations, with returning guest Joshua Shifrinson of Boston University.


1. Joshua Shifrinson Bio: https://www.bu.edu/pardeeschool/profile/joshua-shifrinson/

2. Joshua Shifrinson, International Security, “Partnership or Predation? How Rising States Contend With Declining Great Powers.”

3. Emma Ashford and Matthew Kroenig, Foreign Policy, “Is This The Beginning of a New Cold War with China?”



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Power Problems - Domestic Politics and the China Scare
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01/26/21 • 22 min

Is the United States on course for a new Cold War with China? Campbell Craig tells John Glaser that there may be a chance to cooperate and ease tensions with Beijing. They discuss how changes in the U.S. military budget, threat perception, nuclear posturing, alliances, and domestic politics can help the two superpowers avoid a potential standoff.

Show Notes

  1. Campbell Craig bio:https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/542163-craig-campbell
  2. Campbell Craig and Fredrik Logevall, America’s Cold War: The Politics of Insecurity, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009).


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Power Problems - Can the “Restraint Coalition” Endure?
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09/05/23 • 45 min

Texas A&M associate professor John Schuessler discusses the different ideological pathways to a grand strategy of restraint. He examines realist, conservative, and progressive restrainers and speculates that the rise of great power competition will be a stress test for the survival of this coalition on foreign policy. He also discusses the foreign policy changes in the GOP and restraint differences over China policy, among other topics.

Show Notes

  1. John Schuessler bio
  2. John Shuessler and Jasen Castillo, “Building Foreign Militaries and Learning the Right Lessons from Afghanistan,” Newsweek, August 17, 2021.
  3. John Schuessler, Joshua Shifrinson, and David Blagden, “Revisiting Insularity and Expansion: A Theory NotePerspectives on Politics, November 12, 2021.


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Power Problems - The Realism of Reinhold Niebuhr
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11/14/23 • 34 min

Christopher Chivvis, director of the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discusses the work of renowned realist thinker Reinhold Niebuhr. He explores Niebuhr’s views on war, politics, and American Exceptionalism, and argues that Niebuhr's restraint-oriented ideas are just what is needed in contemporary debates about U.S. foreign and national security policy, particularly with respect to the rivalry with China.

Show Notes



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Power Problems - India, the Swing State?
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07/11/23 • 47 min

Sameer Lalwani, Senior Expert at the United States Institute for Peace, discusses India's place in global politics, the advantages and drawbacks of deepening U.S.-India relations, India's illiberal turn, Indian relations with Russia, Pakistan, and China, and related topics. He also discusses more restrained alternatives to U.S. naval strategy.

Show Notes



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Power Problems - The Trouble with US Support for Israel & Ukraine
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05/14/24 • 56 min

Mark Hannah, senior fellow at the Institute for Global Affairs, the nonprofit housed at the Eurasia Group, and host of the None of the Above podcast, argues that President Biden has not used the leverage US support provides over Israel in its war in Gaza and Ukraine in its war with Russia, prolonging the conflicts instead of imposing real conditions and pressing for negotiated resolutions. He discusses the recently passed aid bill, Israel’s planned attack on Rafah and Biden’s threat to withhold aid, and the politics within each party over Israel and Ukraine, as well as the American addiction to war and tendency to construe international conflicts in simplified Manichean terms, among other issues.


Show Notes



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Power Problems - America Is Eroding the International Order
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10/17/23 • 43 min

The U.S.'s frequent use of force abroad erodes the international order's most fundamental principles of sovereignty and non-intervention. Yale Law School professor Oona Hathaway discusses the erosion of domestic constraints on presidential war powers and the increasing official resort to untenable self-defense doctrines to justify its military actions under international law. She also explains why chipping away at the prohibition on the use of force undermines international order, among other topics.


Show Notes



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Power Problems - The Changing U.S.-Pakistan Relationship
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01/24/23 • 42 min

Ahsan Butt, associate professor at George Mason University, discusses the problems in Pakistani politics and government, the changes in U.S.-Pakistani relations since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s relations with the Taliban, India, and China. He also explains his theory of why the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003.

  1. Ahsan Butt bio
  2. Paul Staniland, Adnan Naseemullah, and Ahsan Butt, “Pakistan’s Military Elite,” Journal of Security Studies 43, no. 1 (2018): pp. 74-103.
  3. Ahsan Butt, “Clash of the Titans: India and Pakistan Continue to Battle Over Kashmir,” The National Interest, August 24, 2020.
  4. Ahsan Butt, “Why Did the United States Invade Iraq in 2003?Security Studies 28, no. 2 (2019): pp. 250-285.


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Eric Gomez and Christopher Preble join Emma Ashford to discuss their new paper, “Building a Modern Military,” and how COVID-19 will change the U.S. military.



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Power Problems - Why Security Assistance Fails
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06/11/24 • 46 min

Rachel Metz, assistant professor of political science at George Washington University, explains why security assistance, one of the most ubiquitous programs in U.S. foreign policy, so often fails. She argues that bureaucratic interests, organizational processes, and perverse dynamics of civil-military relations discourage conditioning U.S. support for partner militaries. She also discusses the role of norms in the U.S. Army, the need for greater civilian oversight and management, why the policymakers need to be more selective about security assistance, and how U.S. political leaders have expanded the military’s roles and responsibilities to the detriment of an effective U.S. strategy.


Show Notes

Rachel Tecott Metz; “The Cult of the Persuasive: Why U.S. Security Assistance Fails,” International Security 2022/2023; 47 (3): 95–135.



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FAQ

How many episodes does Power Problems have?

Power Problems currently has 194 episodes available.

What topics does Power Problems cover?

The podcast is about News, Podcasts, Politics and Government.

What is the most popular episode on Power Problems?

The episode title 'After Coronavirus I: Can the Global Economy be Saved?' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Power Problems?

The average episode length on Power Problems is 41 minutes.

How often are episodes of Power Problems released?

Episodes of Power Problems are typically released every 14 days.

When was the first episode of Power Problems?

The first episode of Power Problems was released on Sep 11, 2017.

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