12-Liberal Values, Material Interests, and the Inconsistencies of U.S. Democracy Promotion

10/09/20 • 42 min

Guests:

Arman Grigoryan is an Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations at Lehigh University.

Sarah Sewall is a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center and Executive Vice President for Policy at In-Q-Tel. She previously served as the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights from 2014 to 2017.

International Security Article:

This podcast is based on Arman Grigoryan, “Selective Wilsonianism: Material Interests and the West’s Support for Democracy,” International Security, Vol. 44, No. 4 (Spring 2020), pp. 150–200.

Related Readings:

Sabrina Tavernise, “Protesters and Police Clash as Armenia Unrest Grows,” New York Times, March 2, 2008.

“How To Be Good Neighbours,” The Economist, March 1, 2014.

John J. Mearsheimer, “Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault: The Liberal Delusions That Provoked Putin,” Foreign Affairs, September/October 2014.

Aaron David Miller, “Values vs. Interests: How Should America Deal with Bad Guys?,” The National Interest, May 2, 2017.

“Trump’s Strange Silence on Belarus,” Washington Post, August 21, 2020.

Guests:

Arman Grigoryan is an Associate Professor in the Department of International Relations at Lehigh University.

International Security Article:

Related Readings:

Sabrina Tavernise, “Protesters and Police Clash as Armenia Unrest Grows,” New York Times, March 2, 2008.

“How To Be Good Neighbours,” The Economist, March 1, 2014.

John J. Mearsheimer, “Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault: The Liberal Delusions That Provoked Putin,” Foreign Affairs, September/October 2014.

Aaron David Miller, “Values vs. Interests: How Should America Deal with Bad Guys?,” The National Interest, May 2, 2017.

“Trump’s Strange Silence on Belarus,” Washington Post, August 21, 2020.

Previous Episode

11-Rethinking the Norms and Practices of U.S. Civil-Military Relations

Guests:

Risa Brooks is the Allis Chalmers Associate Professor of Political Science at Marquette University and a non-resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Joseph L. Votel is a retired four-star general in the U.S. Army and previously served as Commander of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. Votel is currently a non-resident Senior Fellow here at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center and he is also the President and CEO of Business Executives for National Security.

International Security Article:

This podcast is based on Risa Brooks, “Paradoxes of Professionalism: Rethinking Civil-Military Relations in the United States,” International Security, Vol. 44, No. 4 (Spring 2020), pp. 7–44.

Related Readings:

Celeste Ward Gventer, Jessica D. Blankshain, Raphael S. Cohen, Lindsay P. Cohn, Paul Eaton, Lauren Fish, “Policy Roundtable: Civil-Military Relations Now and Tomorrow,” Texas National Security Review, March 27, 2018.

Risa Brooks, “What Can Military and Civilian Leaders Do to Prevent the Military’s Politicization,” War on the Rocks, April 27, 2020.

Joseph Votel, “An Apolitical Military Is Essential to Maintaining Balance among American Institutions,” Military Times, June 8, 2020.

Jim Golby, “America’s Politicized Military Is a Recipe for Disaster,” Foreign Policy, June 18, 2020.

Alice Hunt Friend, “A Military Litmus Test? Evaluating the Argument that Civilian Defense Leaders Need Military Experience,” Just Security, August 19, 2020.

Next Episode

13-What Allies Want: A Look at East Asia

Guests:

Iain D. Henry is a Lecturer in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University.

Abraham M. Denmark is the Director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Denmark previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia from 2015 to 2017.

International Security Article:

This podcast is based on Iain D. Henry, “What Allies Want: Reconsidering Loyalty, Reliability, and Alliance Interdependence,” International Security, Vol. 44, No. 4 (Spring 2020), pp. 45–83.

Related Readings:

Mark Bell, Joshua Kertzer, Björn Jerdén, Hemal Shah, Sharon Stirling, “Assessing the U.S. Commitment to Allies in Asia and Beyond,” German Marshall Fund of the United States, March 23, 2018.
Michael Schuman, “Keep an Eye on Taiwan,” The Atlantic, October 10, 2020.
Bonnie Glaser, Michael Green, Richard Bush, “Toward a Stronger U.S.-Taiwan Relationship,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, October 21, 2020.
Patrick Porter and Joshua Shifrinson, “Why We Can’t Be Friends with Our Allies,” Politico, October 22, 2020.
James Crabtree, “Biden Has a Serious Credibility Problem in Asia,” Foreign Policy, September 10, 2020.
Sheila Smith, “America’s Frightening Choice,” East Asia Forum, November 3, 2020.