Steering the Wild Horses of American Power

As Donald Trump is sworn in for a second term as president, American politics and foreign policy are undergoing profound upheaval. A reassessment of the nation's global interests and international engagement is underway.

This growing dissatisfaction with the world order was starkly articulated by Trump’s Secretary of State nominee, Marco Rubio, during his Senate confirmation hearing. Rubio remarked, “The postwar global order is not just obsolete; it is now a weapon being used against us.”

In this episode of The Great Power Show, Manoj Kewalramani speaks to Edward Luttwak, renowned military strategist, historian, and geopolitical analyst, about this turn in American foreign and security policies.

In his inimitable style, Luttwak argues that the American political system is one in which one is driving a cart with the horses at the back and all one is doing is trying to avoid being overrun by your own horses. He contends that American foreign policy today is in a correction phase after the excesses that began with the 2003 war in Iraq.

About: The Great Power Show is a bi-weekly podcast featuring candid conversations and thought-provoking interviews with leading scholars, thinkers and practitioners on the geopolitical and geo-economic changes shaping our world.