None Of The Above

It's always difficult to gather and verify information in times of armed conflict. But recently that task has gotten much harder. From Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Israel's ground invasion of Gaza, journalists and consumers alike are inundated with intentionally misleading images, information, and narratives. The media ecosystem has become increasingly treacherous, with old photos and quotations taken out of their original context and offered as evidence in conflicts today. In this episode of None Of The Above, the Institute for Global Affairs' Mark Hannah sits down with Dr. Claire Wardle, an expert on misinformation, and Steven Lee Myers, a veteran foreign and national security correspondent for The New York Times currently covering misinformation. Together they discuss how misinformation and disinformation spread, and the challenges they pose for accessing accurate information in times of conflict.

Instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been making headlines in Western newspapers for months. Since the fall of Mobuto Sese Seko's 30 year dictatorship in 1997, the cobalt rich Congo has dealt with civil war, insurgencies from bordering nations, and government corruption. But before Mobuto, there was another charismatic leader. Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo, was ousted, imprisoned, and eventually assassinated thanks to CIA intervention. It would be the first time a US president greenlighted the assassination of a foreign head of state. In this episode of None Of The Above, the Institute for Global Affairs' Mark Hannah sits down with executive editor of Foreign Affairs Stuart Reid to discuss his new book The Lumumba Plot and the legacy of wanton intervention.

The United States military is one of the most advanced and best funded militaries in the world. But critics argue this has helped make US foreign policy overly reliant on the use of military force. Over the past several decades, the US has grappled with blowback and retaliation, a ballooning defense budget, and a decline in traditional diplomacy. For the 100th episode of None Of The Above we're revisiting our very first episode. In 2019, IGA's Mark Hannah sat down with defense and foreign policy expert Chris Preble to discuss how big military spending might actually make us less safe. Four years later, as the US weighs the wisdom of continuing to aid the armed conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, the paradox of America's military might remains as relevant as ever.

Today marks one month since the Palestinian militant organization Hamas launched a brutal terrorist attack on Southern Israel. Before October 7th, the Biden administration's foreign policy had largely centered on Europe and Asia. Issues of Palestinian self-determination and self rule appeared to be something the administration (and Israel) were eager to avoid. Now, in the wake of Hamas' attacks, Palestine's political future and the United States' long term strategy for the Middle East have become increasingly unclear. In this episode of None Of The Above, the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah sits down with political analyst and public opinion expert Dahlia Scheindlin, and US Program director of the International Crisis Group, Michael Wahid Hanna to discuss the immediate causes of the war, and evaluate Israeli and US strategic objectives. Effective policy, they argue, will require clear-eyed consideration of the longstanding conflicts at the root of today's violence.

With the 2024 presidential election on the horizon, the Biden administration's foreign policy decisions will face increasing scrutiny. Some think foreign policy decisions should be exempt from regular public debate. To gain a better understanding of the concerns and priorities of voting age Americans, we at the Eurasia Group Foundation compiled our sixth annual survey of Americans' foreign policy views. In this episode of None Of The Above, Mark is joined by his EGF colleagues, Zuri Linetsky and Lucas Robinson, as well as media consultant Deepika Choudhary to dive into our annual report of Americans' foreign policy views. Across partisan, age, and racial differences, our survey reveals a public attentive to global realities, and supportive of recalibrating America's international activities. Though this survey data was collected before the outbreak of violence in Israel and Gaza, we think the discussion provides useful context for how Americans' view their country's role in this turbulent time.

The United Nations, founded in the aftermath of history's most destructive war, is the world's premier forum for international diplomacy. But is the UN a vestige of a bygone era? This year's session of the UN General Assembly, which today closes general debate, has been the site of much frustration over the war in Ukraine, the stalled progress of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and the lack of representation for the global south. The world has changed since the end of World War II, and as this episode's guest, Suzanne Nossel, argues, so too must the UN. Currently CEO of PEN America, Suzanne served in the UN under both the Clinton and Obama administrations as Deputy to the US Ambassador for UN Management and Reform and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations. Suzanne joins the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah to reimagine the UN to better address these challenges and others. 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. Suzanne Nossel currently serves as the CEO of PEN America, a leading human rights and free expression organization. Her prior career has spanned roles in both the Clinton and Obama administrations as part of the US Mission to the United Nations.

Yesterday's anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States has us turning to the legacy of America's post-9/11 wars. As veterans reflect on their time in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as the country contemplates the impact of these wars on the morale of the US military and America's standing in the world, literature offers a powerful way to make meaning from war's experience. From Ernest Hemingway to Kurt Vonnegut and J.D. Salinger, the author-soldier has long been a fixture in American literature. In this episode of None Of The Above, the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah is joined by two of his favorite contemporary novelists, veterans Elliot Ackerman and Phil Klay. Books, they argue, are more than a medium to unpack trauma and untangle the web of emotions war provokes: war stories have implications for the battles we have yet to fight. Elliot Ackerman is a veteran of the US Marine Corps who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Elliot is the author of several novels, including Halcyon (2023) and 2034 (2021), which he co-wrote with Admiral James Stavridis. Phil Klay is a veteran of the US Marine Corps who served in Iraq. Phil is the author of the novels Redeployment (2014) and Missionaries (2020). His most recent book is Uncertain Ground: Citizenship in the Age of Endless, Invisible War (2022). 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 here at the Eurasia Group Foundation are very curious about the extent to which US foreign policy reflects the interests of the American public. In today's episode, we turn our attention to an important group: Black Americans. Black Americans make up 12 percent of the national population. They are over-represented in the rank and file of the US military, but still under-represented in foreign policy circles. What are their perceptions of America's role in the world? Recent polling shows 80 percent of Black Americans have favorable views of the US military, but are far less supportive than the general public of deploying those forces abroad. Why? We dig into this and more with historian Chris Shell and former State Department deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter. Jalina Porter served as Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the Department of State under the Biden-Harris Administration. Originally hailing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jalina is also a graduate of Howard University, Georgetown University, and the University of Oxford. Christopher Shell is a fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. At Carnegie, Christopher leads a project that examines the attitudes and opinions of Black Americans on US foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. 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 week, the Biden administration agreed to share evidence with the International Criminal Court of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. President Biden insists Vladimir Putin has "clearly committed war crimes." But however atrocious Russia's tactics are, is there a version of this war – or any act of war – that is not? In this week's episode of None Of The Above, the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah speaks with historian Samuel Moyn about the evolution of America's thinking on war. From the interwar period to today, war has gone from being something that should be prevented to something that should be made more humane. Through this transformation, Moyn argues, American politicians might face less pressure to avert or end wars. So, while there is an argument to be made for Putin's arrest, Moyn pushes us to think about whether focusing on the distinctions between "humane" war and battlefield atrocities might make the atrocity that is war itself more likely. Samuel Moyn is Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. His most recent book is Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War (2021). His forthcoming book is Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times (2023). 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.

As President Biden meets this week with America's NATO allies at the Vilnius Summit, attention has turned to Sweden's and Ukraine's prospects for the Atlantic alliance. Europe is not the only continent where America's military commitments are up for debate, however. On this episode of None Of The Above, we look further east to America's alliance in the Asia-Pacific. More specifically, its often fraught relationship with one of its longest-standing allies — the Philippines. Caught between the United States and China, Manila — which edged closer to Beijing during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte — has recently doubled down on its alliance with Washington. Earlier this year, it expanded the US military's access to bases there. It is fast becoming the focal point of America's efforts to counter China in the South China Sea. But is this such a good idea? This week's guest, the Quincy Institute's Sarang Shidore, tells the Eurasia Group Foundation's Mark Hannah this alliance — and America's military footprint across Asia in general — may be a liability worth reconsidering. Sarang Shidore is the director of studies and senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. His research focuses on Asia, the Global South, and the geopolitics of climate change. 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.