Episode 16/ Full Interview + Postscript: Michael C. Horowitz on whether we are witnessing the end of the American empire

Published 19 September, 2021Michael C. Horowitz is Director of the Perry World House and Richard Perry Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Diffusion of Military Power: Causes and Consequences for International Politics (Princeton University Press, 2010) and Why Leaders Fight (Cambridge University Press, 2015). He won the 2017 Karl Deutsch Award given by the International Studies Association for early career contributions to the fields of international relations and peace research. He has published in a wide array of peer reviewed journals and popular outlets. His research interests include the intersection of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics with global politics, military innovation, the role of leaders in international politics, and geopolitical forecasting methodology. Professor Horowitz previously worked for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy in the Department of Defense. He is affiliated with the Center for a New American Security, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Professor Horowitz received his Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University and his B.A. in political science from Emory University.  Recorded 7 April, 2021.Show Notes01: 17 MCH on how the invasion of Iraq kicked off renewed academic interest in international relations04:24 MCH on how invasion is easy compared to rebuilding a nation08:02 MCH on the challenge in matching national interest to what the American people will support10:39 MCH on weighing the need to pull out troops against the risk of a place like Afghanistan becoming a haven for terrorist groups.12:24 MCH on the tension between the political administration and career civil servants in US foreign policy14:36 MCH on how new administrations change their policy positions once they come into power because of access to better information18:54 MCH on bipartisan agreement on the need for a pivot to the Indo-Pacific that was more than merely symbolic26:05 MCH on the partisanship that characterized the debate around the JCPO/ Iran nuclear deal38:20 MCH on the Abraham Accords42:39 MCH on the need for free societies to work together45:08 MCH on the role of advancements in technology in ensuring the United States’ continued dominance48:31 MCH on the role of a space mission in military strategy52:28 MCH on why he continues to be pro-democracy and pro- the United StatesIn Notes from Utopia, the Tropicalist discusses:possible historical reasons for why China seems to have understood how to play Afghanistan better than other superpowersIn the Postscript, hosts Jesse and Madhavi discuss:whether the debacle in Afghanistan marks the beginning of the end for a US-led world orderLinks:Afghanistan crisis puts Blinken in the hot seatKashmir police officer killed in militant attackHow is the US to make sense of the Afghan adventure?'9/11 millionaires' and mass corruption: How American money helped break Afghanistan.A liberal world with a liberal ChinaAfghan debacle cedes Eurasia to the dragon and bearTajikistan summons US ambassador over Biden's remarkBBC interview with Georgetown professor of security studies and South Asia expert Dr Christine FairA subdued ashura under Taliban ruleWhen Afghanistan was ruled by ChinaThe battle that changed the course of China's history in Central AsiaEven Imran Khan is not a fan of US policy in Afghanistan (excerpt from CNN interview)Keeping score: a new approach to geopolitical forecasting (Perry World House white paper)Covid-19 and the future of the global order (Perry World House working group)US, UK and Australia forge military alliance to counter China Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.