Terrorism in the Era of Great Power Competition with Steven Childs

There was a time not too very long ago when the so-called Global War on Terror dominated American national security and foreign policy thinking. Not so today as the doyens of American grand strategy fret over great power competition with Russia and China, and the return of nuclear proliferation with Iran and North Korea. So what happened to global terrorism? What became of Al-Qaeda and ISIS? They never went away, in fact, in some respects, these two organizations have never been more active. They’re just not that focused on the US and the US is not that focused on them. What shifted in the politics and geographic footprint in global terrorism and its main actors? To help me unpack this fascinating topic, I welcome Dr. Steven Childs to the show. Dr. Childs and I are friends and colleagues. We both got our doctorates from Claremont Graduate University where we studied under the same professors, and we’ve collaborated on multiple writing projects, including one on terrorism. Dr. Childs is currently the director of the Masters in National Security Studies program at Cal State San Bernardino.  In this wide ranging interview, we discuss the geostrategic shift in world politics towards great power competition and what that means for the ongoing fight against terror groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, then we dive into an overview of the current status of terrorism and its major organizations today.  Just a reminder! Get a weekly dose of analysis on world events by signing up for my Substack newsletter.  Subscribe to Tim Talks Politics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ today and get 30% off for being a loyal listener!