Security Dilemma

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , co-hosts A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay discussed the state of arms control after the expiration of New START, nuclear proliferation cascades, and whether sanctions can prevent nuclear proliferation with Dr. Ariel Petrovics . Dr. Petrovics is a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a visiting scholar at the University of...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , co-hosts A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay spoke with Dr. Rose Kelanic , Director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities about how the Trump Administration is addressing Iran policy. Dr. Kelanic spent 10 years teaching political science at the University of Notre Dame and Williams College prior to entering the policy world and is the author of  Bl...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, A.J. Manuzzi and John Allen Gay are joined by Ashleigh Subramanian-Montgomery , the Senior Director for Policy and Advocacy of the Charity & Security Network , a resource and advocacy center for nonprofit organizations to protect their ability to carry out effective programs that support peace and human rights, aid civilians in areas of disaster and...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, A.J. Manuzzi and John Allen Gay are joined by Daniel DePetris , a fellow at Defense Priorities . They discussed the Trump Administration's Latin America policy in light of the operation that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and reports that the Administration is seeking regime change in Cuba by the end of the year. Dan also has a new e...

In this special Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend episode of Security Dilemma , A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay discuss the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize recipient's most famous foreign policy speech, "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" (1967), in which Dr. King explains why he must speak out against the Vietnam War and why America needs a "revolution of values" to defeat the thr...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay were joined again by Chris Shell , a Fellow at the American Statecraft Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Dr. Shell researches how American communities view foreign policy issues, as well as issues related to Latin America and the Caribbean. He is also an alum of the Society’s Strategic Leaders Fello...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay offered their reactions to the Trump Administration's new 2025 National Security Strategy (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf). In this conversation, A.J. and John discussed the strategy's recommendations as they relate to (or conflict with) realism and restrain...

In this week's episode of Security Dilemma, A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay spoke with Sahar Khan , an independent national security analyst who focuses on nonproliferation, strategic stability, counterterrorism, and crisis management in Southern Asia. Previously, Dr. Khan was the Deputy Director and Senior Fellow of South Asia at the Stimson Center, a Research Fellow in the Defense and Foreign Poli...

In this week's episode of Security Dilemma, A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay spoke with Dr. Sumantra Maitra about what an "America First" nuclear strategy might look like. Dr. Maitra is the Director of Research and Outreach at the American Ideas Institute and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Renewing America. He is also the author of The Sources of Russian Aggression . You can check out hi...

In this week's episode of Security Dilemma, A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay spoke with Mariya Grinberg about her new book Trade in War: Economic Cooperation Across Enemy Lines (https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501782442/trade-in-war/), why states may trade with their adversaries during wartime, and the relationship between economic interdependence and conflict. Dr Grinberg is an Assista...

In this week's edition of Security Dilemma , A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay spoke with William Hartung and Ben Freeman of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft about their new book The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home. You can buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Trillion-Dollar-War-Machine-Bankrupts/...

On this special Armistice Day/Veterans Day episode of Security Dilemma , the Society's John Gay, Scott McCann, and Julie Thompson-Gomez discussed their experience as part of the Society's Strategic Leaders Fellowship study trip to World War I sites in France, as well as what lessons the First World War has for contemporary statecraft. Listeners can learn more about the Strategic Leaders Fe...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay spoke with Lyle Goldstein of Defense Priorities and the Watson Institute at Brown University about his recent paper series " Target Taiwan ," which argues that a U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan could be costlier and less winnable for the United States than conventional wisdom assesses. 1. Prospects for a Chinese I...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay spoke with Emma Ashford , a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center's Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy program, about her new book First Among Equals: U.S. Foreign Policy in a Multipolar World . In this episode, we discussed the new book and why realism is necessary in an era of multipolarity. LISTENER QUESTIONS: We are open...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , A.J. Manuzzi and Adam Abdel-Qader spoke with Miranda Priebe , the Director of the Center for Analysis of U.S. Grand Strategy at RAND. Dr. Priebe's work has focused on grand strategy, the future of the international order, and the effects of U.S. forward presence. In this episode, we discussed the implications of a recent report from her team ant...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Gay conducts a full reading of George Washington's Farewell Address, which raised concerns that listeners may find resonate today about foreign influence of U.S. foreign policy, alliance entrapment, and more. The reading is followed by a discussion with co-host A.J. Manuzzi about whether Washington's insights remain valuable in the 21st...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay spoke with Decker Eveleth , an associate research analyst at the federally funded nonprofit research and analysis organization CNA . Decker specializes in open-source analysis of foreign nuclear postures, as well as ballistic and cruise missile forces in the Middle East and Asia. In this episode we discussed the state of Ir...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , A.J. Manuzzi spoke with John Byrnes , the Strategic Director of Concerned Veterans for America to discuss how his experiences being at Ground Zero on 9/11 and serving in America's post-9/11 wars shifted his perspective on U.S. foreign policy to a belief in realism and restraint. Mr. Byrnes joined the Marine Corps in 1991 out of high school and s...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , A.J. Manuzzi and John Gay spoke with Jonathan Guyer of the Institute for Global Affairs at Eurasia Group . Jonathan is the Program Director of IGA's flagship Independent America program, which is focused on interrogating the conventional wisdom of US foreign policy and informing the public about America’s changing role in the world. He was previously a...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Ted Jones , the Senior Director for National Security and International Programs at the Nuclear Energy Institute . An expert on international energy markets and nuclear trade policy, he leads initiatives related to nuclear energy exports. In addition to his work on nuclear trade policy and promotion, Mr. Jon...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Madison Schramm about why liberal democracies often initiate wars against dictatorships. Dr. Schramm is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto and a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Stimson Center’s Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy Program. Her research fo...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , John Gay conducts a full reading of John Quincy Adams' July 4, 1821 "Monsters to Destroy" speech (which warned the United States against overreach abroad in the name of liberty), followed by a discussion with co-host A.J. Manuzzi about the enduring relevance of Adams' words for U.S. statecraft. You can read the full speech for your...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Dan Caldwell and Jennifer Kavanagh about their recent Defense Priorities explainer on U.S. defense posture under a grand strategy of restraint. Dan Caldwell is a former senior adviser to the Secretary of Defense and worked on the Trump 2024 transition team. He is a veteran of the Marines and a former Capitol...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, A.J. Manuzzi and Michelle Newby spoke with Dr. Lindsey O'Rourke, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Boston College and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. She’s the author of Covert Regime Change: America’s Secret Cold War , which catalogues and analyses Cold War-era U.S. regime change efforts. We...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, A.J. Manuzzi and new guest co-host Michelle Newby, Programs Director at Defense Priorities and a 2024 JQAS Strategic Leaders Fellow, spoke with Kyuri Park. Dr. Park is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Security and Foreign Policy Initiative at the Global Research Institute and a faculty affiliate of the Public Policy Program at the College of William &a...