Security Dilemma

On this off-cycle episode of Security Dilemma, John Gay sat down with A.J. Manuzzi to discuss Iran's 6/20 missile attacks on Israel, why deeper U.S. involvement could lead to mission creep and shifting goals, and congressional efforts to block unauthorized U.S. entry into the war.

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Sarah Streyder, the Executive Director of the Secure Families Initiative, a national organization that mobilizes military families to advocate for a less militarized foreign policy. Sarah is the spouse of an active-duty service member in the Space Force and was nationally recognized for her leadership. Befo...

On this impromptu episode of Security Dilemma, the Society's Executive Director John Gay sat down with SD cohost A.J. Manuzzi to discuss Israel's June 12 strikes on Iranian nuclear and regime targets, and several potential decisions the Iranians could make to retaliate, as well as what it all means for U.S. policy.

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Khurram Dastgir Khan. Mr. Khan is a former member of Pakistan's cabinet, having led the ministries of Energy, Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Commerce since 2014. He served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan between 2008 and 2023. Our conversation covered the recent conflict between India an...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Michael Brenes. Dr. Brenes is Co-Director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy and Lecturer in History at Yale University. His research interests include United States foreign policy, political history, and political economy. He is the author of For Might and Right: Cold War Defense Spending and t...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Candace Rondeaux, the author of Putin’s Sledgehammer: The Wagner Group and Russia’s Collapse into Mercenary Chaos . She serves as the Senior Director for the Future Frontlines and Planetary Politics programs at New America, and is a professor of practice at Arizona State University. Previously, she advised the...

This week on Security Dilemma , John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Daniel McCarthy , Editor-in-Chief of Modern Age . Mr. McCarthy is a leading light in the conservative movement for a more restrained U.S. foreign policy. He is a regular contributor to The Spectator , and the former editor of The American Conservative , the magazine founded by conservatives opposed to the war in Iraq. He al...

This week on Security Dilemma , John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Curt Mills , the Executive Director of The American Conservative , where he previously served as senior reporter and contributing editor. He specializes in foreign policy and campaign coverage. Our conversation touched on some of the Trump Administration's seminal initiatives, including diplomacy with Russia and Iran, t...

This week on Security Dilemma , John Allen Gay and Michael Culp spoke with John Vick , the Executive Director of Concerned Veterans for America. John Vick enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2003, and deployed to al-Anbar, Iraq in 2005. He has also served in the Navy, mobilizing twice in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, and he continues to serve in the Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer sup...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interviewed Sabreena Croteau . Sabreena is a Research Fellow at Defense Priorities and recently defended her dissertation to earn her doctorate in Political Science from the University of Chicago. Her dissertation, titled “Security the Seas: The Political Economy of Naval Force Structure,” uses an economic approach to...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Aude Darnal, a Research Analyst and Project Manager at the Stimson Center, and the founder and leader of the Global South in the World Order Project — hosted by the Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program. Prior to joining Stimson, Aude served as an associate director at the Atlantic Council’s New American En...

Is a career in political risk right for you? On March 13, JQAS recorded a webinar about careers in the private geopolitical risk sector with several alumni of the Society. The panelists and co-hosts John Allen Gay and Julie Thompson-Gomez discussed what a typical day in the life for someone in the industry looks like, how prospective applicants can be competitive candidates for roles in the space,...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Spencer Ackerman, a Pulitzer Prize and National Magazine Award-winning reporter, who has covered the War on Terror and U.S. foreign policy for The New Republic , Wired , The Guardian , The Daily Beast , and Zeteo . He is also the author of Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Tr...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Sarang Shidore, the director of the Global South Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Our conversation discussed whether interests, ideology, or both drive the policies of some Global South states, whether China is part of the Global South, and what a better approach to the U.S.-Philip...

On this week's episode of  Security Dilemma , John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Skip Shelton, a career foreign policy professional with experience in defense, diplomacy, and development about the unique career journey that brought him from coordinating elections in Iraq and building roads in Afghanistan to working on Somalia's security assistance and conflict monitoring in Ukraine....

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview John Schuessler, Associate Professor in the Department of International Affairs and Co-Director of the Albritton Center for Grand Strategy at Texas A&M University's Bush School of Government and Public Service. Dr. Schuessler is the author of Deceit on the Road to War: Presidents, Politics, and Ameri...

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma , John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Shapiro was previously a fellow at the Brookings Institution, as well as a member of the State Department's policy planning staff, where he advised the Secretary of State on U.S. policy in North Africa and the Levant. He...

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Rose Kelanic, Director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities, discussing why Washington should take a "wait-and-see" approach to Syria's new government, President Trump's new Executive Orders on energy security, and whether the U.S. military needs to be in the Persian Gulf for oil. This episode was recorded on January 30, 2025....

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi discuss their expectations for foreign policy in 2025, including how the incoming Trump Administration could approach the Middle East, China, Europe, Latin America, and more. Link to Matt Duss's piece in The Guardian Recorded 1/10/2025

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Janet Abou-Elias and Lillian Mauldin, co-founders of Women for Weapons Trade Transparency and Research Fellows at the Center for International Policy . Janet is also an alumna of the Society's Marcellus Policy Fellowship, for which she wrote a policy analysis on the War Reserve Stockpile Allies-Israel. Our conversation, recorded in mid-November 2024, focus...

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Dan Spokojny, a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer and the founder of fp21, a think tank devoted to promoting more evidence and learning based foreign policy processes. This conversation discussed knowledge management, groupthink, U.S. policy processes, and efforts at State Department reform. You can learn more about fp21 here: https://www.fp21.org/

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Jennifer Kavanagh, a Senior Fellow and the Director of Military Analysis at Defense Priorities, discussing the state of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. This episode was recorded on October 25, 2024

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Kelly Grieco, a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center's Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program, discussing geography and the regional balance of power in East Asia, proposals for an "Asian NATO," the Air Force's ongoing modernization efforts, and more.

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Christopher Shell, a Fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Un-Diplomatic episode Carnegie survey on "Race, Foreign Policy, and the 2024 Presidential Election"

John Allen Gay and A.J. Manuzzi interview Ari Tolany, Director of the Security Assistance, Technology and the Arms Trade program at the Center for International Policy.