SSI Live Podcast

SSI Live 100 – Panama’s Evolving Relationship with China – Panama is a relatively small country but one of pivotal strategic importance in our hemisphere, especially given the role of the Panama canal and the related financial services industry. Dr. Evan Ellis had the opportunity to travel there recently to engage Panamanian officials and academics, to get a sense of what’s ahead as the country fa...

AI in Today’s (and Tomorrow’s) Military – What are the implications of the U.S. military incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into what it does during peacetime, in conflict, and everything in between? How does trust figure into the use of AI, both up and down the chain of command? To employ AI successfully, will we need all troops to be AI experts, and if so, what are the implications for D...

SSI Live 098 – One Year On: Russia’s War on Ukraine – With the Russian war in Ukraine having just reached its one-year mark, how can we assess outlook for Ukraine? Is there reason for Kyiv – or Moscow – to be optimistic, given the current trajectory? And what can we make of potential Chinese involvement? In this third (of three) SSI Live podcast marking one year of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Dr...

SSI Live 097 – One Year On: Russia’s War on Ukraine and the Role of the EU – With the Russian war in Ukraine having just reached its one-year mark, how can we assess the role of the European Union (EU)? Have its diplomatic, political, economic, and military responses to the war met expectations? What remains to be done and what impediments stand in the way? What can be expected of Europe in the ev...

SSI Live 096 – One Year On: Russia’s War on Ukraine and the Role of Latin America – With the Russian war in Ukraine having just reached its one-year mark, it’s clear that economic sanctions against Russia as well as the provision of military equipment and other materiel have formed the centerpieces of the Western response to Russia’s unprovoked, illegal invasion. Yet the global south, including La...

SSI Live 095 – Putin Mobilizes as Ukraine Advances – Ukraine’s recent battlefield successes, Putin’s partial mobilization, Moscow’s annexation announcement, and the Kremlin’s nuclear saber rattling all add up to a shifting outlook for Russia’s war of aggression. What do these events tell us about Russia’s strategy and the trajectory of the conflict? Do they signal instability within Russia? SSI’s...

SSI Live 094 – Gorbachev’s Passing and Legacy – Earlier this week, the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, passed. To discuss his leadership of the Soviet Union’s last years and his legacy today, SSI’s own Dr. Bob Hamilton, former SSI research professor Dr. Steve Blank, and former USAWC professor Dr. Craig Nation sat down with SSI Live host John Deni. How did Gorbachev differ from...

SSI Live 093 – The Grand Strategy of Gertrude Bell and Implications for US Policy Today – British strategist and diplomat Gertrude Bell shaped the modern Middle East and played a leading role in crafting London’s policies at a time of shifting great power dynamics. In this podcast, Dr. Heather Gregg discusses her monograph on Bell’s life and legacy and the implications for managing strategic compe...

SSI Live 092 – China, Europe, and the Pandemic Recession: Chinese Investment in European Infrastructure – This is the fifth podcast in a short series to launch a recently published multi-author study on China, Europe, and the Pandemic Recession: Beijing’s Investments and Transatlantic Security. In this podcast, Dr. John R. Deni discusses Chinese investment in militarily relevant infrastructure in...

SSI Live 091 – China, Europe, and the Pandemic Recession: Europe’s Evolving Policies Toward China – This is the fourth podcast in a short series to launch a recently published multi-author study on China, Europe, and the Pandemic Recession: Beijing’s Investments and Transatlantic Security. In this podcast, Dr. John R. Deni discusses Europe’s evolving policies toward Chinese economic statecraft. Wh...

SSI Live 090 – China, Europe, and the Pandemic Recession: Europe’s Evolving Attitude Toward China – This is the third podcast in a short series to launch a recently published multi-author study on China, Europe, and the Pandemic Recession: Beijing’s Investments and Transatlantic Security. In this podcast, contributing author Erik Brattberg joins Dr. John R. Deni to discuss Europe’s evolving attitu...

SSI Live 089 – China, Europe, and the Pandemic Recession: China’s Strategy Toward Europe – This is the second podcast in a short series to launch a recently published multi-author study on China, Europe, and the Pandemic Recession: Beijing’s Investments and Transatlantic Security. In this podcast, contributing author Dr. Roger Cliff joins Dr. John R. Deni to discuss China’s strategy toward Europe....

China, Europe, and the Pandemic Recession: COVID-19’s Economic Impact on Europe – This is the first podcast in a short series to launch a recently published multi-author study on China, Europe, and the Pandemic Recession: Beijing’s Investments and Transatlantic Security. In this podcast, contributing author Dr. Mark Duckenfield joins Dr. John R. Deni to discuss the economic impact of COVID-19 on E...

China, Taiwan, and the Outlook for 2022 – Tensions between China and Taiwan increased dramatically through most of 2021, yet a somewhat calmer, steady state situation has prevailed in recent weeks. What explains this? What role does the 2022 Party Congress in China play, and how might President Xi Jinping approach 2022 and beyond? SSI’s Dr. Roger Cliff joins SSI Live host Dr. John R. Deni to discu...

Negotiations between Russia and the United States, NATO, and the OSCE regarding the situation in/around Ukraine begin this week. How should the West approach those negotiations? SSI Live host Dr. John R. Deni argues the West should strike a hard bargain, even if it risks war in Ukraine. Keywords: Russia, Ukraine, NATO, United States, OSCE

Recent elections in Honduras and Chile appear to indicate that left-leaning parties are on the rise across Latin America. Is this the case and, if so, what are the strategic implications for U.S. security? Dr. Evan Ellis, SSI’s Latin America expert, joined SSI Live host Dr. John R. Deni to discuss Latin America’s shift to the left. Keywords: Latin America, Chile, Honduras, left-leaning politics

The fall of Afghanistan raises serious questions about whether the United States and the West more broadly are able to successfully implement what military practitioners call Foreign Internal Defense, or supporting a friendly foreign government under attack from an internal insurgency. What explains success or failure in these cases? SSI Live host Dr. John R. Deni invited his SSI colleagues Dr. Ch...

How did Afghanistan fall to the Taliban after 20 years of effort by the United States and its allies? SSI Live host Dr. John R. Deni invited his SSI colleagues Dr. Chris Mason to address the end of America’s longest war and to help shed light on the key reasons for why Afghanistan fell. Dr. Mason drew on his long experience working in and studying Afghanistan, as well as his book "The Strategic Le...

Within the context of Europe, the US Army must develop a force posture that best navigates the tensions between deterring or defeating armed conflict at an acceptable cost, successfully competing below armed conflict, and maintaining global responsiveness and institutional flexibility through the global operating model and dynamic force employment. While Russia’s economy, and consequently military...

Given the multifaceted great power competition underway in the Indo-Pacific theater, how can the United States military best position itself? What role can and should the Army play in facilitating a joint approach? After a two-year hiatus, SSI Live returns as Dr. John R. Deni discusses a major newly released SSI study on USINDOPACOM theater design with two of its authors – Professor Nate Freier an...

The Helsinki summit meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin may be the first step in a rapprochement between the United States and Russia. If so, what are the strategic and policy implications in Europe, with specific regard to the security of U.S. allies in Eastern Europe, with regard to the conflict in Syria, vis-à-vis U.S. partners in the Middle East, or in other regards? SSI Live host Dr. J...

Getting the Indo-Asia-Pacific and relations with China right is the key to a peaceful and prosperous 21st Century. The challenge for the U.S. administration, and for policy experts writ large, is to build an effective strategy for a whole-of-government approach that will achieve a free and open Indo-Asia-Pacific while avoiding the Thucydides Trap. U.S. Army War College professors Fred Gellert, Dav...

The Helsinki summit meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin may be the first step in a rapprochement between the United States and Russia. If so, what are the strategic and policy implications in Europe, with specific regard to the security of U.S. allies in Eastern Europe, with regard to the conflict in Syria, vis-à-vis U.S. partners in the Middle East, or in other regards? SSI Live host Dr. J...

In gross or raw potential, the United States remains the world’s leading global military power. At present though, American power is either dormant in or ill-adapted to many if not most of the world’s most important competitive spaces. American military position and influence are most immediately under duress in the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) Area of Responsibility. In PACOM, enduring U.S. defen...

On 13 October, President Trump announced his intention not to certify Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and threatening to leave the nuclear deal altogether if it was not amended in various ways. Why did the President announce this? Meanwhile, there are reports that some of his senior advisors opposed this move — what were their counterarguments? More broadly, w...