The DSR Network

Trade barriers are raising all over the world and countries are revamping their industrial policies a technological cold war between the United States and China ramps up. Unlike the cold war with the Soviets, this time tens of thousands of American businesses operate within China and supply chains for products of everything from cell phones to microwaves run through China. To determine the extent...

Earlier this week, the Biden administration sent a response to Russia's demands with regards to Ukraine and the Russians have balked. What happens now? What are the most likely Russian military responses? How do the Russian Oligarchs below Putin fit into all of this. DSR Host David Rothkopf discusses these and other questions with Mark Hertling, former Commanding General of United States Army Euro...

All eyes remain on the border between Ukraine and Russia as the conventional wisdom is that Russia is more likely than not further invade Ukraine. President Biden is considering sending thousands of troops into the region while other NATO allies have already begun moving weapons and soldiers into Eastern Europe. What lessons has the Biden administration learned from Obama's experience with Crimea?...

It has been one year since the Biden administration came into office and was handed an economy in a tailspin, vaccines that were not available to the general public, and a democracy in dire straits. President Biden was able to get vaccines in arms and money in pockets but, given the recent legislative setbacks for Build Back Better and Voting Rights in the Senate, where does the administration go...

Russia seems poised to further invade Ukraine. The Biden administration continues diplomatic efforts to prevent the worst but will it be enough? What leverage can America use against Russia? How could sanctions impact Americans at home? Is there a way for Putin to walk away while saving face? DSR Host David Rothkopf discusses these and other pressing questions with Max Boot of the Council on Forei...

It has been two years since COVID-19 started hitting the headlines globally. As the new omicron variant is causing surging caseloads across America and around the world, it seems as though the end of this moment is very far away. What mistakes have we made? What should the Biden administration be doing next? How does the pandemic connect to the fight to protect democracy? What does the Supreme Cou...

Brian Klaas's research on dictators and tyrants around the globe highlighted a vital question; whether corrupt people are drawn to power or if power corrupts. His new book Corruptible Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us explores this subject and underscores the need to reform governmental systems before it is too late. DSR host David Rothkopf discusses the thesis of the book as well as the lesson...

On Monday, the United States and Russia spoke for hours in an attempt to forge a diplomatic end to Russian aggression towards Ukraine. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the talks resulted in "no progress" while Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman made it clear that "We're not to a point where we're ready to set down texts and begin to go back and forth." To discuss the i...

With time comes perspective and it is clear now that January 6th was not an isolated event. In fact, there are real dangers in perceiving it as one, dangers that could play to the interests of the coup plotters and against the long-term interests of U.S. democracy. We seek to reframe the events of that day and where they fit in the bigger picture with Yale University historian and noted author Joa...

As we begin a new year, the threats around the globe remain the same. Russia may invade Ukraine, Iran's nuclear ambitions may come to fruition, and democratic backsliding continues apace around the globe. To forecast what might happen this year and offer some hope about some potential foreign policy bright spots, DSR host David Rothkopf talked with Ed Luce of the Financial Times, Kori Schake of th...

Senate “institutionalists” claim the filibuster is a traditional US Senate tool that produces compromise. Nope. It’s a tool that was almost never used during the first 200 years of US history. And when it was used it was almost always used to promote a racist agenda. And now that it is used more often, it is used to obstruct and give disproportionate power to Republicans. The first step to elimina...

January 6, 2021 is a date few of us will ever forget. On that day, the president of the United States incited a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol. Five people died. Thousands more were terrorized. And now the nation holds its breath to see if the violence has been quelled or new chapters await. Donald Trump now seems certain to become the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice and to fo...

From a year that began with January 6th to the American Rescue Plan, Build Back Better, and Beyond, 2021 has been an especially vital year for American democracy, health, and economic renewal. The review the year in politics and advise the Biden administration as to what should come next, DSR Host David Rothkopf spoke with Jennifer Rubin and E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post. Is there any hope th...

From January 6th to the Democracy Summit, 2021 has been an eventful year fore foreign policy and national security. To throughly review the year, adjudicate President Biden's performance, and discuss what you might have missed, DSR host David Rothkopf talked with Rosa Brooks of Georgetown University, Ed Luce of the Financial Times, Kori Schake of the American Enterprise Institute, and David Sanger...

The first episode of the Beltway Black Box series was a timely conversation on whether zero trust thinking represents a breakthrough in cyber-security, the hidden risks associated with it and how it is likely to impact companies and the government. Participating were an exceptional group of experts including:  Dmitri Alperovitch, Co-Founder of CrowdStrike and Executive Chairman of the Silverado Po...

Former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' text messages from January 6th were released by the January 6th commission and their contents revealed members of Congress and Fox News hosts begging Meadows to get Trump to make a statement. In the courts, Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled that Jan. 6 cases invoking the law against corruptly obstructing an official proceeding has been properly invoked. This opens to...

President Biden promised to hold a Summit of Democracies in the first year of his Presidency and he delivered with a 110 country virtual summit that ended last week. Ambassador Derek Mitchell, President of the National Democratic Institute, joined David Rothkopf, Rosa Brooks of Georgetown University, Ed Luce of the Financial Times, and Kori Schake of the American Enterprise Institute to discuss th...

The court is poised to overturn Roe V. Wade which will change forever not only the way abortion rights are treated across the country but the way that the American public views the Court. Are the Justices just political hacks? Has it always been like this? Will President Biden's commission lead to the structural reforms necessary to fix it? Host David Rothkopf sits down to discuss these and other...

Jon Karl's first interview with Donald Trump was 27 years ago. Looking back, he is surprised by how little Trump has changed. It's a striking observation when seen in light of the chaos and controversy of the final year of the Trump presidency. Karl's new book on that final year sheds new, often shocking light, not just on how Team Trump oversaw the mishandling of the COVID epidemic and later the...

The massive Russian troop build up along the border of Ukraine might be just posturing on the part of Russia's President Vladimir Putin designed to build support for him at home. Or it might be the prelude to a dangerously destabilizing invasion. Increasingly, intelligence reports are suggesting the latter. The options for the US and the West to stop Russia or to penalize it should it act are limi...

Big tech today rivals in influence many nation states. Even the largest and most powerful countries are debating how to contain and control tech giants who have the ability to influence their politics, their economies and their standing in the world. To explore how the coming power struggle between big technology firms and nation states will play out, we present a debate between the Eurasia Group'...

We may be at another dangerous inflection point in the nearly two year long COVID pandemic. The first Omicron variant cases are appearing in the US. This new mutant version of the virus has many disturbing differences with prior iterations of COVID. President Biden has launched new steps to help contain a resurgence of the disease...but are they enough? Do we have a strategy? How will the anti-sci...

Martin Indyk, distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, former Ambassador of the United States to Israel, and former U.S. special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations has written a new book entitled "Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy." In the book, Ambassador Indyk examines how Henry Kissinger worked to ameliorate conflict in the Mid...

Once upon a time, the Israeli government urged the US to get out of the Iran deal. The American president at the time, Donald Trump, obliged. Now, Israeli officials are calling the decision the worst in the past decade of Iran policy and their intel community is whispering to the US that Iran may be getting very close to the ability to produce nuclear weapons grade uranium. Meanwhile, negotiations...

While Americans are turning their attention towards the upcoming holiday, the news from Washington and around the world is not slowing down. Today, President Biden announced his intent to nominate Jerome Powell to serve as the chairman of the Federal Reserve for a second term, the Russian military buildup continues apace, and Chinese Tennis Star Peng Shuai's disappearance from public life followin...