Visit New Books Network en Español!

New Books Network
National Security
Political Science September 26, 2022

Governing Abroad

Coalition Politics and Foreign Policy in Europe

Sibel Oktay

Hosted by Lamis Abdelaaty
From Austria to New Zealand, coalition governments often pave the road to foreign policy. In Western Europe, nearly 90 percent of postwar governments include two or more political parties. Israel …

National Security

Subscribe:

Interviews with scholars of national security about their new books.

American Studies September 21, 2022

Degrade and Destroy

The Inside Story of the War Against the Islamic State, from Barack Obama to Donald Trump

Michael R. Gordon

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin
In Degrade and Destroy: The Inside Story of the War Against the Islamic State, from Barack Obama to Donald Trump (FSG, 2022), Wall Street Journal national security correspondent Michael R. Gordon …
General History September 20, 2022

Autumn of Our Discontent

Fall 1949 and the Crises in American National Security

John M. Curatola

Hosted by Charles Coutinho
In the Fall of 1949, a series of international events shattered the notion that the United States would return to its traditional small peacetime military posture following World War II …
The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones September 20, 2022

The Future of Nuclear Weapons

A Conversation with Fred Kaplan

Fred Kaplan

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones
For much of the Cold War the United States had thousands more nuclear weapons than it needed. And it took decades for American political leaders to realise no one had …
Nordic Asia Podcast September 9, 2022

Chinese Outbound Tourism

Leisure or Political Tool?

Matias Thuen Jørgensen

Hosted by Nordic Asia Podcast
How did Chinese tourism grow from almost non-existent to being the largest outbound travel source market in the world over a couple of decades? Is the word “weaponization” a fair …
World Affairs September 7, 2022

The Art of War in an Age of Peace

U. S. Grand Strategy and Resolute Restraint

Michael O'Hanlon

Hosted by Miranda Melcher
In The Art of War in an Age of Peace: U.S. Grand Strategy and Resolute Restraint (Yale University Press, 2021) Dr. Michael O’Hanlon presents an informed modern plan for post-202 …
Political Science August 15, 2022

The Revenge of Power

How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century

Moisés Naím

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin
Moisés Naím's The Revenge of Power: How Autocrats Are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century (St. Martin's Press, 2022) is an urgent, thrilling, and original look at the future of democracy. It …
Middle Eastern Studies August 5, 2022

Oil, the State, and War

The Foreign Policies of Petrostates

Emma Ashford

Hosted by Miranda Melcher
Oil, the State, and War: The Foreign Policies of Petrostates (Georgetown University Press, 2022) by Dr. Emma Ashford presents a comprehensive challenge to prevailing understanding of international implications of oil …
Philosophy August 1, 2022

Spying Through a Glass Darkly

The Ethics of Espionage and Counter-Intelligence

Cécile Fabre

Hosted by Robert Talisse
On its face, spying and counter-intelligence activities seem morally suspect. They tend to involve sneaking, deceiving, and manipulating, as well as various forms of betrayal, treachery, and disloyalty. Yet intelligence …
National Security July 27, 2022

The Influence of Foreign Wars on U.S. Domestic Military Policy

The Case of the Yom Kippur War

Robert W. Tomlinson

Hosted by Samuel Canter
How do military organizations learn? Robert W. Tomlinson's book The Influence of Foreign Wars on U.S. Domestic Military Policy (Lexington, 2022) covers an important instance of military learning in which the …
General History July 26, 2022

Russia Resurrected

Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order

Kathryn E. Stoner

Hosted by Charles Coutinho
Too often, we are told that Russia plays a weak hand well. But, perhaps the nation's cards are better than we know. Russia ranks significantly behind the US and China …
The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones July 26, 2022

The Future of Al Qaeda

A Discussion with Nelly Lahoud

Nelly Lahoud

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones
The 9/11 attacks mean Al Qaeda will always have a place in history. But it that it? Or might it have the capacity to endure? Its striking that the UN …
Darts & Letters July 25, 2022

The Bland Corporation

On the RAND Corporation and the Defence-Intellectual Industrial Complex

Daniel Bessner

Hosted by Gordon Katic
Welcome to week two of our Darts and Letters summer showcase! Darts and Letters is a show about the politics of ideas. We’re celebrating joining the New Books Network by …
The Future of . . . with Owen Bennett-Jones July 19, 2022

The Future of War

A Discussion with Mark Galeotti

Mark Galeotti

Hosted by Owen Bennett-Jones
Wars have always been fought in different ways, depending not only on the manpower available – elite professional armies to mass mobilization of whole populations - but also on technological …
Ukrainian Studies July 18, 2022

KGB Operations Against the USA and Canada in Soviet Ukraine 1953-1991

Sergei Zhuk

Hosted by Nataliya Shpylova-Saeed
Oriented for a general reading audience, Sergei Zhuk's book KGB Operations Against the USA and Canada in Soviet Ukraine 1953-1991 (Routledge, 2022) gives a unique and rare perspective on the …
National Security July 15, 2022

Blurring Intelligence Crime

A Critical Forensics

Willem Bart de Lint

Hosted by Geert Slabbekoorn
Willem Bart de Lint's Blurring Intelligence Crime: A Critical Forensics (Springer, 2022) explores the conundrum that political fortune is dependent both on social order and big, constitutive crime. An act …
Islamic Studies July 15, 2022

I Refuse to Condemn

Resisting Racism in Times of National Security

Asim Qureshi

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
In times of heightened national security, scholars and activists from the communities under suspicion often attempt to alert the public to the more complex stories behind the headlines. But when …
East Asian Studies July 7, 2022

Japan Rearmed

The Politics of Military Power

Sheila A. Smith

Hosted by John Traphagan
Today I talked to Sheila A. Smith about her book Japan Rearmed: The Politics of Military Power (Harvard UP, 2019). Modern Japan is not only responding to threats from North Korea and …
Political Science July 7, 2022

Promoting Justice Across Borders

The Ethics of Reform Intervention

Lucia M. Rafanelli

Hosted by Lilly Goren
In her new book, Promoting Justice Across Borders: The Ethics of Reform Intervention (Oxford UP, 2021) political scientist Lucia M. Rafanelli develops an ethical theory of global reform intervention, arguing that …
Anthropology July 1, 2022

War Virtually

The Quest to Automate Conflict, Militarize Data, and Predict the Future

Roberto J. González

Hosted by Jolon Timms
A critical look at how the US military is weaponizing technology and data for new kinds of warfare—and why we must resist. War Virtually: The Quest to Automate Conflict, Militarize …