History teaches us that keeping alliances together is hard.

But Reinhold Niebuhr, George Kennan, and other classical realists knew that cultivating a sense of shared identity and practicing responsible leadership could delay alliance disintegration—wisdom that seems all too relevant for NATO today.

Here’s my latest essay in Engelsberg Ideas about alliance durability, classical realism, and NATO:

https://engelsbergideas.com/essays/regime-change-and-the-breaking-of-alliances/

How presidents assemble their teams of advisers helps to explain Biden’s deficient foreign policy outcomes—and deepens our understanding of why some other presidents have found success.

Here’s my new article with the brilliant @KoriSchake:

https://engelsbergideas.com/notebook/a-team-of-rivals-empowers-a-president/

A great collection of essays here from Benjamin Tallis, shedding so much light on what German grand strategy is (and, more tellingly, isn’t) getting right. Every page has insight worth reading.

https://www.amazon.com/Turning-Point-Germany-Ukraine-Zeitenwende/dp/B0DR4TQ4WJ

Our final episode of the Chatter podcast is here.

@shaneharris and I reflect on the diverse topics we’ve covered—from spy fiction to lessons of history, from climate change to the visual and musical arts, from sports and culture to intelligence.

THANK YOU to our generous guests, to Lawfare, to the crew at GOAT Rodeo studios—especially the intrepid Cara Shillenn—and to everyone who listened.

It’s been a pleasure. We’re glad you joined us for the ride.

https://shows.acast.com/chatter/episodes/closing-the-chatterbox-with-shane-harris-and-david-priess

For this penultimate episode of the Chatter podcast, I had the joy of hosting the incredible Carmen Medina @milouness!

We discussed her 30+ years as an analyst and manager at CIA, the role of intuition in intel analysis, why precognition should be taken seriously, and much more.

https://shows.acast.com/chatter/episodes/intelligence-analysis-intuition-and-precognition-with-carmen

Just posted a new episode of the Chatter podcast on German grand strategy and the band Kraftwerk, with the amazing Ben Tallis!

We covered a lot, from German musical culture to NATO and the EU to Kraftwerk, Bowie, and U2 to Zeitenwende and future leaders.

Listen here for a chat at the fascinating intersection of international relations, pop music, national identity, and security:

https://shows.acast.com/chatter/episodes/german-grand-strategy-and-kraftwerk-with-ben-tallis

New on the Chatter podcast: Sherri Goodman joined me to discuss her duties as the first Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Environmental Security) in the “90s, her visits to Russia, climate change as an opportunity multiplier as well as a threat multiplier, and more.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3uJuPEftQ4fZp845oLRfdS

The brilliant @[email protected] joined me on this episode of the Chatter podcast to talk about the disputed presidential election of 1876 and how the political system found a way to avoid widespread violence and another civil war while resolving it all.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0nOUlWruchDcPtP2UDvvQ8

New today on the Chatter podcast:

Brilliant historian Catherine Steel joins me for a deep dive on the late Roman Republic—its core political features, the erosion of the norm against political violence, implications for today, and more.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5mkgOJ7pBgYhSayxflII3C

Today’s timely Chatter podcast episode features @shaneharris talking to Tim Naftali about Americans’ fascination with the presidency.

What do we get wrong about the nation’s highest office?

Listen here or wherever you get podcasts:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4lIFFGYNxSZR1PyKL7uDmL