Horns Of A Dilemma

Throughout history, how have Americans thought about their own self-defense? Have they always thought about it like they do today — as expansive, global, and ideological? Andrew Preston discusses these questions by looking at the history of the idea of national security and how it is different today than in the past, the topic of his current book project. This talk took place at the University of Texas at Austin and was sponsored by the Clements Center.   Andrew Preston is Professor of American History and a Fellow of Clare College at Cambridge University. His work focuses on war and foreign relations, including how it intersects with domestic politics and culture. He is the author or editor of seven books, including Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy (Knopf, 2012) and, most recently, American Foreign Relations: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2019).  

In a conversation between Paul Pope and Seth Jones, Jones talks about his latest book, A Covert Action: Reagan, the CIA, and the Cold War Struggle in Poland. He discusses Reagan's approach to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and how the CIA aided Poland's opposition movement by helping it to run an underground media campaign, which, ultimately, helped it survive the onslaught from the regime. Pope and Jones also discuss the conditions that set up covert action for success. Here's a hint: Don't try to bake the whole cake. This event was co-sponsored by the Intelligence Studies Project, the Clements Center, and the Strauss Center. Seth Jones is the Harold Brown chair at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, where he is also director of the Transnational Threats Project and senior adviser for the International Security Program. Dr. Jones teaches at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies and the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate

In our latest episode of Horns, we get to hear from Col. Liam Collins, who dissects how Russia used hybrid warfare in Georgia, what it learned from that experience, and how it applied those lessons in Ukraine, allowing it to take Crimea without firing a single shot. He also discusses Russia's goals in Eastern Europe and how those countries can deter the "big bear." Col. Collins is a career Special Forces officer and director of the Modern War Institute at West Point. This event took place at the University of Texas at Austin and was co-sponsored by the Strauss Center and the Clements Center.  

This episode of Horns of a Dilemma is part of a special series of live episodes bringing you into the room at the 2019 Intelligence Studies Project Symposium at the University of Texas at Austin. In this final installment, Susan Gordon, principal deputy director of national intelligence, delivers the keynote address to the 2019 ISP Symposium. Following her address, she sat down with Stephen Slick, director of the Intelligence Studies Project, to discuss intelligence in transition. The event was sponsored by the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law, the Clements Center for National Security, and the LBJ School of Public Affairs.  

This episode of Horns of a Dilemma is part of a special series of live episodes bringing you into the room at the 2019 Intelligence Studies Project Symposium at the University of Texas at Austin. In this second installment, Robert Chesney, director of the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, moderates a panel on emerging threats, technology challenges, and institutional change. The panelists include Michelle Van Cleave, former national counterintelligence executive, Matthew Travis, deputy director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, Samantha Ravich, fellow at the Foundation for Defense and Democracies, Michael Daniel, former special assistant to the president and White House cybersecurity coordinator, and John Carlin, former assistant attorney general for national security. The event was sponsored by the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law, the Clements Center for National Security, and the LBJ School of Public Affairs.    

This episode of Horns of a Dilemma is part of a special series of live episodes bringing you into the room at the 2019 Intelligence Studies Project Symposium at the University of Texas at Austin. In this first installment, Ellen Nakashima, national security reporter at the Washington Post, sits down with John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, to discuss law enforcement responses to new threats. The event was sponsored by the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law, the Clements Center for National Security, and the LBJ School of Public Affairs.  

In this episode of Horns of a Dilemma, Stephen Tankel, associate professor in the School of International Service at American University and associate editor of the Texas National Security Review, discusses his recently published book, With Us and Against Us: How America's Partners Help and Hinder the War on Terror. This talk took place at the University of Texas at Austin and was sponsored by the Clements Center.  

In this episode of Horns of a Dilemma, Aaron O'Connell, associate professor of U.S. military history at the University of Texas at Austin, sits down with Charles Edel, senior fellow at the United States Studies Centre, to discuss his new book co-written with Hal Brands, The Lessons of Tragedy: Statecraft and World Order. This talk took place at the University of Texas at Austin and was sponsored by the Clements Center.  

In this episode of Horns of a Dilemma, Wen-Qing Ngoei, assistant professor of history at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, argues that British neo-colonial strategies and anti-communist nationalism in Southeast Asia intersected with pre-existing local antipathy towards China to prompt a shift in the region from European-dominated colonialism to U.S. hegemony. This talk took place at the University of Texas at Austin and was sponsored by the Clements Center.    

In this episode of Horns of a Dilemma, William Hitchcock, the William W. Corcoran professor of history at the University of Virginia, discusses President Dwight Eisenhower and America’s role in the world in the 1950s and its enduring relevance today. Professor Hitchcock is the author of numerous books, most recently Age of Eisenhower: America and the World in the 1950s. This talk took place at the University of Texas at Austin and was sponsored by the Clements Center.  

In this episode of Horns of a Dilemma, Will Inboden, executive director of the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin, moderates a discussion on authoritarian interference in democracies. The panel features Jamie Fly, senior fellow and director of the Future of Geopolitics and Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and Laura Rosenberger, director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy and a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. This talk took place at the University of Texas at Austin and was sponsored by the Clements Center.  

In this episode of Horns of a Dilemma, Mark Pomar, senior national security fellow at the Clements Center for National Security and the former CEO and president of the U.S.-Russia Foundation, discusses what we need to know about Russia under Vladimir Putin, and how Putin's leadership is affecting U.S.-Russia ties. This talk took place at the University of Texas at Austin and was sponsored by the Clements Center.    

How have recent Nuclear Posture Reviews — which outline the role nuclear weapons play in U.S. national security strategy — addressed the question of strategic stability? Here to talk about it is Sharon Weiner, associate professor at American University and currently a visiting research scholar at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School. Dr. Weiner previously served at the Office of Management and Budget, in the Office of Senator Al Franken, the House Armed Services Committee, and more. This talk took place at the University of Texas at Austin and was sponsored by the Clements Center.  

This episode of Horns of a Dilemma is part of a special series of live episodes bringing you into the room at the fifth annual Texas National Security Forum. In this final installment, Josh Eisenman, faculty fellow at the Clements Center for National Security and Distinguished Scholar at the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law, moderated a discussion on China. He was joined by Christopher Johnson, former Central Intelligence Agency analyst, Kelly Magsamen, former principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Jim Steinberg, former deputy secretary of state. The event was sponsored by the Clements Center, the Strauss Center, and the Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project.  

This episode of Horns of a Dilemma is part of a special series of live episodes bringing you into the room at the fifth annual Texas National Security Forum. In this next installment, Celeste Ward Gventer, associate director of the Clements Center for National Security, moderated a discussion entitled “Strategies, Tactics, and Tools.” She was joined by Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense, Peter Feaver, former special advisor for strategic planning at the National Security Council, Mary Beth Long, former assistant secretary of defense, and Andrew May of the Office of Net Assessment at the Department of Defense. The event was sponsored by the Clements Center, the Strauss Center, and the Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project.  

This episode of Horns of a Dilemma is part of a series of special live episodes bringing you into the room at the Fifth Annual Texas National Security Forum. This next installment is the forums keynote address by Senator Ben Sasse. The Senator was introduced by Admiral Bobby Inman, Centennial Chair in National Policy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. This event was sponsored by the Clements Center, the Strauss Center, and the Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project.

This episode of Horns of a Dilemma is part of a series of special live episodes bringing you into the room at the Fifth Annual Texas National Security Forum. In this keynote conversation, Stephen Slick, Director of the Intelligence Studies Project at the University of Texas at Austin, moderated a discussion with Senator Richard Burr, Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Mark Warner, Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, and Senator John Cornyn, Member of the Select Committee on Intelligence. Gregory Fenves, President of the University of Texas at Austin, introduced the panel. This event was sponsored by the Clements Center, the Strauss Center, and the Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project.

This episode of Horns of a Dilemma is part of a series of special live episodes bringing you into the room at the Fifth Annual Texas National Security Forum. In this second installment, Mary Neuburger of the University of Texas moderated a discussion with General Phillip Breedlove, Former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Evelyn Farkas, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, and Daniel Fried, Former Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs. This event was sponsored by the Clements Center, the Strauss Center, and the Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project.

This episode of Horns of a Dilemma is part of a series of special live episodes bringing you into the room at the Fifth Annual Texas National Security Forum. In this first installment, Lorinc Redei of the LBJ School of Public Affairs, moderated a discussion with Antony Blinken, former Deputy Secretary of State, Eric Edelman, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and Kristen Silverberg, former Ambassador to the European Union. This event was sponsored by the Clements Center, the Strauss Center, and the Clements-Strauss Intelligence Studies Project.

In this episode of Horns of a Dilemma, Philip Gorski, Professor of Sociology and Director of Graduate Studies at Yale University, discusses the role of civil religion in American life. This talk took place at the University of Texas at Austin and was sponsored by the Clements Center.