Departures With Robert Amsterdam

There are few other countries in history with Russia's record of foreign intrigue. High-level assassinations of prominent dissidents, including the nuclear poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London, Sergei Skripal in Salisburg, the most recent poisoning of Alexei Navalny presumably in Siberia followed by his recovery in Germany, have come to shape global perceptions of Russia - perhaps based in fear, but also characterized by instability. Andrei Soldatov, one of Russia's most revered and deeply sourced journalists specializing in the intelligence services, joins Robert Amsterdam on the podcast this week to discuss his latest book co-authored with Irina Borogan, "The Compatriots: The Brutal and Chaotic History of Russia's Exiles, Émigrés, and Agents Abroad." Soldatov argues with Amsterdam that the choice of poisons such as Novichok, a highly controlled substance, to carry out these attempted assassinations is not accidental, and is instead actually quite strategic. "It's actually very smart. It's only about

For many years now, China and Japan have not enjoyed very good relations. In fact, highly volatile and emotional issues of territory, history, and identity have escalated dangerously. But are these historical issues largely a political construction, and do in fact the two nations have more in common in terms of interests and history than they are able to see? Professor of International Relations Barry Buzan joins the podcast this week to discuss his fascinating new book coauthored with Evelyn Goh titled: "Rethinking Sino-Japanese Alienation: History Problems and Historical Opportunities." Dr. Buzan argues that China and Japan exhibit foreign policy behavior that prioritizes domestic politics, with little regard for the outside countries. "Most countries are 'autistic' in their foreign policy behavior, in the sense that their behavior is much more internally driven than externally driven, think of Brexit in Britain or what's going on in the US at the moment," Dr. Buzan says. "But in Japan and China, it

The deepening economic inequality being experienced in the United States has brought with it considerable cultural and political problems, the most interesting being the popularity of the Republican Party among lower income groups, despite a policy agenda that is decidedly hostile to their own economic interests. The answer, argue political scientists Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson in their new book "Let Them Eat Tweets," resides in the plutocrats using more and more aggressive instrumentalization of resentment and racism to push through their unpopular platform. Hacker and Pierson join Robert Amsterdam on the podcast to discuss the main arguments of the book and how the United States has arrived to this dangerous precipice, with the ominous approach of the 2020 presidential elections this fall.

Over the past number of years, Washington has come to regard strategic competition with China through a rather narrow lens of trade, national security, and diplomacy, while paying much less attention to Beijing's ambitions to increase its influence across the Eurasian basin, from Pakistan to Kazakhstan and Iran. Daniel Markey, a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and a South Asia expert who previously worked at the Council on Foreign Relations and the US Department of State, is the author of the new book "China's Western Horizon: Beijing and the New Geopolitics of Eurasia." In this conversation with Robert Amsterdam about his book, Markey explains that China has become more and more aggressive in its campaign for influence in this part of the world, while Washington has yet to adapt to the new reality. Markey pays specific attention to how the Chinese are received in these countries - and it is not always with open arms. "The Chinese are not loved in Iran by the p

We often discuss Russia's actions during the 2016 US election as though it were something "unprecedented." But in fact, there is a long established history of Russia, the Soviet Union before it, and the United States engaging in widespread efforts to interfere in elections around the world. The more important question is what to do about it. David Shimer, a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center, joins the podcast to discuss this question and more from his latest book, "Rigged: America, Russia, and One Hundred Years of Covert Electoral Interference." Speaking with host Robert Amsterdam, Shimer argues that we need to restore the historical perspective on covert election interference in order to formulate an effective response - to understand that no, this is not anything new, but that there are clear actions that can be taken. Shimer discusses the important distinction between Russia's intentions to covertly influence US public opinion vs. attempts to physically change or alter ballots and voting systems infrastru

The proliferation of nuclear weapons during the Cold War in a way served as a deterrent for conflict between nations - the power of these weapons was so overwhelming and the potential consequences of any action so irreversible, it was possible to sustain a long period of détente. But as technology evolved, and micro-aggressions of state-sponsored hacking became the norm, the logic was flipped and we found ourselves with almost no restraint in terms of acts of cyber warfare among nations. Ben Buchanan, a professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, joins Robert Amsterdam on this episode of Departures to discuss his new book, "The Hacker and the State: Cyber Attacks and the New Normal of Geopolitics." Buchanan argues that we can see just how extensive the hacking wars have gone by examining the details. "If you are looking for scenarios of planes crashing and cities burning, you miss some of the activities that matter most," Buchanan says. "This is a book about the stories that actually happe

Following the demise of the Nazi regime in Germany at the end of the second World War, European nations set about a series of reforms to their political systems which would continue to entail popular representation expressed through a stronger set of institutions, bureaucracy, and law to constrain the potential abuses which sparked the war. Oxford historian Martin Conway has recently published a fascinating study of this period in his book, "Western Europe’s Democratic Age 1945-1968." In this conversation with Robert Amsterdam, Conway explains that we have been remarkably fortunate with the success of these efforts, as we often forget that there was never any sort of preordained roadmap for Europe to follow. The democratic models that evolved during this period were the result of complex social forces, economic interests, and historical experiences and could have easily failed. Conway said that the lessons that most European elites drew from the Weimar Republic was that there had been "too much democracy," an

In the 1950s and 1960s, the United States engaged in a relentless anticommunism crusade which included the sponsorship of mass killings, coups, and installations of authoritarian regimes across much of the global South, from Indonesia to Brazil. In his fascinating new book, "The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program that Shaped Our World," journalist and author Vincent Bevins explores some fascinating personal testimonials of survivors and their families, and studies how this pattern of conduct by the United States often resulted in structural, systemic defects in many of the countries which to this today continues to impede the consolidation of democracy and stability. Most Americans, and many in the media and pundit class, continue to overlook the human toll that it took for the United States to win the Cold War, and defer to an attitude of exceptionalism. Bevins argues that we need to overcome this and grapple with how our actions impacted these countries. "There's

In 1942, Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle led an audacious one-way bombing raid to hit targets in Japan which many thought impossible. With nowhere to land their planes, eight American airmen who were captured afterward by Japanese troops in occupied Chinese territory, and later subjected to trials and death sentences. In his fascinating new book, "Last Mission to Tokyo: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raiders and Their Final Fight for Justice," Columbia Law Professor Michel Paradis takes the reader deep inside the first postwar war crimes tribunals organized by the Allies in Shanghai, which included trials of lawyers involved in the prosecution of the captured Doolittle airmen. In speaking with Robert Amsterdam about the book, Paradis remarks that much of the prosecutions that took place following the war were quite flawed examples of "victors' justice," but nevertheless set important precedent. "When we fall short in upholding justice, and we fall into the trap of victors' justice and revenge and show t

Tundu Lissu is not known for backing down from a challenge.  From his humble roots growing up herding cattle in Central Tanzania to his British education and legal practice, he rose to a senior position in the CHADEMA opposition party. As a vocal critic challenging the alleged human rights abuses of President John Magufuli, in 2017 he survived an attempted assassination  in which he was shot 16 times. On this podcast, Tundu is interviewed by his international lawyer Robert Amsterdam, and shares his views on what motivated him to go back home and contest for the presidency.

As the Syrian conflict has raged on for almost a decade, and the United Nations is hamstrung with Russia's veto power over proposed legal instruments to intervene, international law finds itself being innovated at light speed in response. Michael Scharf, the co-dean of the Law School of Case Western Reserve University and the co-author of "The Syrian Conflict's Impact on International Law," joins the podcast this week to discuss the effect of the Syrian conflict on the doctrine of humanitarian intervention, and whether or not these recent precedents are sustainable in the long term. Scharf asks if the bombing of Syrian chemical weapons facilities, which was carried out under the ambit of humanitarian intervention by a handful of nations, will be seen as broad precedent that could be invoked over other international crises, or if it will be seen to be much more limited for use only against countries deploying biological warfare. In this discussion with Robert Amsterdam, Scharf proposes that the conflict has ra

As the trade war heats up between the United States and China, the strategic calculations on behalf of both Donald Trump and Xi Jinping bear increasing levels of risk of the confrontation spinning out of control. Joining the podcast this episode are two Wall Street Journal reporters, Bob Davis and Lingling Wei, whose new book "Superpower Showdown: How the Battle Between Trump and Xi Threatens a New Cold War" examines the history driving the current trade dispute and the behind the scenes thinking that continues to mischaracterize and misunderstand how we find our way back to détente. "One thing we try to do in this book is illustrate the kinds of calculations that both sides had done that brought the relationship closer and closer to this new cold war," says Lingling Wei. "Constantly the Chinese side would overestimate their leverage over the American side," she says. "To them, its biggest leverage throughout these negotiations was soybeans. They knew that agricultural purchases were something near and dear t

As a career foreign service officer, Elizabeth Shackelford was seen as a rising star in the US State Department, a recipient of the Barbara Watson Award for Consular Excellence. But in 2017 she resigned from public service, publishing a stinging indictment of a letter which brought to light the extraordinary mismanagement and strategic drift under then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. In Shackelford's new book, "The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age," she takes the reader inside the collapse of the U.S. diplomatic effort in South Sudan, which had fallen into a pernicious civil war with Washington left backing a murderous dictator. "The role of diplomacy in our national security toolbox has really been downgraded and diminished in recent years, really over the past 20 years as the military's role has become the primary tool we are using," says Shackelford. "We aren't just ineffective. We're counterproductive." Shackelford says that the picture of the coronavirus pandemic would be entirely

With assassinations taking place on foreign soil, widespread hacking and disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining democratic elections, and provocations of armed conflict across multiple theaters, Russia's role in the post-Cold War international system under President Vladimir Putin has been that of a disrupter. But they've likely never had a more powerful weapon at their disposal than the current president of the United States, Donald Trump. Luke Harding, an author and journalist who served for years as the Guardian's correspondent in Moscow, has recently published a fascinating new book examining the crucial developments that led us to our current problems with Russia, entitled "Shadow State: Murder, Mayhem and Russia’s Remaking of the West." In this interview with Robert Amsterdam, Harding discusses some of the book's heroes and anti-heroes, with a special focus on the deeply peculiar relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin dating back to the infamous summit in Helsinki. "It was that noto

As an attorney, distinguished diplomat, academic and author, there are few public officials with careers as varied and impressive as Philip Zelikow. He served as the executive director of the 9/11 Commission, was the author of the "Zelikow memo" disputing the legal grounds of torture of terrorism detainees, and co-authored books with former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and recently published on "strategy corruption" in Foreign Affairs. In this wide-ranging discussion with Robert Amsterdam, Zelikow talks about his work deconstructing the Suez crisis of 1956, how to consider history and decisionmaking without 20/20 hindsight, and what mistakes the Trump administration is making by concentrating solely on the culture war as opposed to focusing on what outputs and results they want from global diplomatic engagement. Zelikow explains in detail his most recent work on "strategic corruption," in which other nations exploit openings for lawlessness in the United States. "I do think that this administration has

The United States has enjoyed a position of relative primacy in the international system since the end of World War II, but are those days numbered as China and other powers continue to rise? Or does Washington still have a few more decades left in the tank? Matthew Kroenig, a political scientist and the Deputy Director of the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, has a decidedly more optimistic view of the capacity of American democracy to help the country prevail in the new rivalries with China and Russia. On the podcast, Kroenig discusses these questions by taking a critical look at the strengths of weaknesses of democracies vs. autocracies by highlighting seven different confrontations between rivals, from from ancient Greece to the Cold War. In his new book, "The Return of Great Power Rivalry: Democracy versus Autocracy from the Ancient World to the U.S. and China," he argues that although democracies do not always win wars, they do have outsized strategic advantages in compariso

For fans of legal fiction, there are few characters more memorable than Scott Turow's protagonist, Alejandro “Sandy” Stern, whose crusading work as a defense counsel first appeared in his 1987 book, "Presumed Innocent." Now, with Turow's latest novel, "The Last Trial," it appears we are witnessing the end of a long arc of a beloved character. In this discussion with Robert Amsterdam, Scott Turow talks about what went into the creation of Sandy Stern, and the process by which he plots his many bestselling legal thrillers. Amsterdam and Turow share their contrasting experiences of large firm and small firm defense counsel, and how lawyers must manage the role fully investing themselves, personally and emotionally, into the cause of their clients, sometimes with the consequences that may bear. "I think that the transmission of motif and milieu and information from my practice to my novels is pretty obvious," says Turow. "It keeps me current on the law, gives me a sense of what's going on now. On the other hand,

The United States has risen to its position of primacy thanks to a carefully constructed system of alliances with numerous other countries. That system, however, has suffered significant damage in recent years, is under increasing attack both at home and abroad, and desperately needs rebuilding, argues Mira Rapp-Hooper, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center. In this interview with Robert Amsterdam, Rapp-Hooper discusses her new book, Shields of the Republic, which she describes as "a story of an American strategy," and how this successful alliance strategy has come under attack and now finds itself in peril. "When alliances are working, we do not see them at all. They are measured by the crises and wars that never happen," Rapp-Hooper says. "Washington is now running out of time to save this remarkable system of pacts, but it really does need it more than ever." The author also discusses how rival nations such as China and Russia have actively attacke

Last month, the White House issued an executive order to apply terrorism-style sanctions such as bank account and asset seizure orders against members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), presumably as a response to express disapproval of a war crimes investigation related to events in Afghanistan. William Burke-White, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania and policy advisor who worked at State Department under the Obama administration, joins Departures this week to talk about these sanctions against the ICC and other issues surrounding the declining support for international legal institutions seen during the past four years of the Trump administration. Prof. Burke-White shares his insights about how the effort to construct global legal structures to put an end to impunity have crashed up against the prerogatives of power, and why the United States, especially when competing with a rising China, should have a strong interest to support international rule of law and strengthen these systems

For 175 years, well before the young Mao Zedong began his Long March, two rival Jewish dynasties dominated Chinese business and politics, accumulating massive wealth and power while navigating the tumultuous history of the period before losing nearly everything once the Communists swept into power. Jonathan Kaufman, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and the author of the "The Last Kings of Shanghai," joins Robert Amsterdam on the podcast to discuss the fascinating stories of these two families, the Sassoons and the Kadoories, and how their tremendous impact on China can still be felt and observed today. "When you go to Shanghai, you can see how Shanghai was the New York or London of its time. Charlie Chaplin would go there. Noel Coward would go there. It was a crossroads for business, it was really the first globalized city. So a lot of the issues we deal with today with globalization including poverty and inequity, but also the breaking down of borders, Shanghai represented," Kaufman says. Kaufman points o