Dr. Paul Monk on Geopolitics, World Order, and Good Judgement

About this episode

Nick Fabbri and Dr. Paul Monk discuss the fragility of the global order and the complexities of international relations post-Soviet Union.

In this podcast, Nick Fabbri and Dr. Paul Monk discuss the fragility and instability of the global order following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and reflect on the nature of international relations and decision-making. Key Discussion Points include: The Unipolar Moment and US Decline: Discussing Aaron Friedberg's 1988 book, The Weary Titan, which anticipated relative US decline just before the unipolar moment of the 1990s. Self-Inflicted Wounds: Examining the seismic shock of 9/11, the costly counterinsurgency wars that followed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008 as failures of foresight. The China Bet: Analysing the failure of the Western bet that China's admission to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001 would lead to inevitable political reform and democratisation. The Problem of "Black Swans": Arguing that events like 9/11 and the GFC were not true black swan events but were foreseeable had there been better intelligence and regulatory oversight. States as Non-Unitary Actors: Challenging international relations theory by arguing that states are not unitary rational actors but are driven by interest groups, demagogues, and…

People in this episode

Host: Nick Fabbri

Guest: Dr. Paul Monk

Topics covered

• geopolitics
• international relations
• US decline
• China's political reform
• grand strategy
• historical analysis

Keywords

• geopolitics
• US decline
• China
• international relations
• 9/11
• Global Financial Crisis
• grand strategy
• historical cases

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: World Trade Organisation (WTO)

Books & works: The Weary Titan

Places: Iraq, Afghanistan, China, Russia, Imperial Britain, Roman Empire, Ming Dynasty, Chinese Communist Party

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