The known perils of regime change
From Defense One Radio by Defense One staff
January 23, 2026 · 18 min · Season 8
About this episode
Monica Duffy Toft discusses the dangers of repeating past U.S. military interventions and the complexities of establishing political legitimacy post-regime change.
A scholar of civil wars warns against repeating the past mistakes from U.S. military interventions abroad. Guest: Monica Duffy Toft , director of the Center for Strategic Studies and a professor of international politics at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; her essay "Can the US 'run' Venezuela? Military force can topple a dictator, but it cannot create political authority or legitimacy" was published earlier this month in The Conversation .
People in this episode
Host: Defense One staff
Guest: Monica Duffy Toft
Topics covered
- regime change
- military intervention
- civil wars
- political authority
- U.S. foreign policy
Keywords
- regime change
- military intervention
- civil wars
- political authority
- U.S. foreign policy
- Monica Duffy Toft
- Venezuela
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Center for Strategic Studies, Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, The Conversation
Books & works: Can the US 'run' Venezuela?
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