8/13/26 Robert Pape on How His Escalation Trap Model Stands Up to Recent History
About this episode
Scott Horton interviews Robert Pape about the Escalation Trap Model and its relevance to current conflicts, particularly focusing on Trump's situation with Iran.
Scott brings Robert Pape back on the show. They discuss the difficult situation Trump is in as he tries to find a face-saving way out of his war with Iran. But first, Scott and Pape look back at Pape’s career and previous conflicts like Iraq War I and Bosnia to assess how reliable the model he’s using to analyze this current war is. Discussed on the show: Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War by Robert A. Pape The Escalation Trap Robert A. Pape is Professor of Political Science and Director of the University of Chicago Project on Security and Threats and the author of Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War. Follow him on Twitter @ProfessorPape Sign up for the Scott Horton Academy of Foreign Policy and Freedom at scotthortonacademy.com For more on Scott's work: Check out The Libertarian Institute: https://www.libertarianinstitute.org Check out Scott's other show, Provoked, with Darryl Cooper https://youtube.com/@Provoked_Show Read Scott's books: Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine https://amzn.to/43D82oY (The audiobook of Provoked is being published in sections at https://scotthortonshow.com) Enough…
People in this episode
Host: Scott Horton
Guest: Robert Pape
Topics covered
- Trump and Iran
- Escalation Trap Model
- Historical conflicts
- Political analysis
- Military strategy
Keywords
- Escalation Trap
- Iran War
- Robert Pape
- Political Science
- Military Strategy
- Iraq War
- Bosnia
- Air Power
- Coercion
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Chicago, Scott Horton Academy of Foreign Policy and Freedom, The Libertarian Institute, Provoked
Books & works: Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War, Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine, Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism, Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan
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