Trump's "Predatory Hegemony" Defines 2025: Prof. Stephen Walt

About this episode

Professor Stephen Walt discusses the political landscape of 2025, focusing on Trump's foreign policy and its implications.

Harvard Professor and internationally acclaimed realist Stephen Walt looks at the events, personalities and policies that defined a tumultuous year in politics at home and abroad in this edition of The Brief Podcast with Jim Clancy. Unrestrained in his foreign policy instincts, Trump has bullied friends and foes alike without a hint of a collective strategy. Walt reviews how a President obsessed with claiming the mantle of a global peacekeeper has conflated short term ceasefires with the difficult work of resolving the root causes of conflicts. From the Genocide in Gaza to gunboat diplomacy in Venezuela, Walt deconstructs how flim flam is failing on all fronts. Walt observes the winners and (mostly) losers of 2025. That includes Israel's powerful lobby in the U.S. that faces a collapse of support in American public opinion. It also includes Trump's onslaught against science and research at prominent universities that can be likened to "shooting itself in the head.". The flailing tariff policies, deployment of troops on American streets and troubled alliances from Europe to Asia are discussed and no sacred cows are spared. Despite all of that, Professor Walt still sees hope for…

People in this episode

Host: Jim Clancy

Guest: Stephen Walt

Topics covered

• foreign policy
• politics
• democracy
• conflict resolution
• U.S. relations
• Trump administration

Keywords

• Trump
• foreign policy
• democracy
• Gaza
• Venezuela
• Stephen Walt
• politics
• U.S. relations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Israel, U.S., American public opinion, science, research

Places: Gaza, Venezuela, Europe, Asia

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