America - The decline & fall

About this episode

Nick Cohen interviews Andrew Gawthorpe about America's geopolitical challenges and the implications of its foreign policy under Trump.

Nick Cohen interviews Andrew Gawthorpe about the current geopolitical situation, particularly focusing on America's disastrous war with Iran and its broader implications. Andy Gawthorpe is the author of the highly-regarded newsletter "America Explained" and teaches at Leiden University in The Netherlands. He describes the current mess caused by Trump and his fellow incompetents, such as defence minister Pete Hegseth, as "America's Suez moment", suggesting it could mark the beginning of American empire decline. Nick and Andy discuss how Trump's foreign policy lacks strategic rationale, the rise of militarism on the American right, and the potential dangers of Trump's ability to command military power - as "Commander-in-Chief" - even as his domestic political position weakens. They also discuss the impact on the U.S.-Israel relationship, with both agreeing that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's approach has undermined the alliance and international support for Israel, especially liberals who have been deeply antagonised by its catastrophic war on the Palestinian people, that increasing numbers of critics are characterising as genocide. Nick and Andy also discuss concerns about…

People in this episode

Host: Nick Cohen

Guest: Andrew Gawthorpe

Topics covered

• geopolitical situation
• America's war with Iran
• Trump's foreign policy
• U.S.-Israel relationship
• militarism on the American right
• American empire decline

Keywords

• geopolitics
• Trump
• Iran
• militarism
• U.S.-Israel
• empire decline
• foreign policy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: America Explained

Places: United States, Iran, Leiden University, Europe, UK

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