We are living through a time in which the normal order is being upended. From the unexpected developments of the 2016 presidential race to the often radical politics of Pope Francis to the election of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK, all the old rules are being rewritten.
On September 20, Katrina vanden Heuvel joined Larry King on PoliticKING to talk about this moment of building political possibility, as well as the Iran deal and the global refugee crisis. Following Donald Trump’s speech aboard the USS Iowa last week, she discusses the politics of spectacle behind his rise and his apparent desire to “shape the world by sheer force of ego.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the political spectrum, the media have learned they can no longer cast Bernie Sanders as a fringe candidate, while Hillary Clinton’s candidacy so far appears too conventional for the political moment. But neither of the Democratic contenders have devoted enough attention to foreign affairs and the necessity of a diplomatic model moving forward, and Clinton in particular has cast doubts on the possibility of trusting Iran even as she has supported the nuclear deal. Regarding Syria, vanden Heuvel argues that not only the horrifying humanitarian crisis but also the root causes of the Syrian conflict must be addressed, though all of the possible “solutions” will no doubt be unpopular.
–Anna Hadfield
