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Assassination and US Foreign Policy Since 1945

On this episode of American Prestige, Luca Trenta on US policy on assassinations as a foreign policy tool.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

June 18, 2024

The President’s Kill List: Assassination and US Foreign Policy since 1945.(Luca Trenta)

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Assassination And US Foreign Policy Since 1945 with Luca Trenta | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek are pleased to welcome back to the podcast Luca Trenta, associate professor in International Relations at Swansea University and author of The President’s Kill List. The group discusses assassinations and international law, when and how assassination became a tool for US foreign policy, the difficulties in accessing declassified documents about this topic, the unsuccessful attempts on the life of Fidel Castro and successful operations against the likes of Osama Bin Laden and Patrice Lumumba, the intelligence community using assassination as a “low level” (i.e. not nuclear) form of retaliation in the Cold War, the contemporary justifications for assassinations as “self defense”, the notion of “imminence”, and more.

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On this episode of American Prestige, we are pleased to welcome back to the podcast Luca Trenta, associate professor in International Relations at Swansea University and author of The President’s Kill List. The group discusses assassinations and international law, when and how assassination became a tool for US foreign policy, the difficulties in accessing declassified documents about this topic, the unsuccessful attempts on the life of Fidel Castro and successful operations against the likes of Osama Bin Laden and Patrice Lumumba, the intelligence community using assassination as a “low level” (i.e., not nuclear) form of retaliation in the Cold War, the contemporary justifications for assassinations as “self-defense,” the notion of “imminence,” and more.

The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Masculinity, the Manosphere, and Climate Politics w/ Daniel Waite Penny | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Danny and Derek speak with journalist and cultural critic Daniel Waite Penny to discuss the relationship between masculinity, the manosphere, and climate politics, as explored in the new season of Drilled, Carbon Bros. They talk about the “manosphere,” libertarians promoting techno-fixes, and Silicon Valley elites pushing solutions like space colonization; how gendered ideas about strength, autonomy, and grievance have fused with climate denial and hostility toward environmental regulation; where these dynamics fit within broader shifts in political economy and the interests of fossil capital; and the roots of these alignments, their role in contemporary right-wing politics, and what they mean for efforts to build public support for climate action.

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Daniel BessnerTwitterDaniel Bessner is an historian of US foreign relations, and cohost of American Prestige, a podcast on international affairs.


Derek DavisonDerek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.


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