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Tricky Strategic Changes

On this episode of American Prestige, Stephen Wertheim on changes in US foreign policy.

Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

August 20, 2024

In a TV speech to the nation from the White House, President Nixon announces that several thousand American ground troops have entered Cambodia to wipe out the Communist headquarters for all military operations against South Vietnam.(Getty Images)

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Tricky Strategic Changes w/ Stephen Wertheim | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, champion Stephen Wertheim, senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, returns for a discussion of his recent piece for Carnegie, “Strategic Change in U.S. Foreign Policy.” The group muses on the difficulty of altering established foreign policy paradigms before delving into several case studies such as NSC-68, Nixon's Vietnam WithdrawalCarter's Failed Korea Withdrawal, NATO Enlargementand the Global War on Terroremphasizing the need for foresight, strategic planning, and a willingness to incur political costs to make such change possible.

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On this episode of American Prestige, champion Stephen Wertheim, senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, returns for a discussion of his recent piece for Carnegie, “Strategic Change in U.S. Foreign Policy.” The group muses on the difficulty of altering established foreign policy paradigms before delving into several case studies such as NSC-68, Nixon’s Vietnam withdrawal, Carter’s failed Korea Wwithdrawal, NATO enlargement, and the Global War on Terror, emphasizing the need for foresight, strategic planning, and a willingness to incur political costs to make such change possible.

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.

The Party of Chaos w/ Paul Heideman | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Danny and Derek welcome to the show writer Paul Heideman to talk about the transformation of the Republican Party from the main party of business interests to a fragmented, personality-driven coalition. They discuss the historical relationship between Republicans and capital, the disorganization of American employers, the political economy of the 1970s crisis, Reagan-era fragmentation, Gingrich and fundraising, globalization and bipartisan neoliberalism in the 1990s, the Koch network and Tea Party, Republicanism after Romney, the conditions that enabled Trump’s rise, and much more.

Read Paul’s book Rogue Elephant: How Republicans Went from the Party of Business to the Party of Chaos.

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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.


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


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