Podcast / American Prestige / Feb 13, 2024

The Problem With US Security Assistance to Africa 

On this episode of American Prestige, Elizabeth Shackelford discusses US involvement across the continent.

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US Security Assistance to Africa w/ Elizabeth Shackelford | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Derek speaks with Elizabeth Shackelford, former U.S. diplomat and current foreign affairs columnist for The Chicago Tribune, about U.S. involvement across Africa. They talk about Elizabeth’s own history in Somalia and South Sudan, America’s understanding of the places in which it’s involved, the generational timeline needed to change the trajectory of foreign policy, where the securitized view of Africa began, how the U.S. has approached places like Burkina Faso and Cameroon, and what a better U.S. policy in Africa might look like.

Elizabeth’s report with Ethan Kessler and Emma Sanderson, “Less is More: A New Strategy for US Security Assistance to Africa”.

Elizabeth’s book The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age.

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Young men sell milk along the street in Juba.

(Michael Kappeler / picture alliance via Getty Images)

On this episode of American Prestige, Derek speaks with Elizabeth Shackelford, a former US diplomat and the current foreign affairs columnist for the Chicago Tribune, about US involvement across Africa. They talk about Elizabeth’s own history in Somalia and South Sudan, America’s understanding of the places in which it’s involved, the generational timeline needed to change the trajectory of foreign policy, where the securitized view of Africa began, how the United States has approached places like Burkina Faso and Cameroon, and what a better US policy in Africa might look like.

Elizabeth’s report with Ethan Kessler and Emma Sanderson: “Less is More: A New Strategy for US Security Assistance to Africa.”

Elizabeth’s book: The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age.

The Nation Podcasts
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.

On the Brink with Iran w/ Dalia Dassa Kaye | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Derek and Danny are joined by Dalia Dassa Kaye to talk about the decades-long hostility between the U.S. and Iran and the current escalation between the two countries. They talk about the odds of war and the absence of clear objectives; talk of “regime change”; the legacy of the hostage crisis and the Iran-Contra hangover; the domestic incentives that make diplomacy “too costly”; the post-9/11 opportunity to mend relations and how it collapsed after the “Axis of Evil” speech; how U.S. leaders frame Iran as uniquely fanatical and unchangeable; and how Israel’s interests and domestic U.S. politics constrain policy change.

Read Dalia’s book Enduring Hostility: The Making of America's Iran Policy.

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Derek Davison

Derek 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 Bessner

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

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