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Shield of the Republic

Shield of the Republic

By: The Bulwark
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Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. We probe beyond the hive mind of Washington conventional wisdom on national security and foreign affairs.Bulwark Media Politics & Government World
Episodes
  • The International Order is Dead

    The International Order is Dead
    Jul 17 2025
    Eric and Eliot welcome Rebecca Friedman Lissner and Mira Rapp-Hooper to Shield of the Republic to discuss their recent article in the July/August issue of Foreign Affairs, "Absent at the Creation?: American Strategy and the Delusion of a Post-Trump Restoration." They discuss the speed with which Trump has imposed policy changes, the likelihood that old international order will be irreparably broken by the end of this term, the limits of American resilience, and the emergence of a multipolar world order. They also discuss challenges to American pre-eminence of emerging technologies and "compounding geopolitical risks" that Trump's cuts to research, assault on universities, and limits on tech transfer to China will do to U.S. innovation and international competitiveness. Note: After this episode was recorded the Trump administration announced approval of AI semiconductor chip sales to China.

    Rebecca Lissner & Mira Rapp-Hooper's latest in Foreign Affairs:
    https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/absent-creation-rebecca-lissner

    An Open World: How America Can Win the Contest for Twenty-First-Century Order:
    https://a.co/d/bHYjPGk

    Shields of the Republic: The Triumph and Peril of America’s Alliances:
    https://a.co/d/8hzZNaI

    Wars of Revelation: The Transformative Effects of Military Intervention on Grand Strategy
    https://a.co/d/a65aUif

    Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
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    58 mins
  • Is Trump Losing Control of the Pentagon?

    Is Trump Losing Control of the Pentagon?
    Jul 10 2025
    Eric and Eliot cover the latest Pentagon dysfunction, with military aid to Ukraine stalled and mixed signals on Trump’s defense policy. They also look at the Iran strikes, Trump’s shifting posture on Putin, and the growing strain inside the MAGA foreign policy orbit.
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    55 mins
  • Eric and Eliot's Strike Assessment

    Eric and Eliot's Strike Assessment
    Jun 25 2025
    Eric and Eliot host a special Shield of the Republic episode to discuss the Iranian response to Trump's strike on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. They assess the largely symbolic Iranian attack on al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as an attempt to take an off ramp from further escalation as they did in the aftermath of the Soleimani strike in 2020. They also touch on why Trump did it, the difficulties of bomb damage assessment, what happened to the HEU and are there other Iranian facilities, the Israeli intelligence brief, the cracks in MAGA, Trump's sudden endorsement of regime change and the hypocrisy of those calling for a Congressional vote to legitimize the actions given their prior support for Obama's operation in Libya and Clinton's campaigns in Bosnia and Kosovo all of which took place without a vote.

    Eliot's Latest in The Atlantic:
    https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/06/trump-iran/683287/

    Eric (with Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh) in Foreign Affairs:
    https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/right-path-regime-change-iran

    Where Does Iran Go Now? (The New York Times):
    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/opinion/iran-iranians-regime.html

    Inside the spy dossier that led Israel to war (The Economist):
    https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/06/18/inside-the-spy-dossier-that-led-israel-to-war

    Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
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    40 mins
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