Iran, North Korea, Syria, Brexit, Paris Agreement, China. Prime Minister Abe, Macron, Merkel, Xi, a fellow named Putin. At a time when U.S. foreign policy – when diplomacy itself – requires as much clarity and coordination and skill as it has in decades, ours has been going through – to put it diplomatically – a major transition.
You know the headlines: Thousands of State Department positions unfilled. Budgets slashed. Tillerson fired. One day we have the world’s biggest button; the next, we’re ready to travel across the world for a summit with a leader who just months ago was a madman.
How’d we get here?
That’s what Ronan Farrow has pieced together – through exceptional storytelling and just plain reporting – in his new book “War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence.” Farrow did the work, talking with every living Secretary of State. And what he’s pulled together is the story of not only the shrinking, but also the militarization, of U.S. foreign policy. And to be clear: It didn’t start with Trump.
You might have heard of Farrow. He’s a bit ubiquitous and, if you ask me, extraordinary. He just won a share of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for public service: his The New Yorker articles helped to uncover the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations and played an important part in fueling the #MeToo movement. He has been a lawyer, diplomat, journalist, and a Rhodes Scholar. He worked in the Obama State Department as Special Adviser for Humanitarian and NGO Affairs in the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, among other roles.
And as you’ll hear, he’s also extremely gracious, which is not a bad quality, even if you’re no longer a diplomat.
John Sides, political scientist and author of "The Gamble"
Stuart Stevens, chief strategist for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign
Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of "The Bully Pulpit"
Mark Halperin, co-author of "Double Down" and "Game Change"
Larry Sabato, University of Virginia's Center for Politics
Joe Scarborough, host of "Morning Joe" and author of "The Right Path"
Michael Beschloss on presidential second terms
Michael Beschloss, presidential historian
Jeff Greenfield on "If Kennedy Lived"
Jeff Greenfield, political analyst and historian
Gov. Howard Dean, Former DNC Chairman and Founder of Democracy for America
Ezra Klein, Washington Post Wonk Blog
Norm Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute
Rick Klein, Political Director of ABC News
Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report
Stu Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report
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