About this episode
Power gets loud when it’s insecure. Strategy becomes theater. And ideology sneaks in wearing policy jargon. The White House's newest U.S. National Security Strategy claims realism while quietly demanding dominance, preaching restraint while laying groundwork for escalation. Civilizational panic collides with imperial muscle, producing a document that wants everything, everywhere, all at once. Van Jackson, Professor of International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington, sits down with Jacob Shapiro to chat about how culture war thinking seeps into grand strategy, why “prioritization” turns into mission creep, and what this blueprint signals for allies, adversaries, and a world already stretched thin. If this is restraint, buckle up :)--Timestamps:(00:00) - Introduction(01:40) - Understanding National Security Strategy(02:23) - Critique of the Current Administration's Strategy(07:22) - Historical Context and Comparisons(13:14) - Primitive Accumulation and Geopolitics(16:47) - Latin American Policy and Imperialism(25:33) - Military Strategy and Global Implications(29:47) - China as a Pacing Threat(30:47) - Misconceptions in Military Strategy(31:52) - Potential Conflicts in Latin America(34:23) - US Military Intervention in Mexico(35:38) - Challenges of Addressing Drug Cartels(41:56) - Hegemonic Decline and National Security(48:24) - Global Reactions to US Strategy(53:58) - Brazil's Role in Latin America(56:53) - Concluding Thoughts--Referenced in the Show:Van Jackson - https://people.wgtn.ac.nz/van.jacksonNational Security Strategy 2025 - https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdfNSS (2002) - https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/nsc/nss/2002/NSC-68 (1950) - https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/NSC68--Jacob Shapiro Site: jacobshapiro.comJacob Shapiro LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jacob-l-s-a9337416Jacob Twitter: x.com/JacobShapJaco
