Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
Interventionism on Steroids – The Trump Takeover of Venezuela
updated
In a shifting international order, how can a compromise peace in Ukraine be beneficial for both U.S. grand strategy and the broader world? Going forward, in what ways will maximalist approaches to term-setting need to give way to compromise — and to more dynamic and flexible relations with a variety of actors? And how should the United States and its allies adjust course in the current negotiations?
To discuss these questions and more, QI held a conversation featuring George Beebe, director of Grand Strategy at the Quincy Institute, Sarang Shidore, director of the Global South program at the Quincy Institute, and Emma Ashford, senior fellow in the Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy program at the Stimson Center. Zach Paikin, deputy director of QI’s Better Order project, moderated.
*Download the full webinar transcript here*:
quincyinst.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/17131149/Ukraine-Peace-Talks-and-the-Pitfalls-of-Maximalism-in-a-Multipolar-World.docx.pdf
But that risks direct U.S.–Russia confrontation and could shut the door on any path to peace or reconstruction. #ukrainerussiawar #usrussia #ukraine #zelensky
Facing backlash among regional allies and sinking support among his domestic political base, he needed to distance himself and reset the course.
#gaza #usisraelrelations #qatar #israelgaza
In his shocking new book, The Fort Bragg Cartel, investigative journalist Seth Harp uncovers stunning revelations about the special operations forces at Fort Bragg.
He details how America’s increasing reliance on largely unaccountable elite forces during our decades-long Global War on Terror has given rise to a web of narcotics smuggling, unsolved murders, and corruption.
Harp’s investigation has received mass media attention from across the political spectrum with media appearances ranging from Democracy Now! to The Tucker Carlson Show. An HBO adaptation of the book is in the works.
The Quincy Institute was delighted to host Harp in-person, diving deep into the book’s shocking allegations and their implications for U.S. military and foreign policy. Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, senior advisor at the Quincy Institute and editorial director of Responsible Statecraft, spoke with the author.
Without ending Israel’s occupation permanently, any deal that ends up just being a pause risks reigniting the cycle of violence.
#gaza #ceasefire #israelgaza #usisraelrelations
Whether it leads to lasting peace depends on resolving who will govern Gaza and who will be held accountable for the war’s devastation.
That's $43 million every single day.
Start with small, practical science and technology projects.
By building quick wins in non-sensitive areas like health and clean energy, the U.S. and China could rebuild confidence and avoid deeper conflict.
Now a $6M social media blitz led by Trump’s ex-campaign manager aims to flood Gen Z feeds with pro-Israel content.
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Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions.
Each episode, they’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.
Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.org
Contact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.org
Show art by Justin Hantz
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Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank.
Help fund our research: quincyinst.org/donations
Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org
Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInst
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Website: quincyinst.org
#uschina #uschinarelations #uschinatensions #futuretech
What’s taught as a defense of the Americas also carried a bold call for U.S. expansion.
#latam #monroedoctrine #venezuela #aumf
Check out the latest episode of Always at War here:
youtube.com/watch?v=M8k0AA0YBT8
Qi's Dan Ford explains why this short-term fix keeps duty-free U.S. market access alive for African exporters while Congress debates the program’s long-term future. #africa #trades #economics #trump #africaeconomy
#israelgaza #chatgpt
Read Nick Cleveland Stout's article in Responsible Statecraft.
responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-chatgpt
#uschina #uschinarelations #science #futuretech #TechPolicy
In Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World, historian Thant Myint‑U mines newly declassified archives to show how his grandfather U Thant steered the world through the Cuban Missile Crisis, mediated conflicts from the Congo to Kashmir, challenged Washington over Vietnam, and championed decolonization and environmental stewardship decades ahead of his time. Drawing vivid portraits of Cold War flashpoints, Myint‑U recasts U Thant’s legacy as a roadmap for principled multilateralism in an era of renewed great‑power rivalry.
In conversation with Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, Myint-U explored U Thant’s battles against white supremacy in southern Africa, the rise of newly independent Asian and African voices at the UN, and what U Thant’s diplomacy can teach today’s gridlocked Security Council.
Want to understand the real obstacles in US-Sino tensions? Start here.
#Taiwan #USChina #WW3 #ForeignPolicy #StrategicClarity #NationalInterest#taiwan #chinataiwan
In his new book, The National Interest: Politics After Globalization, Philip Cunliffe explains the recent ascendance of ‘the national interest,’ positing it in opposition to both liberal globalism and populist demagoguery, and makes a case for forging nations anew as the key to democratic renewal in diverse societies. In making his case for a new statecraft based on the loadstar of the national interest, Cunliffe argues that the neoliberal era has eroded state authority but not necessarily the role of the state, and that liberal efforts to discredit nationalism have not succeeded in excising chauvinism from elite mainstream opinion. Zachary Paikin, research fellow in the Grand Strategy program at the Quincy Institute, spoke with the author.
Current and former officials say he's stoked a culture of fear at the State Department.
#statedepartment #israelgaza #humanrights
A new study by David C. Kang, Jackie S. H. Wong & Zenobia T. Chan takes a calmer, evidence-driven look — sparking praise, criticism, and debate.
In conversation with Jake Werner of the Quincy Institute, the authors unpack their findings, tackle critics, and explore what it all means for US policy toward China.
#foreignpolicy #chinausa #china #geopolitics
#pentagon #press #firstamendment #media #journalism
Together, they explore the missed opportunities for true fraternity between the two Americas, the long history of Washington using Latin America as a testing ground for its foreign policy adventurism, and how the myths and attitudes that informed various disastrous U.S. interventions in the region last century still persist today.
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Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions.
Each episode, they’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.
Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.org
Contact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.org
Show art by Justin Hantz
###
Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank.
Help fund our research: quincyinst.org/donations
Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org
Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInst
TikTok: tiktok.com/quincyinst
Facebook: facebook.com/quincyinst
Instagram: instagram.com//quincyinst
Website: quincyinst.org
#foreignpolicy #unitednations #israelgaza
October 7th similarly broke Israeli society, and the government continues to draw upon a thirst for revenge to justify genocidal actions in Gaza. As we reflect on the almost quarter century that has elapsed since the 9/11 attacks, we hope that Americans’ eventual rejection of endless wars might offer lessons for how to shift the views of Israelis, and how to do so before all prospects for peace are destroyed.
The Quincy Institute held a timely discussion with Israeli historian Ori Goldberg, Yale University law professor and Quincy Institute non-resident fellow Aslı Bâli, and Jewish Currents editor-at-large Peter Beinart, moderated by Quincy Institute research fellow Annelle Sheline.
*Download the full webinar transcript here*:
quincyinst.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/23133818/Americans-Eventually-Rejected-the-GWOT.-Will-Israelis-Reject-Their-War-on-Gaza_.docx.pdf
So why is Congress is taking them seriously?
#israelpalestineconflict #israelqatar #israelpalestine #israelvsqatar
#artificialintelligence #aiwar #aigovernance #TechPolicy
Marcus Stanley, director of studies at the Quincy Institute, spoke with Col. Daddis about his book.
#foreignpolicy #usforeignpolicy #middleeast #gaza
Are we facing a strategic reality or is it a marketing ploy for the defense tech industry?
#dronewars #pentagon #dronewarfare #militarydrones
Nick Cleveland-Stout has two charts that may help explain why.
#foreignpolicy #aipac #israel #qatar #followthemoney
So ask yourself: Is it really a vital U.S. interest— or just a talking point?
War with China? Nukes? Trillions lost? Thousands dead?
Taiwan better be worth it.
Michael Swaine explains the problem.
#Taiwan #USChina #WW3 #ForeignPolicy #StrategicClarity #NationalInterest#taiwan #chinataiwan
The discussion will take place on Thursday, September 11th from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Eastern Time.
Strip away the rhetoric, and it’s just professional outrage masquerading as analysis.
#nytimes #mediacritique #neocons #logicfail #armsembargo #gaza
In this episode of Always at War, hosts Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan reveal the costs and consequences of America's massive worldwide military footprint and examine how it enables Washington's disastrous quest to maintain global military primacy, no matter the costs.
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Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions.
Each episode, they’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.
Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.org
Contact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.org
Show art by Justin Hantz
###
Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank.
Help fund our research: quincyinst.org/donations
Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org
Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInst
TikTok: tiktok.com/quincyinst
Facebook: facebook.com/quincyinst
Instagram: instagram.com//quincyinst
Website: quincyinst.org
What lessons can be drawn from Afghanistan and from aid delivery in other conflict zones such as South Sudan, Syria, and beyond? Join us for a panel discussion examining how aid systems do or do not manage diversion and conflict-sensitivity risks, the factors shaping these approaches, and potential strategies for improving them at both the donor and implementer levels.
The conversation featured Joseph Windrem, director of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s (SIGAR) Lessons Learned Program, Jordan Kane, senior analyst in SIGAR’s Lessons Learned Program, and Audrey Bottjen, international aid and conflict sensitivity consultant. Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute, moderated.
#corruption #afghanistan #syria #southsudan
How does the new Syrian leadership and its armed cadres view the country’s minorities? What do the clashes in Suwayda reveal about the relationship between Bedouin tribes and Damascus? How significant is Israel’s role? And what might Suwayda’s unrest, along with earlier violence along the Alawite coast, portend for a potential deal between the Kurdish northeast and the central government, or for the larger struggle between centralization and federalism?
The Quincy Institute held a panel with Los Angeles Times journalist Nabih Bulos, who reported from Suwayda at the height of the violence, and QI senior research fellow Steven Simon, who served on the National Security Council in the Clinton and Obama administrations, to explore the roots of the unrest, the politics of Syria’s minorities, and what these events reveal about the country’s uncertain future. Adam Weinstein, deputy director of QI's Middle East program, moderated.
* Download the full webinar transcript here*:
quincyinst.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/09161606/Flashpoint-Suwayda_-What-the-Druze-Uprising-Reveals-About-Syrias-Future.docx.pdf
The announcement of a $50 million bounty for the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro is the latest twist in the tangled relationship between the United States and Venezuela. A spiraling political and economic crisis in the South American country driven by ever -deepening polarization between its two dueling political forces has led to both sides pushing scorched-earth economic policies. U.S. sanctions only added fuel to the fire. All this led to a GDP crash of more than 70%. While Venezuela is an extreme case, there are broader lessons here for Latin America and the Caribbean about the risks of long-term reliance on commodity exports, dangers of winner-take-all systems, and how a neighboring great power should not behave.
To understand if this enormous level of spending will be beneficial or just another Pentagon boondoggle, the Quincy Institute held a panel of leading Pentagon budget experts, including Julia Gledhill, a research analyst for the National Security Reform Program at the Stimson Center; Veronique de Rugy, the George Gibbs Chair in Political Economy and senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University; and William D. Hartung, senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute. Hartung is also co-author of the forthcoming Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home. Ben Freeman, fellow book author and director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute, moderated the panel.
The conversation took place on Monday, August 25th from 12:00 - 1:00 PM Eastern Time.
*Download the full webinar transcript here*:
quincyinst.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/25155533/The-Trillion-Dollar-Pentagon-Budget_-Boondoggle-or-Beneficial_.docx-1.pdf
What are the legal obligations of U.S. contractors in conflict zones and who can hold them accountable?
U.S. law now makes every bullet and dollar traceable back to Washington—so the missing piece isn’t the law, it’s the political will for prosecution. #gazawar2025 #gazahumanitariancrisis #israelgazaattack #israelgaza
A bigger war is very likely coming, but as Qi's Trita Parsi explains,
its U.S. troops who could pay the biggest price.
#israeliranwar #israeliranconflict #iranusrelations #iran #israel #trumpiran #trump
###
Why is America seemingly always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions.
Each episode, they’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.
Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.org
Contact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.org
Show art by Justin Hantz
###
Quincy Institute is an independent, nonprofit think tank.
Help fund our research: quincyinst.org/donations
Read our reporting: https://ResponsibleStatecraft.org
Twitter: https://x.com/QuincyInst
TikTok: tiktok.com/quincyinst
Facebook: facebook.com/quincyinst
Instagram: instagram.com//quincyinst
Website: quincyinst.org
#news #media #journalism #fyp #war
#gazawar #gaza #gazaisrael
Watch the full Always At War episode here:
*youtube.com/watch?v=XIy-BJa73tQ&t=39s*
#israeliranwar #israeliranconflict #iranusrelations #iran #israel #trumpiran #trump
If fighting resumes, U.S. troops will be dragged in, facing heavy casualties.
Only real diplomacy can stop America from being pulled into another Middle East disaster.
#israeliranwar #israeliranconflict #iranusrelations #iran #israel #trumpiran #trump
So ask yourself:
Is it really a vital U.S. interest— or just a talking point?
War with China? Nukes? Trillions lost? Thousands dead?
Taiwan better be worth it.
#Taiwan #USChina #WW3 #ForeignPolicy #StrategicClarity #NationalInterest
watch the full video here: *youtu.be/qdC-N4KpyP8*


