Foreign Policy Live

Every day this week, FP Live will have a new episode focused on a different part of the world and how presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris would tailor their foreign policies for those regions. In this episode, host Ravi Agrawal looks at the Middle East and speaks with experts Steven A. Cook and Sanam Vakil.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Steven A. Cook: Why Americans and Israelis Don’t See Eye to Eye on Iran [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/08/02/biden-netanyahu-israel-iran-haniyeh-hezbollah-war-middle-east/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=YmlkZW4tbmV0YW55YWh1LWlzcmFlbC1pcmFuLWhhbml5ZWgtaGV6Ym9sbGFoLXdhci1taWRkbGUtZWFzdA==&pid=PNIhHwPfesawrtd] Talal Mohammad: Why the Gulf States Are Likely Backing Trump [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/10/24/trump-harris-election-saudi-arabia-uae-mbs-mbz-iran-yemen-sudan/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=dHJ1bXAtaGFycmlzLWVsZWN0aW9uLXNhdWRpLWFyYWJpYS11YWUtbWJzLW1iei1pcmFuLXllbWVuLXN1ZGFu&pid=PNIhHwPfesawrtd] Rishi Iyengar: Why Everyone’s Suddenly Talking About Iranian Election Hacking [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/08/21/iran-hack-trump-harris-campaign-election-2024/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=aXJhbi1oYWNrLXRydW1wLWhhcnJpcy1jYW1wYWlnbi1lbGVjdGlvbi0yMDI0&pid=PNIhHwPfesawrtd] Arash Reisinezhad: Iran’s Israel Strategy Has Already Changed [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/10/11/irans-israel-strategy-has-already-changed/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=aXJhbnMtaXNyYWVsLXN0cmF0ZWd5LWhhcy1hbHJlYWR5LWNoYW5nZWQ=&pid=PNIhHwPfesawrtd] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Last week, a regular Israeli patrol in southern Gaza chanced upon the person they had been hunting for more than a year: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. His death raised some big questions: How much of a blow would this be for Hamas? What would it mean for Israel’s strategy? This week’s guest has thought a lot about all of these questions. Gen. David Petraeus led U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan at the height of counterterrorism efforts there. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): FP Live: David Petraeus on a World at War [https://foreignpolicy.com/live/ukraine-israel-hamas-war-petraeus-interview/] FP Live Transcript: David Petraeus: Why 9/11 Is a Cautionary Tale for Israel [https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/18/israel-palestine-gaza-war-hamas-united-states-military/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=aXNyYWVsLXBhbGVzdGluZS1nYXphLXdhci1oYW1hcy11bml0ZWQtc3RhdGVzLW1pbGl0YXJ5&pid=CW3657086] Steven A. Cook: Sinwar Is Dead. Hamas Is Very Much Alive. [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/10/18/sinwar-dead-hamas-gaza-israel-history-resistance/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=c2lud2FyLWRlYWQtaGFtYXMtZ2F6YS1pc3JhZWwtaGlzdG9yeS1yZXNpc3RhbmNl&pid=PNI0w2Qkpqyppcu] Daniel Byman: Israel’s Killing of Yahya Sinwar Is Not a Turning Point [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/10/17/israel-hamas-gaza-yahya-sinwar-death/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=aXNyYWVsLWhhbWFzLWdhemEteWFoeWEtc2lud2FyLWRlYXRo&pid=PNI0w2Qkpqyppcu] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

North Korea and Iran are fascinating countries for many reasons, but also because they're part of an emerging alliance of autocracies. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are increasingly helping each other out in a range of global hotspots, often stymieing U.S. interests. But what is their end goal? FP Live asks Barbara Slavin, an Iran expert at the Stimson Center, and Chung Min Lee, a Korea expert at the Carnegie Endowment. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free):Daniel R. DePetris and Jennifer Kavanagh: The ‘Axis of Evil’ Is Overhyped [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/08/14/russia-china-iran-north-korea-axis-evil-cooperation/?tpcc=fp_live] Robbie Gramer: Looks Like ‘Axis of Evil’ Is Back on the Menu [https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/11/29/axis-of-evil-russia-china-iran-north-korea-bush-era/?tpcc=fp_live] The Economist: A new “quartet of chaos” threatens America [https://www.economist.com/international/2024/09/22/a-new-quartet-of-chaos-threatens-america] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel and set in motion a new cycle of violence that has rocked the Middle East. Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East advisor to both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state, joins FP Live to look back—and ahead.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Aaron David Miller and Steven Simon: Oct. 7 Changed Everything–but What if It Didn’t? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/02/28/oct-7-changed-everything-but-what-if-it-didnt/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=b2N0LTctY2hhbmdlZC1ldmVyeXRoaW5nLWJ1dC13aGF0LWlmLWl0LWRpZG50&pid=CW3657086] Aaron David Miller and Lauren Morgenbesser: Don’t Blame Biden for the Yearlong War in Gaza [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/10/02/gaza-israel-hamas-war-anniversary-biden-united-states-leverage/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=Z2F6YS1pc3JhZWwtaGFtYXMtd2FyLWFubml2ZXJzYXJ5LWJpZGVuLXVuaXRlZC1zdGF0ZXMtbGV2ZXJhZ2U=&pid=CW3657086] FP’s Oct. 7 Roundup: Is the Israel-Hamas War Closer to Its Beginning or Its End? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/10/03/israel-gaza-hamas-war-netanyahu-biden/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=aXNyYWVsLWdhemEtaGFtYXMtd2FyLW5ldGFueWFodS1iaWRlbg==&pid=CW3657086] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Unrest, even violence, could be a concern heading into the U.S. presidential election in November. What should be done to strengthen the nation’s democratic institutions? And what lessons can be learned from other countries facing similar challenges? Author and political scientist Barbara Walter joins FP Live to share her findings from her research on civil wars around the world. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Transcript: Could Civil War Erupt in America? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/08/29/barbara-f-walter-civil-war-united-states/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=YmFyYmFyYS1mLXdhbHRlci1jaXZpbC13YXItdW5pdGVkLXN0YXRlcw==&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware: How Bad Will Political Violence in the U.S. Get? [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/06/28/civil-war-political-violence-u-s-2024-election/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=Y2l2aWwtd2FyLXBvbGl0aWNhbC12aW9sZW5jZS11LXMtMjAyNC1lbGVjdGlvbg==&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Stephen Marche: Why the U.S. Military Isn’t Ready for Civil War [https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/04/american-civil-war-january-6-capitol/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=YW1lcmljYW4tY2l2aWwtd2FyLWphbnVhcnktNi1jYXBpdG9s&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Cameron Abadi and Adam Tooze: What a Real Civil War Would Do to the U.S. Economy [https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/04/26/what-a-real-civil-war-would-do-to-the-us-economy/?utm_content=gifting&tpcc=gifting_article&gifting_article=d2hhdC1hLXJlYWwtY2l2aWwtd2FyLXdvdWxkLWRvLXRvLXRoZS11cy1lY29ub215&pid=PNIESs9hMqnvgec] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]