This Friday, Zachary Shore explains why the pursuit of wisdom in decision-making depends on a nonideological understanding of history; H.R. McMaster joins a popular British podcast to discuss the Iran deal and President Trump’s approach to foreign policy; and a new episode of China Considered explores China’s position in the Middle East in the wake of the Iran war.
Revitalizing History
“I sometimes think there are three types of people: conservatives, liberals, and historians,” National Security Visiting Fellow Zachary Shore writes at his Substack, Wiser Way. “Some conservatives want history to highlight only the sunny side of our past. In contrast, some liberals seem to revel in exposing the darkest dimensions of our deeds.” But those with a historian’s mindset, Shore says, “just want to know the truth, whatever it may be.” In his view, the pursuit and discovery of truth is essential to the realization of wisdom that can inform judgment. “Studying history is an emotional experience,” Shore acknowledges, but the politicization of history to make us feel better “only saps our future,” by depriving us of the truth upon which wisdom depends. To those seeking to bias historical narratives in favor of their ideologies, Shore says, “focusing solely on one side and not the other prevents a thoughtful understanding of all that we can do.” Read more here.
Determining America’s Role in the World
Senior Fellow H.R. McMaster joined The General & the Journalist podcast of The Times (UK) to offer perspective from a former insider on President Trump’s foreign policy approach. The hosts ask McMaster about how Trump understands foreign policy, and the frameworks through which he makes military and diplomatic decisions. McMaster also explains his thoughts on the recently signed memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran, emphasizing that the deal is likely to yield only a temporary cessation of hostilities. Why? Because the Iranian regime remains by its nature “permanently hostile” to the United States, Israel, and its neighboring Gulf states, McMaster says. The former national security advisor also cautions the administration against “mirror imaging” the adversary, or assuming that Iran’s revolutionary theocratic leadership will approach strategic dilemmas in a way similar to how an American national security team would. Watch here.
Confronting and Competing with China
In a new episode of China Considered, Senior Fellow Elizabeth Economy sits down with Jonathan Fulton of the Atlantic Council to talk about China’s role in the Middle East. Recorded just after a ceasefire reopened the Strait of Hormuz, the conversation begins with the war’s toll on the region and the sense among Gulf governments that, however reluctantly, they are doubling down on the United States as the only power able to provide security at scale. Fulton argues that China’s presence in the region is overwhelmingly economic—encompassing energy, trade, infrastructure, surveillance, and digital technology—rather than Beijing being a key diplomatic or security actor. The two examine the 2023 Saudi-Iran agreement, questions about a Chinese facility in Abu Dhabi, the role of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and how issues like Xinjiang are received across the Arab world. Fulton discusses where China currently stands relative to the US and other powers in the region and where US and Chinese interests in the region might align. Watch or listen here.
California Policy & Politics
This month’s California-focused Matters of Policy & Politics kicks off with a discussion of bombshell news in Sacramento: California Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement that he and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom are under federal investigation, reportedly for tax and financial improprieties. Newsom claims he’s the victim of a political vendetta as a critic of President Trump, but the story also offers a window into the unseemly practice of “behested payments” that special interests use to curry favor with elected officials, especially sitting governors. As the June primary results approach a final tally, Distinguished Policy Fellow Bill Whalen and Senior Fellow Lee Ohanian ask: Why did former reality TV “villain” Spencer Pratt, billionaire Tom Steyer, “AOC clone” Saikat Chakrabarti, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan all fail to advance to the general election? Finally, as legislators race to finish a new state budget before its July 1 deadline, the panelists consider whether Gov. Newsom, his political allies, and a powerful California labor union might cut a deal to keep a billionaire wealth tax off the November ballot. Watch or listen here.
National Security and Technology
In an op-ed for Fox News, Visiting Fellow Josh Hodges, a national security expert, explains why the United States should, through an act of Congress, permanently restrict the sale of advanced US computer chips to China. He also endorses a related measure that would bar “the sale and servicing of the most essential chipmaking tools to facilities in China.” In Hodges’s view, US policy needs to aim at denying China the ability to either import or fabricate domestically the most advanced hardware needed to power AI and other frontier technologies. Currently, he writes, the US maintains an advantage in both AI hardware and model design. But active industrial espionage campaigns from the PRC threaten this advantage, Hodges argues, adding that the stakes of maintaining the lead in the AI race are quite high. “America’s chip advantage is not just a technology story,” Hodges concludes. “It is the foundation of the American Dream—the engine of the industries, the jobs and the national power that make self-governance worth defending.” Read more here.
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