America at 250: A Net Assessment (w/ Robert Kagan)

As the United States approaches its 250th birthday, how should Americans assess the country's strength, its democracy, and its role in the world?

Recorded live at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer are joined by historian and foreign policy scholar Robert Kagan for a wide-ranging conversation on America's future. Drawing on four decades of writing about American power and the international order, Kagan argues that the United States is living through two historic shifts at once: a renewed struggle over American identity at home and a retreat from the global leadership that defined the post-World War II era.

Topics covered:

• Whether the United States is entering a genuinely multipolar world

• The future of NATO, Europe, China, and Taiwan

• Democratic backsliding and the resilience of American institutions

• What America's role in the world should look like over the next quarter century

Jake and Jon also challenge Kagan on Iraq, Iran, the use of American power abroad, and whether the United States can rebuild trust with its allies after the Trump era.

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Show notes are available here.

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube.

Transcript here.

Email Jake and Jon at [email protected].

The Long Game is produced by the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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