Samuel Moyn, Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, (Macmillan, 2021) Can a “humane” war ever be fought? Or is such a question doomed to irrelevance by an innate contradiction in its terms? These are two of the driving questions in Samuel Moyn’s Humane, a polemic against the US-led march into anContinue reading “Does the “Good Fight” Exist? Ethics and the Future of War”
Author Archives: Nicholas Romanow
The Lessons of Reagan’s Pipeline Crisis for Competing with China
Co-Authored with Professor William Inboden, Executive Director of the Clements Center for National Security President Joe Biden promised to restore good relations with allies after the friction and acrimony of the Trump years. It is one thing to avoid antagonizing allies, as President Donald Trump seemed to relish. But mobilizing them in a common causeContinue reading “The Lessons of Reagan’s Pipeline Crisis for Competing with China”
Military Leaders Need the Liberal Arts
A liberal arts school; Officer Candidate School. These two places connote starkly different environments. One is associated with poetry readings and well-landscaped quads; the other evokes imagery of screaming drill instructors and lots of burpees. I had these experiences back-to-back, and while it was a startling juxtaposition, I now appreciate the synergy between these twoContinue reading “Military Leaders Need the Liberal Arts”
Oh Lord, for Alliance!
Shields of the Republic: The Triumph and Peril of America’s Alliancesby Mira Rapp-Hooper (Harvard University Press, 272 pp., $28) American power is based on a paradox. There has never been a more prosperous and powerful country in the history of the world, but the security and prosperity of the United States depend on the cooperationContinue reading “Oh Lord, for Alliance!”
Much Ado (and to Do) About Illiberalism
America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.” This Henry Kissinger quote is a perennial favorite of American realists, informing decades of American grand strategy. In recent years, from threatening to withdraw from NATO to praising Kim Jung-Un in search of a blockbuster nuclear deal, the Trump Administration ruthlessly implemented this adage, with theContinue reading “Much Ado (and to Do) About Illiberalism”
Security Concerns with China Limiting Student Learning
The college campus has become a battleground between the United States and China. Donations, research funding, and international students give colleges a much-needed financial and enrollment boost, but the connection to the Chinese government can also threaten academic freedom and, on some occasions, national security. Fundamentally, universities exist to serve students and the public interest,Continue reading “Security Concerns with China Limiting Student Learning”
Why Anti-Military Sentiment on Campus is Often Misplaced
Co-Authored with James Mismash Skepticism toward the military is easy to find on college campuses like the University of Texas at Austin; even in the absence of a nationally omnipresent anti-war movement as in the 1960s, anti-military student groups have thrived in recent years. However, college students who desire a just and sustainable global future would beContinue reading “Why Anti-Military Sentiment on Campus is Often Misplaced”
How to Wage an Ideological Conflict with China
Both the Trump and Biden presidential campaigns vied to outdo the other in being “tough on China.” The Trump administration declassified an intelligence assessment that the Chinese Communist Party favored Biden over Trump, and Biden responded with harsh words for both President Trump and Chairman Xi. While the House and the Senate are slated to be sharply divided inContinue reading “How to Wage an Ideological Conflict with China”
The Dangers of Decoupling
Co-Authored with Archit Oswal Bipartisan consensus is a scarce occurrence in American politics, but when it comes to the future of U.S.-China relations, the debate seems settled. Both the Trump Administration and the Biden Campaign are battling to prove who is “tougher on China.” The emerging approach to China is termed “decoupling” and is anContinue reading “The Dangers of Decoupling”
Becoming an American in 2020
Just about every presidential election cycle, a handful of celebrities swear that they will quit the United States if their preferred candidate doesn’t win. Most seem to say they’ll move to Canada. Of course, the promises—or threats?—almost always turn out to have been hyperbolic. This election year, I’m doing the reverse: I am a youngContinue reading “Becoming an American in 2020”
Nicholas J. Romanow 