Counterbalance

What do classical authors have to teach us about the global brawl that is international affairs? Catholic University professor, Jakub Grygiel, joins hosts Mike Doran and Peter Rough to provide the historical context behind the show's new exploration into "real-realism."

After internal dialogues revealed that the team was feeling a bit "strategically rudderless," hosts Mike Doran and Peter Rough sit together to launch a new thesis for Counterbalance. Together they explain what's wrong with foreign policy "experts" today and why an interest-based foreign policy is needed over the dominant, but flawed, values-based outlook of today's elites. They're calling this new school of thought "real-realism."

Hudson Senior Fellow Jonathan Ward joins co-host Peter Rough to discuss his new book The Decisive Decade: American Grand Strategy for Triumph Over China. In his book, and during the episode, Ward lays out how the US gave up many of its economic advantages while allowing China's rise. Thankfully, according to Ward, it's not too late to reverse course, but America has to start by winning one decade at a time.

Is Ukraine losing? Can it still win? Where does international support stand now, and where will it be going forward? Host Peter Rough addresses these questions and more having just returned from an overseas study trip to Moldova and Ukraine. Mike Doran joins him to discover what Peter saw, heard, and learned from his travels.

On this special edition of Counterbalance, co-hosts Mike and Peter are joined by Israeli intellectual Gadi Taub. Mike and Gadi recently started the Israel Update Podcast with Tablet magazine. This week on Counterbalance, the trio discuss the Biden administration’s attitude towards the war in Gaza, including the president calling Israel’s response in Gaza “over the top.” They also float the possibility of the Biden administration recognizing a Palestinian state as early as the summer.

This week, host Michael Doran is joined by co-host Peter Rough, senior fellow and director of the Center for Europe and Eurasia at Hudson Institute. Peter offers an overview of his recent visit to Taiwan and discusses with Mike his thoughts on Beijing's increasing economic and military pressure on Taipei. The duo also talks about the current state of Taiwanese domestic politics and how it affects U.S. foreign policy.

Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel was a clear intelligence failure, but for whom and in what ways? Counterbalance co-hosts Mike Doran and Peter Rough are joined by Hudson colleague Ezra Cohen, who, fresh off a trip to Israel, provides his view on what led to the failure of intelligence we now know as October 7. A former Pentagon official, Ezra also outlines how each US administration sets intelligence priorities for the entire intelligence community and how the Biden administration may have changed course from its predecessor’s priorities.

This week, host Peter Rough is joined by co-host Michael Doran, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at the Hudson Institute. They recap Mike's recent trip to Israel, and why he thinks the war that sparked by the October 7th atrocities is actually a war for the future of Western civilization. Additionally, they discuss his observations on Israel's current political climate, and the Biden administration's Iran policy.

This week, co-hosts Mike Doran and Peter Rough are joined by Allison Hooker, seasoned Asia hand with extensive experience working on issues relating to the Korean Peninsula and the broader Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan. The trio discuss key developments to watch out for in the year to come, beginning with Taiwan’s presidential election that gave the ruling DPP a historic third straight term.

Peter Rough talks this week with Ken Weinstein, Hudson’s Japan Chair and former president and CEO of Hudson. Peter and Ken talk about Hudson’s founding and the instrumental role Herman Kahn, Max Singer, and Wally Stern played in making it what it is today. The two also delve into the role Shinzo Abe played in transforming Japan’s foreign and security policy.