Eric welcomes Michael Hunzeker, associate director of the Center for Security Policy Studies at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, to discuss his new book America’s Taiwan Dilemma, co-authored with Mark Christopher. They explore why a nation’s reputation for credibility matters for deterrence and alliance management, and whether U.S. treaty allies in East Asia truly want Washington to defend Taiwan at all costs. The conversation also examines Taiwan’s globally essential semiconductor industry, the fate of Hong Kong following its integration into China, and how the Trump Administration is reshaping America’s East Asian system of bilateral alliances.

America's Taiwan Dilemma: Allies' Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation:

https://a.co/d/6sgYh3D

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eric and Eliot pay their respects to the late Vice President Dick Cheney before welcoming their guest Laura Field to discuss her book Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right. They explore the origins of the effort to create an intellectual ecosystem for Trumpism starting with the Claremont Institute and Michael Anton's infamous "Flight 93" article in the Claremont Review of Books. Laura explains the influence of philosopher Leo Strauss on these early efforts as well as Strauss's student Harry Jaffa. They discuss the emergence of post-liberalism, Catholic integralism, and the arguments made on behalf of these positions by Patrick Deneen and Adam Vermeule. They also discuss national conservatives, techno-monarchists, and advocates of Red Caesarism like Peter Thiel and Curtis Yarvin. Finally, they touch on the openly theocratic efforts of Christian nationalists to fit into the Trumpist universe, and the overlaps and contradictions among these various Trumpist movements.

Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right

https://a.co/d/eeTmFrT

Eric's Reflections on Vice President Dick Cheney: 

https://thedispatch.com/article/dick-cheney-conservatism-republican-party/

Eric and Eliot discuss the GOP’s ongoing Nazi problem and the growing danger of anti-Semitism on the right. They debunk President Trump’s false claims about America’s nuclear arsenal, then pivot to a conversation about alliance management. Eliot shares insights from a recent trip to Canada, highlighting the damage Trump has done to America’s relationship with its northern neighbor. They broaden the discussion to other allies, including the “special relationship” with the UK and the often-prickly partnership with France. Finally, they examine the administration’s lawlessness at sea and its refusal to allow Congressional oversight as it escalates pressure on Venezuela.

Show Notes:

Eric & Frank Miller's latest on arms control: President Trump, Don’t Fall into Putin’s Arms Control Trap

Eric and Eliot discuss appeasement and the striking similarities between Putin’s recent demands and Hitler’s insistence that the Czechs surrender the heavily fortified Sudetenland. They then turn to the latest idiocy coming from the administration, including Trump’s demolition of the East Wing, the Pentagon’s new exclusively right-wing press corps, and the live-fire Marine exercise that sent ordnance onto I-5 in California during a salute to Pete Hegseth and JD Vance. They also examine Putin’s phone call with Trump and the situation in Ukraine, along with Trump’s accelerating campaign of regime change in Venezuela. They end the week’s conversation with thoughts on the No Kings protests and the daunting prospects for a sustained ceasefire in Gaza.

Show Notes:

- Appeasement: Chamberlain, Hitler, Churchill, and the Road to War: https://a.co/d/awNtPTM

- Eric & David Kramer’s latest on Ukraine: https://thedispatch.com/article/trump-putin-budapest-ukraine-tomahawks/

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eric and Eliot welcome William Galston to Shield of the Republic to discuss his recent book, Anger, Fear, Domination: Dark Passions and the Power of Political Speech. They explore why liberal-democrats tend to underestimate the importance of these forces and the special peril they might present to representative government. They also talk about why the dark passions seem to be so predominant in politics globally and the different schools of thought regarding democracy's staying power in the long run.

Anger, Fear, Domination: Dark Passions and the Power of Political Speech:

https://a.co/d/8B6dFfk

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eliot and Eric welcome back friend of the show Barry Strauss, the Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. They discuss the series of Jewish revolts against Roman rule in 67-70 AD and the subsequent Roman siege of Masada, as well as the later Diaspora and Bar Kochba revolts situating them in the geostrategic competition between the Roman and Parthian empires. Barry explains the complications of the ethnic and religious divisions in Judea as well as the role of Jewish apocalyptic and messianic thinking on the protagonists of these serial rebellions. He also touches on the reasons why Judea was seemingly so hard to govern for the Romans, the divisions among Jews, and the degree to which archaeology and numismatics can add to the surviving literary accounts of the wars between Rome and the Jews.

Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World's Mightiest Empire:

https://a.co/d/9xfsZOd

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eric welcomes historian Tim Bouverie, author of Allies at War: How the Struggles Between the Allied Powers Shaped the War and the World, to Shield of the Republic. They discuss Tim’s fascinating account of the interplay among personalities and larger forces during the Second World War. They touch on Anglo-French relations and the role of Charles de Gaulle, Britain’s failed efforts to bring Turkey into the war as an ally, as well as the diplomacy of FDR, Churchill, and Stalin at the wartime conferences at Tehran and Yalta. They discuss the relative success of British and American diplomacy during World War II as well as lessons from the record of wartime diplomacy for alliance management and coalition maintenance today.

Allies at War: How the Struggles Between the Allied Powers Shaped the War and the World: https://a.co/d/caX7je6

Appeasement: Chamberlain, Hitler, Churchill, and the Road to War: https://a.co/d/6cPWr7G

Tickets to Bulwark Live in DC (10/8) with Sarah, Tim and JVL are on sale now at https://TheBulwark.com/events

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

On a special edition of Shield of the Republic, Eric and Eliot break down Secretary of Defense Hegseth and President Donald Trump's speeches to the General Officer Corps at Quantico this week. They discuss the administration's ongoing damage to civil-military relations and the implications for the future of our armed forces.

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Tickets to Bulwark Live in DC (10/8) with Sarah, Tim and JVL are on sale now at https://TheBulwark.com/events

Eliot and Eric welcome Anne Neuberger, former Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber Affairs and currently the Payne Lecturer at Stanford's Freeman Spogli Center, to discuss her latest article in Foreign Affairs. They discuss Salt Typhoon, the Chinese hack of U.S. computer systems, and the fact that the Chinese sit astride key nodes of U.S. domestic infrastructure in the cyber realm and could inflict enormous damage on Americans in their everyday lives in the event of a crisis or conflict.

China is Winning the Cyberwar: America Needs a New Strategy of Deterrence:

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/china-winning-cyberwar-artificial-intelligence

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Eric and Eliot discuss the perilous moment for the American Republic in which we find ourselves after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. They discuss the recent developments in the Ukraine war, including the violation of Polish and Romanian airspace by Russian drones and the extreme danger these steps represent to European security. Eliot also reports from Israel on the recent strike against Hamas senior leadership in Qatar, observing that both the Mossad and IDF either refused to carry out or expressed deep reservations about Netanyahu's proposed course of action. The two also analyze recent leaks suggesting that the forthcoming National Defense Strategy will reflect a prioritization of the homeland and the Western Hemisphere rather than the Indo-Pacific, as many had expected.

Eric & Frank Miller's Latest on Ukraine:

https://thedispatch.com/article/weakness-is-provocative/

Shield of the Republic is a Bulwark podcast co-sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.