Fp's The Editor's Roundtable (the E.r.)

As China’s influence grows in Asia and around the world, how will the next U.S. president manage Washington’s most important relationship? And beyond China, how do Donald Trump and Kamala Harris compare in their approach toward other Asian countries? In the fifth and final episode of a special election series, FP’s Ravi Agrawal speaks with Ryan Hass and Lynn Kuok.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Lili Pike: How Does the U.S.-China ‘Cold War’ End? Agathe Demarais: Why China Is Rooting for Trump Derek Grossman: The Once Wobbly Quad Is Here to Stay Sumit Ganguly and Dinsha Mistree: Modi’s Third-Term Foreign Policy Looks the Same Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Judging by the way Latin America is discussed in the U.S. presidential elections, Americans view the continent mostly in negative terms: as the source of unwanted immigration and drug cartels. But the reality is obviously more complex. The region includes America’s largest trading partner—Mexico—and it is an arena for intense geopolitical competition. In the fourth episode of FP Live’s special election series, host Ravi Agrawal asks Moisés Naím, a former Venezuelan minister of trade and industry, and Catherine Osborn, the writer of FP’s Latin America Brief, how Trump and Harris differ on policy.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Catherine Osborn: How Migration Became a U.S. Foreign-Policy Priority Connor Pfeiffer and Ryan C. Berg: Mexico and the United States Need to Talk About China Now Oliver Stuenkel: Trump Has His Own Monroe Doctrine Geoff Ramsey and Jason Marczak: What’s Next for U.S. Policy in Venezuela? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Africa has been neglected by recent administrations; the last presidential visit was in 2015, though President Joe Biden will be making a trip to Angola in December. How will the next president handle this large and diverse continent? FP’s Ravi Agrawal is joined by two Africa experts—Martin Kimani and Zainab Usman—on the third installment of FP Live’s special election series.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Martin Kimani: How to Restore the American Center Henry Tugendhat: The U.S. Has a Better Offer for Africa Than Debt Christina Lu: Washington Wants to Revive a Critical Minerals Mega-Railway Through Africa Chris Murphy: Kenya’s Anti-Corruption Protests Are a Wake-Up Call for Washington Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Among foreign policy issues, how the United States should approach its relationship with Europe might be the one on which presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris disagree most. To find out why, hear Nathalie Tocci, the director of Rome’s Istituto Affari Internazionali, and Mark Leonard, the director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, on the second episode of FP Live’s special election series. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): A. Wess Mitchell and Jakub Grygiel: U.S. Strategy Should Be Europe First, Then Asia Hal Brands: Trump’s Return Would Transform Europe FP Contributors: Europe Alone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every day this week, FP Live will have a new episode focused on a different part of the world and how presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris would tailor their foreign policies for those regions. In this episode, host Ravi Agrawal looks at the Middle East and speaks with experts Steven A. Cook and Sanam Vakil.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Steven A. Cook: Why Americans and Israelis Don’t See Eye to Eye on Iran Talal Mohammad: Why the Gulf States Are Likely Backing Trump Rishi Iyengar: Why Everyone’s Suddenly Talking About Iranian Election Hacking Arash Reisinezhad: Iran’s Israel Strategy Has Already Changed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, a regular Israeli patrol in southern Gaza chanced upon the person they had been hunting for more than a year: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. His death raised some big questions: How much of a blow would this be for Hamas? What would it mean for Israel’s strategy? This week’s guest has thought a lot about all of these questions. Gen. David Petraeus led U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan at the height of counterterrorism efforts there. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): FP Live: David Petraeus on a World at War FP Live Transcript: David Petraeus: Why 9/11 Is a Cautionary Tale for Israel Steven A. Cook: Sinwar Is Dead. Hamas Is Very Much Alive. Daniel Byman: Israel’s Killing of Yahya Sinwar Is Not a Turning Point Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

North Korea and Iran are fascinating countries for many reasons, but also because they're part of an emerging alliance of autocracies. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are increasingly helping each other out in a range of global hotspots, often stymieing U.S. interests. But what is their end goal? FP Live asks Barbara Slavin, an Iran expert at the Stimson Center, and Chung Min Lee, a Korea expert at the Carnegie Endowment. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free):Daniel R. DePetris and Jennifer Kavanagh: The ‘Axis of Evil’ Is Overhyped Robbie Gramer: Looks Like ‘Axis of Evil’ Is Back on the Menu The Economist: A new “quartet of chaos” threatens America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel and set in motion a new cycle of violence that has rocked the Middle East. Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East advisor to both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state, joins FP Live to look back—and ahead.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Aaron David Miller and Steven Simon: Oct. 7 Changed Everything–but What if It Didn’t? Aaron David Miller and Lauren Morgenbesser: Don’t Blame Biden for the Yearlong War in Gaza FP’s Oct. 7 Roundup: Is the Israel-Hamas War Closer to Its Beginning or Its End? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unrest, even violence, could be a concern heading into the U.S. presidential election in November. What should be done to strengthen the nation’s democratic institutions? And what lessons can be learned from other countries facing similar challenges? Author and political scientist Barbara Walter joins FP Live to share her findings from her research on civil wars around the world. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Transcript: Could Civil War Erupt in America? Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware: How Bad Will Political Violence in the U.S. Get? Stephen Marche: Why the U.S. Military Isn’t Ready for Civil War Cameron Abadi and Adam Tooze: What a Real Civil War Would Do to the U.S. Economy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

South Africa’s allegations of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice draw on the African National Congress’s own long history and views on apartheid. But is Pretoria’s foreign policy consistent across other parts of the world—for example, Russia or Sudan? Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss how he’s shaping South Africa’s foreign policy.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Nontobeko Hlela: Why South Africa’s Nonalignment Is Here to Stay Oliver Stuenkel: BRICS Faces a Reckoning Chile Eboe-Osuji: South Africa’s ICJ Case Was Too Narrow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the United Nations General Assembly now underway, longtime U.N. watcher Richard Gown joins FP Live to discuss what’s on the agenda for the world leaders in attendance. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Sophie Eisentraut: Can the West Revive Multilateralism? Michael Galant and Aude Darnal: Who’s Afraid of the Global South? J. Alex Tarquinio: The U.N. Security Council’s Default Is Deadlock Michael Hirsh: The World Is Leaving Biden Behind Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg joins Ravi Agrawal for an exit interview as he prepares to step down on October 1.  Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Transcript: NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg on the Future of Russia’s War in Ukraine Stephen M. Walt: This Time, NATO Is in Trouble for Real Christopher S. Chivvis: NATO is Turning 75, but How Much Is There to Celebrate? Jack Detsch: NATO Wants Everyone to Help Deter Russia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An exclusive episode for our podcast listeners: Host and FP editor in chief Ravi Agrawal gives a preview of the latest print issue: “Letters to the Next President.” Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Martin Kimani: How to Restore the American Center Arancha González: Isolationism Doesn’t Protect Danny Quah: Why America Should Drop Its Obsession With Being No. 1 Joseph E. Stiglitz: Play by the Rules Catherine Ashton: The Trans-Atlantic Partnership Still Matters Jason Bordoff: Clean Energy Is Security Mark Malloch-Brown: Muster Global Majorities Joseph S. Nye Jr.: Invest in Soft Power Nirupama Rao: Strategic Autonomy Is Nothing to Fear Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Trump administration National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster joins FP Live to debrief after the Harris-Trump debate. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Christina Lu and Amy Mackinnon: Top Foreign-Policy Moments From the Harris-Trump Debate FP Contributors: Letters to the Next President H.R. McMaster and Gabriel Scheinmann: U.S. Restraint Has Created an Unstable and Dangerous World  H.R. McMaster: At War With Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House H.R. McMaster: Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicholas Burns has served as the U.S. ambassador to China since 2022, a period that encompasses not only the country’s COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns but also a series of high and low points in the U.S.-China relationship. How should Washington compete with Beijing without spiraling into conflict? Burns joins FP Live for a rare longform interview. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Robbie Gramer and Christina Lu: Washington’s China Hawks Take Flight Bob Davis: Who Got China Wrong? Michael Hirsh: No, This Is Not a Cold War—Yet Bonny Lin: The China-Russia Axis Takes Shape Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The violence on Oct. 7 and the war in Gaza seem to have derailed any hope for a two-state solution. With tensions in the Middle East continuing to escalate, and a cease-fire agreement proving elusive, what does a path forward for both the Israelis and Palestinians look like? Former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad shares his insights with FP Live. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall-free): Foreign Affairs: Salam Fayyad: A Plan for Peace in Gaza John Aziz: Violence Has Failed the Palestinians FP Contributors: How Will This War End? How Can the Next One Be Prevented?  Stephen M. Walt: The Dangerous Decline in Israeli Strategy Tickets to see FP's Ones and Tooze podcast live at Sixth & I in Washington, DC: https://www.sixthandi.org/event/foreign-policys-ones-and-tooze-podcast/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Democratic National Convention concluded Thursday night with Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the party’s nomination. What did we learn about a potential Harris foreign policy? Matt Duss, former foreign-policy advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Anne-Marie Slaughter, former director of policy planning at the State Department, join FP Live to unpack this week’s DNC. Suggested reading (FP links are paywall free): Michael Hirsh: Preparing for a Less Arrogant America Michael Hirsh: Kamala Harris’s 21st-Century Foreign Policy  Matthew Duss: Harris Candidacy Gives Democrats a Change to Pivot on Gaza Matthew Duss: The Democrats’ Pro-Worker Agenda Can Go Global Financial Times: What Might a Harris Foreign Policy Look Like? Bhaskar Chakravorti: If Kamala Harris Was the Czar of Anything, It Would Be AI Abdelhalim Abdelrahman: Democrats’ Gaza Policy Is Repelling Arab American Voters FP Staff: The Kamala Harris Doctrine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do the proposed economic policies of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump differ—and where is there overlap? Adam Posen, the president of the nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics, joins FP Live to discuss the two campaigns’ agendas. Suggested reading: Adam Posen on Industrial Policy: America’s Zero-Sum Economics Doesn’t Add Up Ravi Agrawal’s Interview With U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai (FP Live March 2023) Edward Alden on Robert Lighthizer: The Man Who Would Help Trump Upend the Global Economy Jared Cohen: Don’t Bet Against the Dollar Keith Johnson: Trump’s Plan to Weaken the Dollar Makes No Sense FP Staff: The Kamala Harris Doctrine Peterson Institute for International Economics: Election 2024: Assessing Presidential Economic Platforms Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The assassination of a key Hamas leader in Tehran, following the killing of a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut, could escalate an already tense conflict between Israel, Iran, and its proxies. Middle East expert Trita Parsi sits down with Ravi Agrawal to discuss what might happen next. Suggested reading: Steven A. Cook: Why Americans and Israelis Don’t See Eye to Eye on Iran Chicago Council on Global Affairs: Majority of Americans Oppose Sending US Forces to Defend Israel if Attacked by Iran Trita Parsi: The U.S. Should Negotiate With Iran on One Issue Right Now Trita Parsi: Netanyahu Wants War With Iran. Biden Can Prevent It. FP Live: Iran’s Attack on Israel—What Happens Next? Sina Toossi: Iranians Voted for Change. Will They Get It? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A leading figure in the Trump administration’s national security team, Elbridge Colby, joins FP Live to discuss the Republican nominee’s potential agenda. He argues for a more business-like approach with allies and alliances as well as prioritizing Asia over Europe.  Suggested reading: Transcript: Decoding Trump’s Foreign Policy Stephen M. Walt: The Trump-Vance Unilaterialist Delusion Elbridge Colby and David Ochmanek: How the United States Could Lose a Great-Power War  Elbridge Colby: How to Win America’s Next War Transcript: How Singapore Manages U.S.-China Tensions Transcript: Is Canada Free-Riding on Defense? Elbridge Colby: The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices