We turn our attention to the narrow strait that divides China and Taiwan, which some analysts believe is the most likely flashpoint for another far-away conflict involving the US military.

If President Biden reconfigures foreign policy to focus more on threats at home, will that leave us unprepared to defend US interests abroad? Or should we rethink which battles we’re willing to fight?

GUESTS: Oriana Skylar Mastro, Fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Michael Mazarr, Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation.

ADDITIONAL READING:

The Taiwan Temptation, Foreign Affairs.

Time for a New Approach to Defense Strategy, War on the Rocks.

Biden Backs Taiwan, but Some Call for a Clearer Warning to China, New York Times.

** This episode was originally published on September 13, 2021.