A Historian's Perspective on US Foreign Policy & the State of the International Order
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What historical perspective does the episode take on the current international order?
Hi everyone, based here in Kyiv, Ukraine, my name is Mark Maknimi, co-founder and co-owner of UBN Network, and host of this podcast, History in the Making, The War in Ukraine. Today I wanted to take a bit of a step back and take the historical view of ongoing events at the global level, not just Ukraine, but related in part to Ukraine, but really more broadly to the current state of the international order. US foreign policy, among other topics, and just generally where things are heading at this historical moment. So to do that, I'm thrilled to have back on the show again my old international relations professor from graduate school from Johns Hopkins Sice, Professor John Harper. Professor Harper was my teacher for a class called American Policy since 1945 and is a
Well renowned scholar on US foreign policy. So Professor Harper, welcome back to the show.
Okay, Mark. Thank you for thanks very much for having me again.
Yeah, and always great to to chat with you. And I think I said it before, but this was one of my or maybe my favorite class at SICE. So it's good to reconnect years later and uh continue to get your uh tap into your knowledge here. Today, as for the topics that we intend to discuss, we'll see what we actually are able to get into uh here. But first we will talk about the war in Iran and what it means in terms of US influence. Also how the US this very interesting point, I think, which I'm definitely interested to hear from Professor Harper here, about how the US keeps getting over its foreign policy failures, like in Vietnam, like in Iraq, and then quickly turn around and again, maintain a quite assertive foreign policy within a relatively short period of time.
And in in more broad terms where f US foreign policy is heading, and then also take a look at things in Europe. And Professor Harper is based and has been based for decades in Bologna, Italy, so has a good eye onto developments in Europe as well. And so where things will go with the US foreign policy, but also with Europe and in the transatlantic relationship into this next generation. So With that, Professor Harper, first question, let's look at the war in Iran. We've seen some developments here just in the last couple of days. I don't know if we can call them developments, but just the roller coaster continues, I guess. Looking at the historical context more, how do you see the US's war in Iran in this sort of historical context of waning US power and or as many call the decline of the US empire of the last several years or maybe decades?
Yeah, it's what comes to mind immediately is that it's probably too early to tell. And any predictions are risky, especially the prediction that the United States is in irreversible decline and it will not be able to recruit its position. Because we've heard that before. There have been numerous mounts of declinism. In the post-war period, even in the as far back as the late 50s, then another about in the late 80s, in particular, Paul Kennedy's book. And then more recently after the Iraq war and the in the 2008-2010 financial economic meltdown period. So you have to be cautious and prudent. At the same time, I think something significant is happening here. I think this is this really will be s probably will be seen as a s as a turning point for the United States.
Herr Lus have been drawn with the Suez crisis. Which I wouldn't Go too far, I wouldn't exaggerate. There are obvious differences. Great Britain, the declining the former hegemon was slapped down and called into line by the By its closest ally, the United States, which was the new hegemon on the block. That's not exactly what ha has happened here. But Britain the consequences for the British in defying the United States, failing to consult the United States, getting into a mess that it couldn't handle. Mm-hmm. They were extremely important. It was a turning point. Britain was no longer able to act autonomously. At least in the Middle East. And then you could see the same kind of ramifications for the United States.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What historical perspective does the episode take on the current international order?
0:09–9:44
2
How does the Iran conflict illustrate the limits of U.S. global influence?
9:44–15:29
3
Why does the U.S. repeatedly recover from foreign‑policy failures like Vietnam and Iraq?
15:29–21:59
4
What is the “Vietnam syndrome” and how did it shape later U.S. interventions?
21:59–37:21
5
How have Trump’s policies altered the U.S. approach to Ukraine and the Middle East?
37:21–44:39
6
Is the world moving toward a multipolar order or a continued Western‑led system?
44:39–51:25
7
What are the emerging roles of Europe and NATO in the Ukraine conflict?
51:25–54:37
8
What final insights does Professor Harper offer about the future of U.S. foreign policy?
54:37–56:39
Speakers
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