Coffee & Conflict

Today on Coffee & Conflict, Joshua Huminski is joined by Emma Ashford, author of First Among Equals: U.S. Foreign Policy in a Multipolar World, to unpack what it means for the United States to operate in an international system it no longer dominates alone. Ashford traces how post–Cold War triumphalism gave way to today’s multipolar reality, explains when the U.S. unipolar moment truly began to fade, and lays out her case for a more pragmatic grand strategy rooted in what she calls “realist internationalism.” The conversation explores how this framework differs from both traditional realism and liberal internationalism, and what it would ask Washington to prioritize—and reconsider—as global power continues to diffuse.

What would realist internationalism look like in practice for U.S. policymakers? Can the United States pursue a narrower, interest-based foreign policy while maintaining an open economic strategy with allies and partners? And as Washington adjusts to a world among equals, how should it engage Europe and rising second-tier powers like India, Turkey, and Germany?

You can learn more about First Among Equals, and purchase a copy of the book, here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300279542/first-among-equals/.

Check out today’s experts on Twitter:

@joshuachuminski

@EmmaMAshford

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*Note: This episode was recorded November 18, 2025

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Starting off the year with a nuclear bang, Joshua Huminski is joined by Ankit Panda, author of The New Nuclear Age: At the Precipice of Armageddon, to unpack why nuclear weapons are once again at the center of global statecraft—and why today’s risks don’t map neatly onto the Cold War playbook. Panda explains what defines this new nuclear age, how a more crowded and technologically complex nuclear landscape is reshaping deterrence, and why the erosion of arms control has left the world with fewer guardrails at exactly the wrong time.

Can Washington, Moscow, and Beijing realistically sit down to discuss arms control in a nuclear “trilemma”? Is the United States being forced to relearn deterrence lessons that atrophied after decades of strategic focus elsewhere? How is Europe grappling with nuclear threats from Russia while navigating uncertainty around long-term U.S. guarantees? And looking ahead, how does this nuclear age end—and what might a fourth nuclear age look like?

You can learn more about The New Nuclear Age, and purchase a copy of the book, here: https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=the-new-nuclear-age-at-the-precipice-of-armageddon--9781509557462.

Check out today’s experts on Twitter:

@joshuachuminski

@nktpnd

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Season 2 Episode 2 - Homo Criminalis: How Crime Organises the World with Mark Galeotti

Today on Coffee & Conflict, Joshua Huminski is joined by Mark Galeotti, author of Homo Criminalis: How Crime Organises the World, to examine how organised crime shapes, and is shaped by, the modern state. Galeotti unpacks what “organised crime” actually is, why the boundary between the “upper world” and “underworld” is often thinner than we think, and how criminal networks adapt faster than governments to new technologies, new markets, and new enforcement tactics.

At what point does organised crime become so entrenched that the state has no choice but to confront it, or quietly accommodate it? How should law enforcement balance today’s threats with tomorrow’s high-tech criminal landscape? And should organised crime be treated as a core national security issue alongside defense and foreign policy, and if we did, how would it change the way we make policy?

You can learn more about Homo Criminalis: How Crime Organises the World, and purchase a copy of the book, here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/445951/homo-criminalis-by-galeotti-mark/9781529148220.

Check out today’s experts on Twitter:

@joshuachuminski

@MarkGaleotti

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We are also on YouTube, and watch today's episode here: https://youtu.be/JMPZDUk6VLo
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Today on Coffee & Conflict, Joshua Huminski is joined by Dr. Matthew Ford to explore the ideas behind War in the Smartphone Age and what it means for how we understand and fight modern wars. Ford breaks down how smartphones and the digital “stack” have reshaped power on today’s battlefields, from Ukraine to Gaza, and how constant connectivity blurs the line between combatant and observer. He examines how viral videos and endless imagery can distort our sense of winning and losing, how participatory war draws civilians into the fight, and what this means for militaries trying to keep pace with hyper-connected conflict.

What responsibilities do technology companies carry when their platforms and infrastructure are now deeply embedded in warfare? Has the smartphone narrowed, or widened, the gap between advanced militaries and insurgent groups? And looking ahead, how might these dynamics shape great-power conflict and the decisions of future defense leaders?

You can learn more about War in the Smartphone Age: Conflict, Connectivity and the Crises at Our Fingertips, and purchase a copy of the book, here: https://www.amazon.com/War-Smartphone-Age-Connectivity-Fingertips/dp/0197829848.

Check out today’s experts on Twitter:

@joshuachuminski

@warmatters

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Today on Coffee & Conflict, Joshua Huminski speaks with General H.R. McMaster (ret.) about the emerging axis of aggressors—Russia, China, and others—and what their coordinated challenges mean for American power and global stability. They discuss how these regimes are pushing for a return to a multipolar world, exploiting perceptions of American weakness, and contesting U.S. leadership. He also examines whether America’s 20th-century institutions are equipped for today’s geopolitical competition and why strategic empathy is essential for understanding our adversaries.

What’s driving the alignment between authoritarian powers—and can the U.S. effectively counter it? Is Washington thinking creatively enough to both pressure and engage rivals like Russia and China? How should American institutions adapt to compete in an era of disinformation, proxy conflicts, and strategic influence? And as Europe takes greater responsibility for its own defense, could that shift unintentionally weaken transatlantic unity?
Check out today’s experts on Twitter:

@joshuachuminski from @CSPC_DC

@LTGHRMcMaster from @HooverInst, @FSIStanford, @FDD_CMPP, and @Hudsoninstitute

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