history and politics, podcasts

Le Monde diplomatique podcast – Obama and “smart power”

World map in lightMy guest in this first Le Monde diplomatique podcast of 2010 is Michael Klare, professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts.

In his article in the January edition of the paper, “US turns persuader not policeman”, Professor Klare asks whether disappointment with the first year of Obama’s foreign policy is the right reaction, or whether we ought instead to see “smart power” as a pragmatic response to the US’s diminished role as world superpower – “assertiveness in the face of decline”.

In the interview we talk about the challenge posed by Iran to US smart power and also its implications for the domestic political landscape in the US.

To listen to the interview, click here.