What Drives U.S. Foreign Policy Today? A Realist Conversation with Nick Cleveland-Stout

Описание: Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:27 What Drew a Realist to the Quincy Institute?
05:09 Why Are Think Tanks So Powerful in DC?
12:31 Are Think Tanks Becoming Journalism, or Just PR Machines?
30:27 Why Are Lobbyists Ramping Up Influence Ops in the US?
34:33 Are AI Models Being Trained to Favor Israel?
37:56 Who’s Targeting Young Audiences in Today's Info War?
44:34 Can Israel Win Over the Young American Public?
52:01 What Happens When Qatar and Israel Collide in Washington?
01:01:56 How Do You Actually Track Political Influence?
01:06:57 Do US Lawmakers Understand AI Warfare?

Summary
What role do think tanks and lobbying play in shaping U.S. foreign policy?

In this episode, I speak with Nick Cleveland-Stout, a researcher at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, about the deep architecture of modern influence: from think tank funding and foreign lobbying to deployment of AI-enhanced propaganda.Nick brings field-level insight from his work tracking foreign funding disclosures, lobbying databases, and disinformation architecture, raising serious questions about evolving influences shaping policy and why.

We examine the systemic incentives driving U.S. foreign policy, the historic evolution of think tanks into media-facing policy arms, and new forms of digital warfare, including the use of generative AI to influence public perception. The conversation also addresses evolving generational attitudes toward U.S. policy on Israel, and the challenges in reconciling these diverging positions.

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