May 6 • 38M

We're not all that: US ego and our credibility obsession, with Chris Fettweis

Kelley Vlahos
 
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The United States makes a lot of stupid mistakes and policy choices driven by the idea that not only are we the center of the universe, but by our obsession with maintaining "credibility." Tulane professor Chris Fettweis, author of Pathologies of Power, and Psychology of a Superpower, talks to Kelley and Dan about how it's comforting to think we are in control and can shape the way other leaders — like Vladimir Putin —behave. Can't we? In the first segment, we discuss the not-so-subtle shift in Washington rhetoric toward a direct, existential conflict with Moscow, with at least one lawmaker, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, calling for a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Russia.

More from Fettweis:

Psychology of a Superpower, 2018, Columbia University Press

The Pathologies of Power, 2014, Cambridge University Press