The Liberal Case for American Power

Conversations with Coleman

The Free Press

Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.5 • 610 Ratings

🗓️ 13 April 2026

⏱️ 77 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Shadi Hamid once marched against the Iraq War, read Noam Chomsky, and believed America was the root of the world's problems. He has since changed his mind—though not entirely. Now a Washington Post columnist and senior fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim Christian Understanding, Hamid argues in his latest book, The Case for American Power, that American dominance, exercised morally, remains the world's best bet for stability and peace. He joins the show to make that case while refusing to pull his punches where America has fallen short. He and Coleman debate whether the Iraq War was worth it in the long run, why Joe Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal was a mistake, how the U.S. has failed to use its leverage over Israel, his fundamental mistrust of the Trump administration, and why a world where China balances American power is not the progressive fantasy some on the left imagine it to be. He and Coleman also get into the America First movement and the limits of the United Nations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to another episode of Conversations with Coleman. My guest today is Shadi Hamid. Shadi is an author and
0:07.0	columnist for The Washington Post. He used to be affiliated with the Atlantic and Brookings. His books include
0:13.0	Islamic exceptionalism, the problem of democracy, and the case for American power, which is what we're
0:18.7	talking about today. In this episode, we discuss
0:21.9	whether the war in Iraq was justified. We talk about why American hard and soft power is good for the
0:28.2	world. We talk about the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iran, the America First Movement, whether
0:35.0	the United Nations is a force for good or for ill, and much more.
0:39.5	So without further ado, Shadi Hamid.
0:50.2	Shadi Hamid, thanks so much for coming on the show.
0:53.9	Hi, Coleman. Thanks for having me.
0:56.0	So I guess it's been a, I think I had you on a couple years ago for your last book.
1:01.5	And your new book is really good. I really recommend people read it.
1:05.6	The Case for American Power, it's called.
1:09.0	It fills a very interesting hole in the discourse on foreign policy because you're
1:15.5	making a full-throated argument for American power, not just American power, but as you say in the
1:21.4	book, American dominance on the global stage, but you're making it in full view of a lot of earnest critiques you have
1:30.2	of American foreign policy, including our support for Israel.
1:35.1	And a lot of, so in other words, like you share a lot of the reservations of critics of American
1:41.5	foreign policy, but you ultimately, you ultimately arguing for a thesis that most critics of American foreign policy, but you ultimately, you ultimately arguing for a thesis
1:46.8	that most critics of American foreign policy would find super uncomfortable, which is that
1:51.9	American dominance is a good thing. So tell me a little bit how you came to that position
1:58.2	and how you thread that needle intellectually.
	...

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