Ep. 96: Richard Haass

Talking Beats with Daniel Lelchuk

“My own view right now is that the greatest threat to the national security of the Unites States is the division of the body politic— our own internal divisions.”

Diplomat and writer Richard Haass joins the podcast. After a busy spring on Talking Beats filled with experts and luminaries on specific fields, we zoom way out in this episode and talk about our world— “a world in disarray,” as Haass describes it. One of the most significant experts on foreign policy, Dr. Haass is out with a new book called The World: A Brief Introduction. Using the book as a jumping off point for the conversation, Haass and Daniel take a deep dive into what is happening both with US foreign policy and various political instabilities all around the world. The discussion ranges from the moral and practical necessity of getting vaccines to India as soon as possible, to shifting European power bases (what will happen to Germany post Merkel?), to the role of great music serving to at least pause- if not “fix” the world’s problems. This episode paints a picture of a chaotic, difficult to understand world.

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Dr. Richard Haass is a veteran diplomat, a prominent voice on American foreign policy, and an established leader of nonprofit institutions. He is in his eighteenth year as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, publisher, and educational institution dedicated to being a resource to help people better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.

In 2013, he served as the chair of the multiparty negotiations in Northern Ireland that provided the foundation for the 2014 Stormont House Agreement. For his efforts to promote peace and conflict resolution, he received the 2013 Tipperary International Peace Award.

From January 2001 to June 2003, Dr. Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State, where he directed the policy planning staff and was a principal advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold the rank of ambassador, Dr. Haass also served as U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and U.S. envoy to the Northern Ireland peace process.

Dr. Haass has extensive additional government experience. From 1989 to 1993, he was special assistant to President George H.W. Bush and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. In 1991, Dr. Haass was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his contributions to the development and articulation of U.S. policy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Previously, he served in the Departments of State (1981–1985) and Defense (1979–1980), and was a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate.

Dr. Haass is the author or editor of fourteen books on American foreign policy and one book on management. His latest book is The World: A Brief Introduction, published by Penguin Press.

Dr. Haass was born in Brooklyn, New York, and lives in New York City.