Free to Move: Talking Democracy on the Asia Chessboard with Derek Mitchell and Dan Twining

As strategic competition between the U.S. and China heats up, old
Cold War-era questions on the importance of values are being asked
anew: to what extent does ideology, democracy in particular, factor
into U.S. foreign policy in Asia? Mike is joined by Ambassador
Derek Mitchell of the National Democratic Institute and Dr. Dan
Twining of the International Republican Institute to dive into the
past, present, and future roles of democracy support in U.S. Asia
policy. The three begin by discussing the cliched idea that the
U.S. must always choose between promotion of its values and defense
of its hard interests. Mike, Derek, and Dan then turn to how the
U.S. should approach Asian allies whose democratic institutions are
under attack domestically and from abroad. The trio conclude the
discussion by examining how the U.S. might encourage its democratic
allies in Asia to see how support for democratic governance
benefits their own security concerns.