Connor Fiddler

PhD Student, @UTAustin; Non-Resident Fellow, @FPRI | Former @aeifdp, @reaganinstitute, @YPFP | US grand strategy, Asian security, alliance politics

[Connor Fiddler @Connor_Fiddler]

Read my new piece with @thedispatch!

I argue that degrees of loyalty and voice within an alliance is the best way to understand the strength and cohesion of that alliance.

If loyalty breaks, and an ally feels like they have no voice with their partner, the ally may exit.

[The Dispatch @thedispatch]

"Leveraging Hirschman’s framework, we can weave today’s contradictory headlines into a coherent picture of Trump’s alliance management. Yet the portrait that emerges is troubling." | @Connor_Fiddler

https://t.co/wnhxvuGmhv

[Sean T at RCP @SeanTrende]

I almost hesitate to promote this, because it wasn't really intended to be a piece. I just sort of sat down and it came out. Maybe someone else out there has the same type of day today, and it'll speak to them.
https://t.co/xSMUDOrHcC

[Connor Fiddler @Connor_Fiddler]

@nytimes I’ve seen this episode of Succession

[Connor Fiddler @Connor_Fiddler]

Evil Willy Wonka

[21 @21metgala]

Patrick Schwarzenegger attends the 2026 Met Gala.

[Connor Fiddler @Connor_Fiddler]

Some heroes don’t wear capes

[New York Post @nypost]

Self-designated survivor: Chuck Grassley, 92, skipped White House dinner in case he had to run the country https://t.co/kBoDN3u1mX

[Connor Fiddler @Connor_Fiddler]

American should be art deco.

[Depressed Ginger @Dgingsz]

The Grand Colonnaded Gate for DC

[Under Secretary of State Jacob S. Helberg @UnderSecE]

We are working with the Philippines to build a FORWARD DEPLOYED INDUSTRIAL BASE in Luzon — a peaceful platform designed to secure vital supply-chain inputs for American and aligned companies, built with a strong sovereign partner, iterated on as we learn.

Statecraft, at its best, is a product. American products don’t just compete. They enchant and delight. That is the edge this country has. And it’s the foundation of the State Department’s economic statecraft strategy.

Four thousand acres. Roughly one-third the size of Manhattan — the equivalent of everything from Times Square south to the very tip of the island. A hub for industrial cooperation, shared growth and economic security. It is the first of its kind. We are doing new things because we are in new times! 🇺🇸 🇵🇭

https://t.co/8Wv9putTGX

[Colby Badhwar @ColbyBadhwar]

🇺🇸 Significant: INDOPACOM Commander Admiral Paparo says that he has no unfunded requirements given the budget submission this year.

The Pentagon Comptroller previously said that he expected the Unfunded Priority Lists would be much "skinnier" this year, due to the significant increase in spending they are requesting. INDOPACOM will evidently not be submitting one at all.

[Bill Gertz @BillGertz]

IndoPacom commander says victory in Iran is needed to deter a Chinese attack on Taiwan https://t.co/sKg73ardfA

[Joni Ernst @SenJoniErnst]

Let’s cut the red tape, so our warfighters have the best of the best and we are spending tax dollars wisely!

[POLARIS National Security @PolarisNatSec]

🚨 THREAD: The Pentagon's acquisition system has long needed an overhaul, but the consequences of inaction are now impossible to ignore.

Marginal tweaks won't meet the demands of modern war.

Our report lays out how Congress can usher a golden era for defense acquisition. 🧵⬇️

[Mike Gallagher @ChairmanG]

73 years ago today, barely three months into his presidency, Dwight Eisenhower delivered one of the most critical speeches in American statecraft.

An olive branch from the man who crushed the Wehrmacht, it was also a psychological weapon against global communism, designed to end America’s first “forever war” in Korea.

A thread on why Ike’s “Chance for Peace" speech matters more than ever. 🧵

[Matthew Kroenig @MatthewKroenig]

Severely degrading Iran’s military and possibly overthrowing the regime in exchange for higher energy prices for a few weeks is a no brainer for US national security.

[Firing Line with Margaret Hoover @FiringLineShow]

On a 1989 #FiringLine, former Sen. Barry Goldwater argued presidents should decide when the country goes to war, not Congress.

Our guests are an expert on the role of Congress and an international law professor who say the legislative branch has ceded too much power to the president.

#GuesstheGuests

[Eliot A Cohen @EliotACohen]

A bit of contrarian thinking here: its a piece on the cognitive biases that many commentators bring to the Iran War. I take just as dark a view of Trump & Co. as anyone - but I'm wary of motivated reasoning too. @theAtlantic https://t.co/A4yMEPCAIq

[Connor Fiddler @Connor_Fiddler]

New phenomena unlocked: rally around the bunny effect

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

President Trump, from the South Portico of the White House, with the Easter Bunny, addresses Iran:

[POLARIS National Security @PolarisNatSec]

🚨 @PolarisNatSec's John Noonan explains why America must seek nuclear supremacy:

"The United States does not seek an arms race. But in a world where its adversaries sprint ahead, unilateral restraint becomes synonymous with surrender."

Op-ed in @NRO ⬇️

https://t.co/X8LvSG6fiw

[National Review @NRO]

The US does not seek an arms race.

But in a world where its adversaries sprint ahead, unilateral restraint becomes synonymous with surrender. | @noonanjo

https://t.co/Ox7dBDNJfl

[Connor Fiddler @Connor_Fiddler]

Wrong political dynasty to pick. The Bush Family is much more prominent than the Kennedys. I need a life action portrayal of Senator Prescott Bush

[DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm]

First look at Michael Fassbender as Joe Kennedy Sr in an upcoming biopic series about the Kennedys.

Described as the U.S. version of ‘The Crown’.

Coming soon to Netflix.

[Foreign Policy Research Institute @FPRI]

FPRI and the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology (@NunnSchoolGT) are pleased to introduce https://t.co/YrnWHVGiaB, the new home of the Orbis Journal of World Affairs. Read the announcement on our website. https://t.co/zWcFZbxO5i