Ionut Popescu

Political Science Prof @TxSt. Formerly Duke PhD, UT Clements Center, and Navy Intel. NEW BOOK: No Peer Rivals

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

I’m delighted to announce the publication of my new book No Peer Rivals: American Grand Strategy in the Era of Great Power Competition from @UofMPress.
Order on Amazon: https://t.co/zgDtYPbzU2
Read online for free: https://t.co/0Te5MBKnlt
@ClementsCenter @duke_ags @DukePoliSci @AWConsortium @NewsTxst @txstfac @VictoriaCoates @JJCarafano @KevinRobertsTX @HalBrands @RushDoshi @wrmead @Justin_Vogt @jamestaranto @SheenaGreitens @ElbridgeColby

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

Very grateful to @cjfettweis for his review of my book in @HDiplo! I stand by all I wrote about the potential implications of a war with Iran, and its impact on US grand strategy in Asia and beyond...

[H-Diplo, with the Jervis Forum @HDiplo]

The Jervis Forum Review 173
Ionut Popescu’s No Peer Rivals: American Grand Strategy in the Era of Great Power Competition
“American grand strategists...ought to be clear-headed about the decline of US dominance. The threat from Moscow, while acute, is temporary; the real concern ought to be the colossus in the Pacific.” –Christopher J. Fettweis
https://t.co/sd8HftQDoI
@ICPopescu @cjfettweis

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

One of the best speeches by a Secretary of State since the fall of the Berlin Wall: excellent analysis by @SecRubio of the grave (self-inflicted) problems confronting Europe, and a vision for how to fix them and rejoin Washington in the current geopolitical competition as a united Western front. A bit skeptical current EU elites will follow suit, but they needed to hear this. #msc26

[Department of State @StateDept]

WATCH: Secretary Rubio Delivers Remarks to the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany. https://t.co/MSnxmlRf2w

[Turning Point USA @TPUSA]

WHAT. A. SHOW. 🇺🇸

Thank you to everyone who tuned in for our All-American Halftime Show! What was your favorite part?

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

For those who worried the NSS takes its eyes off the ball when it comes to containing China's military rise, this @secwar speech should clarify the administration remains committed to balance of power principles. A realist strategy aims to prevent China's regional hegemony, together with our allies. Shows the influence of @USWPColby who focused on deterring China for decades! cc: @KevinRobertsTX @dandcaldwell @RC_Greenway @SteveYates #china #NSS

[Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby @USWPColby]

“This is line of effort is based on flexible realism, not naivete. An approach aimed not at domination, but rather at a balance of power that will enable all of us, all countries, to enjoy a decent peace in an Indo-Pacific where trade flows openly and fairly, where we can all prosper, and all interests are respected…We will be strong, but not confrontational.” 17/

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

It doesn’t do any such thing. Not a perfect document, but it is mostly reframing the grand strategic competition to match the reality of 2025 geopolitical threats and opportunities. And puts the first thing first (Western Hemisphere).

[Curt Mills @CurtMills]

Look who’s unhappy

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

@RpwWilliams @ClaremontInst Good points! A lot of pearl clutching and misunderstanding of it out there...

[Secretary of War Pete Hegseth @SecWar]

We are rebuilding the Arsenal of Freedom.

[JD Vance @JDVance]

I appreciate this thread by @nfergus, with whom I've had some disagreements on this issue. He is grappling with reality, which can't be said of most critics of our approach.

https://t.co/h2LTjAQirP

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

Disgusting... This would be a great time for
@Heritage and @KevinRobertsTX
to do some lobbying on the Hill to make sure @ElbridgeColby has his people to implement MAGA's priorities inside the Pentagon! @austinjdahmer is a pro and needs to be confirmed! @CurtMills @AKDay89 @JackPosobiec

[Grace Chong, MBI @gc22gc]

BANNON: We need everybody to the ramparts on Trump’s selections for @ElbridgeColby’s deputies.
@CurtMills: They want to stop Colby from rising as NSA or SoS. He’s a realist. They’ve tried to block him for 10 years. They’re also trying to kill @austinjdahmer’s nom behind paywalls and out of public view so they can kill it in the crib. It’s unacceptable and it’s why our foreign policy never changes.

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

@gc22gc @ElbridgeColby @CurtMills @austinjdahmer Yes! This is essential for the strategic move to Western hemispheric defense and containment of Chinese hegemonic ambitions!

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

Excellent grand strategic analysis by @dandcaldwell here, the US only has two truly important priorities: Western Hemisphere hegemony and keeping China from East Asian hegemony! @ElbridgeColby pushes this from inside, @KevinRobertsTX from the outside, both are essential to MAGA!

[Bannon’s WarRoom @Bannons_WarRoom]

DAN CALDWELL: America can’t police the world forever. The neocon elite still pretend we have unlimited cash and lives to impose global liberal hegemony.

It's time to defend our hemisphere and contain China in the Pacific!

@dandcaldwell

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

This is outrageous, these are some of the smartest strategic thinkers in the MAGA movement… @JackPosobiec @PeteHegseth

[Michael Goolsby @MichaelGoolsbyV]

This is exactly right — and it’s why serious political pressure needs to be applied to the senators. For SIX MONTHS and counting, the Committee has been slow-rolling the President’s key policy nominees serving under Colby.

Dahmer was clearly singled out to be sandbagged at his hearing with a manufactured “semantics/communication” controversy — a flimsy pretext to take a shot at Colby.

This isn’t oversight — it’s sabotage. @seanmdav

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

@CurtMills Moreover, the Romanian government cancelled the elections last time around when a nationalist was winning, this move by @USWPColby is more than warranted on its own merits even without the grand strategic merit of shifting from Europe to Asia & Western Hemisphere!

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

Very true, @KevinRobertsTX turned it into the premier domestic and foreign policy think tank in Trump’s Washington! He is invaluable to the MAGA movement!

[Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec]

Heritage was falling into irrelevancy before @KevinRobertsTX got involved

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

Another move to reinforce the shift to the Western Hemisphere/SOUTHCOM as a top tier level grand strategic priority, very significant and unheard of in the post-Cold War/War on Terror era dominated by CENTCOM and Middle East, with PACOM/EUCOM occasionally drawing attention.

[Disclose.tv @disclosetv]

JUST IN - Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group ordered to deploy to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility.

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

No more need to go all around the world looking for them, when we have terrorists here at home! Counter-cartel operations in the Western Hemisphere make more strategic sense than a lot of what the US did over the past decades in the Middle East @ElbridgeColby @KevinRobertsTX

[The Daily Signal @DailySignal]

.@SecWar Pete Hegseth on the cartels: "This is the Al-Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere."

[Ionut Popescu @ICPopescu]

A reminder that China’s rare earths were a known strategic vulnerability for years, as I warned with @JJCarafano @DanNegreaUSA in @TheNatlInterest two years ago… The need to fix it is even more urgent now. @RC_Greenway @KevinRobertsTX https://t.co/AZ6h5J92tP