The Looking Glass

To mark the launch of our newest print edition, “The United States at 250: Institutions, Alliances, and the Future of World Order,” this special extended companion episode of The Looking Glass brings the pages of the journal directly to your ears. 
As the United States approaches its semiquincentennial, we invite the issue’s featured authors to provide reflections on their research, arguments, and strategic policy takeaways. From the historical parallels of international interventions and shifts in grand strategy to global democracy support, state fragility, and the rise of middle powers, hear firsthand from leading practitioners and scholars on the forces remaking world order. 
Featured Contributors:
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin – The Future of US International Engagement
Dr. Jacqueline Mazza – The US Operation to Capture Nicolas Maduro: Revisiting Historic Parallels
Eamon Burke & Jonathan Quintyne – Big Bets and Diminishing Returns: Institutional Grounding and the Decline of American Grand Strategy
Alexandria Virginski – Immigration Law and the Politics of Statecraft
Larry Garber & Dr. Edward McMahon – Assessing the Evolution of United States Government Supported Democracy Programming: Past and Future
Friedrich Conradi – Chasing Hares: On the Failure of States in an Age of Transnational Crisis
Ambassador Shirin Tahir-Kheli – A Disengaged United States at 250: The Rise of Middle Powers
To read the full articles and support the journal, purchase the print edition through Johns Hopkins University Press: https://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/sais-review-international-affairs
Hosted and produced by Ayesha Jilani 
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A special mini-episode of The Looking Glass featuring H.E. Omran Sharaf, UAE Assistant Foreign Minister for Advanced Science and Technology and former Chair of UN COPUOS.
Following his recent appearance at Johns Hopkins SAIS, Minister Sharaf sits down with Aaryaman Shah for a brief conversation on UAE tech statecraft, middle-power strategy amid US–China tech friction, and the future of international space governance.
We extend our sincere gratitude to His Excellency and his team for joining the SAIS Review for this special edition.
Produced by: Ayesha Jilani
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The Pakistan–Afghanistan border clashes in October 2025 were the latest eruption of a deeper historical fault line at the Durand Line. The roots trace to decades of mistrust, migration, and geopolitics. This episode hopes to explore how the Durand line continues to fuel tensions and how ordinary people (especially near the border) bear the brunt of the security crackdowns and deportations, and how external involvement, both past and present, has shaped the relationship of the two neighbors and reshaped broader geopolitics in South Asia. To help us understand the legacy of this border is Zahid Hussain.
Zahid Hussain is an award-winning journalist and author known for his extensive reporting on Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has served as a correspondent for The Times of London and The Wall Street Journal, and has written for Newsweek, the Associated Press, and The Economist. A former senior editor at Newsline, he is now a regular columnist for Dawn, Pakistan’s largest english newspaper
He has been the Pakistan Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and a visiting fellow at both Wolfson College, Cambridge, and the Stimson Center.
He is the author of three books, including Frontline Pakistan, named The Wall Street Journal’s Book of the Year, and his latest, No Win War.

Hosts: Ayesha Jilani and Jiwon Lim
Produced by Ayesha Jilani

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Peru’s 2026 election season is occurring amid a deepening crisis of political legitimacy. Public confidence in Congress has collapsed to some of the lowest levels in the Western Hemisphere, and Peruvians increasingly doubt whether their institutions can deliver stability, security, and responsive governance. Adding to this political unease, Keiko Fujimori, a polarizing figure and leader of the right‑wing Popular Force party, has launched a renewed presidential bid despite multiple corruption investigations and past electoral defeats. This context raises urgent questions about what has changed, or worsened, in Peru’s political trust since the last election cycle, what factors are driving voter decisions this time around, and how issues such as crime and insecurity are reshaping the electoral landscape. To help unpack these dynamics, we are joined by Martin Cassinelli, an assistant director at the Atlantic Council’s Latin America Center, who brings deep regional insight into Peru’s political evolution and democratic challenges.

Martin Cassinelli is an assistant director at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, where he advances the Center’s work on the region’s economic development and the Andes region. In this role, he advances the center’s work on investment and trade policy in Latin America, as well as leads the center’s work on Peru. During his time at the Atlantic Council, Cassinelli has led the Nearshoring Working Group, co-authored a report on attracting US investment to the Americas, and written several articles on Latin America’s and Peru’s economic challenges. His work has been featured in the Miami Herald, the Diplomat, the China Wire, and La Presse. Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, Cassinelli worked in cluster development projects in Peru. Cassinelli holds a master’s degree in international economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Heidelberg.
This episode was recording on March 26th, 2026
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2026 is a decisive year for Latin American democracy, as democratic institutions across the region are being tested by public distrust and upcoming elections in Colombia, Peru and Brazil. This year, however, it happens under a very different backdrop: The U.S.’s capture of Venezuela's dictator Nicolas Maduro and Washington’s renewed desire to maintain a regional sphere of influence. These developments raise critical questions about the extent of U.S. influence over Latin America’s democratic trajectories, how US political signals affect electoral legitimacy and what this means for the future of democratic governance in the region. To discuss these issues, joining us today is Michael Shifter - former President of the Inter-American Dialogue and Professor at the Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Michael Shifter is a political analyst and expert on Latin American affairs. He previously served as President of the Inter-American Dialogue, a leading think tank focused on democracy, governance, and U.S.–Latin America relations. Since 1993, Shifter has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he teaches Latin American politics. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Latin American Studies Association and is a contributing editor of Current History. He is currently a board member of InSight Crime and serves on the Advisory Committee of Human Rights Watch/Americas Division. His work explores the intersection of politics, foreign policy, and democratic governance, with particular attention to how domestic institutions, electoral processes, and external influences shape political outcomes across the hemisphere. Shifter’s comparative research analyzes trends in democratic backsliding, institutional consolidation, and the role of U.S. policy in shaping regional political dynamics. Widely published and frequently consulted by policymakers and media outlets, Shifter offers a nuanced perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing democracy in Latin America. 
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