Kori Schake
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kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake
@kschake.bsky.social
32K followers 900 following 840 posts

Leads AEI’s foreign and defense team, author of The State and the Soldier, contributing writer at The Atlantic. 2025-2026 Kissinger Chair at the Library of Congress. Californian. https://www.aei.org/profile/kori-schake/

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Kori N. Schake is an American international relations scholar currently serving as Director of Foreign and Defense Policy at the American Enterprise Institute. She has held several high-level positions in the U.S. Defense and State Departments and on the National Security Council. She was a foreign policy adviser to the McCain-Palin 2008 presidential campaign. Schake is a contributing writer at The Atlantic. She serves on the board of advisors of Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Alexander Hamilton Society. Schake is a member of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee. .. more

Political science 84%
Economics 10%
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kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · Aug 27
I just received my first copy of the book!

Reposted by Kori Schake

ianbassin.bsky.social
Ian Bassin @ianbassin.bsky.social · 4h
Disgusting.

“The administration’s goal, ICE acting director Todd M. Lyons said, was to deport immigrants as efficiently as Amazon moves packages: ‘Like Prime, but with human beings.’”

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
ICE documents reveal plan to hold 80,000 immigrants in warehouses
The Trump administration wants to build seven large-scale deportation hubs to speed up deportations, internal ICE documents show.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Kori Schake

phillipspobrien.bsky.social
Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 10h
An important point that needs to be made on the AEI website. The best deal that the Trump administration is willing to offer Ukraine is still an abomination. Trump has so warped expectations that too many can’t admit this. @kschake.bsky.social

www.aei.org/articles/tru...
www.aei.org

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 13h
Important assessment thread from @proftalmadge.bsky.social on changing Chinese nuclear strategy (don’t believe their no first use!)
proftalmadge.bsky.social Caitlin Talmadge @proftalmadge.bsky.social · 15h
Overall, I see China’s nuclear changes s part of a broader military strategy to 1. Provide nuclear cover for conventional aggression and 2. employ nuclear weapons for coercive or military purposes if that conventional aggression doesn’t go well.
www.foreignaffairs.com/china/why-ch...
Why China Wants More and Better Nukes
China is expanding its nuclear arsenal, a move that might lead China to take more risks with its conventional forces.
www.foreignaffairs.com

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 13h
Good question, @simon6969.bsky.social. It’s consistent with the Court ruling that the President has authority to deploy troops to ensure Constitutional rights (in the Eisenhower case it was to uphold a Supreme Court ruling to desegregate schools). Regular Army was also deployed.
simon6969.bsky.social simon6969.bsky.social @simon6969.bsky.social · 21h
Just a thought. How does that sit with Federalisation in the 1950s to enforce civil rights judgements? Didn’t Eisenhower federalise National Guard units to stop them interfering under state governor instructions as well as to provide an alternative that was less provocative than the Regular Army?

Reposted by Kori Schake

abenewman.bsky.social
Abe Newman @abenewman.bsky.social · 13h
As US targets EU officials and NGOs with sanctions for fighting disinformation and hate speech time to reup this thread. The US is no longer using weaponized interdependence to uphold international norms but to transform the global order.
www.politico.eu/article/us-s...

Reposted by Kori Schake

proftalmadge.bsky.social
Caitlin Talmadge @proftalmadge.bsky.social · 15h
Overall, I see China’s nuclear changes s part of a broader military strategy to 1. Provide nuclear cover for conventional aggression and 2. employ nuclear weapons for coercive or military purposes if that conventional aggression doesn’t go well.
www.foreignaffairs.com/china/why-ch...
Why China Wants More and Better Nukes
China is expanding its nuclear arsenal, a move that might lead China to take more risks with its conventional forces.
www.foreignaffairs.com

Reposted by Kori Schake

simon6969.bsky.social
simon6969.bsky.social @simon6969.bsky.social · 21h
Just a thought. How does that sit with Federalisation in the 1950s to enforce civil rights judgements? Didn’t Eisenhower federalise National Guard units to stop them interfering under state governor instructions as well as to provide an alternative that was less provocative than the Regular Army?

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 23h
I love the National Guard working so hard to remind us they’re not a tool of repression.
noturtlesoup17.bsky.social amanda moore 🐢 @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social · 1d
National Guard wearing Santa hats while patrolling in DC.

Reposted by Kori Schake

noturtlesoup17.bsky.social
amanda moore 🐢 @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social · 1d
National Guard wearing Santa hats while patrolling in DC.

Reposted by Kori Schake

jwmeiser.bsky.social
Jeff Meiser @jwmeiser.bsky.social · 1d
This caught my attention.

“There are foreign parts in 100 percent of our weapon systems and military platforms.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/c...
The Pentagon and A.I. Giants Have a Weakness. Both Need China’s Batteries, Badly.
www.nytimes.com

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 1d
This implies the National Guard belongs to Governors and the President cannot deploy any military domestically without specific Constitutional or statutory authority. Restrictive reading by the Court.
kschake.bsky.social Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 1d
The Supreme Court 6-3 restricts the deployment of National Guard: “before the President can federalize the Guard under §12406(3), he likely must have statutory or constitutional authority to execute the laws with the regular military and must be "unable" with those forces to perform that function.”

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 1d
The Supreme Court 6-3 restricts the deployment of National Guard: “before the President can federalize the Guard under §12406(3), he likely must have statutory or constitutional authority to execute the laws with the regular military and must be "unable" with those forces to perform that function.”

Reposted by Kori Schake

bafriedman.bsky.social
B. A. Friedman @bafriedman.bsky.social · 1d
The more I think about this battleship the more I think it’s a shiny distraction to keep attention away from the LSM and the frigate, both of which can be built in the near term. Some of these weapons don’t exist yet except on paper. No ship ever built could power all of these.
A fake ship

Reposted by Kori Schake

queenofthinair.bsky.social
Mistletoe Diva 🎄🎁🎅🫶👠👑 @queenofthinair.bsky.social · 1d
samf.substack.com/p/the-state-...

I appreciate the shout-out and kind words from @kschake.bsky.social in this discussion of her new book.
The State and the Soldier
How should the US military react to a "unprincipled principal"?
samf.substack.com

Reposted by Kori Schake

lawfaremedia.org
Lawfare @lawfaremedia.org · 1d
On Lawfare Daily, Loren Voss spoke to @kschake.bsky.social and @carriealee.bsky.social about how they assess a healthy civil-military relationship, the current state of civil-military affairs, potential unlawful orders, and what we should watch going forward. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...

Reposted by Kori Schake, Matthew Bunn, Lesley Bartlett

ewong.bsky.social
Edward Wong @ewong.bsky.social · 1d
The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 ambassadors, all of whom are career diplomats. A union says there has never been such a mass recall in the history of the foreign service. Morale has been plummeting in the State Department all year. Story: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/u...
Trump Administration Orders Nearly 30 U.S. Ambassadors to Leave Their Posts
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Kori Schake, Daniel W. Drezner

abenewman.bsky.social
Abe Newman @abenewman.bsky.social · 2d
1/ @dandrezner.bsky.social w/fantastic review of head scratching quotes on how the US has put its foreign policy in the hands of a real estate buddy and son in law w/no foreign policy experience. Why? See point #2.
danieldrezner.substack.com/p/the-appall...
The Appalling Broken Record of Steve Witkoff Stories
The basic narrative is pretty clear at this point. But with each drip in this story, the larger picture comes into focus.
danieldrezner.substack.com

Reposted by Kori Schake

paultlevin.bsky.social
Paul T. Levin @paultlevin.bsky.social · 2d
I‘m getting tired of repeating the point that Trump wants to divide and rule. He poses a collective action problem for Europeans and as long as we leave targeted nations to fend for themselves, he will succeed in dominating us.
Denmark to summon US ambassador over Trump Greenland envoy appointment
Danish foreign minister ‘deeply angered’ by move to send special envoy to territory Trump has threatened to annex
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Kori Schake

aphclarkson.bsky.social
Alexander Clarkson @aphclarkson.bsky.social · 2d
Presumably Trump's next act of American global master strategy will be to appoint a horse as his chief envoy to Panama

Reposted by Kori Schake, Lukas Graf

marceldirsus.com
Marcel Dirsus @marceldirsus.com · 2d
In conclusion, we should negotiate! But Putin won't be won over through superior argument or an appeal to higher morals. This is about power. Ukrainians will have to make painful concessions either way, but there's a difference between that and outright surrender

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 3d
You’re raising important challenges for us all to think through, my friend. I don’t believe the US military would follow orders to interfere in elections or fire on citizens, and they deserve the benefit of the doubt since they’ve never been a threat. But we shouldn’t let them be arbiters for us.
securitas.bsky.social Securitas @securitas.bsky.social · 3d
Also, I'm way out of my depth here, so please feel free to fill any knowledge or logic gaps I might display.

Thank you for engaging with the unqualified. 😃

Reposted by Kori Schake

securitas.bsky.social
Securitas @securitas.bsky.social · 3d
Also, I'm way out of my depth here, so please feel free to fill any knowledge or logic gaps I might display.

Thank you for engaging with the unqualified. 😃

Reposted by Kori Schake

darklaughtertdb.bsky.social
Dark Laughter @darklaughtertdb.bsky.social · 3d
I think this term's origin was Paul Scharre writing in Four Battlegrounds about Marines spoofing an AI by hiding under a box while giggling, and I think what first got it circulating was @shashj.bsky.social posting an excerpt on Twitter. www.pcmag.com/news/us-mari...

Reposted by Kori Schake

zachsdorfman.bsky.social
Zach Dorfman @zachsdorfman.bsky.social · 3d
Last night there was a mass blackout in SF; thousands of homes still w/o power. Waymos were malfunctioning all over the city, stopping dead in intersections. Extremely dangerous. What if there’s an earthquake, fire or other major disaster? Are SF residents just Guinea Pigs for private companies?

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 3d
It’s an important challenge, @securitas.bsky.social, so thank you. I worry that in our American conversation we’re expecting the military to save us — litigating the commander carrying out the order instead of fighting about the legality of the order the civilian leadership is giving.
securitas.bsky.social Securitas @securitas.bsky.social · 3d
What's your take on Germany's "Innere Führung"? Are you familiar with the concept? If so, does your criticism of insubordination within these rules still hold? We Germans established these principles precisely to protect our democracy, based on the experiences of Machtergreifung and WW2.

Reposted by Lawrence Freedman, Michael D. Robinson

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 3d
“I am a hopeful animal and in my most hopeful moments, I think the longer term consequence of the Trump presidency will be much more stringent restrictions on the executive power of the president of the United States.” @ldfreedman.bsky.social drew me out on civ-mil and US politics.
The State and the Soldier
How should the US military react to a "unprincipled principal"?
open.substack.com

Reposted by Kori Schake

securitas.bsky.social
Securitas @securitas.bsky.social · 3d
What's your take on Germany's "Innere Führung"? Are you familiar with the concept? If so, does your criticism of insubordination within these rules still hold? We Germans established these principles precisely to protect our democracy, based on the experiences of Machtergreifung and WW2.

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 3d
I share your dissatisfaction, @charig.bsky.social. But I think the solutions lie in the civilian on civilian checks in the US system — I don’t think our military can save us from the politicians we elect.
charig.bsky.social Christoph Harig @charig.bsky.social · 3d
In other words, this argument provides no solution at all for the current moment in the US

If a president apparently *wants* to turn the military into a repressive instrument, Congress etc don't avoid it, how can you avoid the worst if you don't allow military leaders to say 'no'?

Reposted by Kori Schake

foreignaffairs.com
Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 3d
“We are in the midst of, to put it bluntly, destroying every valuable part of the U.S. economic engine.”

Listen to the latest episode of “The Foreign Affairs Interview,” featuring a conversation with Daron Acemoglu: https://fam.ag/49ivR90

Reposted by Kori Schake

gettymuseum.bsky.social
Getty @gettymuseum.bsky.social · 3d
It's the first day of winter! Southern California, how're we feeling? 🧥🧤

🎨 Jeanne Kéfer, 1885, Fernand Khnopff. Getty Museum
A meme stating "Angelenos when the temp drops below 70 degrees Fahrenheit." A young girl stands in front of a closed door on a porch. She wears a bonnet, knee-length wool coat, stockings, and black shoes with bows. Her tiny thumb catches the edge of a large bow tied around the collar of her coat as she reaches into her pocket, a fixed, haunting gaze on her face.