Podcast: Michael Doran on the Most Strategically Valuable Country You’ve Never Heard Of

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The Republic of Azerbaijan scrambles the assumptions of even the most veteran of foreign-policy hands. Sitting at the nexus of Europe and Asia, Azerbaijan is the only nation that borders both Iran and Russia; it is at the center of global energy; and, despite being a Muslim-majority nation, it has had a formal relationship with Israel for almost 30 years. By looking at Azerbaijan, our podcast guest suggests that one can reimagine America’s approach to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Michael Doran, a foreign-policy analyst and long-time Tikvah teacher, argues in a recent essay that Azerbaijan is uniquely positioned to work with America in pursuit of geopolitical goals that serve both nations. In conversation with Mosaic‘s editor, Jonathan Silver, Doran explains what makes Azerbaijan such a unique country, how it relates to Russia, Israel, Iran, and Turkey, and how it can help the United States recover the geostrategic discipline it needs to strengthen its friends and to counter its adversaries.

Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble.

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