Kori Schake
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kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake
@kschake.bsky.social
32K followers 900 following 860 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, Ian Hall, Cullen S. Hendrix , and 2 more

seva.bsky.social
Seva @seva.bsky.social · 17h
an annoying thing about realists insisting they're the no-nonsense reality-based group is that few of their predictions have been based in reality

Reposted by Kori Schake

defensenews.bsky.social
Defense News @defensenews.bsky.social · 21h
Production is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026 and is envisioned to reach 10,000 units of Zoom and Linza drones per year later on.
Germany to host small-drones production line for Ukrainian forces
Production is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026 and is envisioned to reach 10,000 units of Zoom and Linza drones per year later on.
www.defensenews.com

Reposted by Kori Schake

scottlincicome.bsky.social
Scott Lincicome @scottlincicome.bsky.social · 21h
"In 2020, interest payments totaled $345 billion at the start of the COVID pandemic. Now that amount has just about tripled only six years later,... Since foreigners hold about one-third of all U.S. debt, it means a larger chunk of U.S. income will flow overseas." qz.com/us-national-...
U.S. national debt interest payments to top $1 trillion in 2026
In 2020, interest payments on the national debt totaled $345 billion. Now that amount has just about tripled
qz.com

Reposted by Kori Schake

economist.com
The Economist @economist.com · 22h
The ruling narrows Donald Trump’s remaining legal paths to mobilise troops and send them to cities. Should he press on, he would probably have to rely on untested claims of presidential power
The Supreme Court has taken the National Guard away from Donald Trump
His remaining options for sending in the troops are legally fraught
econ.st

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 1d
Love this, hope to see more of this attitude from other politicians in 2026.
acyn.bsky.social Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 1d
Mamdani: I promise you this. If you are a New Yorker, I am your mayor. Regardless of whether we agree, I will protect you, celebrate with you, mourn alongside you, and never, not for a second, hide from you

Reposted by Kori Schake, David R. Miller, W. Andy Knight

acyn.bsky.social
Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 1d
Mamdani: I promise you this. If you are a New Yorker, I am your mayor. Regardless of whether we agree, I will protect you, celebrate with you, mourn alongside you, and never, not for a second, hide from you

Reposted by Kori Schake, Robert C. Richards

profmsinha.bsky.social
Manisha Sinha @profmsinha.bsky.social · 1d
Historian of abolition here on this day Haiti became an independent republic in 1804, the African slave trade was abolished by the United States and Britain in 1808, and President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 1d
An auspiciously foggy start to the new year in my California hometown.
Sonoma valley fogged in with trees in the foreground

Reposted by Kori Schake, Elizabeth Saunders, David Darmofal

jimgoldgeier.bsky.social
Jim Goldgeier @jimgoldgeier.bsky.social · 2d
What happens when you sideline the experts, put incompetent people in charge, have no foreign policy process, and think you have a personal connection with Putin? You get this embarrassing mess. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
The Separation: Inside the Unraveling U.S.-Ukraine Partnership
As President Trump sought a peace deal and Vladimir V. Putin sought victory, factions in the White House and Pentagon bled the Ukrainian war effort.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Kori Schake, Christian Odendahl

jjjcameron.bsky.social
James Cameron @jjjcameron.bsky.social · 3d
Yet more evidence in the NYT long read on Ukraine that JD Vance, a heartbeat away from the US presidency and probable 2028 Republican presidential nominee, would be a disaster for European security. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Mr. Biden had left the Ukrainians a financial and weapons nest egg to cushion them for an uncertain future. Mr. Trump’s point man for peace negotiations presented him with a plan to maintain support for Ukraine and squeeze the Russian war machine. But that strategy ran headlong into a phalanx of Ukraine skeptics led by the vice president, JD Vance, and like-minded officials he seeded at the Pentagon and elsewhere in the administration. In their view, instead of squandering America’s depleted military stocks on a sinking ship, they should be reapportioned to counter the greatest global threat: China. A cold wind — what one senior military officer called “a de facto anti-Ukraine policy” — swept through the Pentagon. Time and again, Mr. Hegseth and his advisers undermined, sidelined or silenced front-line generals and administration officials sympathetic to Ukraine. General Cavoli and others who had long worked to support Ukraine remained deeply devoted to the cause. Mr. Vance’s allies, people like Mr. Colby and Mr. Caldwell, were eager to start withholding munitions. Their devotion was directed elsewhere — to Asia, to hedge against Chinese designs on Taiwan, and to the Middle East, where war was brewing with Iran and where Israel, fighting in Gaza, was asking for about 100,000 155-millimeter shells, a large proportion of the U.S. military’s depleted stocks. For three years, even as the Pentagon struggled to increase production of critical weaponry, the Biden administration had poured munitions into Ukraine. Mr. Vance’s allies were unwilling to take that risk. As a senior U.S. military officer put it: “They believed that Ukraine was on the verge of failing. The fact that empirical evidence indicated the opposite didn’t seem to bother them; if anything, they seemed to think it meant that they should help Ukraine fail faster to get it over with.”

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 4d
And doesn’t the privilege of acting as the US government require nomination to a post and Senate confirmation?
bradmossesq.bsky.social Bradley P. Moss @bradmossesq.bsky.social · 4d
Just would like to remind everyone a private citizen with massive foreign financial exposure was brought in to handle sensitive diplomatic negotiations and no indication anyone questioned giving him a clearance again.

Life of nepo baby Jared at its finest.

Reposted by Kori Schake

jacklgoldsmith.bsky.social
Jack Goldsmith @jacklgoldsmith.bsky.social · 4d
May have sent bad link earlier on my discussion with Chris Mirasola about the president's protective power and its relevance to Trump's domestic military deployments--a potentially big issue going forward. Now fixed.

www.execfunctions.org/p/the-presid...
The President's Protective Power
The relevance and limits of the Article II doctrine in domestic military deployments after Trump v. Illinois
www.execfunctions.org

Reposted by Kori Schake

economist.com
The Economist @economist.com · 4d
His remaining options for sending in the troops are legally fraught
The Supreme Court has taken the National Guard away from Donald Trump
His remaining options for sending in the troops are legally fraught
econ.st

Reposted by Kori Schake

beccawasser.bsky.social
Becca Wasser @beccawasser.bsky.social · 4d
I talked to the WSJ about the potential pitfalls of the Pentagon’s drone buying programs. One of the biggest risks: the drones will be OBE by the time they arrive. Keeping costs low, using software and commercial components to incrementally upgrade drones will be key.

www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
At the Pentagon, DOGE Mission to Cut Costs Includes Buying Drones
An agency created to eliminate waste now seeks to bypass the Defense Department’s often-cumbersome acquisition system.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by Kori Schake

bradmossesq.bsky.social
Bradley P. Moss @bradmossesq.bsky.social · 4d
Just would like to remind everyone a private citizen with massive foreign financial exposure was brought in to handle sensitive diplomatic negotiations and no indication anyone questioned giving him a clearance again.

Life of nepo baby Jared at its finest.

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 4d
The standard the Court has set is that the President must (1) have a Constitutional or statutory basis for using the military in law enforcement, and (2) be unable to enforce the law using the regular military before calling up National Guard. An admirable restraint.
stevevladeck.bsky.social Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 4d
“The Court got a very big one right—in ways that will almost certainly make it more difficult, as it should be, for the Trump administration to attempt to militarize domestic law enforcement based on dubious factual predicates.”

Me in today’s “One First” on four takeaways from Trump v. Illinois:
199. Four Takeaways From the National Guard Ruling
A deep dive into last Tuesday's ruling in which a 6-3 majority of the Court stopped the Trump administration from deploying federalized National Guard troops into and around Chicago.
www.stevevladeck.com

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 4d
The Court finds the deployments in violation of Posse Comitatus, Justice Kavanaugh even questioning whether there is any authority sufficient for deploying military for law enforcement.
kschake.bsky.social Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 4d
Important assessment on Guard deployments from @jacklgoldsmith.bsky.social, one of the most consequential experts on executive power:
Interim Docket Blog
www.scotusblog.com

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 4d
Important assessment on Guard deployments from @jacklgoldsmith.bsky.social, one of the most consequential experts on executive power:
Interim Docket Blog
www.scotusblog.com

Reposted by Kori Schake

protectdemocracy.org
Protect Democracy @protectdemocracy.org · 4d
Our military has been an apolitical and trusted fighting force for over 200 years. Its role is not domestic law enforcement — except under the most exceptional and extreme circumstances defined by law. Get the facts on why it should stay this way: NotTheMission.org

Reposted by Kori Schake, Aaron Sojourner, Ann Bartow , and 1 more

stevevladeck.bsky.social
Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 4d
“The Court got a very big one right—in ways that will almost certainly make it more difficult, as it should be, for the Trump administration to attempt to militarize domestic law enforcement based on dubious factual predicates.”

Me in today’s “One First” on four takeaways from Trump v. Illinois:
199. Four Takeaways From the National Guard Ruling
A deep dive into last Tuesday's ruling in which a 6-3 majority of the Court stopped the Trump administration from deploying federalized National Guard troops into and around Chicago.
www.stevevladeck.com

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 5d
Superb niche post, @sodrock.bsky.social
sodrock.bsky.social Secretary of Defense Rock @sodrock.bsky.social · 5d
49’s and Bears are just Operation Bargrationing each other

Reposted by Kori Schake

sodrock.bsky.social
Secretary of Defense Rock @sodrock.bsky.social · 5d
49’s and Bears are just Operation Bargrationing each other

Reposted by Kori Schake

warinthefuture.bsky.social
Mick Ryan @warinthefuture.bsky.social · 5d
9/ In Putin’s eye’s, a successful Ukraine provides a model of democratic governance to the Russian people that Putin cannot tolerate. And, we know exactly how Russia uses cheap power prices against its neighbours.

Reposted by Kori Schake, Steve Peers, David R. Miller , and 1 more

sodrock.bsky.social
Secretary of Defense Rock @sodrock.bsky.social · 5d
The succeeding in question

Reposted by Kori Schake

jimgoldgeier.bsky.social
Jim Goldgeier @jimgoldgeier.bsky.social · 5d
And Ukraine wasn’t on a path to getting into NATO, as @bdtaylor-su.bsky.social and I argue in our new piece “NATO did not cause Putin’s imperial war” www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Reposted by Kori Schake

protectdemocracy.org
Protect Democracy @protectdemocracy.org · 5d
Chicago proved that whole-of-society opposition works against federal forces’ efforts to create chaos. Get the blueprint of their successes ⬇️
🗣️ Pre-bunk lies about "targeting criminals"
📸 Film everything as a civic duty
🤝 Stand united
☮️ Keep it peaceful
Lessons from Chicago: A playbook for the federal immigration surge in New Orleans - Verite News New Orleans
Civil rights lawyers successfully fought the brutal tactics deployed against Chicagoans during a recent immigration enforcement deployment. But they needed help from the community to get it done.
veritenews.org

Reposted by Kori Schake

honer.bsky.social
Trent Hone @honer.bsky.social · 5d
Pleasure to join the "Generals of WWII" Podcast and discuss the leadership of Admiral Nimitz. #NotAGeneral

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Episode 3 - Admiral Nimitz, mastermind of victory in the Pacific, with special guest Trent Hone
Podcast Episode · Generals of WWII: The Art of Command · 12/26/2025 · 39m
podcasts.apple.com

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 5d
J.D. Salinger’s For Esme, With Love and Squalor; and Phil Klay’s Psychological Operations.

Reposted by Mark Galeotti

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 5d
"The peace process may be unlikely to succeed, but it has narrowed the real issues in play down to two: Donetsk, and security guarantees for Ukraine provided by western troops after the guns fall silent.” Careful assessment by smart @markgaleotti.bsky.social.
markgaleotti.bsky.social Mark Galeotti @markgaleotti.bsky.social · 6d
The most likely thing to end the Ukraine war? Exhaustion

I'm sadly not especially optimistic about the current peace process, but suspect that either way, 2026 may be the last year in which the war is sustained at this tempo. My latest for @thetimes.com

www.thetimes.com/world/russia...
The most likely thing to end the Ukraine war? Exhaustion
Moscow and Kyiv keep claiming progress on the way to peace, but in the end both sides are struggling to keep up the fight
www.thetimes.com

kschake.bsky.social
Kori Schake @kschake.bsky.social · 5d
"The reasons for protraction lie not just in military deadlock but also in over-ambitious political objectives.” Powerfully and succintly concluded by @ldfreedman.bsky.social
ldfreedman.bsky.social Lawrence Freedman @ldfreedman.bsky.social · 6d
After Sam’s audit for 2025 here is mine, assessing what I got right and wrong over the year and noting how certain themes developed over the year. open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...?
The Audit 2025 - Part 2
Lawrence looks at what he got right and wrong
open.substack.com