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Podcast Episode

Outposts of Influence: Great Power Competition and Overseas Military Bases

Isaac B. Kardon sits down with Ashley J. Tellis and Andrew Yeo to explore how the political role of overseas bases has changed over time and how the U.S., China, and Russia—among other countries—use them to project military power today.

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By Isaac B. Kardon, Andrew Yeo, Ashley J. Tellis
Published on May 8, 2025

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In this episode of The World Unpacked, Isaac B. Kardon sits down with Ashley J. Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Andrew Yeo, Senior Fellow and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair at the Brookings Institution. They explore how the role of overseas bases has changed over time and how the U.S., China, and Russia—among other countries—use them to project power today. Despite advances in technology and long-range weapons, bases remain key to grand strategy, political influence, and sustained military reach.

Notes:

  1. Andrew Yeo and Isaac Kardon, Great Power Competition and Overseas Bases: Chinese, Russian, and American Force Posture in the Twenty-First Century. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2024.

Hosted by

Isaac B. Kardon
Former Senior Fellow, Asia Program
Isaac B. Kardon

Featuring

Andrew Yeo

Andrew Yeo is a professor of politics and director of Asian studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies at the Brookings Institution.

Andrew Yeo
Ashley J. Tellis
Former Senior Fellow

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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