Students Talk Security | A New Faustian Bargain?

Notre Dame International Security Center

Title: A New Faustian Bargain? Understanding the Lessons of the Soviet-German Cooperation An Interview with Professor Ian Johnson by Charles Sedore Summary: In this episode of Students Talk Security, Charles Sedore, a Notre Dame senior, and Professor Ian John, Assistant Professor of Military History, discuss the history surrounding the German-Soviet Cooperation that occurred during the interwar period and the lessons learned about Russian foreign policy choices. From this historical discussion, the conversation looks to the future as a means of assessing what Russian foreign policy regarding China could look like. Biography: Professor Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Military History at the University of Notre Dame’s Department of History. Prior to joining Notre Dame, Professor Johnson received his PhD from the Ohio State University in 2016, with his dissertation focusing on the secret military cooperation between the Soviet Union and Germany during the interwar period. Also, during his time prior to Notre Dame, Professor Johnson received a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, was a pre-doctoral fellow at Yale University, a postdoctoral fellow at the Clements Center for National Security, and an Associate Director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy at Yale University. Currently, Professor Johnson has focused his efforts on war, both in its origins and conduct, and the maintenance of peace. This has led to a forthcoming publication from the Oxford University Press, The Faustian Bargain: Secret Soviet-German Military Cooperation in the Interwar Period. On top of the publication, Professor Johnson is also working on a new manuscript about early Cold war military history focusing on collective security and the plans for an international military force.