Playing the Devil's Advocate In International Relations

"Red Teaming" is a concept that can trace its origins to the year 1234 when Pope Gregory the IX created the position of Devils Advocate to vet Papal cannonizations. In more modern times, the process has been increasingly used by militaries, the foreign policy bureaucracy and even the private sector to question assumptions and challenge groupthink. My guest today, Micah Zenko, is a Council on Foreign Relations fellow who has written what is arguably the first and definitely the most comprehensive examination of Red Teaming; its history and modern applications. It's called "Red Team: How to Succeed by Thinking like the Enemy" and I think it;s a supremely interesting investigation into a little studied aspect of national security and foreign policy making.