Scott Horton (born 1976) is an American radio host and author. He serves as the editorial director of the Libertarian Institute and hosts ''The Scott Horton Show'', where he has conducted thousands of interviews with experts on

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

, war, and

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

. Horton is also the author of ''Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan'' and ''Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism'', both of which critique U.S. military interventions. An advocate of

non-interventionism Non-interventionism or non-intervention is commonly understood as "a foreign policy of political or military non-involvement in foreign relations or in other countries' internal affairs". This is based on the grounds that a state should not inter ...

, Horton is known for his

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

critique of American foreign policy and his opposition to the expansion of military power. He has contributed to various publications, including '' Antiwar.com'' and ''

The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a bimonthly magazine published by the American Ideas Institute. The magazine was founded in 2002 by Pat Buchanan, Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos to advance an anti- neoconservative perspect ...

'', and frequently speaks at conferences and events whose stated aims are to promote peace and individual liberty.

Career

Horton hosts ''

Antiwar Radio Antiwar.com is an American political website founded in 1995 that describes itself as devoted to non-interventionism and as opposing imperialism and war. It has a Right-libertarianism, right-wing libertarian perspective and is a project of the Ran ...

'' for Pacifica Radio's

KPFK KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, which serves Southern California. It was the second of five stations in the non-commercial, listener-sponsored Pacifica Radio network. KPFK 90.7 FM be ...

90.7 FM in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, as well as the podcast ''The Scott Horton Show.'' Horton has conducted over 5,000 interviews since 2003. He is also the director of the Libertarian Institute. Horton is the editorial director of the non-interventionist news portal Antiwar.com. He was previously the host of ''Say It Ain't So'' on Free Radio Austin 97.1 FM, the ''Weekend Interview Show'' and the ''KAOS Report'' on Radio KAOS 95.9 FM, for which he won ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...

''s Best of Austin award in 2007 for "Best Iraq War Coverage". Horton's book ''Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan'' (2017) is an account of the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

since 2001, which argues that the United States should end its presence in the country. ''

'' described the work as a "masterful account of America's prolonged Afghan engagement." In 2019, Horton edited and published a collection of interviews with former U.S. Representative

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

entitled ''The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019.'' In late 2019, Horton joined the

Libertarian Party Libertarian Party may refer to: *Libertarian Party (Argentina) * Liberal Libertarian Party * Libertarian Party of Australia * Libertarian Party of Canada ** British Columbia Libertarian Party **Libertarian Party of Manitoba (now Freedom Party of Ma ...

to support Jacob Hornberger’s presidential campaign. In 2021, the Libertarian Institute published his book ''Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism'', an appeal to end the American global military campaign known as the war on terror. In 2024, the Libertarian Institute published his book ''Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine''- an account of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

, which details American involvement in the conflict. In a May 2023 article, Horton argued that the United States should end its involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian War, claiming that U.S. actions, including

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

expansion, missile deployments, and what he calls 'orchestrated' regime changes in Ukraine (referring to the 2014 Maidan Revolution), provoked the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. He criticized past U.S. administrations for undermining peace efforts such as the

Minsk agreements The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. After a defe ...

through arms sales to Ukraine and rhetoric aimed at weakening

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Highlighting the risk of nuclear escalation due to the war’s proximity to Moscow, Horton likened U.S. actions to hypothetical Chinese and Russian provocations near the U.S. border, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. He closed his article by calling for an immediate U.S. withdrawal from any involvement in the conflict. In 2024 he published ''Provoked: How Washington started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine.'' In "painstaking detail" Horton tries to prove that politics after 1991 is "not just a story of Russian revanchism, but the apotheosis of decades of American policy to diminish and isolate the former Soviet Union for the benefit of its own empire." Horton relies among a vast number of sources and analyses on Mark Trachtenbergs archival research work, especially Trachtenberg’s arguments that NATO expansion was a premeditated provocation, not an improvised response to post-

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

chaos. Furthermore, the U.S. deliberately exploited Russian weakness after the USSR’s collapse, reneging on assurances to Gorbachev. (Provoked, p. 59ff). One of Hortons conclusions is:

The key to understanding the situation is that H.W. Bush and his cabinet were lying to the Soviets, later the Russians, before President Bill Clinton ever came to Washington. His administration would then continue to do so into the new millennium. (Provoked, p. 76)

Personal life

Horton is married to investigative reporter

Larisa Alexandrovna Larisa Alexandrovna Horton (born 1971) is an American journalist, essayist, and poet. She has served as the managing editor of investigative news of ''The Raw Story'' and contributes opinion and columns to online publications such as AlterNet. She ...

Works

* ''Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan'' (2017)Scott Horton, 2017, ''Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan,'' The Libertarian Institute () * ''The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019'' (2019)Scott Horton, 2019, ''The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019,'' The Libertarian Institute () *''Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism'' (2021) * ''Hotter Than the Sun: Time to Abolish Nuclear Weapons'' (2022)Scott Horton, 2022, ''Hotter Than the Sun: Time to Abolish Nuclear Weapons,'' The Libertarian Institute () * ''Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine'' (2024)

References

External links

Appearances
on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

Official website

Full interview archive

Scott Horton articles for Antiwar.com

Scott Horton archives at The Libertarian Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horton, Scott 1976 births Living people 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American anti-war activists American foreign policy writers American libertarians American male journalists American male non-fiction writers American opinion journalists American political podcasters American political journalists American political writers American radio journalists California Libertarians Journalists from California Journalists from Texas Texas Libertarians

Career

Personal life

Works

See also

References

External links