US Role in World Affairs I

On the eve of America’s Revolutionary War in 1776, Thomas Paine exclaimed, “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.” Two centuries later, in the post-Cold War 1990s, the United States stood alone as the world’s unrivaled global hegemon, dominant in economic, military, and cultural power. Presidents of both parties began promising a permanently transformed “new world order” based on American ideals, with the United States acting as the world’s “indispensable nation.” The quarter-century since has not been easy – terror attacks followed by multiple foreign wars; a U.S.-driven global financial meltdown; rising global and regional powers like China, Russia, and Iran; emerging threats from new cyber technologies and climate change; along with growing restiveness and anti-liberal populism from within the United States itself. And yet, despite these challenges and setbacks, the United States remains the most important actor in international relations; the one county whose power, purpose, and policy choices impact nearly every issue of global significance, and whose role will necessarily shape the future of world politics. Understanding this uniquely consequential role of America in world affairs – how it developed, the ideals and interests guiding it, and the challenges and adaptations over time – is the goal of the International Fellows Program (IFP). Though America never relinquished the radical sentiments espoused by Paine, the manner in which it fashions its foreign policy is – and has always been – shaped by multiple influences and tensions, including international threats and opportunities, and a rambunctiously democratic political system that orients itself toward passionate disagreement, partisan conflict, and a penchant for new ideas. Members of the IFP will explore these foundations, trace the rise of U.S. power along with changing conceptions of its role in the world, and ultimately assess the utility, viability, and sustainability of America’s current and future role in world politics. The IFP extends over the entire academic year. The single most important requirement for IFP members is to participate actively in our weekly meetings, most of which will consist of a roughly 50-minute lecture followed by one hour of class discussion of assigned readings and lectures. The fall semester will focus on America’s unique historical foundations – its ideals, institutions, and interests – and k