May 5, 2010
Obama Foreign Policy:
Success, Failure, or Too Early to Tell
John Ikenberry
Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton
Minutes of the 31st Meeting of the 68th Year
The 31st meeting of the 68th year was called to order by President George Hansen. 94 people were in attendance. Don Edwards led the invocation. Bruno Walmsley read the minutes of the April 28th meeting,
C. Roone Parmele was present as the guest of Lucien Okana, and Jim Andrews attended as a visitor at the invitation of Ted Vial.
President Hansen announced that the following 12 members have attained emeritus status under our new emeritus age of 85:
Perry Morgan
Betty Sanford
Theodore Kane
Gerald Wright
James Harford
Reeves Hicks
Wesley McCaughan
John Pearce
Samuel Lenox, Jr.
Jonas Bingeman
Harold Erdman
Arthur Lyding
Jack Reilly, Chair of the Membership Committee, circulated ballots for the election of new members at the May 12 meeting and stated that the new members will be invited to the hospitality session prior to our May 19th meeting in the Fields Center. They will pay their initiation fees this year, but will not pay dues until next year.
Joe Bolster, Chair of the Nominating Committee, conducted the election by unanimous vote of the following officers and committee chairs for 2010-2011:
Robert Varrin, President
Ruth Miller, Vice President
Alfred Kaemmerlen, Secretary
Guy Dean, Treasurer
John Lasley, Assistant Treasurer
James Livingston, Recording Secretary
Quentin Lyle, Assistant Secretary
George Hansen, Ex Officio
Owen Leach, Arrangements
James Ferry, Historian
William Walker, Hospitality
Jack Reilly, Membership
Jock McFarlane, Program
Joseph Bolster, Nominating
William Bonini, University Relations
Bruno Walmsley, Website
At our meeting on May 5 Ruth Miller introduced John Ikenberry, Professor at Princeton in both the Politics Department and the Woodrow Wilson School. In addition to teaching and publishing he has been a counselor to the State Department and has served on numerous commissions including one led by Henry Kissinger, and one he co- headed with Anne-Marie Slaughter: The Princeton Project on National Security.
Professor Ikenberry’s subject was President Obama’s vision of the international system and how this guides his foreign policy,
Obama is a “pragmatic internationalist” who wants the US to lead not unilaterally but working with other nations and international entities. He thinks not in ideological absolutes, but rather seeks reasoned debate and enlightened ways to attack problems with the cooperation of other nations. Facing such international threats as terrorist groups, pandemics, nuclear proliferation, global warming, and energy insecurity he believes our security is interdependent with that of other nations. We can only be secure together.
This makes him an activist in foreign policy, seeking to educate other nations on the issues and to establish and maintain our leadership credibility through example. We see this in his voluntary disclosure of our nuclear weapons stockpile and the inauguration of a Quadrennial International Development review. Yet these liberal activities blend with a realism exemplified by his establishing the annual US/China economic and strategic meetings. Likewise, his dealings with Russia show him to be a realist with an awareness of power politics.
His thinking embraces not only East/West, i.e. relations among developed nations, but also North/South: relations between the developed and developing worlds as nations of the latter form cooperative subgroups of their own such as BRIC including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Professor Ikenberry’s closing metaphor was that of Obama whistling or tapping his foot to a tune hoping that China and other nations will pick it up and join in the music.
In response to a question he stated his belief that the President sees no deep existential incompatibility between Islamic states and others that would make diplomacy unworkable.
Respectfully submitted.
Arthur C. Eschenlauer
C. Roone Parmele was present as the guest of Lucien Okana, and Jim Andrews attended as a visitor at the invitation of Ted Vial.
President Hansen announced that the following 12 members have attained emeritus status under our new emeritus age of 85:
Perry Morgan
Betty Sanford
Theodore Kane
Gerald Wright
James Harford
Reeves Hicks
Wesley McCaughan
John Pearce
Samuel Lenox, Jr.
Jonas Bingeman
Harold Erdman
Arthur Lyding
Jack Reilly, Chair of the Membership Committee, circulated ballots for the election of new members at the May 12 meeting and stated that the new members will be invited to the hospitality session prior to our May 19th meeting in the Fields Center. They will pay their initiation fees this year, but will not pay dues until next year.
Joe Bolster, Chair of the Nominating Committee, conducted the election by unanimous vote of the following officers and committee chairs for 2010-2011:
Robert Varrin, President
Ruth Miller, Vice President
Alfred Kaemmerlen, Secretary
Guy Dean, Treasurer
John Lasley, Assistant Treasurer
James Livingston, Recording Secretary
Quentin Lyle, Assistant Secretary
George Hansen, Ex Officio
Owen Leach, Arrangements
James Ferry, Historian
William Walker, Hospitality
Jack Reilly, Membership
Jock McFarlane, Program
Joseph Bolster, Nominating
William Bonini, University Relations
Bruno Walmsley, Website
At our meeting on May 5 Ruth Miller introduced John Ikenberry, Professor at Princeton in both the Politics Department and the Woodrow Wilson School. In addition to teaching and publishing he has been a counselor to the State Department and has served on numerous commissions including one led by Henry Kissinger, and one he co- headed with Anne-Marie Slaughter: The Princeton Project on National Security.
Professor Ikenberry’s subject was President Obama’s vision of the international system and how this guides his foreign policy,
Obama is a “pragmatic internationalist” who wants the US to lead not unilaterally but working with other nations and international entities. He thinks not in ideological absolutes, but rather seeks reasoned debate and enlightened ways to attack problems with the cooperation of other nations. Facing such international threats as terrorist groups, pandemics, nuclear proliferation, global warming, and energy insecurity he believes our security is interdependent with that of other nations. We can only be secure together.
This makes him an activist in foreign policy, seeking to educate other nations on the issues and to establish and maintain our leadership credibility through example. We see this in his voluntary disclosure of our nuclear weapons stockpile and the inauguration of a Quadrennial International Development review. Yet these liberal activities blend with a realism exemplified by his establishing the annual US/China economic and strategic meetings. Likewise, his dealings with Russia show him to be a realist with an awareness of power politics.
His thinking embraces not only East/West, i.e. relations among developed nations, but also North/South: relations between the developed and developing worlds as nations of the latter form cooperative subgroups of their own such as BRIC including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Professor Ikenberry’s closing metaphor was that of Obama whistling or tapping his foot to a tune hoping that China and other nations will pick it up and join in the music.
In response to a question he stated his belief that the President sees no deep existential incompatibility between Islamic states and others that would make diplomacy unworkable.
Respectfully submitted.
Arthur C. Eschenlauer