The Meaning of American Power

The Meaning of American Power
Walter Russell Mead CCGA/file
The Meaning of American Power
Walter Russell Mead CCGA/file

The Meaning of American Power

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In part two of the 2007-2008 Chicago and the World Forum series, leading political thinker Walter Russell Mead discusses grand strategy and America’s role in the world, giving special emphasis to the liberal order created by Anglo-American leaders that has been unusually tolerant, unusually open to new ideas, and unusually pious.  Current conflicts, he argues, are not a clash of civilizations, but part of a long-term struggle between liberal states and their illiberal foes. Mead outlines the various strategies available to American leaders in 2008 and beyond.

Walter Russell Mead is the Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Mead, who received his B.A. from Yale University, is an expert on U.S. foreign policy, international political economy, religion, and foreign policy. He is the author of Power, Terror, Peace, and War: America’s Grand Strategy in a World at Risk, among other books, and has written for Esquire, The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal, and The New Yorker. His latest book is God and Gold: Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World.

Gone are the days when candidates for America’s highest office could shy away from discussing America’s role in the world.  Issues such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran’s nuclear program, immigration reform, and trade imbalances may determine how most Americans will vote in 2008.  In anticipation of the enormous public interest in U.S. foreign policy, distinguished public figures will speak to The Chicago Council on Global Affairs as part of its year-long Chicago and the World Forum series: Road to 2008: American Leadership in an Uncertain World.

This series, beginning in November 2007, explores America’s role from historical, strategic, and policy perspectives. It will continue in spring 2008, with noted experts who will discuss the major international issues the next administration will face, including the future of international institutions, conflict in the Middle East, the rise of China, and managing transatlantic partnerships.

Recorded Tuesday, December 04, 2007 at InterContinental Hotel.