Speeches
The Global Geopolitical Outlook
Ladies and gentlemen, I congratulate all of you on your participation in Saudi Aramco’s management development seminar. Your selection marks you as future leaders of your country’s premier institution. As such, some of you will become important actors on t
Remarks to the Harvard College China Forum 2020
I have spent much of the past fifty years trying to help the United States benefit from a sound, mutually advantageous relationship with China. I wish both countries well, but I confess I remain primarily concerned about my own country and its future. The sharp deterioration in Sino-American re
The United States and a Resurgent Asia
Senior Fellow, the Watson Institute, Brown University
(Not delivered due to the suspension of public gatherings during the Covid-19 Pandemic)
The United States has responded to the rapid growth in Chinese wealth and power by doubling down on efforts to sustain American primacy in the Indo-Pacific. The unstated presuppositions driving this American response are that:
On Diplomatic Relations and Strategies
Senior Fellow, Watson Institute, Brown University
(Not delivered due to the suspension of public gatherings caused by the Covid-19 Pandemic)
I have been working on the development of diplomatic doctrine, something we will need when we rebuild America’s atrophied diplomatic capabilities and competencies. My topic today is the taxonomy of relations between states and the varieties of strategy they have available to them.
America in Distress: The Challenges of Disadvantageous Change
The 21st century arrived belatedly – but with a bang – on September 11, 2001, when aircraft repurposed as improvised cruise missiles blew up the World Trade Towers and part of the Pentagon. In the two short decades since the shock and awe of that attack, mo
Suleimani’s Extrajudicial Killing Legitimizes Assassination as a Foreign Policy Tool
This was not a retaliation, as claimed, but the pre-planned exploitation of a pretext to assassinate a foreign official designated as an enemy as well as the commander of an Iraqi militia hostile to the United States. It was an act of war that will inevitably evoke reprisal. Iran has already pr
Arabia, the Persian Gulf, and Great Power Competition
There is a rhythm in the affairs of men, a pattern shaped by enduring interests.It echoes through the ages.So, it is no surprise that empires and external great powers have regularly found themselves drawn to the Red Sea, Arabian Peninsula, and Persian Gulf region.
The 1981-82 Sino-American Taiwan Arms Sales Negotiations
Like everyone here, I feel honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country. I did so for three decades before entering the private sector a quarter century ago. I now chair a globally engaged business development company and the Committee for the Republic. I also lecture at Brown Univ
The Sino-American Split and its Consequences
On Hostile Coexistence with China
President Trump’s trade war with China has quickly metastasized into every other domain of Sino-American relations. Washington is now trying to dismantle China’s interdependence with the American economy, curb its role in global governance, counter its foreign investments, cripple its companies