Speeches

A couple of days ago, I read an article on economic statecraft in Foreign Affairs. It asserted that sanctions had “helped drive North Korea to the negotiating table.” That’s the accepted narrative. But the north Koreans were never unwilling to negotiate.

We live in turbulent times.  In Europe, in America, and in parts of Asia there is an elemental unease about what is to come.  The rule-bound order that the Western victors of World War II created is disintegrating.  International law no longer protects the weak.  Bluster, bullying, and bombing ap

Time was, the countries of the Middle East relied on the United States for patronage, protection, and guidance.  Suez taught Israel, Britain, and France that without Washington’s acquiescence, their policies could not succeed.  Egypt’s defection showed Russia the limits of its ability to compete

I am honored to stand before you this morning to discuss US-China relations.  It’s a challenge to speak on a subject so many here know so much about, and to do so at a moment of such radical inflection in the relationship.  But Sino-American relations are a matter of great importance to all in ou

This is the second of three lectures directed at laying a basis for the development of diplomatic doctrine.  It deals with diplomacy as the tactics of foreign relations.  The preface to this

This is the first of three lectures on diplomatic doctrine.

The United States declared its independence two hundred and forty-two years ago.  We did so on a planet in which China was one-third of the world economy but geopolitics were dominated by Britain, the world’s greatest naval power, and France, which had the finest army and the most brilliant cultu

Fifty years ago, in 1968, Richard Milhous Nixon made his second run at the presidency.  No one would dispute that he was a greater statesman than political personality.  But, he won.  He entered office with a plan to enlist China in support of the U.S.