Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD)

As part of IPD’s ongoing series on U.S.-China relations, Professor Claes Ryn Sits down with Dr. Arta Moeini to dissect some underlying causes of the New Cold War rhetoric and review the historical, philosophical, and moral reasons that could drive U.S. public and elites alike toward hysteria and threat inflation. They discuss the clear linkages between idealism, exceptionalism, and war/militarism. How might the bifurcated lens of American and Chinese exceptionalism help policymakers in Asia and the North Atlantic better understand the escalatory path that might lead to confrontation between the West and China. In what ways could the differing sense of exceptionalism among Chinese and American elites inform the alternate strategic posture of US and China? One way to make sense of the recent rise in hawkishness and the peculiarities of statecraft and strategic culture among Washington and Beijing is to think about the different political and ideational traditions and historical particularities of US and China. As for the U.S., Ryn calls attention to what he calls Neo-Jacobinism an idealistic and missionary streak embedded in US statecraft/foreign policy that has historically impelled and normalized projects of empire and armed moralism. Alternatively, many Chinese elites remain beholden to an older, more isolationist, and self-contained vision of statecraft that is historically informed by Confucianism and tradition, which Ryn argues continue to permeate into and interact with the ideology of the Modern Communist party in interesting ways. The discussion centers on the philosophical, historical, cultural, political, and ideological dimensions of foreign affairs that are often overlooked in overly securitized and militarized framing of international relations that define the world in Manichean terms. A fresh focus on shared traditions of virtue and restraint among different civilizations, though unconventional and uncommon today, could help uncover the preconditions for peaceful international relations premised on diplomacy, mutual respect, and understanding among statesmen, peoples, and civilizations. Claes G. Ryn: Professor & Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Statesmanship, The Catholic University of America.

Ambassador Chas W. Freeman is a former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Former U.S. Diplomat in China Ambassador Freeman is a career diplomat (retired) who was Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs from 1993-94, earning the highest public service awards of the Department of Defense for his roles in designing a NATO-centered post-Cold War European security system and in reestablishing defense and military relations with China. He served as U. S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm). He was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the historic U.S. mediation of Namibian independence from South Africa and Cuban troop withdrawal from Angola. This video is part of a one-on-one discussion with Ambassador Freeman, "The Sino-American Split: At Sea with a Broken Compass". You can watch the full discussion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufhoh9xUDKI Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe!

On August 24, the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) organized a panel discussion titled “What’s next for Afghanistan Amid Taliban’s Rise and US Withdrawal?”. Panelists: Dr. William Ruger: Vice President for Research and Policy at the Charles Koch Institute and Vice President for Foreign Policy at Stand Together Dr. Max Abrahms: Senior Fellow at the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy, Associate Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University, and author of Rules for Rebels: The Science of Victory in Militant History Dr. Nilofar Sakhi: Director of Policy and Diplomacy, McColm & Company and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center Dr. Nipa B Banerjee: Senior Fellow at the School of International Development and Global Studies (University of Ottawa) and Former Head of Canada’s Aid Program in Afghanistan Moderator: Shelly Kittleson: Award-winning journalist reporting from the Middle East and Afghanistan for Al-Monitor

IPD Research Director Dr. Arta Moeini recently appeared on Chronicles Live with Pedro Gonzalez, associate editor of Chronicles Magazine, and Curt Mills, senior reporter at The American Conservative, to talk about U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, neoconservatism, and liberal internationalism.