of Power. Students had the opportunity to meet Nye and hear him speak during an afternoon at my home. They agreed with his analysis that the US is not in absolute decline. We still have the largest economy and the strongest military of any nation. In terms of purchasing power per person, the US is far richer than any of the BRICT nations, and even if China or India’s overall GDP surpasses that of the US, our country will still offer its citizens a greater standard of living. Of course, we have serious problems of inequality, unemployment, and illegal immigration—and there is a lack of agreement between the two major parties on the role which the government should play to address these and other domestic problems. America is not number one in many quality of life indicators. Compared to Canada, Australia or most Scandinavian countries, it is hardly an international role model for domestic tranquility and happiness.
factors in that country’s recent rise. Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Director of UCLA’s Center for India and South Asia, analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian economy. Organized in to country teams, the students examined the economy, the military, the government and civil society, and the foreign policy of each BRICT country, looked at strengths and weaknesses in each area, and then analyzed the opportunities and dangers for the US. At the end of each country section, students offered recommendations for President Obama in his future dealings with these rising powers. One common theme in the country reports was energy policy. Students found that in every case there seemed to be an untapped potential for greater cooperation between the US and the BRICT for development and promotion of cleaner, renewable energy sources. In short, more creative and active environmental diplomacy is warranted. Students were ahead of former Vice President Gore and his recent article in Rolling Stone (“Climate of Denial,” Rolling Stone, July 7-21, 2011), which calls for a clearer articulation by President Obama of what is at stake at home and abroad in the debate over climate change. In fact, going back to the first Oxy student report “Rebranding America,” my students have been advocating a strategy of Green Diplomacy.
My students also understand that the US cannot simply dictate outcomes in global affairs, nor can we afford to rebuild by ourselves every failed state or intervene in every trouble spot. We need partners to insure the stability of the global system—and t h e B R I C T n a t i o n s m i g h t o ff e r n e w opportunities for such strategic partnerships. In addition to Nye’s book and other readings, I provided the students with briefings from experts who came to speak on campus. Journalist James Fallows reported on this three year stay in China and gave his views on the challenge of a rising China. Former US ambassador to Turkey, Mort Abramowitz, shared his views on Turkish foreign policy. Sergei Plekhanov, former adviser to Mikhail Gorbachev and now a professor at York U n i v e r s i t y, g a v e a p r e s e n t a t i o n o n contemporary Russian foreign policy. Jeff Cason, a professor at Middlebury College and a leading expert on Brazil, explained the
Another conclusion reached by the class was that while President Obama’s emphasis on engagement as opposed to the unilateralism of George W. Bush has been effective in improving America’s image abroad, it is not a strategy. My students would disagree with Professor Drezner about the existence of a clear Obama doctrine. They see it more as a set of pragmatic responses to world events. As journalist Ryan Lizza wrote in the New Yo r k e r , M a y 2 , 2 0 1 1 , O b a m a i s a
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