When the World Is at War: Understanding US National Security in a Fractured World

Join us on Thursday, May 14th for a rare and essential evening with one of America’s foremost authorities on national security, military strategy, and global conflict.

We are living through a moment unlike any in recent memory. Wars are being fought on multiple fronts. Alliances are being tested. The role of the American military and of America itself on the world stage is being redefined in real time. The questions have never felt more urgent: What is driving these conflicts? What are the stakes for the United States? And what does the future of global security and relations look like?

There may be no one better equipped to guide us through these questions than our special guest speaker, Dr. Cynthia A. Watson.


Dinner and the program will be held at The Literary Club, 500 East Fourth Street, America’s oldest continuously operating literary club. Doors open at 5:30PM, dinner at 6PM, event program from 7:00PM-7:45PM, Q&A 7:45PM-8PM.

OUR EVENT SPEAKER

Dr. Cynthia WatsonDr. Watson spent nearly thirty years at the National War College, the nation’s premier institution for senior military and civilian leaders, where she served as Professor of Strategy, Chair of the Department of Security Studies, Dean of Faculty and Academic Programs, and ultimately Interim Provost of the National Defense University. She was also awarded the distinguished title of Professor Emerita in recognition of her extraordinary service to professional military education.

Her credentials are remarkable: Graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of Notre Dame, a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the National Committee on US-China Relations, and the Society for Military History. Her book US National Security was named a Book of the Year by CHOICE magazine. Her landmark work Combatant Commands: Origins, Structure, and Engagements remains the definitive text on how America deploys its military power across the globe. 

Simply put, Dr. Watson has spent a career training the people who make the decisions that shape our world. Now she brings that perspective directly to you.

In an era of grinding conflict in Ukraine, ongoing instability in the Middle East, the Iranian war, escalating tensions across the Indo-Pacific, and a rapidly shifting US foreign policy posture, this is precisely the kind of evening that reminds us why our organization, the FPLC exists – to bring the sharpest minds in global affairs into candid, direct conversation with our community.

We anticipate a thought-provoking program for all engaged citizens who want to understand not just what is happening in the world – but why, and what comes next.

Don’t miss this opportunity.
Seats are Limited – Registration and Reservations are Required!

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Clash of Globalizations

The USA and China:
Much more than a Trade War
An Evening with Dr. James P. Buchanan

Thursday, November 14, 2019

5:30 p.m. Reception/6:15 p.m. Dinner/7:00 p.m. Presentation
Schiff Family Conference Center at Xavier University

There is a great deal of discussion about the trade war with China. President Trump has imposed an increasing series of tariffs on China in order to get what he believes to be a better trading agreement with China. China has retaliated with their own tariffs. That this is having negative impacts in both the US and China is undeniable. The outcome is to be determined. But the current trade war is just a small part of a much larger conflict between the West and China – a clash of models of globalization. The Washington Consensus, also known as the Bretton-Woods System has been the dominant mode of globalization since the 1950’s and has gone through its own evolution culminating with the formation of the World Trade Organization in 1992.

While China is a member of the WTO, at the same time it has developed and pursued its own competing model of globalization, which not only competes with the Bretton-Woods model but is often in violation of the rules governing its membership in the WTO. The best example of the Chinese model of globalization is The Belt and Road Initiative – a long-term plan for regional interconnectivity and dominance in Asia to which China has committed some $8 trillion dollars. Both the WTO and The Belt and Road are facing significant challenges. This session will lay out in broad terms the two Globalizations allowing us to discuss this clash of globalizations and the implications for US foreign and trade policy.

Dr. James P. Buchanan was educated at Yale University and University of Chicago where he completed a PhD in comparative religions, philosophies and comparative value systems. He has also studied in France, Russia and China. In 2000 he became the first holder of the Besl Family Chair in Ethics/Religion and Society at Xavier University. From 2002 to the present he has been University Professor and Executive Director of The Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue at Xavier.

Dr. Buchanan has delivered over 300 lectures and talks worldwide on issues ranging from interfaith relations; globalization; systems theory and global systems, and sustainability. He has published widely. His new book, Wagers Into the Abyss: Ethics in an Age of Global Systems will be published next year.

Event sponsored by:

Xavier University - Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue

World Affairs Council