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About the Book: Nationalism is the issue of our age. From Donald Trump's "America First" politics to Brexit to the rise of the right in Europe, events have forced a crucial debate: Should we fight for international government, or should the world's nations keep their independence and self-determination? In The Virtue of Nationalism, Yoram Hazony contends that a world of sovereign nations is the only option for those who care about personal and collective freedom. He recounts how, beginning in the sixteenth century, English, Dutch, and American Protestants revived the Old Testament's love of national independence and showed how their vision eventually brought freedom to peoples from Poland to India, Israel to Ethiopia. It is this tradition we must restore, he argues, if we want to limit conflict and hate--and allow human difference and innovation to flourish. About the Author: Yoram Hazony is President of the Herzl Institute in Jerusalem. His book The Virtue of Nationalism will be published by Basic Books in September 2018. Hazony’s other books include The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture and The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel’s Soul. His essays appear frequently in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and other media, including, recently: “What Is Conservatism?”; “The Dark Side of the Enlightenment”; and “Jordan Peterson and Conservatism’s Rebirth.”
A geopolitical game of “Gō” now unfolds between the rising Chinese superpower and the status quo powers of the Indo-Pacific led by the United States while Russia holds Eurasia's pivot point. This great “Gō” Game is on the cusp of power transitions comparable to the rise of Japan at the end of the nineteenth century and America’s Pacific preeminence in the mid-twentieth. Across the Indo-Pacific, geopolitical change surges Tsunami-like throughout the region. Politicians, statesmen, soldiers, businessmen, and economists reassess their region’s future vis-à-vis an emerging bipolar U.S.-China superpower rivalry. If America’s prospects appear good, Indo-Pacific states will continue to side with the United States and “balance” against China. If China appears able and determined to overwhelm the Indo-Pacific's America-anchored alliance network, however, Asia will bandwagon with China. Mr. John Tkacik is a retired U.S. foreign service officer, businessman and policy commentator with over 40 years of continuous experience in East Asian affairs. He spent 24 years in the Department of State including four tours in Chinese-language posts. Dr. Tkacik was Chief of China Analysis in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) before retiring in 1994. He was vice president for government relations for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco International and was a consultant to RJR-Nabisco China from 1996 to 1999. He joined The Heritage Foundation in 2001 where he was senior research fellow in Asian studies. At Heritage, Dr. Tkacik penned commentaries and research on Chinese, Taiwanese, and Mongolian issues, and he edited two books: Rethinking One China and Reshaping the Taiwan Strait. He has degrees from Georgetown and Harvard.
This event is a part of the Student Lecture Series at IWP. About the Lecture: The United States, like most Western liberal countries, is a secular nation, as the American Founders established a political system that effectively separates Church and State. Nevertheless, religion has played an important role in developing the “American Character.” The speaker will discuss how religion was indispensable for the success of the young American Republic and argue that it is nearly impossible to imagine the United States without it. This lecture is an installment of IWP's Student Speaker Series. About the Speaker: Tobias Brandt is originally from Germany and graduated from the University of Hamburg with a degree in Middle Eastern and Religious Studies in 2015. For his Bachelor’s Thesis, he analyzed al-Qaeda’s propaganda strategy on the basis of original Arabic documents. He is currently studying Statecraft and International Affairs with a specialization in International Politics at the Institute of World Politics. His key research areas are U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, the role of religion in politics, as well as the transatlantic relationship. Mr. Brandt’s lecture is based on a paper he submitted for IWP's course on American Founding Principles.
About the Lecture: The speaker will discuss Soviet antireligious activism and propaganda, taking a look at "volunteer" activism and analyzing the artistic renderings of religion in Bezbozhnik - the propaganda apparatus of the League of the Militant Godless. This event is sponsored by the Center for Intermarium Studies and the Kosciuszko Chair of Polish Studies at IWP. About the Speaker: Helen Lamm is from the great state of South Carolina. In 2017, she graduated magna cum laude from Wofford College with a degree in Chinese and History. She is currently studying Statecraft and International Affairs with a concentration in American Foreign Policy at The Institute of World Politics. She is interested in the politics of post-communism, and focuses much of her writing on the interplay of religion and politics. This paper was submitted for completion of Dr. Marek Chodakiewicz's 2018 spring course on Russian Politics.
About the Book: In North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa: Enabling Violence and Instability, Bruce E. Bechtol Jr. analyzes relevant North Korean military capabilities, what arms the nation provides, and to whom, how it skirts its sanctions, and how North Korea's activities can best be contained. He traces illicit networks that lead to state and nonstate actors in the Middle East, including Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, and throughout Africa, including at least a dozen nations. The potential proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons technology and the vehicles that carry it, including ballistic missiles and artillery, represent a broader threat than the leadership in Pyongyang. Including training and infrastructure support, North Korea's profits may range into the billions of dollars, all concealed in illicit networks and front companies so complex that the nation struggles to track and control them. Bechtol not only presents an accurate picture of the current North Korean threat―he also outlines methodologies that Washington and the international community must embrace in order to contain it. About the Author: Bruce E. Bechtol, Jr., is an award winning professor of political science at Angelo State University and a retired Marine. He was formerly on the faculty at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the Air Command and Staff College. Dr. Bechtol served as an adjunct visiting professor at the Korea University Graduate School of International Studies. He was an intelligence officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency from 1997 until 2003, eventually serving as the senior analyst for Northeast Asia in the Intelligence Directorate on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon. He formerly sat on the editorial review board of the East Asian Review and served as editor of the Defense Intelligence Journal. He is currently on the editorial advisory board of the Korea Observer, and is on the scientific board of Global Humanities. He is the current president of the International Council on Korean Studies, and serves on the board of directors of the Council on U.S.-Korean Security Studies. He has also authored North Korea and Regional Security in the Kim Jong-un Era: A New International Security Dilemma, The Last Days of Kim Jong-Il: The North Korean Threat in a Changing Era, Defiant Failed State: The North Korean Threat to International Security, and Red Rogue: The Persistent Challenge of North Korea. A widely sought after expert on North Korean international security issues, Dr. Bechtol has been called on to present commentary to the BBC, CNN, CBC, FOX News, Radio New Zealand, syndicated nationwide radio shows such as POTUS politics on SIRIUS/XM, the John Batchelor show, the Frank Gaffney show, and several interviews on National Public Radio.
This event is the eighth annual Kosciuszko Chair Military Lecture in honor of Gen. Walter Jajko. It is sponsored by the Center for Intermarium Studies and the Kosciuszko Chair of Polish Studies at The Institute of World Politics. About the Lecture: This lecture will explore the military history of Russia, going back to pre-imperial times, in order to analyze the Russian Federation's recent actions toward the United States, NATO, and Europe. Russia has historically viewed war in a different light than the West, and this historical context is vital to determining how to respond to recent belligerent actions. About the Speaker: Geoffrey Seroka is a graduate student at The Institute of World Politics, studying International Affairs. He has focused his graduate research on Russian/Eurasian affairs and has delivered two previous lectures as a part of the Kosciusko Chair's Intermarium Lecture Series. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Government from Patrick Henry College in 2015.
About the Book: Since the end of World War II, why has the United States either lost every war it started or failed in every military intervention it prosecuted? Harlan Ullman's new book answers this most disturbing question, a question many Americans would not ask because this record of failure has been largely hidden in plain sight or forgotten with the passage of time. The most straightforward answer is that presidents and administrations have consistently failed to use sound strategic thinking and lacked sufficient knowledge or understanding of the circumstances prior to deciding whether or not to employ force. Making this case is an in-depth analysis of the records of presidents from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama and Donald Trump in using force or starting wars. His recommended solutions begin with a "brains-based" approach to sound strategic thinking to address one of the major causes of failure--the inexperience of too many of the nation's commanders-in-chief. Ullman reinforces his argument through the use of autobiographical vignettes that provide a human dimension and insight into the reasons for failure, in some cases making public previously unknown history. The clarion call of Anatomy of Failure is that both a sound strategic framework and sufficient knowledge and understanding of the circumstance that may lead to using force are vital. Without them, failure is virtually guaranteed. About the Author: Harlan K. Ullman is a strategic thinker and innovator whose career spans the worlds of business and government. Chairman of several companies and an advisor to the heads of major corporations and governments, he was the principal author of "shock and awe"and inventor of a brains-based approach to strategic thinking. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he served in combat assignments in Vietnam. He holds an MA, MALD, and PhD from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and lives in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Paul Kengor gave a lecture on his book "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Communism" on July 31, 2018, at The Institute of World Politics. About the Lecture: Communism has wrecked national economies, enslaved whole peoples, and killed more than a hundred million men and women. What's not to like? Too many young Americans are supporting communism. Millennials prefer socialism to capitalism, and 25 percent have a positive view of Lenin. One in four Americans believe that George W. Bush killed more people than Josef Stalin. And 69 percent of Millennials would vote for a socialist for president. They ought to know better. Communism is the most dangerous idea in world history, producing dire poverty, repression, and carnage wherever it has been tried. And no wonder—because communism flatly denies morality, human nature, and basic facts. But it's always going to be different this time. In this lecture, renowned scholar and bestselling author Paul Kengor will highlight points from his recent book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Communism, exposing the blood-drenched history—and dangerously pervasive influence—of the world's worst ideology. About the Speaker: Dr. Paul Kengor is professor of political science at Grove City College, a four-year, private Christian liberal arts college located in Grove City, Pennsylvania. He is executive director of the Center for Vision & Values, a Grove City College think-tank and policy center. He is also a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University. He has been quoted or published in most major publications from across the ideological spectrum: New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, Washington Post, New York Post, National Review, Chronicle of Higher Education, San Francisco Chronicle, American Spectator, New York Newsday, Political Science Quarterly, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Washington Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Boston Herald, Roll Call, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Philadelphia Inquirer, Christianity Today, World magazine, National Catholic Reporter, National Catholic Register, Our Sunday Visitor, the Jewish Press, Jewish World Review, International Herald Tribune, Manchester Union Leader, and others. Kengor has authored several bestsellers. More recently, his 2012 profile of Frank Marshall Davis, mentor to Barack Obama, titled, The Communist: Frank Marshall Davis, the Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mentor (Simon & Schuster, Threshold/Mercury Ink), debuted at #9 on the New York Times bestseller list and hit #1 in non-fiction at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com. Based on declassified FBI files and Soviet and Communist Party USA archives, the book garnered a significant amount of public attention. In 2010, Kengor published Dupes: How America’s Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century (ISI Books). Based on extensive Soviet archival research, particularly the Soviet Comintern Archives on Communist Party USA, the book examines the exploitation of American liberals by communists beginning in the early 20th century. Kengor’s best-known work is God and Ronald Reagan(HarperCollins, 2004), which made bestseller lists for The New York Times (extended list), Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Christian Retailing, among others; the book reached #2 on Amazon’s non-fiction list. He is author of God and George W. Bush (HarperCollins, 2004), which reached #5 on Amazon’s non-fiction list and made The New York Times’ extended bestseller list. He is co-editor with Peter Schweizer of Assessing the Reagan Presidency (Rowman-Littlefield, 2005). He has also written chapters or essays in books published by Oxford University Press, Columbia University Press, Palgrave-Macmillan, Lexington, and many others.
Mr. Roy Kamphausen gave a lecture called "America’s Generational Challenge: China" at The Institute of World Politics on July 18, 2018. About the Lecture: Roy Kamphausen will address the multi-faceted series of structural challenges that China presents to the U.S. About the Speaker: Roy D. Kamphausen is Senior Vice President for Research at The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR). He provides executive leadership to NBR’s policy research agenda on security, politics, energy, economics, and trade. Mr. Kamphausen directs NBR’s engagement with the administration, U.S. Congress, and foreign embassies in Washington, D.C. and integrates the work of Admiral Jon Greenert, NBR’s Shali Chair in National Security Studies, with ongoing programs and new initiatives. As a specialist on a range of U.S.-Asia issues, Mr. Kamphausen leads and contributes substantively to NBR’s research initiatives. He is the author, contributing author, or co-editor of numerous publications, including chapters in NBR’s Strategic Asia series; the Carlisle People’s Liberation Army Conference series and its most recent volume, The Chinese People’s Liberation Army in 2025 (co-edited with David Lai, 2015); an NBR Special Report on innovation in India (2015); and the IP Commission’s Report on the Theft of American Intellectual Property (2013). His areas of expertise include China’s People’s Liberation Army, U.S.-China defense relations, East Asian security issues, innovation, and intellectual property protection. He has presented on these topics throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe to government and corporate decision-makers. Mr. Kamphausen is frequently cited in U.S. and international media, including CNN, the Financial Times, Foreign Policy,National Public Radio, Newsweek, and the New York Times. Mr. Kamphausen is an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a senior adviser on East Asia for the University of Connecticut’s Office of Global Affairs. He lectures regularly at leading U.S. military institutions, including the United States Military Academy (West Point) and the U.S. Army War College. Mr. Kamphausen regularly briefs members of Congress and consults for the U.S. Department of Defense. Prior to joining NBR, Mr. Kamphausen served as a career U.S. Army officer. As a China foreign area officer, his career included assignments as China policy director in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, China strategist for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a military attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Mr. Kamphausen holds a BA in Political Science from Wheaton College and an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University. He studied Chinese at both the Defense Language Institute and Beijing’s Capital Normal University. He is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the Asia Society, and the Council for Security and Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. He is married to Arminda and they have three children—Abigail, Hudson, and Delaney.
Professor Henry D. Sokolski gave a lecture on "Energy Trends: Nuclear and Non-nuclear" at The Institute of World Politics on July 16, 2018. About the Lecture: With the Trump administration's proposed financial relief of the coal and nuclear industries in the name of national security, energy economics has re-emerged as a topic for national debate. So far, much of this discussion has been cast as a contest between market economics and national security. What might the vulnerabilities of America's electrical system be? What are driving energy economic trends both nuclear and non-nuclear? These questions and more will be addressed at this lecture. About the Speaker: Henry D. Sokolski is the Executive Director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, a Washington-based nonprofit organization founded in 1994 to promote a better understanding of strategic weapons proliferation issues among policymakers, scholars and the media. He teaches as an adjunct professor at The Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C. From 1989 to 1993, Sokolski served as the Deputy for Nonproliferation Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, for which he received the Secretary of Defense's Medal for Outstanding Public Service. Sokolski has authored and edited a number of books on nuclear proliferation, including Underestimated: Our Not So Peaceful Nuclear Future, (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, 2016) and Best of Intentions: America's Campaign Against Strategic Weapons Proliferation (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001).
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