Johns Hopkins SAIS expert available to discuss American grand strategy and foreign policies of the Trump administration
EXPERT ADVISORY
The election of U.S. President Donald Trump, the rise of China and Russia as regional powers, and the erosion of U.S. military dominance has America at an inflection point. The United States is facing its most serious security threats since the Cold War and the foundation of its longstanding foreign policy principles are in question, argues Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Brands takes a look beyond the headlines to address the enduring questions facing U.S. grand strategy in his new book, American Grand Strategy in the Age of Trump (Brookings Institution Press). He asks and answers the most pressing questions surrounding America’s foreign policy framework.
In a series of essays, Brands offers analysis of how Trump’s world view and administration will fit into the greater contours of American grand strategy. His commentary goes beyond the first year of Trump’s presidency to highlight the successes and failures of both the Obama years and since the end of WWII. He ultimately argues against the conventional idea that American primacy is in a state of terminal decline.
The scholar is available to further discuss:
- Has American strategy been mostly sensible and effective since the end of the Cold War?
- Is America in decline, or can it maintain its edge in a harsher and more competitive environment?
- Did the Obama administration pursue a policy of retrenchment, or did it execute a shrewd grand strategy focused on maximizing U.S. power for the long term?
- Does the Trump presidency mean that American internationalism is dead?
- How much military power does America need in the current international environment?
- What would happen if the United States radically pulled back from the world, as many thought leaders — and the current president — have advocated?
- What type of grand strategy might America pursue in the age of Trump and after?
Brands is the Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS. He served as special assistant to the U.S. secretary of defense for strategic planning from 2015 to 2016. He has also consulted with a range of government offices and agencies and think tanks.
Brands has written or edited several books including Making the Unipolar Moment: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Rise of the Post-Cold War Order (2016), What Good is Grand Strategy? Power and Purpose in American Statecraft from Harry S. Truman to George W. Bush (2014), Latin America’s Cold War (2010), From Berlin to Baghdad: America's Search for Purpose in the Post-Cold War World (2008), and The Power of the Past: History and Statecraft (co-edited with Jeremi Suri, 2015).
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About Johns Hopkins SAIS
A division of Johns Hopkins University, the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a global institution that offers students an international perspective on today's critical issues. For nearly 75 years, Johns Hopkins SAIS has produced great leaders, thinkers, and practitioners of international relations. Public leaders and private sector executives alike seek the counsel of the faculty, whose ideas and research inform and shape policy. Johns Hopkins SAIS offers a global perspective across three campus locations: Bologna, Italy; Nanjing, China; and Washington, D.C. The school’s interdisciplinary curriculum is strongly rooted in the study of international economics, international relations, and regional studies, preparing students to address multifaceted challenges in the world today.
For more information, visit sais-jhu.edu or @SAISHopkins
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