By Program
Restraint and National Security Conference
February 6, 2020 | 8:15 - 5:15 p.m. | Robert B. Rowling Hall, Guadalupe Room
On Thursday, February 6, 2020, the Strauss Center, Clements Center, the Intelligence Studies Project, and the Department of History at the University of Texas at Austin in partnership with the Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins; the Duke University Program in American Grand Strategy; and the Texas A&M Albritton Center for Grand Strategy, hosted a conference on “Restraint and National Security.” The conference explored the intent, the causes, and the consequences of restraint in foreign engagement in the course of American history.
Registration will open on January 23, 2020. Advance registration is required, but does not guarantee a seat.
Supported by both political parties, worldwide engagement has characterized American foreign policy for many decades. Debate has most often revolved around the nature and details of engagement strategies. But the presidency of Donald Trump has provoked contentious debate concerning American engagement with the world. Indeed, the Trump presidency has shifted that debate towards a more fundamental question: Is worldwide engagement a useful or valid expression of American political life? Moreover, recent works like Stephen Walt’s The Hell of Good Intentions and a recent Minerva Initiative study, The Political, Economic, and Social Effects of the United States’ Overseas Military Presence, are examples of fresh academic interest in examining and questioning the history and consequences of America’s broad foreign engagement.
In view of this, the Clements Center and its partners convened a conference in order to examine moments in the history of American foreign relations when policy makers and/or the American public have embraced or emphasized restraint in foreign engagement. We hoped to discover causes, connections, implications, and lessons that may inform our current moment, as leaders challenge the usefulness of a variety of engagement practices such as alliances, treaties, security assistance, détente, and direct military intervention.
Conference date and location:
Thursday, February 6th at Robert B. Rowling Hall (RRH), Guadalupe Room
Keynote Speakers:
Professor Francis Gavin, Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor and Director of the Henry Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
Associate Professor John Schuessler, co-Academic Director of the Albritton Center for Grand Strategy, the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University
This event is free and open to all students and the public. Seating for the panel discussion is limited. Parking is available for a fee in Rowling Hall Garage (entrance is off of 20th Street).
