|
Great Decisions 2017 Discussion Date: Thursday, January 26
|
Believe it or not, entertainment is part of our American diplomacy, it is part of what makes us exceptional, part of what makes us such a world power. Hundreds of millions of people may never set foot in the United States, but thanks to you, they've experienced a small part of what makes our country special. They've learned something about our values. We have shaped a world culture through you...in a way that has made the world better. - Barack Obama
|
|
|
|
Welcome to the first Great Decisions 2017 discussion at the Jacksonville Public Library! You are receiving this newsletter because you have shown an interest in the past about this discussion series or you have requested information about library programming. The program will be held on Thursday evening, January 26, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Southeast Regional Library located at 10599 Deerwood Park Ave., close to the intersection of Gate Parkway and J.Turner Butler Boulevard. Great Decisions 2017 Briefing Book, the companion book to the series, is available for purchase online for $25 from the Foreign Policy Association, but is not necessary for participation in the program.
|
|
February 2: The Future of Europe February 9: Trade and Politics March 2: Conflict in the South China Sea March 9: Saudi Arabia in Transition March 16: U.S. Foreign Policy and Petroleum March 23: Latin America's Political Pendulum March 30: Prospects for Afghanistan and Pakistan April 6: Nuclear Security
|
|
Week One - America's Diplomats
|
|
From Ben Franklin to Benghazi, America's Diplomats takes you inside the Foreign Service and behind the scenes of U.S. Foreign Policy. Discover the role our diplomats play in shaping American history. Uncover the origins of our Foreign Service, and the danger American diplomats face far from home. - Foreign Policy Association
|
|
Lt. Col. Michael Brady, USA (RET)
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Brady, USA, (RET), earned his MS in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University in Washington, DC in 2003. LTC Brady is a 1990 graduate of The Citadel, Marine Corps Command and General Staff College, Joint Forces Staff College, US Army Airborne School and US Army Ranger School. His areas of expertise and research include threats to the homeland, intelligence collection systems and programs, intelligence analysis, and intelligence support to national policy making. Michael currently lives in Charleston, SC and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses at The Citadel. He also lectures at FSU, a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina. Michael spends most of his free time in Jacksonville, Florida.
|
|
|
Give your opinion on the current list of topics in the 2016 National Opinion Ballot - now available online. Make your voice heard in Washington's policy-making circles with the click of a button.
|
|
|
|
Daring Diplomacy: Clinton's Secret Search for Peace in Ireland
by Conor O'Clery
Based on interviews with President Clinton and the other principals involved, a journalist offers an insider's view of America's secret negotiations with the IRA about peace in Northern Ireland, over the objections of Britain. 20,000 first printing. Tour. IP. (amazon.com)
|
|
|
American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U.S. Diplomacy
by Andrew J. Bacevich
International relations expert Andrew Bacevich reconsiders the assumptions and purposes governing the exercise of American global power. He finds that successive post-Cold War administrations have adhered to a well-defined "strategy of openness." Motivated by the imperative of economic expansionism, that strategy aims to foster an open and integrated international order, thereby perpetuating the undisputed primacy of the world's sole remaining superpower. Moreover, openness has been an abiding preoccupation of policymakers as far back as Woodrow Wilson. Although based on expectations that eliminating barriers to the movement of trade, capital, and ideas nurtures not only affluence but also democracy, the aggressive pursuit of openness has met considerable resistance. To overcome that resistance, U.S. policymakers have with increasing frequency resorted to force, resulting in the progressive militarization of U.S. foreign policy. Bacevich maintains that this drive for openness is in fact aimed at erecting a global imperium.--From publisher description.
|
|
|
Beyond America's grasp : a century of failed diplomacy in the Middle East
by Stephen P. Cohen
A forefront Middle East authority traces the origins of U.S. policy in the region to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, contending that early diplomatic failures established a pattern that has shaped subsequent conflicts, in an account that evaluates the pivotal contributions of Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt.
|
|
|
The Global Power of Talk: Negotiating America's Interests
by Fen Osler Hampson
The Global Power of Talk explores the power of negotiation and diplomacy in US foreign policy at a critical juncture in US history. Beginning with the failure of US diplomacy in relation to Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1980s, it shows how a series of diplomatic blunders has laid the foundations for the uninhibited use of 'gun power' over 'talk power' in the last two decades. It critically examines missed opportunities in America's handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. In a provocative conclusion, the authors argue that the United States can and should negotiate with the so-called 'unengageables' like Iran, North Korea, and Al-Qaeda, in order to find ways to defuse underlying tensions in the global system. (amazon.com)
|
|
|
|
|
|