Global Civilization?
Philip Zelikow, Professor of History, University of Virginia
April 10, 2008 @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm, LBJ Library Brown Room, 10th Floor
Philip Zelikow discussed the direction that U.S. foreign policy should be taking in light of today’s global civilization.
He acknowledged that the Bush administration’s approach to foreign policy has helped to solidify the consensus of big changes in transnational issues that now are not encompassed easily by national borders. This has reinforced both the need for cooperation between world powers and the view that domestic governments and their actions are legitimate core concerns of international politics. Noting the current trends of both globalization and self-determination in global civilization, Zelikow argued that while globalization may be reversible, the trend of self-determination is not. This concern, he continued, requires a balance of the vitality of both the global framework and primary communities.
Zelikow called for a policy in favor of the global idea and the need to recover a sense of common purpose and principles with the rest of the world, warning that without such an aim countries will naturally drift toward the forces of selfishness and self-interest.
- "Zelikow proposes unity," Daily Texan, Apr 08
LBJ School Dean James Steinberg introduced Philip Zelikow.
Zelikow spoke on America's foreign policy choices.
Zelikow spoke to an attentive room.
Following his presentation, Zelikow took questions from the audience.
Philip Zelikow is the White Burkett Miller Professor of History at the University of Virginia. He teaches about modern world history and the history and practice of American public policy. He also serves on the advisory panel for global development of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Zelikow began his professional career as a trial lawyer in Texas. He then served as a career foreign service officer posted overseas, at the State Department, and on the National Security Council staff for President George H.W. Bush. Since 1991, he has taught and directed research programs at Harvard University and at Virginia.
In 2001, Zelikow directed the Carter-Ford commission on federal election reform, which successfully guided legislation and spending to revamp America’s election systems. In 2003-2004, he was Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission, the most wide-ranging government investigation in the history of the United States. From 2005 to 2007, he was the Counselor of the Department of State, with responsibilities running across all major issues of American foreign policy.
Zelikow’s books include The Kennedy Tapes (with Ernest May, Norton); Essence of Decision (revised edition with Graham Allison, Longman); and Germany Unified and Europe Transformed (with Condoleezza Rice, Harvard University Press).
This presentation is part of the Strauss Center's International Security Speaker Series, which features leading scholars and policy practitioners discussing challenges and solutions for meeting the security demands of the modern world.
The Strauss Center is nonpartisan and takes no institutional position on any issue. All statements of fact and all expressions of opinion at Center events are the sole responsibility of the speaker.
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