Engagement over Retreat: The Bipartisan History of American Leadership

On Friday, January 24th, the Clements Center for National Security and the LBJ School of Public Affairs, in partnership with American in the World Consortium and Austin PBS, hosted a conference on the importance of active American engagement, titled “Engagement over Retreat: The Bipartisan History of American Leadership.” As both major political parties increasingly employ isolationist rhetoric and espouse isolationist policies, the actual consequences are poorly understood and rarely anticipated. This poses substantial risk for U.S. security, prosperity, and global stability. This bipartisan conference aims to foster dialogue and encourage sustained American engagement in international affairs, bolstering leadership that improves the lives of Americans and American allies.

“Engagement over Retreat” featured keynote speakers James Steinberg, Dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and former Deputy Secretary of State, and Ambassador Kristen Silverberg, President and COO of Business Roundtable and former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union. This conference will also convene panels “The Need for American Leadership in a Fragmenting World” and “The Consequences of Retreat: Implications for U.S. Security and Global Stability.” The event was from 9:30 am – 3:00 pm in Bass Lecture Hall at the LBJ School.

SESSION I: Keynote and Panel 1

9:30 am   •   Registration

9:55 am   •   Welcome

10:00 am – 11:00 am   •   Keynote 1: U.S. International Engagement: Now More than Ever

• James Steinberg, Dean, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Former Deputy Secretary of State

11:00 am – 12:15 pm   •   Panel 1: The Need for American Leadership in a Fragmenting World

• Alina Polyakova, President and CEO of the Center for European Policy Analysis
• Dan Twining, President of the International Republican Institute
• Kate Weaver, Associate Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs; Executive Director of Operations, Innovations for Peace and Development, UT-Austin
• Moderator: Jeremi Suri, Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs, University of Texas at Austin

SESSION II: Keynote and Panel 2

12:15 pm – 12:45 pm   •   Lunch

12:45 pm – 1:45 pm   •   Keynote 2: Conservative Internationalism and Economic Competition

• Ambassador Kristen Silverberg, President and COO, Business Roundtable; Former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union

1:45 pm – 3:00 pm   •   Panel 2: The Consequences of Retreat: Implications for U.S. Security and Global Stability

• Alexandra Sukalo, Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs, LBJ School of Public Affairs; Senior National Security Fellow, Clements Center for National Security
• Tanvi Madan, Senior Fellow for Center for Asia Policy Studies, Foreign Policy Program, Brookings Institution
• Himamauli Das, Consultant and Former Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (Acting)
• Michael Dennis, Associate Professor of Practice, LBJ School of Public Affairs; former Chief of Intelligence Operations and Chief of Strategic Futures, Army Futures Command
• Moderator: Rachel Hoff, Policy Director, Ronald Reagan Institute

3:00 pm   •   Conference adjourns

About the Keynote Speakers

The Honorable James B. Steinberg is the 10th Dean of Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Prior to becoming the Dean of SAIS, Dean Steinberg served as the University Professor of Social Science, International Affairs and Law at Syracuse University and served as Dean of the Maxwell School from July 2011 until June 2016. He previously served as Deputy Secretary of State (2009-2011), serving as the principal Deputy to Secretary Clinton. From 2005-2008 he was Dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs University of Texas. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Steinberg was vice president and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. Mr. Steinberg served as deputy national security advisor to President Clinton from 1996 to 2000. During that period he also served as the President’s personal representative to the 1998 and 1999 G-8 summits. Prior to becoming deputy national security advisor, Mr. Steinberg served as director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for analysis, Bureau of Intelligence and Research.

Ambassador Kristen Silverberg is the President & COO of Business Roundtable, where she helps to lead an organization of more than 200 CEOs of America’s leading companies, who together advocate for policies to support a strong U.S. economy and greater economic opportunity for Americans. In her role, Ambassador Silverberg oversees policy, advocacy, communications and operations. Prior to BRT, she was a Managing Director at the Institute of International Finance, an association of financial sector companies from more than 80 different countries. Ambassador Silverberg served in the George W. Bush Administration as U.S. Ambassador to the European Union. From 2005-2008, she led a bureau of 300 diplomats as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. She previously held a number of senior positions at the White House including Deputy Assistant to the President. She formerly practiced law at Williams and Connolly, LLP in Washington, DC and served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge David Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals. She attended Harvard College and the University of Texas School of Law, where she graduated with High Honors. Ambassador Silverberg serves on the Boards of the International Republican Institute and the Forum for American Leadership.

See full gallery of photos here.