What is America’s role in the world?
It’s a hotly contested question that cuts across the partisan divide. On one side are those who advocate a muscular international presence for America, with the US taking the lead in international affairs and keeping a large and capable military at the ready. Others question the prudence of American international involvement and advocate a more restrained role for our military and diplomatic efforts.
While something of a “Strong America” consensus seemed to reign in Washington from the end of the Second World War through the end of the Cold War, that orthodoxy has been questioned in recent years. Today, you can find folks on both the left and the right advocating a more reserved US posture on the global stage.
A recent event hosted by our friends at the Steamboat Institute brought this divide into stark relief. Steamboat’s Campus Liberty Tour gathered former UN Ambassador and National Security Advisor John Bolton along with entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to debate the question, “Should the US use its diplomatic and military power around the globe to ensure America’s security?”
We are grateful to the Steamboat Institute for its excellent work all around and especially for organizing this debate, which was a source of inspiration for this episode of Giving Ventures. It’s worth checking out if you’re interested in an in-depth head-to-head on American foreign policy.
In this episode of Giving Ventures, Peter explores the work of three nonprofit groups that come down on the side of “Strong-America” foreign policy: Hudson Institute, Vandenberg Coalition, and Alexander Hamilton Society.
First, Hudson Institute senior fellow Michael Doran spotlights his work as a Middle East scholar and explains how Hudson has been able to influence the conversation on Iran. Then, Carrie Filipetti, executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition, lays out the necessity of linking together the community of foreign policy experts who champion American strength and leadership abroad. Finally, Alexander Hamilton Society executive director Gabriel Scheinmann details the strides AHS has taken to create a talent pipeline from college campuses to foreign policy careers in Washington.
DonorsTrust would like to thank Michael Lucchese, without whom this episode would not have come to fruition. Michael’s ideas and his help connecting with the interviewees were invaluable.
Putting ideas into practice
Founded by nuclear war theorist and futurologist Herman Kahn back in 1961 as a think tank dedicated to rigorous thinking about the future, the Hudson Institute has become a foreign policy powerhouse in the years since. Since moving to Washington in 2004, Hudson has focused its efforts on national security issues and promoting American leadership on the world’s stage.
In his own work on the Middle East, Michael has highlighted Iran as the central issue for American interests in the region. It’s an idea that has gained purchase on both the left and right due to Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the ensuing war, which Michael describes as war between Israel and Iran by proxy.
Hudson scholars have seen success moving the conversation toward Iran in the past year, but that success comes on the heels of years of research. That research allowed Hudson’s top thinkers to move the needle when the Hamas attack demonstrated the importance of taking the Iranian threat seriously. But geopolitical events do not speak for themselves. “You have to be there to explain the events to people as they’re unfolding,” Michael tells Peter.
Hudson Institute scholars continue that work of explaining, helping policymakers in Washington make sense of the world around us.
Filling the gaps
Named for Senator Arthur Vandenberg, who laid out his foreign policy vision in a famous 1945 Senate speech, the folks at Vandenberg Coalition aim to advance the idea that a strong America is a safe America.
Vandenberg’s Reaganite, peace-through-strength approach champions robust military capabilities to stop wars before they begin and win them when they do. Carrie explains that while Washington is no stranger to these ideas and is home to many leaders working to advocate for strong American leadership, Vandenberg Coalition acts as a force multiplier.
“What was really missing was connecting all of those people together and delivering that information to policymakers in the right way at the right time,” Carrie explains. With an advisory board of more than 100 members that boasts an impressive roster of academic experts, experienced ambassadors, and leading thinkers in the foreign policy space, Vandenberg Coalition glues together a network of Strong-America advocates.
Investing in the next generation
Looking to replicate the success of the Federalist Society, Alexander Hamilton Society was formed in 2010 to engage, educate, and equip students for foreign policy and national security careers.
What started as an educational effort to counter “blame America first” ideas on campus became an important network of talent development that today serves as a pipeline to careers in Washington.
AHS casts a wide net, attracting students who are already interested in foreign policy careers as well as those who become interested after encountering AHS programming. Alumni of the Alexander Hamilton Society have gone on, in the hundreds, to careers on Capitol Hill, in presidential administrations, and in policy-adjacent fields like think tanks.
For many students interested in foreign policy careers, Gabriel explains, “they didn’t know which ladder or which path to pursue to be able to fulfill their interest. That is a value that is universal. It’s something that we do a lot of for our students.” By participating in AHS, students encounter experts and learn practical skills by planning events, organizing speakers, and advertising debates. They emerge from their college years ready to embark on careers in national security, foreign service, public policy, and more.
To learn more about the work these groups are doing, listen to the full episode using the player above or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
