LBJ School News Brief

James Steinberg photo

James Steinberg

Incoming LBJ School dean kicks off international security series

Former deputy national security advisor James Steinberg launched the 2005-06 International Security Speaker Series on September 21 with a talk titled, “From Geopolitics to Global Politics: The Challenge for American Foreign Policy.” Steinberg, whose appointment as LBJ School dean will go into effect January 1, 2006, currently serves as the vice president and director of the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

In his presentation, Steinberg offered an overview of U.S. foreign policy in the 20th century and discussed new challenges associated with globalization in the 21st century.

According to Steinberg, building a sound strategy for the future rests on three pillars. The first, he said, is to sustain U.S. primacy on the condition that it recognizes the importance of soft power as well as hard power. The second is to build institutions and alliances that allow the U.S. to share the costs of leadership, institutionalize American values and legitimize U.S. actions. The third is to promote democratic liberalism on a global scale.

“A world of market democracies will be one in which America, and Americans, are likely to be both more prosperous and more secure,” said Steinberg. “It is a world in which we are most likely to realize the promise of globalization while minimizing its dangers. Conversely, if the United States fails to find ways to encourage prosperity and good governance, it runs the risks of seeing threats to its security multiply.”

Steinberg served as deputy national security advisor to President Clinton from December 1996 to August 2000. During that period he also served as the president's personal representative ("sherpa") to the 1998 and 1999 G-8 summits. Prior to becoming deputy national security advisor, he served as director of the State Department's policy planning staff (1994-1996) and as deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (1993-1994).

The International Security Speaker Series is a campus-wide program designed to explore the trends, processes and threats that will dominate 21st century international relations. In its second year, the series will feature presentations by historians, strategists, legal scholars and policymakers. Taking a multidisciplinary approach and focusing on the intersection of policy and theory, it aims to expose the UT community to fresh approaches in international security studies. The series is directed by LBJ School Professor Francis J. Gavin and sponsored by the University of Texas Global Challenges Initiative (UT-GCI).

James Steinberg and Francis J. Gavin photo

James Steinberg (left) with LBJ School Professor Francis J. Gavin, director of the International Security Speakers Series.

"The International Security Speakers Series in its first year brought to Austin exactly the right experts on exactly the right topics,” said LBJ School Professor Elspeth Rostow, an expert on U.S. foreign policy. “It looks as though the program in 2005-06 will maintain the same high standards. Anyone concerned about the precarious state of world affairs should make it a point to attend."

A major highlight this fall will be a panel discussion on intelligence reform in the United States that features Admiral Bobby R. Inman, former director of the National Security Agency and interim dean of the LBJ School; Dr. Robert Gates, former director of Central Intelligence and current president of Texas A&M University; Senator Charles Robb, who co-chaired of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction; and James C. Langdon, Jr., chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB).

Speakers in last year’s series explored a broad range of U.S. international policy dilemmas. To an audience of hundreds in the LBJ Auditorium, U.S. Central Command commander-in-chief General Anthony Zinni offered a critical assessment of the Middle East. At a smaller engagement in a more intimate setting, UC Berkley Professor John Yoo led a controversial discussion examining international law and the use of force in the wake of conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. To a crowd that included top University administrators, Drew Erdmann, a former Bush administration advisor on the Middle East, questioned academia’s effectiveness in training international policymakers. And drawing from his soon-to-be released book titled Winning the War on Terror, UT Law Professor Philip Bobbitt shared his views on steps the U.S. should take at home and abroad to improve security and minimize the risks of terrorist attacks.

Over the course of last year, hundreds of attendees, including University alumni, faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, business leaders and members of the Austin community turned out to attend the series. Special guests included UT Austin Provost Sheldon Ekland-Olson, UT School of Law Dean William Powers and UT College of Liberal Arts Dean Richard Lariviere.

“The opportunity of having such a distinguished series of speakers share their views and experiences with members of the UT community was in itself extremely enriching,” said Sofia Avila, a UT Austin Plan II student who attended last year’s series. “Besides creating an awareness concerning issues of international security, the speaker series is an invaluable learning experience.”

According to UT Austin alumna Rachel Christ, attending last year’s series offered a hands-on opportunity to pursue her interests in international affairs and clinched her decision to apply to the LBJ School master’s program.

“The series made me look at international issues from different angles,” said Christ, who holds a B.A. in political communications. “It provided an intimate setting in which the speakers were very open and willing to answer questions.”

Christ, a staff member of State Representative Charlie Geren at the Texas Legislature, said she looks forward to attending this year’s speaking engagements.

The schedule for the 2005-06 International Security Speakers Series is available at http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/news/fall2005/security_spkrs.html. Free and open to the public, the lectures will be held from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Brown Room on the 10th floor of the LBJ Library and Museum unless otherwise noted. A map is available at http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/about/map.html.

James Steinberg appointed LBJ School dean

Last year’s International Security Speakers Series Schedule

23 September 2005

Comments to: lbjweb@uts.cc.utexas.edu

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