Unlike the Soviet Union, Russia under President Vladimir Putin pursues regional objectives rather than dominance as a global superpower. Any hopes for partnership with the West did not survive the crises in Crimea, the Ukraine, and Syria, and the furor over Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
Sean Kay, chair of the International Studies Program and professor of politics and government at Ohio Wesleyan University, will address Russian foreign policy on Friday, Feb. 2. It will be the lead event of Delaware’s 2018 Great Decisions Community Discussion Series on U.S. Foreign Policy. Kay is also an sssociate at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies at The Ohio State University.
Kay, a specialist in the national security and foreign policy area, received an M.A./B.A. degree from Kent State University, an M.A. from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium, and his doctorate from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. At OWU, he was awarded the Bishop Francis Kearns award for outstanding teaching and was the first recipient of the Libuse L. Reed Endowed Professorship. He has been a research fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies (U.S. Department of Defense), worked at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels and at the Department of Defense.
More recently, Kay was a visiting scholar or a research professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, University College Dublin, and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. His latest books include “Rockin’ the Free World: How the Rock & Roll Revolution changed America and the World” (2016); “America’s Search for Security: The Triumph of Idealism and the Return of Realism” (2015); “Celtic Revival? The Rise, Fall, and Renewal of Global Ireland” (2011); and “Global Security in the 21st Century” (2006 and 2011).
All Great Decisions discussions will begin at noon in the fellowship hall of the William Street United Methodist Church, 28 W. William St. Attendees are welcome to bring a brown-bag lunch. Complimentary coffee and tea will be provided. www.facebook.com/greatdecisionsdeloh.
Other speakers during the eight-session series are:
• Feb. 9, “Media and Foreign Policy,” Paul E. Kostyu, associate professor and chair, Department of Journalism and Communication, OWU;
• Feb. 16, “South Africa’s Fragile Democracy,” Raissa Kanku, student, Department of Politics and Government, and international studies program, OWU;
• Feb. 23, “U.S. Global Engagement and the Military,” retired Major General Dennis Laich;
• March 2, “Global Health: Progress and Challenges,” Mary Howard, professor, Department of Sociology/Anthropology, OWU;
• March 9, “The Waning of Pax Americana?,” Randall Schweller, professor, Department of Political Science, OSU;
• March 16, “Turkey: A Partner in Crisis,” Michael Houlahan, retired foreign service officer, U.S. State Department; and
• March 23, “China and America: the New Geopolitical Equation,”, Ji Young Choi, associate professor, Department of Politics and Government, OWU.
Audience participants will have the option of completing a survey—prepared by the Foreign Policy Association — to add their opinions to thousands of others across the nation. Survey results will be made available to Washington decision-makers.
Local sponsors of the lecture series include the American Association of University Women, Kiwanis, the League of Women Voters, the International Studies Program at OWU, William Street United Methodist Church, Willow Brook Christian Communities, Anchor and Away Travel, and private donors.
