Discussion on great powers comes to Ohio State

Reggie Thomas
Tue, 16 Apr 2019 01:23:51 +0000
Campus, News, Politics, AHS, Alexander Hamilton Society, china, cnn, cold war, david petraeus, future of great power competition, great powers, Iraq, Iraq War, ohio state, ohio state campus, ohio state university, osu, Peter mansoor, richard herrmann, russia, U.S., united states, US

Students listen during the Syrian Civil War Debate event held by Alexander Hamilton Society held earlier this year. Credit: Courtesy of Michael Hurley

Global competition among the great powers of the world might not seem as obvious now as it was during the Cold War, but rest assured, it is still ongoing and will continue.

On Wednesday, the Alexander Hamilton Society will host an event titled “Future of Great Power Competition,” on campus that will discuss the constant competition between global powers such as Russia, China and the United States.

The event will feature Richard Herrmann, chair of the political science department, and Peter Mansoor, the General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair of Military History, as the main speakers.

Ricardo Madrid, a third-year in political science and incoming president of AHS, said the event will focus on how the U.S. interacts with other great powers.

“This event will be looking at the relationships between these nations as a whole and discussing how the U.S. can go about dealing with them, whether it be for bettering the relationships, potential gains, etc.,” Madrid said.

Hermann, in addition to serving as chair, has focused his studies on international relations as a professor. Prior to coming to Ohio State, he was a member of Secretary of State James Baker’s policy planning staff from 1989 to 1991.

Before entering academia, Mansoor served in the armed forces and is a retired colonel in the U.S. Army. Mansoor, who also works as a military analyst for CNN, culminated his 26-year career serving as executive officer to Gen. David Petraeus, the commanding general of Multi-National Force – Iraq, during the period of the Iraq War surge in 2007-08.

Michael Hurley, a fourth-year in world politics and the outgoing president of AHS, said this is an important discussion to have as the world moves into a new era with powers capable of operating on the U.S.’ level. ?

“This discussion will be focused on figuring out how the United States is going to approach a new age of competition between great powers,” Hurley said. “For the past 25 to 30 years, there hasn’t really been anyone capable of challenging the U.S., but now there is.”

How the U.S. plans to navigate the possible conflicts is an open question, and this event will explore as many of those possibilities as possible, Hurley said.

The event will be held at the Psychology Building in Room 006 at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Free food and beverages will be provided.