The Sovereignty Wars: Reconciling America with the World

Event Status
Scheduled

On Wednesday, November 15, 2017, please join the Clements and Strauss Centers for a talk with Stewart Patrick, senior fellow and director of the program on International Institutions and Global Governance at the Council on Foreign Relations, on his new book  "The Sovereignty Wars: Reconciling America with the World." Mr. Patrick's talk will be held in the LBJ School, room SRH 3.122 from 12:15pm to 1:30pm. This event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Copies of Dr. Patrick's book "The Sovereignty Wars: Reconciling America with the World" will be available for purchase following the conclusion of the talk.

Few ideas are as sacred in U.S. politics as sovereignty. Unfortunately, current debates over how to exercise and defend American sovereignty are confused and overheated. Contrary to what a lot of people claim, international organizations, treaties, and law do not endanger U.S. independence or American self-government under the Constitution. But globalization does require Americans to think more clearly about sovereignty’s different dimensions. To shape its destiny in a global age, the United States will sometimes need to make “sovereignty bargains,” voluntarily trading off some freedom of action to cooperate with like-minded countries. Dr. Patrick’s book explores the history of American sovereignty and current debates across international law, the use of force, global trade, immigration and border security, and U.S. cooperation with international organizations.

Stewart Patrick is the senior fellow and director of the program on International Institutions and Global Governance (IIGG) at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). His areas of expertise include multilateral cooperation in the management of global issues; U.S. policy toward international institutions, including the United Nations; and the challenges posed by fragile, failing, and post-conflict states. Mr. Patrick writes the blog, The Internationalist.

From 2005 to April 2008, he was research fellow at the Center for Global Development. He directed the center's research and policy engagement on the intersection between security and development, with a particular focus on the relationship between weak states and transnational threats and on the policy challenges of building effective institutions of governance in fragile settings. He also taught at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

From September 2002 to January 2005, Patrick served on the secretary of state's policy planning staff, with lead staff responsibility for U.S. policy toward Afghanistan and a range of global and transnational issues, including refugees and migration, international law enforcement, and global health affairs. He joined the staff as an international affairs fellow at CFR.

Prior to government service, Patrick was from 1997 to 2002 a researcher at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, where he ran two multi-scholar research programs on post-conflict reconstruction and on multilateralism and U.S. foreign policy.

Patrick graduated from Stanford University and received two master’s degrees and his doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of five books. He has also authored numerous articles and chapters on the subjects of multilateral cooperation, state-building, and U.S. foreign policy.

Date and Time
Nov. 15, 2017, All Day