The Ancient Greeks thought of chaos as a gaping chasm. For many observers of international affairs, such imagery accurately captures the anxiety of traversing the present abyss, unaware of what new dangers lie in wait. Yet somewhere in this darkness stands “a city upon a hill” on which the “eyes of all people” are transfixed: the United States of America. [1] As the richest, oldest, and most powerful democracy in the world, the United States bears the solemn responsibilities of carrying forth the torch of liberty through the travails of our dangerous world and safeguarding the blessings of peace and prosperity for its people. Though each passing year compounds the difficulties of accomplishing these noble goals, hope is not yet lost. Our city – however weathered and weakened it may be – still stands.
No better evidence exists to prove our city’s survival than the students featured in this journal. Approaching their analyses with confidence of purpose, they address some of the most daunting challenges facing the United States today. Perhaps chief among these is the growing great power competition and the relative decline of U.S. power. Deserving special acknowledgement for his third feature in The Hamiltonian is Axel de Vernou, who addresses the relative decline of U.S. influence through his analysis on BRICS, the burgeoning economic bloc threatening the global position of the U.S. dollar. He argues that the most effective response to this challenge is to treat desired partners as equals, reform international institutions to adapt to the concerns of low and middle income countries, and expose where applicable the colonial nature of U.S. adversary-led economic projects like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The architect of the BRI and chief economy within BRICS is the People’s Republic of China (PRC). As the most powerful rival of the United States today, China is the focus of several articles in this edition of The Hamiltonian. Lucas de Gamboa Canon crafts a grand strategy for U.S.-China relations, arguing that the United States can avoid the economic pain that would result from completely decoupling from China and simultaneously contain China’s revisionist ambitions through a carrot-and-stick approach to PRC behavior. Kevin Lentz follows with a book review of Alex Joske’s Spies and Lies, examining Chinese influence operations in the West and the long reach of its state security services, while George Sarbinowski addresses whether and how Sun Tzu’s Art of War can be used as a guide for understanding PRC military doctrine and the military competition between China and the United States.
Tackling the issue of great power competition more broadly, Gerrit Kleerekoper, in his review of America’s Strategy in World Politics by Nicolas Spykman, reinforces the enduring argument that the rise of a hegemonic power on the Eurasian supercontinent could spell disaster for the United States, a reality which forces the United States to engage in Europe and Asia. A critical aspect of great power competition since the end of the Second World War is atomic energy, which holds potential for both unfathomable destruction and immeasurable benefit. In this vein, Eli Glickman conducts a thorough analysis of the U.S. nuclear enterprise infrastructure and argues that its modernization is necessary to maintain deterrence and prevent nuclear war. David Goh then examines how the United States can leverage its standing as a nuclear technology leader to create a risk management framework for exporting nuclear energy equipment and expertise, thereby simultaneously forging the basis for a nuclear energy alliance and making gains in the great power competition.
One country pining for nuclear capabilities that the United States will most certainly not aid in its quest is the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the wake of the October 7 attack against Israel by Iran-armed-and-funded Hamas, Alexander Richter makes the case that the United States should strike Iranian assets, bolster its own security architecture in the Middle East, and build a coalition against Iran to restore deterrence against the regime in Tehran. Core to any kinetic action targeting Iran, its proxies, or any other U.S. adversary is the often poorly understood U.S. armed forces. In his review of The Masks of War by Carl Builder, Kevin Zhang argues that recognizing the geopolitical environment in which each branch of the armed services operates is equally if not more important than studying the different cultures of each service to understand the nature of the military.
While the military is undoubtedly necessary to craft foreign policy, it is not the only tool U.S. policymakers have for this task. As Grace Kurtz-Nelson explains, investing in the economic development of the increasingly important region of sub-Saharan Africa can win potential allies, counter U.S. adversaries, and secure strategic resources, all while promoting the welfare of underdeveloped countries. Key to the welfare of any society is the good health of its people, a social pillar that the trafficking of lethal narcotics like fentanyl is currently eroding in the West. In the final entry of this edition of The Hamiltonian, Junwon “Junie” Park outlines how the United States can both bolster bilateral counternarcotics action with partner nations and establish a new international organization with states across the globe to better combat the current opioid crisis.
All of the subjects tackled by our students within the pages of this journal are important aspects of the great challenge in foreign policy that stands before the United States. Teeming with passion and knowledge, these young minds should be an inspiration to all who maintain that the United States’s best days lie ahead. Despite the scourging winds whipping through its streets and alleys, our city on the hill stands firm amidst the chaos enveloping the world today.
Notes:
[1] John Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity,” in A Library of American Literature: Early Colonial Literature, 1607-1675, Edmund Clarence Stedman and Ellen Mackay Hutchinson, eds. (New York: 1892), 304-307.
