The Art of Grand Strategy: A One-Day Virtual Event

Calendar
DATE
July 19-19, 2024
Location
LOCATION
Virtual
Clock
TIME
1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

The Art of Grand Strategy: A One-Day Virtual Event

Much of contemporary foreign policy focuses on frivolous details of international relations without a view to long-term strategy, the art of statesmanship, or philosophic principles. As such, this leaves America’s foreign policy distracted, needlessly at odds with other nations, at odds with our own interests, and without a strong sense of direction. Most importantly, it gives our leadership class impetus to be irresponsible in its pursuits.

These problems, however, are not new, and thousands of years of history and philosophy have considered these questions. What are the rights and duties between nations? What interests, goals, and ideals should order a nation’s foreign policy? What leadership is required in diplomacy? How should a statesman integrate domestic and international policies and priorities? How does justice interact with questions of war and peace? Why do nations fail or succeed on the world stage? What temptations do leaders and nations need to be wary of in dealing with other nations?

Join ISI for a one-day virtual event discussing American Grand Strategy. Faculty will include Michael Anton (on the theory of Grand Strategy), Elbridge Colby (on the practice of Grand Strategy), Michael Brendan Dougherty, and Dan McCarthy. Drawing from Thucydides, Machiavelli, Carl von Clausewitz, George Washington, and John Quincy Adams, this one-day event will engage with important questions and timeless principles that will help America thrive in steering the ship of state.

This event is free for students, but all are welcome. It will begin around noon and will conclude in the early evening.

Meet your professors

Michael Anton

Michael Anton is a lecturer and research fellow at Hillsdale College, a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, and a former national security official in the Trump administration.

Elbridge Colby

Elbridge Colby is co-founder and principal of The Marathon Initiative, a policy initiative focused on developing strategies to prepare the United States for an era of sustained great power competition. He is the author of The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict (Yale University Press, 2021), which The Wall Street Journal selected as one of the top ten books of 2021. 

Daniel McCarthy

Daniel McCarthy is vice president for the Collegiate Network at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and editor of ISI’s journal Modern Age. He is responsible for ISI’s college journalism programs, which support independent campus publications and provide internships and fellowships to outstanding student reporters, writers, and editors. He has an extensive background in journalism, including as a columnist for The Spectator and past editor of The American Conservative. His writing has also appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, The National Interest, First Things, Reason, and a wide range of other publications. Before coming to ISI, he was director of the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship Program at The Fund for American Studies. He is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis (where he edited a Collegiate Network paper) and lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is a senior writer at National Review and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute’s Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies department. He is known for his incisive commentary on politics, culture, and religion. Dougherty began his career with contributions to The American Conservative and The Week, quickly establishing himself as a prominent voice in conservative media.

In addition to his journalistic work, Dougherty is the author of My Father Left Me Ireland: An American Son’s Search for Home, a memoir that intertwines his personal narrative with reflections on identity and heritage. His writing is noted for its intellectual rigor and cultural sensitivity, often drawing on historical and philosophical perspectives.

Dougherty’s commentary addresses national identity, the role of religion in public life, and the moral dimensions of political decisions. His work has appeared in a variety of publications, earning him a reputation for eloquence and depth. A sought-after speaker and media commentator, Dougherty regularly participates in discussions on contemporary issues and cultural trends.

He lives in the New York City area and continues to influence public discourse through his thoughtful and engaging writing.

Register here