SECURITY AND STRATEGY SEMINAR

Cohosted with the The Alexander Hamilton Society, the Security and Strategy Seminar (SSS) is a graduate-level seminar in Washington, DC focused on distinct challenges to the American position in the world with an emphasis on policy and cohort-building. Three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, our leaders increasingly realize that our power, position, and principles are under assault from adversaries we had once hoped to transform into friends.

In 2021-2022, SSS will consist of three separate, simultaneous year-long seminars, each focused on a different strategic challenger to the United States: the People’s Republic of China, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although the nature of the competition and relevant factors differ for each adversary, each Seminar’s framing questions will remain the same:

• What are America’s goals, and how do we achieve them?

• What does the strategic competition look like? What are we competing over?

• What do we need to understand about our adversary in order to achieve our goals?

Taught by leading scholars in the field, each SSS will consist of 15 evening sessions that meet from September-May and will afford participating fellows an opportunity to gain a breadth of knowledge on critical subjects, forge relationships with senior scholars and practitioners, sharpen analytical frameworks through written and oral arguments, and build a cohort with their peers. Fellows will be responsible for around 50 pages of reading for each session and will be required to write two short essays over the course of the program. Each seminar will meet on the same designated day of the week from 6:00pm-8:30pm. If the ongoing public health crisis prevents in-person gatherings, SSS will operate via virtual platforms.

The China Challenge

As the Biden administration begins its tenure, China will remain at the forefront of U.S. foreign policy. Previous administrations have labeled China as a revisionist power intent on changing the U.S.-led world order and committed the U.S. to competing with China across all dimensions of national power. It remains to be seen how the Biden administration will handle China’s consistent challenges to the international order in a new era of U.S.-China strategic competition. What does a new era of strategic competition with China look like? Why is such a competition necessary, and what are its stakes?  What are China’s objectives, and how do its leaders seek to achieve them? How can the U.S. reshape its strategy to avoid  –  and yet be prepared for – conflict? Fellows will study with leading experts on the Chinese economy, political warfare, and the role of regional allies through different theaters of competition.

The Iran Challenge

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been a critical challenge for American policymakers, turning from friend to foe overnight. In the ensuing four decades, nearly every American president has had an Iran-related crisis help define his presidency. Over the course of the seminar, fellows will gain a clear understanding of the history of America’s relationship with Iran and take an in-depth look at the ideological nature of the Iranian regime. They will delve into the challenges the regime presents to the United States, from its nuclear program to its regional ambitions to its oil diplomacy.

The Russia Challenge

Once thought to have been on the path to becoming a democratic capitalistic state, Russia remains a preeminent global challenge to the United States. Every American president has entered office committed to resetting relations with Russia only for the relationship to become more acrimonious. Today, relations may be at their lowest point in nearly four decades. Thirty years after the end of the Cold War and two decades into Vladimir Putin’s reign, Washington seems to have finally realized that the Russian challenge is enduring. What is the nature of the Russian challenge to the United States? What are Russia’s objectives, strengths and weaknesses? In a competition that spans Europe, the Middle East, and even America’s homeland, what do we need to understand about Russia in order to achieve our own objectives? Fellows will learn about the history of U.S.-Russian relations, the nature of the Russian political regime, the role of oil, Russian military and nuclear doctrine and developments, and the current status of relations.

IDEAL CANDIDATES

For the Security and Strategy Seminar, we seek a professionally diverse and first-rate class of highly committed junior to mid-level professionals (25-35 years old) already working in policy-relevant institutions. Fellows will be responsible for around 50 pages of reading for each session and will be required to write two short essays of the course of the program. Each seminar will meet on the same designated day of the week from 6:00pm-8:30pm. If the ongoing public health crisis prevents in-person gatherings, SSS will operate via virtual platforms.

APPLY FOR SECURITY AND STRATEGY SEMINAR

THE ANTONIN SCALIA FELLOWSHIP

The Antonin Scalia Fellowship (ASF) hosted by The Public Interest Fellowship will consist of 10 seminars, to be held approximately monthly on Thursday evenings.

Over the course of these sessions, a highly select cohort will discuss America’s Constitutional framework, beginning with a study of the Federalist Papers; explore the conservative movement in historical perspective; delve into current legal policy debates; and consider opportunities and strategies for advancing the rule of law in a variety of areas. Each seminar will be led by a prominent guest instructor and Fellows will be responsible for 20-30 pages of reading in preparation for each session.

APPLY FOR THE ANTONIN SCALIA FELLOWSHIP

Ideal candidates will be early to mid-career professionals with a legal background working in government, the legal sector, think-tanks, academia, or media. Applications for the 2021 cohort are now closed.