The Broken Machinery of American Foreign Policy
Charles Stevenson '63 will discuss the relationship between the State Department and the Department of Defense and its impact US foreign policy. Dr. Stevenson is able to articulate the main impediments we face in producing an effective foreign policy.
From years of observation and consulting on defense, Dr. Charles A. Stevenson '63 is able to articulate the main impediments we face in producing an effective foreign policy. Conflicting policies and goals and a dysfunctional relationsihp between the State Department and the Department of Defense have led to frustrating ends.
Dr. Stevenson teaches courses in American foreign policy at the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. Previously, he was a longtime professor at the National War College, where he was director of the core course on the interagency process for national security policy.
He has executive branch experience, including service on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, and served for 22 years as a Senate staffer on defense and foreign policy. He is the author of a study of the congressional role in major military operations, Congress at War; a historical survey of U.S. civil-military relations, Warriors and Politicians; and a comparative analysis of U.S. Secretaries of Defense, SecDef. His latest book is America’s Foreign Policy Toolkit: Key Institutions and Processes. He was a member of the Project on National Security Reform and headed its working group on Congress.
He has an AB and PhD from Harvard.