MIT professors discuss future of foreign policy

With the war-torn Middle East, a faltering economy and a looming energy crisis, the next administration's foreign policies will play a pivotal role abroad and at home.

The Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hosted a lecture Thursday night on foreign policy in lieu of the upcoming presidential election.

The lecture, "Foreign Policy and the Next U.S. Administration: America's Defining Moment," was led by three MIT scholars chosen to reflect on the global issues facing America. The speakers were MIT Ford International political science professor Barry Posen, MIT guest scholar Carol Saivetz, a Harvard University's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian studies researcher and MIT political science associate professor Taylor Fravel.

Posen, who specializes in international security and recently addressed Congress to lay out plans for the next administration's national security strategies, opened the discussion with a comment on the two presidential candidates' similar foreign strategies.

"Their disagreements are mainly tactical," Posen said. "I see a lot of commonality in means, a lot of commonality in ends. What's striking to me is the very forward, expansive thinking, but also that what's missing is a deeper understanding of what's gone wrong."

Posen also warned that the next president might have to choose either domestic or foreign issues to put on the backburner in order to tackle the larger problems facing the country.

"I hear echoes from commentators and politicians that there may need to be a trade-off between solving problems at home and slaying dragons abroad," he said.

Saivetz, who specializes in Russian foreign policy, spoke about the recent war between Russia and Georgia. Saivetz said the war has transformed the U.S.'s attitude toward Russia and policies regarding Russia could reflect this new attitude.

"Russia is what I like to call the 'superpower wannabe'," Saivetz said. "The question, of course, is what should our policies be as we meet this resurgent Russia."

Saivetz cited NATO expansion, relations with Iran and control of energy exports as major issues that will shape American relations with Russia.

Fravel, who specializes in international security with a focus on China and East Asia, spoke about similarities in Obama and McCain rhetoric on Asia. He also urged the next president to acknowledge the importance of the region for both the security and prosperity of the U.S..

"I don't think the next president should abandon high level dialogue with China," he said. "It has been and will continue to be crucial in deepening relations between China and the U.S."

Lecture attendee Dan Lyon said he came to the event because he was interested in foreign policy's effects on the global economy.

"[The economy] is just another thing that needs to be fixed," Lyon said. "We could be losing opportunities for offshore banking and investments and other economic endeavors, because of our destruction of goodwill overseas."