Former secretary of state featured in Notre Dame Forum
Former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice discussed her recent article in Foreign Affairs titled “The Perils of Isolationism,” in an October 11 conversation with Notre Dame President Father Robert Dowd, C.S.C. Fr. Dowd pressed Rice on topics such as American relations with Russia and China, isolationism, and geopolitics in the modern age.
Under President George W. Bush, Rice served as national security advisor from 2001 to 2005 and secretary of state from 2005 to 2009. Since 2020, Rice has served as director of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.
The conversation, a part of the 2024–25 Notre Dame Forum, attracted a crowd that wrapped around the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and filled the Leighton Concert Hall to capacity.
Rice began the conversation by calling out “the emerging four horsemen of the apocalypse, … populism, nativism, isolationism, and protectionism,” which, according to Rice, chip away at the foundations of democracy and have increasingly dominated the national narrative in recent years. In Rice’s view, America has a steep challenge to combat these domestic issues while keeping an eye turned towards future international conflict.
Rice maintained a cautionary tone throughout the conversation, especially when speaking on Russia and China. Rice repeatedly warned, “Great powers don’t mind their business; they try to shape the world,” cautioning that China and Russia will take up this role if allowed.
Rice encouraged “a workable relationship with China … and a more nuanced policy” so that the temperatures can be lowered in the growing international rivalry. Rice said the best way for America to “[build] bridges between the Chinese people and the people of the United States” is to admit more Chinese students to American universities and teach them about democratic values.
After hearing Rice’s perspective, freshman Ryan Domsalla shared with the Rover his opinion that America must urgently demonstrate the benefits of democracy to the Global South to deter Chinese influence: “I think America could do a better job of challenging the Belt and Road Initiative by offering our own public and private investments in African countries.”
Freshman Nathan Ward agreed that “we must indeed ‘build bridges’ with the [Global South], safeguarding and promoting democracy and free government as many of these nations continue to build their own governmental structures.” According to Rice, these bridges are key to discouraging more nations from entering the Belt and Road Initiatives, which Rice argued are false promises of development that don’t materialize.
Having spoken about China at length, Fr. Dowd moved the conversation toward Russia. Rice recalled her time in the Bush administration and her face-to-face meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “[Putin] always had this ambition of reconstituting the Russian Empire—not the Soviet Union—the Russian Empire,” she said.
In order to achieve this goal, Rice argued, Putin launched a devastating war of attrition against Ukraine. Rice stated that this war was predictable because “great powers don’t mind their own business. It’ll either be us, or the Chinese, or the Russians. I’ll take us.”
Ward commented, “His little anecdote really got to the heart of her speech because it showed that if we disappear, other authoritarian powers would rapidly fill the vacuum.” There is “a need for the U.S. to remain an active beacon of freedom throughout the world,” he said.
Rice expressed this idea succinctly: “To whom much is given, much is expected.”
According to Rice, Putin made “three miscalculations” when drawing up his invasion of Ukraine: “He really didn’t understand that Ukraine is a distinct nationality, … he thought his army was good, … and third, he thought nobody would respond.” After expecting to invade Kiev within a few days of beginning the war in 2022, Putin has resorted to spending over 35 percent of Russia’s GDP on maintaining his military, Rice noted.
Reflecting on the discussion, Freshman Paul Masaka explained his justification for limited American involvement in the war to the Rover: “America as a superpower has an obligation to give a helping hand, but we shouldn’t overextend our influence in the world or use force.” Masaka shares Rice’s fear that increased American involvement could trigger Article 5 of the NATO treaty: “An armed attack against one … shall be considered an attack against them all.”
The next 2024–25 Notre Dame Forum event, titled “Peaceful Co-Existence Among Israelis and Palestinians: Vision for a Shared Future,” will take place in 141 DeBartolo Hall on November 11.
Colin Heil is a freshman studying political science. He can be reached at cheil@nd.edu.
Photo credit: South Bend Tribune
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