Jake Sullivan, a foreign affairs expert currently on the United States Iran nuclear negotiations delegation, spoke in a public conversation with Dickey Center director Daniel Benjamin last night in Haldeman.
Sullivan spoke about his professional career, including his work as a national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, director of policy planning at the U.S. Department of State and deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Sullivan said that the United States and allies made successful initial steps in November 2013 when Iran accepted restraints on their nuclear program. He noted that the United States still faces many challenges and that Iran poses an international security threat. Benjamin and Sullivan both noted that the goal of negotiations is to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program is used solely for peaceful purposes. Sullivan said that there are many political and practical difficulties negotiating on this complex international topic. He said that there is an “underlying need for American leadership” in the world. The United States’ political and economic reach can allow it to enforce solutions, he said. Although foreign policy offers imperfect options, Sullivan said that nonetheless the United State government must make difficult decisions necessary in a complicated world.
Government professor William Wohlforth said that he hopes students leave the talk and start thinking about the problems facing the world.
Benjamin and Sullivan spoke on the domestic political climate and its effects on the United States’ international presence. Sullivan said that long-term investments in stability often face budgeting challenges and lose out to short-term projects. He said that bipartisan support has been demonstrated when faced with significant international threats like the Islamic State. Sullivan said he wanted students to come away from his talk thinking about “complicated threats and the tools available to solve them.” He said that greater focus needs to be placed on the dynamics and historical context of modern threats like violent jihadism. He noted the importance of non-military avenues of foreign influence, such as sanctions and development programs. Mac Murphy ’15asked Sullivan a question during the talk about the challenges of working with classified information. He said that it requires maintaining a balance between keeping information classified and fostering public credibility.
Sullivan responded that sometimes, like in the case of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons, records are declassified in order to convince the public and international leaders of the details of an event.
In an interview with The Dartmouth, Murphy said she attended the talk because of her interest in international relations.
Sullivan said that issues in Middle East and with Russian President Vladimir Putin tend to be over covered in the popular media. Other important events such as tensions between Japan and China are often overlooked, he said.
Government professor Benjamin Valentino said he attended because Sullivan has had a significant role in recent policy decisions.
Sullivan said that general instability, including escalations in the Ukraine or South China, threaten international security and the political and economic interests of the United States.
He said that the United States has an interest in promoting free markets and democracy because both foster international stability.
Sullivan said the crisis in the Ukraine shows both “the opportunities and limitations of American power.” The United States has the ability to create incentives for Putin to take a certain policy stance, but still cannot force him to take a certain policy stance, he said. He said that the United States should strengthen ties with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and pressure other European countries to shoulder a greater military burden.
