Lowell Lecture

Week 4: Militarization of US Policy—Costs, Consequences and COVID

Date & Time

July 15, 2020

Location

Arsenal Center for the Arts
321 Arsenal Street Watertown, MA 02472
Driving Directions

Speaker(s)

With Andrew Bacevich, PhD, president, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. The afternoon’s moderator is Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch, PhD, assistant professor, Political Science & Legal Studies Department, Suffolk University.

Presenting Organization

Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University

Contact

Susan Spurlock (sspurlock@suffolk.edu, )

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global event unlike any other experienced in the contemporary era. Its size, scope, reach, and implications are enormous, ongoing, and unequal. Outcomes-from how people all over the world will live their daily lives to whether democracy will survive-are all in question. Come into our virtual classroom to delve deeper into the pandemic-related themes we will explore in this survey course for everyone. Many argue that the Trump Doctrine in foreign policy has been characterized by a retreat from global leadership in multilateral institutions, abandonment of traditional diplomacy, strained relationships with allies, and an enhanced projection of military strength. The response to coronavirus pandemic has been similar; an insistence on going solo. What have been the costs and consequences of an over-reliance of the militarization of US policy abroad and at home? What role should the military play in U.S. democracy and how has the pandemic impacted our ability to respond