Wendy Sherman, former deputy secretary of state, and current fellow with Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Center for Public Leadership, has had a decades-long career as a U.S. diplomat and was a key figure in negotiations with North Korea and Iran. At a recent discussion at the Institute of Politics' John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at vlog, she pondered how the upcoming U.S. presidential election could profoundly affect global politics.
Moderated by Meghan O'Sullivan, director of the Belfer Center and Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, the discussion covered a wide range of topics, domestic and international.
But of key interest was the international turmoil of just the last three years, in Ukraine, the Middle East, and China. O’Sullivan argued that such global events may have contributed to a heightened sense of isolationism in America.
“I understand and believe that every president has to care about American citizens first. But in order to preserve our country and take care of American citizens, we have to engage with the world....”
“Are there lessons that our country has learned from isolationism?” O’Sullivan asked.
Sherman noted that, after the pandemic, the world had to navigate and recover and that there was work to be done restoring international alliances. “The Biden administration knew deeply that we shouldn't go it alone, that our strength comes from working and playing with others,” Sherman said.
But while she agreed with O’Sullivan that the United States has a history of retreating to isolationism, especially in times of wars, she observed that “we are not protected by the oceans surrounding us.”
“I understand and believe that every president has to care about American citizens first,” she said. "But in order to preserve our country and take care of American citizens, we have to engage with the world because to keep the world peaceful, to get stability, to have a robust economy, we have to engage with others.”
Turning to the crisis in the Middle East, O’Sullivan asked about the continued escalation in the region and what role, if any, diplomacy could play.
Sherman was optimistic about the Secretaries Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin addressed to Israeli officials, which reiterated the U.S. policy on humanitarian aid and warned that if Israel ignores this policy, it could risk losing military aid. But while these tactics are designed to bring parties to the negotiating table, the situation is complicated.
“Every country, every sovereignty has a right to defend itself. That's enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations,” she said. “I firmly believe that Israel has a right to defend itself and to make those decisions in ways they believe are right.”
“But we also all believe that one needs to do that with regard to civilians, to humanitarian needs,” she added. And she says the world has a role in ensuring the Palestinian people have a political future and the right to their own peace and dignity.
“That is partly our job, but it's also the job of all the other regional players,” Sherman said.
“Otherwise, we will have another generation of Palestinians who will understand what has happened, feel terrible towards Israel, and that will not serve Israel well, that certainly will not serve the Palestinians well and that will not help peace and stability in the world.”
O’Sullivan also asked if diplomacy has any chance in Ukraine.
“I think the world is probably getting tired of where things are, even though they understand that if Putin takes Ukraine, then he may decide to take other things,” she said.
“I don't think Putin is anywhere close to wanting to negotiate unless he can negotiate on his own terms. And that is to have Ukraine. And I think Zelensky is certainly not ready to give up. I think there have been lots of discussions in all kinds of channels about what such a thing might look like, but I don't see either party being there.”
Sherman, a Democrat who served as deputy secretary of state from 2021-23 under President Biden, said of the coming presidential election: “I've been really concerned about former President Trump getting another term. I think it's not only dangerous for the United States, I think it's dangerous to the world.... I think you have one person who will be clear-eyed and steady and understands the complexity of the world and another person, in my view, who is reckless and does not understand.”
On China, O’Sullivan wanted to know what has changed in the way the United States interacts with the country. “I remember you as being more optimistic about what could be achieved earlier on,” she remarked.
Sherman noted that there has been a shift in relations with China since Clinton was president: “Xi [Jinping, leader of the People’s Republic of China] made a strategic decision about how he wanted to move forward, and it was really a different view of the world. And so we had to change our view of our relationship.”
“I think the investments that we've made in our own manufacturing and our own infrastructure, and our own capabilities are absolutely critical to be able to compete effectively,” she said.
“When we look at technology, and lots of people here work in this arena,” she said, “we have to make sure that we get our own capacity and control over AI and all of the things that are coming our way so quickly so that China does not have the advantage over us.”
"This is really the future, and a future that the students here are going to be responsible for.”
View a , including a Q&A with students.
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Banner image: Wendy Sherman (right), former deputy secretary of state, and current fellow with the Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Center for Public Leadership speaking with Meghan O'Sullivan, director of the Belfer Center and Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs. Photos by Martha Stewart