Since the end of World War II, U.S. relations with Russia have been a bumpy ride, ranging from competition for preeminence in a newly bipolar world to the U.S. identifying the Soviet Union as an “evil empire.” While both nations consider maintaining a relationship important, especially with nuclear weapons in the mix, Russia resents the hegemonic power of the U.S. and claims that alliances such as NATO create a security threat. According to Jeffery Edmonds, a former director for Russia in the U.S. National Security Council, “The Russian leadership’s ultimate goal is the creation of a new polycentric world order in which great powers have spheres of influence and privilege over smaller countries.” This drive to reassert Russia’s lost power and become a world power once again, combined with its autocratic regime, serves as a contrast to the U.S.’s interests.
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign democratic nation, the U.S. is now forced to take a blatant adversarial stance against the nation. According to The Center for Preventative Action’s Global Conflict Tracker, “Ukraine has received about $407 billion in aid, including over $118 billion from the United States.”
With U.S.-Russian relations being such an important part of foreign affairs, Baylor’s chapter of the Alexander Hamilton Society (AHS) brought in Daniel Twining, president of the International Republican Institute and former foreign policy advisor to Senator John McCain, to speak on U.S.-Russian relations. Baylor political science professor Richard Jordan moderated Twining’s talk, asking questions ranging from the Ukraine war to what books would provide good insight into the mind of a Russian.
Danielle Miller, a Baylor senior and president of Baylor’s AHS chapter, described the enthusiasm of event attendees. Miller said, “We had about a dozen students stay after the event to ask Dr. Twining questions about his work, about his opinions on the war in Ukraine. They were just all gathered around him in a little circle, and he was really excited to talk to them. That just shows me how curious and sincere and invested our AHS members are.”
The Alexander Hamilton Society is a non-partisan, national organization that encourages dialogue and intellectual growth within higher education by analyzing U.S. foreign, economic, and national security policies. The national organization helps campus chapters bring in experts in a variety of fields and foster meaningful engagement with today’s pressing issues. Miller summarized the goals of the chapter: “To supplement the political science department at Baylor with experts who are working, working on this stuff, on governing political science, foreign policy on the ground, and who can provide our students with a concrete, rigorous glimpse into what’s going on right now in D.C. on a topic that they’re interested in and then to build a network of students who can learn from each other and provide each other with opportunities.”
This organization provides a great resource to students interested in foreign policy, as it is bi-partisan and does not require a certain number of attendance points to be a part of. Additionally, AHS has built an extensive network of alumni in Washington D.C.
Following the death of political activist Charlie Kirk, AHS held a panel on political violence, featuring professors from Baylor’s political science department. Miller moderated the event, and the professors shared insights on the history of political violence in the U.S. and globally, providing important context for how and why these things happen. Following every speaker event or moderated panel, students have time to ask questions.
When reflecting on the success of the event Miller said, “It convinced me once again that Baylor students are ready to engage with even the most controversial, emotional, hot-button topics in a reasoned, academic, open-minded, simple way, and that’s what I love about our club.”
“Baylor students are ready to engage with even the most controversial, emotional, hot-button topics in a reasoned, academic, open-minded, simple way.”
Baylor’s AHS chapter is a great way for students interested in U.S. politics, foreign policy, economics, and diplomacy to learn more about these topics and hear from experts in these fields. The club also holds movie nights which can provide Creative Arts Experience (CAE) credits, which are a graduation requirement, and hosts student discussions about relevant issues. The next AHS speaker event is set for October 16. There, students will learn about AI and diplomacy from Bonnie Glick, a non-resident senior advisor with the Project on Prosperity and Development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
