Ohio Wesleyan Professor Analyzes State of the Union Address
Global Security Expert Sean Kay, Ph.D., Shares Insights in ‘War on the Rocks’ Commentary
Sean Kay, Ph.D.
DELAWARE, Ohio – In a newly published analysis, Ohio Wesleyan University politics and government professor and global security expert Sean Kay, Ph.D., says President Barack Obama’s 2015 State of the Union Address “signaled a consolidation of a steady shift in American foreign and defense policy.”
Kay shares his thoughts in the online political magazine War on the Rocks. In his commentary, “Washington’s New Realism? Parsing the State of the Union,” Kay states his belief that foreign policy realism has replaced both “the empty promises of Bill Clinton” and “the idealistic visions of George W. Bush.”
“Foreign policy realism requires having a clear-eyed sense of the nature of international challenges and aligning prudent policies via solid information and cost-benefit assessments,” writes Kay, whose most recent book is 2014’s “America’s Search for Security: The Triumph of Idealism and the Return of Realism.”
Realism also means setting priorities, revising failed policies, and aligning budgets with objectives, says Kay, also an associate at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies at The Ohio State University.
“Crucially,” he notes, “realism means leading by example in the world and at home, and investing in the domestic foundations of America’s power.”
Time will tell how successful the United States is in the international area, Kay concludes, but “there is a strong basis for a new national consensus on how to advance American power in the 21st century. As America continues with its pivot to Asia … the United States is well positioned for a new era of sustained and effective international leadership.”
Read Kay’s complete War on the Rocks commentary. Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Politics and Government and International Studies Program.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 86 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,750 students represent 46 U.S. states and territories and 43 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.