Foreign Policy Priorities for the Incoming U.S. Administration

As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to become the 47th president on January 20, 2025, he will enter office with the world at war from Ukraine to the Middle East, and facing foreign policy challenges on day 1 that he and his administration will have to address. From the Indo-Pacific to Europe, Africa, and beyond, climate change, challenges to democratic governance, human rights, and national and international security issues will face the new administration.

Perry World House has reached out to its broad network of current and former faculty and visiting fellows for their input on some of the specific challenges awaiting the 47th president and their advice for the Trump team. Join Perry World House for its first public event of the spring semester as it previews what is awaiting Trump post-inauguration and gathers expert opinions and advice for the incoming administration.

Speakers

Sasha Baker is the former Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. In this role, she served as the primary assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in formulating, coordinating, and integrating national security policy and plans within the Department of Defense. She also served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council from 2021-22. She previously served as national security advisor for Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and as Deputy Chief of Staff for Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, for which she received the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal.

Hussein “Huss” Banai is an Associate Professor of International Studies in the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, where he is also faculty affiliate in the departments of Political Science, Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, and Central Eurasian Studies. He is also a Research Affiliate at the Center for International Studies at MIT. Banai’s research interests lie at the intersection of political thought and international relations, with a special focus on topics in democratic theory, non-Western liberal thought, diplomatic history and theory, US-Iran relations, and Iran’s political development.

Erin Sikorsky directs the Center for Climate and Security. Previously, she served on the US National Intelligence Council (NIC), where she co-authored the “Global Trends Report” and led the US intelligence community’s environmental and climate security analysis. She was the founding chair of the Climate Security Advisory Council, a Congressionally mandated group designed to facilitate coordination between the intelligence community and US scientific agencies. Prior to joining the NIC, Sikorsky worked in the US intelligence community for over a decade, leading teams covering a range of issues in the Middle East and Africa. Sikorsky is an adjunct professor at George Mason University. She earned a master’s of international affairs at Columbia University and a BA in government from Smith College.

Alexander Vershbow is a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and Eurasia Center in Washington, DC, where he works on transatlantic issues and relations with Russia and Ukraine. Vershbow, a former career member of the US Foreign Service, was deputy secretary general of NATO from 2012 to 2016, and US assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs from 2009 to 2012. He also served as US ambassador to NATO, Russia, and the Republic of Korea. Vershbow has held numerous senior positions in Washington, including special assistant to the president for European affairs at the National Security Council and State Department director for Soviet Union affairs. He received a BA in Russian and East European studies from Yale University and a master’s in international relations and a certificate of the Russian Institute from Columbia University.

Moderator

Before joining Foreign Affairs in 2011, Justin Vogt was the managing editor of World Policy Journal. Earlier, he was a research editor and fact-checker at The New Yorker and an associate producer on documentary films for the PBS series Frontline. His writing has been published by The New Yorker, The New York Times, Slate, and other outlets.

Introduction by

Michael C. Horowitz is Director of Perry World House and Richard Perry Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also Senior Fellow in Innovation and Technology at the Council on Foreign Relations. From 2022 to 2024, Professor Horowitz served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Development and Emerging Capabilities. He is the author of The Diffusion of Military Power: Causes and Consequences for International Politics, and the co-author of Why Leaders Fight. He won the Karl Deutsch Award given by the International Studies Association for early career contributions to the fields of international relations and peace research. He has published in a wide array of peer reviewed journals and popular outlets. His research interests include the intersection of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics with global politics, military innovation, the role of leaders in international politics, and geopolitical forecasting methodology. Professor Horowitz worked for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy as a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow. He is a life member at the Council on Foreign Relations. Professor Horowitz received his Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University and his B.A. in political science from Emory University.