Marshall Center Lecture

Top diplomat discusses role of United States in Asia

November 5, 2009

March 20, 2009

While campaigning for president, Hillary Clinton wrote that "our relationship with China will be the most important bilateral relationship in the world this century." Glyn Davies, principal deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, outlined why this will be the case and discussed Clinton's first trip to Asia as secretary of state as part of a lecture titled, "Diplomacy's Evolving Role in U.S. Global Leadership: The Case of Asia."

The lecture was the third in a series sponsored by the John Marshall International Center for the Study of Statesmanship at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies. 

"It's becoming truer and truer that Asia as a whole is going to play a larger role in the U.S. - not just in foreign policy but in domestic as well," Davies told the room of students and scholars.

The world's largest continent both geographically and in population will present a number of challenges for the U.S., he said. Davies pointed to China's growing power and economy, the modernization and democratization of Southeast Asia, and political hotspots such as North Korea. 

He also included Indonesia and the country's growing problem of terrorism in those challenges.

"This is a country that is increasingly going to play a role for us," he said. "Indonesia is to the Asian region what Poland was to Europe - it must not fail."

To help ensure that it and the rest of the continent succeeds, Davies said the U.S. is working to:

• Introduce China to international institutions
• Establish a foundation for lasting peace in North Asia 
• Keep alliances strong
• Promote human rights and democracy
• Work with Asia on economic diplomacy

After his talk, Davies took questions on Asia and on his career in the State Department. A career diplomat who has served at American embassies and consulates in London, Paris, Kinshasa and Melbourne, as deputy spokesman of the Department of State and as director of the government's 24-hour Foreign Affairs Crisis Management Office, Davies encouraged students to serve by going into politics, joining the Peace Corp or volunteering.

"Be a citizen of the world as well as an American citizen," Davies told the students. "The world is complicated, but it's fascinating."

The John Marshall Center examines the business of government and the shaping of public policy by hosting fellows and speakers, and developing curriculum and programs primarily focused on the constitution, political economy, politics and ethical reasoning. The center approaches the study and practice of statesmanship through a program that combines scholarly and practical attention to constitutionalism, political economy, politics and ethical reasoning.

Article ID: 525