The Perils of Isolationism: A Fireside Chat with Sec. Condoleezza Rice
In a recent Foreign Affairs article, the 66th Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice '75 MA outlined the perils of choosing isolationism for both the United States and the global order, and offered suggestions for how to best move forward to build an effective internationalist foreign policy to meet the challenges of the current moment. As part of our exploration of this year’s Notre Dame Forum theme, “What Do We Owe Each Other?”, Secretary Rice will join University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., for a conversation reflecting on the path forward for our nation and the world.
Experience the Event
Tuesday, November 19, 2024 12:00 pm
In a recent Foreign Affairs article, the 66th Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ’75 MA outlined the perils of choosing isolationism for both the United States and the global order, and offered suggestions for how to best move forward to build an effective internationalist foreign policy to meet the challenges of the current moment. As part of our exploration of this year’s Notre Dame Forum theme, “What Do We Owe Each Other?”, Secretary Rice will join University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., for a conversation reflecting on the path forward for our nation and the world.
This October 11, 2024 conversation was part of the 2024-25 Notre Dame Forum that answers the question “What Do We Owe Each Other?”
Since its establishment in 2005, each year the Notre Dame Forum invites campus-wide dialogue about issues of importance to the University, the nation, and the larger world. This year’s theme, chosen by Father Dowd, invites reflection on our responsibilities to one another. In a world where ideological and cultural divisions seem to have deepened, the Forum aims to bring people together across differences to face the most pressing challenges of our time.
MoreMeet the Speaker: President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C.
In December 2023, the University’s Board of Trustees elected Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., as Notre Dame’s 18th president, effective June 1, 2024. He also serves as professor of political science. Prior to serving as president, he was vice president and associate provost for interdisciplinary initiatives.
In his role as vice president and associate provost, he oversaw the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, iNDustry Labs, the Institute for Educational Initiatives, the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, the McGrath Institute for Church Life, the Notre Dame Technology Ethics Center, the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs, the ROTC programs, and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art. He also directed the approval and review process of institutes and centers more generally.
Father Dowd was previously an assistant provost for internationalization with Notre Dame International, where his primary responsibilities included leadership of the Dublin Global Gateway, Kylemore Abbey Global Centre, and the São Paulo Global Center along with planning for future engagement with Africa.
The author of the book Christianity, Islam, and Liberal Democracy: Lessons from sub-Saharan Africa, Father Dowd focuses his research on African politics, ethnic politics, and the relationship between religion, political institutions, national identity, and human development. His current research explores religion and the integration of migrants/refugees in Europe and North America and the effects of faith-based schools on citizenship and civic engagement in Africa.
He is the founder of Notre Dame’s Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity and a fellow of the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies in the University’s Keough School of Global Affairs.
A Notre Dame alum, Father Dowd earned an M.Div. from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and was ordained a Holy Cross priest in 1994. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from UCLA.
Meet the Speaker: Sec. Condoleezza Rice '75 MA
Sec. Condoleezza Rice earned a master’s degree in government and international studies from Notre Dame in 1975, served on the University’s Board of Trustees from 1994 until 2001 when she was appointed national security adviser by President George W. Bush. She was the first woman to hold the position. In 2005, she became the second woman and first Black woman to serve as secretary of state and remained in that role throughout Bush’s second term in office.
Before serving on the University’s Board, Rice was a member of Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters advisory council. In 1995, she received an honorary doctor of laws degree and was the principal speaker at Notre Dame’s Commencement Ceremony. She joined Bush on the platform during the University’s 2001 Commencement, when the president received an honorary degree and delivered the principal address.
Rice earned her bachelor’s degree and doctoral degree in political science at the University of Denver. In addition to directing the Hoover Institution, she is a professor of political science and a senior fellow on public policy at Stanford University, as well as the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy in the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She served as provost of Stanford for six years in the 1990s. In addition, she is a founding partner of Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, an international strategic consulting firm.