Diplomacy expert to warn of America’s decline in public lecture
Dr. Ray Raymond, who worked for more than 20 years in Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service on issues involving NATO, U.K.-U.S. relations, Northern Ireland, the Middle East and Afghanistan, will present a lecture questioning America’s position as a superpower when he visits Salve Regina on Thursday, March 6.
“Can a Declining America Remain a Dominant Superpower?” will be presented at 5:30 p.m. in the O’Hare Academic Center, Room 260.
Raymond believes the answer to his question is a tragic “no.” What is at stake, he argues, is the preservation of the liberal world order created and sustained by the U.S. military, economic and financial power.
Among the troubling indicators for America are its unsustainable annual deficits and national debt; failure to invest enough in basic science and technology; failure to create enough high-paying jobs; a crumbling infrastructure; a failing educational system; military capabilities weakened by budget cuts; and, above all, a dysfunctional political system.
Raymond has lectured on comparative politics, international relations and counter-insurgency at West Point for many years and in 2009 served as the Thomas Hawkins Johnson Visiting Professor at the U.S. Military Academy. He is also a professor of government and history at the State University of New York.
From 1997 to 2005, Raymond worked with Prime Minister Tony Blair’s policy unit and as an adviser to his chief of staff. Since 2001, he has been chair of the Marshall Scholarships for the Mid-Atlantic States and since 1993, president and CEO of the City Fellowships in Financial Services with Goldman Sachs.
