About the event

The US-China bilateral relationship is key to global stability in this century. Some see it developing into a new Cold War or even military conflict.  Others foresee a managed rivalry in which the two countries compete and cooperate at the same time. What do current trends tell us about these alternative futures?

Joseph S. Nye, Jr, is University Distinguished Service Professor and former Dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He received his bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Princeton University, studied at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, and earned a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard where he joined the faculty in 1964. In 2008, a poll of 2700 international relations scholars listed him as the most influential scholar on American foreign policy, and in 2011 Foreign Policy listed him among the 100 leading global thinkers.

From 1977-79, Nye was a deputy Undersecretary of State and chaired the National Security Council Group on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. In 1993-94 he chaired the National Intelligence Council which prepares intelligence estimates for the president, and in 1994-95 served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. He won Distinguished Service medals from all three agencies.

Nye has published fourteen academic books, a novel, and more than 150 articles in professional and policy journals.  Recent books include Soft Power, The Powers to Lead, The Future of Power, and Is the American Century Over?

He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the British Academy, the American Academy of Diplomacy, and an honorary fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. He is the recipient of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson Award, the Charles Merriam Award from the American Political Science Association, France’s Palmes Academiques, and various honorary degrees.

His forthcoming book is Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump. In Do Morals Matter?, Joseph S. Nye Jr. provides a concise yet penetrating analysis of the role of ethics in US foreign policy during the post-1945 era. Working through each presidency from Truman to Trump, Nye scores their foreign policy on three ethical dimensions: their intentions, the means they used, and the consequences of their decisions. Alongside this, he evaluates their leadership qualities, elaborating on which approaches work and which ones do not. Since we so often apply moral reasoning to foreign policy, Nye suggests how to do it better. Crucially, presidents must factor in both the political context and the availability of resources when deciding how to implement an ethical policy--especially in a future international system that presents not only great power competition from China and Russia, but transnational threats as borders become porous to everything from drugs to infectious diseases to terrorism to cyber criminals and climate change.

Guests from both Tsinghua and other universities as well as professionals from relevant industries may register for this event by scanning the QR code. Attendees must show their confirmed reservation to access this event. Attendees admitted to Schwarzman College must adhere to all building and event policies. This event is not open to members of the media and will be held off the record. No attributions or descriptions of this event may be published or shared online without the written consent from both Tsinghua University and Schwarzman College. This lecture will be given in English.