The United States’ position on naval warfare is an issue that goes largely unnoticed.
The Contemporary History Institute at Ohio University has invited Seth Cropsey, a Hudson Institute Senior Fellow, to speak to students, faculty and staff about the nation’s waning naval superiority. The presentation is called “Whither American Seapower?”
The event will be held at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in Baker University Center Room 242. The event is free and open to the public.
Cropsey’s background in the federal government, especially the Department of Defense, qualifies him to speak on the subject of American sea power, according to his biography on the Hudson Institute’s website. The Hudson Institute is a nonpartisan think-tank promoting global security and freedom.
Cropsey began his government career in the Defense Department as an assistant to the Secretary of Defense.
“I’m going to discuss U.S. grand and maritime strategy, the growing problems that face American sea power, the connection between sea power and great power status, the historical consequences of a great maritime nation’s retreat from naval dominance, and possible alternatives to such a decline here in the U.S.,” said Cropsey, in an email.
He went on to serve as the Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy under the Reagan and Bush administrations, eventually rising to a top position in the office of the Secretary of Defense in the Bush administration.
In the years leading up to the collapse of the USSR, Cropsey directed the editorial policy of the Voice of America on the Soviet treatment of dissidents. In 2002, he returned to public diplomacy as the director of the International Broadcasting Bureau of the United States, which succeeded in increasing radio and TV broadcasting to the Muslim world.
Cropsey now reports for Fortune magazine, and his articles on national security and foreign policy have been published in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.
“(Students) should be concerned about our naval policy,” said Steven Miner, professor of history and director of the Contemporary History Institute. “The United States is involved in at least one military affair, has ships operating in the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf, and this is a chance to hear from an insider on our naval policy.”
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