Continuity or Change: U.S. Defense and Foreign Policy under the Next Administration

On May 18, Sasakawa Peace Foundation and Sasakawa USA hosted a panel discussion in Tokyo on the topic of U.S. defense and foreign policy under the next administration featuring seven U.S. emerging defense experts from Washington, D.C. who participated in the Sasakawa USA Emerging Experts Delegation (SEED) Program.

The event considered the 2016 U.S. presidential election, where developments have heightened concerns over the fate of U.S. global leadership and foreign affairs within the Washington policy community. The first panel looked back on the successes and lessons learned from previous administrations and provide views on how the next president should approach U.S. foreign and security policy issues, including policy in Asia. The second panel identified major defense challenges facing the U.S. as well as its allies in Asia and around the world, and examined whether the U.S. has the necessary resources and capabilities, political will, and public support to address these challenges.

The SEED Program aims to engage the next generation of U.S. policy experts on Japan and improving their understanding of U.S.-Japan relations through a series of pre-trip briefings, a week-long trip to Tokyo, and post-trip opportunities for publication and networking. In the third implementation of this program called Seed Plus, Sasakawa USA selected participants with its partnering think tanks from the two previous delegations, the Center for American Progress and the Foreign Policy Initiative, to bring together a bipartisan group of defense experts and policymakers.

Video

Speakers

• David Adesnik, Policy Director, Foreign Policy Initiative
• Sam Brannen, Senior Manager, Global Business Policy Council, A.T. Kearney
• Junko Chano, Executive Director, The Sasakawa Peace Foundation; President, Sasakawa USA
• Melissa Dalton, Fellow and Chief of Staff, International Security Program, CSIS
• Brian Harding, Director for East and Southeast Asia, Center for American Progress
• Rachel Hoff, Director of Defense Analysis, American Action Forum
• Jeffrey Hornung, Fellow, Sasakawa USA
• Phillip Lohaus, Research Fellow, Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies, American Enterprise Institute

Photos