The United States remains a leading global power, but it now faces real challenges at both international and regional levels. The unipolar world that followed the Cold War is gone, and in an environment where the U.S. has diminished relative power, Washington no longer has the luxury of practicing statecraft poorly.
In this Director’s Lecture Series, Ambassador Dennis Ross and Baker Institute Director Ambassador David Satterfield examined why U.S. foreign policy has so often failed to align objectives with means. Together, they hosted a discussion of the evolution of American statecraft, the most pressing challenges facing policymakers today, and how the U.S. can, and must, meet this moment. Drawing on insights from his new book, “Statecraft 2.0: What America Needs to Lead in a Multipolar World” (Oxford University Press, 2025), Ambassador Ross examined how lessons from the past can inform more effective policymaking in the years ahead.
Books were available for purchase and signing.
This event was free and open to the public.
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Director’s Lecture Series
Created and endowed by Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian and Mrs. Françoise Djerejian, the Director’s Lecture Series provides a forum for productive discourse to advance the public’s understanding of the most critical challenges facing Texas, the U.S., and the world.
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Agenda
5:00 pm CDT — Lecture
5:45 pm CDT — Q&A Session
6:00 pm CDT — Book Signing
Participants
Welcome Remarks
The Honorable David M. Satterfield
Director, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy; Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy; Former ambassador to Lebanon and Turkey
Featured Speaker
Ambassador Dennis Ross is the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He also teaches at Georgetown University’s Center for Jewish Civilization. For more than 12 years, Ross played a leading role in shaping U.S. involvement in the Middle East peace process, serving as the U.S. point person under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He later served two and a half years as special assistant to President Barack Obama and senior director for the Central Region at the National Security Council, spending the first six months of the administration as the special advisor on Iran to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. His newest book is “Statecraft 2.0: What America Needs to Lead in a Multipolar World” (Oxford University Press, 2025).