Should the United States Prioritize Domestic Interests Over International Leadership?
Mark Gitenstein and Emma Ashford
PRO:
Emma Ashford is a foreign-policy scholar and Senior Fellow with the Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy Program at the Stimson Center. Prior to joining the Stimson Center, Ashford spent significant time at the Atlantic Council and the Cato Institute where she led projects related to U.S. foreign policy, international security, and the politics of global energy markets. Ashford is the author of the book "Oil, the State, and War: The Foreign Policies of Petrostates" and maintains a steady presence in current discourse on international relations through her bi-weekly column “It’s Debatable,” for Foreign Policy. In addition to her role at the Stimson Center, Ashford serves as a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point and as an adjunct assistant professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. Ashford will argue the restraint position in the debate.
CON:
Mark Gitenstein served as the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union from 2022 to 2025 and as U.S. Ambassador to Romania from 2009 t0 2012. A longtime public servant and attorney, Gitenstein spent 17 years on the U.S. Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, gaining extensive experience in legislative and policy matters. Over the past decade, Gitenstein has focused much of his work on Central and Eastern Europe, particularly Romania. In his roles as ambassador and later as counsel to NGOs and private-sector clients, he has dedicated his efforts to strengthening democratic institutions through greater transparency, anti-corruption initiatives, and the advancement of the rule of law. In addition to his leadership in global politics, Gitenstein has extensive experience navigating turbulent moments in American domestic politics. In 2020, Gitenstein assisted in President Biden’s transition into the role. He will argue the interventionist position in the debate.
MODERATOR:
Aditya Pai ’13 is a trial attorney and recent Democratic congressional candidate in CA-45, a perennially ‘purple’ district in north Orange County. Pai’s service work at the Orange County Red Cross, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity-OC and over 2,000 hours in pro bono legal aid has garnered awards from the California Bar, Harvard, the Urban Land Institute, and the Disneyland Resort. He earned a B.A. Summa Cum Laude from Claremont McKenna College, where he served as student body president, and M.Phil. and J.D. degrees in history and law from Cambridge University and Harvard Law School. Pai grew up in Irvine, CA and is a naturalized American citizen from Bombay.
This program is co-sponsored by the Dreier Roundtable at CMC, whose mission is to inspire public service.