Conference on World Affairs

Debating America’s power—and peril—in a time of instability

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:59:45 +0000

Debating America’s power—and peril—in a time of instability Rachel Sauer Tue, 04/14/2026 - 10:59

Bradley Worrell

Veteran national security advisors John Bolton and Susan Rice sparred over whether America is committing “superpower suicide,” headlining the Conference on World Affairs week

“The United States is not committing superpower suicide,” veteran national security advisor John Bolton told a capacity audience gathered Monday evening in the �鶹ӰԺ’s Glenn Miller Ballroom. He paused, then added a qualifier, “So far.”

Seated a few feet away, veteran national security advisor Susan Rice offered a very different take.

“Sadly and dangerously,” she said, “the United States, under the current administration, is indeed in the process of committing superpower suicide.”

Susan Rice (left) and John Bolton (second from right) with Jennifer Schubert-Akin (second from left), chairman and CEO of The Steamboat Institute, and Chancellor Justin Schwartz (right).

The stark disagreement between the two policy experts set the tone for a wide-ranging debate, during which the pair clashed over the extent to which America’s status as the world’s sole superpower has been damaged. Monday’s debate, sponsored by The Steamboat Institute and the Bruce D. Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization, headlined CU �鶹ӰԺ’s 78th Conference on World Affairs week.

While the debate’s title—“Is the United States is in the process of committing superpower suicide?”—was deliberately provocative, what emerged during the roughly two-hour debate was a respectful disagreement on certain subjects and a fair amount of common ground between Bolton, a staunch Republican, and Rice, a lifelong Democrat.

Bolton and Rice both have extensive experience shaping American foreign policy for U.S. administrations. Bolton was a national security advisor during President Trump’s first term in office and was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006. Rice’s previous roles in government include serving as a U.S. national security adviser (2013–17), U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (2009–13) and domestic policy adviser (2021–23).

Opening salvos contrasted views

In her opening remarks, Rice issued a sweeping indictment of the Trump administration. She accused the administration of undermining the “five key pillars” of America’s postwar superpower status: military strength, economic power, alliances, domestic resilience and soft power.

“On each of these five dimensions, we are far weaker today than we were even 18 months ago,” she argued. She specifically accused the administration of politicizing the Pentagon and purging senior officers, implementing an unpredictable tariff policy, damaging the European alliance and openly threatening allies. She also took the administration to task for making cuts to research funding, attacking universities, expressing hostility to public health institutions, dismantling USAID and rolling back environmental protections.

Bolton did not dispute that American foreign policy under Trump—as well as previous administrations—had gone badly wrong. What he rejected was the claim that the damage was fatal.

“We have made multiple mistakes since the end of the Cold War,” he said, arguing that both political parties share responsibility. After the Soviet Union collapsed, Western leaders mistakenly believed history ended and rapidly reduced military spending, he told the audience, adding, “we have never recovered from that mistake.”

Bolton said U.S. leaders misunderstood Russian nationalism and ignored Vladimir Putin’s warnings that he viewed the Soviet collapse as a geopolitical tragedy. Failures to deter Russian aggression in Georgia and Ukraine flowed from that misreading, he said.

John Bolton (left) and Susan Rice (right) discussed whether the United States is committing "superpower suicide" during a Conference on World Affairs event Monday evening.

Meanwhile, China represents another long-running error, Bolton said. American officials assumed economic integration would produce political liberalization, but “we were wrong on both counts,” he said, warning that China today is more autocratic and more aggressive.

Yet Bolton insisted these failures—serious as they are—do not mean America’s greatest days are behind it.

As for President Trump, Bolton said, “We are suffering undeniably by his mistakes, but it is not superpower suicide. He is an aberration and will pass from the scene.”

United on alliances and the UN

Despite their opposing conclusions, Rice and Bolton did find agreement on the importance of alliances.

“NATO is the greatest alliance in human history,” Rice said, emphasizing its deterrent value and reminding the audience that Article 5, which regards an attack on one NATO member as an attack on all, had only been invoked once—following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Undermining NATO, she warned, benefits Russia and China.

“NATO is the envy of Russia and China, which is why they are trying to subvert it,” she said.

Bolton largely agreed.

“What has provided peace and security in the world since 1945 was American power and the system of alliances that we built,” he said. He dismissed the idea of a “rules-based international order” as a myth, arguing that stability came from American strength.

Their disagreement was on tone and trust. Rice said Trump’s threats regarding his desire to see the U.S. acquire Greenland and annex Canada and his transactional rhetoric have damaged allies’ confidence in America, while Bolton emphasized the long-standing failure of European allies to meet defense commitments, acknowledging that Trump’s confrontational style prompted allies to increase defense spending.

Bolton and Rice also agreed that the United Nations is largely dysfunctional, but disagreed about whether it can be fixed.

“The UN’s main political bodies are broken beyond usefulness,” Bolton said, while acknowledging some of its specialized agencies do valuable work.

“The UN is a mess, but we would be worse off without it,” Rice said. “The challenge is reform—not abandonment.”

As for China and its aspirations to reclaim Taiwan, Bolton argued that the United States should abandon its policy of “strategic ambiguity” regarding the island nation in favor of a stated commitment to defend Taiwan to deter possible Chinese aggression.

“I think if we lose Taiwan, even slowly, to China … all of East Asia and Southeast Asia are in real jeopardy, because our credibility would be shot beyond repair,” he said.

Rice did not offer an opinion as to whether the U.S. should formally commit to defend Taiwan but she said Trump’s foreign policy regarding Asia is distracted.

Susan Rice (left) and John Bolton (right) during Monday night's Conference on World Affairs discussion.

Experts divided on Iran

Iran exposed the deepest philosophical split between the two national security experts.

Bolton argued that a hostile regime bent on acquiring nuclear weapons and supporting terrorist networks ultimately leaves America with only one option: “If a regime that’s hostile to the United States can’t be persuaded or forced to change its behavior, regime change is the only option.”

Rice forcefully disagreed.

Noting that she would welcome regime change in Iran, she added, “Regime change through the barrel of a gun virtually never works … and it definitely never works without a ground invasion.” Preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons was best pursued through diplomacy rather than sustained military escalation, she argued.

Bolton said he believes that, as a result of recent U.S. strikes on Iran’s leadership and military sites, the Iranian regime is at its weakest point since it took power in 1979 and it could experience a “slow-motion collapse” before the end of the year if the U.S. applies sufficient pressure.

Rice countered that by taking out the country’s leadership in a U.S.-Israeli first strike, Iran’s new leaders are now willing to do whatever they believe is necessary to remain in power—which has made Iran more dangerous.

What Bolton and Rice did agree on is that the United States currently has not clearly improved its strategic position against Iran.

“That spirit—open inquiry, civil discourse and the exchange of ideas across differences—is the fundamental role of universities in the United States and exactly what the Conference on World Affairs was created to advance."
Chancellor Justin Schwartz

The U.S. and Iran are now engaged in brinkmanship, waiting to see if their opponent blinks, Rice and Bolton agreed. “If it depends upon Trump’s resilience, we’re screwed,” Bolton said, drawing laughter from the crowd. Trump fired Bolton during the president’s first term due to sharp disagreements over foreign policy.

The Steamboat Institute allowed those in attendance and watching online to take a poll as to whether they believe the United States is committing superpower suicide. Before the night’s debate, 77% of those casting votes said the country is committing superpower suicide, 9% said it is not and 14% were undecided. After the debate, 75% of respondents said the country is committing superpower suicide, 13% said it is not and 12% were unsure.

CWA designed to foster civic debate

Kicking off Monday’s debate, CU �鶹ӰԺ Chancellor Justin Schwartz noted that higher education is often criticized for failing to platform diverse political opinions.

“Tonight, we are here and we are pushing back on that perception,” he told the audience, adding,

“That spirit—open inquiry, civil discourse and the exchange of ideas across differences—is the fundamental role of universities in the United States and exactly what the Conference on World Affairs was created to advance. At the �鶹ӰԺ, we believe democracy depends on our willingness to debate hard questions with rigor and with civility. Tonight, that belief is alive and visible.”

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Veteran national security advisors John Bolton and Susan Rice sparred over whether America is committing “superpower suicide,” headlining the Conference on World Affairs week.

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Top image: Susan Rice (left) and John Bolton (right) during Monday night's Conference on World Affairs discussion. (All photos by Glenn Asakawa/CU �鶹ӰԺ)

Coinciding exhibitions transform Visual Arts Complex into fine arts gallery for one afternoon

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 17:33:12 +0000

Coinciding exhibitions transform Visual Arts Complex into fine arts gallery for one afternoon Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/04/2017 - 11:33

Craig Levinsky

King Exhibition, Open Studios and the CU Art Museum create a synergy of art

Next Thursday, April 13, from 2 to 5 p.m., the �鶹ӰԺ Visual Arts Complex (VAC) will join its neighboring Art Museum and �鶹ӰԺ’s Open Studios in hosting a unique joint showcase of two annual Art and Art History Department events: The King Exhibition and Emerging Artists Open Studios.

The King Exhibition will feature artwork throughout the VAC hallway walls, doubling as both gallery exhibit and open scholarship competition for graduate and undergraduate students. Meanwhile, the artists’ creative laboratories will be open and on display for the Emerging Artists Open Studios.

That afternoon, the Visual Arts Complex, home to the majority of CU’s fine arts programs and faculty/student studio space, becomes the gallery. Photography, video, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, painting, drawing and more will all be on view throughout the event.

Each year, the King Exhibition hosts a guest curator to select featured work, as well as award graduate and undergraduate students first- and second-place prizes of $1,000 and $500, generously donated by the King family, longtime supporters of the Art and Art History Department.

Laura Smith, a second-year MFA student focusing on ceramics, takes a moment in her tool-filled studio. At the top of the page, Jenny Shenk, also a second-year student in ceramics, poses with some of her work. Photos by Craig Levinsky.

Mandy Vink, of the City of �鶹ӰԺ Office of Arts and Culture, will provide curating services this year to the event where many students have sold pieces in the past or been solicited to exhibit in other venues.

For the Emerging Artists Open Studios share of the event, the artists’ workspace is the exhibit. At the same time the King Exhibition takes over the hallways of every floor in VAC, attendees will be able to visit both the undergraduate and graduate students’ creative space, speak with the student-artists themselves and explore their creative practice.

The most exciting thing about Open Studios, said Catherine Cartwright, graduate coordinator for the Department of Art and History, “is that it’s really the only time the public has an opportunity to see what’s behind closed doors. If you walk through the building any other time of year, you can’t tell what’s going on in people’s studios, so it’s like seeing inside the mind of the artist. To be able to ask, ‘What does this mean? What are you working on?’ I think is the most interesting part of the engagement.”

“So we not only see the student’s work in the form of a polished group exhibition,” added Cartwright, “but we get to see the rawness of the studios. It’s an interesting combination, like the front stage and behind the scenes at the same time.”

In addition to merging the King Exhibition and Open Studios events, another aspect that makes this year’s show unique is the timing overlap with the CU �鶹ӰԺ Conference on World Affairs. “So there’s a lot of presence and excitement with arts panels on campus,” said Cartwright.

“I think Mandy did a fantastic job pairing work together,” said Megan Chase, second-year graduate student focusing on painting and drawing, of being featured alongside her colleagues. “There’s a conversation happening between Laura’s piece, my pieces and Melissa’s pieces. I would have never thought to put them together, but I think they work really nicely and have this interesting dialogue going.”

“Every curator does something different and has a different vision,” said Kirk Ambrose, chair of the Department of Art and Art History.

“I think that’s part of the value. As students go through the program over the years, they see the dynamic or dialogic relationship between the curator and student, and that’s a really important aspect of this. Mandy Vink is going to have a very different vision than previous curators and that’s all for the good, across all the different formats, so that’s what I’m looking forward to the most, just seeing how that relationship between the students and the curator unfold. It’s always exciting.”

The CU Visual Arts Complex will join its neighboring CU Art Museum and �鶹ӰԺ’s Open Studios in hosting a unique joint showcase of two annual Art and Art History Department events: The King Exhibition and Emerging Artists Open Studios.

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