The Institute of World Politics

Dr. Kengor, author of Dupes: How America's Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century, will discuss his historical research on a troubling aspect of American history: the prominent role of the "dupe." From the Bolshevik Revolution through the Cold War and right up to the present, many progressives have unwittingly aided some of America's most dangerous opponents. Dr. Kengor will describe not only how such dupes contributed to history's most destructive ideology-Communism, which claimed at least 100 million lives-but also why they are so relevant to today's politics.

Paul KengorPaul Kengor, Ph.D., is professor of political science at Grove City College, a four-year, private Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania, and a New York Times bestselling author. He is executive director of the Center for Vision & Values, a Grove City College think-tank/policy center. He is also a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University. Kengor is an internationally recognized authority on several subjects, particularly Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and communism. He is often quoted in major publications, and his articles have appeared in numerous publications from across the ideological spectrum. Kengor is a frequent contributor to MSNBC, C-SPAN, NPR, the BBC, PCN-TV, EWTN, and FoxNewsChannel, and is regular columnist for Townhall and the American Spectator. Kengor received his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and his Master's degree from American University's School of International Service. He holds an honorary doctorate from Franciscan University (Steubenville, Ohio).

In this Intermarium Series Lecture, Mr. Paweł Styrna, IWP Class of 2015 and Kościuszko Chair of Polish Studies research assistant, will discuss the manner in which the post-Soviet Russian leadership views the world. The Kremlin sees the United States in particular, and the West and NATO in general, as deeply hostile forces having no greater objective than to encircle, dismember, and destroy Russia -- in collaboration with anti-Russian "Fifth Columnists" and "fascists" in the "near abroad." This is not solely the attitude of the Putin regime, however, but a geopolitical mentality formed over centuries of Russian history. In effect, the paranoid, anti-American post-Soviet "besieged Kremlin" attitude is a synthesis of Muscovite and Soviet Feindbilder ["images of the enemy"]. In his presentation, Mr. Styrna will trace the historical roots of Moscow's Weltanschauung and explain why this understanding is highly relevant today.

Paweł P. Styrna was educated at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he received his Bachelor of Arts and his Master of Arts in modern European history, with minor specializations in Polish and Soviet history. He plans to graduate in 2015 from the international relations program at The Institute of World Politics. He also serves as a research assistant to the Kościuszko Chair in Polish Studies.

He has co-edited Golden Harvest or Hearts of Gold? Studies on the Fate of Wartime Poles and Jews (2012) and authored the chapter entitled "The Tale of Two Hamlets: The Case of Wólka-Okrąglik and Gniewczyna." Mr. Styrna is a Eurasia analyst for the Selous Foundation for Public Policy Research (SFPPR) and writes the blog Property Polska for the Journal of Property Rights in Transition.

In this Intermarium Series Lecture, Mr. Paweł Styrna, IWP Class of 2015 and Kościuszko Chair of Polish Studies research assistant, will discuss the manner in which the post-Soviet Russian leadership views the world. The Kremlin sees the United States in particular, and the West and NATO in general, as deeply hostile forces having no greater objective than to encircle, dismember, and destroy Russia -- in collaboration with anti-Russian "Fifth Columnists" and "fascists" in the "near abroad." This is not solely the attitude of the Putin regime, however, but a geopolitical mentality formed over centuries of Russian history. In effect, the paranoid, anti-American post-Soviet "besieged Kremlin" attitude is a synthesis of Muscovite and Soviet Feindbilder ["images of the enemy"]. In his presentation, Mr. Styrna will trace the historical roots of Moscow's Weltanschauung and explain why this understanding is highly relevant today.

Paweł P. Styrna was educated at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he received his Bachelor of Arts and his Master of Arts in modern European history, with minor specializations in Polish and Soviet history. He plans to graduate in 2015 from the international relations program at The Institute of World Politics. He also serves as a research assistant to the Kościuszko Chair in Polish Studies.

He has co-edited Golden Harvest or Hearts of Gold? Studies on the Fate of Wartime Poles and Jews (2012) and authored the chapter entitled "The Tale of Two Hamlets: The Case of Wólka-Okrąglik and Gniewczyna." Mr. Styrna is a Eurasia analyst for the Selous Foundation for Public Policy Research (SFPPR) and writes the blog Property Polska for the Journal of Property Rights in Transition.

In this Intermarium Series Lecture, Mr. Paweł Styrna, IWP Class of 2015 and Kościuszko Chair of Polish Studies research assistant, will discuss the manner in which the post-Soviet Russian leadership views the world. The Kremlin sees the United States in particular, and the West and NATO in general, as deeply hostile forces having no greater objective than to encircle, dismember, and destroy Russia -- in collaboration with anti-Russian "Fifth Columnists" and "fascists" in the "near abroad." This is not solely the attitude of the Putin regime, however, but a geopolitical mentality formed over centuries of Russian history. In effect, the paranoid, anti-American post-Soviet "besieged Kremlin" attitude is a synthesis of Muscovite and Soviet Feindbilder ["images of the enemy"]. In his presentation, Mr. Styrna will trace the historical roots of Moscow's Weltanschauung and explain why this understanding is highly relevant today.

Paweł P. Styrna was educated at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he received his Bachelor of Arts and his Master of Arts in modern European history, with minor specializations in Polish and Soviet history. He plans to graduate in 2015 from the international relations program at The Institute of World Politics. He also serves as a research assistant to the Kościuszko Chair in Polish Studies.

He has co-edited Golden Harvest or Hearts of Gold? Studies on the Fate of Wartime Poles and Jews (2012) and authored the chapter entitled "The Tale of Two Hamlets: The Case of Wólka-Okrąglik and Gniewczyna." Mr. Styrna is a Eurasia analyst for the Selous Foundation for Public Policy Research (SFPPR) and writes the blog Property Polska for the Journal of Property Rights in Transition.

Mr. Sobchenko will discuss information he gathered on his recent trips to Ukraine, in which he met with a wide variety of Ukrainians from different regions, social strata, and political affiliations.

Ukraine 2013 380x204

Alexei Sobchenko, currently a Washington, D.C.-based translator and interpreter, has served for over ten years as a translator and interpreter for the U.S. Department of State, both in D.C. and Moscow. Previously, he worked as a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, where he was based in Munich, Germany and Prague, Czech Republic. He holds an M.A. in Modern and 20th Century History from Lomonosov Moscow State University (MGU).

Mr. Sobchenko will discuss information he gathered on his recent trips to Ukraine, in which he met with a wide variety of Ukrainians from different regions, social strata, and political affiliations.

Ukraine 2013 380x204

Alexei Sobchenko, currently a Washington, D.C.-based translator and interpreter, has served for over ten years as a translator and interpreter for the U.S. Department of State, both in D.C. and Moscow. Previously, he worked as a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, where he was based in Munich, Germany and Prague, Czech Republic. He holds an M.A. in Modern and 20th Century History from Lomonosov Moscow State University (MGU).

Mr. Sobchenko will discuss information he gathered on his recent trips to Ukraine, in which he met with a wide variety of Ukrainians from different regions, social strata, and political affiliations.

Ukraine 2013 380x204

Alexei Sobchenko, currently a Washington, D.C.-based translator and interpreter, has served for over ten years as a translator and interpreter for the U.S. Department of State, both in D.C. and Moscow. Previously, he worked as a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, where he was based in Munich, Germany and Prague, Czech Republic. He holds an M.A. in Modern and 20th Century History from Lomonosov Moscow State University (MGU).

By mid‐2015, the Obama presidency will be entering its final stages, and the race among the successors in both parties will be well underway. And while experts have already formed a provisional understanding of the Obama administration's foreign policy goals, the shape of the "Obama Doctrine" is finally coming into full view.

In The Obama Doctrine, Colin Dueck analyzes and explains what the Obama Doctrine in foreign policy actually is, and maps out the competing visions on offer from the Republican Party. Dueck, a leading scholar of US foreign policy, contends it is now becoming clear that Obama's policy of international retrenchment is in large part a function of his emphasis on achieving domestic policy goals. There have been some successes in the approach, but there have also been costs. For instance, much of the world no longer trusts the US to exert its will in international politics, and America's adversaries overseas have asserted themselves with increasing frequency. The Republican Party will target these perceived weaknesses in the 2016 presidential campaign and develop competing counter‐doctrines in the process.

The Obama Doctrine not only provides a sharp appraisal of foreign policy in the Obama era; it lays out an alternative approach to marshaling American power that will help shape the foreign policy debate in the run‐up to the 2016 elections.

Colin DueckColin Dueck is an Associate Professor in George Mason University's School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs. He studied politics at Princeton University, and international relations at Oxford under a Rhodes scholarship. He has published three books on American foreign and national security policies, The Obama Doctrine: American Grand Strategy Today (Oxford 2015), Hard Line: The Republican Party and U.S. Foreign Policy since World War II (Princeton 2010), and Reluctant Crusaders: Power, Culture, and Change in American Grand Strategy (Princeton 2006.) Dueck has provided congressional testimony and published articles on these same subjects in journals such as International Security, Orbis, Security Studies, Review of International Studies, Political Science Quarterly, and World Policy Journal, as well as online at RealClearPolitics, National Review, Foreign Affairs, The National Interest, and the New York Times. His current research focus is on the relationship between party politics, presidential leadership, American conservatism, and U.S. foreign policy strategies. He is the faculty adviser for the Alexander Hamilton Society at George Mason University, and a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

By mid‐2015, the Obama presidency will be entering its final stages, and the race among the successors in both parties will be well underway. And while experts have already formed a provisional understanding of the Obama administration's foreign policy goals, the shape of the "Obama Doctrine" is finally coming into full view.

In The Obama Doctrine, Colin Dueck analyzes and explains what the Obama Doctrine in foreign policy actually is, and maps out the competing visions on offer from the Republican Party. Dueck, a leading scholar of US foreign policy, contends it is now becoming clear that Obama's policy of international retrenchment is in large part a function of his emphasis on achieving domestic policy goals. There have been some successes in the approach, but there have also been costs. For instance, much of the world no longer trusts the US to exert its will in international politics, and America's adversaries overseas have asserted themselves with increasing frequency. The Republican Party will target these perceived weaknesses in the 2016 presidential campaign and develop competing counter‐doctrines in the process.

The Obama Doctrine not only provides a sharp appraisal of foreign policy in the Obama era; it lays out an alternative approach to marshaling American power that will help shape the foreign policy debate in the run‐up to the 2016 elections.

Colin DueckColin Dueck is an Associate Professor in George Mason University's School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs. He studied politics at Princeton University, and international relations at Oxford under a Rhodes scholarship. He has published three books on American foreign and national security policies, The Obama Doctrine: American Grand Strategy Today (Oxford 2015), Hard Line: The Republican Party and U.S. Foreign Policy since World War II (Princeton 2010), and Reluctant Crusaders: Power, Culture, and Change in American Grand Strategy (Princeton 2006.) Dueck has provided congressional testimony and published articles on these same subjects in journals such as International Security, Orbis, Security Studies, Review of International Studies, Political Science Quarterly, and World Policy Journal, as well as online at RealClearPolitics, National Review, Foreign Affairs, The National Interest, and the New York Times. His current research focus is on the relationship between party politics, presidential leadership, American conservatism, and U.S. foreign policy strategies. He is the faculty adviser for the Alexander Hamilton Society at George Mason University, and a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

By mid‐2015, the Obama presidency will be entering its final stages, and the race among the successors in both parties will be well underway. And while experts have already formed a provisional understanding of the Obama administration's foreign policy goals, the shape of the "Obama Doctrine" is finally coming into full view.

In The Obama Doctrine, Colin Dueck analyzes and explains what the Obama Doctrine in foreign policy actually is, and maps out the competing visions on offer from the Republican Party. Dueck, a leading scholar of US foreign policy, contends it is now becoming clear that Obama's policy of international retrenchment is in large part a function of his emphasis on achieving domestic policy goals. There have been some successes in the approach, but there have also been costs. For instance, much of the world no longer trusts the US to exert its will in international politics, and America's adversaries overseas have asserted themselves with increasing frequency. The Republican Party will target these perceived weaknesses in the 2016 presidential campaign and develop competing counter‐doctrines in the process.

The Obama Doctrine not only provides a sharp appraisal of foreign policy in the Obama era; it lays out an alternative approach to marshaling American power that will help shape the foreign policy debate in the run‐up to the 2016 elections.

Colin DueckColin Dueck is an Associate Professor in George Mason University's School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs. He studied politics at Princeton University, and international relations at Oxford under a Rhodes scholarship. He has published three books on American foreign and national security policies, The Obama Doctrine: American Grand Strategy Today (Oxford 2015), Hard Line: The Republican Party and U.S. Foreign Policy since World War II (Princeton 2010), and Reluctant Crusaders: Power, Culture, and Change in American Grand Strategy (Princeton 2006.) Dueck has provided congressional testimony and published articles on these same subjects in journals such as International Security, Orbis, Security Studies, Review of International Studies, Political Science Quarterly, and World Policy Journal, as well as online at RealClearPolitics, National Review, Foreign Affairs, The National Interest, and the New York Times. His current research focus is on the relationship between party politics, presidential leadership, American conservatism, and U.S. foreign policy strategies. He is the faculty adviser for the Alexander Hamilton Society at George Mason University, and a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.