Blue Center lecture series tackles hard and soft power
New Hampshire congresswoman Maggie Goodlander and Yale law professor Amy Chua discussed foreign policy challenges, economic policy, and reshaping U.S. government.
- Published
The Blue Center for Global Strategic Assessment kicked off its semester-long Co-Lectures in the Theory and Practice of Statecraft September 21 with a conversation on “U.S. hard and soft power” with Maggie Goodlander, U.S. Representative for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District, and Amy Chua, John M. Duff Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
The series pairs practitioners from government and industry with Yale professors to deliver joint, hour-long lectures on subjects of mutual expertise. Practitioners discuss events or policy initiatives in which they participate, and academics cover related insights or results generated by their research.
Elected to Congress in 2024, Goodlander has had a unique career path: a foreign policy advisor to Senators Joseph Leiberman and John McCain, a naval intelligence officer, a law clerk to Judge Merrick Garland and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and a senior Justice Department and White House official. She said these experiences “inform everyday how I approach creating laws and oversight.”
The conversation addressed military policy and the war in Iran early on. “President Trump started war in Iran unilaterally,” said Goodlander, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Small Business. “And between the war and the chaotic tariffs and trade wars, the people I represent are feeling the pain.”
Chua later asked whether Goodlander which American soft power tools she was most concerned about. Goodlander pointed to the “gutting of Justice Department” and other institutions, and she urged Yale students to consider careers in public service. “We need to rebuild government with best and brightest people imaginable – people are the ultimate tool of power in America,” Goodlander said.
The Blue Center’s lecture series will continue throughout the semester, with topics including cybersecurity and digital policy, Arctic security, and economic warfare. See a full list of events.
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