American foreign policy expert lectures at AUS

Marco Vicenzino, a renowned foreign policy expert spoke to the American University of Sharjah (AUS) community about the current dynamics of the American foreign policy on Monday, March 5, 2012 at the university's Main Building.

In his lecture titled "American Foreign Policy Today," Vicenzino enlightened his audience the origins of the American foreign policy, how it evolved to the current status and speculated as to its likely future.

According to Vicenzino, at the very beginning, America adopted an isolationist policy of non-interference with issues beyond American borders. He cited a statement from George Washington's last speech to congress in which he encouraged an approach of avoiding all entangling alliances.

"The republic went through periods of enormous pressure such as the 1898 Spanish-American war, the two World Wars, Pearl Harbor attack and the emergence of foreign threats such as the Soviet Union where America was pushed to get involved in foreign issues," said Vincenzino. "In spite of those events, Americans continued to push for the isolationist ideals. "So you will see that for more than 200 years American foreign policy was, for the most part, an isotionalism and non-interference policy."

Speculating on the future of American foreign policy, Vicenzino said that in order for America to retain its influence, it will have to establish strategic relationship with regional powers which America will work with to resolve regional issues.

"Looking into the future, America will probably go through a relative decline of its influence as regional organizations such as the Arab League, in collaboration with international organizations, such as the United Nations, will take leadership roles in resolving regional issues. So if America wants to retain its influence around the world, it will have to establish strategic relationship with these regional organizations as well as regional powers.

Vicenzino is the founder and director of the Global Strategy Project (GSP), he represents a new generation of independent foreign policy thinkers that combine successful international private sector experience with profound insight into contemporary geo-politics.

"Student Leadership Program continues to nurture student minds through meaningful educational lectures that allow for positive development and growth. We live in a global world and understanding one another is essential nowadays. We encourage students to attend our lectures and share their views with others. We also thank the US Consulate in Dubai for their continuous cooperation with Office of Student Affairs," said Dr. Moza Al Shehhi, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.

"Mr. Vincenzino's lecture was truly inspiring. He discussed American Foreign Policies today and shared some insightful knowledge. His perception on certain aspects were eye opening and intriguing. Even though the lecture is far from my major, I still benefited a lot and gained general knowledge that could assist me in real life," said Aly El Gayar, junior Civil Engineering student.

The lecture was organized by the Student Leadership Program of the Office of Student Affairs in collaboration with the US Consulate General in Dubai.