Below is an overview of the class I am teaching next semester at George Washington University in Washington, DC.
If you’re intrigued and what to learn more, please feel free to drop me a note at marc@caracal.global.
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“This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.”
– Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent that the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”
– George Orwell
Globalization has significantly changed the nature of American politics forging a new generational paradigm. How America proceeds in this new environment is unknown.
The election of Donald Trump has uniquely changed the Republican Party into something entirely different than it was just four years ago. Bernie Sanders, who forced Hillary Clinton to tack left in the primaries, has done the same to the Democratic Party. In the short term, American politics will see a tremendous amount of shifting and movement between the two parties as they redefine themselves.
With an endless news cycle, a continuous flow of global trade, protectionist laws, and committed geopolitical powers, American politics is being shaped from many directions and far beyond America's shores. Decisions made in Beijing now affect events in Brussels which in turn compels policy in Washington, DC.
The ability to manage this dynamic, globalized political environment, particularly in public policy, coupled with an underlying cultural phenomenon rejecting the establishment, this new environment is more challenging for American government officials, policy makers, voters, and companies.
The pace involved in addressing political challenges has increased as well as the scale of the problems due to a globally diverse network of stakeholders. American voters have spoken and demanded a greater share of the profits. The traditional capitalist ideal of being responsible solely to shareholders in under threat and business going forward will involve numerous stakeholders, including governments, media, bloggers, consumers, non-governmental organizations, investors, employees, and citizens. For future leaders, simply put, there are a lot more people that will hold you accountable and want a say in the process.
In this class, we will explore this challenging global public affairs environment through case studies and guest speakers involving American multinational corporations, non-governmental organizations, government officials, institutions, investors, and recent elections. This class will examine the intersection of history, politics, geography, culture, and economics to shape this new paradigm.
With a formation of new Trump administration and a new Congress as a backdrop, the lectures and classroom discussions will be developed in real-time and will incorporate the important news stories of the day. This class will prepare future leaders to understand and engage global problems, economic development challenges and opportunities, and explore how these issues spread in a globally interconnected communications marketplace all influencing and disrupting American politics like never before.
This class will not only offer bold predictions for the future of American politics, but students will ultimately leave the class better prepared to handle and understand America's next generation and rendezvous with destiny.