The Hon. Christopher A. Ford
New Paradigms Forum -- International Security Policy Since 2009
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Principled Conservatism in America's Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy
Dr. Christopher Ford • Jul 15, 2021
On July 2, 2021, Dr. Ford published a paper on "Principled Conservatism in America's Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy" with the National Security Institute (NSI) at the George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School. The full paper can be found here from NSI, or it may be downloaded through the button below.
July 2, 2021
National Security Institute Publishes New Paper:
“Principled Conservatism in America’s Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy”
Arlington, VA – Today, the National Security Institute (NSI) at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School published its latest paper, “Principled Conservatism in America’s Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy,” by NSI Distinguished Fellow Christopher Ford.
In the hope of catalyzing policy conversations and drawing out points of potential agreement between policy stakeholders, in this paper, former diplomat and Republican political appointee Dr. Christopher Ford offers his thoughts on what a broad vision for ‘principled conservatism’ in U.S. foreign and national security policy might look like. Topics in the paper include:
- Great power competition, democracy, and the rule of law;
- The role of professional expertise in policymaking;
- International allies and partners, terrorists and rogue regimes;
- Trade, immigration, and energy; and
- Political dialogue and Constitutionalism.
“Historically, politicians and political parties have often used time spent out of office as an opportunity to learn from past successes and failures, to recover a shared vision of the direction and objectives of political life, and to formulate the policy agendas that they hope will eventually return them to power with the trust of the country’s voters. American conservatives are out of power today, and have both an opportunity and a need for such soul-searching and vision-recovery,” said NSI Distinguished Fellow Dr. Christopher Ford. “At a time, moreover, when both of the main U.S. political parties are riven by factional conflict between centrists and radicals, I hope this paper will provide food for thought for anyone interested in the future of U.S. politics and policymaking,” he added.
“The exercise of creating a platform that allows an out-of-power political movement to return to power often begins with considering foundational beliefs that underpin its ideas,” said NSI Director of Strategy Matthew Heiman. “Christopher Ford’s paper lays out a case for what he describes as ‘principled conservatism’ in national security affairs. Covering the waterfront of foreign policy challenges, this paper should be considered by conservatives that are debating U.S. engagement with the world as well as liberals that will need to respond to their opponents’ arguments.”
Below appears the text upon which Dr. Ford based his remarks to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) “PONI Scholars” group on March 28, 2024.
Dr. Ford's paper "Nuclear Posture and Nuclear Posturing: A Conceptual Framework for Analyzing China's Nuclear Weapons Policy" was published in February 2024 by the National Institute for Public Policy . You can read the paper on NIPP's website here , or use the button below to download a PDF.
Below is the text of Dr. Ford's comments at an event the American Enterprise Institute on February 13, 2024, on U.S. outbound investment screening.
Below are the remarks Dr. Ford delivered at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs on February 8, 2024.
For a roundtable on December 13, 2023, sponsored by the Society for Risk Analysis and the Stimson Center , Dr. Ford participated in a discussion with Stimson's Debra Decker about nuclear risk reduction and the challenges of leadership in a complex national security environment. You can find materials on the roundtable here , and a video of Dr. Ford's discussion with Ms. Decker here .
Below is the prepared text upon which Dr. Ford drew in making brief remarks at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s “Targeting Workshop” on January 12, 2024.
With 2023 now in our collective rear-view mirror, I thought I’d offer you a handy compilation of my public work product from the last year. The list is heavy on strategic competition with China, of course, but doesn’t omit other topics ( e.g., morality and nuclear weapons policy, nuclear nonproliferation, and North Korea). Keep checking New Paradigms Forum for new material as we move into 2024!
Below are the remarks delivered by Dr. Ford at the “Strategic C ompetition Educators Conference” held on December 7, 2023, at the U.S. Foreign Service Institut e in Arlington, Virginia.
Below are the remarks Dr. Ford delivered at a conference sponsored by the Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), on December 5, 2023.
Below are the remarks Dr. Ford delivered at Bacon House in Washington, D.C., on October 6, 2023, to DACOR ’s annal conference. This text has been supplemented with amplifying references to the original (longer) text Dr. Ford prepared for the event.