The US Constitution does not provide for political parties. Nonetheless, the Founders were wary of factions and factionalism and the problems they could cause for the new representative democracy.
By and large, politics in the United States has functioned within the ambit of two principal parties (a) competing with each other for offices at the federal, state, and local levels and (b) promoting policy – in Congress, specifically – on issues of war and peace, international trade, and foreign relations. Regarding foreign policy, a bipartisan approach “beyond our shores” was long thought to be desirable.
In recent administrations, the role of parties in making foreign policy and supporting diplomacy has come to be questioned – arguably, as never before in recent times.
Has the two-party system and/or the key parties themselves – Democrat and Republican – become dysfunctional?
More basically, what are the functions of parties in the realm of foreign policy and relations?
If the two-party approach or the separate parties themselves have performed poorly in furthering US interests and values, what can be done to improve matters?
Two seasoned commentators from previous Salon discussions on politics and diplomacy will join us to open the Salon conversation this time as well.
Guest presenters Tom Reston and Roger Noriega bring diplomatic experience and political engagement on the left and right. For their part, DACOR members and their guests typically offer differing backgrounds and a wide spectrum of views to enrich Salon-style conversation. We expect and will encourage participation in this Salon representing current policy and the widest possible range of opinion.
Founder and currently Managing Director of the consultant firm, Vision Americas LLC, Ambassador (Ret.) Roger F. Noriega has more than three decades of public policy experience focusing on U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere. After a 10-year career on Capitol Hill, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to senior State Department posts.
As U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs (July 2003 to October 2005), Noriega managed a 3,000-person team in Washington and 50 diplomatic posts to design and implement political and economic strategies in Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
As U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States (August 2001 to July 2003), Noriega coordinated complex and sensitive multilateral diplomacy in a 34-member international organization to bolster trade, fight illicit drugs, and defend democracy.
Noriega was a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research from 2005-2020, commenting and addressing the greatest challenges and opportunities facing the Americas.
Thomas B. Reston has spent a lifetime in politics, working in eight presidential campaigns at the national level, and countless local and statewide efforts. He was twice elected Secretary of the Democratic Party of Virginia. Reston was a political appointee in the Foreign Service under President Jimmy Carter, serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. A civil rights advocate, he was twice Board Chair of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
Location
Setting: In-Person DACOR Bacon House 1801 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 UNITED STATES
