Class News
Chas Freeman ’64 interviewed on Ukraine and Taiwan
March 30, 2022
The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University produces a podcast titled “Trending Globally: Politics and Policy.” On March 30 they interviewed their own Senior Fellow Chas W. Freeman ’64 about Ukraine and Taiwan and Chas’s theory of “spheres of influence.”
Here is how the Watson Institute described the interview:
The war in Ukraine has upended what many of us thought we knew about the world today. Whether we’re thinking about Russia and Europe or China and Taiwan, it seems like the range of possible outcomes in conflicts around the world has expanded in unsettling ways.
In the midst of this, Watson Senior Fellow Chas Freeman thinks there’s one key concept we’d all benefit from getting reacquainted with: “spheres of influence.” Chas Freeman is one of America’s leading experts on U.S. - China relations. On this episode, Chas talks with Watson Director Ed Steinfeld about how thinking in terms of “spheres of influence” could help us better understand the world. In fact, it goes beyond just understanding the world. Chas thinks that the concept of “spheres of influence” could actually help global superpowers like the U.S. and China navigate and de-escalate conflicts of the future.
Click the "Play" button below to hear the 28-minute interview.
1964 classmates will want to register for the Zoom event on Thursday, April 28, “China: Confrontation or Collaboration,” when Chas Freeman ’64, Mac Deford ’64, and Ward Wickwire ’64 will take a deep dive on U.S. - China relations.
Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. is a senior fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense, ambassador to Saudi Arabia during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Chargé d'Affaires at both Bangkok and Beijing. He began his diplomatic career in India but specialized in Chinese affairs. He was the principal American interpreter during President Nixon's visit to Beijing in 1972.