Great Decisions

How to register: We have 30 Textbooks, along with the DVD and Teacher’s Electronic Edition. Members are on a first come first served basis. Please send a check for $40.00 to cover text and expenses. If two people are sharing one book, the price is $50.00. On check’s memo line, write Great Decisions. On a separate piece of paper, please print your Name, Address, Email Address, Phone Numbers (Landline and Mobile) for our records. Mail to: Mattapoisett Woman’s Club Box1444 Mattapoisett, MA 02739 Attn: Treasurer Classes begin the 3rd Wednesday January 15, 2025, and meet for a total of eight consecutive Wednesdays. The program takes place at the Mattapoisett Free Public Library, 7 Barstow Street, Mattapoisett MA. We meet from 1:00PM- 3:00PM in the downstairs Community Room. The side door is handicap accessible with an elevator to the lower level. We offer light refreshments with coffee and tea. This program is open to all members of the community in Mattapoisett and various surrounding towns. Each week we discuss the chapters in the Text supplied by the Foreign Policy Association. John Ikenberry will serve as Guest Editor of Great Decisions 2025. Professor Ikenberry is the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. He is ranked among the top Scholars of International Relations scholars. View Great Decisions topics below.Thank you for your interest in our organization. We look forward to your participation.

Co-Chairs: Ellen P. Flynn Ellen O. Stone Ann and Art Layton

Great Decisions 2025 Topics

  • American Foreign Policy at a Crossroads

This chapter will explore the contours of the U.S. foreign policy debate as it plays out in a world of multiple and escalating crises and domestic polarization. Author: G. John Ikenberry

  • U.S. Changing Leadership of the World Economy

What are America’s options and opportunities as a leader of the world economy? How will America’s “foreign policy for the middle class” and strategic competition with China impact its leadership role? How can the postwar rules and institutions of the world economy be made safe for economic nationalism and great power competition? Author: Daniel Drezner

  • US-China Relations

Washington’s relations with Beijing. China is the U. S.’ preeminent geopolitical challenger and a threat. What are America’s strategic options in the face of Chinese power and ambition? Author: Thomas J. Christensen

  • International Cooperation on Climate Change

The 2015 Paris Agreement established a UN-sponsored framework for negotiations on climate change and global warming. What is the U.S. role in fostering cooperation on climate change? In a divided country, what are the possible futures for American policy leadership? Author: Josh Busby

  • The Future of NATO and European Security

The Uncertainty of European security. Putin’s Russia has launched a war with Ukraine on its doorstep, and America’s uncertain role as leader of NATO and security provider has been called into question. What are America’s stakes in NATO and Europe’s strategic dilemmas? Author: Kori Schake

  • AI and American National Security

The AI revolution is the leading edge of a larger high-tech revolution which promises to transform the world. How will the AI revolution impact American national security? What are its policy options to secure the benefits of AI and guard against its dangers? Author: Julie George

  • India: Between China, the West, and the Global South

India is an emerging major power in world affairs, occupying a pivotal position between China, the United States, and the Global South. What are India’s choices and opportunities for regional and global leadership? What opportunities exist for Washington to work with India? Author: Leslie Vinjamuri

  • After Gaza: American Policy in the Middle East

The war in Gaza has brought the region to a crossroads. What are the possible outcomes of the war, and how might the United States use its influence to shape a long-term settlement that leaves both Israel and the Palestinians in a better position? How might Arab states in the wider region be brought into a settlement? What are America’s interests in the Middle East and how can it advance them?