Programs are usually the first Thursday of the month from 7 to 8:30 pm October through May.

The purpose of Great Decisions is to educate citizens about issues of importance to American foreign policy and to provide them with the information to form opinions about the topics covered.

Pilgrim House has held a Great Decisions Program since 2007. We have found Great Decisions to be a stimulating and provocative learning exercise, and we encourage others to join us.

Great Decisions is a dynamic citizen education and discussion program, sponsored nationally by the Foreign Policy Association and coordinated locally by Global Minnesota. Speakers are informed and interesting observers of Foreign Policy affairs. We usually meet the first Thursday of the month, 7:00 at PH or via Zoom, and invite all to attend.

Each year eight issues significant to the United States’ role in the global community are chosen for discussion.

All are welcome to attend.

Next Program

The programs are currently via Zoom only. Information will be sent to current participants. If you would like to attend and don’t receive a Zoom link, email pilgrimhouse@pilgrimhouseuua.org.

February 6, 7:00pm – India: Between China, the West, and the Global South

India today is an emerging power occupying a pivotal position in the world. As it marks its 75th anniversary in January 2025, the world’s most populous nation and largest democracy continues to defy simple categorization.

Our speaker is Kannan Solayappan, who grew up in Chennai in Southern India and earned his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering at a university in Bangalore. In the late 1980s, he saw the promise of computers and went to Australia to study computer science, graduating with a master’s in 1992. He moved to Minnesota in 1998 and has been a software consultant here for over 20 years now. In these years he has worked in most of the major companies in Minnesota, including IBM, Mayo Clinic, American Express, Cargill, 3M, United Health Care, Medtronic, U.S. Bank and now Wells Fargo. He lives in Eagan with his wife, Vallikannu, who works as a banker in Wells Fargo.

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.

U.S. Changing Leadership of the World Economy

Under President Biden, the U.S. has advanced new ideas about trade, technology, industrial policy, competition with China, and the organization of the world economy. For most of the postwar era, the U.S. has tied its global leadership to cooperative agendas aimed at creating a more open-world trading system, but that has apparently come to an end. 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?

U.S.-China Relations

Washington’s relations with Beijing have reached an ominous low ebb. Both American political parties have identified China as the country’s preeminent geopolitical challenger and, in the eyes of many, a systemic threat. What is driving this deterioration of Sino-American relations, and what are America’s strategic options in the face of Chinese power and ambition?

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. Its population size, economy, and geopolitical location ensure that it will be an influential voice in debates and political struggles over global order. What are India’s choices and opportunities for regional and global leadership? How will it maneuver between China and the United States, and what is its role as a voice of the Global South? What opportunities exist for Washington to work with India?

International Cooperation on Climate Change

The 2015 Paris Agreement established a UN-sponsored framework for negotiations on climate change and global warming. In subsequent COP meetings, experts and political leaders have come together seeking common cause for this growing global crisis. What is the future of these efforts, and what have they yielded? 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?

The Future of NATO and European Security

European security is more uncertain than it has been for decades. 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 with the failure of Congress to pass supplemental military support for Ukraine. What are Europe’s options, and how might developments on both sides of Western Europe – in Ukraine and across the Atlantic – impact its choices? What are America’s stakes in NATO and Europe’s strategic dilemmas?

AI and American National Security

The AI revolution is the leading edge of a larger high-tech revolution which promises to transform the world. Experts argue that international cooperation is needed to expand the opportunities these new technologies hold while protecting societies from their dangers. What are the key policy debates in this area, and what are the opportunities and limits on global AI rules of the road? 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?

American Foreign Policy in the Middle East: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead

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?

Past Programs

2024

December 5 – High Seas Treaty

Areas of the seas beyond national jurisdiction comprise the high seas, which are facing a degradation of ecosystems due to climate change and the increase in human activities, such as shipping, overfishing, pollution, and deep-sea mining. The recently negotiated High Seas Treaty, also known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty, will attempt to address these issues. How difficult will it be to convince nations to participate?

Our speaker is Christi Siver, Professor of Political Science at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. She did her undergraduate work at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR, her Masters in International Relations and International Economics at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and her Ph.D. in political science at the University of Washington. She teaches courses on international relations and international security. Her current research interests include international humanitarian law, military technology, and comparative law.

Christi gave us an interesting program on Climate Intervention in May of this year.

November 13 (Note Change!) – Understanding Indonesia

Despite its large size as the fourth most populous country in the world Indonesia remains virtually invisible to most Americans. But as one of the world’s largest democracies, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, and as an economic driver of the ASEAN regional trade bloc, why does it fly below the radar? What are current issues in U.S.-Indonesian relations, and what role can the country play in Asia? Moreover, Indonesia is a recognized global leader in global health policy and reproductive health. world.

Our speaker will be Dr. Richard Leitch, who earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Illinois in 1995, where he was the recipient of the Harriet and Charles Luckman Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching. He has been a member of the Political Science Department at Gustavus since 1996, where he teaches courses in International Relations, Comparative Politics, Asian Politics, Environmental Politics, and the Politics of Poverty. His research interests include Japanese domestic politics and foreign policy, and he is the co-author of Japan’s Role in the Post-Cold War World.

October 3 – NATO’s Future:

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has come under increased scrutiny, not because NATO troops are involved in the conflict, but because of its role in relations between Russia and its neighbors. Will expanding membership in NATO protect countries, or will it further provoke Russia?

Our speaker is Norma Noonan who spoke with us about Russia in 2022:

Norma Noonan is Professor Emerita of Political Science and Leadership Studies at Augsburg College. The former director of the Master of Arts in Leadership Program at Augsburg, Noonan still teaches in the graduate leadership studies program. She is an expert in comparative and international politics and leadership studies, with special interests in Russia, women in society, and leadership theories. Ms. Noonan is a frequent lecturer and commentator in the Twin Cities, and has authored over fifty articles and contributed to various anthologies and readers. She is Editor and contributor to the Encyclopedia of Russian Women’s Movements (2001), and the Co-editor and contributor to Russian Women in Politics and Society (1996). She is also a contributor to a forthcoming book on the emerging powers, which will come out in early 2013. Norma Noonan earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from Indiana University, a Certificate in Russian and Eastern European Studies from Indiana University, and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. She is an avid traveler, most recently traveling to Russia and Central Europe.

May 2, 7:00pm – Science Across Borders

Climate change poses an urgent challenge and despite current efforts, the risk of “overshooting” the 1.5 degree Paris Agreement goal is likely. In this environment, should all options, including risky technological “fixes,” be considered? Solar radiation modification, which promises to reduce the surface temperature of the earth, also carries substantial risks, including regional droughts, flooding, and extreme weather events. Unfortunately, the effects (both positive and negative) of solar radiation modification, which is being researched by international organizations, global networks of scientists, individual countries, and private sector groups, cannot be confined to a single country or region. Who should decide on how to address the urgent threats from climate change?

Our speaker is Christi Siver. She was with us last year on the topic of war crimes.

Christi Siver is a Professor of Political Science at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. She did her undergraduate work at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR, her Masters in International Relations and International Economics at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and her Ph.D. in political science at the University of Washington. She teaches courses on international relations and international security. Her current research interests include international humanitarian law, military technology, and comparative law.