Related Issues

Global Engagement

The United States must renew its rich tradition of global engagement to create a more democratic and prosperous world, as well as to protect our own security. More than ever, in an age of international interdependence, the U.S. must collaborate with other countries -- as well as with civil society and private sector actors -- to address the most pressing challenges of our time, such as creating a more equitable and stable global economy, averting a climatic catastrophe as well as recurrent energy crises, reducing terrorism and the conditions that feed it, and ensuring the just treatment of the millions of migrants who cross borders in search of a better life.

A new generation of policy ideas is needed to guide responsible U.S. engagement in an interdependent world. Global institutions forged in the post-World War II era must be reimagined or replaced, along with policy approaches predicated on U.S. global dominance. Fresh ways must be found to engage the American public in global policy issues to ensure not just that Americans support strong U.S. engagement in the world, but also that the public demands that this engagement be guided by the core democratic values that underpin our society at home.

The International Program at Demos is focusing its initial work in several areas: trade and globalization, citizenship and immigration, public opinion and foreign policy, and an exploration of the interplay between democratic theory and international interdependence. Additional research and policy development on areas such as energy and the environment will be explored throughout 2009-10.