The Herzstein Texas National Security Forum – Security in Transition: National Security Challenges Facing the Next President

Leading figures from the executive branch, the intelligence community and academia joined the Herzstein Texas National Security Forum at the University of Texas at Austin to discuss the national security issues facing the next President and the impact of Presidential transitions on the nation’s security. This two-day conference, which occurred from September 22 – September 23, was hosted by the Herzstein Foundation, the Moody Foundation, the Robert Strauss Center, the Clements Center, the White House Transition Project, the Baker Institute, the LBJ Presidential Library, the Center for Politics and Governance and the LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Notable panelists during the forum included former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, former White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, former Deputy Secretaries of State James Steinberg and John Negroponte, former Supreme Allied Commander Philip Breedlove and UT System Chancellor William McRaven.

Several members of the LBJ School community took part in the forum, including former Dean of the LBJ School James Steinberg, LBJ faculty William McRaven, Director of the LBJ Presidential Library Mark Updegrove, Professors William Inboden, Stephen Slick and Bob Inman, and Lecturer Paul Miller. The Herzstein National Security Forum brought together students from UT Dallas , UT El Paso and UT Rio Grand Valley for the Texas National Security Network, part of Chancellor McRaven’s Quantum Leaps initiative.

Throughout the conference and during the keynote address, given by James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, several components to a successful Presidential transition were identified: transparency in the intelligence community; continuing to develop our relationships with other nations, given that all involved commit to the principles of economic liberalism and maintaining the public good; and the importance of recognizing that the security issues thought localized to one region are in reality interconnected with other actors worldwide. During their time in Austin, Director Clapper and Ambassador Negroponte met with Clements Center Undergraduate Fellows and LBJ School students from Professor Steve Slick’s class on “Intelligence & National Security.”

Photos of James Clapper’s Keynote Address can be accessed here.

Photos of the conference can be accessed here.

Click here for the complete agenda of the event, and here (Day 1) and here (Day 2) for speaker bios

Media Coverage:

Security Challenges Await Next President (KVUE)
UT Austin Staging Two-Day Forum On Key National Security Challenges Next President Will Face (Patch.com)
Neither Trump nor Clinton are up to meeting our foreign policy challenges (The Federalist)

Videos:

Conversation on National Security Challenges Facing the Next President
Session 1: Asia
Session 2: Middle East
Session 3: Europe/Russia
Session 4: Terrorism
Keynote Address by DNI James Clapper
Welcome and First Plenary: Reflections on the White House NSC Transition from Bush to Obama
Session 1: Intelligence Support to the Nominees, President-elect, and the Transition Process
Session 2: Managing Diplomacy — Shaping a new State Department and Coordinating with a new President and White House team
Second Plenary: Responsible transitions: The White House transition from Bush to Obama
Session 3: A Commanding Presence — Effecting the President’s Role as Commander in Chief: The View from the Pentagon
Session 4: The Transfer of Security While in the Middle of Politics: The National Security Council