Northwestern Political Union

Past Events

The Political Union seeks to heighten the level of discourse on matters of public policy at Northwestern University by creating forums to both engage each other and to engage leading public intellectuals and public servants.

Student Debates

Our student debates feature resolutions which are debated by students for one and a half hours. They feature friendly but serious debate on key questions that our generation will have to grapple with as we attempt to better inform ourselves and become more engaged citizens.

Spring Quarter 2008

• Resolved: The United States has a moral obligation to promote democracy.
  
  
• Resolved: Universal healthcare is a human right.
  
  
• Resolved: The United States should pursue market-based solutions to global climate change.
  
  
• Resolved: The United States should mandate that all citizens 18 years of age participate in a one-year period of national service.
  
  
• Resolved: The American century has ended.
  
  
• Resolved: The United States should pursue a policy of nuclear disarmament.
  With guest Dr. Kenette Benedict (Executive Director and Publisher, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)

Guest Events

The opportunity to not merely hear from but substantively engage leading public intellectuals and public servants is one of the key components of the Political Union. The Political Union has hosted forums with a variety of authors, scholars, and public officials to better understand their fields.

Spring Quarter 2008

• “The Powers to Lead”
  Joseph Nye (Professor and Former Dean, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University)
  
  
• “U.S. Foreign Policy in the Era of Globalization”
  Henry Bienen (President, Northwestern University)
  
  
• “Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA”
  Tim Weiner (Pulitzer-prize winning newspaper correspondent, author of Legacy of Ashes)
  
  
• “Reflections on A Life of Public Service”
  Former U.S. Congressman Jim Kolbe
  
  
• “Liberal Fascism” (Co-sponsored by Northwestern College Republicans)
  Jonah Goldberg (Author of Liberal Fascism)
  
  
• U.S. Intervention Abroad: Good or Bad
  Dr. Joshua Muravchik (Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute)
  Stephen Kinzer (Northwestern University Professor, author of Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change)
  
  
• “The Political Crisis in Lebanon” (Co-sponsored by Northwestern Model Arab League)
  David Schenker (Director of Arab Politics, Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
  Fawaz Gerges  (Professor, Sarah Lawrence College)
  
  
• “Conversation on the State of International Politics”
  Richard Haass (President, Council on Foreign Relations)