China Is Winning the Battle of Brains With the U.S.
America needs to reboot the university programs and think tanks that helped win the Cold War.
China is forecast to produce 8.2 million fresh graduates this year.
Photographer: Wang He/Getty Images
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of John Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. SAIS is one of the world’s leading institutions for the study of global affairs; in full disclosure, it is also where I work. The school was created during the early 1940s, as part of a broader national mobilization of U.S. intellectual resources to support the nation’s emerging global leadership. Today, America needs another intellectual mobilization to master a new set of geopolitical rivalries.
During and after World War II, Washington made unprecedented efforts to shape the international system. The U.S. created a globe-spanning network of security alliances; it led international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. These initiatives drew on America’s unmatched economic and military power. They also rested on a national commitment to enhance Americans’ understanding of the wider world.