Expert political analyst Ralph Buultjens has been unpacking world events for the edification of 92Y audiences since 1997. When COVID-19 shuttered our hall last year (it’s now fully open again for talks and events), he brought his lectures online to our newly established 92U platform, thanks to a generous gift from Wendy Fisher and the Kirsh Foundation. Now, he’s experiencing a surge of popularity, and his classes are among 92Y’s most eagerly received programs of all kinds.
Susan Engel, Director of 92Y Talks, who first brought Professor Buultjens to our stage, talked to him about contextualizing the biggest issues, now and for the future.
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Susan Engel: If you had to pick the single most important, wide-ranging, interconnected, long-term issue at play world politics right now — climate change, inflation, migration, cybersecurity, or something else, what would it be, and why?
Ralph Buultjens: Climate change, and the social/political effects of climate change, influences all the other issues. Over the long term, the environment will affect economics and resources and more. What is the commitment of countries and leaders not just to the here and now, but to the future of the human species?
SE: With a focus as broad as world politics and ever-changing global news, how do you decide upon the topics for your 92U classes?
RB: When structuring the classes, we should mix both the immediate and the enduring. Many topics suggest themselves because of their urgency, but I also select other issues which I think are significant in the longer term. For example, the global demographic landscape is changing and will have a significant long-term impact, which is not much discussed.
SE: Building upon the title of a book of yours, what do you see as the most important "Lessons for Today" in foreign affairs?
RB: We should think more longer term than we do — very often we focus too much on the immediate and don’t think ahead. We have to pay much more attention to things like culture, people’s life experiences and history than we do. America’s whole failure in Afghanistan can be attributed to our lack of understanding of Afghan history, society, culture. We need to focus on how leaders try to incorporate policy and their personal political interests, such as Putin and Russia. And we have to take a political view of seemingly apolitical issues — for example, the way in which technology has shown itself to have very important political implications.
SE: After 24 years of lectures at 92Y, to what do you owe the recent surge in popularity of your classes
RB: If you look at my record at 92Y, whenever there are difficult times in world affairs there is an increase in registration. Difficult times, more interest in world affairs — and this was certainly true of the pandemic.
SE: I would add that when we went virtual, Ralph’s classes created a certain intimacy, and the question-and-answer session in each class became an important part of the program and, of course, the digital platform made it possible for people to join the class from far beyond New York. As one of the early successes of 92U, we saw that people wanted to use this confusing time to learn and intellectually engage. It’s my impression that this was one of the few things we felt we had agency over.
World Politics with Ralph Buultjens: America and Global Power — The New Politics and Economic Change begins on November 16, online at 92U.