BY JEFF FALK and AMY McCAIG
Rice News staff
Discussions of international relations and the perilous state of the world were front and center as three former U.S. secretaries of state shared their perspectives on global affairs, democracy and diplomacy at the Rice University Baker Institute for Public Policy’s 30th anniversary gala Oct. 26.
Rice President Reginald DesRoches welcomed guests to the event on behalf of Baker Institute Director David Satterfield, who was recently named U.S. special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues by President Joe Biden to address the escalating crisis in Gaza.
“For three decades, the Institute has provided meaningful policy analysis on the most critical challenges facing Texas, the U.S. and the world,” DesRoches said. “Tonight’s distinguished guests … are a testament to the caliber of experts the institute brings in to discuss the most pressing issues of our time.”
Following the dinner and introductory remarks by DesRoches, James A. Baker III, honorary chair of the Baker Institute, and Hillary Rodham Clinton engaged in a candid conversation with panel host Norah O’Donnell, anchor of “CBS Evening News,” sharing their perspectives on current events unfolding across the world, from the Israel-Hamas war to Russia’s war against Ukraine and the escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.
Henry Kissinger, who had suffered an injury and had to cancel his scheduled appearance, joined the discussion via recorded video message in which he lauded the efforts of the Baker Institute and “my friend Jim Baker, whom I admire like few others for his political ability and leadership.”
O’Donnell began the discussion acknowledging that the gathering was taking place at a momentous time with a range of boiling issues to discuss.
“We have a number of very visible urgent crises, the ones that … we are having to handle simultaneously. And we have to hope that there is not an additional crisis or a conflict that comes up in the immediate future,” Clinton said. “But then we have long-term challenges that we have to deal with, like the assault on democracy and the effort to undermine the function of democracy around the world. We have to look at our own country and think about how our own divisiveness is undermining our capacity to deal with these very real external challenges.”
“We are at one of the most dangerous times in decades,” Baker said. “I think back to my almost four years as secretary of state, and I can’t remember when we were dealing with a war in Europe and war in the Middle East and an adversary that is as adversarial as China is to us, in the South China Sea and elsewhere.
“I think we are at a very, very difficult time in history,” he continued. “But I do think that America is equal to the task.”
Kissinger underscored the importance for the country to chart a unified path forward.
“America requires capable capacities of changing the course for a more peaceful and prosperous world,” he said. “To do so, however, we must develop a concept of where we are going and how we intend to get there across party lines and through political differences. Such is the requirement of leadership.”
The panelists also acknowledged the efforts of Satterfield in his role of special envoy in coordinating aid for those impacted by the Israel-Hamas war.
While the discussion reflected the seriousness of ongoing global events, there were also moments of lightness and laughter, with Kissinger chiming in via video to ask a final question of Baker and Clinton.
“Who is the greatest secretary of state since World War II?”
While Baker said Kissinger, Clinton didn’t want to name just one person.
“I think that there are a lot of real contributions that post-World War II secretaries have made, and we ought to celebrate all of those, including those of Jim Baker, who deserves a lot of attention for what he did as well,” she said, prompting enthusiastic applause and cheers from the audience.
The black-tie gala was themed “Raising a Meaningful Voice” in tribute to Baker’s words emblazoned on the façade of the hall. The institute’s rigorous, data-driven research aims to provide information and analysis that shines a light on different aspects of today’s critical and complex issues.
Approximately 1,000 people attended the event, which was co-chaired by Franci Neely, Ann and Karl Stern and Sheridan and John Eddie Williams Jr. Over 3,000 individuals tuned in to the livestreamed event, which was also broadcast on C-SPAN and KHOU.com.
The institute founded in 1994 by Baker, a Houston native, is home to more than 200 research fellows, scholars and affiliated experts who offer innovative insights and data-driven analysis on topics of interest to industry leaders and policymakers alike. The areas of study reflect the institute’s comparative advantages in geography, expertise and ability to add value. The institute studies critical topics in foreign and domestic policy, including issues related to economics and finance, energy, health and science, presidential elections and more. This range of expertise allows for interdisciplinary and innovative collaboration among researchers.
More information on the Baker Institute is available online at https://www.bakerinstitute.org.