A visit from former U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns turned into a broader campus-wide debate this spring at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where students and faculty wrestled with questions about democracy, global instability and whether the post-World War II international order is beginning to unravel.
Burns, speaking during the annual Anderton Forum for Global Engagement, told students the international alliances and cooperative systems built after World War II are facing growing pressure from authoritarian governments, weakened partnerships and rising geopolitical tensions.
The former diplomat addressed a packed room at the Scandling Campus Center, discussing conflicts involving China, Russia and Iran, along with trade disputes and shifting global power dynamics.
But according to college officials, the most significant conversations happened after the lecture ended.
Students carried the debate into classrooms, campus gathering spaces and later discussions hosted through the International Relations Department’s “World Politics Wednesday” program. Many questioned whether the so-called “rules-based international order” Burns described had ever worked equally for all countries or populations.
Stacey Philbrick Yadav, chair of the International Relations Department, said students engaged deeply with those disagreements rather than avoiding them.
“Most seemed to agree that the rules-based order is not functioning well,” she said. “But there was a wider range of views regarding how well and for whom that rules-based order worked well in the past.”
Burns brought decades of diplomatic experience to the discussion. He served as U.S. ambassador to China from 2021 to 2025 and previously held roles including ambassador to NATO and under secretary of state for political affairs, one of the State Department’s highest-ranking positions.
History professor Lisa Yoshikawa, who introduced Burns at the event, said his appearance came at a time of heightened uncertainty in world affairs.
“He was here to talk about issues of global significance and forms of uncertainty that feel greater than any we have felt in years,” Yoshikawa said.
The Anderton Forum for Global Engagement was established in 2022 through support from former HWS Trustee James F. Anderton IV and is designed to bring major international voices to campus for discussions on global issues.
During his visit, Burns also met directly with students in smaller classroom settings, discussing topics including negotiations with Iran and the challenges of diplomacy involving authoritarian governments.
He later joined HWS President Mark Gearan for a public conversation examining the complicated balance between cooperation and competition with China and ongoing instability in the Middle East.
Faculty members said one of the clearest signs of the forum’s success was how long the discussions continued after Burns left campus.
Philbrick Yadav recalled students continuing arguments from the lecture in the campus café and then bringing those disagreements directly back into class discussions.
“Late April is a time when students are often exhausted and preoccupied with preparing for finals,” she said. “It was terrific to see them so thoroughly engaged with matters of pressing significance in the world.”
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