Foreign policy interaction is like a game of billiards. It is a horizontal dynamic of trying to figure out which ball will hit which, making decisions based on the consequences of those collisions.

That is how former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described the decision making process when it comes to foreign policy.

Albright, who was also the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government while she held the position of secretary of state from 1997-2001 under former President Bill Clinton, delivered the Tanner Lecture on Ethics, Citizenship, and Public Responsibility in Hendricks Chapel on Tuesday afternoon. The lecture was moderated by James Steinberg, dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and former deputy secretary of state.

During the lecture, Albright discussed making tough calls, what it is like being a single woman voice in a male-dominated profession and the responsibility of former government officials to continue their work.

“We have a responsibility to understand what is going on, develop priorities and then decide to get involved (in foreign affairs),” Albright said, adding that the worst thing for the U.S. to do is to sit out of a conflict and then have to go in and pick up the pieces after.

“I am an activist,” she said.

Moriah Ratner | Staff Photographer

Albright told the story of what she said was one of her worst days on the job — Aug. 7, 1998 — when the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were blown up by truck bombs. She said she had to do something she thought she would never have to: bring home bodies of foreign government officials with a flag laid over them and explain to their families what happened.

She said making decisions in foreign policy is a “damned if you do and damned if you don’t (job),” which makes coming to a conclusion the hardest part.

Albright’s love for foreign policy sprung from her childhood as the daughter of a Czech-Slovakian diplomat. A self-proclaimed “foreign-policy junkie,” Albright grew up in England during World War II and said she very much saw the difference between the U.S. being involved and the U.S. not being involved in the war. This experience influenced the way Albright saw foreign policy, she said.

Understanding the history also had an effect in her role as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a title she held from 1993 to 1997. Albright described trying to get reform to happen in the UN as a “rubik’s cube of activity.”

“(The U.S.) needed to figure out how to use (the UN) better and the U.S. needed to be more active in moving the reform process forward,” she said.

When it comes to breaking glass ceilings, Albright recalled a moment when her then-seven-year-old granddaughter asked why it was such a big deal for her grandma to be secretary of state. Albright said that in her granddaughter’s mind and short understanding of history, only women held the position. Albright then joked that maybe now, little boys can look to current Secretary of State John Kerry and be inspired.

Albright said that while she was secretary she had more problems working with men in the U.S. government than with men in foreign governments. She said she thinks this was because many men in the U.S. government thought they deserved the role of secretary of state over her.

Abroad, Albright said she had no problems working with foreign government officials mostly because “they knew they had to deal with (her)” and they wanted to work with the U.S.

Moriah Ratner | Staff Photographer

The former secretary of state also recalled working under Clinton, who would say, “’I want to hear what Madeleine has to say.’”

She said the respect she had from Clinton made it easier to be the only woman in the room and to have her opinion heard.

When it comes to her role now, Albright said it is the responsibility of former government officials to use their knowledge in order to be available for advice and to speak out about their opinions.

Albright also encourages former government officials to write books, because although she said they are versions of one’s own history, they also allow for other people to study and compare histories. Albright penned her own memoir “Madam Secretary,” which was published in 2003.

As for fighting gridlock, Albright advocates for respect and civility across the aisle, adding that she believes it to be necessary.

“You don’t have to agree with everyone on everything,” she said. “The most important element of democracy is compromise. What is important in making a decision-making system work is having the opportunity to discuss views, even if they are opposing.”

Published on April 5, 2016 at 6:44 pm

Contact Ali: Ali Linan