March 12, 2024
By Carolyn Crowder
Carolyn is a senior undergraduate student at the Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ with majors in Political Science and English, and a Communication and Journalism Intern at the Mansfield Center.
Although winter weather and travel conditions interrupted Assistant Secretary Russo’s plans to visit Missoula in January, we are pleased to host him for an exclusively virtual dialogue on March 14 at 7 p.m. MDT. AS Russo will discuss U.S. foreign policy priorities and representing our nation’s values overseas, and will also address the impacts of mis- and disinformation on American foreign policy in today’s digital world.
Once winter weather conditions improved, AS Russo was able to land in Montana in time for his engagements in Helena and Great Falls on January 31. In his to Carroll College, he highlighted that “the work people are doing at the State Department, in every corner of the world, has real salience here and across the country.” AS Russo added conversely, “the work that Montanans bring to this community also impacts the world.”
Regardless of our geography and relatively sparse population, what happens abroad deeply impacts the lives of Montanans. This was illustrated through the observed over Montana and initially photographed in Billings on February 1, 2023. One year later “many basic questions remain unanswered” about the incident, according to Dexter ‘Tiff’ Roberts, Mansfield Center Director of China Affairs.
However, global affairs most commonly influence our day-to-day lives in subtler ways than a foreign balloon floating in the sky. the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, international trade supported 135,600 jobs in Montana in 2019, representing 19.5% of all the jobs in the state. In 2021, Montana exported $2 billion in goods to foreign markets. Montana Governor Greg Gianforte’s to Taiwan in 2023 to strengthen economic and trade cooperation illustrates the essential role our political relationships with trade partners play in the health of our economy.
In addition to our trade partnerships, other contributions of Montanans also have a global impact. The 2023 landmark case is an example. In this landmark trial, young environmental activists sued state agencies for violating their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment. The decision established a government duty to protect its citizens from climate change and sparked global interest, as activists worldwide look to sue governments with they have enabled the fossil industry and failed to protect their citizenry. In addition, Montana’s first-in-the-nation garnered international attention last year after state policymakers addressed that the Chinese tech company ByteDance, owners of Tiktok, will hand over user data to the Chinese government or push pro-Beijing propaganda to users.
Montana is intricately connected to global issues, and those issues have tangible effects on Montanans. In our upcoming Mansfield Dialogue, AS Russo will share how the U.S. Department of State’s foreign policy priorities impact our lives in greater detail. In a recent , AS Russo said he views this dialogue as an opportunity “to listen and learn about what’s on people’s minds” in Montana.
Register to attend AS Russo’s dialogue “The Importance of U.S. Foreign Policy and the Impact on the Lives of Americans” held via Zoom on Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. MDT.