The Brookings Institution hosts a discussion on foreign policy in the 2012 election, from the interconnected global economy to the ways that foreign events might affect the debate.
While the candidates have been largely focused on the economy and social issues, President Obama's recent weekend of diplomacy at the G-8 and NATO Summits has brought a few issues to the fore, including the war in Afghanistan, aid to countries experiencing revolt or revolution in the Middle East, and relations with Russia.
Mitt Romney has been criticized for his position that Russia is America's great foreign policy foe, including by Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who served under two Republican presidents, but endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 election. Sec. Powell has declined to endorse either candidate in this year's election, so far.
The Romney campaign and his fellow Republicans have seized on an "open-mic" moment that the President had during a meeting with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev where he asked him to be patient until after the election. The Republicans have said that the President's remarks indicated he would likely capitulate to Russia's demands on missile defense and other issues if he was re-elected.
Republicans have also criticized the President's response to the uprising in Syria and his commitment to pull troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
The Romney campaign began a series of policy speeches this week with an address to Latino business owners on the subject of education policy. It is expected that he will use one of those speeches to address his foreign policy views more specifically.
The Brookings Institution event will coincide with the release of three policy papers concerning U.S. reliance on the global economy and its intersection with global reliance on U.S. military power, the effect of domestic politics on U.S. foreign policy, and how political polarization in the U.S. affects its ability to act on global goals.
Participants include Edward-Isaac Dovere, deputy White House editor at Politico; Strobe Talbott, president of The Brookings Institution; Bruce Jones, senior fellow and director of Managing Global Order at The Brookings Institution; Homi Kharas, senior fellow and deputy director of Global Economy and Development at The Brookings Institution; and Benjamin Wittes, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution