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Political Analyst Levin Featured University Forum Speaker Nov. 14

Fri, 11/03/2017 - 02:45pm | By: David Tisdale

Yuval Levin

The genesis of America's political gridlock and ideas for solutions to government policy challenges in a divisive political climate will be the focus of influential conservative intellectual Yuval Levin's University Forum presentation “Our Fractured Republic” Tuesday, Nov. 14 on The University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg campus. This free event is open to the public, and will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Thad Cochran Center.

The founding editor of National Affairs and a contributing editor at the National Review, Levin is the author four books; a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center; a recipient of the 2013 Bradley Prize; and a former associate director of the Domestic Policy Council in the George W. Bush White House.

Levin's most recent work, The Fractured Republic: Renewing America's Social Contract in the Age of Individualism, argues that both liberal and conservative Americans' nostalgia for a lost past has led to today's polarized politics.

“Today, everyone is frustrated with politicians and politics, and Yuval Levin believes he knows why,” said Dr. Andrew Haley, director of University Forum. “He believes liberals are stuck in the 1960s, and conservatives are stuck in the 1980s, and neither is offering 21st-century solutions to the nation's most pressing problems.

“Whether you agree or disagree with what Yuval Levin wants for America, you can't afford to miss this influential leader's Forum talk."

Dr. Bob Pauley, associate professor of international development at USM, said that “in an era driven by 24-hour television news networks, divisive soundbites, and often shallow political commentary, Levin consistently provides Americans with a breath of intellectual fresh air.” 

“In both the pages of National Affairs and in The Fractured Republic, Levin is masterful in presenting analysis that informs policy makers and practitioners, but avoids the jargon of Washington elites in ways that render his views accessible to average Americans far removed from the nation's capital,” Pauley said.

University Forum is presented by USM's prestigious Honors College. For more information, email forumFREEMississippi or visit https://www.usm.edu/honors/about-university-forum.