Great Decisions at the Library - 2026

GREAT DECISIONS AT THE LIBRARY
Sundays, February 1 - March 22
2 - 3:30 p.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church
7968 Finch Road NE, Bainbridge Island
Free, with donations welcome
Refreshments provided!

Beginning February 1, the community is invited to learn about and weigh in on six of the most important foreign policy issues facing the United States today.

March 22, 2026 | 2PM - 3:30PM | Bethany Lutheran Church, 7968 Finch Road NE | Free. Light refreshments. Donations appreciated

America and the World: Trump 2.0 Foreign Policy

Moderator: David Fenner, affiliate faculty member, U.W. Jackson School of International Studies

Trump's return to the White House has marked a break from 80 years of U.S. foreign policy leadership, embracing an "America First" and transactional approach. Our concluding 2026 Great Decisions at the Library discussion will explore the risks of isolation and diminished influence in relation to Trump 2.0 foreign policy.

Moderator: David Fenner is an affiliate faculty member at the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies, teaching courses on Russia, the Middle East, refugees and the politics of oil. His MA is in Russian Literature and his first of many visits to the Soviet Union (and later Russia and Ukraine) was in 1973. In the late 1970s he studied at Leningrad State University. Fenner went on to serve as the UW's Assistant Vice Provost for International Education. Over the course of his career, he spent six years in the Middle East.

Suggested Readings:
Debating America's Global Role: America First versus Liberal Internationalism. By G. John Ikenberry. Great Decisions 2026 Briefing Book.
What Drives Trump 2.0? Brendon Simms, Englesberg Ideas, March 13, 2026.
Trump lays out a vision of power restrained only by 'my own morality.' David E. Sanger, Katie Rogers, Tyler Pager, and Zolan Kanno-Youngs. New York Times, January 8. 2026.

To Subscribe or resubscribe to the Library U emails about programs such as Great Decisions, click here.

Kathleen Thorne
Martha Bayley
Cindy Harrison
Ki Kilcher
Co-Coordinators
GREAT DECISIONS AT THE LIBRARY
Email:

Now in its twentieth year, Great Decisions at the Library is part of a nation-wide, non-partisan program of the Foreign Policy Association intended to broaden public involvement in foreign affairs. While enjoying light refreshments, participants first view a 30-minute Foreign Policy Association film on the topic under consideration and then engage in a discussion lead by an informed moderator.

Copies of the Great Decisions Briefing Book can be purchased in hard copy or Kindle format from the Foreign Policy Association. A copy is available for reading at the Bainbridge Public Library Information Desk.

Great Decisions at the Library is sponsored by the Bainbridge Public Library with funding support from the Bainbridge Island Friends of the Library, the Bainbridge Community Foundation, and a generous donation in memory of Louise Brody Weissman.