America's Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 raised import duties to protect American farmers and manufacturers. This prompted retaliation from foreign governments and the severe trade restrictions helped pushed Japan to aggressive foreign policy actions. Among other actions, it has been blamed for leading to Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931 to secure necessary resources and economic stability. Ten years later, the United States found itself in a global conflict. 

Actions have long unintended consequences, argues Professor Casimir Yost. As we move into a new administration and the United States shrinks from its role as the world’s police, what does the rest of the century look like? How do the world's demography, climate change, disruptive technologies and regional conflicts impact our world? In this sweeping discussion, Yost will shed light on what we can and cannot understand on the intersection of all these forces in the "new Trumpian age."

Casimir Yost is a senior fellow in the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and teaches in the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. From 2009 to 2013. Yost served on the National Intelligence Council (NIC), where he directed the Strategic Futures Group and its predecessor, the Long Range Analysis Unit. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and on the Board of Directors of the American Ditchley Foundation.