Full bio here: https://ifc.usafa.edu/team/david-stilwell

The Trump team has been less than successful at explaining its governing process and strategy. Subsequently, mainstream media has a great deal of trouble piecing together a coherent Trump Doctrine from an administration that consistently seems to ask of its partners: What have you done for me lately? The Unipolar moment has passed and the US can no longer do it all on its own. How do we get back to a Cold War model where everyone recognizes the threat and does their part to defend the world order from the return of authoritarianism?

Brig Gen (ret) David Stilwell graduated from the AF Academy in 1987 and returned in 2022 as the Fox Fellow for Future Pacing Threats in the Institute for Future Conflict. In this role, he educates cadets and faculty on the growing military threat presented by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including its use of political and information warfare to undermine democracies.  A decorated fighter pilot, Gen Stilwell retired from the Air Force in 2015 and later served as the  Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 2019 to 2021. He now teaches Critical Thinking under the rubric “Defensive Information Warfare”. Critical Thinking is needed in today's polarized America because it is convergent—the process strives to first establish things we agree on and then learn to use civil discourse to hear why the other side thinks differently. From there, students are given tools to teach them "how to think" and avoid biased media that tells them “what to think”.

Gen Stilwell will use his experience in Trump 1.0 to help explain current events, with the goal of providing a more balanced understanding of Trump Doctrine 2.0.

DCFR (the Denver Council on Foreign Relations) hosts a range of speakers as part of our commitment to open dialogue and the exchange of ideas.  The views and opinions expressed by those speakers are their own.