James Kurth (born 1938) is the Claude C. Smith Professor Emeritus of Political Science at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

, where he taught defense policy, foreign policy, and international politics. In 2004 Kurth also became the editor of '' Orbis'', a professional journal on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the

Foreign Policy Research Institute The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) is an American think tank based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that conducts research on geopolitics, international relations, and international security in the various regions of the world as well a ...

(FPRI) in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Kurth received his B.A. in history from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

and his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, where he was mentored by

Samuel P. Huntington Samuel Phillips Huntington (April 18, 1927December 24, 2008) was an American political scientist, adviser, and academic. He spent more than half a century at Harvard University, where he was director of Harvard's Center for International Affairs ...

. Kurth taught at Harvard from 1967 to 1973 and has taught at Swarthmore since 1973. He has been a visiting member of the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

; visiting professor of political science at the

University of California at San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...

; and visiting professor of strategy at the U.S.

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

. At the war college, Kurth was chairman of the Strategy and Campaign Department, an advisor to the

Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group The Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group (SSG) was established by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Thomas B. Hayward in 1981. The Group was co-located at the United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and received its ...

, and the recipient of the Department of the Navy Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service. Kurth is a decorated veteran, having served in the Navy in the 1960s on the

USS Saint Paul (CA-73) USS ''Saint Paul'' (CA-73), a Baltimore class cruiser, ''Baltimore''-class cruiser, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her keel was laid down as ''Rochester'' on 3 February 1943 by the Bethleh ...

, the flagship of the

United States Seventh Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...

where he was a deck and gunnery officer. He is the author of nearly a hundred articles and the editor of two books. Kurth frequently publishes in ''

The National Interest ''The National Interest'' (''TNI'') is an American bimonthly international relations magazine edited by American journalist Jacob Heilbrunn and published by the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank based in Washington, D ...

'', ''

The American Interest ''The American Interest'' (''AI'') was a bimonthly magazine focusing primarily on foreign policy, international affairs, global economics, and military matters. History The magazine was founded in 2005 by a number of members of the editorial ...

'', ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...

'', ''

The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has ...

'', '' Orbis'', ''

Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

'' and ''

Current History ''Current History'' is the oldest extant United States-based publication devoted exclusively to contemporary world affairs. The magazine was founded in 1914 by George Washington Ochs Oakes, brother of ''The New York Times'' publisher Adolph Ochs, ...

''. He has given testimony before committees of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

on four occasions. His best-known article is "The Real Clash," published in 1994 in ''The National Interest'', which asserts that the primary threat to the U.S. is not a clash with other civilizations, but an ideological and cultural clash within American society "between the multiculturalists and the defenders of

Western civilization Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...

and the American Creed." Kurth is also a

critic of immigration Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...

and

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

(he has denounced feminism as a key factor behind what he calls the "decay of Western civilization" and, in particular,

American hegemony American imperialism refers to the expansion of American political, economic, cultural, and media influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright military conquest ...

), and "suggests that it is perhaps only the influence of the Catholic Church that might curb the excesses of modern liberalism". His book, "The American Way of Empire: How America Won a World--But Lost Her Way" was published in December, 2019 by Washington Books. Kurth has served in numerous think tanks, including the

Council of Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York City ...

, Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy, and The Center of Study of America and the West at FPRI. Kurth is an evangelical Protestant as well as a traditional social and

political conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

; he is an elder at Proclamation Presbyterian Church in

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr, pronounced , from Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three townships: Radnor Township and Haverford Township in Delaware County, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It i ...

. He objected to

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

and the broader U.S. push to promote

liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into diff ...

in the Middle East; instead, in "Splitting Islam," Kurth recommends that the U.S. utilize the division between Sunni and Shi'ites to distract radical Islamists from attacking America and the West. Kurth is a Swarthmore enthusiast. One of few conservative faculty members at Swarthmore, he is known for his provocative courses and formerly, he was also known for the popular opening day lecture of his international politics course.

Essays

The Real Clash
The National Interest, 1994
American Strategy in the Global Era
Naval War College Review, 2000
The Protestant Deformation and American Foreign Policy
The Philadelphia Society, 2001
The Next NATO
The National Interest, 2001
The Late American Nation
The National Interest, 2004
Global Threats and American Strategies: From Communism in 1955 to Islamism in 2005
Orbis, 2005

Orbis, 2006
The U.S. Victory in Vietnam: Lost and Found

Intercollegiate Studies Institute The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes conservative thought on college campuses. It was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov with William F. Buckley Jr. as its first president. It sponsors ...

, 2006
Samuel Huntington: Ideas Have Consequences
Foreign Policy Research Institute, 2009

References

External links

Interview in ''Swarthmore Bulletin''

Debunking 'American Theocracy' Interview

Articles at Foreign Policy Research Institute

Articles at Intercollegiate Studies Institute

Articles at Swarthmore College

Articles at Institute for New Economic Thinking

Articles at JSTOR

Articles at America Interest

Articles at National Interest

Articles at American Conservative

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090113225741/http://www.fpri.org/multimedia/20081027.kurth.fightinfor.html Video: What are We Fightin’ For? Western Civilization in the 21st Century 10/27/2008
James Kurth and the Fate of Western Civilization
by Corey Abel
Interview about "The American Way of Empire"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurth, James Conservatism in the United States Critics of multiculturalism Geopoliticians Educators from Oregon Living people Male critics of feminism Stanford University alumni Harvard University alumni Swarthmore College faculty 1938 births

Essays

See also

References

External links