Next America is an initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan, foreign policy think tank in Washington, D.C. The initiative seeks to develop the next generation of foreign policy thinkers from the government, private sector, military, and civil society, while building visions and strategies for tackling tomorrow’s toughest issues.

The Next America initiative launched in the summer of 2008, with the goal of fostering bipartisan, issue-centered debate among young professionals and students in the lead-up to the 2008 presidential election. Through a series of online discussions covering a range of foreign policy issues – with contributions from countless young people from the United States and abroad – Next America identified the nuanced policy priorities of the millennial generation. The first phase of the initiative culminated in a summit at CSIS in June 2009, where participants of the project presented the outcomes of the Next America debate to representatives from the Administration’s foreign policy team.

The Next America initiative continues to challenge tomorrow’s leaders to think creatively about current and future policy questions. The millennial generation shares a worldview distinct from those who have come before – we are technologically savvy, comfortable operating in an interconnected world, and consider ourselves to be globally aware. Therefore, it behooves us to have a discussion, in an online environment created by young people, to collaboratively address the global challenges that loom before us – using the skills and attitudes that are unique to our generation.

In this effort, the Next America website will facilitate online debates and conversations around a series of critical global challenges (see our recently expanded list of cross-cutting issues). There will also be a series of blog posts, op-eds, commentaries, and reports from students and young professionals who are identifying potential solutions to major global issues on the horizon.

Next America is an initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. For more information about Next America, please contact our Director, Scott Aughenbaugh, at saughenbaugh@csis.org or 202.775.3157. (read less)

Next America is an initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan, foreign policy think tank in Washington, D.C. The initiative seeks to develop the next generation of foreign policy thinkers from the government, private sector, military, and civil society, while building visions and strategies for tackling tomorrow’s toughest issues.

The Next America initiative launched in the summer of 2008, with the goal of fostering bipartisan, issue-centered debate... (read more)