Two former national security advisers from differing political spectrums debated the topic “Is the United States committing superpower suicide?” at the 78th Conference of World Affairs on Monday.

John Bolton and Susan Rice presented two different viewpoints on the fourth night of the Steamboat Institute’s Campus Liberty Tour.

Bolton, a Republican, served as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019. Rice, a Democrat, was President Barack Obama’s national security adviser during his second term. 

At the beginning of the debate, audience members completed a survey with their answers to the question. About 77% of respondents said that the U.S. is declining as a global superpower. 

Arguing that the U.S. has lost global status, Rice identified five areas in which the country is failing: military power, the economy, global networking, domestic strength, and soft power. She claimed that the U.S. is weaker in these areas than just five months ago.

“Mistakes pervade both political parties,” Bolton said in response.

But he said the U.S. is not committing superpower suicide “yet.” 

He said an overall downward trend in defense expenditures has caused problems since the end of the Cold War.

The United States has “misread” China and Russia for decades, Bolton said, creating room for decline.

Both speakers began the discussion by affirming the necessity of the U.S. to be actively engaged with countries worldwide.

“We need to be a strong, prosperous, democratic country,” Rice said. 

“What has provided peace and security was American power and the system of alliances we built,” Bolton said. 

Bolton and Rice also agreed on the decline of the United Nations.  

“We can’t look to them for help right now,” Bolton said. 

The ambassadors disagreed on whether regime change in Iran is the correct route to peace. 

“Regime change is the only option,” Bolton said. 

However, he disagrees with President Trump’s approach to the war in Iran. 

“What Trump is trying to do now is unknown,” he said.

Rice argued that effective regime change “can only be achieved by the Iranian people themselves,” and that diplomacy should be America’s goal. 

On negotiating peace and order in Iran, Rice asked: “How do you get from here to there at a respectable cost?” 

That question remained unresolved. 

Bolton and Rice talked about the country’s overall trajectory at the debate’s close. 

“We have to learn again the importance of a forward American presence,” Bolton said. “What we need to do is grit our teeth and try to minimize the damage. Our capacities are enormous.” 

There has been “extremely comprehensive self-destruction under the Trump administration,” Rice said. “We will emerge weaker.” 

Despite her arguments, Rice ended by stating that she “believes in us.” 

The conference continues Thursday, with a closing speech by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.