PCFR-Recent Speakers

The Philadelphia Committee on Foreign Relations

Jump to: speakers arranged alphabetically

Jump to: speakers arranged chronologically

Trudy Rubin - June 2020

"America First in the COVID-19 era: Has the US abandoned its global leadership role, and who would fill the vacuum?"

Trudy Rubin is the foreign correspondent for the Philadelphia Inquirer and a member of their editorial board. In 2019, she received the Overseas Press Club of America’s Flora Lewis award for Best Commentary on International Affairs. Ms. Rubin has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in both 2017 and 2001 for commentary, and for the Overseas Press Club commentary prize for her columns on global issues. She was the 2010 recipient of the Arthur Ross Award for distinguished analysis of foreign affairs from the American Academy of Diplomacy, and the 2008 recipient of the Edward Weintal prize for international reporting. She is the author of Willful Blindness: the Bush Administration and Iraq, a book of her columns from 2002-2004.

James Andrew Lewis - May 2020

"Cybersecurity: the November Elections and Beyond"

James A Lewis is a senior vice president and program director at Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS), where he writes on technology, security, and innovation. Previously, he worked at the Departments of State and Commerce as a Foreign Service officer and as a member of the Senior Executive Service. His government experience includes work on a range of politico-military and Asian security issues, as a negotiator on conventional arms transfers and advanced military technology, and in developing policies for satellites, encryption, and the Internet. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Lewis is an internationally recognized expert on cybersecurity. His writings include “Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency.” His current research examines international security and governance in cyberspace, the relationship between innovation and technology, the future of warfare, and the effect of the Internet on politics.

Brendan O'Leary - February 2020

"On the break-up of Unions: Will the UK’s secession from the EU trigger the break-up of the UK?"

Brendan O'Leary is an Irish, European Union, and US citizen, and since 2003 the Lauder Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author, co-author, and co-editor of twenty eight books and collections, and the author or co-author of hundreds of articles or chapters in peer-reviewed journals, university presses, encyclopedia articles, and other forms of publication, including op-eds. His latest production is a three-volume study called A Treatise on Northern Ireland, published by Oxford University Press.

Suzanne Maloney - January 2020

Suzanne Maloney is deputy director of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution and a senior fellow in the Brookings Center for Middle East Policy and Energy Security and Climate Initiative, where her research focuses on Iran and Persian Gulf energy. Her books include the 2008 monograph "Iran's Long Reach" (United States Institute of Peace, 2008) as well as "Iran's Political Economy since the Revolution," published in August 2015 by Cambridge University Press. Her Brookings Essay, "Iran Surprises Itself And The World," was released in September 2013, and she has also published articles in a variety of academic and policy journals.

Maloney previously served as an external advisor to senior State Department officials on long-term issues related to Iran. Before joining Brookings, she served on the secretary of state's policy planning staff, as Middle East advisor for ExxonMobil Corporation, and director of the 2004 Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on U.S. policy toward Iran, chaired by former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Soner Çağaptay - November 2019

"Erdogan's Empire: Turkey and the politics of the Middle East"

Soner Çağaptay is the Beyer Family fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute. He writes extensively on US-Turkish relations and Turkish politics, and has been a regular columnist for Turkey's oldest and most influential English-language paper. He appears regularly on Fox News, CNN, NPR, BBC, and CNN-Turk. He is the author of Erdogan's Empire: Turkey and the Politics of the Middle East (2019), wrote his doctoral dissertation at Yale University on Turkish nationalism, and was Ertegun Professor at Princeton's Department of Near Eastern Studies (2006-2007)."

Taiya Smith - October 2019

“The US - China Quarrel; Running Roughshod over the Environment, Politics, and Trade”

Taiya Smith is the Director of the China Program of the Climate Leadership Council, an organization founded in 2017 by some of the world’s largest multinational companies. Taiya Smith is a highly-regarded China expert who regularly advises top government officials, leading companies and nonprofit institutions on their China strategies. She was a key advisor to Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson on the U.S.-China relationship and the key force behind designing and managing the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), which has been the highest-level regular dialogue between the two governments.

Stephen M. Walt - September 2019

“Trump versus the Blob: Can US Foreign Policy Be Fixed?”

Stephen M. Walt is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He previously taught at Princeton University and the University of Chicago, where he served as Master of the Social Science Collegiate Division and Deputy Dean of Social Sciences. He has been a Resident Associate of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace and a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution, and he has also served as a consultant for the Institute of Defense Analyses, the Center for Naval Analyses, and the National Defense University. He presently serves on the editorial boards of Foreign Policy, Security Studies, International Relations, and Journal of Cold War Studies, and he also serves as Co-Editor of the Cornell Studies in Security Affairs, published by Cornell University Press. Additionally, he was elected as a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in May 2005. Professor Walt is the author of The Origins of Alliances (1987), which received the 1988 Edgar S. Furniss National Security Book Award. He is also the author of Revolution and War (1996), Taming American Power: The Global Response to U.S. Primacy (2005), and, with co-author J.J. Mearsheimer, The Israel Lobby (2007), and most recently, The Hell of Good Intentions: America’s Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy (2018).

Heather Conley - May 2019

"The arctic: its growing strategic importance."
Heather A. Conley is the senior vice president for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic and director of the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Prior to joining CSIS as a senior fellow and director for Europe in 2009, Conley served four years as executive director of the Office of the Chairman of the Board at the American National Red Cross. From 2001 to 2005, she was deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs with responsibilities for U.S. bilateral relations with the countries of Northern and Central Europe.

Benjamin Haddad - April 2019

"Is France in crisis?"

Benjamin Haddad, director of the Future Europe Initiative at the Atlantic Institute, is an expert in European politics and transatlantic relations. Before moving to the Atlantic Council, he was a fellow at Hudson Institute in Washington DC. His work has notably advocated for transatlantic unity in the face of Russian aggression, greater European responsibility, and investment on strategic matters. His forthcoming book "Paradise Lost: Europe in the World of Trump" makes the case for greater European unity in a world of new challenges and threats.

Luis Alberto Moreno - March 2019

"The evolving image of the United States in Central and South America and the effectiveness of US foreign policy in the region"

Luis Alberto Moreno is president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the leading source of long-term financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. He also chairs the boards of IDB Invest – the IDB Group’s private sector arm – and the Multilateral Investment Fund, a development innovation lab. Since taking office in 2005, Moreno has led reforms to make the IDB more results-driven, securing the largest capital increase in its history and consolidating its private sector operations under IDB Invest. Before joining the IDB, he served as Colombia’s Ambassador to the United States.

Simon Henderson - February 2019
"Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi - the Kingdom, Its future and Its relationship with the U.S."
Simon Henderson is the Baker fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute, specializing in energy matters and the conservative Arab states of the Persian Gulf. As former journalist with Financial Times, Mr. Henderson was a foreign correspondent in Pakistan in 1977-78, and reported from Iran during the 1979 Islamic revolution and seizure of the U.S. Embassy. He has also worked as a consultant advising corporations and governments on the Persian Gulf. Mr. Henderson writes and appears frequently in the media discussing the internal political dynamics of the House of Saud, energy developments, events in the Gulf, and Pakistan's nuclear program, including the work of Pakistani nuclear scientist A. Q. Khan.

Amanda Bennett - January 2019

"Challenges to the Free Press Around the Globe"

Amanda Bennett Is the Director of Voice of America, a post she has held since March 2016. Prior to leading VOA, Bennett’s work included creating and overseeing a global team of investigative reporters and editors as executive editor at Bloomberg News; editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer; editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader in Lexington, Kentucky; managing editor for projects at The Oregonian in Portland; and Wall Street Journal reporter. Her awards include a 1997 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting shared with her Wall Street Journal colleagues, and a 2001 Pulitzer for her team at The Oregonian for Public Service.

Sue Mi Terry - November 2018

An off the record conversation on US-North Korea relations

Sue Mi Terry is a Senior Fellow and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. From 2008 to 2009, Dr. Terry was the director for Korea, Japan, and Oceanic affairs at the National Security Council under both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In that role, she formulated, coordinated, and implemented U.S. government policy on Korea and Japan, as well as Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania. Prior to CSIS, she served as a senior analyst on Korean issues at the CIA from 2001 to 2008, where she authored multiple National Intelligence Estimates.

Adam Segal - October 2018

"Manipulation, Disinformation, and Election Hacking from a Global Perspective."

Adam Segal is the Ira A. Lipman chair in emerging technologies and national security and director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). An expert on security issues, technology development, and Chinese domestic and foreign policy, Segal was the project director for the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force report Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet. His book The Hacked World Order: How Nations Fight, Trade, Maneuver, and Manipulate in the Digital Age (PublicAffairs, 2016) describes the increasingly contentious geopolitics of cyberspace. His work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Economist, Foreign Policy, The Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs, among others. He currently writes for the blog, “Net Politics".

Elizabeth Economy

Elizabeth Economy - September 2018

"Xi Jinping’s Third Revolution and the Future of U.S.-China Relations"

Elizabeth Economy is the C. V. Starr senior fellow and director for Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Economy is an acclaimed author and expert on Chinese domestic and foreign policy. Her latest book, The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State, analyzes the contradictory nature of reform under President Xi Jinping. She is also the author of By All Means Necessary: How China's Resource Quest is Changing the World with Michael Levi, and The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenge to China's Future. She received her BA from Swarthmore College, her AM from Stanford University, and her PhD from the University of Michigan.

Chris Miller - April 2018

"What should we expect from Vladimir Putin in his new term (and how has he done so well with such a bad hand?)"

Chris Miller is Assistant Professor of International History at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He is also Eurasia Program Director at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is the author of Putinomics: Power and Money in Resurgent Russia (2018) and The Struggle to Save the Soviet Economy (2016). He received his PhD from Yale University and his AB from Harvard University. His most recent book is "Putinomics: Power and Money in Resurgent Russia" and will be available for sale after the talk.

Jan-Werner Mueller - April 2018

“The Perils of Populism: What it means for Democracy and Foreign Policy”

Jan-Werner Mueller is a professor of politics at Princeton University. His books include “What is Populism?”, which has been translated into more than 20 languages, and “Contesting Democracy: Political Ideas in Twentieth-Century Europe”. He writes frequently in The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Financial Times, and The New York Review of Books.

Bruce Wharton - March 2018

"Public Diplomacy in an Era of Truth Decay"

Ambassador Bruce Wharton served as an officer in the Foreign Service from 1985 to 2017. His career included public diplomacy positions in South America, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. In his last assignment, he was the acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, providing global strategic leadership for all Department of State public diplomacy and public affairs engagement. He received Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards from the Department of State and the U.S. Information Agency and was the 2011 recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy. He is a graduate of the University of Texas in Austin.

Richard Downie - February 2018

"Staying relevant in Africa: U.S. foreign policy opportunities, gaps, and challenges"

Richard Downie is a well respected Africa expert with deep knowledge of economic, political, and social trends on the continent. Prior to joining CSIS he was a senior broadcast journalist at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Since then, he has conducted research and completed writing projects on Africa for the Council on Foreign Relations and the U.S. Institute of Peace. He is a contributor to the Africa section of Freedom House’s annual report, Freedom In the World. He is a frequent commentator on African issues for U.S. and international media organizations. Downie holds a master’s degree in international public policy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. in modern history from Oxford University.

Dominic Tierney - January 2018

"Foreign Policy in the Age of Trump - Can we Last Three More Years?"

Domininc Tierney is currently Associate Professor of Political Science at Swarthmore College, a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a Non-resident fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute, School for Advanced International Studies, at Johns Hopkins University, and a contributing writer to The Atlantic. He has taught at both Princeton and Penn and was a Research Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He has written several award winning books on international politics and America at war. He received his B.A. and a PhD. in International Relations from the University of Oxford.

Ryan Crocker

Ryan Crocker- December 2017
"The Mideast after ISIS: winners, losers, and America’s future role"
Ryan Crocker - has served as United States Ambassador to Afghanistan (2011–2012), Iraq (2007–2009), Pakistan (2004–2007), Syria (1998–2001), Kuwait (1994–1997), and Lebanon (1990–1993). In January 2010, he became Dean of Texas A&M University's George Bush School of Government and Public Service.

Victor Cha - November 2017

"Brinkmanship and Alliances: United States. China, South Korea and the DPRK"

Victor Cha - is a former Director for Asian Affairs in the White House's National Security Council, with responsibility for Japan, North and South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. He was George W Bush's top advisor on North Korean affairs. He currently holds the D. S. Song-Korea Foundation Chair in Asian Studies and is the Director of the Asian Studies program in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Cha is also senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Alexander Vershbow - September 2017

“NATO and the Transatlantic Alliance in the Age of Putin and Trump"

Alexander "Sandy" Vershbow is a distinguished fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security. Ambassador Vershbow was heavily involved in the resolution of the Yugoslav wars of dissolution while on the National Security Council, he served as Ambassador to NATO under Bill Clinton; Ambassador to Russia and, later, Ambassador to South Korea under George W. Bush; Assistant Secretary of Defense under Barack Obama; and became the first American ever selected as Deputy Secretary-General of NATO, a post he left last year. The consummate international player, he was educated at Yale and Columbia, and comments on world affairs as a Fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Andrew Neil - June 2017

"Brexit and its Likely Implications"

Andrew Neil - is arguably Britain's most prominent journalist, both TV and print. He was editor for eleven years of Rupert Murdoch's The Sunday Times. He currently presents/moderates political programs on both BBC 1 and BBC 2. He is also the Chairman of the Press Holdings Group that owns and operates The Spectator. Earlier in his career he was the founding Chairman of Sky TV. He is a lively, controversial and fascinating observer of Britain and the world.

Trudy Rubin - April 2017

"The First Hundred Days: How the Trump Foreign Policy is Affecting America and the World"

Trudy Rubin is the foreign correspondent for the Philadelphia Inquirer and on the PCFR Executive Committee. Over the past decade she has made multiple trips to Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Turkey, Israel and the West Bank and also written from Syria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea and China. She is the author of Willful Blindness: the Bush Administration and Iraq, a book of her columns from 2002-2004. In both 2017 and 2001 she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in commentary and in 2008 she was awarded the Edward Weintal prize for international reporting. In 2010 she won the Arthur Ross award for international commentary from the Academy of American Diplomacy.

John Pomfret - April 2017

"US-China Realations in the era of Donald Trump"

Pomfret is one of America's most respected experts on China. He has just published a book entitled "The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom". Robert Zoelick, former President of the World Bank and former Deputy Secretary of State, wrote "If you are going to read one book on US-China relations, make it John Pomfret's "The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom".

Corey Flintoff - March 2017

"Engaging a Resurgent Russia"

Returning after four years as National Public Radio's Moscow-based correspondent, he has reported on the Russian perspective on the invasion of Crimea, Russian military and economic support in eastern Ukraine, and the tightening control of Vladimir Putin. Prior to his Moscow assignment, he covered the civil war in Libya, the revolution in Egypt, and the war in Afghanistan.

Melissa Fleming - January 2017

"The Greatest Refugee Crisis of Our Times: A Story of Tragedy and Hope"

Recently named the the Senior Advisor and Spokesperson for Antonio Guterres, the incoming Secretary General of the United Nations. Prior to her current appointment, she was Head of Communications and Public Information for the UN High Commission on Refugees. Earlier in her career, she was the spokesperson for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during a period when IAEA was inspecting nuclear facilities in North Korea, Iraq, and Iran.

Julian Zelitzer - January 2017

"The 2016 Election in Historical Context"

Currently Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University, Zelitzer is one of the most respected observers of the American political scene. He frequently is a guest on National Public Radio commenting on recent political developments. In addition to being the author of multiple books and articles, he has published over 600 op-eds, including his weekly column on CNN.com

Soner Cagaptay - December 2016

"Turkey: Key Player in a Tough Neighborhood - What Does the 'Coup' Change?"

The Beyer Family fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute. He has written extensively on U.S.-Turkish relations, Turkish domestic Politics and Turkish nationalism, publishing in scholarly journals and major international print media. A historian by training, Dr. Cagaptay wrote his doctoral dissertation at Yale University (2003) on Turkish nationalism. Dr. Cagapatay has taught courses at Yale and Princeton on the Middle East, Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.

James Andrew Lewis - October 2016

"Cybersecurity & Surveillance: Intelligence Gathering and Protection, Political Manipulation, Crime"

Lewis is an internationally recognized expert on cybersecurity. His witings include "Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency," which was noted by president Barack Obama in his first speech on cybersecurity. Currently a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he writes on technology, security and innovation. He previously worked at the Departments of State and Commerce as a Foreign Service Officer and member of the Senior Executive Service.

Alec Ross - September 2016

"The Impact of the Next Wave of Technological and Scientific Innovation on Foreign Policy"

One of America's leading experts on innovation. He was Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the duration of her term as Secretary of State. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Industries of the Future, speaks to audiences around the world about the future of our economy and society, and helps entrepreneurs, investors and government leaders navigate disruptive change.

Jump to: speakers arranged chronologically Back to Top

Henri Barkey - February 2016 - "ISIS, The Kurds and Erdogan's Latest Ambitions"

Adrian Basora - November 2009 - "Democratic Regression in Eastern Europe and Eurasia"

Amanda Bennett - January 2019 - "Challenges to the Free Press Around the Globe"

Ernest Bower - December 2014 - "Why its Neighbors Are Worried About What China Wants to be And How That Impacts You"

Ray Burghardt - May 2011 - "China-Taiwan: Tilting Towards Peace or War"

William Burke-White - November 2011 - "The Challenges of Global Governance"

Soner Cagaptay - December 2016 - "Turkey: Key Player in a Tough Neighborhood - What Does the 'Coup' Change?"

Soner Cagaptay - November 2019 - "Erdogan's Empire: Turkey and the politics of the Middle East"

John Campbell - February 2013 - "The U.S. Relationship With Sub-Saharan Africa from a Global Strategic Perspective"

Victor Cha - November 2017 - "Brinkmanship and Alliances: United States. China, South Korea and the DPRK"

Thomas Christensen - December 2015 - "The China Challenge: Shaping The Choices of a Rising Power"

Thomas Christensen - March 2012 - "U.S.-China Relations and the Rise of China"

Steve Coll - March 2011 - "Current U.S. Policy in Afghanistan: Where Are We Now? Where Are We Going?"

Heather Conley - May 2019 - "The arctic: its growing strategic importance."

Ryan Crocker - December 2017 - "The Mideast after ISIS: winners, losers, and America’s future role"

Ryan Crocker - December 2012 - "Lessons from a Long War: The United States and the Strategic Challenges of the Middle East"

Richard Downie - February 2018 - "Staying relevant in Africa: U.S. foreign policy, opportunities, gaps, and challenges"

Elizabeth Economy - September 2019 - "Xi Jinping’s Third Revolution and the Future of U.S.-China Relations"

James Fallows - September 2015 - "The Evolving Role of the Military: What We Ask of It; What Should We Ask of It?"

James Fallows - May 2012 - "Foreign Policy in an Election Year: Distortion or Focus?"

Mark Fitzpatrick - March 2014 -"Nuclear Proliferation in the PINK: Why No One Worries About Pakistan, Iran, North Korea"

Melissa Fleming - January 2017 - "The Greatest Refugee Crisis of Our Times: A Story of Tragedy and Hope"

Corey Flintoff - March 2017 - "Engaging a Resurgent Russia"

Dorie Friend - January 2012 - "Islam: The Moral Challenge"

Leslie H. Gelb - January 2011 - "GDP Now Matters More Than Force: A U.S. Foreign Policy for the Age of Economic Power"

Leslie H. Gelb - March 2010 - "Playing on U.S. Strengths: A Foreign Policy Alternative"

Gonzago Gallegos - October 2015 - "Cuba and Beyond: The US and Latin America - Past Present and Future"

James Gibney - September 2014 - "Off Message: From Ukraine to the Middle East, the Perils of Policy-Making in Or New Media Age"

David Greenway - April 2015 - "Lessons Not Learned From American Military Intervention Since 1960"

Eliza Griswold - December 2011 - "The Tenth Parallel: The Intersection of Islam and Christianity in Africa and Asia"

Richard Haas - September 2009 - "President Obama's Foreign Policy Challenges"

Benjamin Haddad - April 2019 - " Is France in Crisis?"

Hussein Haqqani - June 2010 - "The Evolving Relationship Between the U.S. and Pakistan"

Bernard Haykel - March 2016 - "Understanding the Origins and Future of the Islamic State and Jihadism"

Simon Henderson - February 2019 - "Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi - the Kingdom, Its future and Its relationship with the U.S.”

Christopher Hill - February 2012 -"Managing a 21st Century Security Agenda: U.S. Foreign Policy Beyond Iraq"

Martin Indyk - October 2009 - "Will There Ever Be Peace in the Middle East?"

Loren Jenkins - September 2011 - "The Implications of the Arab Spring"

David H. Johnson - December 2010 - "National Security Threats That Matter: The Ones That Cost You Every Day"

David Kilcullen - December 2009 - "Stabilizing Afghanistan"

Stephen Kinzer - November 2012 - "RESET: Iran, Turkey and America's Future"

Andy Kohut - September 2012 - "How Much Will Foreign Affairs Matter on Election Day?"

Charles Kupchan - November 2012 - "The New Challenge for the New Presidency: Navigating No One's World"

Charles Kupchan - April 2010 - "How Enemies Become Friends: the European Union, the Atlantic Community and Beyond"

Daniel Kurtzer - April 2015 - "After the March 17 Israeli Elections: War With Iran? Death of the Peace Process? Or What?"

Daniel Kurtzer - February 2010 - "The Obama Administration and the Middle East Process: Time for a Reset?"

Joshua Landis - November 2013 - "Syria: What's Next?"

Joshua Landis - April 2012 - "Syria: Civil War or Revolution?"

Mark Landler - June 2016 - "From Alter Ego to Ego: What Kind of Foreign Policy President Would Hillary Clinton Be?"

James A. Lewis - May 2020 - "Cybersecurity: the November Elections and Beyond"

James A. Lewis - October 2016 - "Cybersecurity & Surveillance: Intelligence Gathering and Protection, Political Manipulation Crime"

James A. Lewis - October 2014 - "Cyber Security in Foreign Policy"

Princeton N. Lyman - February 2011 - "Africa: Perils and Promise"

Michael Mandelbaum - October 2011 - "That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back"

Aaron David Miller - January 2014 - "Gulliver's Troubles: Barack Obama and the Middle East"

Chris Miller - May 2018 - “What should we expect from Vladimir Putin in his new term (and how has he done so well with such a bad hand?)”

Luis Alberto Moreno - March 2019 - "The evolving image of the United States in Central and South America and the effectiveness of US foreign policy in the region"

Seyed Hossein Moussavian - June 2012 - "The Role of U.S.-Iran Relations on the Nuclear Dilemma"

Suzanne Maloney - January 2020 - Iran

Patrick Murphy - April 2011 - "Intelligence Oversight: What Does Congress Know? What Should It Know?"

Jan-Werner Mueller - April 2018 - “The Perils of Populism: What it means for Democracy and Foreign Policy”

John Nagl - April 2013 - "Teaching Dinosaurs to Dance: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan"

Andrew Neil - June 2017 - "Brexit and its Likely Implications"

Brendan O'Leary - February 2020 - "On the break-up of Unions: Will the UK’s secession from the EU trigger the break-up of the UK?"

Qais Akbar Omar - December 2013 - "An Afghan Writer Speaks: Stories of a Tragic Past, a Troubled Present, and Hopes for the Post American Future"

Douglas H. Paal - May 2014 - "Prisoners of History: China and its Neighbors"

Minxin Pei - May 2010 - "Rebalancing American Policy Toward China"

John Pomfret - April 2017 - "US-China Relations in the Era of Donald Trump"

Alec Ross - September 2016 - "The Impact of the Next Wave of Technological and Scientific Innovation on Foreign Policy"

Richard Rossow - June 2015 - "U.S. - India Relations: A New Era Begins"

Trudy Rubin - June 2020 - "America First in the COVID-19 era: Has the US abandoned its global leadership role, and who would fill the vacuum?"

Trudy Rubin - April 2017 - "The First Hundred Days: How the Trump Foreign Policy is Affecting America and the World"

David Satter - March 2014 - "Russia's Deepening Authoritarianism"

David Satter - January 2013 - "Russia: Awaiting the Next Revolution?"

Adam Segal - October 2018 - "Manipulation, Disinformation, and Election Hacking from a Global Perspective"

Emma Sky - May 2015 - "The Unravelling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq and How That Affects the Future of the Middle East"

Taiya Smith - October 2018 - “The US - China Quarrel; Running Roughshod over the Environment, Politics, and Trade”

Angela Stent - January 2016 "Putin, NATO and the Struggle for Europe"

Dean James Steinberg - October 2012 - "Is Power Shifting to Asia and What Role Should the United States Play?"

Jake Sullivan - March 2015 - "The Dynamics of Foreign Policy Issues in the 2016 Presidential Campaign"

Omar Taspinar - October 2013 - "Turkey 2013: Politics in a Tough Neighborhood"

Sue Mi Terry - November 2018 - An off the record conversation on U.S.-North Korea relations

Dominic Tierney - January 2018 - "Foreign Policy in the Age of Trump - Can we Last Three More Years?"

Alexander Vershbow - September 2017 -“NATO and the Transatlantic Alliance in the Age of Putin and Trump"

Stephen Walt - September 2019 - "Trump vs The Blob: Can U.S. Foreign Policy be Fixed?"

Stephen Walt - October 2013 - "Follies and Foul-Ups: Why U.S. Foreign Policy Keeps Failing"

John H. Warner - October 2010 - "Energy and Climate Change: Is Congress Addressing These Vital Issues Consistent With Principles Enshrined by the Founding Fathers in Historic Philadelphia?"

Bruce Wharton - March 2018 - "Public Diplomacy in the Age of Truth Decay"

Margarita Zavala - April 2016 - "Immigration - A Mexican Perspective"

Julian Zelizer - January 2017 - "The 2016 Election in Historical Context"

Julian Zelizer - January 2010 - "President Obama and the Politics of National Security: What Can Obama Learn from Other Presidents?"

James G. Zumwalt - May 2013 - "Japan and Korea: a Past, a Future and New Challenges"

Jump to: Speakers arranged alphabetically Back to top

June 2020 - Trudy Rubin - "America First in the COVID-19 era: Has the US abandoned its global leadership role, and who would fill the vacuum?"

May 2020 - James A. Lewis - "Cybersecurity: the November Elections and Beyond"

February 2020 - Brendan O'Leary - "On the break-up of Unions: Will the UK’s secession from the EU trigger the break-up of the UK?"

January 2020 - Suzanne Maloney - Iran

November 2019 - Soner Çağaptay - "Erdogan's Empire: Turkey and the politics of the Middle East"

October 2019 - Taiya Smith - “The US - China Quarrel; Running Roughshod over the Environment, Politics, and Trade”

September 2019 - Stephen Walt - "Trump vs. The Blob: Can U.S. Foreign Policy be Fixed"

May 2019 - Heather Conley - "The arctic: its growing strategic importance"

April 2019 - Benjamin Haddad - " Is France in Crisis?"

March 2019 - Luis Alberto Moreno - "The evolving image of the United States in Central and South America and the effectiveness of US foreign policy in the region"

February 2019 - Simon Henderson - "Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi - the Kingdom, Its future and Its relationship with the U.S.”

January 2019 - Amanda Bennett - "Challenges to the Free Press Around the Globe"

November 2018 - Sue Mi Terry - An off the record conversation on U.S.-North Korea Relations

October 2018 - Adam Segal - "Manipulation, Disinformation and Election Hacking from a Global Perspective"

September 2018 - Elizabeth Economy - "Xi Jinping’s Third Revolution and the Future of U.S.-China Relations"

May 2018 - Chris Miller - “What should we expect from Vladimir Putin in his new term (and how has he done so well with such a bad hand?)”

April 2018 - Jan-Werner Mueller - “The Perils of Populism: What it means for Democracy and Foreign Policy”

March 2018 - Bruce Wharton - "Public Diplomacy in the Age of Truth Decay"

February 2018 - Richard Downie - "Staying relevant in Africa: U.S. foreign policy, opportunities, gaps, and challenges"

January 2018 - Dominic Tierney - "Foreign Policy in the Age of Trump - Can we Last Three More Years?"

December 2017 - Ryan Crocker - "The Mideast after ISIS: winners, losers, and America’s future role"

November 2017 - Victor Cha - "Brinkmanship and Alliances: United States. China, South Korea and the DPRK"

September 2017 - Alexander Vershbow - “NATO and the Transatlantic Alliance in the Age of Putin and Trump"

June 2017 - Andrew Neil -"Brexit and its Likely Implications"

April 2017 - Trudy Rubin - "The First Hundred Days: How the Trump Foreign Policy is Affecting America and the World"

April 2017 - John Pomfret - "US-China Relations in the Era of Donald Trump"

March 2017 - Corey Flintoff - "Engaging a Resurgent Russia"

January 2017- Melissa Fleming - "The Greatest Refugee Crisis of Our Times: A Story of Tragedy and Hope"

January 2017 - Julian Zelizer - "The 2016 Election in Historical Context"

December 2016 - Soner Cagaptay - "Turkey: Key Player in a Tough Neighborhood - What Does the 'Coup' Change?"

October 2016 - James Andrew Lewis - "Cybersecurity & Surveillance: Intelligence Gathering and Protection, Political Manipulation Crime"

September 2016 - Alec Ross - "The Impact of the Next Wave of Technological and Scientific Innovation on Foreign Policy"

June 2016 - Mark Landler - "From Alter Ego to Ego: What Kind of Foreign Policy President Would Hillary Clinton Be"

April 2016 - Margarita Zavala - "Immigration - A Mexican Perspective"

March 2016, Bernard Haykel - "Understanding the Origins and Future of the Islamic state and Jihadism"

February 2016, Henri Barkey - "ISIS, The Kurds and Erdogan's Latest Ambitions"

January 2016, Angela Stent - "Putin, NATO and the Struggle for Europe"

December 2015, Thomas Christensen - "The China Challenge: Shaping The Choices of a Rising Power"

October 2015, Gonzago Gallegos - "Cuba and Beyond: The US and Latin America - Past Present and Future"

September 2015, James Fallows -"The Evolving Role of the Military: What We Ask of It; What Should We Ask of It?"

June 2015, Richard Rossow - "U.S. - India Relations: A New Era Begins"

May 2015, Emma Sky - "The Unravelling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq and How That Affects the Future of the Middle East"

April 2015, David Greenway - "Lessons Not Learned From American Military Intervention Since 1960"

April 2015, Daniel Kurtzer - "After the March 17 Israeli Elections: War With Iran? Death of the Peace Process? Or What?"

March 2015, Jake Sullivan - "The Dynamics of Foreign Policy Issues in the 2016 Presidential Campaign"

December 2014, Ernest Bower - "Why its Neighbors Are Worried About What China Wants to be And How That Impacts You"

October 2014, James A. Lewis - "Cyber Security in Foreign Policy"

September 2014, James Gibney - "Off Message: From Ukraine to the Middle East, the Perils of Policy-Making in Or New Media Age"

May 2014, Douglas H. Paal - "Prisoners of History: China and its Neighbors"

March 2014, Mark Fitzpatrick - "Nuclear Proliferation in the PINK: Why No One Worries About Pakistan, Iran, North Korea"

March 2014, David Satter - "Russia's Deepening Authoritarianism"

January 2014, Aaron David Miller - "Gulliver's Troubles: Barack Obama and the Middle east"

December 2013, Qais Akbar Omar - "An Afghan Writer Speaks: Stories of a Tragic Past, a Troubled Present, and Hopes for the Post American Future"

November 2013, Joshua Landis - "Syria: What's Next?"

October 2013, Omar Taspinar = "Turkey 2013: Politics in a Tough Neighborhood"

October 2013, Stephen Walt - "Follies and Foul-Ups: Why U.S. Foreign Policy Keeps Failing"

May 2013, James G. Zumwalt - "Japan and Korea, a Past, a Future and New Challenges"

April 2013, John Nagl - "Teaching Dinosaurs to Dance: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan"

February 2013, John Campbell - "The U.S. Relationship With Sub-Saharan Africa from a Global Strategic Perspective"

January 2013, David Satter - "Russia: Awaiting the Next Revolution?"

December 2012, Ryan Crocker - "Lessons from a Long War: The United States and the Strategic Challenges of the Middle East"

November 2012, Charles Kupchan - "The New Challenge for the New Presidency: Navigating No One's World"

October 2012, Dean James Steinberg - "Is Power Shifting to Asia and What Role Should the United States Play?"

September 2012, Andy Kohut - "How Much Will Foreign Affairs Matter on Election Day?"

June 2012, Seyed Hossein Moussavian - "The Role of U.S.-Iran Relations on the Nuclear Dilemma"

May 2012, James Fallows - "Foreign Policy in an Election Year: Distortion or Focus?"

April 2012, Joshua Landis - "Syria: Civil War or Revolution?"

March 2012, Thomas Christensen - "U.S.-China Relations and the Rise of China"

February 2012, Christopher Hill - "Managing a 21st Century Security Agenda: U.S. Foreign Policy Beyond Iraq"

January 2012, Dorie Friend - "Islam: The Moral Challenge"

December 2011, Eliza Griswold - "The Tenth Parallel: The Intersection of Islam and Christianity in Africa and Asia"

November 11, William Burke-White - "The Challenges of Global Governance"

October 2011, Michael Mandelbaum - "That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back"

September 2011 - Loren Jenkins - "The Implications of the Arab Spring"

May 2011, Ray Burghardt - ""China-Taiwan: Tilting Towards Peace or War"

April 2011, Patrick Murphy - "Intelligence Oversight: What Does Congress Know? What Should It Know?"

March 2011, Steve Coll - "Current U.S. Policy in Afghanistan: Where Are We Now? Where Are We Going?"

February 2011, Princeton N. Lyman - "Africa: Perils and Promise"

January 2011, Leslie H. Gelb - "GDP Now Matters More Than Force: A U.S. Foreign Policy for the Age of Economic Power"

December 2012, David H. Johnson - "National Security Threats That Matter: The Ones That Cost You Every Day"

November 2012, Stephen Kinzer - "RESET: Iran, Turkey and America's Future"

October 2010, John H. Warner - "Energy and Climate Change: Is Congress Addressing These Vital Issues Consistent With Principles Enshrined by the Founding Fathers in Historic Philadelphia?"

June 2010, Hussein Haqqqani - "The Evolving Relationship Between the U.S. and Pakistan"

Minxin Pei, May 2010 - "Rebalancing American Policy Toward China"

April 2010, Charles Kupchan - "How Enemies Become Friends: the European Union, the Atlantic Community and Beyond"

March 2010, Leslie H. Gelb - "Playing on U.S. Strengths: A Foreign Policy Alternative"

February 2010, Daniel C. Kurtzer - "The Obama Administration and the Middle East Process: Time for a Reset?"

January 2010, Julian Zelizer - "President Obama and the Politics of National Security: What Can Obama Learn from Other Presidents?"

December 2009, David Kilcullen - "Stabilizing Afghanistan"

November 2009, Adrian Basora - "Democratic Regression in Eastern Europe and Eurasia"

October 2009, Martin Indyk - "Will There Ever Be Peace in the Middle East?"

September 2009, Richard Haas - "President Obama's Foreign Policy Challenges"