U.S. Foreign Policy Priorities

The Elliott School's public events program provides a nonpartisan forum where scholars and policymakers from many different backgrounds can come together to discuss critical global issues. In that vein, the U.S. Foreign Policy Priorities series examines some of the international challenges facing a new presidential administration.

Obama and the World: 100 Days
May 5, 2009

This exclusive, interactive, 2-hour town hall — broadcast on VOA's worldwide network — featured well-known experts who discussed President Obama's foreign policy, relations with the Muslim world, the economy, and change. Audience members questioned guests in Washington and received live reports from VOA Bureaus in Beijing, Kabul, London, Los Angeles and New York.
Co-sponsored with Voice of America

The Obama Administration: International Policy in a Time of Challenge and Change
April 30, 2009
Out-of-town Event (Chicago)

• Michael E. Brown, Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs, GW
• Michael O. Moore, Director, Institute for International Economic Policy, GW

President Obama's First 100 Days: A View from the Foreign Press
April 28, 2009

• Pierre-Yves Dugua, Correspondent in Washington, Le Figaro
• Abderrahim Foukara, Washington Bureau Chief, Al-Jazeera Arabic
  
• Constance Ikokwu, Correspondent in Washington, This Day
• Roselena RamÍrez, Washington Bureau Chief, Telesur
• Nobuyoshi Sakajiri, Correspondent in Washington, Asahi Shimbun
• Simon Wilson, Washington Bureau Chief, BBC World News
  Moderator:
  
• Cyril Blet, M.A. candidate, Master of International Studies program, GW; Alumnus, Sciences Po Paris, University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne; Author, Une Voix Mondiale pour un État (A World Voice for a State)

Reflections on the Bush Doctrine
April 16, 2009

• Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
• Robert Kagan, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  
  Moderated by:
• James Goldgeier, Chair; Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, GW

Presidential Transitions and the Confirmation Process
March 12, 2009

• Christopher Kojm, Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Director of the Master of International Policy and Practice Program, GW
• Alvin Felzenberg, Professorial Lecturer, GW, Author, The Leaders We Deserved (And a Few We Didn't)
  
  Moderated by:
• Jo Spear, Associate Professor of International Affairs, Director of the Security Policy Studies Program, GW

U.S. Foreign Policy and the Obama Administration: The Prospects for Change
February 17, 2009

• ISA Annual Convention 2009: New York, NY

The Obama Administration and Latin America's Rising Powers
January 26, 2009

• Dan Erikson, Senior Associate for U.S. policy and Director of Caribbean programs, Inter-American Dialogue
  
• Andrew Selee, Director of the Mexico Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
• David Myers, Associate Professor of Political Science, Penn State University
• Paulo Sotero, Director of the Brazil Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
• José Miguel Insulza, Secretary-General, Organization of American States
  
• Joy Olson, Executive Director, Washington Office on Latin America
  
• Robert Pastor, Former National Security Advisor for Latin America, Professor, American University
• Julia Sweig, Director for Latin American Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

Public Diplomacy: Past, Present, and Future
January 14, 2009

• Jim Glassman, Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Reflections and Projections: A Trade Transition Memo for the New Administration
November 13, 2008

• Christopher A. Padilla, Undersecretary for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce

America in Transition: Foreign Policy Advice for the New President
November 6, 2008

Watch the video.

• Maurice A. East, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs; former Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs (1985-1995)
• Harry Harding, University Professor of International Affairs; former Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs (1995-2005)
• Michael E. Brown, Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs
  
  Moderator:
  Diana B. Henriques, Senior Writer, The New York Times; Chairwoman, Elliott School's International Council

Middle East Challenges Facing the Next Administration
October 30, 2008

• William Quandt, James Clark Welling Visiting Professor, GW

Security Policy Forum:
China: Political and Security Challenges for the Next Administration
October 28, 2008

• Thomas J. Christensen, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State (2006-2008); Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University
• Rear Admiral Michael McDevitt (USN, Ret.), Vice President and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies, Center for Naval Analyses
• Harry Harding, University Professor of International Affairs, GW
  
  Moderator:
  David Shambaugh, Director, China Policy Program; Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, GW

The Next President: Transatlantic Relations and Beyond
October 21, 2008

• Eckart von Klaeden, Member of the Bundestag, and foreign-affairs spokesman of the CDU/CSU faction in the German Parliament
• Cem Ozdemir, Member of the European Parliament, designated Chairman of Germany's Green Party
• Charles Kupchan, Senior Fellow and Director of Europe Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations; Professor of International Relations in the School of Foreign Service and Government Department at Georgetown University
• Karen Donfried, Executive Vice President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States

U.S.-China Economic Conference: Perspectives on Today and the Future
October 20, 2008

• Warwick McKibben, Professor of Economics, Australian National University; Member of the Board, Reserve Bank of Australia; Nonresident Fellow, Brookings institutions
  
  
• David Pumphrey, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow of the Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies; former Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Energy Cooperation, U.S. Department of Energy
  
  
• Jiawen Yang, Professor of International Business and International Affairs, GW; co-author of Case Studies of U.S. Economic Sanctions: The Chinese, Cuban and Iranian Experience
  
  
• Jim Mendenhall, Partner, Sidley Austin LLP; former General Council, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
  
  
• Patrick Mulloy, Member, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission; former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce
  
  
• Eswar Prasad, Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy, Cornell University; Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research; former Chief, China Division, International Monetary Fund
  
  
• Albert Keidel, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; former Deputy Director, Office of East Asian Nations, U.S. Treasury Department
  
  
• Philip Levy, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute; former Senior Economist, Council of Economic Advisors
  
  
• David Shambaugh, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University; Director, China Policy Program, Elliott School of International Affairs; Nonresident Fellow, Brookings Institution

Trade and the Hill: What to Expect Post Election
October 14, 2008

• Steve Champlin, Vice President, Duberstein Group; former Executive Director, House Democratic Caucus
• David Castagnetti, Partner, Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, Inc.
• Jennifer Mulveny, Senior Director, Trade and Legislative Affairs, Sandler, Travis and Rosenberg, P.A.
• Eric Euland, former Chief of Staff to Senator Bill Frist, United States Senate

Public Diplomacy and the War of Ideas: Agendas for the Next Administration
September 30, 2008

Watch the video.

• Hady Amr, Director, Brookings Doha Center; Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, The Brookings Institution; co-author of Engaging the Muslim World: A Communication Strategy to Win the War of Ideas
• Michael Doran, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Support to Public Diplomacy, U.S. Department of Defense
• Kristin Lord, Fellow, Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, The Brookings Institution; author of the forthcoming Voices of America: U.S. Public Diplomacy for the 21st Century
• Marc Lynch, co-director of the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communications, George Washington University; author of Voices of the New Arab Public

Alumni Weekend Event: Foreign Policy Priorities for the New President
September 27, 2008

• Michael E. Brown, Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University

Security Policy Forum:
The Middle East: For the Next Administration
September 23, 2008

• Aaron Miller, Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center
• Marina Ottaway, Director, Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Ray Takeyh, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
  
  Moderator:
  Marc Lynch, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University

The Next President: A World of Challenges
September 15, 2008

• The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, Principal, Albright Capital Management LLC; U.S. Secretary of State, 1997-2001
• The Honorable James A. Baker, III, Senior Partner, Baker Botts LLP; U.S. Secretary of State, 1989-1992
• The Honorable Warren Christopher, Co-Chair, Pacific Council on International Policy; Co-Chair, National Commission on War Powers; U.S. Secretary of State, 1993-1997
• The Honorable Henry Alfred Kissinger, Chairman, Kissinger Associates; U.S. Secretary of State, 1973-1977
• The Honorable Colin L. Powell, Founder and Distinguished Scholar, Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies, City College of New York; U.S. Secretary of State, 2001-2005

Foreign Policy in the Next Administration
April 10, 2008

• Michael E. Brown, Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs, GW
• Chris Kojm, Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, GW; former Senior Advisor to the Iraq Study Group; former Deputy Director, 9/11 Commission
• Henry R. Nau, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, GW; Author, Perspectives on International Relations: Power, Institutions, and Ideas
• Deepa Ollapally, Associate Director, Sigur Center for Asian Studies, GW; Author, The Politics of Extremism in South Asia
• Martha Finnemore, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, GW; Co-author, Rules for the World: International Organizations in Global Politics

U.S. Policy toward Latin America in the post-Bush Era
March 25, 2008

• Greg Craig, Partner, Williams & Connolly LLP; Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator Barack Obama
• Nora Lustig, J. B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Visiting Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs, GW
• Mark Schneider, Senior Vice President and Special Advisor on Latin America, International Crisis Group
• Mark Weisbrot, Co-director, Center for Economic and Policy Research

Reflections on U.S.-India Relations
March 12, 2008

Listen to the lecture

• His Excellency Ronen Sen, Ambassador of India to the United States
• Amb. Karl Inderfurth, John O. Rankin Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, GW; former Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia;
• Ashley Tellis, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator John McCain

Notes for the New U.S. President: Understanding Global Challenges – An Alumni Panel Discussion
March 6, 2008

• Jeremy Clift, MIPP 2002, International Monetary Fund
• Robert Winthrop, MIPP 2002, US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
• Serif Turgut, MIPP 2003, Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government
• Nader Nadery, MIPP 2008, Merriman Fellow
  
  Moderator:
  Kristin M. Lord, Associate Dean for Strategy, Research and External Relations, Elliott School of International Affairs, GW

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