Monday in Washington, April 9, 2018

RUSSIA AND THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS AFTER 20 YEARS. 4/9, 9:30-11:00am. Sponsor: Wilson Center (WWC). Speakers: Marina Agaltsova, Galina Starovoitova Fellow on Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Attorney at Law, Human Rights Center; Maria Issaeva, Threefold Legal Advisers, Moscow; Member, Executive board, European Society of International Law; author Lauri Mälksoo, Fellow, Professor of International Law, University of Tartu, Estonia.  https://amzn.to/2GJeu1s

THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE: CONFESSIONS OF A NUCLEAR WAR PLANNER. 4/9, 11:30-2:30pm. Sponsors: Partnerships for International Strategies in Asia (PISA), Leadership, Ethics, and Practice Initiative, Elliott School, GWU; Nuclear Security Working Group. Author: Daniel Ellsberg.

EXPLORES CHINA’S LEADERSHIP GOALS AND PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS. 4/9, Noon. Sponsor: Public Diplomacy Alumni Association. Speakers: Christopher Walker, Vice President for Studies and Analysis, National Endowment for Democracy; Robert Daly, Director, Kissinger Institute, Wilson Center. Fee.

ITALY’S THREAT TO THE EURO. 4/9, 2:30-4:30pm. Sponsor: AEI. Speakers: Alberto Alesina, Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy, Harvard University; Michele Boldrin, Hoyt Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, Department of Economics, Washington University in St. Louis; Erik Jones, Director, European and Eurasian Studies, Professor of European Studies and International Political Economy, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University; Desmond Lachman, Resident Fellow, AEI. Moderator: Stan Veuger, Resident Scholar, AEI.

DON'T COPY THAT FLOPPY! CHINESE THEFT OF U.S. MILITARY TECHNOLOGIES. 4/9, 3:30-4:30pm. Sponsor: Organization of Asian Studies, Elliott School, GWU. Speakers include: Terry Dunlap, CEO, ReFirm Labs; Bill Gertz, National Security Columnist, Washington Times, Senior Editor, Washington Free Beacon; Dr. Stephen Bryen, Founder, Defense Technology Security Administration.

WHAT'S NEXT IN THE MIDDLE EAST? PUBLIC OPINION AND THE CRISIS OF LEADERSHIP IN ISRAEL, PALESTINE AND THE UNITED STATES. 4/9, 5:00-7:00pm, Dinner. Sponsors: Elliott School, GWU; OneVoice Movement. Speakers: Dahlia Scheindlin, Policy Fellow, MITVIM Institute; Obada Shtayeh, Regional Director, OneVoice Movement; Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Director, Institute for Middle East Studies, Elliott School, GWU. Moderator: Ned Lazarus, Visiting Professor of International Affairs, Elliott School, GWU.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE FUTURE OF WORK. 4/9, 5:30-7:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Institute for International Economic Policy, Elliott School, GWU. Speaker: Martin Fleming, Chief Economist, Vice President, Business Performance Services, IBM.

Unshared values with Japan

Japan’s Indo-Pacific strategy falls short

Japan’s Values-Free and Token Indo-Pacific Strategy

Japan must demonstrate that its commitment to international law and democratic values is more than just a fig leaf.

BY James D.J. Brown, associate professor of political science at Temple University, Japan Campus.

THE DIPLOMAT, April 3, 2018

The Free and Open Indo-Pacific has become one of the key concepts in Japan’s contemporary foreign policy. Foreign Minister Taro Kono has included it as one of his six priorities, and Japan has worked hard to convince other countries, including the United Kingdom and France, to endorse it. However, while the principled rhetoric about the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) may sound appealing, Japan’s actions raise questions about whether the strategy is really anything more than window dressing for the pursuit of Japan’s narrow economic and strategic interests.

The main aim of Japan’s FOIP is to promote connectivity between Asia, the Middle East and Africa. This means that the strategy is closely related to promoting free trade, infrastructure investment and development. It is therefore no surprise that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe chose the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) as the venue for his first major speech on this topic in August 2016. This economic focus makes FOIP distinct from “the Quad,” a fledgling security dialogue between Japan, Australia, India, and the United States.

Japan’s enthusiasm for FOIP derives from the recognition that, due to its shrinking domestic population, Japanese economic growth will increasingly depend on access to overseas markets. However, the international rules-based order that has made free trade possible is under threat both from an assertive China and from a U.S. administration that appears unwilling to defend the very system that underpins its national prosperity. Washington’s negligence has therefore encouraged Tokyo to do more itself to uphold this rules-based order.

A related motivation is that the Abe administration has identified infrastructure exports as a priority for reviving the Japanese economy. The development of a joint regional infrastructure scheme that is connected with FOIP could therefore assist Japan to expand exports to countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, especially if Chinese competitors are excluded. It was announced in February that just such a infrastructure scheme is already being discussed by Japan, Australia, India and America.

Freedom and openness

Although Japan certainly has its own motivations, FOIP is presented as being for the benefit of all. Specifically, a system in which international maritime areas remain a global commons, which are governed by the rule of law and not might-makes-right, will allow small and large trading states to flourish alike.

Further to supporting the freedom of navigation enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Japan claims that other values are central to FOIP. This was made clear in Abe’s initial TICAD speech in which he stated that “Japan bears the responsibility of fostering the confluence of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and of Asia and Africa into a place that values freedom, the rule of law, and the market economy, free from force or coercion, and making it prosperous.”

Abe continued by stressing the role that democratic principles had played in Asia’s growth and that the same values should underpin development in other regions. This “values-oriented diplomacy” was also a feature of Abe’s first administration (2006-2007), when the favored concept was the soon-forgotten “arc of freedom and prosperity.”

Although denied by the Japanese leadership, FOIP is clearly intended as a competitor to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which also seeks to connect Asia with neighboring regions via large-scale infrastructure projects. By emphasizing freedom and openness, as well as higher project standards, Tokyo is attempting to differentiate its strategy from that of Beijing. This rhetoric is also an attempt to give FOIP greater legitimacy, partially compensating for the fact that it is far behind the BRI in terms of financing and concrete achievements.

Tokyo’s superficial values

There is no question that a genuinely free and open Indo-Pacific would be preferable to an initiative dominated by a single authoritarian state. However, to boldly claim a commitment to a values-based foreign policy is to invite a scrutiny that finds Tokyo wanting due to its ambivalent support for international law and democratic values.

With regard to maritime law, while Japan has been outspoken in its criticism of China’s island building in the South China Sea, this has not prevented it from doing something similar at Okinotori, a small atoll located 1,600 km south of Tokyo. The Japanese government has spent over $600 million reinforcing and expanding the small rocks of the atoll in order to keep them above the water line. It now claims that Okinotori is an island and entitled to a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone — even though UNCLOS specifically states that only natural islands that can sustain human habitation will generate EEZs.

Japan has demonstrated similar disregard for international law in its continuation of whaling despite a 2014 ruling by the International Court of Justice. This found that Japan’s supposed research program in the Antarctic was in violation of the moratorium on commercial whaling.

Japan could also be criticized for its absurdist claim that there is no territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by China as the Diaoyu Islands. The reason for this is because Tokyo does not wish to engage in negotiations. Were the Japanese government really committed to the international rule of law, it could invite China to take the case to the International Court of Justice. In fact, this is precisely what Japan demands of South Korea with regard to the disputed territory of Dokdo/Takeshima. Tokyo’s support for international arbitration is therefore highly selective.

Likewise, it is hard to take the Japanese government’s commitment to democratic values too seriously given Abe’s chummy relationship with President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, whose “war on drugs” has left more than 12,000 people dead. Also, while the United States has cut aid to both Thailand and Cambodia in response to democratic backsliding, Japan has continued to court these countries for both political and economic reasons.

Most striking has been the Abe administration’s reluctance to criticize Myanmar for the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya minority that is being conducted by the country’s military. Indeed, during a visit to the country in February, Kentaro Sonoura, a special advisor to Abe, stated that the “Tatmadaw [Myanmar’s armed forces] has an important role in consolidating democracy in Myanmar.” He also praised the countries’ ongoing defense cooperation.

Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific concept could constitute a positive contribution to the whole region if it genuinely offers a more principled and law-based alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. For this to be the case, however, Tokyo must first demonstrate that its commitment to international law and democratic values is more than just a convenient fig leaf.

Monday in Washington, March 26, 2018

WILL THE RUSSIANS MEDDLE IN LATIN AMERICAN ELECTIONS? 3/26, 9:30-11:00am. Sponsor: Americas Program, CSIS. Speakers: Javier Lesaca, Visiting Scholar, School of Media and Public Affairs, GWU; David Salvo, Resident Fellow, Alliance for Securing Democracy, German Marshall Fund; Evan Ellis, Senior Associate, Americas Program, CSIS. Moderator: Richard Miles, Senior Fellow, Deputy Director, Americas Program, CSIS, Director, U.S.-Mexico Futures Initiative.

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CHINA AT WAR. 3/26, 10:00-11:15am. Sponsors: Kissinger Institute, Wilson Center. Speakers: J. Stapleton Roy, Founding Director, Distinguished Scholar, Founding Director Emeritus, Kissinger Institute, Wilson Center; author, Hans van de Ven, Professor of Modern Chinese History, Cambridge University. Moderator: Robert Daly, Director, Kissinger Institute, Wilson Center.

A FUNDAMENTALIST’S APPROACH TO NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION AND NUCLEAR-WEAPONS REDUCTIONS: GET RID OF THE FISSILE MATERIAL! 3/26, NOON–1:30pm. Sponsor: GW, Institute for International Science and Technology Policy. Speaker: Frank Von Hippel, Professor, Princeton University.

U.S. IN A POST-ISIS IRAQ AND SYRIA: REALIGNING ALLIES AND CONSTRAINING ADVERSARIES. 3/26, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Hudson. Speakers: Michael Pregent, Adjunct Fellow, Hudson; Hillel Fradkin, Senior Fellow, Hudson; Jennifer Cafarella; Senior Intelligence Planner, Institute for the Study of War; Dr. Nahro Zagros; Vice President, Soran University, Iraq.

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MOBILIZING WITHOUT THE MASSES: CONTROL AND CONTENTION IN CHINA - A DISCUSSION WITH DR. DIANA FU. 3/26, Noon-2:00pm. Sponsor: Sigur Center, Elliott School, GWU. Speaker: author Diana Fu, Assistant Professor of Asian Politics, University of Toronto.

THE FUTURE OF FINANCIAL REGULATION: A CONVERSATION WITH NEW YORK FEDERAL RESERVE PRESIDENT BILL DUDLEY. 3/26, Noon-2:00pm, Lunch. Sponsor: Center for Capital Market Competitiveness, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Speaker: Bill Dudley, President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

THE AGE OF EISENHOWER: AMERICA AND THE WORLD IN THE 1950s. 3/26, 4:00-5:30pm. Sponsor: Washington History Seminar, Wilson Center. Speakers: Author, William Hitchcock, Professor of History, University of Virginia Eric Arnesen, Fellow, Professor of History, The George Washington University; Philippa Strum, Global Fellow, Former Director, Division of United States Studies, Woodrow Wilson Center.

Wither Osaka

A storm appears to be headed toward Osaka. As the article below notes, domestic politics may not long favor the city. The Moritomo Gakuen scandal is centered on Osaka and its ultra-rightwing politics. Osaka is also the epicenter of Japan's denier history toward the Comfort Women. Successive majors have been outspoken deniers of Pacific War history—even threatening to end the sister city relationship with San Francisco over the American city’s refusal to accept the Osaka mayors' false and pernicious construction of Comfort Women history.

The Abe's government has shown extraordinary favoritism to the region and its politicians who have helped the LDP maintain their Diet majority. Recently, Tokyo selected Osaka to be the host city for the G20 leaders summit in 2019. The government is also promoting Osaka to the Bureau of International Expositions to be the site for Expo 2025. By doing this, Tokyo is demanding that the rest of the world ignore the region's infamous war history and its modern deniers. 

A new Japanese government will not be able to long tolerate Osaka as a world outlier.

Moritomo scandal threatens Osaka leaders too

By Eric Johnston, Staff Writer

Japan Times, March 17, 2018

OSAKA – “A man once thoroughly endued with these three qualities of lying, impudence, and ingratitude will, I believe, scarce want any other titles to preferment and grandeur.” — Henry Fielding, from a satirical article on the traits of successful politicians, 1740

Over a year after it first blew up in Osaka, then went to Tokyo and languished, the Moritomo Gakuen scandal came roaring back with a vengeance earlier this month, shaking Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration to the core.

The “Teflon prime minister,” as Abe is dubbed by critics and admirers for his political durability, may finally have run out of luck. His finance minister, Taro Aso, whose ministry admitted it rewrote, deleted, or falsified records related to the scandal is facing intense pressure from the opposition, and members of his own party, to resign — and soon.

Without his friend Aso by his side, Abe will head into the September elections for Liberal Democratic Party president (and thus prime minister) weakened and a lame duck unlikely to be granted a third consecutive term — all because of a scandal that just would not go away.

The key questions still unanswered boil down to who gave the school an unprecedented discount on the land it wanted, why Moritomo received special treatment, who decided to give it that treatment and who was involved in the subsequent “editing” of ministry documents.

At the national level, those questions involve the prime minister and his wife, the finance minister and senior Finance Ministry officials and at least three Diet members. They include Takeo Hiranuma, the ultra-right-wing Liberal Democratic Party representative from Okayama, LDP veteran Yoshitada Konoike, a scandal-plagued politician from neighboring Hyogo Prefecture, and former Upper House LDP lawmaker Issei Kitagawa, who is from Osaka. Former Moritomo head Yasunori Kagoike’s claim that he was betrayed by lying, impudent, ungrateful politicians and bureaucrats sounds a bit more credible now.

But one influential politician of interest to Osaka was not in the documents: Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui.

Given that, in Diet testimony, Kagoike alleged the person who betrayed him the most was Matsui, Osaka’s media are now aggressively pursuing the Moritomo Gakuen “Osaka angle.” And they are asking what might have been going on between Matsui, the Kinki bureau of the Finance Ministry, Abe, Aso, Hiranuma and their friends in the conservative lobby group Japan Conference (Nippon Kaigi), reference to which was also originally deleted from Finance Ministry documents.

Matsui insists he had nothing to do with influencing the Kinki bureau to cut a deal with Kagoike and no evidence has surfaced to suggest otherwise. But, politically, he has two problems.

The first is local. More questions about Moritomo makes it ever more difficult for Matsui and his supporters to realize their integration of Osaka city, which is once again under discussion and still faces intense opposition.

The second problem is Osaka’s relationship — and the Nippon Ishin no Kai party’s relationship — with the Abe wing of the LDP.

If a splintering LDP leads to Abe stepping down, either now or later, then Matsui and Nippon Ishin must deal with another prime minister, one likely to be less friendly.

Various LDP leaders are now garnering attention as possible successors to Abe. They include former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Internal Affairs Minister Seiko Noda. In Osaka, Ishiba, who is from Tottori Prefecture and has strong connections in the Kansai region, has already reached out to younger LDP members who are battling with Matsui and Nippon Ishin (some of whom are former LDP members).

How all of this plays out depends on what additional revelations there are about the Moritomo scandal. But in Osaka, as well as Tokyo, politicians and bureaucrats are running for cover, desperate to avoid a resurgent scandal most thought had long since been overcome.

Monday in Washington, March 19, 2018

A CONVERSATION WITH NICHOLAS KRISTOF. 3/19, 8:30-11:00am. Sponsor: Center for Global Development. Speaker: Nicholas Kristof, Columnist, New York Times. Moderator: Amanda Glassman, Chief Operating Officer, Center for Global Development.

REVOLUTION WITHOUT REVOLUTIONARIES: MAKING SENSE OF THE ARAB SPRING. 3/19, Noon-1:30pm, Sponsor: Project on Middle East Political Science, Institute for Middle East Studies, Elliott School, GWU. Author: Dr. Asef Bayat, Catherine and Bruce Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies & Professor of Sociology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

THE NORTH KOREAN CRISIS: ON THE BRINK OF A BREAK THROUGH OR A BUST? 3/19, 12:30-1:45pm. Sponsor: Center for American Progress (CAP). Speakers: Kurt Campbell, & CEO, Asia Group; Chairman of the Board, CAP; Suzanne DiMaggio, Senior Fellow & Director, U.S.-DPRK Dialogue, New America; Kelly Magsamen, Vice President, National Security and International Policy, CAP. Moderator: Michael Fuchs, Senior Fellow, CAP.

JAPAN'S BALANCING BETWEEN NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT AND DETERRENCE. 3/19, 1:00-2:30pm. Sponsor: Stimson. Speakers: Masahiro Kurita, Fellow, National Institute for Defense Studies; Wakana Mukai, Assistant Professor, Faculty of International Relations, Asia University; Masashi Murano, Research Fellow, Okazaki Institute; Masahiro Okuda, Ph.D. Candidate, Takushoku University; Heigo Sato, Vice President, Institute for World Studies, Takushoku University. Moderator: Yuki Tatsumi, Co-Director, East Asia Program, Stimson Center.

FOREIGN POLICY AND FRAGILE STATES. 3/19, 2:00-3:00pm. Sponsor: U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). Speakers: Nancy Lindborg, President, USIP; Ilan Goldenberg, Director, Middle East Security Program, Center for a New American Security; Kimberly Kagan, Founder & President, Institute for the Study of War. Moderator: Joshua Johnson, Host, 1A, NPR.

2018 U.S.-JAPAN SECURITY SEMINAR: NEXT STEPS ON NORTH KOREA. 3/19, 4:00-5:00pm. Sponsor: Japan Chair, CSIS; Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA). Speakers: Yoshiji Nogami, President, JIIA; Jung H. Pak, SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Center for Northeast Asia Policy Studies, Brookings; Tetsuo Kotani, Senior Fellow, JIIA. Moderator: Michael J. Green, Senior Vice President, Asia & Japan Chair, CSIS.

Monday in Washington March 12, 2018

POLITICAL TRIBES: GROUP INSTINCT AND THE FATE OF NATIONS. 3/12, 10:00-11:30am. Sponsor: Brookings. Speakers: author Amy Chua, John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law, Yale; Robert Kagan, Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Project on International Order and Strategy; Michael O'Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Brookings.

INTERNATIONAL ENERGY R&D COOPERATION IN PRACTICE: PERSPECTIVES AND ISSUES. 3/12, Noon-1:00pm, Lunch. Sponsor: Global America Business Institute (GABI). Speakers: Dr. Charles Taylor, Global Partnerships Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory; Dr. Sangjin Choi, Strategic Planning Division, Korea Institute of Energy Research.

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IRAN’S POST-REVOLUTIONARY ELITE. 3/12, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Future of Iran Initiative, Atlantic Council. Speaker: Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University, Author, Post-Revolutionary Iran: A Handbook. Moderator: Barbara Slavin, Director, Future of Iran Initiative, Atlantic Council.

DISCUSSION WITH THE SECRETARIES OF THE U.S. MILITARY DEPARTMENTS. 3/12, 1:30-2:30pm. Sponsor: International Security Program, CSIS. Speakers: Hon. Mark T. Esper, Secretary of the Army; Hon. Richard Spencer, Secretary of the Navy; Hon. Heather Wilson, Secretary of the Air Force. Moderator: Dr. Kathleen Hicks, Senior Vice President, Henry A. Kissinger Chair, Director, International Security Program, CSIS.

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THE U.S. AND GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY AT A TIME OF TRANSITION. 3/12, 2:00-3:30pm. Sponsor: Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). Speakers: Jen Kates, Vice President & Director of Global Health and HIV Policy, KFF; Anne Schuchat, Acting Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Beth Cameron, Vice President for Global Biological Policy and Programs, Nuclear Threat Initiative; Rebecca Katz, Associate Professor & Co-Director, Center for Global Health Science and Security, Georgetown University; Nancy Knight, Director, Division of Global Health Protection, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President & Director, Global Health Policy Center, CSIS . Moderator: Josh Michaud, Associate Director of Global Health Policy, KFF.

Book Event: Marketcraft March 14, 2018

MARKETCRAFT

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HOW GOVERNMENTS MAKE MARKETS WORK IN THE US AND JAPAN

March 14, 2018

12:30-1:45pm 

Speaker

author Dr. Steven Vogel is the Il Han new professor of Asian studies and a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. He specializes in the political economy of advanced industrialized nations, especially Japan and the United States.

REGISTER HERE

Location
George Washington University, Elliott School 
1957 E Street, NW 
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 

From financial regulation to anti-trust enforcement to governance of the internet, policymakers in Washington and Japan are increasingly failing at the job of effective market regulation. In a provocative new book, Dr. Steven Vogel argues that the reason governments so often get this wrong is that they are stuck in a stale and misleading debate over government regulation versus market freedom. In fact, he argues, markets must by their nature be regulated, and the real debate is over how best to regulate in the public interest. In era of globalization and new, disruptive market platforms Vogel's thoughtful pro-governance arguments have never been more relevant.

This event is on the record and open to the media

Books wil be available for purchase 

Sponsors
George Washington University’s Sigur Center  and Institute for International Economic Policy

In cooperation with Asia Policy Point

Monday in Washington, March 5, 2018

CHINA’S RAPID RICE AS A GREEN FINANCE CHAMPION. 3/5, 9:30-11:30am. Sponsor: China Environment Forum (CEF), Wilson Center. Speakers: Carolyn Szum, Program Manager, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Alan Xiangrui Meng, Market Analyst, Climate Bonds Initiative; Derek Ip, Senior Analyst, Financial Institutions Team, Trucost. Moderator: Jennifer L. Turner, Director, CEF, Wilson Center, Manager, Global Choke Point Initiative.

AN OUTLOOK OF THE CHINESE ECONOMY AND SINO-JAPAN RELATIONS. 3/5, Noon-1:00pm. Sponsor: East-West Center in Washington. Speakers: Kiyoyuki Seguchi, Research Director, Canon Institute for Global Studies; Dr. Anny Wong, Research Fellow, John G. Tower Center for Political Studies, Southern Methodist, University, Adjunct Political Scientist, RAND Corporation.

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OIL IN IRAQ: PATHWAYS TO ENABLING BETTER GOVERNANCE. 3/5, 2:00-3:30pm. Sponsor: Middle East Institute (MEI). Speakers: Erin Banco, Investigative Reporter, Star-Ledger & NJ.com; Alan Eyre, Director, Office of Middle East and Asia, Bureau of Energy Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Omar Al-Nidawi, Iraq Director, Gryphon Partners; Jean-Francois Seznec, Scholar, MEI, Adjunct Professor, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. Moderator: Randa Slim, Director, Track II Dialogues Initiative, MEI, Non-resident Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University.


THE U.S. AND THE UK: A CONVERSATION WITH KORI SCHAKE. 3/5, 3:00-4:00pm. Sponsor: Hudson. Speakers: Kori Schake, Deputy Director-General, IISS, Author, Safe Passage: The Transition from British to American Hegemony; Tod Lindberg, Senior Fellow, Hudson.

A CONVERSATION ON FREE TRADE AND GLOBALIZATION. 3/5, 5:00-6:00pm. Sponsors: Dean’s Forum & European and Eurasian Studies Program, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. Speaker: Brian Mikkelsen, Danish Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs. Moderator: Vali Nasr, Dean, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University.

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GLORY AND GRATITUDE TO THE UNITED STATES – CHERS BIENFAITEURS. 3/5, 5:00-7:00pm. Sponsor: Hoover Institution. Speakers: George Nash, PhD, Historian, Author, A Multivolume Scholarly Biography of Herbert Hoover; Nancy Heingartner, PhD, Assistant Director of Outreach, Institute for Regional and International Studies, University of WI-Madison; Bernard Geenen, Economic and Commercial Counselor, Wallonia, Embassy of Belgium; Brigadier General G. Franchomme, Defense, Military, Air and Naval Attaché, Embassy of Belgium; R.Admn. W.S. Truelove CMM, CD, Embassy of Canada.

TRADE AND GROWTH: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. 3/5, 5:30-7:00pm, Reception. Sponsor: Institute for International Economic Policy, Elliott School, GWU. Speaker: Bob Koopman, Chief Economist, World Trade Organization.

Monday in Washington, February 26, 2018

BP ENERGY OUTLOOK 2018. 2/26, 9:30-11:00am. Sponsor: Energy & National Security Program, CSIS. Speaker: Spencer Dale, Chief Economist, BP. Moderator: Sarah Ladislaw, Director & Senior Fellow, Energy & National Security Program, CSIS.

CLIMATE AND NATIONAL SECURITY FORUM 2018: A RESPONSIBILITY TO PREPARE. 2/26, 9:30am-12:30pm. Sponsor: Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Speakers: Brid. Gen. Gerald Galloway, U.S. Army (ret.), Former Dean of the Academic Board, U.S. Military Academy at West Point; Gen. Ron Keys, U.S. Air Force (ret.), Former Commander, Air Combat Command; V.Adm. Robert Parker, U.S. Coast Guard (ret.), Former Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area; Joan VanDevort, Former Deputy Director for Ranges, Sea and Airspace; R.Adm. Jonathan White, U.S. Navy (ret.), President, Ocean Leadership Consortium; Hon. John Conger, Former Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense of Comptroller, Senior Policy Advisor, Center for Climate and Security; Hon. Sherri Goodman, Former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense of Environmental Security, Senior Fellow, Wilson Center; R.Adm. Ann C. Phillips, U.S. Navy (ret.), Former Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group TWO; R.Adm. David Titley, U.S. Navy (ret.), Director, Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk, Penn State University, Former Oceanographer of the Navy. Moderator: Hon. John Conger, Former Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense of Comptroller, Senior Policy Advisor, Center for Climate and Security; Heather L. Messera, Senior Fellow for Government Affairs, Center for Climate and Security.

NUCLEAR POSTURE REVIEW: CONTINUITIES AND CHANGES. 2/26, 10:00-11:00am. Sponsor: Heritage. Speaker: David Trachtenberg, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, U.S. Department of Defense. Moderator: Michaela Dodge, Senior Policy Analyst, Defense and Strategic Policy, Heritage.

IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF U.S. EXPORT CONTROLS FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES. 2/26, 10:00-11:30am. Sponsors: Bipartisan Policy Center; Nuclear Innovation Alliance. Speakers: Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH); Matt Bowen, Senior Policy Fellow, Nuclear Innovation Alliance; Matthew Bunn, Professor of Practice, Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School; Kate Strangis, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy; Elina Teplinsky, Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Moderator: Ashley Finan, Policy Director, Nuclear Innovation Alliance.

RUSSIA IN THE US-JAPAN ALLIANCE? BEYOND CHINESE AND NORTH KOREAN CHALLENGES. 2/26,10:30am-Noon. Sponsor: US-Japan Research Institute (USJI). Speakers: Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Associate Professor, George Mason University; Serghei Golunov, Professor, Kyushu University; Akihiro Iwashita, Professor, Kyushu University/ Hokkaido University; Matthew Rojansky, Director, Kennan Institute; Paul J. Saunders, Executive Director, Center for the National Interest; Ha Yong Chool, Professor, University of Washington. Moderator: Edward Boyle, Assistant Professor, Kyushu University.

THE LOGIC OF AMERICAN NUCLEAR STRATEGY. 2/26, Noon-2;00pm. Sponsor: Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council. Author: Matthew Kroenig, Senior Fellow, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council. Speakers: Rebecca Hersman, Director, Project on Nuclear Issues, Senior Adviser, International Security Program, CSIS; James N. Miller, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Moderator: Thom Shanker, Pentagon Correspondent, New York Times.

HISTORY OF MODERN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY: THE ORIGINS OF THE FOUNDING OF THE UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY (USIA). 2/26, 1:00-2:30pm. Sponsors: Project on Military and Diplomatic History & Project on Prosperity and Development, CSIS. Speakers: Elizabeth "Betsy" Whitaker, Adjunct Lecturer, School of Media and Public Affairs, GWU; Dr. Caitlin E. Schindler, Research Professor, Institute of World Politics; Dr. Nicholas J. Cull, Professor of Public Diplomacy, Founding Director, Master of Public Diplomacy, Annenberg School of Communication, University of Southern California. Moderator: Daniel F. Runde, William A. Schreyer Chair in Global Analysis, Director, Project on Prosperity and Development, CSIS.

STRENGTHENING ASEAN’S ROLE IN THE INDO-PACIFIC. 2/26, 2:00-3:00pm. Sponsor: Southeast Asia Program, CSIS. Speaker: Rep. Joaquin Castro, Co-chair, Congressional Caucus on ASEAN. Moderator: Dr. Amy E. Searight, Senior Adviser & Director, Southeast Asia Program, CSIS.

LIFE WITH A NUCLEAR NORTH KOREA. 2/26, 6:30pm. Sponsors: Newseum; The New York Times. Speakers: David E. Sanger, National Security Correspondent, The New York Times; Helene Cooper, Pentagon Correspondent, The New York Times; Jake Sullivan, Former National Security Adviser to Vice President, Former Director of Policy Planning. Moderator: Mark Landler, White House Correspondent, Former Hong Kong Bureau Chief, The New York Times.

Monday in Washington, February 12, 2018

GEOSTRATEGIC FLASHPOINT: THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. 2/12, 9:00-10:00am. Sponsor: Europe Program & Middle East Program, CSIS. Speakers: Adm. James G. Foggo, III, Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Africa; Heather A. Conley,Senior Vice President for Europe, Eurasia, and the Arctic; Director, Europe Program, CSIS; Jon B. Alterman, Senior Vice President, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, Director, Middle East Program, CSIS.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S NUCLEAR POSTURE REVIEW: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE. 2/12, 10:00am-Noon. Sponsor: Brookings. Speakers: Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy David Trachtenberg, Jim Miller, under secretary of defense for policy in the Obama administration; Madelyn Creedon, principal deputy administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration during the Obama administration; James Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment; and Robert Einhorn of Brookings.

RESPONDING TO THE ROHINGYA CRISIS WITH ETHICAL LEADERSHIP. 2/12, 11:30am-1:00pm. Sponsor: Elliott School, GWU. Speakers: Dr. Wakar, Professor, Pennsylvania State University, Director General, Arakan Rohingya Union, Founding Chairman, Burmese Rohingya Association North America; Amb. Derek Mitchell, CEO, Shwe Strategies LLC, Senior Advisor, Albright Stonebridge Group, US Institute of Peace. Moderator: Dr. Christina Fink, Professor of Practice of International Affairs, Elliott School, GWU. 

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ELECTION SECURITY IN 50 STATES: DEFENDING AMERICA’S ELECTIONS. 2/12, 11:30am-1:15pm. Sponsor: Center for American Progress. Speakers include: Neera Tanden, President & CEO, Center for American Progress ; Jeh Johnson, Former US Secretary of Homeland Security ; Judd Choate, Director of Elections, State of Colorado; Edgardo Cortes, Former Commissioner of Elections, Commonwealth of Virginia. Moderators: Neera Tanden, President & CEO, Center for American Progress; Winnie Stachelberg, Executive Vice President, External Affairs, Center for American Progress.

IRAN’S POLITICAL FUTURE. 2/12, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Future of Iran Initiative, Atlantic Council. Speakers: Nazila Fathi, Journalist, Author, The Lonely War: One Woman’s Account of the Struggle for Modern Iran; Suzanne Maloney, Deputy Director, Foreign Policy Program, Brookings; Alireza Nader, Senior International Policy Analyst, RAND Corporation. Moderator: Barbara Slavin, Director, Future of Iran Initiative, Atlantic Council.

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RELIGION, SECULARISM AND DEMOCRACY IN DUTERTE'S PHILIPPINES. 2/12, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Berkley Center, Georgetown University. Speakers: David Buckley, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Paul Weber Endowed Chair in Politics, Science & Religion, University of Louisville, Author, Faithful to Secularism: The Religious Politics of Democracy in Ireland, Senegal and the Philippines; Shaun Casey, Director, Berkley Center, Professor of the Practice, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Senior Fellow, Luce Project on Religion and Its Publics, University of Virginia.

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REMAPPING IR: PROTEAN POWER: EXPLORING THE UNCERTAIN AND UNEXPECTED IN WORLD POLITICS. 2/12, 12:30-1:30pm. Sponsor: Mortara Center for International Studies, Walsh School of Foreign Services, Georgetown University. Speakers: Peter Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter Professor of International Studies, Cornell University, Former President, American Political Science Association; Lucia Seybert, Professorial Lecturer, School of International Service, American University.

U.S.-PAKISTAN RELATIONS AT A TURNING POINT: WHAT’S NEXT? 2/12, 2:30-4:00pm. Sponsor: Asia Center, US Institute of Peace (USIP). Speakers: Tanvi Madan, Director, India Project, Brookings; Amb. Richard Olson, Former Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan; David Sedney, Senior Associate, International Security Program, CSIS; Moeed Yusuf, Associate Vice President, USIP. Moderator: Andrew Wilder, Vice President, USIP.

EUROPE'S CHALLENGE OF RADICALIZATION-VULNERABLE YOUTH AND TECHNIQUES OF COUNTER-TERRORISM. 2/12, 4:30-6:30pm. Sponsor: SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. Speaker: Hon. Koen Geens Louran, Minister of Justice of Belgium.

CRYPTOCURRENCIESAND BLOCKCHAIN: TECHNO-GOLD OR FOOL’S GOLD? 2/12, 5:00-6:30pm. Sponsor: American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Speakers: Jerry Dwyer, Professor, BB&T Scholar, Clemson University; Bert Ely, Principal, Ely & Company Inc., Adjunct Scholar, Cato; Paul H. Kupiec, Resident Scholar, AEI; Hadley Stern, Senior Vice President, Fidelity Investments. Moderator: Alex J. Pollock, Distinguished Senior Fellow, R Street Institute.

#CATODIGITAL — BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING:FISA SECTION 702 AND THE MODERN SURVEILLANCE STATE. 2/12, 6:00-7:00pm. Sponsor: Cato. Speakers: Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI); Patrick G. Eddington, Policy Analyst, Homeland Security and Civil Liberties, Cato, Former Military Imagery Analyst, National Photographic Interpretation Center, CIA. Moderator: Kat Murti, Senior Digital Outreach Manager, Cato.

WHAT ABOUT FRANCE, EUROPE, AND TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS? 2/12, 6:30-8:00pm. Sponsor: SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. Speaker: Frédéric Bozo, Professor, Sorbonne Nouvelle, University of Paris III. Moderator: John L. Harper, Kenneth H. Keller Professor, American Foreign Policy, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University.

Monday in Washington, February 5, 2018

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY IN THE 21ST CENTURY: THE FUTURE OF THE KIGALI AMENDMENT. 2/5, 9:00am-12:30pm. Sponsor: Hudson. Speakers: Steve Forbes, Editor-in-Chief, Forbes Magazine; Sen. Roy Blunt, US Senator of Missouri; Chris DeMuth, Distinguished Fellow, Hudson; Dave Banks, Special Assistant to the President for Energy and the Environment, National Economic Council; Dr. Stephen Lucas, Deputy Minister, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada; Dr. James Hammitt, Professor, Economics, Decision Sciences, Director, Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, Harvard University; Jeff Holmstead, Partner, Bracewell LLP, Former Director, Office of Air and Radiation, EPA, Former Associate Counsel, President George H.W. Bush; David Doniger, Senior Strategic Director, Climate and Clean Energy Program, National Resources Defense Council; Patrick Michaels, Director, Center for the Study of Science, CATO Institute; Paul Camuti, Chief Technology Officer, Ingersoll Rand Corporation; Stephen Yurek, President & CEO, Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Moderator: Tom Duesterberg, Senior Fellow, Hudson.

STABILIZING RAQQA: CONNECTING CURRENT OPERATIONS TO U.S. POLICY OBJECTIVES. 2/5, 9:30-11:00am. Sponsor: International Security Program, Project on Prosperity and Development, CSIS. Speakers include: Melissa Dalton, Senior Fellow, Deputy Director, International Security Program, CSIS; Karen Decker, Director, Syria Transition and Response Team, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, US Department of State; Maria Longi, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Middle East Bureau, US Agency for International Development. Moderator: Erol Yayboke, Deputy Director, Fellow, Project on Prosperity and Development, Project on US Leadership in Development, CSIS.

CAN THE US SENATE BE SAVED? 2/5, 10:00-11:30am. Sponsor: Brookings. Speakers: Ira Shapiro, Author, Broken: Can the Senate Save Itself and the Country? Moderators: William A. Galston, Ezra K. Zilkha Chair and Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Brookings; Molly E. Reynolds, Fellow, Governance Studies, Brookings.

GLOBAL ALLIES: COMPARING US ALLIANCES IN THE 21ST CENTURY. 2/5 Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: EastWest Center, Washington. Speaker: author, Dr. Michael Wesley, Professor of International Affairs and Dean of the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University. 

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO MOVE BEYOND GDP? 2/5, 12:30-2:00pm. Sponsor: Brookings. Speakers: Homi Kharas, Interim Vice President & Director, Global Economy and Development, Brookings; Glenn-Marie Lange, Senior Environmental Economist, Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice, The World Bank; Quentin Wodon, Lead Economist, Education Global Practice, The World Bank; Kristalina Georgieva, CEO, The World Bank; Dale Jorgenson, Samuel W. Morris University Professor, Harvard University; Daniel Kaufmann, President & CEO, Natural Resource Governance Institute, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Brookings; Andrew Steer, President & CEO, World Resources Institute. Moderator: David Pilling, Africa Editor, Financial Times. 

FROM BYTES TO BUCKS: SOFT POWER, POLICY, TECH AND CULTURE. 2/5, 1:00-2:30pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Asia Program, Kennan Institute, Kissinger Institute, Science and Technology Innovation Program, Wilson Center (WWC). Speakers: Valerie Anishchenkova, Associate Professor, Arabic Studies, Core Faculty, Film Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, 2017 George F. Kennan Fellow, WWC; Irene S. Wu, Senior Analyst, FCC, Instructor, Georgetown University, Fellow, WWC; Rui Zhong,, Program Assistant, Kissinger Institute, WWC; Elizabeth Newbury, Director, Program Associate, Serious Games Initiative, WWC. Moderator: Izabella Tabarovsky,Senior Program Associate, Manager, Regional Engagement, Kennan Institute, WWC. 

ENHANCED DETERRENCE IN THE NORTH: A 21ST CENTURY EUROPEAN ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY. 2/5, 2:00-3:00pm. Sponsor: CSIS. Speakers: Gen.Philip M. Breedlove (ret.), Former Supreme Allied Commander Europe; Kathleen H. Hicks, Senior Vice President, Henry A. Kissinger Chair, Director, International Security Program, CSIS; Adm. Mark E. Ferguson, III (USN ret.), Senior Adviser, Europe Program, International Security Program, CSIS. Moderator: Jeffrey Rathke, Senior Fellow, Deputy Director, Europe Program, CSIS.

THE DEMISE OF AMERICA’S FIRST MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM AND THE RISE OF STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATION. 2/5, 2:00-3:30pm. Sponsor: Carnegie. Author: James Cameron, Assistant Professor of International Relations, University of Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo. Speaker: James G. Hershberg, Professor of History and International Affairs, Elliott School, GWU. Moderator: Togzhan Kassenova, Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie.

IMPROVING DEFENSE SECTOR GOVERNANCE: LEADERSHIP AND NEW PARTNERS. 2/5, 3:00-5:00pm. Sponsor: Leadership, Ethics, and Practice Initiative ; Elliott School, GWU. Speakers: Paul Bisca, Conflict & Security Consultant, The World Bank; Alex Johnson, Senior Policy Advisor, Open Society Foundations; Alexandra Kerr, Research Fellow, National Defense University; Michael Posner, Former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, US Department of States. Moderator: Simon Limage, Non-Resident Scholar, Elliott School, GWU. 

CONVERSATION WITH AMBASSADOR JOE HOCKEY ON TRADE IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION AND WITA'S ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING & RECEPTION. 2/5, 4:00-7:00pm. Sponsor: Washington International Trade Association (WITA) . Speakers: Hon. Joe Hockey, Ambassador of Australia to the United States; Shawn Donnan, Editor, Global Trade, Financial Times.