7 Items

Former Secretaries of State and Putin

Benn Craig

Analysis & Opinions

Negotiating with Vladimir Putin: Video Advice from Five Former U.S. Secretaries of State

| Mar. 25, 2022

To forge a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine, much analysis has rightly focused on efforts to build sufficient leverage (e.g. via sanctions, military aid to Ukraine, etc.) and to design possible agreements (e.g. ceasefires, troop withdrawals, the relationship of Ukraine to NATO and the EU, the status of the Donbas and Crimea, etc.). Yet transforming leverage and deal concepts into an actual war-ending agreement requires tactical and interpersonal skill, almost certainly involving dealing with Vladimir Putin. Based on their lengthy personal negotiations with this challenging Russian leader, this video compilation delivers highly relevant insights from Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and Rex Tillerson. 

Video - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

James Sebenius on Office Hours

| Sep. 04, 2018

James K. Sebenius, the Gordon Donaldson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and author (with R. Nicholas Burns and Robert H. Mnookin) of Kissinger the Negotiator, talks with Aroop Mukharji (@aroopmukharji) about why Kissinger was an effective negotiator, the lessons we can all learn about negotiation, and Trump’s private sector negotiations.

Left-to-right: Nicholas Burns, Christine Lagarde, and Lawrence Summers laugh.

Martha Stewart

Speech - Future of Diplomacy Project

A Time to Repair the Roof

| Oct. 05, 2017

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, delivered her annual state of the global economy speech in the JFK, Jr. Forum at Harvard Kennedy School followed by a discussion with Nicholas Burns, Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations and Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus at Harvard University. In her address, Madame Lagarde quoted President John F. Kennedy stating that “the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” Mme. Lagarde adapted this statement to the economy, expressing that while our economy is currently experiencing an upswing, now is the time for reform. We must be proactive, not reactive. Additionally, Mme. Lagarde spoke about the importance of fighting corruption and climate change, empowering women, and addressing inequality. 

Madame Lagarde's speech was the inaugural event of the new Economic Diplomacy Initiative (EDI) - a joint program of the Future of Diplomacy Project and the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. EDI is co-chaired by Professors Burns and Summers, and aims to provide Harvard students with a sound understanding of the critical importance of economic diplomacy in a globalized world; specifically, the negotiation of agreements between multiple countries and multiple stakeholders.  

Nicholas Burns HFAC Hearing

House Foreign Affairs Office

Testimony

Congressional testimony on Budget, Diplomacy, and Development

| Mar. 28, 2017

On March 28, 2017, Professor Nicholas Burns, alongside Stephen Krasner of the Hoover Institution and Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the implications of the Trump Administration's proposed 31% reduction in the budget for the State Department and USAID for fiscal year 2018.