The Future of Diplomacy Project

***FOR EUROPEAN/NATO MEMBER AND US/CANADIAN NATIONALS***

In this first of two sessions, Suvi Seppaleinen, MC/MPA 2019 and Kevin Prager, MC/MPA 2013, both working in senior roles with the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), reflect on their career paths into the two major European foreign policy institutions. They will offer insights into the competitive entrance examinations and different paths into the institutions. They will discuss the impact of a Kennedy School degree on career advancement in their organizations and how best to navigate these major bureaucracies, as well as share their views on how best to craft impact-oriented careers in European foreign and defense policy.

The Future of Diplomacy Project is proud to showcase the work of selected students, whose PAEs/SYPAs (capstone projects) formulated an innovative approach to a challenging problem in international affairs, diplomacy, development or defense. Selected students will have 15 minutes to present their work over Zoom to the wider HKS community, including fellows, faculty, senior administrators and fellow students, including Mid-Careers and MPA2s. RSVP is required.

Over the course of two sessions, this seminar will examine the Trump Administration’s Middle East peace plan and policies. It will consider the plan in historical context, looking at the evolution of US policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It will analyze the plan in depth in order to understand what it offers the parties, how it seeks to resolve the conflict, how it differs from previous peace-making efforts, and in what ways is it an outgrowth of earlier efforts. The seminar will also briefly examine the historical evolution of the conflict on the ground and the trajectory of the rival Israeli and Palestinian national movements, setting the context for today’s present political, economic, and social realities for both peoples. Participants are strongly encouraged to join the two complementary sessions.

Over the course of two sessions, this seminar will examine the Trump Administration’s Middle East peace plan and policies. It will consider the plan in historical context, looking at the evolution of US policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It will analyze the plan in depth in order to understand what it offers the parties, how it seeks to resolve the conflict, how it differs from previous peace-making efforts, and in what ways is it an outgrowth of earlier efforts. The seminar will also briefly examine the historical evolution of the conflict on the ground and the trajectory of the rival Israeli and Palestinian national movements, setting the context for today’s present political, economic, and social realities for both peoples. Participants are strongly encouraged to join the two complementary sessions.

Corneliu Bjola is Associate Professor of Diplomatic Studies at Oxford University and among the leading, international thinkers on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the practice of diplomacy and the bureaucratic systems that underpin functional international relations. He will discuss the opportunities and challenges in the digital age. Please note that breakfast and light refreshments will be served.

As part of its new career webinar series, the Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship and the Future of Diplomacy Project invite current HKS students and alumni to discuss ‘real world’ perspectives on forging careers in diplomacy from a transatlantic perspective, with four HKS alumni. Students can join the discussion in person at G-06 in the Rubenstein Building, or dial into the conversation via Zoom (call-in details below).

Former United Nations (UN) Chief of Staff Susana Malcorra will guide students through a series of reflections on leadership. Drawing primarily on UN principals and culture as case studies in leadership, Ms. Malcorra will also incorporate lessons from her experience in the public and private sectors in Argentina. All Harvard students are welcome to apply for this workshop. Dinner will be served. Please note that this event is co-sponsored by the Center for Public Leadership.

The Future of Diplomacy Project will host Ambassador Kristie Kenney (32nd Counselor of the U.S. State Department and Ambassador to various countries) in a public seminar to discuss the opportunities and challenges in North Korea, China, and democracy in Southeast Asia.

This is Part Two of a two-part study group series. Led by Lindiwe Mazibuko, Fisher Family Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project and first black woman in South African history to be elected Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. Both sessions will be on the political risks and realities for Africa of a world with an increasingly isolated Global North.

RSVP is required. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

This is Part One of a two-part study group series. Led by Lindiwe Mazibuko, Fisher Family Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project and first black woman in South African history to be elected Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. Both sessions will be on the political risks and realities for Africa of a world with an increasingly isolated Global North.

RSVP is required. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

The is part two of a two-part seminar led by Dr. Robert Danin. The study groups will look at Israeli and Palestinian conflicting perspectives today with respect to this wide array of issues and dynamics. It will examine the Israeli and Palestinian respective realities: first domestically, then bilaterally, and finally in the broader regional context. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP using the RSVP link.

The is part one of a two-part seminar led by Dr. Robert Danin. The study groups will look at Israeli and Palestinian conflicting perspectives today with respect to this wide array of issues and dynamics. It will examine the Israeli and Palestinian respective realities: first domestically, then bilaterally, and finally in the broader regional context. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP using the RSVP link.

Ms. Dina Powell will join Professor Nicholas Burns, Faculty Chair of the Belfer Center's Future of Diplomacy Project where Ms. Powell is a non-resident Senior Fellow, in a public seminar to discuss current challenges and opportunities in global national security. Refreshments will be served.

Democrats are not just debating Trump on foreign policy, they are debating each other on big questions - the size and posture of the US military, the role of human rights and democracy, the terms and purposes of future trade agreements, the shape of competition with China and Russia, and the fundamental issue of whether the US should continue to seek a global leadership role. How will this debate play out as we head toward 2020?

Professor Nicholas Burns will moderate the discussion. 

Led by the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, this study group will focus on the role of the United Nations and global citizenship in resolving today's most challenging issues. The study group will also discuss how we can pursue sustainable development in corners of the globe by engaging collaboratively with the field, communities, and diverse expertise. Snacks and coffee / tea will be provided.

Since there is limited capacity, please note that spots will be based on your application. Please use the link above to RSVP.

Former UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon (MPP ‘85) and former Acting Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Susan Thornton, will discuss the negotiations for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. This forum event will be moderated by Ambassador Nicholas Burns, Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations and Faculty Chair of the Future of Diplomacy Project.

Join us in a discussion between former Prime Minister of Senegal, Dr. Aminata Touré, moderated by Nicholas Burns. Dr. Touré will explore how Africa is a place of success and hope and will focus on opportunities for the future of the continent.

Cookies and coffee will be provided.

This is the second part of a two-part study group led by former Prime Minister of Senegal, Dr. Aminata Touré. Both study group sessions will examine how Africa is a place of success and hope. In the first study group, Dr. Touré will offer a global view on the challenges and opportunities that exist in the continent. The second study group will focus on the importance of youth and women in promoting a prosperous future for Africa. The study group will take place in Room 350, Third Floor, One Brattle Square.

Please note cookies and coffee will be provided. Please sign-up using the RVSP link.

This is the first part of a two-part study group led by former Prime Minister of Senegal, Dr. Aminata Touré. Both study group sessions will examine how Africa is a place of success and hope. In the first study group, Dr. Touré will offer a global view on the challenges and opportunities that exist in the continent. The second study group will focus on the importance of youth and women in promoting a prosperous future for Africa. The study group will take place in Room 303, Third Floor, One Brattle Square.

Please note cookies and coffee will be provided. Please sign-up using the RVSP link.

Join New York Times diplomatic and international correspondent Edward Wong to learn about his experience reporting all over the world about foreign affairs, and now from Washington, DC as a diplomatic correspondent. He will answer questions and offer advice about careers. 

Refreshments will be provided. No RSVP is required. 

This is the second part of a two-part study group led by Dr. Robert Danin on behalf of the Future of Diplomacy Project’s Israel-Palestine Student Dialogue Initiative. Session 1 will explore “Inside Out; Israeli and Palestinian challenges today.” Session 2 will focus on “Outside In; The Turbulent Middle East, the Trump Administration, and their impact on Israel and Palestine and the prospects for peace.” Please RSVP to reserve your space. A reading list will be distributed. Attending both sessions is highly recommended but not required.

This is the first part of a two-part study group led by Dr. Robert Danin on behalf of the Future of Diplomacy Project’s Israel-Palestine Student Dialogue Initiative. Session 1 will explore “Inside Out; Israeli and Palestinian challenges today.” Session 2 will focus on “Outside In; The Turbulent Middle East, the Trump Administration, and their impact on Israel and Palestine and the prospects for peace.” Please RSVP to reserve your space. A reading list will be distributed. Attending both sessions is highly recommended but not required.

Join the Future of Diplomacy Executive Director Nicholas Burns and Secretary Ash Carter in a conversation with Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island and ranking member of the Armed Services Committee.

Join the Future of Diplomacy Project for a conversation with  Anne Applebaum, columnist for the Washington Post and a Pulitzer-prize winning historian, hosted by Faculty Director Nicholas Burns.

Sascha Lohmann, a Fritz Thyssen Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, will speak about President Trump’s threat to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal with a focus on Europe's response in a conversation moderated by Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook.

Join the Future of Diplomacy Project for a seminar the challenges facing the European Union and the transatlantic relationship with Lord Peter Ricketts, former U.K. Ambassador to France and first U.K. National Security Advisory, and Radoslaw Sikorski, former Foreign Minister for Poland in a conversation hosted by Faculty Director Nicholas Burns. 

Carol Giacomo, of The New York Times Editorial Board and a former diplomatic correspondent for Reuters in Washington D.C., will discuss foreign policy in a conversation with Professor Nicholas Burns. Co-hosted by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and the Future of Diplomacy Project.

Julian Simcock, lead lawyer to the U.S. Office of the Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, will discuss the role of negotiation and sanctions in the South Sudan peace process with Future of Diplomacy Project Faculty Director Nicholas Burns.

Lunch will be served.

Professor Nicholas Burns will host a Future of Diplomacy Project lunch seminar with the International Committee of the Red Cross' Yves Daccord, Director-General, and Clare Dalton, Head of Humanitarian Diplomacy, in a conversation about humanitarian diplomacy, upholding humanitarian principles, and the evolving role of the ICRC in today's conflicts. 

Sir John Sawers, former Chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and British Permanent Representative to the United Nations, will discuss the security implications of Brexit threats with Future of Diplomacy Project Faculty Director Ambassador Nick Burns.

In a conversation co-hosted by Secretary Ash Carter and Ambassador Nicholas Burns, Sir John Sawers, former Chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and British Permanent Representative to the United Nations, will discuss today's intelligence and national security challenges.

Sir John Sawers, former Chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and British Permanent Representative to the United Nations, will discuss Middle East security and intelligence threats with Future of Diplomacy Project Executive Director, Cathryn Cluver Ashbrook.

In a conversation with Nicholas Burns and Cathryn Cluver Ashbrook, Directors of the Future of Diplomacy Project, Ambassador José Antonio Sabadell will discuss his research on emerging populist movements in the Arab Islamic world and what it could mean for Islamist extremism and anti-Western sentiment.

The Future of Diplomacy Project welcomes Dr. Tim Oliver for a breakfast seminar conversation with Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Executive Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project on Brexit from his vantage point in Europe.

In a breakfast seminar with Professor Nick Burns, Dr Amanda Sloat will speak to the U.S.-Turkey relationship and the future of Syria as influenced by the two states.

Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam (Ret.), Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Asia Center and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Power Studies, will speak of the evolving India-China relationship in a discussion moderated by Nicholas Burns, Faculty Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project and Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics. Breakfast will be served.

Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center and Fisher Family Fellow at the Future of Diplomacy Project, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall talks about energy diplomacy in a conversation with Nicholas Burns, Faculty Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project.

Faculty Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project, Nicholas Burns holds an on the record conversation with Senator King about the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.

Join the Future of Diplomacy Project in a conversation with the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Valentin Inzko about the lessons that can be learned from the peace process and state building in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the interests of regional geopolitical actors, and the path towards integration into NATO and the EU. Moderated by Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, the Founding Executive Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project.

Breakfast will be served.

Ambassador Douglas Lute, Senior Fellow at the Future of Diplomacy Project, will speak of NATO's response to the challenges presented by Vladimir Putin in a discussion moderated by Nicholas Burns, Faculty Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project and Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics. 

Join the Future of Diplomacy Project and Faculty Director Nicholas Burns in a conversation about the United States - Cuban relationship with Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis, former the Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba. 

Admission policy: Harvard Kennedy School students, fellows, faculty and staff only. 

Author and New Yorker columnist Robin Wright will speak of the Jihadi threat in a discussion moderated by Nicholas Burns, Faculty Director of the Future of Diplomacy Project and Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics.