To compete and thrive in the 21st century, democracies, and the United States in particular, must develop new national security and economic strategies that address the geopolitics of information. In the 20th century, market capitalist democracies geared infrastructure, energy, trade, and even social policy to protect and advance that era’s key source of power—manufacturing. In this century, democracies must better account for information geopolitics across all dimensions of domestic policy and national strategy.
Dr. Saeb Erakat is currently the Chief Palestinian Negotiator and Head of the Negotiations Affairs Department. His objective is to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through diplomatic offices with a two-state negotiated solution based on the 1967 borders. He has been extensively involved in all negotiations with Israel, including those conducted at Camp David (2000) and in Taba (2001).
Previously, Dr. Erakat was appointed the Head of the Central Elections Commission and served as the Minister of Local Government for the Palestinian National Authority from 1994 to 2003. In 1991, he was the Vice-Chair of the Madrid Peace Delegation and was later the Vice-Chair at the Washington negotiations of 1992. In 1994, Dr. Erakat was appointed the Chairman of the Palestinian Negotiating Delegation for Elections and has since been Head of the Palestinian Side of the Steering and Monitoring Committee.
Dr. Erakat is a professor of political science at An-Najah University in Nablus. He served on the editorial board of Al-Quds newspaper, the Palestinian daily with the highest circulation. He also served as the Secretary General of the Arab Studies Society.
Dr. Erakat holds a Ph.D. in Peace Studies (Bradford University), and a B.A. and M.A. in International Relations (University of San Francisco). He is the author of fourteen books and numerous research papers on foreign policy, oil, conflict resolution and negotiations. His latest book is Arafat’s Siege and Middle East Politics (2019).
Kessely Hong is a Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and the Faculty Chair of the MPA Programs and the Mid-Career MPA Summer Program at the Harvard Kennedy School. She teaches both Degree Program as well as Executive Education students in the areas of negotiation and decision-making. Kessely was presented with the Manuel C. Carballo Award for Excellence in Teaching by the graduating class of 2015. She was also awarded the 2018 Holly Taylor Sargent Prize by the Women and Public Policy Program, for her work to advance the opportunities, situation and status of women within the HKS community. Kessely is interested in exploring strategies low-power or low-status parties can use to influence others through negotiation. She worked with a team of colleagues funded by the Hewlett Foundation Madison Initiative to develop teaching materials that demonstrate tools to make progress in partisan legislative negotiations. Before coming to the Kennedy School, Kessely worked for the management consulting firm McKinsey and Company and taught English in Ecuador. She earned her PhD in Public Policy and MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School, where she won the Dean's Award for Excellence in Student Teaching; her BA is from Harvard College.