Diplomacy and International Politics

Please join the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project and Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship for a seminar on the current European security landscape with Audra Plepytė, Ambassador of Lithuania to the US; Kristjan Prikk, Ambassador of Estonia to the U.S., and Māris Selga, Ambassador of Latvia to the U.S. The Ambassadors will discuss how Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has affected transatlantic and regional security as well as increasing threats to critical infrastructure in the Baltic states. This conversation will be moderated by Ambassador Paula Dobriansky, Senior Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project.

Please join the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project and the Harvard International Arbitration Law Students Association for a seminar on the prosecution of Russian war crimes in Ukraine with Counselor for War Crimes Accountability at the Department of Justice (DOJ), Mr. Eli M. Rosenbaum. Mr. Rosenbaum will discuss how DOJ is committed to holding the perpetrators of such grave crimes fully accountable. This conversation will be moderated by Ambassador Paula J.  Dobriansky, Senior Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project.

In 2021, the UK put forth its ‘Indo-Pacific Tilt,’ underlining the strategic importance that it places on the region. Recent political administrations in Britain have increasingly underscored the need to drive prosperity and growth with countries and institutions like ASEAN, Australia, India, and New Zealand, with trade, technology, and security to likely feature as cornerstones. What does the UK’s geopolitical and economic strategy in the Asia-Pacific look like today? How can the ‘Indo-Pacific Tilt’ continue to move forward beyond its written significance? 

 Please join the Southeast Asia Caucus, British & Irish Caucus, and Future of Diplomacy Project for a special conversation with Natalie Black (HKS MPP ’11), His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for the Asia-Pacific. This event will be moderated by Abhinav Seetharaman (MPP ’23).

 Advance registration is required, and attendance is limited to current Harvard affiliates (students, staff, faculty, fellows). This event will be off the record.

Please join the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project for a two-part seminar on the reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine. Ukraine’s economy has been devastated due to Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion since February 2022. The World Bank estimated back in September 2022 that the current cost of Ukraine’s reconstruction is $350 billion, while some economists estimate the costs to be much higher. The reconstruction efforts will take decades and will require strong collaboration among Ukraine’s international partners as well as the private sector. Furthermore, it will require committed legal action to hold Russia accountable for its actions.

In this inaugural seminar, the panel will be discussing proposals for the seizure of Russian state assets to provide support for Ukraine. We will be joined by former U.S. Treasury Secretary, Lawrence H. Summers; the White Burkett Miller Professor of History at the University of Virginia, Dr. Philip D. Zelikow; and former Assistant U.S. Secretary of State, Stephen Rademaker. The conversation will be moderated by Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky, Senior Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project and former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs.

Please join the Future of Diplomacy Project for a conversation with Erika Mouynes, Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow at Harvard and former Foreign Minister of Panama; Ambassador P. Michael McKinley, former U.S. Ambassador to Peru, Brazil, Afghanistan, and Colombia; Ambassador Paula Dobriansky, Senior Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project and former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, on the role of Latin America in today's shifting international order. While most countries in Latin America voted in favor of UN General Assembly resolutions condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and others refuse to join sanctions against Russia or give aid to Ukraine. What does the future of the Western Hemisphere look like in a time of increasing global competition and great power conflict? Negah Angha, Institute of Politics Fellow and former Director for Multilateral Initiatives at the National Security Council, will moderate.

Please join the Future of Diplomacy Project for a conversation with Desirée Cormier Smith, the State Department’s first ever Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice.  While the communities that the Special Representative's mandate serves are specific - marginalized racial, ethnic, and Indigenous peoples, including people of African descent - the Special Representative believes, as Maya Angelou put it, none of us is free until all of us are free.  In honor of International Women's Day and U.S. Women's History Month, the Special Representative brings forth an important conversation about intersectionality - where one person's multiple or intersecting identities might subject them to varying forms of racism, discrimination, violence, or xenophobia - to remind us that our collective liberation rests on the shoulders of one another; to acknowledge that it takes a community of us who #EmbraceEquity, a village of us to secure freedom for all. Erika Manouselis, Manager of the Future of Diplomacy Project, will moderate.

Please join the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project and Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship for a seminar on Türkiye’s current global role with H.E. Hasan Murat Mercan, Ambassador of Türkiye to the U.S., and Sir Peter Westmacott, former Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Türkiye, the U.S., and France. Ambassadors Mercan and Westmacott will discuss a range of regional issues, including the war in Ukraine and NATO as well as Turkish-American relations. This conversation will be moderated by Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky, Senior Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project.

Please join the Future of Diplomacy Project and Harvard Kennedy School’s Ukraine Caucus for a conversation with Dmytro Kuleba, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, who will be joining virtually. The discussion will be moderated by Belfer Center Co-Director Eric Rosenbach and Ambassador Paula Dobriansky (PhD '91), a Senior Fellow at the Future of Diplomacy Project.

In person attendance is limited to Harvard ID holders only. Space is limited. RSVP here.

Virtual attendance is open to the public. Register here.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED

Please join the Future of Diplomacy Project for a conversation with General Glen VanHerck, Commander of NORAD and USNORTHCOM. General VanHerck will discuss homeland defense in the context of today’s dynamic strategic environment, as well as address the necessary steps to ensuring security for the United States and its interests. Ambassador Paula Dobriansky, Senior Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project, will moderate.

In-person attendance is limited to Harvard ID holders only. Members of the public are welcome to join online.

Please join the Future of Diplomacy Project for a screening of The American Diplomat, a documentary exploring the lives and legacies of three African-American ambassadors — Edward R. Dudley, Terence Todman and Carl Rowan — who pushed past historical and institutional racial barriers at the U.S. Department of State during the civil rights movement. Through rare archival footage, in-depth oral histories, and interviews with family members, colleagues and diplomats, the film paints a portrait of three men who created a lasting impact on the content and character of the Foreign Service and changed American diplomacy forever.

The screening will be followed by a virtual Q&A panel discussion with Leola Calzolai-Stewart, director of The American Diplomat and filmmaker, Dr. Michael Krenn, Professor at Appalachian State University and author of Black Diplomacy: African Americans and the State Department, 1945-1969 and The Color of Empire: Race and American Foreign Relations, and James Dandridge II, President of the Diplomatic and Consular Officers Foundation, former Foreign Service Officer and friend of Ambassador of Terence Todman. Erika Manouselis, Manager of the Future of Diplomacy Project, and Korde Inniss, MPA 2023 and Belfer Young Leader Fellow, will serve as moderators.

Note: For virtual participants, the online event will begin at 6pm with the panel discussion. For in person attendees, the screening will begin at 5pm.