Diplomacy and International Politics

Staffing gaps and significant personnel changes at the State Department have raised concerns about the direction of U.S. foreign policy, especially amid public statements by President Donald Trump concerning American alliances and positions on issues around the world. Ambassador Cameron Munter invites Ambassador Nicholas Burns to share his insights and ideas, including on timely topics such as the U.S.-Russia relationship following the re-election of Vladimir Putin, Transatlantic relations and changing perceptions about the future role of NATO, and a possible meeting between President Trump and his North Korean counterpart on nuclear nonproliferation and security.

David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, discusses the drivers behind the displacement of over 65 million people and the changes that must be made to existing political and humanitarian systems in order to address the crisis on a global scale.

Nicholas Burns talks with NPR's All Things Considered 

The White House says it's putting Iran officially "on notice" after its missile launch over the weekend. But officials offered no details on what exactly that means, or whether military options are on the table. It's another example of what's already emerging as a pattern for the Trump administration: coming out swinging with tough words, before having consulted or decided on an actual policy.

Following Donald Trump's ban on refugees, the UN's Refugee Agency and the International Organisation for Migration are calling on the US to continue to protect people fleeing war and persecution. We speak to IOM's Leonard Doyle and former US Ambassador Nicholas Burns.

Also on the programme: The Democratic Republic of Congo is to sign a power sharing agreement; and why are young people somewhat reluctant to return home for the Chinese New Year.

An interview with Karim Sadjadpour, Senior Associate of the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, on the Iran-Saudi rift.

An audio recording of a public talk by Philippe Fargues, MEI Associate and Director of the Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute.

An audio recording of a public talk by Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress, Washington, DC.

Opening the joint CLIMATE CHANGE DIPLOMACY WEEK event series, speakers and leading climate change experts from both Harvard and beyond participated in a panel discussion titled "What's at Stake in Paris?: Diplomacy and Policy at the Climate Change Talks," moderated by the Future of Diplomacy Project Faculty Director, R. Nicholas Burns, and co-hosted with the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements on November 9. The speakers comprised of Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology at Harvard University, Daniel Schrag;former Costa Rican Minister of Environment and Energy, René Castro; former Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs and chief climate negotiator, Paula Dobriansky; and Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government and Director of the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements, Robert Stavins. Together panellists weighed in on the upcoming UNFCCC talks to be held in Paris in December and the overarching policy issues at play.

An audio recording from Philippe Fargues, Director of the Migration Policy Centre, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies European University Institute (EUI).

On April 1, 2015 at MEI and the Center for European Studies Eastern Mediterranean and Europe Study Group, Dr. Philippe Fargues assessed the humanitarian crisis of often deadly boat crossings in the Mediterranean Sea by migrants coming from North Africa and the Levant to Europe.