Diplomacy and International Politics

Foreign Affairs has recently published a number of articles on how the United States should engage with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, extremist forces within the regime, how the West can help ordinary Afghans, and the fate of the country’s women. To complement these essays, Foreign Affairs asked a broad pool of experts for their take. As with previous surveys, Foreign Affairs approached dozens of authorities with expertise relevant to the question at hand, along with leading generalists in the field. Participants were asked to state whether they agreed or disagreed with a proposition and to rate their confidence level in their opinion. Two Belfer Center experts participated, International Security Executive Editor Jacqueline L. Hazelton and Future of Diplomacy Project Senior Fellow Paula Dobriansky.

The following is an event write-up about the recent Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship (PETR) seminar on “France’s Global Role in a Changing World Order” co-moderated by Natalie Colbert, Executive Director of the Belfer Center, and Svenja Kirsch, Fellow with PETR, on April 19, 2023.

The following is an event write-up about the recent Future of Diplomacy Project (FDP) seminar on “The Geopolitics of Latin America amid the War in Ukraine and China-U.S. Tensions” moderated by Negah Angha, Fellow at the Institute of Politics, on March 29, 2023.

Most public discussion this winter reflects a conviction that Ukraine must — and can — win a decisive victory. But what constitutes a win against a country such as Russia? As we consider the road ahead, we cannot escape the brute fact that Putin commands an arsenal of roughly 6,000 nuclear weapons that could kill us all.

On March 31,  the Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship and the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies hosted a discussion with Wolfgang Ischinger, former Chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Joseph S. Nye Jr., Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor, and Daniela Schwarzer, Executive Director for Europe and Eurasia at the Open Society Foundations, on how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as the brutality of its action has caused an unexpected reversal of Germany’s long time security policy and led to strong reactions in the rest of Europe, NATO, and the posture of the Biden administration. The seminar examined the dimensions and consequences of these developments for the future of the EU and the West. Karl Kaiser, Senior Fellow at the Project on Europe, moderated.

The House Democracy Partnership Commission held a hearing on the role of independent and constituent-driven legislatures and the importance of legislative strengthening efforts. Parliaments have a key role to play in promoting and advancing good governance, the sharing of best practices, and collaborating with their peers. Bodies such as the House Democracy Partnership can be formidable tools for parliaments to engage with one other and become valuable fora for strengthening democratic institutions and deepening bilateral relations.

The Future of Diplomacy Project hosted a conversation with Julie Bishop, Fisher Family Fellow and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia, about China and Australia’s relationship, the increasing geopolitical role of the Quad, and how U.S. foreign policy should respond to China's rise on May 19, 2021. Research Director, Torrey Taussig moderated this discussion.

On May 12, the Future of Diplomacy Project hosted a conversation with former U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright; Global Head of Sustainability and Inclusive Growth at Goldman Sachs, Dina Powell McCormick; and Ezinne Uzo-Okoro, Harvard Kennedy School midcareer student (2021) and the Assistant Director for Space Policy in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, who have all recently been featured in President George W. Bush’s new book Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants, a collection of 43 portraits painted by the former President with accompanying stories that exemplify the promise of America. They shared how their experiences as a refugee and as immigrants have shaped their views on America’s role in the world and influenced their careers in public service.  Professor Nicholas Burns moderated the discussion.
 

On March 10, 2021, Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee during the Hearing on the State of Democracy Around the World. Read her full testimony here.

Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns and former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes join Andrea Mitchell to talk about Biden's next steps on Iran and Russia. Burns says that Biden's "speech today at the Munich Security Conference has put the United States squarely back on center stage globally."