Diplomacy and International Politics

"The power shortage is a symptom of the inability or refusal of key actors to govern the territory."

Faculty Director Nicholas Burns speaks with Douglas Alexander about the future of the UK just days after Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50, initiating the separation between Europe and the United Kingdom Alexander previews the road ahead, identifying the underlying contradictions that that led to Brexit and how they might manifest themselves in other parts of the world.

In this installation of 'Conversations in Diplomacy,' recorded during the Future of Diplomacy Project's annual Europe Week series, guests Muriel Rouyer and Boris Ruge speak with Professor Nicholas Burns about the rise of populism in Europe, the potential outcomes of upcoming elections in France and Germany, and the effect of such factors on the transatlantic relationship.

At the AAAS Science Conference, US researchers are wondering how policy under US President Donald Trump will affect their research - both in content and financial terms. US President Donald Trump wants to invest in military and infrastructure, he wants to build a wall to Mexico. All this costs money and US scientists fear that this money could be taken out of funds currently designated for research and development. Adding to their concern is the appointment of Scott Pruitt, former Oklahoma Attorney General, as head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an organization he has consistently criticized in the past. We spoke about the situation with Cathryn Clüver, a political scientist at Harvard University. 

America and the world have yet to see the likes of this: a newly elected administration that is setting out with manic energy to destroy in mere days what took decades to build. Perhaps the most important and, for friends of the United States, the most painful collateral damage: America’s standing as the world’s moral leader defending democracy, human rights, the rights of minorities and transparency.

In an interview with Amin Arefi of French magazine Le Point, Ambassador (ret.) Nicholas Burns reflects on the first ten days of the Trump administration and the trajectory of American foreign policy going forward. Burns explains the fundamental differences between Donald Trump and George W. Bush, and the  worrying implications of Trump's indifference towards the US-backed system of alliances that has upheld the liberal world order for the past seven decades.   

Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Harvard BA ’89), president of the Greek opposition party Nea Dimokratia (New Democracy,) laid out his vision for a tough but achievable strategy to revitalize the Greek economy and strengthen the nation’s ties to the European Union in an October 13 seminar.

Sandri Gozi, Italian Undersecretary of State for European Affairs, joined the Future of Diplomacy Project on November 1 for a discussion titled “Italy, the EU and the US: A Conversation on Transatlantic Challenges.”

Tawakkol Karman, Yemeni activist and recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, served as a Fisher Family Fellow with Harvard’s Future of Diplomacy Project. An outspoken and passionate advocate for human rights, she was critical of the inaction of international institutions and developed nations in response to rights violations in the Middle East.