News & Announcements

Former Prime Minister of Denmark and former Secretary-General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, delivered an address titled “America and Europe: Quo Vadis?” in March for the Future of Diplomacy Project's annual Europe Week. Prime Minister Rsamussen led a discussion with students, fellows, and faculty on the need for a stronger transatlantic alliance and American leadership to build a “global alliance of liberal democracies” in the 21st century. Prime Minister Rasmussen examined topical issues ranging from unrest in regional hotspots in the Middle East and Ukraine, to threats to liberal democracy, to challenges to U.S. supremacy.

Washington Post Opinion Writer and Senior Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project, David Ignatius, delivered an address entitled “Covering the Obama Administration in the Fog of Foreign Policy” and led a breakfast seminar with experts, students, and fellows on September 18. He explored current trends in the Middle East, critical factors at play in the negotiations with Iran, the West’s relationship with Russia and positive developments in the US-China relationship.

Former Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department and current Senior Adviser on the Iran Nuclear Negotiations, Jake Sullivan, delivered an address entitled "Headlines and Trendlines - the Obama Administration's Foreign Policy" and led a discussion with the Future of Diplomacy Faculty Director, R. Nicholas Burns, experts, students, and fellows on October 30. He examined President Obama's current foreign policy strategy and priorities as well as expectations for the remaining two years of the Obama presidency.

As part of the Future of Diplomacy Project's new "Negotiator Series," Ambassador Ryan Crocker discusses political developments across the Middle East in response to the civil war in Syria and the destabilization of Iraq and Syria through ISIS.

UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, delivered an address entitled “A World in Turmoil – A Test for the UN and its Member States” and led a discussion with experts, students, fellows, and members of the public on September 10 as part of the Future of Diplomacy Project’s first public event for the 2014-2015 academic year. He explored the great turmoil confronted by the world and expressed optimism about the UN’s advancement of its three pillars – Peace and Security, Development, and Human Rights – as well as positive global trends existing today.

A conversation with Jan Eliasson, UN Deputy Secretary-General, hosted by Ambassador Nicholas Burns.

Many of this year’s Arab uprisings are evolving from angry popular revolts into drawn-out political struggles to build democratic systems that will protect basic civic rights and social justice, analysts told a John F. Kennedy Jr. forum audience at Harvard Kennedy School on Monday, Sept. 19.

Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times columnist and co-author of Half The Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity For Women Worldwide, discusses his long career as a foreign correspondent, his work to fight the oppression of women and diplomacy as a global trend during his Future of Diplomacy Project Interview in September 2010.

By Vilas Rao, Research Assistant, India and South Asia Program

The Indian Ocean will become a critical area of influence over the next century, according to journalist and author Robert Kaplan, reflecting on the findings of his new book Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power.

The Future of Diplomacy Project, the newest research initiative to be launched by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, announces its resident and non-resident research fellows for Fall 2010. "Our research fellows bring a blend of practical and academic expertise in diplomacy to the Harvard community, which is instrumental to the critical examination of international conflict resolution mechanisms today," said Future of Diplomacy Project Director Nicholas Burns.