Asia & the Pacific

“It’s been the same war fought 12 times over,” said Sean Carberry, former Afghanistan correspondent for NPR, in a public address on April 27 entitled “Afghanistan - Covering America’s Longest War.” As part of the Future of Diplomacy Project’s annual “South Asia Week,” jointly sponsored by the India and South Asia Program at Harvard University, Sean Carberry was joined by fellow Afghanistan-based journalist, Anand Gopal, who also shared reflections on covering the complex conflict. Their insightful remarks, concerning current trendlines and future projections in Afghanistan, were moderated by the project’s Executive Director, Cathryn Clüver.

Hosting speakers such as US Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, President of Turkey Dr. Abdullah Gül, and China's Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai, the Future of Diplomacy Project has had an amazing year in 2014, pursuing its mission to promote public understanding of modern diplomatic practice in response to complex international issues.

In a Harvard Kennedy School IDEASpHERE session titled "Challenges to US Global Leadership," Graham Allison, Nicholas Burns, David Gergen, David Ignatius, and Meghan O’Sullivan discussed challenges as well as opportunities facing the United States. Burns moderated the session.

Challenges include the rise of China and the future of the U.S.-China relationship, the crises taking place around the world, and the reputation of the U.S. worldwide. An unexpected opportunity is the increase in available energy sources in the United States.

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.