Asia & the Pacific

David Saperstein, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom, spoke on Monday, November 14^th at the Harvard Kennedy School on “U.S. Efforts to Promote Religious Freedom Abroad.” In a wide-ranging discussion moderated by Future of Diplomacy Project Executive Director Cathryn Clüver, the diplomat and rabbi explained the importance of religion and human rights as part of an integrated approach to foreign policy.

Dr. Ian Bremmer, expert in political risk and founder of the Eurasia Group, gave a seminar sponsored by the the Future of Diplomacy Project on Thursday, November 9 at the Harvard Kennedy School, titled “Managing Risk in an Unstable World."

The Right Honourable Douglas Alexander offered his views on European security in a discussion moderated by FDP Executive Director Cathryn Cluver.

Putin and his government seek respect, stability from next U.S. administration, panel says.

In this installment of “Conversations in Diplomacy," the Future of Diplomacy Project's Executive Director, Cathryn Clüver, speaks with Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin,India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

As part of the Future of Diplomacy Project's annual "Europe Week," Former EU Trade Commissioner and the program's 2015 spring Fisher Family Fellow, Karel De Gucht, addressed Harvard Kennedy School students in a public seminar entitled "Geostrategic Aspects of Trade" on March 4. Speaking with students and faculty, Mr. De Gucht examined the conflict between rival Chinese and American economic plans for the Asia-Pacific region, the ongoing difficulties behind TTIP negotiations, and the trade-related dimensions of the current Ukraine crisis.

In this “Conversation in Diplomacy" with former EU Trade Commissioner and 2015 spring Fisher Family Fellow, Karel de Gucht, the Future of Diplomacy Project Director R. Nicholas Burns examines TTIP and the geostrategic relevance of trade.

Belfer Center Director Graham Allison discussed his book Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master’s Insights on China, the United States, and the World at a Cambridge Forum in Harvard Square on October 21. The public event also was broadcast by National Public Radio stations across the country.

Imagine you are an aide to President Obama, making a recommendation about what he should do to confront the toughest foreign policy crises on the agenda: whether to launch military strikes against the Syrian regime; how to minimize the damage from NSA surveillance leaks; how to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons.

Making such hard choices has long been the core of the oversubscribed Harvard Kennedy School Course, IGA-211: “Central Challenges of American National Security, Strategy and the Press” that Graham Allison and David Sanger are teaching this fall. Harvard graduate students, playing the roles of senior White House advisers, write and then defend strategy memos on how the U.S. should act in these cases.

Now, for the first time, anyone can audit an online version of this course, called HKS211.1x. In addition, 500 successful applicants will be able to enroll and complete weekly assignments, join discussion groups, and earn a certificate of mastery if they pass. Both of these options are available for free through edX, the non-profit online education enterprise founded by Harvard and MIT.