Foreign Policy Begins at Home: The Case for Putting America's House in Order | 06/04/13
Richard N. Haass
A rising China, climate change, terrorism, a nuclear Iran, a turbulent Middle East, and a reckless North Korea all present serious challenges. But U.S. national security depends even more on the United States addressing its burgeoning deficit and debt, crumbling infrastructure, second class schools, and outdated immigration system. What can the United States do to put its house in order? Is isolationism the answer or should America look for collective responses to global challenges? (Public Affairs Program)
Presidential Leadership and the Creation of the American Era | 06/06/13
Joseph S. Nye, Jr.
During the 20th century, some American presidents tried to forge a new international order, while others sought to manage the country's status. How did transformational presidents, like Wilson and Reagan, change how the U.S. sees the world? Were transactional presidents, like Eisenhower and the elder Bush, more effective and ethical? (Public Affairs Program)
The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America | 06/12/13
George Packer
American democracy is in crisis: Seismic shifts in a single generation have left the country with its institutions no longer working and its ordinary people left to improvise their own schemes for success. Do Washington insiders and Silicon Valley billionaires have the answers? Or should we look to the rural South and the Rust Belt for wisdom? (Public Affairs Program)
The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business | 06/17/13
Jared Cohen
As the greatest information and technology revolution in human history continues to evolve, we have much to look forward to--and beware of. Who will be more powerful in the future, the citizen or the state? What is the relationship between privacy and security, and how much will we have to give up to be part of the new digital age? (Public Affairs Program)
Past Events
Legal Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of National Security | 05/23/13
Jeh Johnson
Can drone strikes, both domestic and foreign, be legally justified? Will the war against al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations ever really be over? As former general counsel of the Department of Defense and the Department of the Air Force, Jeh Johnson is uniquely equipped to give the legal perspective on all matters of national security. (Public Affairs Program)
When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God | 05/16/13
T.M. Luhrmann
Since 1996, according to Gallup polls, between 35 and 47 percent of Americans have described themselves as "evangelical" or "born again;" two-thirds mostly or wholly believe that angels and devils are at work in the world. How and why do rational people living in the 21st century believe that God speaks to them? Why should the rest of us take them seriously? This book was named as a "New York Times Book" for 2012 and a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012. (Public Affairs Program)
Human Trafficking Around the World: Hidden in Plain Sight | 05/13/13
Stephanie Hepburn
Sex trafficking, forced labor, organ trafficking, and sex tourism are problems in all corners of the globe, from the United States, to Niger, to China. What are the gaps in legislation and enforcement that allow human trafficking to thrive? What are the cultural norms and biases, societal assumptions, and conflicting policies that make these practices so pervasive and resilient? How can trafficking be curbed? (Public Affairs Program)
Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st Century | 05/08/13
George Weigel
As the curtain rises on a new chapter of the Catholic Church, will the new Pope be able to institute the reforms needed? Will a gospel-centered "mission" be able to offer a more humane alternative to the self-absorption of post modernity? What does this renewal promise to its followers? (Public Affairs Program)
The Undivided Past: Humanity Beyond Our Differences | 04/25/13
Sir David Cannadine
The six most salient categories of human identity, difference, and confrontation are religion, nation, class, gender, race, and civilization. But how determinative are these distinctions? Why is our public discourse still so polarized around these simplistic divisions? (Public Affairs Program)
The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War | 04/15/13
Andrew J. Bacevich
A dangerous dual obsession has taken hold of American conservatives and liberals alike: unprecedented military might wed to a blind faith in the universality of American values. How has this militarism emerged? (Public Affairs Program)
To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism | 04/12/13
Evgeny Morozov
In the very near future, "smart" technologies will allow us to solve problems in highly original ways. Even so, this "Brave New World" of the future may be less desirable than we think. How will such "solutionism" affect our society's morals, ethics, and civil behavior?
Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles | 04/10/13
Ruchir Sharma
After a decade of easy growth for emerging markets, which "breakout nations" will rise? And what are the rules on how to spot economic success stories? (Public Affairs Program)
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder | 03/18/13
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
What Professor Taleb has identified and calls "antifragile" is that category of things that not only gain from chaos but need it in order to survive and flourish. How is this possible? (Public Affairs Program)
The Measure of Civilization: How Social Development Decides the Fate of Nations | 03/15/13
Ian Morris
The West may be the most powerful region on the planet today, but from 550 to 1750, East Asia had the most advanced civilizations. When and why did the West come to dominate the world? (Public Affairs Program)
Everybody Matters: My Life Giving Voice | 03/11/13
Mary Robinson
What are some of the challenges that Ms. Robinson has faced in her storied career? What lies behind the vision, strength, and determination that made her path to prominence so compelling? (Public Affairs Program)
Doing Capitalism in the Innovation Economy: Markets, Speculation and the State | 03/05/13
William H. Janeway
The innovation economy begins with discovery and culminates in speculation. What role do the state, financiers, and entrepreneurs play in the innovation economy? The "Financial Times" and "Foreign Affairs" both named Janeway's book one of the Best Books of 2012. (Public Affairs Program)
Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food | 02/28/13
Lester R. Brown
The world food situation is deteriorating. The ranks of the hungry are expanding, political unrest is spreading. At the same time, water shortages and heat waves are making it more difficult for farmers to keep up with the demand. What can we do? (Public Affairs Program)
Behind the Headlines--After the Israeli Elections: A New Chapter or More of the Same? | 02/21/13
Yoram Peri
As expected, Benjamin Netanyahu has been re-elected. But will he have a broad enough coalition to continue his policies? Will Israel continue in the same direction or will it look for ways to adapt to the new political landscape in the region? (Public Affairs Program)
China's Search for Security | 02/14/13
Andrew J. Nathan
How does China's past help to shape its geostrategic policy today? What, exactly, are its interests in problematic countries, such as Iran, Sudan, and North Korea? And how can China work with the United States to produce mutually beneficial outcomes for both Asia and the world? (Public Affairs Program)
The Great Convergence: Asia, the West, and the Logic of One World | 02/06/13
Kishore Mahbubani
With the rise of the middle class in China, India, and Africa, the twenty-first century has seen an unprecedented convergence of interests and perceptions, cultures, and values. How can the developing world be integrated with Europe and the U.S.? (Public Affairs Program)
After the Music Stopped: The Financial Crisis, the Response, and the Work Ahead | 01/31/13
Alan S. Blinder
"If you want to understand every aspect of our economic crisis--how we got into it, how we escaped a depression, why we haven't fully recovered and what we have to do now--read this book. It's a masterpiece--simple, straightforward and wise."--President William J. Clinton (Public Affairs Program)
The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate | 01/24/13
Robert D. Kaplan
Can geography alone be used as a way to analyze the past? Can it be used as a crystal ball to predict the future? Robert D. Kaplan offers a geographical prism through which to view global upheavals and to understand what lies ahead for continents and countries around the world. (Public Affairs Program)
Five Myths About Nuclear Weapons | 01/16/13
Ward Wilson
Are nuclear weapons that indiscriminately kill civilians useful? Have they really "kept us safe" for the last 60 years? What if everything we believe about them is wrong? For more info, see Wilson's op-ed in today's "New York Times:" "The Myth of Nuclear Necessity." (Public Affairs Programs)
A Fragile New Burma | 01/10/13
Barbara Crossette
With Aung San Suu Kyi now a member of Parliament and the Burmese government beginning the process of reform, will the military allow democracy to truly flourish? Barbara Crossette, having just returned from a fact-finding mission to Burma, takes us behind the headlines. (Public Affairs Programs)
The Second Nuclear Age: Strategy, Danger, and the New Power Politics | 12/11/12
Paul Bracken
It is two decades since the end of the Cold War, but with a whole new set of actors, the threat of nuclear weapons cannot be ignored. How have 21st century power politics and the emergence of Iran and North Korea changed the nuclear equation? How can the United States prepare for the second nuclear age? (Public Affairs Program)
Why Tolerate Religion? | 12/06/12
Brian Leiter
Why do Western democracies single out religion for preferential treatment? For example, why can a religious soup kitchen get an exemption from zoning laws while a secular one cannot? Is this morally justifiable? (Public Affairs Program)
Talibanistan: Negotiating the Borders Between Terror, Politics, and Religion | 12/04/12
Peter Bergen,
Anand Gopal
The longest war the United States has ever fought is the ongoing war in Afghanistan. But when we speak of "Afghanistan," we really mean a conflict that straddles the border with Pakistan--and the reality of Islamic militancy on that border is enormously complicated. (Public Affairs Program)
On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines--and Future | 11/29/12
Karen Elliott House
Although Saudi Arabian citizens pay no taxes, receive free health care and education, and have subsidized utilities, the Saudi royal family is finding it harder and harder to influence and control the population. Why are Saudis restless? What impact has the Internet had on Saudi youth? (Public Affairs Program)
Of Africa | 11/26/12
Wole Soyinka
A member of the unique generation of African writers and intellectuals who came of age in the last days of colonialism, Nigerian poet and playwright Wole Soyinka witnessed firsthand the promise of independence and postcolonial failure. Decades after independence, what does the past mean in Africa? What does African identity mean, both to those living there and to members of the diaspora? (Public Affairs Program)
America in the 21st Century: A View from America | 11/14/12
Gillian Tett
What role can and should the U.S. play in this emerging multipolar world? What are the toughest foreign policy decisions facing the next administration? And how can the U.S. economy be improved? (Public Affairs Program)
Exit the Colonel: The Hidden History of the Libyan Revolution | 10/23/12
Ethan Chorin
The Libyan Revolution has been framed as one of the many uprisings that began with the Arab Spring. But the real story starts a few years earlier when anti-Qaddafi sanctions were lifted and a flawed reform process ensued. What were the strategies and machinations that brought Qaddafi in from the cold and encouraged Libyans to "break the barrier of fear"? What role did regional disparities play? And what did the West get wrong? (Public Affairs Program)
Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad | 10/15/12
David W. Lesch
When Bashar al-Assad came to power in 2000, many in the West thought the new president would bring long-awaited reform to Syria. Unfortunately, as the Arab Spring has swept through the region, the repression of the Assad regime has turned to violence and, ultimately, to a wide-ranging conflict that is threatening the whole region. Why has Assad failed to lead Syria to a new era? How did he transform from a bearer of hope to a reactionary tyrant? (Public Affairs Program)
America in the 21st Century: A View from Asia | 10/10/12
Kishore Mahbubani
With China soon to be the world's largest economy, India growing in terms of global economic and political significance, and Japan and Korea continuing to be key U.S. allies, the United States has, perhaps, never been as closely linked to Asia. How will Asian-American relations evolve? What are some key issues the West may be forgetting? (Public Affairs Program)
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined | 10/01/12
Steven Pinker
With an endless stream of news about wars, terrorism, and crime, it seems that the times are as violent as ever. However, violence has actually been diminishing for millennia and this could be the most peaceful time in our existence. What are the "better angels" that have steered us away from violence? And what are the circumstances that have allowed this to prevail? (Public Affairs Program)
From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia | 09/24/12
Pankaj Mishra
In the early part of the 20th century, thinkers like India's Mahatma Gandhi and China's Liang Qichao worked to forge a distinctly Asian intellectual tradition. What were the roots of this misunderstood generation of scholars? Though it did not come to pass, how did they hope to inspire Asia's anticipated rise to dominance? (Public Affairs Program)
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion | 09/20/12
Jonathan Haidt
Why can't our political leaders work together as threats loom and problems mount? Why do people so readily assume the worst about the motives of their fellow citizens? Our moral intuition and fundamental "groupishness," which leads to our greatest joys, religious divisions, and political affiliations, could be to blame. (Public Affairs Program)
Balancing Security and Civil Liberties in the Post-9/11 Era | 09/19/12
Raymond Kelly
What are some of the biggest challenges that Commissioner Kelly and the New York Police Department have faced in the post-9/11 era? How do you keep tens of millions of people safe while preserving their right to privacy? (Public Affairs Program)
Restless Empire: China and the World Since 1750 | 09/14/12
Odd Arne Westad
From the Qing Dynasty to the People's Republic, Chinese attitudes have been determined by both receptiveness and resistance to outside influence. With China soon to be the world's largest economy, will it attempt to recreate a Sino-centric international order in Eastern Asia, or pursue a more harmonious diplomatic route? (Public Affairs Program)
America in the 21st Century: A View from the Arab World | 09/12/12
Marwan Muasher
Almost two years after the start of Arab uprisings, is the Arab world finally moving towards pluralism and democracy? What role can the United States play to promote peace and reform in the region? With the rise of political Islam, what can one expect in terms of personal and minority rights? (Public Affairs Program)
The Arab Spring: Unfinished Business | 06/27/12
Robert Malley
Eighteen months after the beginning of the Arab Spring, many things have changed in the Middle East and North Africa, but many things also remain the same. What does the future hold? Should the United States be playing a more active role in the region? (Public Affairs Program)
The Leaderless Revolution: How Ordinary People Will Take Power and Change Politics in the 21st Century | 06/13/12
Carne Ross
Many of our government institutions are short on money, ideas, and efficiency. What can we do, ourselves, to create lasting and workable solutions? How can we also find senses of meaning and community, both so elusive in the current circumstances? (Public Affairs Program)
The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future | 06/07/12
Victor D. Cha
With the obsessive personality cult surrounding the Kim family dynasty, repressive economic and cultural policies, and an appalling human rights record, North Korea is the world's most isolated and controversial state. How has this nation been able to survive as it has for over 60 years? (Public Affairs Program)
Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World | 06/05/12
Ian Bremmer
If the worst threatened, where would the world look for leadership? The United States, with its paralyzed politics and battered balance sheet? A European Union reeling from self-inflicted wounds? China's "people's democracy"? Perhaps Brazil, Turkey, or India? How about none of the above? (Public Affairs Program)
Exit Interview | 05/23/12
David Westin
In his 13 years as head of ABC News, David Westin saw the 2000 election, 9/11, and many more earth-shaking stories pass through his newsroom. Is it possible for journalists to be both good at their jobs and people of good moral character? (Public Affairs Program)
Pax Ethnica: Where and How Diversity Succeeds | 05/15/12
Karl E. Meyer,
Shareen Blair Brysac
In a world filled with sectarian strife, where can different ethnicities, and especially Muslim minorities, live in peace? Marseille and Queens are examples of places with minimal violence, high literacy, and great diversity. What can we learn from these oases of civility? (Public Affairs Program)
America in the 21st Century: A View from Europe | 05/10/12
Martin Wolf
The United States was the world's biggest, most innovative, and most influential economy in the 20th century. But it will soon cease to be the biggest. How easy will it be for the U.S. to remain the most innovative and influential in the 21st century? (Public Affairs Program)
Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power | 05/03/12
Steve Coll
With annual revenues equal to Norway's GDP, ExxonMobil might be the world's most powerful company; yet it is also one of the most secretive. How did ExxonMobil grow to be more influential in some countries than the U.S. embassy? (Public Affairs Program)
Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan and Afghanistan | 04/24/12
Ahmed Rashid
As American forces withdraw from Afghanistan, what are the possibilities and hazards the U.S. is facing in regards to Pakistan? What is the state of the Taliban? And what tough choices does President Obama have to make as he faces a complicated relationship with Pakistan and a reelection campaign? (Public Affairs Program)
Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law from the Deserts of Ancient Arabia to the Streets of the Modern Muslim World | 04/17/12
Sadakat Kadri
In the wake of the terror attacks and wars of the last decade, "shari'a" has become both a loaded word and an all-encompassing explanation. But do Westerners really have an understanding of what shari'a law actually means? (Public Affairs Program)
World Report 2012 | 04/10/12
Kenneth Roth
While investigating conditions on the ground in Syria, Libya, and other dangerous locales, what has Human Rights Watch learned from the earthshaking events of 2011? How can the global community help the world’s most suppressed people seize control of their destiny? (Public Affairs Program)
No One's World: The West, the Rising Rest, and the Coming Global Turn | 04/04/12
Charles A. Kupchan
With the rise of China, India, Brazil, and other emerging powers, the West’s preeminence is slipping for the first time in over 600 years. Can Europe and the United States strike a bargain with the rising rest and find consensus on the issues of sovereignty, legitimacy, and governance? (Public Affairs Program)
Finance and the Good Society | 03/26/12
Robert J. Shiller
Despite the bad reputation of the financial industry in the aftermath of the financial crisis, finance could be one of the most powerful tools we have for solving our common problems. How can we harness the power of finance for the greater good? (Public Affairs Program)
The Race for What's Left: The Global Scramble for the World's Last Resources | 03/20/12
Michael T. Klare
The world is facing an unprecedented crisis of resource depletion and the political and environmental risks are becoming increasingly severe. Can we change our consumption patterns and find a way out? (Public Affairs Program)
The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations | 03/01/12
Michael L. Ross
Why do oil-producing countries have less democracy, fewer opportunities for women, more frequent civil wars, and more volatile economic growth than the rest of the world? Is oil a curse? (Public Affairs Program)
The Emergency State: America's Pursuit of Absolute National Security at All Costs | 02/24/12
David C. Unger
In the decades since World War II, presidents from both parties have assumed broad war-making powers never intended by the Constitution and have pumped trillions of tax dollars into the Pentagon. Has this pursuit made the U.S. safer or has it only done irreparable damage to the ideals of American democracy? (Public Affairs Program)
Redeemers: Ideas and Power in Latin America | 02/23/12
Enrique Krauze
What are the major ideas, influences, and people who have formed the modern Latin America political mind during the late 19th and 20th centuries? (Public Affairs Program)
Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China | 02/08/12
Ezra F. Vogel
Perhaps no one in the 20th century had a greater long-term impact on world history than Deng Xiaoping. How did one of the original leaders of China's Communist Party come to reform the economic and social policies that he had helped create? (Public Affairs Program)
All the Missing Souls: A Personal History of the War Crimes Tribunals | 01/31/12
David J. Scheffer
David Scheffer was at the forefront of the efforts that led to criminal tribunals for the Balkans, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia. What new insights does he provide in the continuing struggle for international justice? (Public Affairs Program)
Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis ("New York Times" Best-Seller) | 01/26/12
James G. Rickards
Currency wars have happened before--twice in the last century alone--and they always end badly. Is the United States now facing the very real danger of the collapse of the American dollar? (Public Affairs Program)
Public Parts: How Sharing in the Digital Age Improves the Way We Work and Live | 01/18/12
Jeff Jarvis
Well-meaning advocates for privacy worry that the Internet and how we share is making us dumber, crasser, distracted, and vulnerable to threats of all kinds. But Jeff Jarvis argues that the Internet and our new sense of publicness are, in fact, doing the opposite. Based on exclusive interviews with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Google's Eric Schmidt, and Twitter's Evan Williams, Professor Jarvis introduces us to the new world of sharing. (Public Affairs Program)
A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama's Diplomacy with Iran | 01/10/12
Trita Parsi
Have the diplomatic efforts of the Obama administration toward Iran failed? Was the Bush administration's emphasis on military intervention, refusal to negotiate, and pursuit of regime change a better approach? How can the United States best address the ongoing turmoil in Tehran? (Public Affairs Program)
Realeconomik: The Hidden Cause of the Great Recession (And How to Avert the Next One) | 12/14/11
Grigory Yavlinsky
If economists and other scholars, politicians, and business professionals understand the causes of economic crises, as they claim, then why do such damaging crises continue to occur? (Public Affairs Program)
Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge's View | 12/12/11
Stephen Breyer
The Supreme Court has the awesome power to strike down laws enacted by our elected representatives. How can it help make our democracy work? (Public Affairs Program)
The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics | 12/08/11
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita,
Alastair Smith
What is the difference between tyrants and elected leaders? How do politics and leadership actually work? (Public Affairs Program)
Justice for Hedgehogs | 12/06/11
Ronald Dworkin
In his book, "Justice for Hedgehogs," his most comprehensive work, Ronald Dworkin argues that value in all its forms is one big thing. (Public Affairs Program)
Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science | 12/01/11
Michael Nielsen
How is the Internet transforming the nature of our collective intelligence? Will the Internet help us to better understand our world? Can it expand our problem solving ability? (Public Affairs Program)
Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius | 11/21/11
Sylvia Nasar
How did the insights of thinkers that extend from Victorian England to modern-day India transform the world by rescuing humankind from squalor and deprivation to a world of modern economics? (Public Affairs Program)
The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade | 11/18/11
Andrew Feinstein
Andrew Feinstein exposes in forensic detail both the formal government-to-government trade in arms and the shadow world of illicit weapons dealing, and lays bare the shockingly frequent links between the two. Is our security compromised and our democracy undermined in the process? (Public Affairs Program)
George F. Kennan: An American Life | 11/15/11
John Lewis Gaddis
Yale historian John Lewis Gaddis began this history almost 30 years ago, interviewing Kennan frequently and gaining complete access to his voluminous diaries and other personal papers. What is revealed in this landmark work? (Public Affairs Program)
UN Population Fund Report | 11/03/11
Barbara Crossette
Just this week, the world population reached 7 billion. By the end of this century, the UN predicts that there could be more than 10
billion. Barbara Crossette, author of the UN population Fund Report, discusses the situation. (Public Affairs Program)
The Darwin Economy: Liberty, Competition, and the Common Good | 11/02/11
Robert H. Frank
Should our understanding of economics be informed more by Charles Darwin, a naturalist, than by the views of economist Adam Smith? Does Darwin's understanding of competition describe economic reality far more accurately than Smith's? (Public Affairs Program)
But Will the Planet Notice?: How Smart Economics Can Save the World | 10/25/11
Gernot Wagner
You recycle? You turn down plastic and paper? Good. But none of that will save the tuna or stop global warming. If you want to make the planet notice, follow the economics, says Gernot Wagner.
Liberal Leviathan: The Origins, Crisis, and Transformation of the American World Order | 10/12/11
G. John Ikenberry
Should the United States renegotiate its relationship with the rest of the world and pursue a more enlightened strategy--that of the liberal leviathan? (Public Affairs Program)
America the Vulnerable: Inside the New Threat Matrix of Digital Espionage, Crime, and Warfare | 10/11/11
Joel F. Brenner
The structure and culture of the internet favor spies over government and corporations, and hackers over privacy. How can we right this imbalance and bring to cyberspace the freedom, accountability, and security we expect elsewhere in our lives? (Public Affairs Program)
Economics of Good and Evil: The Quest for Economic Meaning from Gilgamesh to Wall Street | 10/05/11
Tomas Sedlacek
If we learn to think of economics as a cultural phenomenon rather than as mathematical models, can we then go on to calculate economic value differently? (Public Affairs Program)
The Unraveling: Pakistan in the Age of Jihad | 09/22/11
John R. Schmidt
How did a nation founded as a homeland for South Asian Muslims become a haven for al-Qaeda and a rogue's gallery of domestic jihadist and sectarian groups? (Public Affairs Program)
The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World | 09/21/11
Daniel Yergin
How will the drama of oil--the struggle for access to it, the battle for control, the insecurity of supply, the consequences of its use, its impact on the global economy, and the geopolitics that dominate it--continue to shape our world? (Public Affairs Program)
Does the Elephant Dance?: Contemporary Indian Foreign Policy | 09/13/11
David M. Malone
What are the key features of contemporary Indian foreign policy and India's policy within its South Asian neighborhood? (Public Affairs Program)
That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back | 09/07/11
Thomas L. Friedman,
Michael Mandelbaum
What can America do as it faces four major challenges--globalization, the revolution in information technology, chronic deficits, and its energy consumption? (Public Affairs Program)
The Arab Spring: Implications for U.S. Defense Policy | 06/30/11
Colin Kahl
The world has witnessed the beginning of a dramatic revolution in the Middle East. What are the prospects for democratization in the region? What should America's role be moving forward?
Civility in the Financial Sector | 06/20/11
Henry Kaufman
Is it possible for civility to transcend money and economic issues? (Civility in America Series)
What is Happening to News: The Information Explosion and the Crisis in Journalism | 06/09/11
Jack Fuller
Drawing on neuroscience, Jack Fuller explains why the information overload of contemporary life makes us dramatically more receptive to sensational news, while rendering the objective voice of standard journalism ineffective. (Public Affairs Program)
Negotiating with Evil: When to Talk to Terrorists (with live webcast) | 12/07/10
Mitchell B. Reiss
When, how, and under what conditions should our government talk to terrorists? Can opening a dialogue bring conflicts to a faster resolution? (Public Affairs Program)
