U.S. Foreign Policy

The drawdown in U.S. forces from Iraq and the anticipated reduction of the International Security Assistance Force from Afghanistan will not eliminate the critical foreign policy challenges facing US security over the next few years.   The rise of China, democratic revolutions in the Arab World, European financial instability, nuclear proliferation, and international terrorism are just some of the problems that the US government now faces.  The Institute of International Studies will be hosting a Spring Semester speaker series to address these and other challenges to US foreign policy.  We will feature prominent acting and former foreign policy practitioners and scholars over the course of the Spring 2013 semester.  Dates for speakers will be posted as they are confirmed.

Dr. Neil Joeck

 

Spring 2013 Events:  
Thursday, January 24, 4-5:30 p.m.
Sultan Room, 340 Stephens Hall
"Current Political Developments in Egypt: Implications for US Foreign Policy"
Nabil Fahmy (Ambassador at Large at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
The continuing political turmoil in Egypt not only challenges Egypt's leadership but also creates a more dynamic environment for regional security and US foreign policy.  Former Egyptian Ambassador to the United States Nabil Fahmy will visit Berkeley on January 24 to speak about these political developments and how they affect the rest of the world.  Ambassador Fahmy is the founding Dean of the School of Public Affairs at the American University in Cairo. He has been Ambassador at Large at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. He served as Ambassador of Egypt to the United States from 1999-2008. He also served as Egypt’s Ambassador to Japan from September 1997-September 1999 and before that as the Political Advisor to Egypt's Foreign Minister from 1992-97. Dr. Fahmy has held numerous posts in the Egyptian Government since 1974.  As a career diplomat, Fahmy played an active role in numerous efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, as well as in international and regional disarmament affairs.  Ambassador Fahmy received his bachelor of science degree in Physics/Mathematics and his master of arts in management, both from the American University in Cairo.  Co-sponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
 
Wednesday, March 20, 4-5:30 p.m.
223 Moses Hall
"China Policy in the Second Obama Administration: Rebalancing the Rebalancing Strategy"
Dr. Kenneth Lieberthal (Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy and Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institution)
Dr. Lieberthal was a professor at the University of Michigan from 1983 to 2009 before joining Brookings.  He also served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asia on the National Security Council under President Clinton from August 1998 to October 2000.  Lieberthal holds an MA and Ph.D from Columbia University and a BA from Dartmouth College.  His latest book, Bending History: Barack Obama's Foreign Policy (co-authored with Martin Indyk and Michael O’Hanlon), was released in March 2012.  Bending History argues that Obama is more of a foreign policy pragmatist whose approach is typified by thoroughness, teamwork, and flexibility.  Lieberthal will bring many of these perspectives to bear in his assessment of President Obama’s China policy and the challenges to US Foreign Policy over the next four years.
 
Wednesday, April 3, 4-5:30 p.m.
223 Moses Hall
"Moving to Zero Nuclear Weapons: Why Not Try?"
Dr. George Perkovich (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
The goal of nuclear disarmament was enshrined in the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1970 and continues to be an elusive policy objective of many nations around the world.  President Obama made it a centerpiece of his foreign policy by saying in May 2009 that America is committed "to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons... and will take concrete steps towards a world without nuclear weapons."  George Perkovich, Vice President for Studies and Director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will address this issue as part of the IIS US Foreign Policy Series.