The Making Of American Foreign Policy: Do Non-Governmental Experts Matter?

American foreign policy experts in think tanks and universities have provided analysis and insight to Presidents and politicians for decades and continue to influence thinking about how the US should act in international affairs.  The Institute of International Studies will host a lecture on this topic on October 16 by Ellen Laipson, currently President of the Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington DC, one of the nation's most influential study centers.  The MacArthur Foundation named Stimson as the 2013 winner of its Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

Ellen Laipson served as an intelligence analyst for over a decade before being named the National Intelligence Officer for Near and South Asia. She served on President Clinton's National Security Council as Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs, at the United Nations as special assistant to the Permanent Representative, and as Vice Chair of the National Intelligence Council.  She was selected as President of the Stimson Center in 2002.  She also serves on President Obama's Intelligence Advisory Board.