U.S.–CHINA RELATIONS

Professor Samantha Custer, Director of Policy Analysis, AidData (an international development research lab housed at W&M’s Global Research Institute)



In-Person Lecture. Also simulcast on Zoom

Coffee/Refreshments in Library Lobby at 9:45 AM

Zoom opens at 10:15 AM

Presentation begins at 10:30 AM

The Topic: "Washington’s relations with Beijing have reached an ominous low ebb. Both American political parties have identified China as the country’s preeminent geopolitical challenger and, in the eyes of many, a systemic threat. What is driving this deterioration of Sino-American relations, and what are America’s strategic options in the face of Chinese power and ambition?" -- Foreign Policy Association

Professor Samantha Custer directs AidData's Policy Analysis Unit, a research laboratory of the College of William & Mary, which blends qualitative and quantitative approaches to answer real-world questions in a way that is both academically rigorous and policy relevant. Her research examines the influence of development investments and public diplomacy efforts, generates new evidence on the use and impact of open data, and leverages surveys to learn from the experiences of decision-makers in low- and middle-income countries regarding the impact of external money and ideas on domestic policy reforms. Professor Custer holds a dual Master’s Degree in Foreign Service and Public Policy from Georgetown University and has a 20-year track record of leading teams and supporting evidence-based decision-making as an international relations scholar-practitioner.

In conjunction with her work at AidData, Professor Custer teaches courses for the Whole of Government Center of Excellence at William & Mary on how to measure and monitor the influence of great powers such as China, Russia, and the US.

Prior to AidData, Professor Custer was Director for Language, Education and Development (LEAD) Asia for SIL International, providing consulting support for partners in 13 countries, overseeing two country offices, and coordinating the Asia Multilingual Education Working Group for UNESCO Bangkok. She served as Associate Director for West Indonesia, brokering partnerships with the government, coordinating with local partners, and overseeing community-led multilingual education programs in three provinces. Samantha also researched open data movements and citizen feedback initiatives with the World Bank, co-taught a class on US national security with former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, directed multilingual education programs in Southeast Asia with SIL International, and conducted performance monitoring for Save the Children US to ensure sponsored children were benefiting from its community development programs.

AI AND AMERICAN NATIONAL SECURITY

Professor Eric Brown, Senior Research Scientist at W&M Global Research Institute

In-Person Lecture. Also simulcast on Zoom

Coffee/Refreshments in Library Lobby at 9:45 AM

Zoom opens at 10:15 AM

Presentation begins at 10:30 AM

The Topic: "The AI revolution is the leading edge of a larger high-tech revolution which promises to transform the world. Experts argue that international cooperation is needed to expand the opportunities these new technologies hold while protecting societies from their dangers. What are the key policy debates in this area, and what are the opportunities and limits on global AI rules of the road? How will the AI revolution impact American national security? What are its policy options to secure the benefits of AI and guard against its dangers?"--Foreign Policy Association

Professor Eric Brown is a Senior Research Scientist at the College of William & Mary’s Global Research Institute, where he is developing research and educational programs on world politics, applied history, and security. Prior to joining GRI in 2022, Professor Brown was a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. Since 2004, Brown has conducted research throughout Eurasia and parts of Africa on security, diplomacy, development, alternative geopolitical futures, religious and cultural affairs, and various geo-technology and economics issues. In 2018, he was a senior advisor to the U.S. Institute of Peace’s congressionally mandated Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the American University of Iraq at Sulaimani.

THE FUTURE OF NATO AND EUROPEAN SECURITY

Professor Stephen J. Flanagan, Adjunct Senior Fellow at Rand Washington and Adjunct Professor Georgetown University

In-Person Lecture. Also simulcast on Zoom

Coffee/Refreshments in Library Lobby at 9:45 AM

Zoom opens at 10:15 AM

Presentation begins at 10:30 AM

The Topic: "European security is more uncertain than it has been for decades. Putin’s Russia has launched a war with Ukraine on its doorstep, and America’s uncertain role as leader of NATO and security provider has been called into question with the failure of Congress to pass supplemental military support for Ukraine. What are Europe’s options, and how might developments on both sides of Western Europe – in Ukraine and across the Atlantic – impact its choices? What are America’s stakes in NATO and Europe’s strategic dilemmas?" -- Foreign Policy Association

Stephen J. Flanagan is an adjunct senior fellow at RAND. He served in several senior positions in government, most recently as special assistant to the president and senior director for defense policy and strategy at the National Security Council (NSC) from 2013 to 2015. Between 1989 and 1999 he served as special assistant to the president and senior director for Central and Eastern Europe at the NSC; associate director and member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff; and national intelligence officer for Europe. He also worked as a professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He held the Kissinger Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 2007-2013, and served as senior vice president and director of the International Security Program. He was director of the Institute for National Strategic Studies and vice president for research at National Defense University from 2000-2007. He also held research and faculty positions at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Council on Foreign Relations, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and the National War College, and is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

Professor Flanagan has published six books, over seventy reports and journal articles, and many commentaries on transatlantic, international security, and defense issues. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the editorial Board of International Security. He earned a Ph.D. in international relations from the Fletcher School, Tufts University, and an A.B. in political science from Columbia University.

AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AT A CROSSROADS

Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, U. S. Army Retired, Former Chief of Staff to General/Secretary Colin Powell, Vietnam Veteran

In-Person Lecture. Also simulcast on Zoom

Coffee/Refreshments in Library Lobby at 9:45 AM

Zoom opens at 10:15 AM

Presentation begins at 10:30 AM

The Topic: "... explore the contours of the U.S. foreign policy debate as it plays out in a world of multiple and escalating crises and domestic polarization." -- Foreign Policy Association

Col. Larry Wilkerson's last positions in government were as Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff (2002-2005), Associate Director of the State Department's Policy Planning staff under the directorship of Ambassador Richard N. Haass, and member of the staff responsible for East Asia and the Pacific, political-military and legislative affairs (2001-2002).

Larry served 31 years in the U.S. Army. During that time, he was a member of the faculty of the U.S. Naval War College (1987 to 1989), Special Assistant to General Powell when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-93), and Director and Deputy Director of the U.S. Marine Corps War College at Quantico, Virginia (1993-1997). Larry retired in 1997 and began work as an advisor to General Powell. He is a distinguished Adjunct Professor of Government and National Policy at the College of William & Mary, has taught national security affairs at George Washington University and is currently a senior fellow with the Eisenhower Media Network. He is recently returned from an international trip that included peace conferences in Turkey and the Hague, Netherlands.

INDIA: BETWEEN CHINA, THE WEST, AND THE GLOBAL SOUTH

Ms. Dagmar Graczyk, International Energy Agency (Paris, France)

Zoom Lecture Only. Watch at home or in the WRL Theatre.

Coffee/Refreshments in Library Lobby at 9:45 AM

Zoom opens at 10:15 AM

Presentation begins at 10:30 AM

The topic: "India is an emerging major power in world affairs, occupying a pivotal position between China, the United States, and the Global South. Its population size, economy, and geopolitical location ensure that it will be an influential voice in debates and political struggles over global order. What are India’s choices and opportunities for regional and global leadership? How will it maneuver between China and the United States, and what is its role as a voice of the Global South? What opportunities exist for Washington to work with India?"--Foreign Policy Association

Ms. Dagmar Graczyk has worked for nearly 22 years at the International Energy Agency, Paris, France where she was a major architect of the IEA’s cooperation agreement with India. Among her achievements are numerous cooperation agreements, including the first ever agreement on cooperation on Oil and Gas Security between the IEA and a non-member country, as well as the creation of an emergency hotline with India, and support to operationalize the Indian Bureau of Energy Efficiency.

Prior to her current position with IEA, Ms. Graczyk was selected as the only woman in her intake for the Young Professional Program of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), headquartered in Manila, Philippines. During 10 years with the ADB, she focused on infrastructure projects in South-Asia and the Mekong Region. She became the first female to bring an energy sector loan for approval to the ADB Board and the first ever female staffer working on energy and transport at the ADB. In 2000, Ms. Graczyk was awarded the ADB President Award for extraordinary achievements and in 2001 she was nominated for the same award.

Ms. Graczyk also worked as a Junior Professional Officer for the United Nations Development Program in Geneva, Switzerland, for the Summer Internship Program of the World Bank, Washington, DC and was recruited as the first ever intern by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation in Bonn, Germany.

Ms. Graczyk holds two master’s degrees, in Economics and Socio-Economics from the Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, West Germany and three bachelor’s degrees in Economics, Business Administration and Sociology from the University of Dortmund, West Germany. She has taught numerous classes at the Institute of Political Studies, Paris and at the Indian NTCP Business School. She was second examiner for Master Thesis at the Graduate Institute, Geneva on topics related to Asian energy policy.

U. S. CHANGING LEADERSHIP OF THE WORLD ECONOMY

Ms. Shihoko Goto, Director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the Wilson Center, Washington, DC

In-Person Lecture. Also simulcast on Zoom

Coffee/Refreshments in Library Lobby at 9:45 AM

Zoom opens at 10:15 AM

Presentation begins at 10:30 AM

The Topic: "Under President Biden, the U.S. has advanced new ideas about trade, technology, industrial policy, competition with China, and the organization of the world economy. For most of the postwar era, the U.S. has tied its global leadership to cooperative agendas aimed at creating a more open-world trading system, but that has apparently come to an end. What are America’s options and opportunities as a leader of the world economy? How will America’s “foreign policy for the middle class” and strategic competition with China impact its leadership role? How can the postwar rules and institutions of the world economy be made safe for economic nationalism and great power competition?" -- Foreign Policy Association

Ms. Goto specializes in trade and economic interests across the Indo-Pacific, and is also focused on geopolitical developments in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. She is a columnist for the Diplomat magazine and contributing editor to the Globalist. Ms. Goto is currently an executive board member of the Japan-America Society of Washington, DC, and a member of the Global Taiwan Institute’s US-Taiwan Task Force. Prior to joining the Wilson Center, she was a financial journalist covering the international political economy with a focus on Asian markets. As a correspondent for Dow Jones News Service and United Press International based in Tokyo and Washington, Ms. Goto has reported extensively on policies impacting the global financial system as well as international trade. She was also formerly a donor country relations officer at the World Bank. Previously, she was a member of the Mansfield Foundation’s US-Japan Network for the Future, and she has received the Freeman Foundation’s Jefferson journalism fellowship at the East-West Center as well as the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s journalism fellowship for the Salzburg Global Seminar. Ms. Goto has an MA in international political theory from the Graduate School of Political Science, Waseda University, Japan, and BA in Modern History from Trinity College, University of Oxford, UK.

Professor Andrew B. Kirkpatrick

In-Person Lecture. Also simulcast on Zoom

Coffee/Refreshments in Library Lobby at 9:45 AM

Zoom opens at 10:15 AM

Presentation begins at 10:30 AM

The Topic: "The 2015 Paris Agreement established a UN-sponsored framework for negotiations on climate change and global warming. In subsequent COP meetings, experts and political leaders have come together seeking common cause for this growing global crisis. What is the future of these efforts, and what have they yielded? What is the U.S. role in fostering cooperation on climate change? In a divided country, what are the possible futures for American policy leadership?" -- Foreign Policy Association



Professor Kirkpatrick is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Christopher Newport University. Previously, he was director of CNU’s interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Program from 2013-2022. He teaches Environmental Politics, International Organizations, European Politics, Comparative Politics, and International Relations. His research interests include comparative environmental politics, international environmental cooperation, political parties, and international organizations, particularly in Europe and North America.

Professor Kirkpatrick holds a Ph.D. in political science from Emory University, an M.A. in international relations from Baylor University, and a B.A. from Tulane University. In the 2012-13 school year he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Whitworth University in Spokane, WA. This is Professor Kirkpatrick’s second presentation for Great Decisions.University Graduate School of Management in 1977. He also holds a diploma in the French language from the University of Paris. In addition to French and his native English , Ambassador Jeffrey speaks German and Turkish.

AFTER GAZA: AMERICAN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Ambassador James F. Jeffrey

In-Person Lecture. Also simulcast on Zoom

Coffee/Refreshments in Library Lobby at 9:45 AM

Zoom opens at 10:15 AM

Presentation begins at 10:30 AM

The Topic: "The war in Gaza has brought the region to a crossroads. What are the possible outcomes of the war, and how might the United States use its influence to shape a long-term settlement that leaves both Israel and the Palestinians in a better position? How might Arab states in the wider region be brought into a settlement? What are America’s interests in the Middle East and how can it advance them?" -- Foreign Policy Association

Ambassador James F. Jeffrey is an American diplomat who served most recently as the United States Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy to the International military intervention against ISIL.

He has held senior assignments in Washington, D.C., and abroad, including as United States Ambassador to Iraq (2010–2012); United States Ambassador to Turkey (2008–2010); Deputy National Security Advisor (2007–2008); and United States Ambassador to Albania (2002–2004). In 2010 Ambassador Jeffrey was appointed to the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service, Career Ambassador. From 1969 to 1976, Ambassador Jeffrey was a U.S. Army infantry officer, with service in Germany and Vietnam.

Ambassador Jeffrey is a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a member of the CIA External Advisory Board, a member of the American Council on Germany, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He serves on the advisory board for America Abroad Media. He is a frequent commentator on broader foreign policy, national security, and economic trends.

Ambassador Jeffrey received a BA in History from Northeastern University in 1969, and an MBA from Boston University Graduate School of Management in 1977. He also holds a diploma in the French language from the University of Paris. In addition to French and his native English , Ambassador Jeffrey speaks German and Turkish.