Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun (LSA '86) discusses U.S. policy and strategy for achieving the denuclearization of North Korea and the transformation of U.S.-North Korean relations.
Over the past five years, a growing number of Xinjiang Uighurs have been sent to re-education camps by the Chinese government, most without trials or release dates. Estimates have reached as high as one million detainees. The Chinese government has framed these camps as schools that attack terrorist beliefs and give Uighurs the work and life skills necessary to thrive in a modern economy. It has received very little pressure or public condemnation from its Central Asian neighbors, from Muslim countries, or from its trading partners in the developed world. This human rights crisis raises questions central to the role and practice of diplomacy. What justification is there for bringing foreign diplomatic pressure to bear on issues that a country defines as central to its identity and existence? What do we know about the success of different types of advocacy, whether through diplomatic channels, pressure from international organizations, or NGO-led protest? To what extent does the crisis in Xinjiang affect the stability of Central Asia, or the fate of separatist movements in Tibet, Hong Kong, and Taiwan?
Join the Weiser Diplomacy Center and American Academy of Diplomacy for a live recording of the latest episode of the podcast American Diplomat: The Stories behind the news.
The Ford School’s Weiser Diplomacy Center (WDC) and Lou Fintor, the U.S. Department of State's Diplomat in Residence invite you to a timely diplomacy simulation exercise “Countering Violent Extremism: Balancing Civil Liberties and Security.” This simulation was developed by Department of State's U.S. Diplomacy Center and involves a hypothetical scenario based on a real global challenge: how to address violent extremism while at the same time respecting and protecting civil rights and liberties. As this exercise has not been previously used, Ford School students will be the first cohort in the nation to test this simulation. U.S. State Department's Diplomat in Residence Lou Fintor will lead the simulation here at the Ford School and supplement the exercise with examples drawn from his assignments in South Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Only signed up students can participate.
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
Vandenberg Lecture
Join Christina Goldbaum, Bronwyn Bruton and John Ciorciari for an examination of the U.S. military’s presence and role in Africa and the implications for civilian lives and global security.
In July 2014 Washington Post journalist and former Tehran bureau chief, Jason Rezaian, was arrested by Iranian police on charges of espionage. What followed was a harrowing 544 day stint in an Iranian prison, and an extraordinary campaign led by his family, the Washington Post, and prominent journalism organizations for his release. Join Rezaian for a discussion on his book “Prisoner,” which details his 18-month imprisonment in a maximum security facility, his journey through the Iranian legal system and how his release became part of the Iran nuclear deal.
On February 23, the Ford School will host graduate students from 14 univerisities to participate in the 2019 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition. This year’s competition—a partnership between the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA)—will connect a record 585 students from 11 global host sites including Dhaka, Cairo, Mexico City, and San Francisco to tackle policy issues associated with forced migration through computer-based simulated game play.
The 2019 Schuman Challenge will welcome undergraduate students from seventeen different U.S. colleges and universities to the EU Delegation to the United States in Washington DC on February 14-15, 2019. During the competition students will work in teams to develop and defend before senior international affairs professionals new policies for transatlantic cooperation supporting Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders
Join us for a student workshop lunch and conversation with Professor Jennifer Haverkamp discussing about International Climate Change Diplomacy. If you are interested, please sign up here.
Alexander Vindman joins the Weiser Diplomacy Center for the WCEE Distinguished Lecture, moderated by Geneviève Zubrzycki and John Ciorciari. February, 2023.
A panel of former ambassadors hosted by the Weiser Diplomacy Center and the American Academy of Diplomacy will focus on the implications of the war in Ukraine globally and for NATO, Europe, Russia and China. October, 2022.
Join us for a discussion of the diplomacy between the United States, key NATO allies, and Russia surrounding the war in Ukraine with Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, John Beyrle, and Stephen Biegun. September, 2022.
Nobel Peace Prize lureate and former president of Poland visits the University of Michigan to speak on the global impact of Russia's war on Ukraine. September, 2022.
Ambassador Harry Thomas examines the racial foundations of public policy in the United States and how race impacts policy choices and consequences at the global level. February 9, 2022.
Stephen Biegun, Soojin Park, and Ross Tokola break down various dimensions of United States-Korea relations and their connection to other major regional powers, including China and Japan. January 21, 2022.
Raul Guillermo Benítez Manaut, Richard Fadden, and Thomas Warrick focus on the policy tools and frameworks available for countering nationalist extremism in Mexico, Canada and the United States. January, 2022.
Noted Russian journalist and scholar Yevgenia Albats and Ambassador Susan Elliott, discuss the role of media and information in the evolving relationship between Russia and the United States. Ambassador Melvyn Levitsky moderates.
