peacefare.net

Peace picks, February 26 – March 4

1. The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy | Monday, February 26 | 12:00pm – 2:00pm | Atlantic Council | Register here |

Earlier this month, the Pentagon released its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), which described an increasingly challenging international security environment and a need for the United States to strengthen its nuclear posture to deter strategic attacks on itself and its allies. This conversation will explore the US nuclear posture; assess the costs and benefits of changes to US nuclear policy under the Trump Administration; and analyze how America’s nuclear weapons contribute to its broader national security goals. The event will also feature the launch of Dr. Kroenig’s new book titled “The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy.” A conversation with: Matthew Kroenig (Atlantic Council), Adm. Cecil D. Haney (United States Strategic Command, Ret.), Rebecca Hersman (Center for Strategic and International Studies), James N. Miller (Harvard University); moderated by Thom Shanker (New York Times).

___________________________________________________________

2. History of Modern Public Diplomacy: The Origins of the Founding of the United States Information Agency (USIA) | Monday, February 26 | 1:00pm – 2:30pm | Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) | Register here |

The United States Information Agency (USIA) took the lead in the war of ideas between the United States and the Soviet Union following World War II. Although USIA no longer exists, it is important to reminisce about the origins of its founding and how it has played a role in modern public diplomacy. The lessons of the past should be understood and presented for the benefit of those on the future front lines of U.S. public diplomacy. CSIS is hosting a public event to examine USIA’s experience in the 1950s and 1960s, and will build upon previous conversations and a commentary that talked about the lessons learnt from the agency’s merger with the U.S. State Department in the 1990s. Featuring Nicholas J. Cull (University of Southern California), Caitlin E. Schindler (Institute of World Politics), Gregory M. Tomlin (United States Military Academy at West Point), and Elizabeth “Betsy” Whitaker (George Washington University and Georgetown University), with CSIS expert Daniel F. Runde (Director, Project on Prosperity and Development).

__________________________________________________________

3. Nuclear Risks in Northeast Asia | Tuesday, February 27 | 10:30am – 2:00pm | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | Register here |

China’s rise and North Korea’s rapidly developing nuclear and missile programs have catalyzed a debate about whether the United States should rely more heavily on nuclear weapons in its efforts to protect the security of Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, civilian nuclear energy programs risk the stockpiling of plutonium. South Korea and China are considering programs to extract plutonium from used nuclear fuel, as Japan wrestles with the realization that it is unable to make fresh fuel from the plutonium it has already extracted. Join Carnegie for a discussion, hosted jointly with Nagasaki University, of the most urgent nuclear challenges facing international actors in this increasingly tense region. Featuring two panel discussions: “Extended Deterrence in North East Asia,” with Rebecca Hersman (Project on Nuclear Issues, CSIS), Jina Kim (Korea Institute for Defense Analyses), Jon Wolfsthal (Nuclear Policy Program, CSIS), Fumihiko Yoshida (Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University), and Toby Dalton (Nuclear Policy Program, CSIS); and “Security Risks of Civilian Plutonium Use in North East Asia,” with Thomas Countryman (U.S. Department of State), Se Young Jang (Nuclear Policy Program, CSIS), Victor Reis (U.S. Department of Energy), Tatsu Suzuki (Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University), and James M. Acton (Nuclear Policy Program, CSIS). Opening remarks by Susumu Shirabe (Nagasaki University) and James Acton.

___________________________________________________________

4. Trump’s Trade Policy in Asia: A One-Year Review | Wednesday, February 28 | 10:00am – 11:30am | Brookings Institution | Register here |

On February 28, the Center for East Asia Policy Studies and the U.S.-Japan Research Institute will host a panel of experts to assess the drivers and outcomes of Trump’s trade policy in Asia over the first year of his administration. They will discuss how Japan and the United States can deepen trade and investment ties despite the American withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); the chances of a successful renegotiation of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) and its impact on broader U.S.-South Korea relations; and whether the administration’s condemnation of predatory economics in the region and use of unilateral trade measures will effectively deter Chinese mercantilism or trigger trade friction. The discussion will by moderated by Mirya Solís (Co-Director, Center for East Asia Policy Studies at Brookings), featuring Meredith Miller (Senior Vice President, Albright Stonebridge Group), Eswar Prasad (Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Devleopment at Brookings), Shujiro Urata (Dean and Professor, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies at Waseda University), and Jeffrey J. Schott (Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics).

___________________________________________________________

5. Reevaluating U.S. Security Assistance to the Middle East | Thursday, March 1 | 1:30pm – 3:30pm | Middle East Institute | Register here |

Since 9/11, American security strategy has focused on building the military capabilities of global allies in order to advance shared goals and address joint threats. In the Middle East, the results of this approach have been mixed at best. Frustration over U.S. security assistance to the region has grown in Washington, as funding and arms transfers to various state and non-state partners have led to unintended consequences, prompting the Trump administration to reevaluate U.S. aid to Egypt, Pakistan, and the Palestinians. The Middle East Institute (MEI) will convene a panel of experts to examine these key issues, with a keynote address by Lee Litzenberger (senior advisor, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at the U.S. Department of State) with Amb. (ret.) Wendy Chamberlin (President, MEI). The keynote will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Missy Ryan (Washington Post) and featuring Michele Dunne (CEIP), Mara Karlin (SAIS and the Brookings Institution), Justin Reynolds (Cohen Group), and Bilal Y. Saab (MEI).

___________________________________________________________

6. Afghanistan: Assessing Progress and Prospects for Regional Connectivity | Thursday, March 1 | 3:30pm – 5:00pm | Atlantic Council | Register here |

Please join the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center for a discussion with Dr. Mohammad H. Qayoumi where he will discuss how Afghanistan can play a pivotal role in integrating the economies of Central Asia and South Asia. Dr. Qayoumi will provide an overview of the progress achieved in the past three years in the areas of regional connectivity and discuss the tremendous opportunities that need to be explored in the future. Afghanistan can serve as the land bridge that can help connect Central Asia to South Asia and serve as the catalyst for bulk energy transfers between the two regions. Similarly, as a data transit country, Afghanistan can play a key role in shortening multiple Internet paths within the region. A conversation with: Dr. Mohammad H. Qayoumi, Chief Advisor on Infrastructure to H.E. President Ashraf Ghani of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and Mr. Manish Tewari, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center. Moderated by Dr. Bharath Gopalaswamy, Director of the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center.