Less than a year into the new Trump administration, the US appears to be shifting away from key, longstanding foreign policies as well as from established allies. The president’s recent speeches to NATO members and at the G20 signal a departure from previous administrations on myriad issues, including human rights, climate change, and resolving civil conflicts. These global challenges often require leadership and collective action by major actors in the international community, yet the US is uncertain whether these issues are worth the investment. There is deep concern among many nations and former US officials who are perplexed by this strategic direction.

Is the US forging a new path, going it alone and leaving behind ongoing conflicts and unresolved humanitarian crises? Will the US maintain its alliances and continue to engage with the international community?

On the anniversary of Donald Trump's election, Samantha Power, former US ambassador to the United Nations and current professor of practice at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Law, will join World Affairs CEO Jane Wales for a discussion on the state of US Foreign Policy, and challenge the assumptions behind the Trump administration’s strategic direction. How can we make America good again, and where might we go from here?

This event is made possible through a generous grant from the Stanley S. Langendorf Foundation in the name of Richard and Judith Guggenhime, and brings world-renowned experts to the Bay Area.

SPEAKER:

Samantha Power
Former United States Ambassador, United States Mission to the United Nations

MODERATOR:

Jane Wales
CEO, World Affairs and Global Philanthropy Forum; Vice President, The Aspen Institute

This week’s episode will feature two unique perspectives from the frontlines of international war.

In the first half of the show, you’ll hear from Retired US Admiral James Stavridis. Admiral Stavridis was the Supreme Allied Commander for NATO from 2009 to 2013, and he led NATO’s Operation Unified Protector during the 2011 military intervention in Libya.

In this talk, Stavridis discusses the US' role in a complex, quickly shifting international landscape.

And now to the second half of our program, featuring combat journalist Sebastian Junger.

In his newest project, “Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS”, Junger documents the civil war by telling the stories of Syrians living through the chaos and rise of extremism, and who later attempt to escape the violence. Jung discusses his motivation for the project, and he reveals the inside story of the film.

Equal access to justice and equal protection under the law are critical elements of our liberal democracy. Yet, in practice, in the US young men of color are more likely than their white counterparts to be picked up for, locked up for, and prosecuted for suspected criminal offenses. If they cannot gain pre-trial release, these young men remain in jail while awaiting prosecution. The jury is more likely to find these men guilty, and the prosecutor is more likely to ask for a stiff sentence, which the judge is more likely to impose. Once incarcerated, these young men may not be protected from mental and physical harm. Once released, they can be denied housing, jobs, credit and even the ability to vote. Their families will have been impoverished by the costs associated with trials, imprisonment and lost earning capacity. This pattern of bias – whether unconscious or not – has served to delegitimize our system of justice in the eyes of a growing number of Americans. Can philanthropy and civil society advance the reforms needed for our justice system to regain the trust of all Americans? Can we realize the vital goal of equal justice for all?

Introduction: Adam Foss, President, Prosecutor Impact

Panel Discussion

* Carroll Bogert, President, The Marshall Project

* Adam Foss, President, Prosecutor Impact (moderator)

* Glenn E. Martin, Founder and President, JustLeadershipUSA

For more information about this event please visit: https://www.philanthropyforum.org/conference/gpf-2017/

In 2012, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned that the United States was facing the possibility of a "cyber" Pearl Harbor and was increasingly vulnerable to foreign computer hackers who could dismantle the nation's power grid, transportation system, financial networks and government. Since then, we have seen Iran attack US financial institutions and gain control of a New York dam. ISIS has released a kill list complete with stolen US federal employee information. Russia has attacked our democratic system through a combination of cyber theft and massive botnets used to propagate fake news. And North Korea is alleged to be behind a series of attacks including Sony Entertainment and culminating in the global WannaCry ransomware attack in May.

Why have we been unable to defend against these attacks? What is being done to prevent and protect us from potential future threats? The “WannaCry” attack and most recent “Petya” attack have caused damage on a global scale, and have even taken lives. Further, it appears such attacks have made use of stolen NSA cyber weapons previously distributed on the dark web and available for sale.

Nicole Perlroth, cyber security reporter for The New York Times, will discuss these attacks and what to expect for the future of cyber warfare.

SPEAKER:

Nicole Perlroth
Reporter, The New York Times

MODERATOR:

Kim Zetter
Author, Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1749

If pluralism is essential to free and functioning societies, it is also the sine qua non of liberal democracy, and essential to the legitimacy – and sustainability – of the state. But when states fail to meet the needs of their citizens and collapse into violent conflict, what is the role of the international community and global civil society? Where does responsibility lie? We will explore interventions along the conflict continuum as well as global norms that assign responsibility. Will citizens trust their government, if access to health, education, jobs and even justice is uneven? And when governance fails, how can human security be assured? This conversation will focus on governments and the governed, with particular attention to access to justice and examples of conflict prevention, conflict resolution and post-conflict reconciliation. Throughout, the role of race, gender, religious affiliation and ethnicity will be explored.

Robert Malley, incoming Vice President for Policy, International Crisis Group (moderator)

David Miliband, President and CEO, International Rescue Committee

John Prendergast, Founding Director, Enough Project

Yifat Susskind, Executive Director, MADRE

David Tolbert, President, International Center for Transitional Justice

Robin Wright, Senior Fellow, The US Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson Center

For more information about this event please visit: https://philanthropyforum.org/conference/gpf-2017/

President Trump once pledged to “tear up” the Iran nuclear agreement. Now, the world watches to see the fate of an agreement considered by some to be a pivotal victory in American foreign policy, and by others as a mistake.

Trita Parsi, the preeminent Middle East foreign policy expert who advised the Obama White House throughout the Iran talks, takes us behind the scenes to examine the negotiations. Was a better deal to be had in 2015? What have been the benefits gained, or disasters averted, under the deal? Parsi provides a nuanced and thoughtful view of the agreement designed to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Will the Iran deal survive the Trump Presidency? If the agreement can be viewed as a down-payment on improved US-Iranian relations, has that now been squandered by the sabre-rattling that followed? What are the options and consequences of a renegotiation and, without the support of an international coalition, does an effort to renegotiate have the impact of removing the US from a position of influence on this important subject? What is the benefit where each side abides by the letter of an agreement, but does not act in the spirit of the agreement?

SPEAKER:

Trita Parsi
President, National Iranian American Council

MODERATOR:

Neil Joeck
Research Scholar, Institute for International Studies, University of California, Berkeley

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1747

Jim Yong Kim, President, World Bank Group, in conversation with Jane Wales, Founder, Global Philanthropy Forum.

Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank.

For more information about this event: https://www.philanthropyforum.org/conference/gpf-2017/agenda/

Imagine if you had no choice but to flee your country. Where would you go? How would you cope? What would you need to rebuild your life in exile? These are the questions that three million South Sudanese have had to ask themselves in the face an unrelenting civil war, famine, violence and persecution. And as conflicts across the globe have forced millions to flee their homes, the international debate on refugee policy rages on. How does South Sudan fit into this broader narrative, and what lessons can be learned from its citizens cast into uncertain exile?

Join World Affairs as we examine this pressing global issue from both policy and human perspectives. Gabriel Akim, spokesperson for Rebuild South Sudan, Diana Essex-Lettieri, Deputy Director of Asylum Access, and Valentino Achak Deng, co-founder of the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, will call upon their unique expertise and personal experience to shed light on what it means to be displaced from war-torn South Sudan.

As part of our "Engage" series, this event features a post-discussion Q&A, when you will have the chance to participate directly with the speaker and gain incredible insights that you won't get anywhere else.

SPEAKERS

Valentino Achak Deng
Co-founder, Valentino Achak Deng Foundation

Gabriel Akim
Advisor, Rebuild South Sudan

Diana Essex-Lettieri
Deputy Director, Asylum Access

MODERATOR:

Jane Wales
CEO, World Affairs and Global Philanthropy Forum; Vice President, The Aspen Institute

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1743

In 2018, Russia will hold its presidential election, and few are likely to oppose the current president, Vladimir Putin. One of the potential challengers gaining momentum is Alexei Navalny, a central figure in the pro-democracy movement. Since 2011, this small but passionate opposition group has captured the attention of many disaffected Russians angered by corruption, economic disparity and the restriction of civil liberties. What can Russia's pro-democracy movement do to break through a culture of systemic corruption to win the election? What can the opposition do to build support among all Russians?

Vladimir Ashurkov, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation and close colleague of Alexei Navalny, will provide insight into the pro-democracy campaign, recent protests in Moscow and the many challenges facing the opposition movement.

SPEAKER:

Vladimir Ashurkov
Executive Director, Anti-Corruption Foundation

MODERATOR:

Carla Thorson
Senior Vice President, Programs, World Affairs

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1744

The American dream used to be founded on the goal of finding a good, stable job to spend the majority of one’s career — but this is no longer the norm. Over the last seventy years, the standard employer-employee relationship has drastically changed. Companies no longer offer the same level of job security, regular pay increases, guaranteed pensions, robust health benefits and other social benefits as they did in the past. This shift in the corporate social contract has taken a toll on loyalty on both sides.

Senior Advisor and former Executive Director at the Drucker Institute, Rick Wartzman, discusses his recent book "The End of Loyalty: The Rise and Fall of Good Jobs in America," which chronicles the erosion of the relationship between major American businesses and their workers. Have these new workplace practices decreased morale and productivity? How can America revitalize its middle class? What is the new American Dream?

SPEAKER:

Rick Wartzman
Senior Advisor and Former Executive Director, The Drucker Institute

MODERATOR:

John Sepulvado
Host of The California Report, KQED Public Radio

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1739