The grandson of refugees in Mexico, Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan is a career diplomat. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs and was posted in 1993 to the Mexican Embassy in the United States where he first served as Chief of Staff to the Ambassador, and then as head of the counternarcotics office. In 2000 he became Chief of Policy Planning at the Foreign Ministry and was appointed by the President as Mexican Consul General to New York City in 2003. He took a leave of absence from the Foreign Service in 2006 to join the presidential campaign of Felipe Calderón as Foreign Policy Advisor and International Spokesperson, and became Coordinator for Foreign Affairs in the transition team. In November 2006 he received the rank of Ambassador, and in February 2007 was appointed Mexican Ambassador to the United States.

What can the United States do to help realize its dream of a peaceful, democratic Middle East? Would a re-shaping of traditional alliances in the region offer the solution? In his new book, Stephen Kinzer argues that two up-and-coming Middle Eastern powers, Iran and Turkey, will be America’s logical partners in the twenty-first century. He also recommends the United States reshape its relations with two traditional Middle East allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, if it stands any chance in breaking the Middle-East stalemate. Labeled by The Washington Post “among the best in popular foreign policy storytelling,” Kinzer offers the Council his alternative ideas on America’s role in the Middle East and attempts to move this vital policy issue beyond the alternatives of the last fifty years.

In The End of the Free Market, Ian Bremmer details the growing phenomenon of state capitalism, a system in which governments drive local economies through ownership of market-dominant companies and large pools of excess capital, using them for political gain. This trend threatens America’s competitive edge and the conduct of free markets everywhere. Bremmer follows the rise of state-owned firms in China, Russia, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Iran, Venezuela and elsewhere. He demonstrates the growing challenge that state capitalism will pose for the entire global economy. Are we on the brink of a new kind of Cold War, one that pits competing economic systems in a battle for dominance? Can free market countries compete with state capitalist powerhouses over relations with countries that have elements of both systems—like Brazil, India and Mexico? Does state capitalism have staying power?

Jonathan Alter, a Newsweek columnist and contributing correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC, joins the Council to discuss his new book, The Promise: President Obama, Year One. Providing an inside account of President Obama and his administration in action, Alter will assess Obama’s foreign policy performance so far—from sending over 60,000 more troops to Afghanistan, to the Copenhagen climate accord, to nuclear nonproliferation, to US-Israeli relations, to closing the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, to combating terrorism at home and abroad. Among many revelations, Alter discloses that Obama reproached Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for encouraging insubordination, and pursued major healthcare reform in 2009 over the objections of his Vice President, Chief of Staff, and all of his other senior advisors. Alter will also discuss President Obama’s domestic initiatives, including the stimulus package, the bank and auto industry bailouts, regulation of the financial industry, and healthcare reform.

Asia has been successful in expanding its domestic economies, integrating them, and linking them to the global economy. Market-led integration backed by national efforts and regional cooperation has greatly benefited the region and helped it to sustain high growth. But why, despite a dense network of arrangements and institutions, does Asia remain “institution-lite”—marked by few formal or explicit commitments from member countries in terms of agenda for cooperation? Two distinguished economists will present on the Asian Development Bank’s new flagship study “Institutions for Asian Regionalism: Enhancing Cooperation and Integration in Asia and the Pacific.” Eichengreen and Madhur will lay out a framework to strengthen the region’s institutional architecture to achieve the goal of an Asian Economic Community.

Without a central government for almost two decades, Somalia is often referred to as a failed state. In recent years, it has endured an incursion by troops from neighboring Ethiopia, a thriving black market in ammunition and arms sales and the rise of piracy on its shores; all this while trying to end nearly two decades of civil war. No matter its many troubles, Somalia has survived and there are still some isolated pockets of stability. Reverend William Swing will discuss four groups of Muslims, all affiliated with the United Religions Initiative, who have come together to build on these elements of civil society in Somalia. The Rt. Rev. William Swing served as the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California from 1980-2006. He founded the United Religions Initiative (URI) in 2000 with the goals of promoting enduring, daily interfaith cooperation and ending religiously motivated violence. Today the URI is working in 75 countries, including 23 or the world hot spots of religiously-motivated conflict. URI work touches the lives of more than 2.5 million people each year.

The Global Philanthropy Forum and the World Affairs Council are honored to host the Department of the Treasury’s Under Secretary for International Affairs, The Honorable Lael Brainard. Recently confirmed by the Senate, she is entrusted with advancing the Obama Administration’s agenda to foster growth, create economic opportunities for Americans and address transnational economic challenges, including development, climate change, food security and financial inclusion.Before joining the Treasury Department, Under Secretary Brainard most recently served as Vice President and Founding Director of the Global Economy and Development Program at The Brookings Institution. Her prior government service includes tenure as the Deputy National Economic Adviser and Deputy Assistant to the President on International Economics during the Clinton Administration, addressing challenges such as the Asian financial crisis and China’s access to the World Trade Organization.

Drawing on the studies of religion and politics, Ron Hassner will offer insight into the often-violent dynamics that come into play at the places where religion and politics collide. He contends that sacred sites are particularly prone to conflict because they provide valuable resources for both religious and political actors yet cannot be divided. And due to their spiritual and cultural importance, holy places can therefore create the potential for military, theological, or political clashes, not only between competing religious groups but also between religious groups and secular actors. In his new book, War on Sacred Grounds, Ron Hassner investigates the causes and properties of conflicts over sites that are both venerated and contested, and proposes potential means for managing these disputes. He will discuss the failures to reach a settlement at Temple Mount/Haram el-Sharif that led to the clashes of 2000, and the competing claims of Hindus and Muslims at Ayodhya, which resulted in the destruction of the mosque there in 1992. He will also address more successful compromises in Jerusalem in 1967 and Mecca in 1979.

Across the Middle East, a grassroots reform movement is stirring as women increasingly demand their rights. Isobel Coleman will discuss how, in a time of rising religiosity, many of these activists today are working within an Islamic framework to bring about sustainable change, rather than trying to fight against the pervasive influence of Islam. In her new book, Paradise Beneath Her Feet, she highlights the lives of courageous women in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq who are fighting for economic and social change. Coleman argues that their success is crucial for progress and stability in the Islamic world, and that a growing movement of Islamic feminism could be one of the strongest forces for moderating extremism.

Simon Johnson argues that the fundamental causes of our financial crisis are still with us and that a second financial shock is inevitable. He makes the case that until recently President Obama has been more aligned with bankers than consumers and that there has been a complete breakdown of consumer protection regarding mortgages and other financial products. He joins the Council to argue that the six largest banks comprise a powerful and dangerous oligarchy, and that the regulatory agencies in charge of policing financial institutions have been co-opted by the banks and now act in their interests. Breaking up the big banks, he asserts, is essential for any meaningful financial reform. Simon Johnson, a former chief economist at the IMF and now co-author of 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown, is one of the most authoritative voices on world economics.