The top one percent of Americans controls 40 percent of the nation's wealth, and while those at the top enjoy the best health care, education, and benefits, Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz argues they fail to realize that their fate is bound up with how the other 99 percent live.

Drawing on his distinguished career in economics, Stiglitz will address America’s growing inequality and why, in his view, it is not inevitable. In an increasingly divided society, finding nuanced solutions to the most pressing global issues has become seemingly impossible; Stiglitz will examine this phenomenon and explore its implications for democracy, for monetary and budgetary policy, and for globalization.

In the age of nuclear nonproliferation policy, rogue nations seeking to develop their own nuclear technology, and an epic disaster in Japan, nuclear energy is a hot topic that many people are now familiar with. What many are unaware of is the story of what nuclear power could have been at the dawn of the atomic age. Join Richard Martin, Editorial Director at Pike Research and Contributing Editor for Wired magazine, for a thought provoking discussion about the history and future of thorium power.

In late 2010, no one would have predicted the changes that lay ahead in 2011 around the Middle East. What began in Tunisia started a chain reaction and 2011 became the year of revolt and revolution across the region. Some think the Arab awakening has petered out, but according to Marc Lynch, the biggest transformations of what has been labeled the “Arab Spring” are yet to come. Join Professor Marc Lynch, an American Policy and Arab public insider, and author ofForeign Policy Magazine’s Abu Aardvark Middle East blog, for an in-depth discussion about what still lies ahead for the Middle East and what further transformations we may expect.

In the US, Fair Trade USA has been at the forefront of this movement, catalyzing the growth of a market that gives citizens the opportunity to voice their choice for a fair economic system. Yet as the market has expanded, debate has grown over the limitations and scalability of the model. Paul Rice, President and CEO of Fair Trade USA, will discuss the successes and challenges of fair trade and his organization’s growth plan for the future.

What will the overall results mean for Europe’s second largest economy, and how do we explain them? Given France’s own economic woes, what are the economic challenges the next president will face? What does the strong first round showing from the far-right National Front party indicate for France, and what effect will this constituency have on the second round? After the elections, will France have a different role to play in the European Union negotiations? 

Join Dr. Jonah Levy, specialist in French Politics and Vice Chair of UC Berkeley’s Political Science Department, for a post-election review and a discussion about the implications of the outcome during this interesting time for France.

The World Affairs Council is pleased to welcome the Honorable Stephen Rapp, Ambassador-at-Large for the Department of State’s Office of Global Criminal Justice, to discuss how the US can further accountability for mass atrocities and crimes against humanity at a time when important tribunals and special courts are coming to a close and when the International Criminal Court has limited reach and capacity.

The Office of Global Criminal Justice advises Secretary of State Clinton and formulates US policy on prevention and accountability for mass atrocities that occur throughout the world. It also coordinates US government support for international and hybrid courts that are currently conducting trials for war crimes, genocide, and other atrocities.

Ambassador Rapp was previously the head prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and has held his current post since 2009. With ongoing wars and conflicts around the world that inevitably create tragic crimes against humanity, the work of the Office of Global Criminal Justice is ever more relevant.

What does war look like through the eyes of a 'child soldier'? This question has been investigated by journalists, yet it is rare to find a first-person account from someone who endured the atrocities and survived.

Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone and UNICEF Advocate for Children Affected by War, will discuss his story of abduction and war in Sierra Leone.

In a country ravaged by war, Beah spent several years with armed militia forces before finally being rescued and rehabilitated. Tens of thousands of children are recruited and used in various capacities by armed forces or armed groups in over 15 countries around the world. Beah will discuss the use children as a tool of war and how we can help stop it.

This election year two of the most hotly debated topics are the state of the US economy and the size of the national debt. As it stands there is more than $30,000 of debt for every person in the US, Congress is entrenched in a bitter fight over deficits, the government has been brought to the brink of shutdown multiple times, and, as a result, government approval is at an all time low.

Many politicians are calling for drastic cuts in essential public programs such as Social Security and Medicare in hopes of lowering the deficit, but will these cuts do anything other than worsen the quality of life for thousands of low-income and elderly Americans?

Join Simon Johnson, former Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund, as he unravels the conundrum of the national debt, tracks the rise of the US dollar, examines the roots of the current dysfunctional and impotent Congress, and posits a solution to our debt crisis that will result in a strengthened economy without slashing social support programs.

The road to economic recovery is long and difficult. Despite positive change and an unemployment rate at a three-year low, the ratings agencies are considering yet another downgrade of US credit and the world is beginning to consider the real consequences of an ongoing US economic downturn.

Long gone are the days of seemingly unending American prosperity and unquestioned US leadership against clear and identifiable enemies. Today the US and the nations that rely on its support need to make a major shift if they are to meet the economic, political and diplomatic challenges that lie ahead.

Michael Moran, one of the world’s leading geopolitical and economic forecasters and the director and editor-in-chief of Renaissance Insight, will talk about how America and its allies can successfully navigate this transition and avoid the pitfalls of clinging to the power structure of the 20th century.

With the killing of Osama bin Laden, President Obama closed one chapter of US history; unfortunately, the next is looming large.

As years of sanctions and careful diplomatic negotiations with Iran deteriorate into an increasingly fragile state of affairs, President Obama is left with few choices: attempt to restart what many consider failed negotiations or seriously consider a preventative strike.

Trita Parsi is the President of the National Iranian American Council and the author of the new book, A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran. He contends that diplomacy with Iran did not fail—it was abandoned. Real diplomacy has barely been tried, he argues, and it remains the only promising option for achieving America’s goals with regard to Iran.

Parsi will examine the Obama administration's early diplomatic gestures towards Iran and discuss the best ways to move toward more positive relations between the two discordant states.