In recent years we have seen diseases spread around the globe at an alarming rate, from West Nile virus to SARS to swine flu. Globalization has magnified the potential reach of these diseases, increasing the speed with which they spread and the size of the population that can be affected. Rapid transmission over a large area, rather than the severity of the disease itself, is what transforms an illness into a pandemic.

Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty emphasizes that pandemics can be fought effectively, both through simple health practices and new research. Drawing on his extensive experience in the fields of pathology and immunology, Dr. Doherty will discuss pandemics, how they spread and what we can do to prevent them.

Speaker Peter Doherty is the Michael F. Tamer Chair of Biomedical Research at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

For more information about this event, visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/2013/disease-in-a-borderless-world.html

The world is awash in change. What can be done to re-create the relative stability which emerged from the creative efforts of statesmen after the end of World War II?

"Issues on My Mind" contains some of George Shultz's most compelling analyses on relevent topics. In this how-to guide, Shultz charts a path to a better future for the United States and the rest of the world, including how to govern more effectively, get our economy back on track, take advantage of new opportunities in the field of energy, combat the use of addictive drugs, apply a strategic overview to diplomacy and identify necessary steps to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.

Moderator Jane Wales, President and CEO, World Affairs Council, speaks with George Shultz, Former Secretary of State.

For more information about this event, visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/2013/issues-on-my-mind.html

The 'Arab Spring' has brought both the promise of reforms around women's rights and the potential for setbacks in the movement. Human Rights Watch has documented the violations associated with the old regimes and the uprisings and has sought to make recommendations to new governments that will strengthen and protect women's rights. As political reforms take place in these transitional countries, will the status of women progress as well? And how can organizations like Human Rights Watch positively influence this progress in the region?

Liesl Gerntholtz, the executive director of the women's rights division at Human Rights Watch, and Hillary Margolis, the women's rights division's researcher on women's rights in Syria, will explore the impact of political transitions on the position of women, drawing on examples from Libya, Yemen, Egypt and Syria.

For more information about this event, please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/2013/womens-rights-in-transition.html

The World Affairs Council is honored to host the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States of America, his excellency Ahn Ho-young. Ambassador Ahn is a graduate of the Department of International Relations at Seoul National University and Georgetown University. Ambassador Ahn joined the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1978. During his career he has lead Korean Delegations to the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization. He has held numerous ministry-level positions within Korea, including the Director-General of the Multilateral Trade Bureau and Deputy Minister for Trade. Prior to his appointment in the US, Ahn was Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Korean Mission to the European Union.

In the past few decades, China has experienced remarkable growth. It is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and the G-20. It has the world's largest standing army, the world's second largest economy and has reduced national poverty by more than half. How did China emerge from the decline and unrest of the 19th century to become the global power that we see today?

According to John Delury and Orville Schell, the country's past provides an understanding of the forces that molded modern China. Many influential figures in China's history were driven by their pursuit of wealth and power, and a desire for the restoration of national greatness, ambitions that have come to define the modern Chinese character. Delury and Schell will offer insights into how China's past shaped its present, and what we might expect in the future.
Speakers: Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director, Center on US-China Relations, Asia Society
http://www.worldaffairs.org/speakers/profile/orville-schell.html

John Delury, Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies, Yonsei University
http://www.worldaffairs.org/speakers/profile/john-delury.htm

Moderator: Thomas Gold, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley
http://www.worldaffairs.org/speakers/profile/thomas-gold.html

Learn more: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/2013/modern-china.html

Following the burst of the housing bubble in 2008 and the subsequent worldwide financial crisis, governments began looking for ways to tighten their purse strings. Austerity (the sequester in the US) is one of the main policy options to deal with heavy public debt. Sometimes a painful process and not without controversy, austerity generates substantial cuts to many public services. According to Dr. Basu, when approached incorrectly austerity can also have deadly consequences. Drawing on case studies starting during the Great Depression up to the present day Basu has found that certain austerity measures have led to large public health problems such as HIV and malaria outbreaks, medicine shortages, increased heart attacks and even a recent outbreak of West Nile virus in California. However, it doesn’t have to be this way, according to Basu. Several countries such as Iceland and Japan have actually improved their public health situations in tough economic times. Which direction will the sequester take the US and California? Join the conversation with Dr. Sanjay Basu to find out.

Speaker: Sanjay Basu, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University

http://www.worldaffairs.org/speakers/profile/sanjay-basu.html

Turkey has been enmeshed in a wave of nationwide anti-government protests in recent months. The unrest began in late May when police used harsh tactics against campaigners opposed to plans to redevelop a central Istanbul park. The police reaction ignited broader demonstrations against Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government. The unprecedented expansion of the demonstrations and riots suggests that the outburst of anger and opposition was fueled by more than a simple determination to save a green space in central Istanbul. For many Turks, the unrest appears to have been a reaction to the perceived autocratic leanings of the prime minister and resistance to the direction of Turkish democracy, freedom of expression and the role of religion in society.

The crisis comes at a delicate time for Prime Minster Erdogan, who is in the midst of a fragile peace initiative with the Kurdish minority, dealing with an escalating war next door in Syria, and trying to convince parliament to strengthen the office of the president, which he is expected to run for as his final term as prime minister winds down.

Former White House Director for Turkish Affairs Jeffrey Collins, prominent Turkish political commentator Mustafa Akyol and Turkish academic and activist Tuğba Tanyeri-Erdemir will discuss the underlying causes of the recent protests, and assess their likely impact on Turkey’s domestic and foreign policy.

Speakers:

Hurricane Sandy, record wildfires and intensified cycles of drought and flood have awakened the American public to the climate crisis at hand. What few know is that, in large part because of successful environmental activism, including the retirement of dirty coal plants, the United States has become a global leader in the fight to reduce carbon pollution, while innovations in wind, solar and other renewables are generating more power, more jobs and a healthier quality of life every day.

As  the leader of America's largest and most effective grassroots environmental organization, Michael Brune will discuss how averting the potential global catastrophe caused by climate disruption is also a historic chance to create a better world, powered by clean energy prosperity.

Speaker: Michael Brune Executive Director, Sierra Club
http://www.worldaffairs.org/speakers/profile/michael-brune.html

Moderator: Maureen Blanc, Trustee, World Affairs Council
http://www.worldaffairs.org/about/leadership/executive-committee/maureen-blanc.html

Learn more: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/2013/climate-crisis.html

Iran's presidential elections take place on June 14, and it is certain that a new leader will replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is constitutionally barred from running for a third term. Of the 700 hopeful candidates who have registered, only a few will be allowed to run by the Guardian Council -- a group of twelve men mostly appointed by the Supreme Leader. What remains uncertain is which candidates will run and how contested this election might be.

In 2009, Iran's previous elections were controversial, sparking a Green Revolution and weeks of violent protests. This year, regardless of who is ultimately chosen, Iran's next president will undoubtedly inherit many challenges, ranging from the country's relations with the Syrian regime to its nuclear program to the need to bolster an economy that suffers from 30% inflation and crippling international sanctions.

Iran expert Abbas Milani will discuss the election's outcome and what the change in leadership means for the region, the US and the world.

Speaker: Abbas Milani, Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies, Stanford University
http://www.worldaffairs.org/speakers/profile/abbas-milani.html

Moderator: Charles Frankel, Honorary Consul, Republic of Botswana

Learn more: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/2013/iranian-presidential-elections.html

Remarkable advances in existing technologies, from hydraulic fracturing to horizontal and deepwater drilling to renewables such as solar and wind, have brought America to a new level of energy production. However, as America's energy demands continue to grow, the debate over where this energy should come from intensifies, with some arguing in favor of fossil fuels and others championing renewable power.

Believing that this head to head clash of old versus new is unproductive, Michael Levi argues that neither side presents a perfect solution and that both emerging movements in American energy offer great opportunities for the US to strengthen its economy, bolster its security and protect the environment. Levi will discuss the future of American energy and offer a new strategy that blends the best of both sides.

Speaker: Michael Levi, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment and Director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change, Council on Foreign Relations
http://www.worldaffairs.org/speakers/profile/michael-levi.html

Moderator: Michael Levi, Senior Adviser, TPG Capital
Learn more: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/2013/americas-energy-opportunity.html