What comes to mind when you think of Islam? Current headlines often focus on ISIS and Islamic fundamentalism, or power struggles between Sunni and Shia. But perpetrators of violence make up only a tiny minority of the world’s over 1.5 billion Muslims. Why do some see Islam as a religion that promotes violence or oppression? How can we change this narrative and better understand the peaceful faith of the majority? If current trends continue, Islam will catch up to and then eclipse Christianity in the coming half century. As the world’s Muslim population continues to grow, will we move towards greater understanding and acceptance? Join us for a conversation about this widespread and multifaceted religion.

Speakers Karima Bennoune, Professor of International Law at the UC Davis School of Law, and Farhana Khera, President and Executive Director of Muslim Advocates, are in discussion.

Sara Abbasi, Founding Board Member of Developments in Literacy, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1576

From the water-barren fields of African farmers to rice paddies in Bangladesh, droughts and floods caused by climate change disrupt food production, distribution and consumption on a growing scale. What actions can be taken at the local, national and transnational level to ensure that growing populations are able feed themselves and generations to come while adapting to gradual or even rapid changes in the climate?

Speakers:

Josette Lewis
Associate Director, World Food Center, UC Davis

David Lobell
Deputy Director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment; Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University

David Waskow
Director, International Climate Initiative, World Resources Institute

Moderator:

Maximilian Auffhammer
George Pardee Jr. Professor of International Sustainable Development, University of California, Berkeley

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1543

Today’s battlefields are not clearly defined. On the ground, we see drawn out campaigns and militants living and fighting among civilians. Warfare has become more autonomous, with the use of unmanned drones. It has also moved into the digital realm. In recent years, concerns about cyberattacks have grown and hackers have joined terrorists on the list of global threats. But this situation is not new – we have been fighting cyberwars for decades. From the Gulf War to conflicts in Serbia and Iraq, warfare has entered a digital battlefield.

What does war look like in the digital age? How has the United States integrated cyberwar into its national security strategy? What do we know about other countries' cyber programs and the potential risks they pose? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Fred Kaplan will examine the history of cyberwar and consider its implications for future conflicts.

Kaplan is the author, most recently, of "Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War" (Simon & Schuster, March 2016).

Speaker Fred Kaplan is the National Security Columnist for Slate.

Herbert Lin is the Senior Research Scholar for Cyber Policy and Security, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1572

Our world is changing rapidly. New technologies and other innovations impact almost every aspect of our lives. And this trend is only accelerating. In the coming decade, advances in fields such as robotics, cybersecurity and genomics will reshape much of the global economic landscape. What opportunities will these changes present? How will they affect the jobs of tomorrow, and how will we adapt to the changing nature of work? Will the world’s rising nations keep pace with Silicon Valley in creating their own innovation hotspots?

Leading innovation expert Alec Ross will explain what’s next for the world – the advances and stumbling blocks that will emerge in the next ten years, and how we can navigate them.

Speaker Alec Ross is Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Johns Hopkins University.

Brad Stone, Senior Writer, Bloomberg Businessweek, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/event-calendar/event/1569

From border disputes to foreign wars to the Taliban, many forces are at play in destabilizing South Asia. And the simmering conflicts of today have not emerged out of thin air. Much can be traced back through the region's fraught history.

Relations between India and Pakistan have been marred by tension and conflict since they became sovereign states nearly 70 years ago. The two countries have been unable to sustain constructive engagement, and their disputes remain a major cause of regional instability - and even global concern.

What lessons can be learned from the past in order to foster increased security and cooperation in the region? How can India and Pakistan overcome the legacy of Partition and find ways to manage shared challenges, from disaster relief to counterterrorism? Nisid Hajari, author of the recently published "Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India’s Partition," will share insights into this complex relationship and its implications for regional security.

Speaker Nisid Hajari is Asia Editor at Bloomberg View.

Jonathan Karp, Executive Director of the Asia Society Southern California, moderates the conversation.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1560