Past Events

Three senior experts who advised the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States and supported its deliberations will discuss their views on the report's findings and recommendations.

Despite the $10 billion spent on training, the Afghan police are "the weak link in the security chain," according to Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke. Police expansion is a major component of President Obama's strategy for Afghanistan, but there is widespread concern about this program.

Haiti has received unprecedented diplomatic attention this year, with visits from the UN Secretary General, Secretary of State and former President Clinton, and the UN Security Council. The April 14 international donors' conference yielded $324 million in new pledges. The Senate elections saw little violence, but low turnout. Has Haiti reached a genuine turning point?

This public event looks at how different types of conflict affect economic behaviors at the household level. The presenters, Tilman Brueck and Kati Schindler, will discuss the impacts of conflict through the use of household survey data collected from both Mozambique and Rwanda, where post-conflict environments impaired household boundaries, asset endowments, and the types of income-generating activities households engaged in. They will also offer a set of policy recommendations for decision-makers and practitioners.

At the dawn of the twentieth century Burma was the richest country in Southeast Asia. By the dawn of the twenty-first it was the poorest. The journey between these poles is the political and economic history of modern Burma. It is a history in which the common thread has been the failure to fashion the institutions necessary for sustained economic growth - including that of a properly functioning financial system. A careful analysis of Burma's financial system - of its banks, moneylenders and 'microfinanciers' - reveals volumes about the country's descent, its current circumstances, and also about finding ways forward.

Effective and sustainable state-building requires a balanced application of all instruments of foreign assistance, particularly defense, diplomacy and development (the 3Ds).

Amid ongoing concerns over North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, China and North Korea are celebrating the "Year of Sino-DPRK Friendship," commemorating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Based on new materials, panelists Jin Linbo, John Park, James Person, and Bernd Schaefer examined the history of the Sino-DPRK alliance and its limits.

This event featured Jan Eliasson, former United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Darfur and President of the United Nations General Assembly and current Senior Visiting Scholar at USIP. Ambassador Eliasson discussed his experience as Special Envoy, lessons learned and prospects for peace in Sudan, with a focus on Darfur.