Past Speakers
 

2024

November 13, 2024

Nicholas Kralev, Executive Director, Washington International Diplomatic Academy

TOPIC - U.S. Diplomacy After the 2024 Presidential Election

October 7, 2024

Matt Pottinger, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor 2019-2021
T
OPIC - Embracing Deterrence: How to Keep the New Cold War with China from Turning Hot

June 6, 2024

Bradley Lusk, Fellow American Association for the Advancement of  Science

TOPIC - International Water Security, Sanitation, and Hygiene

May 15, 2024

James Dao, Editor for the Boston Globe

TOPIC - Disinformation, the Media and the 2024 Elections

April 16, 2024

Major Kenneth Bell, United States Air Force, National Intelligence University

TOPIC - Space as a Warfighting Domain

February 27, 2024

Lieutenant General Lawrence Nicolson, United States Marine Corps

TOPIC - The Growing Conflict in the Middle East with Iran and its Surrogates

January 26, 2024

Suzanne Loftus, Global Fellow at the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute

TOPIC - Russia's War in Ukraine Nearly Two Years in: Implications for US Foreign Policy

2023

December 19, 2023

Rachael Rizzo, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Europe Center

TOPIC - The Transatlantic Relationship - Past, Present and Future
 

November 14, 2023

Sarah Yerkes, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

TOPIC - The Gaza War: How did we get here?

October 18, 2023

Elisabeth Braw, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute

TOPIC - The West vs the Rest: What the Growing Geopolitical Tension Means for the Globalized Economy
 

May 30, 2023

Gonul Tol, Director Middle East Institute's Program on Turkey

TOPIC - Turkey and President Erdogan: A Strongman's Struggle at Home and in Syria
 

April 21, 2023

Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow and Vice President of Policy at the Middle East Institute

TOPIC - The Middle East as a Central Arena for Global Competition: The China-Brokered Saudi-Iranian Pact

March 31, 2023

Peter Rough, Director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute

TOPIC - Ukraine on the Global Chessboard
 

February 24, 2023

David Daoud, Research Analyst for the Atlantic Council and for United Against Nuclear Iran

TOPIC - Israel: The Significance of the New Right Wing Government for Israel, the Palestinians and Ukraine

January 27, 2023

Dean Cheng, Senior Fellow with the Potomac Institute and Senior Advisor for the US Institute of Peace

TOPIC - The United States and China: Comprehensive Competition in the 21st Century

2022

November 30, 2022

Thomas Shannon, Jr., Ambassador to Brazil 2010-2013 and former US Deputy Secretary of State
TOPIC - The Return of Lula: Impact of Brazil's Elections on the United States and our Hemisphere

October 21, 2022

Aparna Pande, Research Fellow and Director, Hudson Institute's Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia

TOPIC - Making India Great: The Promise of a Reluctant Global Power

April 26, 2022

William Drozdiak, Senior Fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institute

TOPIC - The Last President of Europe: Emmanuel Macron’s Race to Revive France and Save the World

April 5, 2022

Miles Hansen, President and CEO World Trade Center Utah

TOPIC - Russia's War in Ukraine: Possible Endings and Ramifications

March 8, 2022

Annie Pforzheimer, Adjunct Professor City University of New York

TOPIC - The Current Situation in Afghanistan: Impact of US Windrawal and the Taliban Takeover

2021

November 19, 2021

Professor Michael C. Kimmage, Catholic University of America and the Kennan Institute

TOPIC - Where Does Russia Fit? Russia in the Foreign Policy of the Biden Administration

October 19, 2021

China Town Hall

TOPIC - Virtual interview with Fareed Zakaria, discussion afterwards by Prof. Robert Griffiths

Trade, economic and military conflicts, the future of Taiwan

May 19, 2021

Annie Pforzheimer, Center for Strategic and International Studies

TOPIC - The Next Phase of US Engagement in Afghanistan

April 21, 2021

Jason Tower, United States Institute of Peace

TOPIC - Myanmar's Coup: International Shockwaves and Prospects for Peace and Democracy

March 17, 2021

Tony Wayne, Woodrow Wilson International Center and former US Ambassador to Mexico

TOPIC - The Importance of Getting US-Mexico Relations Right 

February 17, 2021

Lawrence J. Haas, American Foreign Policy Council

TOPIC - Biden and the US Global Role: Restoring America's Moral Voice

January 13, 2021

Charles Kupchan, Council on Foreign Relations

TOPIC - Aspects of Trump's Foreign Policy Were Good for the US and Biden Should Keep Them

2020

November 18, 2020

David Sacks, Council on Foreign Relations

TOPIC - US/Taiwan Relations in the Xi Jinping Era

October 21, 2020

Raphael Cohen, Phd, RAND Corporation

TOPIC - The Future of Warfare and the Implications for American Defense Policy

September 16, 2020

Sankar Swaminathan, MD

TOPIC - The COVID19  Epidemic: How and When It Will End

February 11, 2020

Dennis Jett

TOPIC - Making Foreign Policy Today: And Why Incoherence May Be Here to Stay

January 3, 2020

Andrew G. McCabe

TOPIC - The Threat: How the FBI Protects America

2019

November 18, 2019

China Town Hall

TOPIC - Telecast of a panel discussion on China moderated by George Stephanopoulos

October 23, 2019

SPEAKER - Barbara Slavin

TOPIC - Iran: Back to the Axis of Evil

May 22, 2019

SPEAKER - Miles Hansen

TOPIC - Saudi Arabia and Mohammad bin Salman

April 24, 2019

SPEAKER -  Aparna Pande

TOPIC - India's Critical Parliamentary Elections of 2019 - What Lies Ahead?

March 18, 2019

SPEAKER - Jim Dao, New York Times Op-Ed Editor

Topic - The Rise of Illiberal Democracy and the Threat to Free Speech and Independent Journalism

February 26, 2019

SPEAKER - Joe Bryan

Topic - Climate Change, Clean Energy, and National Security: Why US Leadership Matters

January 14, 2019

SPEAKER - Matthew Brodsky

Topic - Syria and the Impact of a U.S. Withdrawal

   2018

November 27, 2018

SPEAKER - Theodore Bromund

Topic - Brexit: Its Past, Present and Future

October 30, 2018

SPEAKER - Maria J. Stephan

TOPIC - How Civil Resistance Can Challenge Rising Global Authoritarianism

October 2, 2018

SPEAKER - Gene Fitzgerald

TOPIC - Saint Vladimir of Putin in the Russian Historical Context

May 22, 2018

SPEAKER - Dean Cheng

TOPIC - Northeast Asian Security:  The Three Nots

April 11, 2018

SPEAKER:  Adam Lysenko

TOPIC:  The Post-Engagement US-China Relationship

March 21

SPEAKER:  Daniel Benaim

TOPIC - The Trump Administration and the Middle East

February 21, 2018

SPEAKER:  Burton Hersh

TOPIC:  On the Assassination of JFK--in the Time of Trump

January 17, 2018

SPEAKER - Paul Zajac

TOPIC - Emmanuel Macron's Vision for France and Europe

2017

November 29, 2017

SPEAKER - William Wechler

TOPIC - Terrorists, Criminals and Drug Cartels - Combatting Threats from Non-State Actors

October 30, 2017

SPEAKER - Moises Rendon

TOPIC - Venezuela, the New Totalitarian Regime

October 11, 2017

SPEAKER - Omar Samad

TOPIC - Afghanistan: "Is There a Light at the End of This Tunnel?

May 17, 2017

SPEAKER - Nick Heras

TOPIC - What Does It Mean to Put Iran on Notice?

April 19, 2017

SPEAKER - Ambassador Vicki J. Huddleston, Ret.

TOPIC - From Obama to Trump -- What's Next in U.S. and Cuba Relations?

March 14, 2017

SPEAKER - Christopher Wilson

TOPIC - "South of the Border, Down Mexico Way"

February 7, 2017

SPEAKERS - Sergey Parkohmenko and Dr. Stacy Closson

TOPIC - The Future  of U.S. - Russia Relations: Thinking Beyond Trump and Putin

January 18, 2017

SPEAKER - Thomas Wright

TOPIC - Foreign Policy in the Trump Administration

2016

May 26, 2016

SPEAKER - Professor Luis Betancourt, William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies

TOPIC - Corruption in Brazil

April 5, 2016

SPEAKER - Ambassador Christopher Hill

TOPIC - Understanding the Syrian Civil War

March 8, 2016

SPEAKER - Peter Brookes, Senior Fellow, Heritage Foundation

TOPIC - Anxious in Asia: Beijing's Military Buildup

February 11, 2016

SPEAKER - Geoffrey Harris, Deputy Head of Office of the European Parliament Liaison Office to the U.S. Congress

TOPIC -- The Refugee Crisis Currently Facing Europe

January 13, 2016

SPEAKER - Ambassador Thomas Pickering

TOPIC - Challenges Facing U.S. Foreign and Security Policies

2015

November 12, 2015

SPEAKER - Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes

TOPIC - The Scourge of Human Trafficking -What Can Be Done?

October 7, 2015

SPEAKER - Lisa M. Ruth, CIA Directorate of Operations and Intelligence

TOPIC - The Iranian Nuclear Deal - Is it Enforceable?

May 13, 2015

SPEAKER- Lisa Ruth

TOPIC- Iran, Syria and Isis: Is There a Path to Peace?

April 15, 2015

SPEAKER- Gretchen Birkle

TOPIC- Africa: On the Road to Better Governance or Corruption and Jihad?

March 26, 2015 

SPEAKER- Jean H. Lee

TOPIC- Inside North Korea: Daily Life in the Hermit Kingdom

February 25, 2015 

SPEAKER- Hussain Haqqani

TOPIC- US, Pakistan and an Epic History of Misunderstanding

January 21, 2015

SPEAKER- Dodge Billingsley

TOPIC- ISIS and the New Middle East

2014

November 5th, 2014 

SPEAKER- Jose Cardenas

TOPIC- Does Venezuela Matter to US?

October 8th, 2014 

SPEAKER- Luke Coffey

TOPIC- Russia, Ukraine and the 'reset'

May 14th, 2014

SPEAKER- Husain Haqqani

TOPIC- Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the United States and an Epic history of Misunderstanding

April 16th, 2014

SPEAKER- Christopher Merrill

TOPIC- The Intersection of Culture and Diplomacy

March 19th, 2014 

SPEAKER- John Price

TOPIC- Africa and Middle East: The Challenges of a Destabilized Region

February 19th, 2014 

SPEAKER- Aparna Pande

TOPIC- India's Foreign Policy- India/U.S.Ties

January 16th, 2014 

SPEAKER- Christian Whiton

TOPIC- Smart Power: Between Diplomacy and War

2013

November 20th, 2013 

SPEAKER – Lamont Colucci

TOPIC – The National Security Doctrines of the United States

October 29th, 2013 

SPEAKER – David B. Ottaway

TOPIC – Revolution and Counterrevolution in the Arab World 

May 23rd, 2013

SPEAKER – Priscilla Clapp

TOPIC – Building Democracy in Burma

April 24th, 2013

SPEAKER – Tamim Khallaf

TOPIC – Egypt and the New Middle East- Challenges and Repercussions

March 20th, 2013

SPEAKER – Peggy Sands Orchowski

TOPIC – Immigration and Globalization: America's Challenge for Immigration Reform

February 20th, 2013

SPEAKER – Panel Discussion with Keith Martin, Jane Day and Ibtissam Gale TOPIC – Morocco and its Utah Connection

January 16th, 2013 SPEAKER – Nicholas Kralev

TOPIC – The U.S. Foreign Service: Behind the Scenes of America Diplomacy

2012

November 15th, 2012 

SPEAKER – Barbara Slavin

TOPIC – Time to Rethink US Policy on Iran

October 2nd, 2012 

SPEAKER – Blaine Harden

TOPIC – North Korea: Totalitarianism Forever?

May 22nd, 2012 

SPEAKER – Jeremi Suri

TOPIC – Liberty's Surest Guardian: American Nation-Building from the Founder's to Obama

April 30th, 2012

SPEAKER – Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.

TOPIC – U.S. China Relations: 2012 and Beyond

March 15th, 2012 

SPEAKER – Robert Cassidy

TOPIC – The Long War in Afghanistan: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

February 16th, 2012 

SPEAKER – Steven A. Cook

TOPIC – The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square

January 18th, 2012

SPEAKER – Ambassador John Price 

TOPIC – When the White House Calls

2011

November 17th, 2011 

SPEAKER – Dr. Tim Chambless

TOPIC – U.S.-China Relations: The Need for Cooperation and to Avoid Conflict

October 12th, 2011

SPEAKER – Ambassador Patrick Duddy

TOPIC – The Venezuelan or Brazilian Model- Which Way Forward for South America?

May 25th, 2011

SPEAKER – Ambassador Barbara Bodine

TOPIC – Avoiding the Worst Policy Mistakes in Yemen

April 20th, 2011

SPEAKER – Imam Muhmammad Musri 

TOPIC – Role of Moderate Muslims After 9/11

March 10th, 2011

SPEAKER – Ambassador Christopher Hill 

TOPIC – Engaging the Axis of Evil

February 10th, 2011

SPEAKER – Bruce E. Bechtol Jr.

TOPIC – Not Going Away: The Persistent Challenge of North Korea

January 11th, 2011 

SPEAKER – Dr. Arthur I. Cyr

TOPIC – Presidential Politics and Foreign Policy- Continuity or Change?

2010

November 11th, 2010

SPEAKER – Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh

TOPIC – How do you Advance Peace and Fight Terrorism in Today's Troubled World?

October  13th,  2010 

SPEAKER – Husain Haqqani

TOPIC – The Critical Importance of Strategy in U.S.-Pakistan Relations

September 15th, 2010

SPEAKER – Dr. Robert H. Donaldson

TOPIC –Reviewing the reset with Russia: Hit or flop?

June 30th, 2010

SPEAKER – Roxane Farmanfarmaian

TOPIC – The Middle East: How the Past Informs the Future

May 19th, 2010

SPEAKER – Valerie Hudson

TOPIC – The Heart of the Matter: The Security of Women and the Security of States

April 20th, 2010

SPEAKER – Marshall Goldman

TOPIC – Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia

March 17th, 2010

SPEAKER – Ambassador Princeton N. Lyman

TOPIC – A Fresh Look at Africa: It's Growing Strategic and Economic Importance

February 23rd, 2010

SPEAKER – Gladys N. Ashitey, MD

TOPIC – Fulfilling a Political Promise: Inventing a Healthcare System for 22 Million Ghanaians

February 3rd, 2010

SPEAKER – Henry D. Sokolski

TOPIC – The Pitfalls of our Current Arms Control Proposals

2009

November 17th, 2009

SPEAKER – Dr. Cynthia A. Watson

TOPIC – What's Burning? Immediate International Priorities

October 29th, 2009

SPEAKER - Amos N. Guiora

TOPIC - Freedom from Religion: Rights and National Security

September 23rd, 2009 

SPEAKER- Charles Horner

TOPIC- Rising China and its Postmodern Fate

May 21st, 2009

SPEAKER- Dr. Jay C. Davis

TOPIC- Nuclear Weapons: Why do we still have them and how many do we need?

April 20th, 2009

SPEAKER - Bahman Baktiari

TOPIC - How to Engage Iran? Lessons from three decades of troubled US-Iranian Relations

March 10th, 2009 

SPEAKER - Jeremy Martin

TOPIC - US-Mexico Relations: Energy, Security and the Merida Initiative

February 12th, 2009 

SPEAKER - Dr. Peter Mansoor

TOPIC - The Iraq War: Opportunities Missed and Lessons Learned

January 20th, 2009 

SPEAKER - Rocky Anderson

TOPIC - Genocide, Lost Opportunities and the high road for human rights

2008

November 13th, 2008 

SPEAKER - Aric Mutchnick

TOPIC - The Israeli/Palestinian conflict: Can there ever be peace in the holy land

October 9th, 2008

SPEAKER - Dr. Seyom Brown

TOPIC - The Higher Realism: A New Foreign Policy for the United States

September 18, 2008

SPEAKER - Dr. Asbed Kotchikian

TOPIC - Underneath the Shadow of the Bear: Georgian-Russian Relations

April 17, 2008

SPEAKER - Carlyle (Karl) Thayer

TOPIC - China's 'Harmonious World' Doctrine and Southeast Asia

March 19, 2008

SPEAKER - Ambassador William D. Montgomery

TOPIC - Crisis in the Balkans: The Implications of Kosovo Independence

January 29, 2008

SPEAKER - Salvador Jimenez, US Mexican Consul 

TOPIC - Mexico-Utah Relations

2007

November 27, 2007

SPEAKER - Leslie S. Lebl, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council of the US 

TOPIC - Radical Islam in Europe

October 23, 2007

SPEAKER - Dr. Bruno Tertrais, Senior Research Fellow 

TOPIC - Trans-Atlantic Relations: A New Beginning?

September 18, 2007

SPEAKER - Ambassador Donald P. Gregg

TOPIC - North Korea: The Longest Running Failure in the History of American Espionage

June 6, 2007

SPEAKER - Patrick Mendis

TOPIC - Glocalizaton: The Human Side of Globalization

April 11, 2007

SPEAKER - Dr. Paula Newberg

TOPIC - Afghanastan and Pakistan and Their Neighbors

March 28, 2007

SPEAKER - Gerald Robbins

TOPIC - Redefining Turkey's Strategic Importance

February 13, 2007

SPEAKER - Dr. Ronald W. Mortensen

TOPIC - Humanitarian Assistance and U.S. Foreign Policy

January 23, 2007

SPEAKER - Dr. Dean Collinwood 

TOPIC - Whither the New Japan?

2006

November 28, 2006

SPEAKER - Dr. Robert D. LangenKamp 

TOPIC - The Geopolitics of Oil

October 11, 2006 

SPEAKER - Pauline Baker

TOPIC - Weak and Failing States: What are they? How do we recognize them? What do they signify? How should we respond?

September 27, 2006

SPEAKER - Roxanne Farmafarmian

TOPIC - Iran : Rogue on the Sidelines or Lynch Pin to the Middle East

August, 2006

SPEAKER - David R. Irvine, Brigadier General (ret.) 

TOPIC - Tortured Times for American Values

May 2006

SPEAKER - Tony Sullivan

TOPIC -The Riddle of Palestine: Arab Politics, U.S Policy and the Dialectic of Civilization.

April 2006

SPEAKER - Elizabeth A. Whitaker

TOPIC - Latin America Turn Left: U.S Policy- Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, and Venezuela

March 2006

SPEAKER - Tom Blau, Professor of National Security Affairs, School for National Security Executive Education,National Defense University, where he manages the Regional Defense Counter Terrorism Fellow Program for Foreign officers and U.S government Staff

February 2006

SPEAKER - Amb. Abderahman Salaheldin

TOPIC - Egypt and the U.S.: A Model for Dialogue Between Civilizations

January 2006

SPEAKER - Amb. Joseph C. Wilson IV, Currently manages J.C. Wilson International Ventures on Strategic Management and International Business Development; formerly Ambassador, Gaboese Republic and Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe; also served in Niger, Togo, South Africa, Burundi, Congo and Germany; last official American meeting with  Saddam Hussein  before Desert Storm as Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S Embassy, Baghdad, Iraq

2005

November 2005

SPEAKER - Christopher Kojm

TOPIC - The 9-11 Commission Recommendations: One Year Later

October 2005

SPEAKER - Rami G. Khouri

TOPIC - Democratization in the Middle East and American Foreign Policy

September 2005 

SPEAKER - Isaac Cohen 

TOPIC - Will CAFTA Work?

May 2005

SPEAKER - Alexander Konovalov

TOPIC - Russo-American Relations and Security

April 2005

SPEAKER - Henry Sokolski

TOPIC - Nuclear World War: The Next Big Worry

March 2005

SPEAKER - Michael K. Young

TOPIC - Religious Tolerance in a Divided Word: Possibilities and Pitfalls

Febuary 2005

SPEAKER - Sean Anderson

TOPIC - Iran: Lessons for the War on Terror

January 2005

SPEAKER - Prof. Ibrahim A. Karawan

TOPIC - Terrorism in the Name of Islam; The Doctor and the Sheikh

2004

December 2004

SPEAKER - Johathan Clarke

TOPIC - America Alone: The New-Conservatives and the Global Order

November 2004

SPEAKER - E. Wayne Merry

TOPIC - Trans-Atlantic Relationships Bad and Getting Worse (Regardless of Our Election Outcome): Why and What Needs to Be Done.

October 2004

SPEAKER - Dr. Kenneth Jensen

TOPIC - The Presidential Debate on Foreign Policy and Administration Transition

September 2004

SPEAKER - Dr. Jay C. Davis, Director

TOPIC - The Real Proliferation Threat: Iran and North Korea

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