U.S. foreign policy and its resulting challenges have been topics of discussion and debate over the last several years.
SDSU’s spring lecture series, “American Foreign Policy and the Challenges of the New Century,” organized by SDSU political science professors Dipak Gupta and Latha Varadarajan, will explore and analyze these very topics.
“It’s a global world today — we cannot live in isolation,” said Gupta, who won the university’s Albert W. Johnson Distinguished Lecturer award in 1997.
“This lecture series will help people understand the complexity of the world around us,” he added.
Foreign policy experts to be featured at each lecture
From policymakers to prestigious journalists, the semesterlong series will feature foreign policy experts who will discuss issues ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to America’s complications in Afghanistan.
Among the headline lecturers is former Italian ambassador to India and Iran, Roberto Toscano, who will address “Iran and Democracy” on Feb. 7. Mike Shuster, an award-winning diplomatic correspondent and NPR News foreign correspondent, will present “Combating the Spread of Nuclear Weapons: Is it a losing battle?” on March 14.
Lecture schedule
Each lecture will take place from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Little Theater on the SDSU campus. The complete lecture schedule is as follows:
Monday, Jan. 31, 2011
“Is there a chance for Israeli-Palestinian peace?”
Galia Golan, professor, Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, Herzliya, Darwin Professor Emerita, Hebrew University
Monday, Feb. 7, 2011
“Iran and Democracy”
Roberto Toscano, policy scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, former Italian ambassador to India and Iran
Monday, Feb. 14, 2011
“Power Struggles: Energy, Resource Scarcity, and Global Security”
Michael Klare, Five College Professor of Peace and World Security Studies, Hampshire College
Monday, Feb. 21, 2011
“From Foreign Insurgencies to Transnational Terrorism in the United States: Reducing Violence and the Importance of Community-Oriented Strategies”
Arif Ali Khan, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Homeland Security, College of International Affairs, National Defense University, and former assistant secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Monday, March 7, 2011
“The Longest War: A Journalist’s Front-line Assessment of America’s Entanglement in Afghanistan”
Rajiv Chandrasekaran, national editor, The Washington Post, and author, “Imperial Life in the Emerald City”
Monday, March 14, 2011
“Trapped! U.S. Foreign Policy in the Era of Terrorism”
Dipak Gupta, Fred J. Hansen Professor of Peace Studies, Department of Political Science, San Diego State University
Monday, April 4, 2011
“Can soft power resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict?”
Richard Faulk, Albert G. Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law, Princeton University, and Visiting Distinguished Professor in Global and International Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
Monday, April 11, 2011
“Dominion From Sea to Sea: Pacific Ascendancy and American Power”
Bruce Cumings, Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Professor of History, University of Chicago
Monday, April 18, 2011
“Looking Sideways: Latin America, Emerging Powers and the U.S. in the New Century”
Jorge Heine, Chair of Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, CIGI, former ambassador of Chile to India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, former ambassador to South Africa.
Monday, April 25, 2011
“No Higher Law: American Foreign Policy in Myth and Practice”
Brian Loveman, professor emeritus, Department of Political Science, San Diego State University
Monday, May 2, 2011
“Combating the Spread of Nuclear Weapons: Is it a losing battle?”
Mike Shuster, foreign correspondent, NPR News