Security & Foreign Policy Initiative Spring Convening
A key component of the Security and Foreign Policy Initiative is our Spring thematic conferences. The conference focuses on a specific contemporary policy issue and provides a platform for research that critically questions the efficacy of past and current foreign policy solutions to pressing problems. The conference engages scholars and practitioners who are open to transpartisan policy debates that explore and broaden the range of policy options for the United States. They are designed to put scholars in direct contact with legislators, senior staff, and members of the executive branch.
2024
The 2024 Spring Conference theme is Cooperation, Competition, and Conflict in the Asia-Pacific. The two-day conference covers a range of topics, including the long shadow of the Cold War in East Asia, the delicate balancing of US alliances in the region, the role of grand strategy in US-China relations, geoeconomic competition, and the influence of AI on security and economic dynamics in Asia. Participants include preeminent historians, political scientists, legal scholars, policy scholars, and governmental advisors. The conference keynote speakers were Thomas J. Christensen of Columbia University and Ali Wyne of the International Crisis Group.
2023
The 2023 Spring Conference on The Past, Present, and Future of US Alliances fostered a rigorous debate over the extent of the United States’ forward military strategy, the evolution of U.S. military assistance, and the long-term objectives of NATO expansion, among other topics. The conference brought together political scientists, historians, think tank analysts, and policymakers for an evidence-based assessment of US alliance strategy from the 1940s to the present day. The conference keynote speakers were Barry Posen of MIT and Kori Schake of the American Enterprise Institute.
