Food for thought: International politics

For the March installment of the Ford School's "Food for Thought" series, Associate Dean John Ciorciari will be joined by Professors Susan D. Page and Javed Ali to discuss a crucial question in international politics: are we witnessing the arrival of a new Cold War? Waxing rivalry among major powers is a key concern for policy practitioners around the globe – from the showdown between NATO and Russia in Ukraine to the Sino-American standoff over Taiwan. We’ll discuss how these developments are seen and experienced in various regions of the world. How similar are today’s tectonic forces to those of the Cold War? And what dangers and opportunities does rising big-power friction create for other countries?

Food for thought attendance is limited to Ford School students, faculty, and staff. Pizza will be provided on a first-come first-serve basis.

About "Food for Thought"
Roughly once a month, we will convene community conversations to devour pizza and discuss burning issues in policy and politics. These off-the-record conversations will aim to foster frank and open dialogue among Ford students, faculty, and staff. Each session will feature one or more Ford professors or scholars with relevant expertise, but these will not be lectures. They will be guided conversations in which we share both comments and questions, listen and learn from one another, and seek to co-produce knowledge on policy issues in the United States and around the world. Please come to learn more and to share your ideas.

Faculty Expert

Susan D. Page

Professor of Practice in International Diplomacy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and Professor from Practice at the University of Michigan's Law School. Director; Weiser Diplomacy Center

Page applies her vast foreign policy experience to the Weiser Diplomacy Center. She has served the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United Nations, and non-governmental organizations in senior roles for decades, across East, Central, and Southern Africa, and in Haiti and Nepal. Page was the first U.S. ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan and served as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations in Haiti.

Faculty Expert

Javed Ali

Associate Professor of Practice

Ali is a former senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, with over 20 years of professional experience in national security and intelligence issues in Washington, D.C. He served in the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he also held senior positions on joint duty assignments at the National Intelligence Council, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the National Security Council.

• Ford School
• public policy