International policy and diplomacy

Former President of MIT Charles M. Vest will deliver the Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation lecture October 12, at 3:30 p.m. in the Michigan Ballroom. The lecture is titled 'Improving the U.S. Intelligence Community – Lessons from Iraq, Libya, and Elsewhere.' The talk is part of Dr. Vest's visit to the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, where he is the Towsley Policymaker in Residence. The Towsley Policymaker in Residence program at the Ford School brings a policymaker to campus for an extended period of time to teach, write, and talk with faculty and students.

Francisco Thoumi - Institutions, Governability and Illegal Drugs in Colombia and Afghanistan: Why Traditional Policies Are Not Enough

Sultan Al Qassemi is a 33-year-old scholar, columnist, and influential Twitter commentator. TIME Magazine says he's "shaping the conversation" on events unfolding in the Middle East. NPR says he "wrote the first draft of Middle East history in short sentences tapped out on his computer and his cell phone."

Free and open tot he public. About the Film Telling the story of his family's escape from the Khmer Rouge, End/Beginning: Cambodia was commissioned by Channel News Asia (based out of Singapore and broadcasting all over Asia) after the 6-minute TED Talk in 2009 by Sophal Ear, Assistant Professor, Naval Postgraduate School. It has been broadcast a dozen times in 2011 and 2012 on CNA throughout Asia. In 2012, the film won a Gold World Medal in History & Society at the 55th New York Festival International Television and Films Awards.

Free and open to the public. About the talk The more a country depends on aid, the more distorted are its incentives to manage its own development in sustainably beneficial ways. Cambodia, a post-conflict state that cannot refuse aid, is rife with trial-and-error donor experiments and their unintended results, including bad governance—a major impediment to rational economic growth.

Free and open to the public. Preceded by a reception in the Great Hall at the Ford School at 5:00 PM. Join the conversation on Twitter: #FordPolicyUnion. About the event This Ford Policy Union event will feature a debate on the effectiveness of international agreements on cyber security. Professor John Steinbruner, a noted international security scholar, will argue that the U.S.

Juan R.I. Cole, Professor of Middle East and South Asian History, University of Michigan. Professor Cole has written extensively about modern Islamic movements in Egypt, the Persian Gulf, and South Asia. Since the 2002 launch of his weblog, 'Informed Comment: Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion,' Cole has become a prominent media commentator and has published political writings in The Guardian, the San Jose Mercury News, Salon.com, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The Nation.

The International Institute and the International Policy Center host a panel discussion with foremost experts on the Middle East and the threat of ISIS.  

This event has been canceled.

Free and open to the public Join the conversation on Twitter: #FordPolicyUnion About the event: The United States has four stated policy goals in the Middle East. 1. Helping Iraqis build a unified, stable, and prosperous country; 2. Renewing progress toward the two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; 3. Working against terrorists and their state sponsors, as well as against the spread of weapons of mass destruction; and 4. Supporting efforts at economic and political reform in the region.

The Ford School welcomes human rights scholar Alejandro Castillejo-Cuéllar, associate professor and chair of Anthropology Department at the Universidad de los Andes, Colombia.

The IPC is honored to convene this panel of intellectuals, human rights professionals and policy experts. Panelists have in depth experience with the conflicts, negotiations and political settlements in Colombia, South Africa, Guatemala and Nigeria.

The Penny Stamps Speaker Series event featuring Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell.

A presentation by Xiaoyang Ye, PhD student in Higher Education

Free and open to the public Join the conversation on Twitter: #policytalks About the event: Please join us as Kenneth Lieberthal returns to the University of Michigan for a lecture on current U.S-China relations under President Obama's new foreign policy team. Lieberthal will also take questions from the audience and from Twitter. From the speaker's bio: Kenneth Lieberthal is senior fellow in Foreign Policy, Global Economy, and Development and also at the John L.

The International Policy Center hosts Scott Atran (University of Oxford/ CNRS, Paris/ University of Michigan) presents his field research from Europe, North Africa, and the frontlines in the battle with ISIS to make the case that the Devoted Actors' commitment to making costly sacrifices enables low-power groups to endure and often prevail against materially much stronger foes.

The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and the Michigan Theater present The Diplomat with a special introduction by former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher R. Hill. The Diplomat tells the remarkable story of the life and legacy of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, whose singular career spans fifty years of American foreign policy from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Told through the perspective of his eldest son David, the documentary takes you behind the scenes of high stakes diplomacy where peace is waged and wars are ended.

Consideration of the the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement has been postponed until after the election, when it may come up for a vote in Congress. Ford School Professor Alan Deardorff will moderate this two-person panel on the pros and cons of the TPP.

Universal child care has been a longstanding goal of child care advocates in both Canada and the United States since the 1960s, yet in 2016 that goal remains stubbornly elusive in both federations despite decades of activism. Responsibility for child care delivery has been shared in both countries between federal, “meso” (provincial/state), and local governments with more of that responsibility being downloaded to the state/provincial level since the 1990s. Dr. Collier will present two meso level cases (Ontario and Michigan) to understand how child care advocates have navigated these decentralized landscapes. What factors explain successful policy outcomes and what barriers persist? Are universal programs and longer term social justice advocacy claims viable in decentralized federations?  View the poster.

Lecture by Alan Bersin, Assistant Secretary of International Affairs and Chief Diplomatic Officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Saumitra Jha, Stanford University will present Swords into Bank Shares: Financial Innovations and Innovators in Mitigating Political Violence in EDS Seminar on Tuesday, April 10 at 2:30pm in 201 Lorch Hall.

Daniel Honig on Getting Things Done in Tricky Places: When Reporting Undermines Performance for Aid Agencies

Traditionally, central banks have served three policy functions – monetary policy, payments systems oversight, and financial institution supervision. This conference will convene international experts and practitioners to examine how these core functions contribute to financial inclusion, poverty alleviation, and a more inclusive economy – and what could be improved.The conference contributes to a research initiative undertaken by the University of Michigan’s Center on Finance, Law & Policy, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to consider how the role of a central bank could evolve in the future and enable central banks to make greater contributions toward financial inclusion. Ultimately, the research intends to identify technologies, processes, or tools that could benefit a central bank in supporting public policy objectives related to inclusion, and consider whether other sectors, including philanthropy, might have a role to play in supporting the development of those tools. Registration to the event is free. Speakers and attendees will include individuals from  standards-setting bodies, central banks and other financial regulators, and policymakers, as well as futurists and technologists, and other financial ecosystem stakeholders.For more information visit http://financelawpolicy.umich.edu. 

Ja Ian Chong will host a talk at the Ford School on how China uses economic punishment to elicit desired behavior from other states.

Ford School Students are invited to join an FSO Test Prep Session with Justin Erickson.