Doug Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, talks about the current fiscal challenges facing the United States. In this lecture he presents what the "fiscal cliff" means, the consequences and options to avoid it.
Ronald Neumann, former US ambassador to Afghanistan, will discuss what is at stake, what may be possible and the political and strategic costs of both continuation and withdrawal. March, 2012.
Philip Potter is an assistant professor of public policy and political science at the Ford School. His interests include U.S. foreign policy and international security.
Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker discuss Thailand political turmoil, the position of the army and other topics all inside the context of long-run changes in Thai society. April, 2011.
Launching of the annual report of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) with Melvyn Levitsky. March, 2011. Video posted with permission from the United Nations.
This panel discussion focuses on how politics, conflict and oil affect U.S. interests and policies in the greater Middle East region. February 16, 2011.
Scott Atran, Robert Axelrod, Philip Potter discuss terrorism's root causes in the interpersonal relationships between terrorists, competition between terrorist groups within societies, and strategic alliances between organizations.
Jose Zalaquett speaks about accountability for human rights abuses, drawing significantly on his own experiences in a wide range of countries, including Chile. October, 2010.
Lord John Alderdice addresses the value and the limits of 'lessons learnt' from the Irish Peace Process and the problems of implementing them in the Middle East. September, 2010.
Abdulaziz Othman Al-Twaijri, the Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), talks about the role of international Islamic organizations in international politics. April, 2010.
Panelists Emmanuel Jimenez, Linda Lim, and John D. Ciorciari discuss key policy issues in Southeast Asian development including poverty, Chinese investment, and economic stability. Moderated by MPP student Kristine Chong. January, 2010.
John Beyrle, US Ambassador to Russia, discusses current relations between two global leaders: the US and Russia. Beyrle explains what the highly publicized "reset" means and in what areas the Obama administration intends to concent.
Doug Brook talks about reasonings of U.S. investment in national security, the history of defense budgets, and the sensitivity of budgets to historical events as well as discretionary programs and entitlements. November, 2009.
Barry Rabe explains that even though the U.K. and the U.S. have taken divergent paths since the Kyoto Protocol, cross-continental climate change learning and collaboration has still taken place. October, 2009.
Chuck Hagel talks about his thoughts on former President Gerald R. Ford and the domestic and international issues that face the United States. October, 2009.
Allan Stam, U-M Professor of Political Science and Faculty Associate at the Center for Political Studies, discusses the genocide, civil war, vendetta killings and random violence that took place in Rwanda in 1994. February, 2009.
David Marash discusses the ever-expanding world of global communication and how new players like the Internet and mobile phone links for the transmission of text, voice and pictures is guiding the still dominant "mainstream media." September, 2008
Martin Palouš discusses how international affairs seen differently by small and large democratic nations and uses the Czech Republic to show how small nations have their own heritages, experiences, and perspectives. February, 2008.
Larry Cox discusses events that created the environment that exists today, suggests what can be done to make the United States a credible proponent of human rights, and proposes actions to encourage the rule of law and human rights.
Aaron David Miller discusses if Arab-Israeli peace is possible. He draws upon his 20+ years of experience at the Department of State as an advisor to six Secretaries of State, and as Senior Advisor for Arab-Israeli Negotiations. March, 2006.
