Weiser Diplomacy Center

The Weiser Diplomacy Center is partnering with the American Academy of Diplomacy to bring seasoned U.S. diplomats to Ford School and discuss the future of U.S. foreign policy after presidential election 2020.

Join us for a virtual conversation co-hosted by the Gulf International Forum featuring Dr. Dania Thafer, Executive Director of the Gulf International Forum (GIF), Abbas Khadim, Director of Iraq Initiative at the Atlantic Council and General Anthony C. Zinni, former United States Marine Corps general in conversation with Ambassador Patrick Theros. 

Please join us for a virtual seminar with Bui Hai Thiem, a research manager at the Institute for Legislative Studies, National Assembly Standing Committee of Vietnam, Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an associate professor at Kyoto University's Center for Southeast Asian Studies and Wai Wai Nu, a former political prisoner and the founder and Executive Director of the Women Peace Network in Myanmar.

Please join us for a virtual seminar with Kinga Brudzinska, Program Director of Future of Europe for GLOBSEC Policy Institute in conversation with John Ciorciari, director of Weiser Diplomacy Center. They will discuss major trends, challenges and opportunities for supporting democracy in central and eastern Europe—particularly the “V4” countries of Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. This event is open to all University of Michigan students.    

The Ford School and the Weiser Diplomacy Center invite all University of Michigan students to join us for a presidential debate debrief with Ambassador Susan Page and Associate Professor John Ciorciari.

Please join us for a virtual seminar with Dr. Babajide Ololajulo, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria and Dr. Patrick Cobbinah, Urban Planning Academic in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne, in conversation with Justine M. Davis, LSA Collegiate Fellow in the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS) at the University of Michigan.

Join us for a conversation on current relations between the United States and China and possible paths forward given COVID and the upcoming U.S. elections. Panelists will include Kenneth Lieberthal, senior fellow emeritus at Brookings, Mary Gallagher, professor of political science, and Ann Lin, associate professor of public policy. Ford School Dean Michael Barr will moderate the discussion. 

Please join us for a virtual seminar with Jason Carter, Chairman of the Carter Center Board of Trustees, Ms. Narcis Scope, Chief Elections Officer, Elections and Boundaries Commission of Trinidad and Tobago representing CARICOM, and Ms. Pauline Chase from Guyana Bar Association in conversation with Ambassador Susan Page, Professor of Practice in International Diplomacy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy discussing about the Guyana Electoral Observation Mission (EOM).

Please join us for a virtual seminar with Amy Studdart, senior advisor at the International Republican Institute, where she leads the organization's digital democracy programming, in conversation with Associate Professor John Ciorciari, director of the Weiser Diplomacy Center and International Policy Center about two case examples of combating misinformation while promoting open online spaces, in Taiwan and Venezuela.   

Please join us for a virtual seminar with Fabiola Cordova,  Associate Director, Latin America and Caribbean, National Endowment for Democracy (NED), in conversation with Associate Professor John Ciorciari, director of the Weiser Diplomacy Center and International Policy Center. 

Please join us for a virtual seminar with Kara McDonald, Deputy Assistant Secretary at Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in conversation with Associate Professor John Ciorciari, director of the Weiser Diplomacy Center and International Policy Center.

The inaugural Ford/CREES U.S.-Russia Future Leaders Professional Development Workshop will be led by Jill Dougherty, (BA Russian ’70), Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.

Please join us for a virtual seminar with Matt Dippell, Deputy Director for Latin America and the Caribbean Programs at the National Democratic Institute in conversation with Associate Professor John Ciorciari, director of the Weiser Diplomacy Center and International Policy Center.

WDC Director professor John Ciorciari will lead this virtual session with our Ford School colleagues Mohammad Akbar Zadran and Matt Rigdon in a discussion about the U.S. and Taliban Peace Deal signed after nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan.

Due to COVID-19, this event has been canceled.   

Join us for a lunchtime webinar to learn more about the Ford School's research centers.

Due to COVID-19, this event has been canceled.  We are working to reschedule this event.

This Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Lecture will examine the nexus between labor rights and trade—a crucial topic as U.S. and global trade arrangements are being renegotiated. It will feature a conversation between two experts who have long worked to advance worker’s rights in the context of global trade—Dr. Bama Athreya, a visiting policy expert at the Weiser Diplomacy Center, and Ford School Professor of Practice Sander Levin. 

Curbing corruption in Armenia was one of the main goals of the new Armenian government before the velvet revolution in 2018. According to Transparency International, Armenian Corruption Perception Index has increased by 7 points and the rank has improved by 28 positions in 2019 compared to 2018. What were the social and economic factors keeping the high level of corruption in the country? Recent empirical studies have predominantly looked at antecedents of corruption from a macro level. Based on the analysis of three datasets comprising of individual-level surveys taken over a three-year period in Armenia, the study argues that social norms, personal wealth, and the high reliability of corrupt transactions impact an individual’s decision to be involved in corruption.

Please join us for a Career Talk & Seminar with Eric Beinhart and Gregory Ducot from U.S. Department of Justice in conversation with Associate Professor John Ciorciari, director of Weiser Diplomacy Center and International Policy Center about the Practice of International Development.

Please join us for a Lunch Talk with Susan C. Doman in conversation with Associate Professor John Ciorciari, director of Weiser Diplomacy Center and International Policy Center about the Public Diplomacy in Afghanistan.

This event will feature a conversation between noted Russian journalist and scholar Yevgenia Albats and Ambassador Susan Elliott, a recently retired U.S. diplomat, on the role of media and information in the evolving relationship between Russia and the United States.

The Weiser Diplomacy Center in collaboration with The University of Virginia National Security Policy Center and Meridian International Center will host a forum that will engage policymakers, military officials, academic experts, diplomats and other thought leaders to examine challenges and opportunities at the intersection of defense and diplomacy during this crucial transitional period in Afghanistan.

Roger Lu Phillips, Legal Director at the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre, will discuss SJAC's work supporting Universal Jurisdiction prosecutions in Europe as well as its work ascertaining the fate of Syrian victims who have been detained or gone missing during the conflict.  

We invite the Ford School community to a seminar with Ambassador Klosson from Save the Children.