Weiser Diplomacy Center

Staff

Nayab Ali

International Diplomacy Programs Administrator, Weiser Diplomacy Center

Nayab Ali joined Ford School as an Assistant Program Manager, bringing with her extensive hands-on experience in policy and research. Prior to joining Ford, Nayab held positions at The Brookings Institution within their Governance Studies Program and...

Research centers

Research, learning, and impactThe Ford School is home to or co-sponsor of a growing number of active, multi-disciplinary research centers and initiatives leveraging the knowledge and expertise across the University of Michigan. They serve as a resour...

News

U-M Weiser Diplomacy Center, U.S.-Mexico Foundation, and the Mexico Program of the Inter-American Dialogue recommend integrated North American vision following trilateral policy forum

Jun 12, 2026

Amid evolving global political, economic, and security challenges, a new policy brief from the University of Michigan's Weiser Diplomacy Center and two prominent nongovernmental organizations based in Washington, D.C., calls on leaders in the United ...

Two people at an event holding gift bags and shaking hands

News

Ambassador Camara addresses U-M's International Institute's International Studies graduates

May 18, 2026

Ambassador Camara's commencement address at the University of Michigan International Institute's International Studies graduation ceremony

State & Hill

Spotlights, spring 2026

May 7, 2026

Over spring break, annual policy study trips took undergrads to Brussels for the BA Global Engagement Seminar (above) and graduate students to Colombia for the International Policy in Practice seminar (below).

A group of undergraduate students holding a Ford School flag at the European Parliament

In the Media

"No peace process to speak of” three years into Sudan war - Page

Apr 8, 2026 zeteo

Ambassador Susan D. Page comments on the third anniversary of the Sudanese civil war.

News

Javed Ali's U.S.-Iran conflict analysis in high demand

Mar 6, 2026

Ford School professor Javed Ali , former National Security Council senior official, gives insight to a broad network of media about the conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran post-Khamenei.

News

Ali: US-Israeli strikes are an existential threat for Iran

Mar 3, 2026

Iran’s regime is facing an existential threat. Do not expect it to show restraint, writes Ali.

News

Ali analyzes Iran nuclear talks amid military build-up

Feb 19, 2026

The Ford School's Javed Ali comments on U.S.-Iran tensions

News

2026 Olympic Winter Games: U-M experts available

Feb 2, 2026

Ford School's Javed Ali comments on Olympic security

Policy Matters

A look inside the Ford School’s Fall 2025 Diplomacy Lab research project

Jan 27, 2026

Margaret Peterman (BA ‘27) recounts her experience as a team lead for the Ford School’s Diplomacy Lab.

News

Protests across Iran—and a deadly crackdown: Javed Ali weighs in

Jan 13, 2026

The Ford School's Javed Ali comments on the recent protests in Iran, which may have seen more than 2,000 casualties.

In the Media

Ali notes that U.S. Venezuela policy risks Iraq replay

Jan 6, 2026 The National News Desk

Javed Ali says that as the Trump administration works on its Venezuela policy, it is thinking through all the options that are on the table, "and the last one I would think they want to do is to do a replay of Iraq in 2003."

News

U.S. capture of Venezuelan president: U-M experts can discuss

Jan 5, 2026

Experts from the University of Michigan are available to share insights on U.S. intervention in Venezuela and the weekend arrest of its president, Nicolas Maduro, during a raid. Maduro is expected to appear before a judge in New York on Monday to fac...

Headshots of Javed Ali and Jonathan Hanson.

News

Jake Tapper discussed his Al-Qaeda pursuit

Jan 4, 2026

Journalist Jake Tapper spoke about his book which followed the prosecution of an Al-Qaeda fighter in Afghanistan.

News

Gerard Ryle shines a light on global anti-corruption reporting

Dec 15, 2025

Gerard Ryle discusses the global anti-corruption work of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

News

Ali addresses "State of the University"

Nov 16, 2025

Ford School professor Javed Ali addressed Democracy, Civic, and Global Engagement at State o the University presentations

News

Invoking confidence and compassion, H.R. McMaster delivers Vandenberg Lecture

Nov 11, 2025

Former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster gives his strategic vision for approaching current international crises in the 7th annual Vandenberg Lecture

News

Malala Yousafzai inspires students with her activism journey

Oct 27, 2025

The Ford School and the Weiser Diplomacy Center welcomed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai to Ann Arbor for a conversation about her personal journey as an activist.

In the Media

Ali on U.S. Military Presence in the Caribbean and Pressure on Venezuela

Oct 26, 2025 Al Jazeera

Ford School Professor Javed Ali commented to Al Jazeera about the growing U.S. military presence in the Caribbean: Based on all of the developments that have happened in the Caribbean over the past month, there seems to be a two-pronged approach. Th...

News

Ford School names 2025 Weiser Diplomacy Center Fellows

Oct 17, 2025

The Ford School is pleased to announce the 2025 Weiser Diplomacy Center (WDC) fellows: Tooba Bilal (MPP ‘27), Annie Citron (MPP ‘27), Claire James (MPP ‘27), and Sowmya Raman (MPP ‘27).

Weiser Fellows Tooba Bilal, Annie Citron, Claire James, and Sowmya Raman

News

Ali discusses the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal and its implications

Oct 13, 2025

Following recent cease-fire deals between Israel and Hamas, many networks have turned to the Ford School’s Javed Ali for insights on the next steps to achieving peace between the two. Ali spoke on various implications of the deal, such as returning t...

In the Media

Javed Ali - Israel-Hamas ceasefire implementation will take time and care

Oct 9, 2025 CBS Detroit

"The full implementation of all 20 points, this is going to take a long period of time, and there's going to have to be a very aggressive level of oversight and monitoring and verification," the Ford School's Javed Ali told CBS Detroit on the Israel-...

News

Diplomatic leaders engage U-M community at seventh ambassadors forum

Sep 26, 2025

The three day Ambassadors Forum brought distinguished diplomats and policy experts to Ann Arbor for discussions on America’s role in NATO, the EU, and the future of diplomacy. U-M students, faculty, and Ann Arbor high schoolers had the opportunity to...

Audience members seated in a lecture hall at the University of Michigan's Ford School, listening to a speaker at the front.

News

Ambassador Camara delivers inaugural keynote lecture at Sciences Po Reims campus

Sep 9, 2025

Ambassador Kamissa Camara, professor of practice in international diplomacy at the Ford School, was recently invited to give the inaugural keynote lecture at the prestigious Sciences Po College in Reims, France. At the Ford School, Ambassador Camara ...

Ambassador Kamissa Camara speaking at podium

News

Ambassador Camara participates in inaugural African School of Governance event

Aug 14, 2025

In July, Ambassador Kamissa Camara, professor of practice in international diplomacy at the Ford School of Public Policy, was invited to participate in the inaugural Executive Education program at the African School of Governance (ASG), a new pan-Afr...

News

IPC’s Aid and Development Workshop series helps students meet the moment

Aug 11, 2025

Grant writing and proposal development, once useful skills, have become essential for international development professionals, according to Ford School lecturer Amy Beck Harris. “As international organizations undergo sweeping changes, the actual ski...

News

Ambassador Camara speaks at NATO conference on evolving terrorism in the Sahel

Aug 11, 2025

Former Ambassador Kamissa Camara, professor of practice in international diplomacy at the Ford School of Public Policy, was one of 85 subject matter experts convened at the NATO Strategic Direction – South Hub Conference on “Terrorism: A common asymm...

In the Media

"Netanyahu backed himself into a corner" - Ali

Aug 9, 2025 The National News Desk

“If the Arab governments do not come together in a way that Netanyahu described, Israel is going to be stuck, and that is probably not what Netanyahu wants, but he's backed himself into a corner on that,” said Javed Ali, a former counterterrorism off...

In the Media

“Trump is clearly exasperated with Putin” - Ali

Jul 11, 2025 The National News Desk

“Trump is clearly exasperated with Putin,” said Javed Ali, a former counterterrorism official in federal government and associate professor of practice at the University of Michigan. “All the things that are being dangled over Russia on top of what t...